Word Count: 5,195

        A pretty eleven-year-old girl with wavy brown locks of hair stood confidently in front of a compartment, where she saw a group of laughing girls. Pushing away any anxiety she may have had, she slid open the door. Hello, I'm Rebecca Knightley!"

One of the girls, a blonde, raised her eyebrow. "Knightley? Are you really?"

        "What, d'you want my birth certificate or something?" the brunette challenged.

        The blonde smirked. "There's the signature Knightley snark my father warned me about."

        The second blonde girl in the compartment opened her mouth to comment, but the first held up her hand to stop her.

        "Now, now, Malfoy, no need to do anything," the first blonde ordered, dropping her hand to stare up at Rebecca Knightley. "My name is Cassiopeia Black, due to be Cassiopeia Greengrass once I'm of age. This one next to me," she added, "is Lyra Malfoy."

        Another girl snickered. She, like Rebecca, was a brunette. "I'm Maleficent Yaxley, 'due to be Maleficent Bullstrode once I'm of age,'" she mocked.

        "I'm Narcissa Black," a rather quieter— yet equally as powerful— voice spoke from the corner.

        "You are graced by the presence of Astrid Carrow," a girl with a rather regal air announced.

Rebecca's face melted into a bright smile at the girls. "It's a pleasure to meet you all! I'm sure we'll all be excellent friends."

        And excellent friends they were.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Amelia's home, her sanctuary, her safe space. It was a place her aunt and uncle didn't have complete control over her and a place where she could hide from the Dark Lord. That was all gone in just a few months, however. Voldemort returned, branded her, and then gave her a mission that she couldn't refuse. She couldn't break her promise to Draco, either, but she had no intention to in the first place.

"Remember, you have a job to do," Irene Berkshire hissed at her niece. "It's a big honour and a huge responsibility."

"Disobey any order the Dark Lord gives you, and you'll find that he won't be the only one angry at you," Damon Berkshire threatened, squeezing his niece's left forearm in a vice-like grip.

"Yes, Aunt Irene, Uncle Damon," Amelia sighed, tugging her arm free and barely concealing a wince at the ever-present pain. "I suppose I have to return for the Winter Holiday this year?"

"The Dark Lord demands to see you and check on how far you've gone," Irene responded. "Now leave, otherwise you'll miss the train and put shame on the Knightley name."

(Did anyone catch the rhyming?? I legit started rapping in my head as I reread that 😂 Watch out Eminem, you got competition.)

Amelia felt like rolling her eyes. Potter and Weasley, the former being quite well-respected in the Wizarding World (because of his status as 'The-Boy-Who-Lived'), once arrived to school in a flying car and still ended up being as popular as ever. However, she didn't bother arguing, and simply turned on her heel, grabbed her trolley, and pushed it toward the train.

Once Amelia deposited of her trunk and owl (she had an Eagle Owl called Oakley), she searched the compartments for her best friends, Millicent Bulstrode, Daphne Greengrass, and Tracey Davis. She met Millicent and Daphne for the first name on the Hogwarts Express, but she didn't meet Tracey until they met in the dormitory. It turned out that all four girls shared a dorm, along with Pansy Parkinson (although Pansy was a few years younger than the rest of the girls, their dorm had a spare bed, so the five of them were all placed together).

Speaking of whom, Amelia saw the brunette as she passed Draco's compartment. Pansy had caught Amelia's eye, and silently prayed that the girl wouldn't burst into the compartment and start another ridiculous argument with Draco. To her surprise, Amelia smiled lightly at the boy instead. As if that wasn't surprising enough, Draco smiled back at her. Almost immediately, the mouthes of Pansy, along with her friends, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott, fell open in a comical 'o' shape at the sight of the two... ex-rivals. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, on the other hand, were trading Chocolate Frog Cards and seemed blissfully unaware of Amelia's presence outside the compartment.

"Amelia! Over here!" an excited voice called for her, causing Amelia's head to snap away from Draco and his friends.

"Millie!" Amelia exclaimed, leaving her stand outside the young Malfoy's compartment, dashing toward her friend. She threw her arms around Millicent in a tight embrace. "I missed you so much!"

"Ditto," Millicent grinned back at her. "C'mon, let's go to the compartment! You know Daphne, she'll murder both of us if you don't stop to say hello before going to do your prefect duties."

"Yeah, let's go," Amelia agreed.

The pair opened the doors closest to them and entered the compartment. Inside, a pretty girl with silky blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and fair skin sat, glaring at the entrance.

"Well? What took you so long?"

"Hello, Daph," Amelia beamed at her. "I see that you've matured over the summer."

"I see that you haven't," Daphne Greengrass shot back. "You're still as late as usual. Where was she, Millie?"

"I was looking for you!"

"I asked Millie, Amelia. I don't recall your name being Millie."

"She was near Malfoy's compartment," Millicent responded, causing Daphne's eyes to snap towards her. "Ugh, that git is annoying."

"I don't get what in Merlin's name Astoria sees in him," Daphne agreed. "He's an ugly, motherfu—"

The fourth girl in the compartment coughed to gain the crazed girl's attention. "Calm down, Daph. You look insane."

"I don't look insane!" Daphne protested, looking insane, as she tugged at her hair out of frustration. "Honestly, Trace, are you blind?"

"Are you daft?" Tracey asked threateningly. "Me? Blind? You're the one who needs reading glasses." When Daphne opened her mouth to argue, Tracey interrupted her. "Do you want to face my wrath? Sit down."

Daphne glared at her, but reluctantly sat down (Tracey was quite intimidating. She'd proven herself as the toughest girl in their year when she duelled three seventh-years who were bullying a Hufflepuff and came out victorious. She may have received a month's worth of detention, but the reputation she gained from the duel was definitely worth it.)

Once she settled down in her seat, Tracey smirked triumphantly and flipped her braided hair behind her back. "Anyways," she continued, as if none of that had previously happened, "how was your summer, Amelia?"

"It was fine, thanks, Trace," Amelia lied. "How was yours?"

"Not enough details," Millicent tutted disapprovingly. "I'm bored. Give me something to gossip about."

Tracey ignored her and instead chose to respond to Amelia's question. "It was lovely! My family went to Germany, then Belgium, and then Switzerland!" Tracey replied brightly. "And guess what? I—"

"Sorry to interrupt you, Trace, but I just noticed something gossip-worthy for Millie. What the fuck is that on your robes?" Daphne asked Amelia.

"Wha—? Oh..." Amelia looked sheepish. "I may or may not have been appointed Head Girl this year... and I kinda, sorta, maybe, accepted it?"

"You did what?!" Daphne screeched, jumping up again before Tracey could berate her. "Just when I thought that we could enjoy our last year together! I thought that we could share a dorm for the last time, spend all of our time together, sneak into the Kitchens after curfew..." she smiled softly at the thought, before her scowl flew back onto her face, "but instead, you'll be the prissy rule follower who gives out detention all the time, takes away points, bosses everyone around, and attends secret meets! And, on top of that, you have a private dorm!"(As if it wasn't obvious, Daphne had a flair for dramatics.)

It was an amusing sight indeed, the most powerful witch at Hogwarts cowering under the withering glare of Daphne Greengrass.

"Sorry, Daph," Amelia said. "On the bright side, I can turn a blind eye whenever I see you breaking rules!"

"Will you though, Miss Teacher's Pet?" Daphne questioned.

"No," she muttered with an afterthought.

"That's what I thought. Well!" Daphne declared, sitting back down gracefully. "Begone, pathetic peasant, go give your boring speech to all the prefects." She dramatically made a 'shooing' gesture toward the door.

"Sorry, Daph," Amelia repeated. "Bye."

"Bye!" Millicent waved enthusiastically.

Tracey was burying her face in her hands, most likely ashamed of having such insane friends. Or possibly, she was wondering if it was too late to be re-Sorted into another house so she could make new friends.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Just as Amelia was beginning to feel foolish, standing in front of the Prefect's Compartment so early, she saw two students approaching her. One was a girl with thick, brown, bushy curls of hair, while the other was a boy with flaming red hair. She immediately noticed the shiny prefect badges sitting proudly on their chests and the red-and-gold details on their robes. It was then she realised that the girl and boy were Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter's Gryffindor sidekicks.

Weasley's eyes narrowed. "Who are you? What are you doing here? Shouldn't the Head Boy and Girl be here?"

Granger looked embarrassed as she frowned at her companion and nudged at his shoulder, pointing at Amelia's Head Girl badge.

Weasley scowled at the Head Girl as he took in the sight of her Slytherin robes. "I don't believe it," he insisted. "Why would Dumbledore make a Slytherin, a Death Eater, Head Girl?"

For once, Weasley's accusations about Slytherins being Death Eaters was the truth, so who was Amelia to correct him?

"I had the same question when I received the letter," Amelia said calmly. "And to answer your previous question, my name is Amelia Knightley." If you weren't so self-absorbed, maybe you'd notice that Potter isn't the only celebrity around, she felt like adding. However, courtesy of her excellent self-control, Amelia managed to stay quiet.

Both Weasley and Granger's faces paled. Amelia's face did the same, but she wasn't looking at them, rather behind the pair. Evan Wormwood, a Ravenclaw student, and her ex, happened to be Head Boy. She quickly regained her cool and sent the young Gryffindor prefects a smile.

"Well, my counterpart is here, and we need time to talk about what today's meeting entails. You can wait outside for a moment."

Granger nodded immediately, grabbing Weasley's arm. "Yes, of course! We'll wait outside. Ronald, here, also gives you his sincerest apologies for offending you earlier."

At Granger's glare, which looked uncannily similar to Daphne's, Weasley nodded reluctantly. "Whatever," he grumbled. "Sorry for offending you, Knightley."

"Thank you, Weasley. Now, really, I'm saying this as politely as I can. Please, get lost. I have business to get to."

Granger and Weasley left in a hurry, leaving Amelia with an approaching Evan.

"Long time no see, eh, Amelia?" Evan asked shamelessly, acting as though he and Amelia did not end their relationship on bad terms and as though Amelia never caught him cheating on her. He continued to walk forward until there was barely two feet of space in between the two.

"Hello, Wormwood," Amelia sighed aloud. "It's been a while. How's... what's her name? Scarlett? Shelby?"

"It's Sophia," Evan corrected her. "And— ah— we broke up at the end of last term, actually. A few days before the Third Task."

A few days before Cedric died. Cedric Diggory was her emotional support, her best friend, her platonic soulmate. The two were joined at the hip, but despite the rumours, never felt romantically attracted to each other.

When Amelia caught Evan cheating on her, she was disappointed. Not in him, but rather, herself. In her shame, she distanced herself from everybody. Not even Daphne could get her to talk. Cedric, however, broke into the Slytherin Common Room, found his way inside the girl's dormitory, and comforted the heartbroken girl. Amelia didn't have to say a word, and yet, Cedric knew exactly what Evan had done and how he'd taken her everything. Her first kiss, her first date, her first flutter of butterflies, her first time putting so much trust on just a single person... Cedric understood her feelings very clearly. So clearly, that the loyal Hufflepuff promised to 'avenge' his best friend.

The morning after their heartfelt, one-on-one therapy session, two things were different. Amelia was sitting in the Great Hall for the first time in weeks, and Evan's hair was bright pink and his skin erupting in painful boils. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, the simple yet appropriate word 'cheater' levitated above his head.

As if Evan read Amelia's mind, he scowled. "I'm glad Diggory died last year. My skin was burning and peeling off for weeks! Nobody wanted to date me because of the rumours, either."

Amelia began imagining terrible things happening to the blonde boy. She wanted to rip his guts apart from the inside... she wanted to skin him alive... she wanted to burn his face off, his 'pretty face;' his pride and joy... she wanted to torture him until he begged for death to be his saviour. She wanted to publicly humiliate him and make it painful in every possible way. Then, she would revive him and repeat the process.

        How dare he wish death upon an innocent man, much less somebody as pure as Cedric? Poor Cedric, his death was an untimely event and it broke the hearts of many. Cedric was kind, compassionate, selfless, honest... all the things Evan wasn't.

Evan interrupted Amelia's thoughts. "C'mon, let's go." He grabbed her left forearm and dragged Amelia inside the Prefect's compartment. She hissed in pain, not as his already-painful grip, but also the sudden burning sensation from the Dark Mark that laid there. Evan turned around and frowned at her. "I didn't even do anything!" he protested. "Don't be so weak. Anyways, we have to talk! You can't possibly avoid me forever!"

"I can and I will!" Amelia huffed. There was a reason her friends often called her a 'stubborn arse,' after all.

Evan sighed, ignored her protests, and dragged Amelia inside. Once the door slammed shut and the drapes were lowered, he turned on her. "What were you thinking, shouting out there? Someone could hear you!" When she simply huffed in irritation, Evan rolled his eyes. "Why the fuck are you acting like this?" He shook her by the shoulders aggressively. "Say something! Don't just stand there!"

Amelia scowled at the reappearance of his usual aggressive self. How was she so oblivious to his toxic acts while they were dating? How did she not notice all the red flags? "You cheated on me! I was stupid enough to fall for your fake confessions and false words of affection! I actually thought you cared for me! If you were so bold to start dating Sorority, then you shouldn't be embarrassed when I talk about it in public!"

Evan didn't bother correcting her at yet another blatant misnaming of his previous girlfriend, and his demeanor changed immediately. His angry expression suddenly became much softer. "Love... is that really why you hate me? Why you're running away from me?" Amelia looked confused at the switch in tone, but nodded. Evan sighed. "Darling, those words were true. I really did love you. I thought that you didn't care for me!"

"Why?" Amelia inquired. She kept her cold façade up, but butterflies began swirling in her stomach. Was he telling the truth? Did he really... love her?

"You were so caught up with Diggory, your Housemates, your studies... especially Diggory, that I thought that you didn't have feelings for me anymore! I thought that you were too scared to break up with me! So—"

"—So you cheated on me?" Amelia finished, crossing her arms, unimpressed. She was having a whole rollercoaster of emotions, something she would've commented aloud, if a pureblood like her even knew what a rollercoaster was.

"When you put it that way, you make me the villain," Evan explained gently, reaching out to place a steady yet untrustworthy hand on Amelia's shoulder, only for her to smack it away with a dangerous glare. However, he was on a roll, and decided to ignore her gesture. "We had one major issue: communication problems. It was mostly your fault, though, if I'm completely honest. You didn't trust me enough, you didn't care for me enough, you didn't pay enough attention to me! Love, we could become a couple again! All we have to do is talk with each other." When Amelia didn't say anything, he continued, "What d'you say? Wanna give us another shot?"

Amelia rubbed her temples in exasperation. "Wormwood," she said sharply, emphasising the use of her ex's surname, "the year has literally just begun. I can't make a decision like this so early. Give me, I dunno, a few weeks at the very least? We have a meeting to plan."

"I normally wouldn't, but I suppose I could, just for you, wait for a few weeks," Evan sighed reluctantly.

"Thanks, Wormwood," Amelia replied.

"Anything for you, Knightley."

Suddenly, applause interrupted their conversation. "Wow!" the newcomer cheered. "What an amazing display! I didn't know that the Hogwarts prefect experience came with live entertainment! Wish I had a platter of sweets to go along with it, though."

Amelia squeaked in surprise. She opened the compartment door, and to her embarrassment, saw all the prefects waiting outside. One of them, the speaker, caught her eye immediately.

"Oh!" Amelia exclaimed. "Draco! Wow— you're the Slytherin Prefect this year! And Parkinson! Congratulations, you two."

Draco did a mock-bow, while Pansy flashed a proud beam at the older girl.

"Be careful," the blonde fifth-year drawled. "If word got out that the Head Boy and Girl are in a relationship, your positions might be revoked."

        Amelia scoffed quietly, or so she though, as Evan gave a tiny smile to the girl beside him before glaring at Draco. "How much of our private conversation did you overhear, Malfoy?"

"Enough," Draco replied smugly.

"I could get you in huge trouble, you know. Maybe even get your position revoked. The headmaster tends to trust the Head Boy and Girl's word over a puny Slytherin Prefect's," Evan said casually.

"Wormwood, kindly shut up," Amelia snapped. "Don't start abusing your power as Head Boy. Prefects, come inside, please. We have a lot to discuss this year."

The Prefects looked at each other nervously and shuffled through the compartment door. Once Evan shut it behind them, Amelia began speaking again.

"To our new prefects, welcome!" She smiled at Draco, Pansy, Granger, and Weasley, along with Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott of Hufflepuff and Terry Boot and Padma Patil of Ravenclaw. "To our old prefects, welcome back."

        Evan decided to cut in, and plastered a rather obviously false smile on his face as he said, "I'm Evan Wormwood, a Ravenclaw, and I'll be Head Boy this year."

        Amelia rolled her eyes. "As if they don't know that you're Head Boy already, Wormwood." Turning her head toward the group of prefects before her, she too, introduced herself (although they all knew that already; her family was well-known all throughout Great Britain). "I'm Amelia Knightley!"

Some of the newer prefects suddenly looked rather intimidated. Hannah Abbott tentatively raised her hand. "Um, Miss? Miss Knightley?"

Amelia froze. Ah, hello there, Miss Knightley. Sit.

       Shit, she thought. Out of all the times I could've had a flashback, it was now.

"Miss Knightley?" Miss Knightley.

"Amelia?" Sit.

I have waited years to kill you.

Miss Knightley.

Miss Knightley.

Miss Knightl—

"Yes!?" Amelia squeaked, coughing slightly before repeating the word in a slightly more relaxed tone, allowing a smile to quickly flit across her face to disguise her unease. She glanced in the direction of the fifth-year Hufflepuff. "Sorry, I spaced out for a moment there. I'm alright now. What were you asking?"

Nobody looked convinced. If anything, they were exchanging glances with each other out of the corner of their eyes. One of the Hufflepuffs muttered something along the lines of,

"The new Head Girl's a bloody lunatic."

Surprisingly, even Evan noticed Amelia's droop of enthusiasm, and he slung his arm around her shoulders as a mean of silent support (never mind her scowl as he did so).

        "Um..." Hannah Abbot tried again, "It's nothing important, really, it's just that I heard rumours about you and the Head Boy..."

Evan's face darkened and his arm slipped away from Amelia. "Listen," he ordered, "Diggory was a massive liar. Whatever he said last year doesn't mean anything, you hear me? It doesn't mean a single fucking thing!"

Hannah Abbott looked frightened and fell extremely quiet. Ernie Macmillan looked even more embarrassed, as if that was even possible. He awkwardly pat his fellow Prefect's shoulder in a comforting manner. However, both looked offended at the negative comments directed toward their old Housemate.

"The meeting!" Amelia reminded the group, shooting a nasty look Evan's way. "As I was saying, we have a lot to discuss. Firstly, because of the events of last year, things will be a little different. There will be a new professor this term, a Ministry official. Her name is Dolores Umbridge, and she's the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Remember, she has to be treated with the uttermost respect. If word of anything bad goes out to the Minister... well... the future of Hogwarts is most likely doomed."

A threatening silence hung in the air.

"On a lighter note, let's go though the usual procedure. Our duties, patrol routes, monthly meetings, emergency meetings..."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"That was absolutely exhausting!" Amelia complained, flopping down onto an empty seat next to her friend.

"Hello again, Amelia!" Millicent greeted brightly. "Khloe missed you while you were away."

Khloe, Millicent's tabby cat looked up, tiredly, at Amelia. After being stroked in the head a few times, however, the cat slumped her body back down across her owner's lap. At Millicent's ecstatic beam, Amelia couldn't help but smile back.

"How was the meeting?" Tracey questioned.

"I heard from a reliable source that Wormwood is Head Boy, is it true?" Daphne inquired.

None of them bothered to ask who Daphne's 'reliable source' was anymore, considering that source was how they got their gossip.

"Unfortunately," Amelia snorted. "The meeting sucked. It started off with the Weasley boy— the youngest one— insulting me, then Evan trying to get back together again, Draco interrupting, Evan being a jerk to just about everyone, and it took far too long getting through with things."

Amelia decided not to bring up her flashback, since she'd done a pretty good job at hiding many of her problems from her friends, already. To them, the worst thing that happened to her was the breakup last year and the many times they found her crying throughout the span of the relationship.

"The asshole actually thought you would give him a second chance?" Daphne snorted. "Damn, he's become even stupider than I remember."

"Uh... I did, actually... I gave him a second chance," Amelia explained. Upon spotting the beginnings of an outburst from Daphne, she added quickly, "well, I haven't actually told him that yet, I'm keeping him on his toes."

"So you're getting back into that toxic relationship?" Daphne emphasised the last two words, staring in disbelief at her friend.

"It took you weeks to recover from the breakup!" Millicent complained. "You're going to get back into that hellhole again?"

Tracey rarely cursed, but when she did, it meant that she was either mad or disappointed. "You're a moron, you know that, Amelia?"

"Can we please stop talking about this?" Amelia pleaded. "We can always do this later."

"Fine," Daphne changed the topic. "So tell us everything about your summer. You arrived just in time— we all finished sharing."

"Really? What did you do? I already know about Trace's summer, of course. I'm jealous, though," Amelia added, "How was Switzerland? I've always wanted to go there!"

"I met a cute boy," Tracey giggled. "He said he's from Norway... or Sweden. Or possibly Bulgaria?"

"Really?" Daphne squealed. "Sweet Salazar, something similar happened to me, too! I was in France, and I met this extremely cute French guy named Louis! He had strawberry-blonde hair, freckles, his skin was so soft, and his lips were so kissable..." she stared off into space with a dreamy expression.

"I didn't meet a cute guy," Millicent sighed disappointedly. "But I saw an American Ministry Official!! He wasn't cute at all, he looked a lot like my grandfather, actually, but he was staying in the villa next door from my family when we visited Japan."

"And?" Daphne asked, bored.

"He had a super cute cat! The cat's name was Charles!"

"Okay... so you met a creepy old cat man," Daphne concluded. "How about you, Amelia?"

"The only guy I saw this year, beside my uncle," and Lord Voldemort, "was Draco Malfoy."

"Oh yeah!" Tracey said. "You called him Draco, earlier? Please tell me that you're on better terms with him than you were before?"

"Yeah, we are," Amelia confirmed. "He's actually pretty tolerable, now that I know him a bit better."

"Ooohh," Daphne wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Potential power couple?"

Amelia wrinkled her nose. "He may be tolerable, but he's still an annoying arsehole and two years younger than me."

"Besides," Millicent added, "weren't you the one who said 'Merlin knows what my sister sees in him!' Now you're trying to pair him up with one of your closest friends?" She looked unimpressed.

Before Daphne could respond, a kind, motherly voice interrupted them. "Anything from the trolley, dears?"

"Hello, Mrs. Jean!" Amelia chirped brightly. "You're looking as lovely as ever. How was your summer?"

The trolley witch glowed with happiness. "Thank you, Miss Knightley. Oh, how you flatter an old lady! My summer was delightful. How was yours?"

"It was quite enjoyable, thank you," Amelia lied for the second time in a single train ride.

"Now, I've got to stay professional, so I'll go back to my job. I suppose you young ladies want the usual?"

"Yup," Daphne confirmed. "Twenty Chocolate Frogs, four boxes of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans, four packs of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, three Cauldron Cakes, two Liquorice Wands, two Pumpkin Pasties, and one Treacle Tart."

To an outsider, that would seem like a ridiculous amount of food, but the girls only ate the Cauldron Cakes, Liquorice Wands, Pumpkin Pasties, and the Treacle Tart. The rest, they saved for later. After all, one could never have too much sweets!

The trolley lady seemed to disagree. She shook her head slightly and sighed. "You girls will get ill one day, eating all these sweets."

Tracey smiled sweetly. "Don't worry, we don't plan on dying anytime soon!"

"You should get going now," Millicent said. "That Gryffindor looks quite unhappy that you're talking with us, and that Slytherin's trying to steal something— hey! It's What's-His-Name— Crabbe!"

"Crabbe!" Amelia scolded. "Hands off or I'll make it five points from Slytherin."

"You can't do that!" he protested. "We haven't even reached Hogwarts!"

"Well," Amelia smirked, "the Prefect's guidebook says that they can only take away points when the term begins, and technically, term begins on September 1st. That's today! So, you're currently risking losing Slytherin five points before any student has set foot on campus this year."

Crabbe froze before scampering off back to his compartment.

"Thank you, dear," the trolley witch said gratefully. "I can already tell that you're going to be the best Head Girl Hogwarts has seen in a while."

Amelia blushed lightly. "Thank you."

"Here," the trolley witch looked around furtively before handing over the girls' sweets. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm only charging you 7 Galleons for the lot instead of 10. Merlin, you sure do order a lot!"

"Thanks!" Millicent exclaimed. "I'll be paying this time." And so she did, handing over 7 Galleons before bidding the witch farewell (thankfully, their beloved Mrs. Jean didn't notice the 3 Galleons that snuck in their, too.)

As the group munched on snacks, Daphne decided to play a game of Truth or Dare. "It's a Muggle-created game," she explained. "It's actually ironic, since so many pureblood girls play this during slumber parties."

"Nice," Tracey commented. "How'd you hear about it?"

"Luna," Daphne responded. "Speaking of which, here she is!"

At the door of the compartment, Luna Lovegood herself stood, beaming at an empty spot above the heads of her older friends. "Hello!" she greeted. "Do you want a copy of the Quibbler? I have a few extras."

"Oh— sure!"

"I'll take one!"

"Thanks!"

"—Khloe, don't rip it!"

Luna let out a light, airy laugh. "Khloe is quite a remarkable cat. She's one of the few who has the presence of Wrackspurts and Nargles! Wrackspurts and Nargles around an animal are actually a good omen, did you know?"

"Nargles?" Tracey questioned. "Aren't they an infestation?"

"Nargles?" a new voice asked. "What are those?"

"Hello, Neville!" Amelia grinned at the younger Gryffindor, who was looking around the compartment with a lost expression. "Perfect timing! You can finally meet Luna!"

Luna trained her large, pale blue orbs onto Neville's warm brown ones. "Hello there. I'm Luna Lovegood."

Neville looked shy, as he always did upon meeting new people. "Oh— hello!"

"Huh," Luna commented lightly. "You don't have a single Wrackspurt around you... that's interesting. I suppose I'll have to be around you more to learn how you do it." Basically, that meant Neville was up to Luna's standards. "Nargles," she added, "are commonly found in mistletoe, and are mostly attracted to positive human emotions. They don't harm animals, and in fact, enhances their wisdom!"

"How... illuminating," Daphne commented. "Now, do you two want to play Truth or Dare?"

"Oooh, yes!" Luna exclaimed excitedly, plopping down on the ground.

"...Sure?" Neville replied.

So, the game began. (Pretend that Daphne already went over the rules or whatever, because I don't feel like doing that lol.)

"Truth or dare... Tracey?" Daphne began.

"Dare," Tracey responded boldly.

"I dare you to steal from Mrs. Jean," Daphne dared without missing a beat

Moments later—

A proud exclamation of "done!" followed by the splattering of assorted candy and poor Mrs. Jean's:

"Who just stole from the trolley?!"

"Sorry," Tracey whispered quietly in the direction of the trolley, looking apologetic for a quick moment. "Truth or dare, Luna?" she then asked.

"Dare."

"I dare you to... er... kiss someone in the room."

Luna calmly walked up to Khloe, asked for consent, and kissed her on the snout a few seconds later. Once she sat back down, and left her friends staring, she spoke. "Does that mean I had my first kiss with a cat? Or do my parents count?"

        "That doesn't count," Daphne said, "but we can let it slide.

        Everybody loved Luna, and they all came to the agreement that making her kiss someone would spoil her innocence, and they didn't want that. However, it seemed that her innocence was already partially tainted, since Luna pondered over their words for a few seconds before speaking once again.

        "Does it count that I was kissed by Collin Creevey when he accidentally consumed a love potion for a dare?"

"Prob— wait... what?!"

        "Luna?!"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Well, that was an interesting way to end the chapter! Luna's so innocent, I thought it'd be funny if she had an early first kiss, especially with a character we all know and love (Collin's such a cutie).

In case you were wondering about what happened with Hannah Abbott in the Prefect's Compartment (I apologize for how badly that was written), Amelia was having flashbacks from when Voldemort branded her. That's a traumatising event, of course that would affect her! Besides, a lot happened in between. Just assume that she had training sessions *cough* torturing sessions *cough* and that even more traumatising things happen because... well... I'm not going to write about it too much since I suck at gore-y scenes, but I'll be adding flashbacks and trying my best to imply it, since it's all ✨character building.✨

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A/N (July 12th, 2023): This chapter was pre-written months ago. I think it was written in February?? Anywho, if there are any spelling/grammatical errors, or any visible plot-holes, please let me know! And again, this is one of my stories that I'm completely winging (I don't have a basic plot line or anything), so any ideas for the story are appreciated!

No, like actually, if y'all want, just comment a whole scene, a few quotes, anything you want to see in upcoming chapters, etc., just do it. I literally only have one other pre-written chapter 😭

Anyway that's all! Please vote and remember to leave comments, I really love reading them 😊❤️