Kitty arrived only to see her brothers, glaring at each other from opposite sides of a round table. She sighed.

"Miss Black! So glad you could make it!" Slughorn had dressed up, wearing robes with gold trim. "Here, why don't you sit next to Miss Evans... unless you'd prefer to sit by one of your brothers?

"I'm fine." Kitty said quickly. She had already taken her seat by the red haired girl, who smiled at her.

The door swung open again to admit Jack DiGievo. Kitty blushed slightly.

Not because I like him. Only because of Tina and Yemi. They're just making me self conscious, that's all.

"Mr. DiGievo! Have a seat next to Mr. Black, er, Sirius, that is."

Jack was the last person, and Slughorn snapped his fingers to summon a small house elf. "Mairy, fetch the appetizers if you will." To the students he said, "Wonderful you all could be here tonight! Now, I'm sure you know the Black siblings- Regulus, of course is a Slytherin prefect," he beamed at Regulus proudly, "Sirius here is a Gryffindor- on the Quidditch team this year I believe?- and Kitty is a Hufflepuff. What a mix! I've never seen a Black who wasn't a Slytherin and now I've seen two!"

Kitty tried to smile.

"And Lily Evans, one of my best students, and muggleborn as well! Funny how that happens, Mr DiGeivo is excellent as well!"

Boredom was clearly written on Lily's face and she was making no effort to hide it.

"And Firyo Hale, Minsister Hale's son, of course. Here, Firyo," Mairy had returned with a tray. "Try the oysters, they're marvelous."

As Slughorn continued introducing people, Kitty began to see a connection. A short and skinny Ravenclaw who seemed very awkward but terribly smart, a pretty and slightly chubby Gryffindor seventh year who was supposedly related to Merlin... these were the special people.

"Carson just perfected the Arrow swerve, he did!" Slughorn was saying, pointing towards a Hufflepuff third year. "So young and already a wonderful quidditch player! Are the Appleby Arrows your favorite team, Carson?"

The boy shrugged. "Second favorite. I prefer Pride of Portree."

"Well, I'm sure Hufflepuff has a marvelous chance this year with you as keeper." Catching Kitty's eye, Carson Arlo shot a wink in her direction. She hurriedly shifted her gaze to the floor. Awkwardly, Sirius and Regulus picked at the sweetmeats, avoiding each other's eyes.

"Well, it's about time to head back to your dormitories I'm afraid," Slughorn said regretfully. "What a shame! I should have sent out invitations earlier. At least we've all been introduced now. Expect a note for dinner in October and November. I'll be having a Christmas party in December!"

As she headed towards the door, Kitty's way was blocked. She looked up into the smirking face of Carson Arlo. "You're Katherine Black, aren't you?" He asked.

"Yes," Kitty said. She felt someone come up beside her and turned to see Sirius glaring at Carson Arlo.

"You got a problem, Black?" Arlo asked Sirius.

"Do you? Leave my sister alone, Arlo."

"Sirius!" Kitty hissed. "Don't be rude."

"Yeah, Black." Arlo smirked. "Don't be rude."

"Kitty!" A voice- Jack- called from the doorway. "You want to walk back with me?"

"Yes!" She called, grateful to have a reason to leave Arlo and Sirius. "I'm coming!"

As they left, he leaned down and whispered to her, "What the heck was that all about?"

Kitty shrugged. "I dunno, maybe they're quidditch rivals or something."

"Sirius hasn't even played in his first game yet," Jack pointed out.

"The Gryffindor- Hufflepuff game is coming up, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, just a couple weeks."

"And we have tomorrow off!" Kitty grinned broadly. "No school, no classes, no teaches."

"And a heck lot of homework," Jack reminded her.

She groaned. "I've got to practice for  Charms and Transfiguration, read for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and write an essay for Potions. Oh- and McGonagall said she'd give me full credit if I wrote an essay about the enchantment that I flubbed up, so I've got that too. And on the first week!"

"D'you want to work on the Potions essay together in the library?" Jack asked.

Kitty shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Jack grinned. "Great. Now, I don't suppose you remember the code? Because I don't want to get drenched in vinegar."

They had reached the Hufflepuff common room. "I memorized it the first day," Kitty said truthfully. "I was terrified I would get locked out, and it's not like I could knock for someone to let me in."

As she was tapping out the password, Jack said, "My oldest brother Nigel told my brother Aren that the vinegar was just a myth. Aren loves to play pranks, and I guess that the vinegar was the only thing stopping him, so he came to sneak into the common room with some of his friends. Well, they got drenched in vinegar, sure enough. Mum wasn't too happy with Nigel- he's a prefect, mind, and supposed to set a good example."

"I didn't know your brother was a prefect," Kitty said as they stepped inside the common room. "A Hufflepuff one?"

"Yup."

"Black hair?"

"Yes, that's him." Jack grinned. "True, I s'pose he delivered your invitation as well. He was sure jealous that I got invited."

"And your brother Aren," Kitty said hastily, trying not to think of dark-haired Nigel. "What house is he in?"

"Gryffindor," Jack said with a sigh. "Mum knew it from the day he was born."

"Your parents were muggles, but they knew about wizards?"

"My uncle is a wizard," Jack explained. "First in the family. Mum was shocked when she found out that her children might be wizards or witches."

"And your dad?"

"Well, he and my mum got divorced a few years ago," Jack explained. "He supports me and Nigel and Aren, though. He was a bit freaked out about the whole wizard thing at first, but he got over it fast and now he thinks it's cool."

"I always knew that I was going to Hogwarts," Kitty said. "But I thought that I also knew that I was a Slytherin."

"Well, I'm glad we're both in Hufflepuff." Jack smiled at her before breaking away to go to his dormitory.

Kitty stood, watching him, until she realized what she was doing and wheeled around to head to her own dormitory.

***

"Now this will be an interesting seven years to watch." The plant of prophecy said. "Poor kids. "