Kat had watched as the black unmarked carriage had taken Marvo away. She was glad she had got to talk to him before he had left, but it didn't make her feel any less hollow. It was starting to get dark, and they had class tomorrow. The party would be over soon, and she didn't feel like rejoining it.

Kat wandered down to the lake where Marvo had first told her and Nimue that he was an auror. She sat on a log by the lake and stared into the water thinking about the last term and everything that had happened; worrying about Marvo; and wondering how things could work out with this arranged marriage thing. Why did parents always have to interfere. She hated Lord Hawkwood for being so pompous when he told her she could talk to Marvo, and she also hated him for arranging the marriage they were supposed to have.

She was missing Marvo already, even though she knew she was being silly. But at least he would write.

She sat and stared at the water for a long time.

************

After Morticia's outburst she stormed out of the Great Hall and went outside the castle as she had remembered Kat had left the room. She finds her at last sitting at the lake.

"Hi," she says silently so she won't scare her. "Do you want to be alone, or is it okay if I sit down here? Too much stupid people inside there..." She forces a smile, but looks like she's about to cry.

Kat looks up a little surprised that there is anyone else out here as it is almost dark now.

"Hi, Tish. Are you ok?" She shuffles up a bit on the log to make room for Morticia.

"Are YOU okay?" Tish asks back with an uneasy smile and sits down. "Marvo gone... that must be horrible for you!" She sighs. "You know... I did like him. Really. He made me mad and I hated him at times when he was being a stupid boy or this great wise leader, you know what I mean... but... he was nice. Very nice. I wish I hadn't been so rude to him."

She sighs again. "Gosh, Kat, is there anything I can do for you? I'll sure try to keep Nathan off your back, but maybe... anything else?"

"It's not nice. But I'm sure he will be going through worse than me. I mean what are they going to do with him? And I'm sure that he won't take you having been rude personally. I know liked you too, even though he didn't show it very much. I mean, you got a kiss too." Kat grinned at Morticia.

"You know at one point I thought you were going to end up with him. I even challenged him about it." Kat tried to say this lightly. "And he told me that he liked you." Kat hoped that this helped in someway, although she had a feeling that Morticia was feeling guilty anyway.

"I don't think there is anything you can do for me. He will write when he can. But I don't know how things are going to work out with Nimue and all. I mean I know they don't want their marriage thing, but how can they get out of it? Marvo seems not to realise quite what is going on most of the time. When I got to talk to him before he left this evening I found out that he hadn't even realised that he was my boyfriend! I mean, can you believe that. But I know he will write to me. I still miss him though."

"What about you? I mean, Nathan, is he here for good? What happened to his other school? I know you don't like him."

Morticia blushes as Kat mentions her ending up with Marvo. "I really fell for Egreen then, but now... I don't know. It's all so strange after what happened. I haven't had any visions lately, thank God for that, I don't want them anymore. It's no longer 'cool'. It's scary, and I can't control it."

She smiles. "I'm sure Marvo will be alright sooner or later. I mean, he's still a child, so what can they do to him? Put him into Azkaban??? I'll sure as hell write some letter to Rita Skeeter then and the Ministry of Magic will get into REAL trouble!" She sniggers a bit and then grins broadly.

"As for Nathan, well... he's here, not because of you - but neither because he's worried about me. I can't really tell you WHY he's here, he'd kill me, but maybe he didn't volunteer to come... that's all I've got to say."

She chuckles again, looks out on the lake and then gets up again. "I'm going back in again, maybe they've all cooled down. I want to get to know the new ones. Are we friends, Kat?" She shrugs awkwardly. "I'd like to be friends with you, you know? Maybe that's the Ravenclaw affiliation I got through my mom..."

"I would love to be friends, Morticia. I guess we already have been for a while. And I guess Slytherins and Ravenclaws can be friends." Kat smiled at Morticia. "I guess I better go back in for a bit. But I don't think I'll be there long. I just don't feel too sociable today for some reason. Although talking about it does help."

Kat walked back to the hall with Morticia.

****************

For a moment after Morticia left, Niki stood there looking lost, then regained her nerve. Walking over to where the Gryffindors were standing, she cleared her throat softly to draw attention to herself. "Umm... Madison? Can I talk to you, please?"

Madison turned, looking surprised. Once the shock wore off, her expression was hard to read. "Uh, sure." She turned to the others and excused herself, then headed off with Niki.

Ember went quiet, trying to keep her face casually impassive. When Madison went off with Niki, Ember watched them go. She hoped Niki was going to at least try to straighten things out with Madison; otherwise, it was going to be a very difficult term.

Yvette shifted feet, looking at Ember and the new kid. "By the way, I'm Yvette." She grinned. "Tu parle francais?"

"I speak Cajun, chere, but I can understand French pretty well if you give me a chance to listen."

"It's amazing how many languages people speak." Yvette grinned. "And understand! I'm very limited, English and French, and I can speak a little Spanish and German."

Peesey who insisted on butting into the conversation said, "You mean you cant talk like a chicken?! Well I can speak English, German, French, Latin, Russian and Japanese! So you're not all big Miss I'm the Best!"

Niki looked very uncomfortable. "Madison... I don't really know what happened that day. I've been blaming you for it because I don't know, but it's not your fault. The Imperious Curse is almost impossible to combat, and I shouldn't blame you... I'm sorry for being so unpleasant, but I hope you can understand. Could you... Could you tell me what happened? I need to know."

Madison smiled sadly. "I understand. I wish I knew what happened...It was like...like having a bad nightmare that you can't control...then waking up to find that the nightmare was true." She paused. "I'm sorry I don't have the answers for you...I'm trying to figure all this out, too..."

Niki nods. "I can't exactly promise to be your best friend... I don't like to lie, after all, but I promise I won't be foul to you like I have been. It just makes me a little... uncomfortable. You understand, please...?"

Madison nodded. "I didn't expect you to be. I understand...So from here on out, we'll be at least decent to each other. Agreed?" She held out her hand to shake on it.

"At *least* decent," Niki agrees, holding out her hand and shaking Madison's. "It isn't your fault. You shouldn't feel like it is. Uh-oh..." She glances over at Ember, and mutters, "Sounds like the French language is about to be mangled by an American. Can the great Niki save it?" before darting off again with a fleeting look at Madison.

Ember chuckled under her breath. "Poor child doesn't even know the difference between Arcadian and French. She should get out more."

Madison gave a little wave as Niki went off, then headed back over to Ember, Yvette and Dylan. "So, what's going on?" She turned to Dylan and smiled. "So, where are you from? I'm from the US..."

"Me, too--from New Orleans, as if you couldn't tell," Ember said. "Houma, actually, but we moved to the city when I was ten. I studied magic with my grandmere Marie-Ange. I was at Leveau Academy for a couple years, but Daddy thought it would be best if I studied abroad for at least a year or two. He's from South Croydon, and he attended Hogwarts himself."

She paused and giggled at herself. "Listen to me, running off at the mouth like I was onstage and getting paid by the word! Sorry about that, I'll hush. So where are you from, Dylan?"

"Wales," he offered. "Name's Dylan Rhydderch. An' no, I didn't mind th' rescue, though I wager he was th' one bein' saved." His hands clenched in fists for a moment, then relaxed. H pushed his raven hair away from his flashing eyes. "Lot's o' new faces...amazin' wha' I've missed when I miss a term here." Dylan looked about the group, falling silent then, feeling uneasy at saying so much in one go.

"Yeah, you've missed quite a bit," Madison replied. "Though I can't say that's a bad thing...This isn't your first year here? It's mine...so where have you been?" She caught his uneasiness and smiled. "Hey, you don't have to be nervous around us," Madison said, surprised out how calm she was after everything that had happened. *Complete opposite of how I was feeling a few minutes before,* she thought. *Huh. Mood swings...I hope that not a bad thing..."

Yvette nodded, grinning. "We don't bite!" She chuckles and looks in the direction of the Slytherins. "Only Peesey does..."

"Been home," Dylan said unwillingly. "I never stood out much when I was here, save for fightin' sometimes." He shoved his hands back into the pockets of his robe, and gave her a wan smile. "An' I'm not nervous."

Madison grinned. "Then forget I said that. So, you're a fighter huh? I guess Ember didn't need to 'save' you...you look like you can hold your own against those Slytherins. Hmm...maybe we should try and get our table back?" She gave a little laugh. "And I am totally boring you aren't I? I seem to have that affect on people," Madison joked, then turned to Yvette and Ember. "So, we up for getting our table back?"

********************

As Morticia and Kat return to the others, Nathan approaches Kat.

"Hello, Miss Black," he smiles at her, "I want to once more apologise for the incident that took place during my visit here. I promise it won't happen again, and I swear it wasn't intentional. I also heard you and this... Marvo were good friends, so I'm sorry about what happened. I hope they don't put him into Azkaban! By the way, Kathryn Black... is one of your relatives that lunatic murderer Sirius Black who's in Azkaban? Cause that'd be a funny coincidence, wouldn't it, first some sort of uncle in prison and now your boyfriend..."

Morticia kicks against his leg and pushes Kat forward. "Ignore him!" she hisses. "He only wants you to get angry, don't do him the favour!"

"What do *you* know about Azkaban?" Niki demands, overhearing. "I don't know *who* you are, but you are talking about something you could know nothing about, so I suggest you stop talking before you reveal the depths of your ignorance." She hisses in Morticia's ear, "Oh, merde... Was that your brother? I'm sorry!"

"Well, yes, I happen to be her brother, don't blame me for it!" Nathan chuckles at the sight of Morticia glaring at him. "And you cutesy little red riding hood must be little Niki Pheidippides. Of course, YOU would know a lot about Azkaban, wouldn't you? Did your mommy ever give you any sweet little Dementor-dolls for your birthday?"

Before anyone can react, Mr Lagrand suddenly appears, throws a dark look at Nathan and drags him away.

Niki's face is dark with rage, and she mutters something extremely vile in French, then she turns back to Morticia with a grim half-smile. "I don't think I'll blame him for you... just for himself. My God, what an..."

Her voice trails off as her father approaches. "Bonjour, Papa."

"Nicola, I need to speak to you. You aren't to use such vulgar language, do you understand?"

"Papa, did you hear what he *said*?"

"Yes, I did, but that is no excuse. And what I would have expected..." His voice trails off too. "No offence intended, Mademoiselle Lagrand."

"No offence taken," Morticia replies coldly and, when Mr Pheidippides has left, she glares after him. "Okay. That's it. No more politeness, no more 'watch your languag'es, no more 'manners', I've had it! Time for revolution, Niki, are you with me?"

Niki grins. "Definitely! And... Tish? I don't blame you for your brother. Hadrian is... was... a huge pain too. Papa is always telling me I need to behave like the daughter of the ambassador, like a mature young lady..." She groans theatrically.

Kat just watched this exchange and just ignored Nathan. "I see he hasn't changed much then, Morticia. Shame. I could almost have though he was sorry for getting me knocked off my broom all that time ago when he sent that present, but now...." She left it hanging. Kat thought for a minute about how the Quidditch incident had effected everyone. That was on the dreaded weekend that Nimue and Marvo had been betrothed. No - she wasn't going to think about it!

"Never mind, Tish. At least you have one thing that we all know, you are nothing like him."

"Nathan is a slimy little..." Morticia breaks of, pale with fury. "And to think we had so much fun last summer! And now he got kicked out of Beau-"

She sighs. "I got to talk to Papa. Nat can't go about insulting people like this! See you soon, Kat, and you too, Niki. Don't mind him, please. We're friends, aren't we?" She looks at them pleadingly. "I'll just try to make Nat shut up, but I can't make him stop thinking what he thinks."

She leaves and wanders off to her father.

Kat looked at Niki after Morticia had gone. "I really don't envy Tish this term. It can't be very nice for her having her brother around now. I know they really don't get on."

Niki sighs. "Hadrian and I didn't get along at all... I'd still give anything to have him here, though." She turns to Kat. "How 'bout you? Are you okay? I'm sure Marvo will be fine."

"Yeh, I'm fine. I'm sure Marvo will sort the WIBs out." Kat gives a lame smile. She is trying not to think about it, and beginning to wish everyone else would too. "How are you coping. I mean you might not have got along with your brother, but... At least I will see Marvo again."

Niki smiles sadly. "It's all right. Well, actually, it isn't, but there's not much we can do about it. I need to go talk to those new Slytherins. That girl, Arcadia, I think it was, is really odd, but I haven't met her brother. Tu m'excuserez?" *Translation: You'll excuse me?*

***************

Achel seems lost. After recent events involving an uncle, several close friends and a cousin Achel feels like he needs a break. So instead of going back to South America he is staying. Staying in the cold wet dreary UK with its boring plants and unexciting languages. So Achel wanders through the halls and corridors of Hogwarts with a sadness in his eyes that few want to talk to.

Nimue was also feeling quite sad about things. After trailing behind her father for some time after the awards, she was also wandering Hogwarts deep in thought. She wondered how Kat had got on with Marvo and how their complicated lives were going to continue.

She knew Achel was around but hadn't talked to him at all and it was half in her mind to see if she might find him to at least determine whether he would be staying in UK.

Achel finds himself wandering straight into Nimue!

"Hello." he says. "Listen. I'm not going back. Prof. Dumbledore thinks it would be best if I didn't for a bit - what with what's going with Uncle, and Egreen has a lot of questions too - about the book and things. Egreen wants to see his dad, but he thinks the WIB will want to question him first .."

Achel's eyes moisten, and to Nimue's surprise he throws himself into a big hug 'round her.

Nimue was surprised but she hugged him back. "Well, you know I am here for you as a friend and ... " she didn't want to assume more in the circumstances: "I am really interested in working with the nature spirits and plants and some of the very cool stuff Professor Snape has in his collection."

She then tackled 'the issue': "It's been a really hard time for all of us. I know the betrothal thing with Marvo is a bit of a dampener but we're all pretty young anyway and... " she trailed off not knowing really where to take this.

***************

It gets late, the guests leave and after a while Dumbledore officially ends the get-together and sends all students off to their common rooms. "Plenty of time to get together tomorrow and the day after that", he says with a smile, "and you can still chat in your common rooms, but the house elves must start to clean the castle now. So, good night to you all. School will start as usually tomorrow."

The students moan about being sent to bed but then one by one pad away to their common rooms.