The whole first week of classes are far more stressful than Franziska had honestly been ready for.

None of her professors review anything from the previous years, instead starting straight in on new concepts that have Franziska pulling her first all-nighter to study the third day of school so she can remind herself of every concept they'd learned in the past six years.

Several of her friends as well as student from the other Houses find themselves in similar situations - Nabila Shafiq, a friend of hers from Gryffindor, tells her in Herbology on Friday that her roommate Evera had nearly had a panic attack over Defense Against the Dark Arts on Tuesday and Franziska can't blame the blonde for it.

"I finally get why the seventh years always looked like the sky was about to fall at any moment." She sighs as Nabila checks the soil of their Venomous Tentacula. "I get the feeling we won't have time for senioritis."

Nabilia gives her an odd look. "That's one of those Muggle concepts isn't it?" She states wryly, not really asking.

Franziska laughs. "Brandon's actually, so I guess it's an American thing? He's not Muggleborn so I'd guess it's known in the wizarding community there as well."

Nabila sighs. "He's moving back after graduation, did he tell you? Says he misses real food." She smiles faintly. "I suppose I can't fault him on that though. But an entire ocean away is rather far."

"Did he find an apprenticeship there or is he just diving in without actually and I'm answering my own question." Franziska interrupts herself with a laugh. It's just like her ex to move across the Atlantic without a set plan.

Nabila's smirk widens faintly. "Oh, so you do know him. That's good." She teases lightly, and it's small but Franziska remembers a quiet eleven-year-old who could only hold a conversation about magical creatures and knows it's a big jump for her friend.

The Herbology double block goes by rather quickly, and then it's lunch and Franziska is free for the rest of the day.

Which of course means she spends the next several hours in the boys' room sorting through every last detail of the party they're in charge of running that night. They've been working on the plan throughout the week but it's been stilted and mostly headed by Donaghan, who took over from Jemma when she realized her Prefect duties were getting in the way of party planning.

They've settled firmly on a getting-to-know-you theme but haven't completely settled on what games they want to play yet. And Cian is still pitching the idea of the Weird Sisters playing a few songs, though there's very heavy resistance - one of the members is a Gryffindor and they don't want to let a non-Hufflepuff into the common room.

"Well what if we found someone to fill in for Heathcote could we do it?" Cian suggests.

Donaghan gives him a bemused look. "Ci, Heathcote has some of the hardest parts in the song, no one can learn it in," he flicks his wand and mutters a quick Tempus charm, "Six hours. We do have a recording of our tracks though, is there some way to play that?" He suggests, though clearly he's saying more to placate his best friend than out of any real belief that it's possible.

Franziska tilts her head thoughtfully. It's not a bad idea but- "Unless someone has a Muggle cassette player we're probably out of luck. Though maybe when Aidan gets out of class he might have some ideas?"

"I'll make sure to get him in here." Leona confirms. Aidan has done the least contributing to the planning, but considering he's taking eight classes even after having dropped History of Magic and Astronomy no one is particularly upset at him for it. Though they do have a decently sized list of questionably doable magic that they need to ask him about, considering he's the most knowledgable on the subject by far.

"Speaking of, Care of Magical Creatures should be letting out pretty soon right?" Jemma observes. "Leona, we can go over together and get everyone back here for final preparations." She suggests, and Leona shrugs amenably.

Once the two girls have left Franziska takes the now-open spot next to Cian so the three of them can be closer while they talk. She doesn't like having to raise her voice more than necessary, and it felt awkward sitting alone across the dorm from them once the spot opened up.

"So have we solidified anything at this point? Other than the general theme?" She asks in amusement. "What about decorations? I remember you were talking to Kiera and Tyler about that yesterday?"

"Tonks says she has it covered, something about Saundra and pink. I stopped asking after that, I don't need to remember that day."

Franziska actually laughs a bit at the memory from their second year, when the Scottish first year had turned half the house bright pink on accident. It had been traumatizing in the moment, but looking back on it, it is a bit amusing. "You didn't even turn pink if I recall, I should be more scandalized than you." She points out with a grin.

"I turned pink. It was awful." Cian says flatly. "If everything in the common room is pink again tonight I'm going to turn Tonks into a frog."

"You dropped Transfiguration last year, you don't know how to Transfigure humans." Donaghan point out.

"Then I'll get to practice." Cian grumbles back and both Donaghan and Franziska are still laughing when the Leona and Jemma rejoin them with the rest of their House in tow.

Jemma takes point from Donaghan after that and begins listing out everything they need to have accomplished as well as when it needs to be done.

"Leona, Aidan, and... Tonks. You three look over the list of maybes and determine what definitely is and isn't possible." She instructs briskly, holding out a hand for the list which Donaghan promptly hands over. She folds it into an airplane and gives it a tap with her wand so it flies across the room to Aidan. He grabs it and Leona and Tonk join him.

"We'll look over it in the library." Aidan confirms. "Leona gave me a rough overview on the way here - we should have a list of what's achievable in the next hour."

Jemma doesn't wait for them to leave before moving on. "Okay, Kiera and Tyler, Tonks said she taught you the spells she was going to use to decorate so you're on point for that." She waits for them to nod before continuing. "That leaves food. Frannie and Henry, that's on you. You four will all have to leave dinner early of course, it has to be ready for when the first years arrive." She nods. "And Cian, Don, you're with me finalizing the games. We can work on that now, you guys can relax I guess?"

Franziska smiles faintly and grabs Henry. He's been uncharacteristically quiet all week, but she completely understands - breaking up with someone , and Henry had really liked Amelia in a way Franziska never had with Brandon. She thinks Jemma probably paired them up with the intention of Franziska using her experience to help their friend cope.

"So what foods are we thinking? I'm not super familiar with British finger foods." She says cheerfully as she pulls him out of the dorm towards the common room. She thinks a walk around the grounds will be better than staying cooped up underground, as cozy as the common room is.

Henry follows without resistance. "Um, I guess crisps is the obvious. And sausage rolls." He shrugs. "Sorry, I'm-"

Franziska bumps his shoulder lightly with her own, cutting him off. "Hey, I get it. No pressure to stick around tonight, just help me carry the plates in yeah?"

He smiles weakly. "No I, I think it would be good to stay. Get to know the first years, play silly camp games." He laughs faintly. "Leona keeps offering to teach me the tricks of her trade which actually sounds like a good diversion."

Franziska laughs. "If it makes you happy I won't say anything against it, but I'm not sure we need her to be any more powerful than she already is."

That gets a proper chuckle out of the other. They walk in companionable silence until they get outside, at which point Franziska gently steers the conversation back to snacks, and this time Henry is a bit more active in his responses.

They sneak out of dinner about thirty minutes early, leaving fifteen minutes after Kiera and Tyler vanish. Franziska half-suspects that the couple had left earlier than they needed to have some alone time, so she decides to try and drag out the kitchen visit as long as she can manage so as to not walk in on anything she doesn't want to see.

The House Elves are all apparently well aware of the Hufflepuff House tradition and several of them eagerly make snack suggestions, piling dozens of plates and bowls onto a counter for the two seventh years to levitate back to the common room, and never has Franziska been happier at their proximity to the kitchen - they barely get everything to the barrels safely. Luckily Tyler and Kiera are finished, and a few younger years have come as well and offer to help carry the food in and set up for the party.

The common room is a yellow and black paradise with images of badgers running all along the walls, looking like something out of a Disney movie. Franziska beams.

"It looks amazing you guys!" She observes to Kiera and Tyler. Most of the rest of the seventh years crawl into the common room then and confirm her sentiments.

Kiera and Tyler tolerate them for about two minutes before they bid everyone goodnight and rush off to the boys' dorms.

"Well I guess we'll be staying for the party." Aidan laughs a bit awkwardly. "Jemma and Donaghan are delaying the firsties so the rest of the House can get through to their dorms so expect a people flood pretty soon." He grabs one of the mini quiches from the House Elves and munches on it as the group finally relax.

Franziska ends up in a conversation with Tonks about Herbology while the rest of the House swarms past, occasionally pausing to ward off wannabe snack thieves. Finally Donaghan climbs through, flashing everyone a grin and a thumbs up.

Then the first of the first years comes through, and Franziska wonders if the young girl's expression is the same as Kiera's had been all those years before, when they were still eleven and walking into the unknown. Probably not - Kiera had been greeted with a faceful of exploding flowers after all, not a table full of food. But still, the thought draws a larger smile out of Franziska as the rest of the eleven-year-olds pile through eagerly and attack the snack table.

Jemma manages to wrangle them into the first game, which she and Donaghan moderate. Cian and Aidan work together to get a sound system working - most of the list had proved too difficult to do on short notice but playing the Weird Sisters' demo tapes had been deemed both doable and well worth the effort. Personally Franziska is excited to finally hear the band Cian has been ranting about for years now.

The music comes on during an extremely tense, but extremely entertaining, round of cops and robbers, and Franziska is so startled by the noise that she stumbles and gets herself tagged by a very proud first year cop.

"Gotcha ya crook! Into the pen!" She declares dramatically, grinning brightly and snagging the loot bags from Franziska's hands. "I got one!" She shouts excitedly to her teammates, only to have the retrieved loot nabbed by one of her classmates, starting up another chase.

Franziska laughs and steps to the side to observe the rest of the round, narrowly avoiding several collisions on her way to the snack table.

"I feel like we've collected more people since we started." She notes to Aidan with a laugh as the red-head joins her. "The music sounds great by the way."

He grins. "Thanks, be sure to tell Cian and Don. And I'm pretty sure I've seen at least seven kids from other years sneaking in to join. But I don't see the harm - I recall Lola Abbot leading a war against the seventh years during our party and she was only in third back then."

Franziska laughs. "The more the merrier I suppose, but it will be hard to get everything settled and cleaned up afterwards."

"Jemma has the prefects recruited to help out on that front." Donaghan assures her as he walks over and leans against the wall next to Aidan. "Also I think Do The Hippogriff is the next song and I need you to listen to the lyrics and back me up next time I tell Cian we need to edit them." He adds with a grin.

The party drags on well past midnight, and Franziska is pretty sure at least half the House has joined by the end of it. The fourth years had never gone to bed after arriving from their Astronomy lesson, all the prefects were there, and she recognized quite a few faces from Jemma's tutoring groups including Adeline Lindberg who she ends up talking to for nearly a half hour about Muggle Studies.

Finally the last of the younger years, minus the prefects, are herded off to their beds. The food is gone and the music has looped at least three times though no one had complained since it meant everyone got to dance to Do The Hippogriff multiple times. Cian had looked quite smug at the public response to the song, while Donaghan looked rather resigned.

The group of twelve left at the end of it all set about quickly vanishing the table and collecting the dishes to be returned to the kitchens the next morning (or whenever they woke up). There's no food left at all, eaten well before the party had finished, and Franziska can barely finish pushing the furniture back into place without collapsing from exhaustion.

"Alright, I think that's good enough for now." Jemma yawns, punctuating her point. "Goodnight everyone. I'd call this a resounding success."

"I second that." Donaghan agrees, giving the blonde a quick kiss on the cheek before following Cian down the hall to the boys' room.

Franziska is quick to follow their lead, hurrying to her own room on sleep-heavy legs, closely followed by the rest of the girls.

She's asleep before she even hits the pillow, and her last thought leaves her with a smile - they definitely gave the first years a night to remember.

Myr may have spent the first week more focused on learning which names went with which faces in the prefect meetings so he felt slightly less incompetent in his new role. This decision results in him already being behind in school work the very first weekend of classes.

So while he can now pick out not only Melody and the Slytherin Beater (who he's learned is named Hector) from a crowd, he notices the rest as well. A loud voice accompanied by widely waving arms at the Hufflepuff table is Saundra, a derisive snort from a band of Ravenclaws is Josephine, a stumble and a yelp in the Potions room during the fifth year Gryffindor class is usually Corey. Myr knows them all almost as well as he knows his own Housemates.

But he couldn't explain the basic reasons for why Unforgivable Curses are branded that way, despite every Defense lesson that week having been dedicated to exactly that topic. As such he finds himself spending his first Saturday at school already waist-deep in textbooks and notes in the library.

At least he isn't alone - Nabila may not be behind but she's set up next to him with a NEWT-level workbook for Care of Magical Creatures and is scribbling away in it.

They're the only Gryffindors in the library that he can see, though there's a group of younger Ravenclaws crowded by one of the windows and a few solo Hufflepuffs scattered around the rest of the tables in sight, one of whom he recognizes. Aidan is never looking up when Myr look over though, so he resigns himself to not waving at the other boy in greeting.

He does manage to get through a decent chunk of the work he'd been unintentionally slacking on before he has to go to the first Prefect meeting of the year. Raj has decided they'll be having a short one each week, with one long one per month for the prefects to air concerns or generally report on things they had deemed less important.

"See you at dinner." He says to Nabila who hums in vague acknowledgement as he gathers his things and heads to the prefect's meeting room.

He honestly hadn't even known the prefects had their own room for personal use - aside from the prefects bathroom of course - but in retrospect it makes perfect sense. How else would people from all four Houses meet easily, if only to organize patrols?

He's a bit early to the meeting, as he'd intended, though he's still arrived after Raj.

"Hey, sorry. Were you waiting long?" He greets, dropping his bag in one of the seats as he walks over the Head Girl.

She shakes her head, clearly distracted. "Just arrived myself." Her tone is as clipped as ever but Myr is learning to not let it bother him. "The first week had no patrols so we'll need to go over protocol and have the older students walk the younger ones through all the different routes." She pauses and glances at Myr out of the corner of her eye. "...And I'll show them to you." She sighs faintly and yeah, Myr bristles at that. He's trying for Merlin's sake! It isn't his fault he doesn't know these things.

He bites back his irritation - he's been trying hard to watch his reactions around Raj considering her loss, difficult as she makes it at times - and resigns himself to sitting in silence while Raj decides on the pairings.

To his surprise though, she pushes the list of prefects in front of him. "Any ideas for good pairs? I didn't stay after patrol on the train so I don't know any of the new prefects very well outside of the Slytherins."

Myr blinks in surprise. He honestly hadn't spoken all that much to anyone other than Fiona and Adrian, but he takes the paper anyway.

"Well, Melody is good at listening but she's almost always sarcastic about it so probably avoid putting her with Josephine. I think Fiona might be a good match? Her or Shaun, they seem like the calmest two."

Raj nods thoughtfully and Myr, encouraged, pushes on.

"Corey is a bit of a clutz so he should go with one of the Hufflepuffs, probably Jemma or Saundra since they'll be patient with him. Maybe Taylor? I admit I don't know Taylor all that well. And Aidan is nice but I'd say a bit to tense right now with NEWTs to really be functional enough to deal with Corey."

Raj hums again, waving lightly for him to continue.

Myr studies the rest of the list. Honestly he doesn't know the other fifth years quite as well (and only knows Corey as much as he does on account of the boy having somehow gotten his cauldron cake all over Slytherin prefect Alana Farley's robes) so he's a touch more hesitant to make suggestions for them.

Still, he decides to perservere through a few more - he can select half the pairs and leave the rest to Raj.

"Raymond from Hufflepuff was rather quiet, possibly a bit overwhelmed? I'd say Charlie or Adrian would be good at getting him to open up and talk a bit more. And Jessica from Ravenclaw is the exact opposite - super loud and a bit aggressive honestly. I actually would have suggested you taking her but perhaps Alana or Amelia could instead."

Raj actually smirks slightly at that. "Basically put her with one of the scary girls?" She summarizes dryly, though Myr doesn't think she's insulted. It's honestly rather difficult to tell what Raj is feeling at any given time though. 

"Alright, noted." She nods firmly. "Melody will go with Shaun, Corey with Jemma, Adrian can take Raymond and Amelia can deal with Jessica. Bella is an irritable brat so I'm putting her with Saundra and Lionel will go with Hector, they're already getting along quite well. Hmm, then Lindsey..." She trails off, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "I guess she can go with Taylor, just to be safe. He's generally quite laid back. That leaves Tyrone. You didn't talk to him at all?"

Myr shakes his head. "He didn't stay after patrol either. He was with Fiona for that though, if you wanted to put them together again? She didn't say much about it which actually," He perks up slightly, "Means he didn't really leave an impression. Probably he likes talking but doesn't have all that much to say."

Raj blinks, and then actually lets out a short, barked laugh. "I guess you lions are all friends after all. Alright, if that's the case I'm putting him with Brett. They can bore each other with Ravenclaw nonsense."

Myr leans back in his seat, feeling quite proud. Maybe he is behind, but it's definitely all worth it now.

Raj still takes charge during the meeting itself, reminding everyone of the rules and going through the different approaches to punishment they're allowed to take against anyone they find breaking rules, either during the day or on patrols.

"You have to use common sense, and watch out for biases. We're not going to strictly pair you up with only other Houses but if a patrol of two Gryffindors find a Slytherin out of bed I don't care how many generations your family has held onto our feud you better be giving that kid the same punishment you would someone from your own House. Clear?" She says this part rather threateningly, and only Alana and Saundra don't shift nervously at the tone. "Good, now that that's settled, some of you are going to help the fifth years learn the routes, so I hope you didn't have anything else to do today because you're not doing it."

She quickly assigns their previously selected pairs and the prefects without a fifth year to guide head out.

"See you later Myr." Fiona says as she heads out. "Maybe we could study Defense for a bit before dinner? If you're free by then." She adds with a quick glance at Raj, who looks rather impatient for everyone to get out. The other pairs have already left to go over the patrols routes but the Head Boy and Girl have to wait until the other prefects have left since they need to lock the meeting room.

"Astronomy Tower route first, it's the longest." Raj decides once they've finally locked up. "There are five routes in total, so we're not going to be done in time to study with your girlfriend." She adds.

Myr can feel his face turning red. "She's not my girlfriend!" He corrects her. "I'm dating Melody's twin sister actually. Fiona is just a close friend - we're both Beaters for Gryffindor."

Raj blinks, letting that process, and then shrugs. "Okay, that makes more sense how you know her so well. So are you going to continue playing? You know Quidditch can't come before your prefect duties - both Charlie and Hector have tried worming their way out of things before but it's non-negotiable."

Myr honestly hasn't really thought about it. Charlie has mentioned tryouts a few times but Myr has been so stressed about Prefect duties he's barely acknowledged it.

"I dropped out of reserves a while back myself." Raj says idly. "I needed to focus on school."

Honestly Myr hadn't even known Raj had been on the team if he's honest, but he doesn't comment on it.

They walk mostly in silence for several minutes, with Raj occasionally pointing out popular spots for rule-breakers to try and hide.

Finally Myr can't take the quiet anymore. "So..." He trails off, thinking perhaps he should have actually thought of something to say before speaking. "Um, you probably know McLeod then right? He's in our year."

Raj hums. "We're not really talking right now. And he's dropping Quidditch this year, he and Alasdair spent most of last year arguing over Alas's captaining methods according to Hector." She glances over at him. "You do know who I'm speaking of without my using their last names, correct?" She checks, and he does his best to not glare.

"Yes, I do. I'm used to using their last names on the field but I know who they are." He bites back, a bit sharper than he means to but honestly Raj's constant presumptions are irritating. "So Lenox," He emphasizes his use of McLeod's first name with a pointed glance at the Head Girl, "is quitting? Too bad, Charlie was looking forward to taking him down one more time this year."

Raj finally glances over at him, and she's smirking. "Please, Lenox is the best Seeker in the school right now, and even without him actually being on the field Terrence was trained by him - he's going to wipe the floor with Charlie, just wait and see."

Myr grins, rolling his eyes. "Sure, some younger year is going to take out a Weasley. I'll believe it when I see it."

"Two months Big Talk, we'll see who's laughing then." Raj fires back, and Myr is surprised to find her grinning. It's a challenging, mocking one for sure, but it's more honest than anything else he's seen from her since they started talking.

"We'll see indeed." He snipes back. "Although I probably should drop out, shouldn't I?" He adds after a moment of silence. "I'm already prioritizing this over schoolwork, I probably won't have any energy leftover for Quidditch."

Raj eyes him closely for a moment, and then shrugs. "Your call obviously. Also that curtain is the whoops curtain and you really don't want to find anyone behind it when you're patrolling. I'd say use your position to make your patrol partner check when you're up this way. It's a right of passage anyhow, or so I've heard." She smiles faintly as she waves at a particularly thick tapestry adorning the hallway.

Myr decides it's probably better to not ask for an elaboration on the comment and just follow her advice.

He wouldn't say the rest of the walk is better, though he does find it slightly easier to talk to Raj knowing that they have Quidditch in common. She hadn't listened to the Final for the World Cup so he fills her in on the plays that he thought were the most impressive or interesting.

They end up being late to dinner, and as a result Myr ends up with the seat next to Remi Longbottom since he's the last of his class to arrive.

Myr has honestly never gotten along all that well with the brunet, but after the moderate success with Raj he's feeling a bit more social than normal, so he decides to try talking with his most distant roommate.

"So tryout are coming up in a few days." He says idly as he grabs some chicken for his plate.

To his shock Remi merely shrugs. After years on reserves the other boy had finally made the main team the year before and Myr would have thought he'd be ecstatic to continue playing in their seventh year.

"Oh. Um." Myr hesitates, no longer sure what to talk about. Luckily Remi has never needed any prompting to start chatting about himself so he's quick to fill the silence.

"After last year I realized Quidditch isn't all that." Remi declares dramatically. "Let someone else deal with those awful practice times and sore legs. I need to focus on school! There's rumor of a medusa stalking the streets of Dorset county and I'm going to start my Monster Hunter career by tracking it down and taking it out!" He waves his fork in the air dramatically. "So you see I don't have any time for silly games."

"Silly games? Well with that attitude we're glad to be rid of you!" Charlie counters loudly from the other side of the table, looking insulted. "Right Myr?"

Myr shrugs awkwardly. "Um, I'm actually thinking about not trying out this year?" He admits, and Charile gives him the most wounded look imaginable. "I'm sorry! I really need to focus on NEWTs and the whole Head Boy thing threw me."

Charlie groans. "Great, now I have to pick whether to put Fred or George on the team. I'm going to be the new least favorite brother." He complains.

Myr can only laugh. "You can think about it on patrol tomorrow." He says cheerfully. "I'll make sure you get the Astronomy route, so you'll have plenty of time to consider every possible option."

Charlie whines slightly and drops his head into his arms. "I don't like you with power. You're nicer without it."

The rest of dinner is spent making light-hearted banter and discussing Quidditch, NEWTs, and seventh year in general. Myr mostly stays quiet, content to listen to his friends (and Remi) as he eats. If he's honest, he's still pretty nervous about the coming year, but listening to the familiar chatter he knows that things aren't really going to be all that different. It's a comforting thought.

If she's honest Ana had expected seventh year to be dramatically different from the rest of her schooling. She isn't sure why - logically it's just another year, and although they do have NEWTs to prepare for she's well on schedule for them and really they had similar pressures during fifth year with their OWLs. And yet she's a bit disappointed when she realizes one month in that seventh year is exactly like every other year at Hogwarts.

She goes to class, studies in her free time, and writes Alec numerous letters complaining of the boredom. He responds with stories from his work that she knows are slightly exaggerated but which she enjoys nonetheless. At the very least they break up the tedium of her daily routine at school.

She voices her thoughts to Jerome once, rather idly. The two of them are out by the Gamekeeper's hut, helping tend some of the creatures Professor Kettleburn keeps in the garden. Jerome had suggested they do some hands-on studying for the Care of Magical Creatures NEWT and Ana had been more than happy to oblige and do something different with her Saturday afternoon.

"I kind of know what you mean. I remember being so intimidated by the seventh years when we first started, they were all tall and way more powerful than I was, but actually being a seventh year is kind of underwhelming." He agrees with a laugh.

Ana smiles faintly as well. "If I recall you were tiny in first year though, you probably thought everyone was huge."

Her friend chuckles. "I'm still working on the height thing, but you might have a point."

They mostly work in silence, but it's comfortable and despite her own rule of not being sappy or sentimental Ana allows herself a moment to reflect on how odd her friendship with Jerome actually is, and how if she told eleven-year-old Ana about it she rather doubts the girl would believe it.

It's nearly an hour later, when they're herding blast-ended skrewts back into their pens, that Jerome speaks again. "Though there is one pretty big difference. We don't have another year after this. It's our last chance to do anything we wanted to during school."

"Like win the House Cup?" Ana drawls. "Would be nice to wrangle it away from Slytherin this year."

Jerome shakes his head in amusement. "That would be a massive upset. But yeah, things like that. Finnigan is on the Quidditch team again this year, Fitzwilliam is determined to ask that Hufflepuff he's been friends with since forever to go to Hogsmeade with him, stuff like that. Things that you keep putting off until there's no time to put it off anymore."

"And seventh year would be that time." Ana hums. "I don't put things off though, so I doubt it will impact me particularly. Seventh year is going to be just like all the rest."

Jerome elbows her lightly. "You never know, something might surprise you! And hey, if nothing else break will be different! What with your boyfriend and all." He winks teasingly.

Ana just rolls her eyes.

They sit with Amelia and Shaun at dinner, as they usually do. Amelia is quieter than usual, though that in and of itself has become normal since Henry broke up with her. Honestly Ana isn't sure if she's actually still upset about the relationship ending, or if at this point she's nursing her wounded pride more than anything else.

She does still contribute to the conversation at least, though she responds to Shaun more often than to Ana or Jerome.

They get to talking about Potions and the insane level of precision that Professor Snape has been requiring of them which does pull Amelia slightly out of her shell.

"I'll be honest, Professor Snape is a brilliant potioneer, but he's utter cack as a teacher. Shaun, you ought to take his job when you finish your education degree." She whines after Ana recalls their Potions master making Charlie Weasley test his own Elixir to Induce Euphoria. The red-head had been making an arse of himself, to be sure, but Ana has read up on the results of a failed Elixir and had Charlie's partner Nabila not been keeping a very close eye on the potion as it was prepared he would likely have spent at least a week in the Hospital Wing.

Shaun shakes his head. "Don't speak so poorly of him, he's under a lot of stress you know." His words are diplomatic but it's rather evident he doesn't entirely believe them himself. "I imagine he has his reasons."

"I mean, I failed my Potions OWL pretty miserably so it's been a while, but I don't recall Professor Snape ever being very nice." Jerome pipes up, having been mostly unable to offer any opinions on the topic up to that point. "It sort of seems like he doesn't really like kids? Which is odd for a Professor."

"Sometimes people have to take what jobs they can get to pay the bills." Shaun says with a shrug. "Though I agree that perhaps teaching wasn't the best fall-back plan for Snape. I wonder what he originally wanted to do?"

Jerome is looking a bit worried now. "Do you think that could happen to us? I mean, we all know what we want to do but what if it doesn't work out? You guys have fallback plans, right?"

Shaun pats his friend's shoulder consolingly. "Of course we do, it would be silly not to."

"I don't, but I have a guaranteed path." Ana corrects idly.

Amelia rolls her eyes. "Ah yes, your boyfriend gets you the favoritism treatment."

Ana shrugs, feeling absolutely no shame over the truth in the statement. "I know I'm going to do well, and so does Alec. And of course nothing would be quite as secure if it wasn't for my grades - I have been top of the class for all six years so far, and I doubt this year will be any different." She lets herself sound smug, she's more than earned it. "Anyway, networking isn't something to be ashamed of, it's basically a requirement for just about every job out there." She levels a slightly challenging gaze at Amelia. "Wasn't your entire summer internship just a chance to make nice with some of the bigger names in your future industry?"

"That's different, I'm not sleeping with any of them." Amelia says dismissively. Both Shaun and Jerome gape at her but Ana actually feels something akin to respect for just a moment.

"Fair enough." She allows. "Still, I'm not going to refuse a good opportunity just because the means of getting it were perhaps a bit bent. And, I should add, entirely accidental. I'd never sleep with someone just for a job."

Amelia sighs. "Yeah, fine, you have a point." She grumbles, and promptly goes back to stabbing her food in silence.

Honestly Ana was almost pleased to have Amelia snapping at her again - it's a marked difference from the moody silence and perhaps a sign that she'll get over the break up soon and they can return to their usual status quo.

Shaun still looks vaguely traumatized by the ual implications Amelia had brought up, while Jerome is beginning to look more amused than anything now that the initial shock is wearing off.

"Moving on to more palatable discussion," He says with a grin over at Shaun, "October is in a few days and I've heard whispers of people starting up another prank war, like back in third year."

Ana can't help smiling at the memory, and both Shaun and Amelia do the same. The prank war had been irritating for the most part, but Ravenclaw's winning prank, executed by the entirety of the House, is definitely one of Ana's more cherished memories. That day had easily been her best birthday at Hogwarts.

However a moment later she fixes her expression into one of disapproval. "I rather hope nothing comes of those."

"Doesn't Leona know for sure if it will happen?" Shaun asks with a knowing glance at Jerome that has Ana internally rolling her eyes. As observant as he is, Shaun has a massive blindspot when it comes to thinking Jerome likes Leona.

Jerome sticks his tongue out cheerfully. "Wasn't Leona actually, she's got herself a new accomplice who told me about it in Care of Magical Creatures."

Shaun tilts his head. "I'm honestly not sure if I should be concerned that she's expanding her empire or just accept that it was inevitable anyway and move on with my life. Who's the new accomplice anyway?"

Jerome opens his mouth, glances at Amelia, and then shrugs. "A true gossip master never reveals his sources." He says instead, grinning innocently.

Shaun definitely doesn't miss the look, and Ana knows that he's definitely figured, same as she has, that the new source is likely Henry. But he doesn't comment on it.

"Oh good, you're apparently working for her too." He says instead, groaning slightly. "That woman has far more power than any one person has the right to."

Jerome shrugs idly and hums noncommittally, a faint grin playing across his features. "Think what you like."

Ana has Astronomy that night, so she stays in the common room to study while most of the rest of the House goes to bed. Amelia will come back down around twelve-thirty but she likes to catch an hour or so of sleep before the lesson. Finnigan usually makes an appearance around the same time, though Ana doesn't really know what he does up to that point.

Tonight however, Finnigan stays in the common room with her, and by eleven they're completely alone and Ana really isn't sure what to make of her yearmate's presence.

Yes he's been studying a lot more with Jerome, and even Shaun says that he's opening up somewhat after six years of being a brick wall in every possible way but literally. But Ana still hasn't really interacted with him much so she isn't sure whether or not he expects her to start a conversation. She doesn't care honestly, but he is becoming friends with her friends so she'd rather be on neutral to positive terms with him if at all possible.

He ends up speaking first, and Ana politely looks up from her notes so he knows she's listening.

"So Jerome talks about you a lot."

She doesn't respond, just tilts her head in acknowledgement, and Finnigan actually seems to relax somewhat.

"Says you're his best friend. So, uh, I figured since," He frowns, stumbling over what he wants to say for a moment before abandoning the train of thought entirely, "Well, I guess we should talk more."

Ana shifts slightly. Not what she was expecting, but it seems he's come to the same conclusions that she has about their nonexistent relationship which is always a good starting point.

"I wouldn't be adverse to that." She assures him, still uncertain of how to actually speak to the other and habitually reverting to the tense formality she takes up with all strangers.

He looks about as lost as she feels though which again, is a good start in her opinion.

"Jerome said you're playing Quidditch again?" She suggests, recalling her friend's comment from earlier in the day and hoping it might spark the other Ravenclaw into talking.

Unfortunately his only response is a slightly uncertain "yeah" followed by more silence.

Ana frowns. "If you wish to speak with me more you need to actually speak more." She points out flatly, and he starts, flushing slightly though Ana thinks he looks more angry than embarrassed.

"Right, I know that." He snaps. "Jerry says you're nice but no offense I don't trust that. Jerome thinks everyone is nice."

Ana snorts. "Obviously, he's friends with you." She fires back and then wonders if that was too much. Amelia is obviously rubbing off on her.

Or Evie. But that thought is too horrifying to dwell on for longer than a second before very firmly suppressing it.

She quickly amends the statement to preemptively curb any insult taken. "And myself. I was far from the most open to friendship at the time of our first real interaction and frankly thought him an idiot not worth my time."

Finnigan eyes her suspiciously for a long moment, and then sighs.

"I can't say I didn't have the same thoughts, so I can't really judge." He grumbles, sounding rather annoyed by the realization. Then he sighs. "Jerome is the one who pushed me to try out for the team again this year."

It takes a half-second for Ana to realize he's finally replying to her earlier attempt to discuss Quidditch. "He tends to push people at situations and decisions if he thinks they'll be good for them. You made it on, correct?"

Finnigan nods. "Though Captain Lewis was very clear it was only because most of the team graduated last year and he was desperate." He says sourly. "The other new Chaser is a second year who keeps almost falling off his broom in excitement."

Ana grimaces. "No chance at the Cup then? I would have liked to see Ravenclaw take it again before we graduate."

Finnigan actually looks surprised for a moment. "You like Quidditch? I figured you would be someone who complained about how nonsensical it is."

"Nonsensical can be fun, and Quidditch is quite fun, even to spectate." Ana replies, feeling rather smug. "And really, activities such as sports are a great way to relax or stay in shape, so really they're far from nonsensical."

They end up discussing Quidditch until Amelia appears from the girls' dorms, clearly still waking up but pretending she isn't.

"Oh, you're already here." She says once she's registered that Finnigan is also in the room. "Well, let's go then. Maybe we'll beat Nabila for once."

They don't talk on the way up the Astronomy Tower - they never do - which gives Ana some time to properly ponder Finnigan's sudden and apparently random decision to start talking to her. He'd mentioned Jerome of course, but from their conversation Ana can already tell Finnigan isn't the sort of person to do anything unless he's decided on it himself.

Except for when it comes to Jerome, apparently. An observation which naturally leads itself to one rather obvious conclusion, but Ana doesn't particularly want to speculate on that possibility as it feels invasive to her. Besides, if she's correct Finnigan will likely tell her himself when he's ready to do so.

Still she finds herself looking over at the boy again, critically eyeing him through the new lens she now has. He's rather gawky, definitely the tallest Ravenclaw in their year and possibly the tallest person overall in their grade. His hair is a black curly mess and his face seems to be set in a permanent scowl.

If Ana's hunch is correct, she honestly has no idea what Jerome sees in Finnigan Marley. But if they do turn out to be dating, she's determined to be fully supportive. Even if it means spending more time with Finnigan.

If she wasn't perpetually numb Rajani might almost find it morbidly amusing how the world keeps moving around her. It feels like one of the most important cogs to the continuation of the Earth's rotation is gone, and yet it keeps going, uncaring, along with most of it's population.

Sometimes Rajani feels like she and Eugene are the only two people who have somehow fallen off of the world and are now watching it spin away from them. If she wasn't so numb she might be worried. But she doesn't have the energy for it, so she just puts what little she has towards pretending that everything is fine.

She has to - as Head Girl there are things beyond herself to attend to, people relying on her accomplishing her tasks in a timely and efficient manner. And she of course has to study for her NEWTs - Queenie would be furious with her if Rajani tried to use her best friend as an excuse to fall apart.

That doesn't stop it from being very difficult to not do just that. She's so far kept her breakdowns to the dorm she shares with the other Slytherin girls, and they don't comment if they happen to walk in and see her.

Nia gives her a wide berth if she's the one to come in, while Clary will usually sit nearby and have her own silent cry (and it's actually rather odd how quiet she's being in general lately but Rajani doesn't have the energy to really think about it). Elspeth surprisingly is the most directly sympathetic, usually conjuring a glass of water to set by the bed and sitting quietly nearby with a book and waiting until Rajani has calmed down, at which point she quietly asks if she's feeling a bit better and leaves when Rajani gives the affirmative (she's never sure if she's lying or not but she thinks Elspeth would stay if she was so she much be telling the truth).

The days blur together as Rajani robotically fulfills her duties, studies for school, and meets with Myr to set up the weekly patrol listings. She thinks Myr might hate her but she's not really paying enough attention to him to know for sure.

She doesn't actually care though, so it doesn't matter. She'll never see him again after graduation anyway and she's doing her job perfectly so he can't complain.

She's only taken a few patrols herself though she's sent Myr on at least two a week to make sure he knows the routes firmly. She hasn't made Eugene take any patrols - he's doing even worse than she is. Myr commented on it only once, apparently learning it was a taboo subject after Rajani leveled him with a stare that could probably kill if weaponized.

At least, she thought he had learned, but the second week of October when they're putting together the patrol list he decides to try again.

"I think Eugene should take a patrol with Jemma this week. Maybe the Great Hall route, it's the shortest one." He suggests casually, as if he hadn't just violated their unspoken agreement.

Rajani glares at him but he doesn't look at her, instead continuing to scan the schedule for a few more seconds before apparently realizing she isn't going to answer. "Raj? Is that okay?"

She purses her lips but he still won't look directly at her so the effect is lost. He wants to force her to talk, the damned lion. Fine then, she can be the more accomodating party.

"Eugene is still in mourning, he'll miss things if he's sent on patrol." She replies smoothly. "Give the patrol to Lionel, he hasn't taken that route too often, I want to make sure he knows it."

"Then he can take it Tuesday with Adrian." Myr counters steadily and Rajani rather hates him for daring to sound that calm when he's not being at all reasonable. "Look, I can't say I get it. My dad may be dead but I spent most of my life thinking he was an arse who ran out on my mom after cheating on her so I never really mourned, even after getting the truth. But I do know that letting people wallow in their own misery isn't helpful for anyone."

Rajani glares at him a moment longer, hating that his words make sense.

Hating that they sound like something Queenie might have said.

"Fine. Jemma is probably a good partner choice anyway." She reluctantly agrees. "But I'm going to check with both of them afterwards how he did and how he's feeling, and if it was too much he's off the roster again."

Myr nods easily. "Of course. Alright then how about Bella and I take the dungeon route on Thursday?"

She doesn't know if he's volunteering to partner with their, admittedly, most irritating fifth year to try and appease her, but if that's his plan it doesn't really work. She remains vaguely irritated with him for the rest of the session, and only later realizes that it's the most she's felt in a while. She isn't sure how to react to that bit of information.

She asks Eugene that night at dinner if he's alright to go on patrol for Wednesday, and she isn't sure whether the listless shrug she gets in response is a good response. Still, despite her personal distaste for Jemma (which has lessened since the start of the year though whether due to the numbness of Queenie's death or the fact Rajani had defeated the other girl for Head Girl is unclear) she knows that of all their prefects she's the best choice to pair with Eugene for his first patrol of the year.

Still, she stays awake that Wednesday night, pacing the floor of the common room until her friend returns from patrol, whereupon she immediately steers him to one of the couches in order to check in on him.

"Everything go well?" She asks as casually as she can manage.

Eugene presses his lips together slightly, and then nods. "It was actually really nice. Having to scold students was... distracting, I guess. I didn't have time to focus on the fact I feel completely hollow because I had a job to do." He sighs. "Jemma was nice too. She's weirdly good at talking to people, but you know that." He lapses into a dull silence for a long moment, and honestly Rajani is impressed he'd said that much so she doesn't expect him to go on, but a moment later he speaks again. "She should be a Healer. I told her that today - I don't know if you've ever really talked to her during patrol but she was between childcare and healing all last year. But she knows how to talk to people - I think that's important." He trails off again, his eyes going distant, and Rajani knows for sure this time that he's not going to talk again.

"Well, that's good to hear." Rajani says uncertainly. Maybe she had been wrong to keep Eugene off the roster? "I'll make sure you pair with her again next week for one of your patrols then."

He nods vaguely and she can't do much more then nod briskly in return and head up to her dorm.

She doesn't get much sleep that night.

The next day she has both Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts with Jemma, but as the blonde Hufflepuff sits with her boyfriend - Rajani's ex-friend Donaghan who she's still not comfortable being around four years later - in both classes she has to wait until after school to ask about the patrol with Eugene.

She's twitchy all through the day, and she even sits in the back during Defense to make sure she catches Jemma when the other girl leaves at the end of the lecture. It's not her best decision considering she's struggling in the class already but in her mind it's an acceptable casualty if it means she gets a better picture of how Eugene's patrol had gone.

She makes pointed eye contact with Jemma as the other girl and Donaghan come up the aisle after class, and Jemma thankfully understands and walks over to her.

Unfortunately she pulls Donaghan along, though he looks as thrilled as Rajani feels about the prospect of having to talk to him again.

"Hi Raj, do you need something? Oh, this is Donaghan by the way, we're dating."

"We've met." Rajani decides to remain diplomatic. "I had a few questions if you've got time? Prefect stuff." She adds with a pointed look at her former friend.

"It's cool Jem, I'll meet up with you in the library." Donaghan smiles, and Rajani isn't sure if he's genuinely unaffected by being around her or if he's just gotten incredibly good at masking what he's feeling.

She suspects it's the latter as Jemma gives him an odd look. "Alright then. See you later." She gives him a quick kiss before turning to Rajani. "What can I help you with?"

"I wanted to ask about last night's patrol with Eugene." She replies briskly. No need to dance around the point - knowing Jemma she likely was already somewhat aware of what Rajani would be asking about.

Jemma hums. "It went well honestly, considering the circumstances." She tilts her head thoughtfully as they slowly exit the classroom and start towards the library. "He admittedly seemed to... well, I wouldn't say get better, that's not going to happen for a while, but he opened up more? He was completely mute to start but he was talking by the end of it. I'd say patrolling seems to be doing him some good." She looks like she might want to say more, but after a short glance over at Rajani she changes her mind. "Nothing drastic happened on the patrol though so I don't know how he would handle a conflict right now. If you want my suggestion....?" She trails off, looking over at Rajani again.

A year ago Rajani wouldn't have wanted anything from her biggest rival in the school. Now though, she nods for the blonde to continue.

Jemma looks quite pleased. "Well, I'd say keep him on generally shorter patrols, and with people who are really good and single-handedly dealing with problems, just until we know for certain how he handles them. Adrian would be a good choice, or Saundra. You and Amelia from our year, and maybe in a few month I think Tyrone from Ravenclaw would be a good fit as well, he's got a nice mix of Shaun's calm and Alana's spark in him. But he is still new so probably give him another few weeks to really get comfortable with the routes." She nods firmly. "In my opinion he needs the normalcy of patrols right now, something steady. Like I said he relaxed more the longer we were out."

Rajani studies the other girl before nodding once. "We'll certainly keep all that in mind, thank you Jemma." She hesitates as the other girl smiles and begins to pick up her pace to walk away. "And Eugene was right. I think you'd do well as a Healer." She shrugs at Jemma surprised glance. "Have fun with your boyfriend."

She walks away then before she says anything she'll regret later and decides to hunt down Elspeth and Nia to go over the Defense lesson they'd just had. After all, she hadn't really been paying as much attention as she should have.

Luckily her friends are more than happy to sit down with her - they've officially finished with Unforgivables now (which Elspeth complains about somewhat) and have moved on to the beginning of patronus charms, though their new Professor informed them they wouldn't be attempting a cast until after Christmas break. Only five minutes into the study session and Rajani understands why - the theoretics behind Patronus charms are so complex that she honestly isn't sure that even a month is going to be enough time to properly comprehend the technique for the spell.

"It seems so arbitrary." Nia grumbles an hour later. "What dictates if a memory is 'happy enough' to fuel a fully formed patronus? If someone is depressed are they just not going to be able to make one at all until they get over whatever made them pissy in the first place? And if dementors away happiness how can you ever fulfill these bloody requirements at all?"

Elspeth blows a strand of hair out of her face an mutters an agreement.

Rajani however hums thoughtfully. "Well... is it so different from the Unforgivables?" She points out, earning herself disbelieving looks from the other two. "Hear me out." She says quickly, "To properly cast an Unforgivable you have to really mean it, right? That's an emotional aspect. The patronus charm seem to have that exact same aspect, except instead of truly meaning harm you have to truly mean, um, being happy." She shrugs slightly. "It might be easier to understand that way?"

Nia doesn't look convinced but Elspeth has a thoughtful expression on her face. "That actually does make some sort of sense." She admits, tapping her quill aginst her Defense notes and causing an ink splatter across them. "Higher level spells require more emotional control..." She trails off and starts scribbling a few things down onto the scroll while Nia watches in vague confusion.

Rajani normally might have teased Nia for her confusion. After all, she's not only taking Defense but also Charms and Transfiguration which should be giving her plenty of solid background for the more complex spellwork they're doing. However she opts to remain silent instead, jotting down her own observation in her notes so she won't forget it.

She has her own patrol that night with Hector, and she's more than happy to let him chatter away about the Quidditch team and the new maneuvers Alasdair is running them through and mostly remain silent for the hour and a half patrol.

She does tune in slightly when he starts talking about their new Seeker. She isn't that close to Terrence Higgs but he's a good kid from what she remembers of the few interactions they've had and she's happy to hear that he's getting along with his teammates for the most part.

He has apparently inherited some of Lenox's distaste for Alasdair's methods, but being younger he hasn't challenged the Captain that much.

"He'll come around though, the new stuff is awesome, we're going to absolutely cream Gryffindor this year." Hector says happily. "Heck, we could probably do it even if Weasley catches the snitch."

Rajani is admittedly happy to hear it. She may have dropped her Quidditch dreams early on but she'd still love to get one last win over the lions before graduation.

She almost smiles at the thought. And she thinks she maybe feels the world spinning underneath her feet, just for a moment.