The first thing Gemma did when she entered the DADA classroom, was hit Regulus Black over the head with her bag. He yelped, and she did it again. Luke watched, thoroughly amused.

'What was that for!' He said in indignation. She hit him one last time for luck.

'You'd already done the Arithmancy homework!' She said angrily. 'You lied!' Regulus looked quite shocked.

'How did you find that out!' He looked at Luke. 'Did you tell her?'

'I can figure things out for myself, thanks!' She snapped. 'I'm not thick!'

'Right,' Regulus said sheepishly. 'Sorry.'

'I don't need your charity.'

'Okay.'

'And saying okay doesn't mean you understand.'

'Sorry.'

'And stop saying sorry.'

'Okay.' She glared at him, only to see him grinning slightly. She couldn't help but laugh, and then he was laughing, and then they both couldn't stop. Luke just stood there, smiling awkwardly at people and their lingering stares. They were still laughing when Ted and Iz joined them.

'What's this about?' Ted asked, eyebrows raised.

'Don't even ask,' Luke murmured. They managed to calm down however, as Penhurst entered the room.

'Alright everyone,' he said loudly. 'Second lesson of the year. Now, since this year is important- with our O.W.Ls and everything going on- I would like to see where we are all at. Everyone get in a line. Come on now, quickly.'

The green and blue ties merged together as everyone got into a line. Ted and Gemma went straight to the back. Luke went to the front, and Iz and Regulus were lost somewhere in between.

'Right,' Penhurst said, the din quietening down immediately. 'I would like everyone to perform a spell. The most impressive spell that you can think of. It can be anything really, just maybe try and keep it relevant to countering the Dark Arts. Ready? Okay, Mr Harrow, please start us off.'

Luke stepped forward, aiming his wand at the dummy. Gemma tried to predict what he would do. He was clever, and seemed to know an awful lot about an awful lot. Therefore Gemma concluded he would try a unique spell, one that most people hadn't yet discovered.

Luke muttered something under his breath, something Gemma couldn't hear. She didn't need to. Without a sound, the dummy disappeared. Then it reappeared, but behind Gemma.

'Very good, Mr Harrow!' Penhurst said. 'The relocation spell! Brilliant to disorient your opponent. Quite uncommon for a fifth year to know. Now, next please!'

The dummy reappeared, and the next boy stepped forward. His spell was considerably less impressive; a simple expelliarmus which didn't even work because the dummy didn't have a wand.

As the hour went on, the line got gradually shorter. All the while, Penhurst took notes, while Gemma watched. She didn't need to think about which spell she would perform- she only knew how to do one. It was one that Edward had taught her, claiming she would need it in the future.

Gemma watched as Iz stepped forward. She chanted a spell, and Gemma watched in anticipation.

The dummy's front teeth- though they were made of plastic- began growing. They grew and grew until they were down to the floor, which was when Penhurst stepped in an countered the spell. Iz walked back proudly.

The next person who's spell Gemma cared about was Regulus. She could see him considering, calculating as he walked toward the dummy. It was nerve- wracking, Gemma could imagine, with all eyes on you. Even those on the other side of the room, who had completed their spells, were watching intently.

'Resilio!' The dummy began to shrink. It kept shrinking until it was the size of a child, then a mouse, and then it was no bigger than an ant. Penhurst clapped as he brought the dummy back to its original size. Regulus looked relieved as he walked away. He caught Gemma's eye, and she smiled encouragingly at him.

Finally it was Gemma's turn. She walked into the middle of the room, her heart hammering slightly in her chest. She raised her wand.

'Expecto Patronum,' She whispered. For a split second she thought it wasn't going to work. But then, a fully fledged patronus emerged from her wand. It flew over to the dummy, and began checking it fervently for danger.

Gemma stared in awe at the black swan she had produced. It was glowing brighter than it usually did. Penhurst walked towards her, clapping.

'Well done Miss Aston! A corporeal patronus! Incredible!' He raved. She nodded and smiled, shaking off her confusion and leaving to stand by the others.

'Wow,' Luke said. 'Edward taught you well.' Gemma nodded, still surprised.

'And finally, Mr Nott!' Penhurst said, audibly excited. Gemma immediately began backing away from the dummy. Regulus followed her.

'Why are we backing away?' He whispered.

'Because Ted explodes things.'

'REDUCTO!'

The dummy exploded.

.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.

'Fuck, it's freezing in here.'

'Why's it so cold?'

'What's going on?'

'Shut up!'

'Someone light a candle.'

'Don't do that I'm trying to sleep!'

Regulus opened his eyes to the incessant murmurs of his dormmates. Immediately, he pulled his blankets closer around him, realising what all the commotion was about. It was freezing.

Finally someone lit a candle, and Regulus saw the others sitting up, some rubbing their eyes tiredly.

'Why did the temperature just suddenly drop?' Ted asked.

'Probably b-because we're under t-the black lake,' Luke replied, his teeth chattering. 'The merpeople might b-be doing something weird.'

'There's no way I'm staying here,' Barty Crouch said from the bed above Regulus. 'Catch hypothermia. That's not to say blue lips aren't hot.'

'This guy is weird,' Ted whispered.

'So what should we do?' Regulus spoke up.

'We could go to the common room,' Luke suggested.

'Or we could go to the girls' room,' Ted said. 'I'm sure Gemma won't mind.'

'There are other girls there too though,' Luke argued. 'It would be improper to just go barging in.'

'I don't care,' Crouch announced. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and jumped off. 'I'm sure they won't either. Let's go!'

Regulus hesitated- Crouch was decent enough, but it quite obvious he had a few screws loose. He only got out of bed when Ted followed Crouch. Luke gave him a look, and Regulus shrugged as he followed the others, taking his pillow with him.

.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.

Gemma was woken by a knock at the door. She sat up to see Pandora Lestrange was also awake, reading a book, even though it was too dark to see. Pandora was alerted by the knock, and waved her hand, lighting a candle while Gemma went to open the door. Nova Goyle was also woken by the knock, and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Natalia, Iz, and Millicent remained asleep, though they were rudely interrupted.

'Surprise!' Ted yelled as soon as the door was open. He barged in, eyes closed. 'Has everyone got their clothes on in here?' By now, Iz and Goyle were awake too, rubbing sleep out of their eyes.

'What're you doing Ted,' Gemma hissed. Pandora watched amusedly from her corner.

'Our dorm is like, freezing,' he complained. 'So we thought we'd camp here for the night?'

'Who's we?' Gemma made the mistake of asking. Barty Crouch Jr strolled through the door, looking around fervently.

'Nice place,' he noted. 'Why is it bigger than ours though? What about the bathroom? Is that the same size?' He went to the bathroom, and emerged seconds later. 'Yep, same size.'

Regulus peered inside from behind the door. Gemma narrowed her eyes at him.

'Not you too,' she snapped. He gave her a sheepish look.

'Luke's here too,' he said. 'Um... yeah.'

'What's going on?' Iz said, yawning.

'There's been an invasion,' Goyle said from above Gemma, eyeing Crouch with a disgusted look on her face. He barked a laugh.

'Invasion! I like that! You and I are gonna get along just fine!' He exclaimed. Ted sighed and slumped down on Gemma's bed. Gemma whacked him with the pillow.

'Move,' she snapped. He moved over to the foot of the bed and she sat down, eyeing Crouch warily as Regulus and Luke entered.

Crouch pulled the rug slightly closer to himself, then sat on it resting his head on the wardrobe with his eyes shut. Pandora beckoned Luke over and he sat with her- they both began talking in hushed voices and laughing with each other. Regulus hovered, unsure of where to go.

'You just going to stand there?' Gemma whispered, smiling slightly. He bit his lip and looked around, looking for a place to go. Iz, spotting him, groaned loudly.

'Your are giving me a headache,' she grumbled. She tossed him a pillow, and he went and sat down beside Gemma's bed, resting his head on the side of it.

Gemma lay down in her own, kicking Ted slightly to get him to move over.

'Goodnight,' Regulus murmured. Gemma laughed slightly at the sight of him- his hair was ruffled and his nose was slightly red from the cold of his dorm.

'Goodnight,' she whispered back.