Julia was startled for a moment, watching Aren pull Caelum away and off the train. She looked over as Frank spoke and nodded, walking with him towards the carriage station.

The ride to the castle was uneventful, as was the trio's trip back to the dungeons to arrange their belongings. Aren and Frank had promised the girls that they would meet right before the formalities started and were hellbent to stay on schedule as they rushed around the room and crowded the bath to fix themselves in front of the mirror. Caelum was chuckling at the two's antics when a sudden stab of pain over his heart caused him to falter and drop the tomes in his arms.

"Something wrong, Caelum?" Frank had asked.
"Nothing, just tripped over myself and dropped the books." he fired in quick response. "Mind if I take my turn over there? The two of you have hogged the bathroom since we arrived."

Finally alone and in front of the mirror, Caelum made sure that the door was locked before unbuttoning his shirt, revealing a pulsing dark mark imprinted onto the skin over his heart. He muttered a curse under his breath as he leaned over the sink and glared at the mark. "You gave me ten months." He growled at the mark. "It's only been the first day. Give me a break, will you?"


The three Slytherins arrived in front of the great hall, all neatly dressed and hair combed to perfection. The multitude of stares, though less than usual, bothered them none as they waited for the three Ravenclaws they promised to meet.
"Hey, how many firsties do you think will go to Slytherin?" asked Aren.
"If we based it off the number of first years being sorted to Slytherin in the past few years, I'd say four at most. Five if we're lucky." answered Frank as he fixed his glasses over the bridge of his nose.
"Come oooooon, Frank. You're no fun. The right answer to that should be all of them!"

Olivia and Amira were with Julia, making sure their things were put away properly. "You two go down without me." She said softly. She told them how Caelum had used some charm to hide he hadnt slept much or all recently. "If he hid that from me, what else is he hiding from me?" She murmured.

"You sure you want to skip dinner?" Olivia asked. Julia nodded, indicating she would just go to sleep. When they left to go to dinner, she changed into her nightgown and crawled into bed. "What else are you hiding from me, Caelum...?" She murmured to herself before falling into a restless sleep.

Amira and Olivia arrived in the great hall and informed the guys that Julia wasn't coming. "She said something about Caelum hiding things from her..." Olivia murmured

The small smile on Caelum's face disappeared after Amira and Olivia arrived without Julia. Not hearing what Olivia said under her breath, his mind raced with thoughts on what could have possibly caused Julia to miss sorting day. So deep in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the knowing look that his two friends gave him.

"Hey Caelum!" He was brought back to reality when Aren called for his attention. "Huh? What is it?"
"Go save a seat for us, yeah? We'll be right over."
"Uhm, uh, yeah. Okay."

Caelum decided to ask a house elf to send dinner to Julia once the sorting's finished. Perhaps she just wasn't feeling so well.


As soon as Caelum was out of hearing distance, Aren and Frank turned back to Amira and Olivia with understanding smiles on their faces. "So she's noticed that he's hiding things, huh?" Aren was the first to speak. "With all the years we've known him, we've understood that he's prone to hide things from us as well. The guy and his family has rights to their own privacy, after all, especially after the Malfoys have been labelled as Death Eaters."

"Ever since summer break, we also noticed that he's been keeping a secret but we're so used to it that it's pretty much normal, you know? But if it's caused Julia to skip today's events … it could be serious." Frank finished with a somber tone.

"Or just overreacting."

"Hush, Aren. Do you think we could speak with Julia? Maybe after curfew?"

"About the whole death eater thing..." Amira looked eorried,"You don't think..." she glanced at Olivia with worry,"You don't think his family might be death eaters again? Because remember there were the rumors of a new dark lord last year...if that's true, Julia could be in danger because I read that the new dark lord swore vengeance on Harry Potter's family. " Amira looked down, "That would break Julia's heart."

Olivia looked over when Aren mentioned talking to Julia,"If she's even awake. She mentioned she was just going to bes... "

Aren was offended with her stating the possibility that his friend's family were siding with the new dark lord, but the anger that rolled inside of him was due to his own doubt that his friend could be falling in with the wrong sorts. A doubt he shouldn't even have. "Caelum would never-"

"Breathe, Aren." Frank cut him off, and only then did he notice that his anger got the better of him, that he had started to shout at Amira.

"I- I apologize. That was out of line." Aren bowed his head as he pushed his rage down into a simmer. "But Caelum and his family would never side with some wizard who wants to take over the wizarding world, especially if said wizard wants revenge on the Potters, which I find very unlikely since Moldyshort's little death eater followers were purged hundreds of years ago. They'd never side with a dark lord wannabe if they had a say in it."

"But that's the problem, Aren, don't you think?" Frank scrunched his brows, deep in thought as he continued, "What if they don't have a say in the matter and the new dark lord just barged into the manor and started throwing hexes around like party favors?"

Aren scoffed. "You think some wizard can just traipse into the manor and start ordering things around? You and I know just how powerful those wards are."

"I know …" Frank sighed, "But what if?" He turned to Amira and Olivia. "If a dark lord really is trying to use the Malfoys again, then we'd better get to the bottom of it. I'm sure Julia wouldn't mind us waking her if it's about Caelum's safety."

Amira had been startled and taken aback when Aren started to yell, causing her to back away a little,"It was only a question..." She murmured softly. Aren had never yelled at her like that,"I just worry...I worry for them...I don't want anyone to get hurt..." She looked down.

Olivia wrapped her arms around Amira gently in a hug and looked over at the boys,"I worry too. And it's just something you have to wonder. I dont want go believe he would willingly do so." She listened as Aren spoke,"It could be someone who agrees with them, someone who wants to purge the muggles...and I know they still are out there. Even if its smaller numbers..." She listened as Frank spoke and nodded,"You're probably right. I just wish he wouldn't have to hide things like this... I understand a person needs their secrets and all but when it worries those that care for you..."

Amira looked at Olivia sadly,"I'm gonna go get a seat..." she said softly, still a bit hurt Aren had yelled at her like that,"I'll see you later..." she turned and hurried to the Ravenclaw table and sat down quietly, not taking part in conversations like she usually did.

"W-wait, Amira-" Aren tried to call for her but Frank held his arm back. "What're you-" He was cut off by Frank shaking his head as a clear 'No'.

"Aren, the first years are about to enter. It's not the time for-"

"I don't care if you think that it's not the time for this, Frank. I know I did something wrong and I have to fix it before it's too late." He shook his arm out of his friend's grip and made his way to the Ravenclaw table.

"Amira-" a bit of hesitance made him pause in his words but a light of determination grew in his eyes as he started over. "Amira, it was wrong of me to shout at you. My behavior was … it is inexcusable. I should never had forced my anger upon you. I-m so-"

A burst from the doors shocked everyone who was watching and listening back into the present as the Deputy Headmaster strode into the Great Hall with young witches and wizards in tow. He stopped halfway through when he saw a hint of green by the Ravenclaw table and another between it and the Slytherins.

"Mr. Zabini and Mr. Longbottom, if the two of you aren't sitting at your proper table by the time I reach the sorting hat, you will be spending tonight with the castle's caretaker for detention. Am I understood?"

"Y-yes sir!" Frank answered immediately and moved as quickly as he could to pull Aren to the Slytherin table. Caelum, on the other hand, was looking at his friends with concern in his eyes. What were they doing there, exactly? He wasn't able to hear what Aren told Amira, but he felt that it was important. Perhaps he was finally confessing to her?

Amira had looked up when Aren came over, but looked away as the first years came in. Olivia took her spot next to Amira, softly talking to her. If the guys watched, Amira started to cheer up and agreed to forgive Aren, realizing she might have been too sensitive about the situation.

As the sorting happened, a figure slipped into the great hall. Julia decided to join her friends anyway, also not wanting to miss the sporting. Her friends smiled and hugged her tightly, glad she was there.

The three were sitting with their backs towards the other tables as that was the only spot available that could fit three when Caelum arrived to save the seats. Craning their necks to look towards the end of the hall where the sorting hat sat already put enough strain on their spine to last them the whole night that they couldn't be bothered to pay attention to anything else.

The hat had started singing about the four houses and the first years started giving off anxious waves of energy as they stood still and wondered when they would have to fight a troll to get sorted. Relief flooded their veins when the first student was sorted into Gryffindor without having to battle for his life.

Students cheered as first years were sorted into their houses and the Slytherins applauded when the sorting ended and they managed to grab four first years for themselves. The sorting ended and the students filed to their own dorms without any trouble. And when lights out was announced, every Slytherin was sleeping in their beds … except for two.

Aren shook Frank awake and signaled for his friend that it was time to speak with the girls about Caelum. Maybe he'd even have time to fix things with Amira. They crept past the sitting room and under the portraits, they hid in the shadows and dashed past the torches. And finally, they made it up to the entrance of the Ravenclaw tower. Now they were just hoping that the three were awake and would meet them outside.