A few minutes before the train was going to pull into the station at Hogwarts, Aquila excused herself from the compartment to change into her robes. She had quickly swapped her mundane garbs for the flowy black style of the school robes, and she left the restroom, heading back to her compartment at a leisurely pace. She decided to take the time to think during her walk back, and she thought about Cedric. The two of them got along so well together it was like they were destined to meet and be best friends. He also knew so many stories about Owl, the SSS Agent she loved so much, and he was excellent at performing spells.

She told him a lot about herself and her family, leaving out a lot of the more unpleasant details; she spoke of her brother being a Prefect and the treehouse her father built for her and all of the parties and gatherings Vega hosted over the summer, and she mentioned the time Marcus dared her to levitate Draco off the ground; she even talked about Cassie and their falling out, but when he asked her why it happened, she changed the subject, not yet confident that she could confide in him about the stars. Cedric told her a lot about himself as well, and she knew that he lived with his father and mother in a small house that was really close to the Weasleys family.

Of all the people she would ever meet in her life, it would be Cedric that she was the most grateful for.

As she walked, lost in thought, her eyes settled on the familiar brown fishtail braids of Cassie Carrow, and she froze in her place, hoping that the girl didn't choose to turn around. She hadn't seen Cassie since the gathering when she had blamed Draco's "disappearance" on her, and from what the stars had been telling the blond girl, Cassie was not pleased with the events that had transpired. She had put all of the pieces together since, and she knew Aquila was to blame for her punishment.

Aquila wanted nothing more than to slip by unnoticed—not because she was afraid of Cassie, but because she didn't want to start a fight on the first day of school. Perhaps the second, but not the first. What would Vega say?

Unfortunately, Cassie had seen Aquila walking out of the lavatory, and she had wasted no time in monologuing about how she was going to get back at the blond girl for ruining her entire summer. "Daddy doesn't trust me anymore, thanks to you!" she shouted, pointing a silver-painted nail in Aquila's face. "And I'm not allowed to ever go back to your house—not that I'd want to anyway! I will get back at you for this! You'd better hope you're not Sorted into Slytherin with me, or you'll get your hair ripped out in your sleep!"

Aquila rolled her eyes, not caring at all about Cassie's pointless threats. "Please, Cassiopeia," she said, "I'm not afraid of you or the things you say. I'll just be going ... I'm not really in the mood for this right now."

"Not in the mood?" Cassie asked. "You're pathetic, Aquila." The girl's eyebrows contorted in a way unlike any other Aquila had witnessed, forming an evil, cartoonish arch above her narrowed eyes. The blond girl couldn't help but laugh at her expression, and she didn't attempt to contain her laughter in the slightest.

"Sure I am," she replied, pushing past the girl. "Go cry to your friends, Cassiopeia—Oh, wait! You don't have any. Enjoy the rest of the train ride, loser."

Cassie pounded her foot on the ground and straightened both of her arms down the sides of her body, making her look like an upright plank. "You better watch your back, Whitman!"

"Noted," Aquila said flatly, continuing to walk away. Cassie shouted after her, fruitlessly attempting to get a rise out of her.

A compartment door opened up between Aquila and Cassie, and a girl with golden hair stuck to her face angrily stepped out into the aisle. The sound of the door caused Aquila to stop walking away and turn back around. The first thing she noticed about the girl was her nose, which appeared as though the bones inside were struggling to escape from the rest of her face. Her hands were crossed at her chest, and she wore a look of great annoyance. "Do you two mind?" she asked. "Your shouting woke me up from my beauty rest!"

"I am so sorry," Aquila apologized. A mischievous half smile formed on her face before she added, "You look like you need it."

Oblivious to the retort, the girl nodded. "Of course I do! You don't get looks like mine from shouting all evening. We're nearly at Hogwarts, and I've just missed out on fifteen minutes of extra sleep!"

"Ruby, calm down," someone from inside the compartment called. "You look amazing, as always. Just come back inside and relax." The feminine speaker sounded bored and tired by the situation, as if it was a common occurrence.

"I can not relax, Raven," she shouted back. "These two are disturbing me, and Mummy always says to stand my ground." The intensity of her tone was enough to shake the train, and Aquila wanted nothing more than to just walk away and get back to Cedric and their peaceful conversations.

"Well, your mummy isn't here," Cassie said, "so you should run along, and let me finish dealing with this little bitch."

Aquila snapped. "Little bitch?" Anger rose in her throat and spilled from her mouth. "I'll hex you to death, pissbrain!"

The girl with the boney nose laughed, and the sound she made reminded Aquila of her mother, whose laugh was more conversational than genuine. "Yes, it really looks like you're dealing with her," Ruby remarked to Cassie. "From what I hear, it sounds more like she is dealing with you. I'd bet you five galleons here and now that she'd best you in a duel."

A duel, Aquila thought, recalling what Marcus had told her. If I can beat her at a duel, I'll never have to worry about her again, and everything will be over! It's so simple!

"I am not interested in a duel with the likes of her," Cassie replied. She spoke with an air of greatness, implying that a duel between them would undoubtedly end with Cassie's victory. "Just go back into your compartment and leave me alone."

Aquila saw this as her golden opportunity, and she finally spoke up. She chose her words carefully to jab at Cassie's egoistic nature. "Why don't you want to duel me, huh?" she asked. "Afraid I'll win?" Aquila stuck her head forward, her stance daring Cassie to respond.

"As if!" Cassie exclaimed. She tilted her head upward and crossed her arms at her chest. "I don't want to waste my time on you."

Aquila smiled at her. "That's alright, Cassie," she said sweetly. "I didn't want to fight you anyway. Wouldn't want you getting expelled for being a terrible duelist."

"I am not a terrible duelist!" Cassie defended, her voice doubling in volume instantly. Her arms uncrossed, and she waved them in the air, ready to lunge at Aquila for her remark.

Ruby clapped her hands together, breaking the tension between Aquila and Cassie just as quickly as it came about. "Then prove it!" she interjected. "You two should duel! Oh, it will be such a big event—I love big events! We'll have it at the end of the year—after we learn some spells—and the winner will get a big prize! I don't know what kind of prize... but it'll be big; it'll be spectacular! What did you say your names were?"

"Aquila Whitman, and that's—"

"Cassie Carrow," the other girl interrupted. An introduction would not be made for her. "And you are?" she asked.

"Oh, silly me," the girl with the boney nose apologized. "I've forgotten to introduce myself, and I never forget to introduce myself. Ruby's the name, Ruby Specula. And my sister Raven is in there. You two must catch up with us soon so we can plan this duel. It will have to be discrete, of course, so as not to get any of you expelled. You are up for a duel, right?"

"Yes," Aquila answered. A wicked smirkish half-smile appeared on her lips after the word had been spoken.

"Count me in," Cassie replied. She whipped around, sending her fishtail braids with her to face her adversary. "I'm planning on winning."

"Always the planner," Aquila said. "Planning and doing are to completely different things, Cassiopeia. I'll see you at Sorting, Ruby."

"I hope we're in the same House, Aquila," Ruby told her. Then, she second-guessed her statement. "No, I take that back. You'll interrupt my beauty sleep, and I need my beauty sleep..."

Aquila decided to just leave without furthering the conversation, and she returned to her compartment where Cedric sat waiting for her. "You've been gone for a while," he said when she closed the door after her. "Have trouble getting your socks on?" He grinned at his joke.

"No, my socks went on just fine," she said. "I ran into a few girls on the way back, and to make an odd story sensible, I'm going to duel Cassiopeia at the end of the year."

"You're going to duel Cassie?" he asked. His voice was full of genuine shock for the first time during the ride. Everything Aquila had told him up to that point was unsurprising, but this—the duel—was different. "You'll be expelled!"

"Yeah, well, you'll find that I do a lot of things I'm not supposed to," she replied. "I've never duelled anyone before, but Marcus told me that in order to prove myself to everyone, I have to win a duel."

"Your brother's friend?" he asked for clarification. His eyes were still wide from what she'd told him.

"Yeah," she answered with a nod. "He's got these really large teeth—you can't miss him."

"Since when do you listen to... him?" Cedric asked. "From what you told me, he sounds... well, not so nice."

"Sure, he's a bit rough around the edges, but he's really nice when you get to know him," she told him. "You just have to see past his teeth... Merlin, are they large..."

"Are you sure you should be dueling?" he asked. "It doesn't sound like the best idea—won't you get expelled?"

Aquila laughed. "Of course not, Ced. Ruby is going to plan the whole thing, so there's no way we'll get caught."

"You've made a lot of friends, I see," Cedric commented. "Who's Ruby?"

"She's a girl I met while I was shouting in the corridor. She really likes sleeping."

While Aquila seemed carefree about the situation, not fully understanding the severity of a duel, worry was setting into Cedric's head. She didn't notice his sudden change of attitude, and she discussed the matter of the duel in more specifics excitedly, ending with, "You'll be there, won't you?"

Cedric shook his head. "No," he said firmly. The moved his arms in a motion of cancellation. "You can not duel Cassie. This is a bad idea on every level!"

"What, you think I'll lose?" she asked, her expression falling slightly. The excitement had left her eyes, but she tried to keep the disappointment from the rest of her facial features. The thought of Cedric having little faith in her reminded her of Vega, but she didn't want him to be like her mother. She wanted him to be a friend—a real one.

"No, I am confident you'd win," he reassured her.

"Then what's the worry, Cedric?" she asked. Her mood sprung up again, right back to where it had been seconds before. She put the thoughts of Vega out of her head, realizing that he was a good friend.

"You don't know how to duel," he pointed out as if that would deter her from picking a fight with the girl with the fishtail braids.

"I have the whole year to figure it out," Aquila countered. "Besides, I've got you to help me out, don't I?" She batted her eyelashes at him (as she had done to Nash whenever she needed his help with something against the rules), but Cedric still shook his head at her.

"I'm sorry, Aquila, but I refuse to help you duel her."

"Fine, I'm sure Marcus would be willing to help me out."

"Aquila—ah!" he started, but the train came to a stop, causing him to lose his words. The two children, who had been standing in the compartment, both fell on top of each other on the seat behind them. Aquila had landed on top of Cedric, and she began laughing hysterically, forgetting the duel for the time being. Cedric, not understanding what the joke was, was left staring up at the girl, watching the way her pale blue eyes squinted shut when she laughed.

When the train came to a complete stop, Aquila rolled off of Cedric and continued laughing. She had crumbled into a heap onto the floor, and he stood over her, waiting until this wave of hilarity had passed. She managed to compose herself well enough, and she stood up, smiling as brightly as a star against the black night sky. "What was so funny just then?" he asked.

"That sound you made when the train stopped," she told him. "It was hilarious! You went, 'Aquilaaaaah!' Priceless!"

A small smile slipped onto Cedric's face, and Aquila started laughing once again. "We should get going," the boy told her. "Hogwarts awaits."

Aquila's eyes widened, and her laughter halted instantly. "You're right! We have to go before the train leaves!" She grabbed Cedric's hand and pulled him along behind her to the train door, stepping out in front of the Hogwarts castle as the stars glistened cheerfully above them.