Seeing who was now a prefect was always interesting. From Slytherin, there were Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy. Draco shot Raina a triumphant look and she and Feron exchanged glances, Feron's expression fed-up.

There was nothing that annoyed the fifth year more, after all, than the two of them acting like he was too insignificant to even bother reacting to.

The blonde turned his attention to the other prefects in his year instead. Raina waved at Hermione and Ron, wondering how Mrs Weasley reacted, the twins being so far the only ones in the family not to be prefects. She'd have to rub it in later.

After all, it was highly unlikely that either of the twins would be genuinely upset.

Raina and Feron patrolled the carriages, until, after seeing a carriage containing a number of people soaked in stinksnap, they decided that the younger years could handle themselves.

Raina stepped inside the carriage, taking in her friends. There was Catrina, with her light brown hair, blue eyes, and freckles, and Fente, with her much darker complexion and brown eyes which were always neatly lined. Raina wasn't sure she wore any other makeup, but her skin always seemed flawless.

"Completed your duty then?" Fred asked as they returned.

"We decided to let the younger years handle it." Feron said.

"Namely, your younger brother." Raina added.

"Yeah. Mum was thrilled."

"'That's everyone in the family!'" Fred imitated shrilly.

"You two as prefects would have been horrible anyway." Fente said, grinning.

"We aren't any worse than Raina!" George protested. He was opening a chocolate frog and Raina made a face, realising she'd missed the trolley witch.

"Out after hours, skipping class, ganging up on us," Fred begun, ticking things off his fingers and misunderstanding her expression.

"It was your fault I skipped."

"You wanted midnight snacks." Fred said.

"The whole common room has benefitted." Catrina pointed out, stretching an arm over the back of the seat. "It's great when we win at quidditch."

This, understandably, brought up a lot of protest from the twins.

"Besides, Slytherins first wins of the house cup hardly count."

It was Raina who said, "can't disagree with that. It isn't my fault Snapes a biased head of house."

"So you admit then?" George said triumphantly.

"All of Slytherin thinks it." Fente said, gathering up her thick black hair and glaring at the two of them.

"Except maybe Draco, but there are a few bad eggs in each year. We had to stomp the whole 'blood thing' out of Fente." Catrina added.

It was strange how now, the divisions between the houses, between most members of the houses, were non-existent.

Angelina Johnson dropped by to tell the twins she was the new captain and tell Raina and Feron that their team was about to be smashed. Lola later sat down to talk amiably about the new episodes of a muggle television show that Raina had watched on her shop television after hours. Luma and Raina exchanged photographs of their rabbits, and Luma told an entertaining story about one of her mothers Niffler who'd escaped and run amok in the muggle town they lived in.

The twins eventually took to teasing Raina about her hair, still windblown from her flight. The occasional bird pun was thrown in. Fente and Catrina made a joint effort to wrestle the curls into submission, but even with Fente's extensive knowledge of cosmetic spells, it remained as wild as ever.

Feron and Raina briefly separated from the others when the train stopped to help the first years find their way to Professor Grubbly plank. Raina had had her as a stand in teacher for Professor Kettleburn several times, but she'd never seen her herding first years to the boats. She wondered anxiously where Hagrid was.

Sure, he wasn't a wonderful teacher, but he was a familiar presence, and Raina liked him well enough. It'd been he that showed her the quiet places to hide around the castle when all the emotions became too much.

She and Feron eventually escaped the crowd and found a carriage. Raina wearily stepped around the Thestrals, least one bite her again. She'd always been able to see them, perhaps because she understood death, with her mother dead already, or perhaps because she was part veela. She found she got strange looks if one did bite her and she yelped and darted away from what looked like thin air.

Every year, however, there were one or two students who saw thestrals for the first time. Raina could always tell who they were from the way they looked in shock at the skeletal horses and quietly wondered if they'd gone mad. Sometimes she approached them, others she shame-facedly turned away. She found two things difficult to handle; many emotions all at once, and the kind of heart-wrenching grief which could only come from someone who'd just recently understood death.

Eventually they reached the Great Hall, and split off to their house tables.

The sorting song this year seemed to Raina to be a warning. She watched as some Slytherins smirked and others looked around anxiously. Her house was getting glares from a several students across the hall, and even nervous looks from first years. She sighed and rested her head in her hands.

"After this we're going to have to set up a sleep over for the new first years or something."

"Too right." Feron said. "And club anyone who plans to make trouble.'

"You mean like Malfoy?" Raina said. "Pity we can't give him detention anymore - or deduct more house points."

"He'd never deduct house points from Slytherin anyway." Feron pointed out.

They fell silent as the sorting begun, whooping and cheering with everyone else whenever someone joined their house. Catrina was fiddling with her cutlery, clearly waiting for the feast to begin.

Dumbledore gave his short, before-feast speech, and Raina and Feron high fived when he mentioned, as he had every year, how good the feast was. True to his word, of course, the food was excellent. Raina's holidays had been spent living off her Grandfathers rather plain diet, and the over-sweetened food of the café she'd worked at. Now there was a much wider variety of food in front of them.

"Look's like Slytherins reputation's going to take a nosedive again." Feron said, before delicately taking a mouthful.

Raina nodded, "and I see the lady I have to cooperate with."

Feron followed her gaze up to a squat, toad-like woman dressed in colour so garish that Raina felt she needed sunglasses to look at her.

When she interrupted Dumbledore's speech after they'd finished eating, Feron rolled his eyes. He seemed to already know that getting Raina to work with the woman would require a lot of effort.

"We are so not taking her seriously." Fente growled.

"Friends?" Raina repeated, her expression very much at odds with the woman's sugared smile.

From across the table, she could see other members of their quidditch team exchanging looks. None of them very much liked been spoken too as if they were kindergarteners.

Catrina was trying hard not to laugh, and Raina, although she had been attempting to listen, caught her eye hand had to cover her mouth and watch the new professor resolutely. Her shoulders shook with silent laugher.

Listening, however, was another job entirely. In her Primary school, Raina's principal had often spoken like Professor Umbridge - long winded and uncaring of weather or not anyone was paying attention. Feron seemed to have understood most of what was going on, and together they confirmed that the ministry was indeed sticking their nose into Hogwarts business.

"Witch." Catrina muttered. When she found several of them giving her a strange looked she held up her hands, "it's a muggle insult." She explained.

"And also true." Fente pointed out.

"On both accounts." Raina added. She'd been called a witch when she accidentally lit her maths test on fire, but of course then it had just been something her classmates had heard and repeated.

"First years." Feron reminded her, pulling her away. Without him, Raina would have shirked all of her duties long ago, but they needed to rein Draco in anyway.

Raina had always seen the fifth year as somewhat pathetic. There were times when she picked up sadness under all that arrogance, but she was a firm believer of peoples emotions not excusing their actions.

(She also failed to see how having Daddy issues could explain being a dick to first years)

Noise echoed in the dungeons on the way to the Slytherin Dormitories. There was the shuffling of feet, quiet chatter, and a harsh, hacking cough which Raina tracked down to a first year, leaning against the wall.

"You alright?" She asked her.

The first year shook her head. "My... Inhaler..." She said between gasps.

Raina beckoned Catrina over.

"Inhaler?" She repeated, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Muggle's use it to treat asthma." Catrina explained. "Come on," she said to the first year, "let's get you to Madam Pomfrey."

Raina gave the first year a reassuring smile and left Catrina to take the first year upstairs. She re-joined the group in time to chide Draco for telling the first years that trolls lived in the dungeons.

"Everyone okay?" Feron asked her in a low voice after he'd given the password.

Raina nodded, "Catrina took the sick first year to Madam Pomfrey," she said, "and I think this lot will be okay."

"S'long as Draco stops hazing them." Feron said, glaring over at the fifth year.

"We'll worry about that later - c'mon, the common rooms practically empty and I want to fly."

"Didn't you fly to the train this morning?" Feron pointed out.

"If you don't go I'll find George." She said, crossing her arms.

"I'm not sure if that was a threat or not."

"Fine. I'll get Fred, and tell him about that time in first year potions when you tried to make that sleeping draught."

"That was definitely a threat," he said, flicking his white hair from his eyes and springing up.

"That's the spirit." Raina said cheerfully. "Get your broom, I bet you haven't flown all holidays."

"Where are you going?" Catrina asked as the portrait hole ground open. She had the first year in tow.

"Just for a fly." Raina said. She caught Feron grinning from the corner of her eyes.
"Come with me." Catrina said. "You haven't flown with the muggle borns before, have you?"

"What do you do?" Raina asked. She had vague memories of Catrina sneaking out of her dorm before. They'd met several times when she was on her way back in and had to make an awkward excuse.

"Over the nearest muggle town to watch movies. We're going to get Max her inhaler as well, but she can't fly yet."

Max nodded eagerly, fluffy blonde hair bouncing.

"Alright." Raina agreed. She wouldn't be stretching her wings, but this looked to be just as interesting. She explained to Max where her dorm was and the three of them were already out of the portrait hole by the time she'd disappeared up the stairs.

Raina was surprised to see Lola and Kenneth from Gryffindor, Malcom from Ravenclaw, and Belle, Ryan, and Cylla from Hufflepuff also waiting, brooms in hand.

"New comers, eh?" Malcom said, giving Raina and Feron a once over. There was, as usual, suspicion at the fact that they were Slytherins, but Raina was friends with Lola and Belle, so neither of them said anything.

"They won't tell." Catrina said dismissively.

When everyone shrugged, Raina and Feron summoned their brooms.

Lola was the first in the air. Her long blonde hair was tied tightly at the nape of her neck and she wore dark clothes. Belle rose beside her. Raina could see her inexperience flying in the way her broom wobbled slightly, but she was grinning widely. Ryan was holding onto Cylla, loosely as they first started moving, but when Raina looked back he was clinging to her, talking despite his evident nervousness.

"Are those two dating?" She asked Feron as he brought his broom up beside her.

He shrugged, "no idea." Raina supposed she shouldn't have expected him to know anything; Feron always had his head in the clouds. "Do you know where we're going." He continued.

"A muggle town."

"Duh." He said, "I was hoping for a more useful answer."

Raina shrugged, feigning an apologetic expression. Their group dipped lower when lights came into view after several minutes of flying, landing in a copse of tree's just outside the town and stowing their broomsticks away out of sight.

"What now?" She asked.

Cylla shrugged, "we usually go see a movie." She said, combing her fingers through her wind blown hair and glancing amusedly at Ryan.

"Us three," Catrina pointed at Feron and Raina, "will go find an inhaler."

Belle nodded, "the rest of you owe me." She flashed a handful of muggle cash and the group spilt apart.

There weren't many people out and about at this time of night, although it was still light out. The air was cool and Raina felt the chill of the wind seeping into her skin.

She'd never realised that the muggleborns did this, but it made perfect sense. For most of the year they lived without muggle conveniences. Things just didn't last when surrounded by magic; Raina and her Grandfather's house was so full of magic that the lights flickered to the beat of whatever music they were playing and the microwave refused to heat up anything with celery in it. She didn't even want to imaging what a T.V. would do after touching too much magic.

The muggles of the town would never know where the small group of teenagers come from, or why some of them were so utterly entranced by moving picutres. It was the children, who watched the stars from their windows, who'd see them flying away.

No one believed in witches any more, but fairies, perhaps?

Raina couldn't help but wave goodbye to them.

-

Raina had thought she knew who Professor Umbridge was the moment she stood up to speak, but when she was up close, she realised she'd been wrong. Her first defence against the dark arts class of the year revealed that she was so much worse. Raina had never had a teacher who held such a deep contempt for their students, and Snape was her own head of house.

That morning Raina had dragged herself downstairs, tired from their late night the night before.

The great hall was full of chatter, but it was a muted kind of noise. Ironically, it was always the first day back where people were the most tired. Raina sat with Fente and Catrina. Fente was somehow always composed, her hair smooth, her eyes bright, and her robes unrumpled. Rania supposed she had gone to bed at a reasonable time last night, however.

The morning post always put her a little on edge, as birds did. Raina would never be sure what it was exactly, but she always felt the urge to fly with the owls as they spiralled down from the ceiling. She'd told the twins in her fifth year that she was scared of them, because then she really might have taken to the skies around any kind of bird. Now she only took an especially large mouthful of breakfast and waited as the fluttering mass slowly dispersed.

There would be nothing from home for a while, but Feron, who was always slightly late for breakfast, had a copy of the daily prophet delivered to him. Raina read it while she waited for him to arrive. She was almost glad he was late, and that the two of them loitered in the corridor outside of defence against the dark arts while he ate the toast she'd grabbed for him.

The less time she spent in that classroom, the better.

They hadn't arrived late, exactly. Just later than everyone else. Admittedly, Raina hadn't thought that few minutes wouldn't make much of a difference, but Professor Umbridge was already tapping her foot impatiently.

"Sit." She said coldly. "No no," she interrupted, when Raina and Feron went to sit together. "Separately."

Raina made a face and moved to sit with Catrina and Fente, the latter of which who sniggered at her. Feron rolled his eyes and sat with Fred and George. Raina wondered how long it would be until Umbridge separated the twins - or, for that matter, Fente and Catrina, who never stopped talking.

Umbridge begun with a speech much like her beginning of year one, in that no one listened and that it was filled with thinly veiled insults towards their school and previous teachers. Raina found herself smiling in a pinched, sarcastic, kind of way as Umbridge expressed her hatred towards half-breeds.

Feron was watching her warningly from across the class.

"You will now read the first chapter of the books you should have brought at the beginning of the year." Umbridge concluded. There was a rustling across the classroom as everyone put away their wands and pulled out the bulky defensive theory books.

Raina had intended to read this book during the holidays, but after the first page she'd decided that she had more important things to do. Now she pulled out the highlighters she'd brought and began reading.

Before long there was a small cough from behind her, and Raina jerked up as if she'd been absorbed in her work. Umbridge was watching her carefully.

Raina smiled brightly. Hopefully Umbridge would now give her something to go on.

"Whatever are you doing to your book?" She asked Raina, her tone bordering on disapproval.

Well this wasn't good.

"I'm marking the important bits." Raina explained, showing her the page. She was very careful with her tone, keeping it neutral so there was no way that it could be interpreted as mocking. Umbridge had a very high opinion of herself, making this particular bit easier.

"It helps with my understanding of the topic." Raina added. She was tempted to add something about the topic being interesting, but that was too big a lie.

"Very well." Umbridge said finally, prowling away.

Raina exhaled, meeting Catrina's eyes with an incredulous expression.

Their conversation had broken the silence and people had begun whispering around the class. She caught George's eye, and he sniggered. Fred was charming a paper plane, talking idly with Feron.

Raina forced herself to stay quiet even as Catrina and Fente talked. When class ended, she pointedly finished reading her page before packing up. Feron and the twins were waiting for her outside.

"I've been third wheeling." George told her quietly, grinning at Feron and Fred's backs.

"There are worse people to third wheel." Raina pointed out.

George shrugs and then says - "so, how was sucking up to Umbridge?"

"It was wonderful, thanks." Raina said darkly.

"I was expecting you to lunge at her." George said with a nudge.

"I have wonderful self-control, thanks." Raina said, tossing her hair back.

"So do harpies." George sniggered.

"If only..." Raina begun wistfully, "if only I could take house points of other houses."

"That would be nightmare." George informed her. "Anyway, are you trying out for quidditch?"

"Of course," Raina said, "you will too, I guess."

"Fred and I are on the team no matter what."

"Ha! Enjoy that." Raina said, "We're gonna smash you this year."

"You wish." George said.

"You aren't going to have Wood as a keeper this year." Raina pointed out with a grin.

"Don't tell him I said this," George said, leaning in, "but I think Ron's going to try out and he'll be good."

"Are you trying to take over the team with Weasleys?" Raina asked.

"It'd be a good team." George said proudly.

"Yeah, but Slytherins team will be better." Raina said, with a confidence she didn't feel when she thought of their seeker.

"If Slytherin wins, we party in your common room, when Gryffindor wins-"

"-If Gryffindor wins-" Raina interrupted him.

"Then we party in our common room."

"Deal." Raina agreed.

"Wanna practice during our free period?" George asked.

Raina considered this, "and show you all our tactics?" She asked, one eyebrow raised. The bell for the start of the next class rung and she tugged her bag higher on her shoulder. "I've got to go."

"Woah, you have a free period, don't you?" George asked.

"I'm talking to Dumbledore about Legilimacy." She reminded him. "Might as well become spy material."

"Well, I'm off to make more products allowing students to skive off class." George said.

"We," Raina decided, beginning the climb to Dumbledore's office, "are going to end up in very different places."