...and so another school year at Hogwart's begins.

This was year was going to be different, though. This year was Anna's last year. After this, there would be no more shopping in Diagon Alley for items such as school books, potions supplies, quills, and parchments. Anna would visit Diagon Alley from time to time, but she'd probably only be going to the Apothecary...or to her mum's shop. This was going to be her last ride to the school, and when she got there, she'd have her very last Start of Term Feast. When she really sat down and thought about it, seventh year seemed odd, since it was the year of doing everything for the very last time.

Anna wasn't going to think about that anymore, though. If this was going to be the beginning of the end of her life at Hogwart's, then she was going to make the most of it. When she walked the corridors, rather she was on Head Girl patrols or not, she'd make sure to walk a little slower and glance at everything as if her life depended on it. Were graduated seventh years even allowed back at the castle once they left? Anna wasn't even sure. With a thousand and one thoughts running through her mind, Anna found an empty seat---which wasn't difficult considering she was the first one to enter the compartment---and relaxed before the chaos set in. She glanced down at her badge---her new badge. The one that read "Head Girl" instead of "Prefect." Well, this would be a learning experience...

But oh no! Wait! Anna sat up straight and tall, a feeling of panic soaring through her.

...had she remembered to pack her chocolate frogs?

Jack entered the Prefects' compartment, eager to meet the others. (He knew that being new to the school and being made a prefect was going to be a challenge....but he LOVED a good challenge. Bring it on!)

'Hi. My name is Jack. I'm the new Ravenclaw Prefect.' He said to the girl that was already there.

Head Boy.

Clifford Carden, Head Boy.

Clifford 'THE MIGHTY' Carden, Head Boy.

Goodness gracious - he was just too cool. And boy did he feel it too as he swaggered wandered down the narrow train corridor, pushing his way past the little people. It was strange knowing that this was going to be his last journey to Hogwarts.. knowing that this was going to be his very last term there. Sure, it was weird - but it was also AWESOME! He was going to be the OLDEST - well, one of the oldest anyway - and the TALLEST and the BESTEST!

RAWR!!!

It was a rather excited Clifford that slid open the door to the Prefect's compartment and bounded right on inside. He hadn't bounded into the full compartment he'd been anticipating though, and hesitated the tiniest bit when he noticed it was practically empty except for some kid he didn't recognise and Anna Greingoth. Bleh. At least Newell was out of the picture now. Mwaha.

Okay.. Civil. Head Boy's had to be civil, right? Right.

"Yo, Greingoth." Nodding in acknowledgement, Clifford collapsed into the seat right opposite her. He was brave.. he wouldn't let her scare him. GRR.

Wow... It's even more impressive than I remembered. Rachel grinned as she neared the red train, glad that she had persuaded her uncle to let her take it. Sure, living in Hogsmeade was mighty convenient sometimes, but it was a bummer when she never used the Express - it all starts and ends in those very corridors. Hauling her trunk over to its respective compartment, she felt a pang of annoyance as she realised that Jake had been right. It was certainly a lot harder to put the trunk on the train -and to take it off, I imagine- than to just have him send it over to the gates and the house elves take it from there.

Finally managing to dump the trunk in, she turned and stepped onto the Hogwarts Express, grinning like an idiot as she observed the hustle and bustle of all the students wandering around, greeting old friends or already making new ones. Ahh... It's been way to long a summer! She made her way down the train, walking slowly through the crowds and got half way when she realised that the Prefects' Compartment was where she had come from.

Rolling her eyes at herself, the fifth year turned and headed back the way she came from, her school robes billowing behind her as she hurried towards her destination, hoping she wasn't late and mentally kicking herself. Ooh, there's Anna! she spotted the girl in the compartment with the Slytherin Prefect, and stopped before she accidentally bumped into anyone. That must be it! Even though I have never seen that other guy before... Odd, she thought and pulled open the glass doors, wondering whether a new student could automatically become a prefect.

"Hey Anna and, erm..." she greeted all three, smiling warmly at her friend and grinning politely at the two boys. Closing the doors behind her, she made towards the window seat and sat down next to Anna. Rachel leaned back into the chair as she looked around the compartment, eyes alight with excitement and feeling almost like a first year again. Remembering where she was and why she was here, she stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out the blue badge, carefully pinning it to her shirt as she flicked her hair out of her face with the other. Her new look was great - but she still hadn't gotten used to the constant hairs in her peripheral vision.

Jack nodded to the new arrivals. 'Hi there. I'm Jack...the new Ravenclaw Prefect. Pleasure to meet you.' Then flashed his dazzling smile.

Bummer. It was boring being all alone in a compartment. Anna thought about venturing out the compartment and wandering the hallways of the train, but she had business to attend to first. Alone in the compartment, Anna tapped her long-ish fingernails lightly against the window. She'd snagged a window seat early on, but she didn't figure she'd keep it for too long. When she found out who the Head Boy was, they'd have to get started with the first order of business quite quickly.

When the door to the compartment slid open, Anna dropped her hand and turned to see who'd come in. She meant to smile---really, she did, but to be quite honest, she had no idea who'd just walked into the compartment. This boy was no first year...that Anna was sure of. Was he new, though? Lost, perhaps? When he spoke, Anna's comfused expression quickly changed into a smile. Oh. So he was Cale Thornton's replacement. "Hello there," she politely greeted. "I'm Anna Greingoth, Head Girl. It's lovely to meet you. I'm waiting on a few others to arrive, and then we have a few things to discuss. In the meantime, I'm on the lookout for a chocolate frog. You wouldn't happen to have one, would you?"

...and then in walked Clifford Carden, Slytherin prefect. Clifford was a seventh year, like Anna. He, Anna, and Evangeline were actually the only seventh years on the prefect team. That is, of course, unless this Jack guy was a seventh year, as well. He didn't look to be seventeen. He looked just a few years younger. Fifth or sixth year, perhaps. Anna watched Clifford as he walked in. He had a certain air of confidence about him. Clifford was always confident and sure of himself, but something about the way he carried himself seemed a bit different. Anna couldn't quite put her finger on it, though.

"Hey, Clifford," she politely greeted. The two hadn't necessarily gotten along in the past, but that was mainly because Clifford and Cale didn't get along. This was seventh year, though, so it was high time to mend fences and get along with everyone, especially a fellow prefect. That was when a lightbulb suddenly clicked on in Anna's head. If Clifford, Anna, and Evangeline were the only seventh years on the team, and Anna was the Head Girl, that meant...."Clifford, are...you...the Head Boy?" Anna asked.

Anna smiled when the compartment door once again slid open. This time, the newest arrival was Rachel, the female Ravenclaw prefect. "Hey, Rachel," she greeted, watching as Rachel's eyes fell on Jack. She was, no doubt, wondering who he was. Anna started to introduce the boy, but he spoke up and attended to the matter before Anna could. That was probably best anyway. If those two were going to be leading Ravenclaw together, it'd be nice for them to be able to communicate nicely with one another. "It's good to see you again, Rachel. We're waiting on a few more arrivals, then we've got a small bit of business to attend to. After that, we've all got to do some catching up!"

The years just seemed to go by too quickly as Dominic was in disbelief that this was his third year boarding the train. Though one thing that had to be said was that Kayla Winters would NOT be in the Prefect's compartment this term; which was an added bonus to him reporting there first. Of course he still had yet to figure out what exactly happened her. Too much bullying or drama perhaps. But if that were the case, then perhaps there shouldn't be any female prefects.

The awesome thing about being a sixth year though was that Dominic would have only those classes he cared about to focus on. In other the words, the ones he achieved highly enough on for OWL exams. That meant NO Runes! Plus, this year, he wouldn't have to worry of any of those examinations outside ordinary classwork. Meant more time to focus on Prefecting and Quidditch and such. Little did the Hufflepuff know though was that there were to be other changes taking place with regards to Student Leadership this term. Other than Vanessa Corbette being his new co-prefect, of course.

Pulling the Prefect's compartment open, Dominic drew a deep breath as he peered in to see who was there. The Ravenclaw Prefects were both there - Rachel whom he knew from last term and the new one, Jack something-or-other- who he met at Cel-an-dine's birthday party. Then there was also Anna Greingoth and Clifford Carden.

"Hi there," Dominic greeted politely, as he slipped in and took one of the seats by the window. No Vanessa yet - hmm, perhaps she had been just pulling his leg in regards to being Prefect? - Nah, he couldn't be so hopeful . . .

After boarding the trains Vanessa began walking towards the compartment which she had never before been able to sit in. The Prefect Compartment. But obviously now as she was a prefect she was able to sit there. As she walked she was silently thinking about what the reactions would be. Nobody was really going to have expected Kayla to leave, so they probably weren't expecting a new Prefect to arrive for Hufflepuff. Unless Dominic had already gotten there and broken the news. She dearly hoped that he hadn't, although it would serve her right.
Brushing her hair out of her eyes, she stopped outside the compartment, and sighed. Well this was it. Smiling she entered the compartment, well not everyone was there yet, so that was okay?
"Hey guys." She spoke, as she looked at them all, only briefly glancing at Dominic.

"Hey Jack," Clifford nodded at the Ravenclaw when he introduced himself. Hopefully he wasn't as crazy as the last Ravenclaw Prefect.. he didn't seem to have a honking daffodil on him. Hmmm. That was a good sign at least. "I'm Clifford." Clifford Carden, Head Boy.

Greingoth was annoying. Greingoth was a giant pain in the backside. She was a bossy, know-it-all, teacher's pet and arrrgh. She just got on Clifford's nerves really. Maybe she wouldn't be quite as hard to put up with though, know Cale Newell had left. Eh. That was probably just wishful thinking.

He was about to make polite conversation and ask how her summer had been, when she did it. She asked him if he was Head Boy. Wasn't the new badge pinned to his chest proof enough of that? He'd taken extra speshul care to make sure the big 'HB' was in view for all to see. Yeah, he was proud!

"As a matter of fact.. I am Head Boy," Clifford announced, loud and proud for the whole compartment to hear. But wait.. why would Anna care unless ...? "You're not the Head Girl, are you?" Bummer.

And then came the Hufflepuffs. Denton and Wint -

Denton and Corbette? Vanessa the Snot Girl? Prefect? That meant Winters was gone? He was safe! Calling the former Hufflepuff Prefect she was fragile really hadn't done him any favours.

To Clifford's surprise, Dominic Denton was still in one piece. No broken bones, no black eyes, no scratches. He'd half been expecting the Hufflepuff to show up in a full body cast. Honestly, snogging Willow 'Bone Crusher' Kovac...

"Hello Vanessa," Clifford greeted cheerily, brown eyes moving to her. "I'm guessing you didn't get lost and wander in here accidentally.. so congrats on the new badge."

Now.. where was Evangeline? Sniffle.

"It's nice to meet you too Jack, I'm Rachel," she replied to him, trying to conceal her surprise behind her warm, welcoming smile. Odd... Very odd. Wander how he managed to become a Prefect without ever attending the school, Rachel thought to herself as she held out her hand for him to shake. The sudden movement caused her layered hair to slide back onto her face and, rolling her eyes at the stupid dark yet lush strands as she used her other hand to tuck the hair firmly behind her ears - knowing fully well that it would just bounce back the next time she moved her head.

As she looked at him, she couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness wash over her as she fully realised who Jack was replacing. She had known last year that Cale wasn't coming back -he was a seventh year- but seeing someone else as the Ravenclaw Prefect was just plain sad. She had liked Cale - no, really liked Cale and she knew that she would miss him a lot - even his honking daffodil that made her jump all the way through the end of term feast last year.

"All right - it's nice to see you too Anna," she replied to the girl with warm smile, almost groaning as the hairs obscured her vision. "Gah! Stupid hair!" she exclaimed and grabbed the strands with deliberate force and practically plastered them onto her skull as she replaced them behind her ears. Annoyed, she removed her hands and pointedly kept her head very still as she looked at Anna again with an apologetic grin on her face.

"Oh wait - what's that?!" her eyes widened and she leaned forwards as she noticed something different with the Gryffindor badge - it seemed to have more letters on it than usual. She felt the hairs escape from their tucked in position and sighed - she'd just have to live with it now... Straightening up again, she noticed the Hufflepuff male Prefect walk in and cast his eyes on the occupants. She cocked her head to the side as she saw that he didn't seem surprised by Jack. They had probably met in Diagon Alley or something... Or maybe he'd always been at Hogwarts and I was too wrapped up in my world that I hadn't noticed him?! she thought, slightly alarmed.

Fervently wishing that wasn't true, she tuned her thoughts back onto the present situation and smiled at Dominic. "Heya," she replied with a friendly smile, fighting to keep her hands by her sides and not by her hair. She watched as yet another person walked in and raised her eyebrows. Many new prefects this year... And I haven't even met Gryffindor Cale's replacement yet.

"Hello," she repeated, this time greeting the new girl Prefect. "I'm Rachel," she added with a smile as she gazed up at the girl wondering what year she was in. She didn't look like a third year, and couldn't be one since she was a prefect... But she was kind of on the short side. Rachel continued to smile at the short girl, and inside thanked Merlin that she couldn't read minds otherwise she'd be very offended.


Head boy? Rachel blinked as she turned to face the Slytherin Prefect who seemed to want to stay nameless- Oh wait, he just told Jack his name. Clifford... Hmm, ok. Peering at his chest, she saw that the green badge was - like Anna's - a little too full of letters. Head boy? Head girl? Cool! she exclaimed in her head, an excited grin spreading across her face as the realisation dawned on her.

Evangeline knew she was a bit late. And honestly - she didn't quite care. After spending the entire summer away from her parents, they had wanted a more serious and longer goodbye - which had caused her to almost miss the train. Not to mention that she had decided to change onto her school robes when she got on the train.

Anything to delay the moment the moment she'd enter that compartment.

Ugh. It was all very simple. If Clifford was the Head Boy, there was only one option for Head Girl. And Evangeline could not deal with that. She wasn't proud, she wasn't glad, but she couldn't help but to feel that badge was completely wrong for the bossy Gryffindor.

Yeeeah, she was sore.

Pushing the door open, Evangeline Green stepped into the small compartment, and looked around. Oooh. It seemed she wasn't that late, then. "Oh, hiii!" Allowing her rosy lips to curl into a smile, Evangeline walked towards her boyfriend and took a seat beside him. Smiling a bit wider at him than to the other Prefects, she looked around once more, recognising some of the Prefects there. Wait ... "Vans? You're a Prefect too? Congrats!" What she had heard about Kayla leaving was true then.

Speaking of leaving, Newell wasnt there either. MWAHAHA! The thought alone was able to put a small smug smile on her lips and she looked at Clifford. "So, when is this meeting starting?" She had better things to do.

Jack said hello as the others introduced themselves. Being an impatient sort, he couldn't just sit around doing nothing, so he grabbed the drumsticks from the side pocket of his back and started practicing using the sole of his shoe as a drum. Rat-a-tat-tat-tara-diddle-tat.Br-r-r-r-r-r-mp tapita-tapita-tapita. Br-r-r-r-r-r-rmp. tat-tat-tat-tat.

"I don't think I could wander accidentally into here." Vanessa grinned at Clifford. It looked like he was a little shocked, but that was understandable really. At least he didn't look like he was going to bite her head of or anything. "Thanks Clifford," She smiled, brushing her hair away from her face. She was kind of looking forward to the year to be honest, even though it was her final year, but then it was also Clifford, Evangeline, and Anna's last year. So she wasn't alone really.

"Have you had a good summer?" She asked, polietly.

"Hey," Vanessa smiled at the girl, whom she hadn't really talked to before. She noticed the girl was looking at her, probably trying to work out how old she was. The height was probably decieving her to be honest. "I'm Vanessa." She nodded, as she girl introduced herself. "And I'm a 7th year." She added on, just incase Rachel was still wondering. "How was you're holiday?"

"Evviee" Vannie smiled as Evangeline noticed her presence in the compartment. She was tempted to hug her friend, but as she was sat down next to Clifford she would wait to do that later. "Yussh." She grinned, now they both were. That was awesome. "Thank you." She nodded with a smile.

A few minutes later, the compartment door slid open and in walked Dominic Denton. She smiled at him, then allowed herself to stare deep into his eyes for just a moment. She thought they were the bluest form of blue---the prettiest eyes she'd ever seen. She imagined they were the color of oceans in faraway paradises. Then there was his hair. He had the thickest hair she'd ever seen on a boy. Not to mention that his hair was perfectly hightlighted---was that natural? Hmm. Blinking, she came to and diverted her attention somewhere else for a moment. When she was sure she'd played it cool enough, she turned back to Dom. "Hey, Denton. Welcome back to chaos," she said with a laugh. "We're holding a brief prefect's meeting soon. We're just waiting on Chris to arrive. You didn't see him wandering the hallways, did you?"

Anna turned her attention back to Clifford, the new (she assumed) Head Boy. She and Clifford didn't exactly have the greatest history, but seeing as they'd be assiting one another in leading the school this year, she better make some sort of attempt to rebuild that burned bridge. She honestly couldn't remember where things between them had started to go wrong, but if she remembered correctly, it had something to do with Cale. Hmm. Could it be that with Cale gone they'd at least be able to remain civil towards one another? Only time would tell.

Ahh, so her suspicions were correct. Clifford Carden was indeed the new Head Boy. Had she really paid attention to his attire, she'd have known the answer to her question without even hearing an answer from Clifford. His Head Boy badge, quite similiar in some ways to her Head Girl badge, was pinned nicely to his chest. "Well then. I see a congratulations is in order," she said with a smile. "I am the new Head Girl, so it looks like we'll be leading the pack together." She thought for just a moment and then added, "We're supposed to give a little welcoming speech to our co-prefects, too. Ready to get started on that?"

Anna softly laughed as she watched Rachel fight with her hair. Anna knew that feeling all too well. In her younger years, she'd had very, very curly and unruly hair. It was only after years of straightening it that it finally decided to cooperate and, in Anna's opinion, actually look decent. "Your hair looks just fine, Rachel," she assured. "Although, I do know the feeling. Perhaps you should pin it back if it's bothering you that much. I think it looks nice, though."

She paused for a moment when Rachel began looking at her new badge. It occured to her that most people hadn't heard Clifford and Anna's news yet. As far as most people were concerned, both were still prefects. "This is my new badge. I'm still serving as the female Gryffindor prefect, but I'm also the Head Girl now," Anna explained, glancing down at her badge as she talked. "The badges for Head Girl and Head Boy are slightly different than the prefect badges."

It was only when the compartment door slid open again, that Anna turned from Rachel and looked up. Evangeline Green, Slytherin female prefect and longtime love of Clifford Carden, strolled in. The situation between Anna and Evangeline was about the same as the situation between Anna and Clifford. Evangeline didn't really care for Anna, but for the life of her, Anna couldn't figure out why. She'd just always assumed it was one of those "by association" type things. You know, the kind where you really don't care for someone simply because of their association with someone else? Evangeline didn't exactly have the greastest friendship with Cale, so that'd automatically put Anna on her hit list, too.

Nevertheless, Anna smiled politely when Evangeline entered the compartment. "Hey, Evangeline," she greeted in return. Anna's facial expression changed into one of surprise when Evangeline mentioned Vanessa...and her new position as prefect? Vanessa was in here? Anna must have missed her entrance due to the distraction caused by Dominic Denton's eyes and hair. "Oh, hey, Vanessa! You're a prefect now? Congrats!"

"It's nice to meet you Vanessa," Rachel replied, realising that she had seen the girl in class quite a few times. Vanessa... Vanessa... Cobette? Corette? Comet? Something like that. Rachel made a mental note to check the Prefect's list once they arrived at Hogwarts to see if she had been right - she was usually pretty good with names. "Seventh year? Wow," she said, trying to keep her eyes from widening in surprise as she pretending to be awed by the class, and not by the age.

Wonder what happened to Kayla... The thought popped into her mind unbidden and she bit her lip thoughtfully. She was a great Prefect, so the only reason she isn't here now must be because she left; why did she leave? Yet another mental note - check what had happened to Kayla Winters. Rachel smiled as she realised who of her friends would know this information - Livster knows all at the end of the day.

"My holiday was uneventful... I mainly hung out at Hogsmeade and the parks around it with my uncle and my friends - nothing too exciting, but it was fun; relaxing," she said with a smile, remembering the great times she had spent with Jake at Honeydukes, driving the owners crazy as they messed around with the candy - or that time when she had pushed Jake into a pond and spent the rest of the week walking around with a bright blue nose; courtesy of her uncle's quick reflexes. "How about you? Did you have a nice summer?" she asked Vanessa, leaning back into her chair and fighting the reflex to reach up and tidy her hair.

Rachel looked up as Evangeline walked in and instantly blushed a deep red. She had spent much of last year trying to avoid the Slytherin Prefect and it had worked perfectly - but now she could avoid her no longer. And anyway, the only reason she had been trying to avoid her in the first place was because of some stupid reason... Rachel blushed even redder at the thought and mentally kicked herself. Why on earth would the seventh year remember her anyway? She had been a tiny second year back then - or was it her first year? Ack! She couldn't even remember yet she was still embarrassed about it. So what - you tripped her up on the train and had to go to the Hospital Wing straight from the station - and? There's no way she remembers...


Raising her eyebrows as a tapping sound entered her ears, she turned and observed her new fellow prefect banging on the train with a couple of drumsticks. Er... Ok - that's the end of our conversation then, she thought and breathed out a small hushed sigh of relief as she felt her face return to its normal shade of slightly pale complexion.

"Thanks Anna - it may look fine, but it's a little annoying; all these loose strands are driving me insane!" she replied with a slight pout as she eyed one particular thick strand of hair that was situated right over her left eye. "Pin it back? That's a good idea except for the fact that I don't own any pins due to never having any need of them in the past - but thanks anyway," Rachel added with a grateful smile, grumbling under her breath as she reminded herself to write to Jake and ask him to get her some clips and pins as soon as possible. In the meantime, she'd just have to live with the frustrating thick dark lines in her vision and hope that her neck wouldn't snap from all the flicking she was doing with her head to move the strands to the side.

"Wow - congratulations Anna, I'm sure you're going to be great," Rachel replied after her initial surprise to the new badges. Grinning openly, she held up her hand for Anna to high-five, since she wasn't really in the mood for a hug or any sort of action that would involve moving her head more than necessary. It was bad enough that the strands were all over the place but she had spent over half an hour on arranging the rest of her hair this morning and she would get really annoyed if it got ruined now.

Okay, this was kind of freaky. Why was the Ravenclaw girl looking at him like that? With a big grin plastered across her face. It was unnerving. Very unnerving, and Clifford shifted uneasily underneath her gaze. "Uhm - Rachel, right?" He asked nervously, clearing his dry throat and attempting a smile. He had a feeling this girl was insane. What was it with the crazy Ravenclaws? "I'm erm - Clifford. Clifford Carden." Please don't eat me.

And oh, thank Merlin. Noone could get him when Evangeline was here! Not that he needed a girl - his girlfriend - to look after him ... cough. "I didn't think your parents were gonna let you go in time!" He exclaimed at once when she took the spare seat beside him. He hadn't wanted to get on the train without her - but he did feel a little guilty for stealing her all summer. "Maybe we shoud've visited your parents a little more over summer." Poor Mr and Mrs Green.

But what was that? A meeting? Ah, crud. He'd totally forgotten about that certain detail. EEK! "Soon.. I guess," Clifford started sheepishly with a brief glance opposite at Anna, "The other Gryffindor Prefect isn't here yet.. I suppose we should wait." Gah! He was Head Boy! He was upposed to know what to dooo!


Winters had been a good Prefect ... Clifford had a feeling Corbette was going to be a nicer Prefect though. One he wouldn't be cared of too whih was a bonus. Really, who could be scared of a girl that once had bogies for legs? HAH!

Good summer? "Aaaah, it wasn't too bad, y'know," Clifford replied with a quick glance at Evangeline. 'Not too bad' had been the answer to everyone that asked, when in truth it had been the most amazing, wonderful, FANTABULOUS summer EVAH! He didn't want to start flailing around in the Prefect's compartment though. "What about yours?"

Anna Greingoth was Head Girl.. and he - Clifford Carden, Head Boy. Oh goodness gracious. What had Professor Bontecou been thinking?
That meant that they had to work together. Eurgh! The thought alone was disturbing. Clifford attempted to straighten his expression when he felt the look of pure distaste upon it, and with a gulp that made his adam's apple shudder, the seventh year nodded. Greingoth was Head Girl - he'd just have to survive .... somehow.

"Sure, I'm ready," he nodded, not wanting Greingoth to think he was stoopid. He wasn't about to admit that Evangeline had reminded him of said meeting mere minutes ago. "Ready as I'll ever be.. any idea where your co-Prefect is?" Who was replacing Newell anyway?

So Chris Potter still had yet to show up---where was that boy anyway?---but Anna and Clifford really needed to get the show on the road as far as this meeting was concerned. If they waited much longer, the train would be arriving at the castle, and the meeting they were supposed to be holding would be left undone. Anna didn't imagine Headmaster Bontecou would be too happy with either of them if that were to happen.

Anna smiled and nodded as Rachel continued to explain the situation with her hair. Maybe if the girl hadn't gotten ahold of a hair pin by the time she got to her Common Room, Anna could fish one out of the bottom of her own trunk for her. "Thank you," Anna said, replying to Rachel's congratulations about the new Head Girl job. "Speaking of which, we better get started on our meeting."

"Chris Potter," Anna said, turning to Clifford to answer his question about who the new male Gryffindor prefect was. "I'm not sure where he is. I looked for him earlier, but I was unable to get ahold of him." Anna frowned slightly. She'd have to fill Chris in on the happenings of the very first prefect meeting of the school year. Anna stood from her seat and then motioned for Clifford to do the same. "Alright, then. Let's get started. Should I speak first, or would you like the floor? Ahh, nevermind. I'll just go ahead and get started, then you can chime in when you'd like to."

"Excuse me, everyone...excuse me. May I have your attention, please?" she asked, her voice a bit louder then it was when she was holding normal conversation. She wasn't yelling, of course, just raising her voice a bit to be heard over the chatter in the compartment. "First of all, I'd like to welcome you all to the very first prefect's meeting of this school year. I stress the word 'first,' because we'll actually be holding quite a few of these meetings over the duration of this school year," she started. There now. Addressing a compartment full of prefects wasn't so scary after all. They were all very nice people. "Second of all, I'd like to congratulate all our newest prefects, as well as extend a 'Welcome Back' to those of you returning. I'm confident we have a strong team, and we'll all work together to do our very best for all the students of Hogwarts."

"Clifford and I will be serving as Head Boy and Head Girl this term. We'll be responsible for holding our prefect meetings, but of course we're open to anything you'd like to suggest or discuss, as well. We'll also be available to you if any situation arises that you feel you need additional advice or assistance with. If we can't help you, we'll find someone who can," she continued. "I'm sure we all aim to have a happy, easy-going, successful term, and if we all work together, we can ensure that's done." She smiled at all her friends and fellow prefects, then turned to Clifford. "Clifford, you have the floor if you'd like to add something. Afterwards, I'd like to have an open discussion to address any questions or concerns."

EEEP! Evie?! Oh noes. Evangeline was gonna have to sort that one out - she couldnt be called Evie in public. It wasn't respectful enough for her seventeen year old Prefect self. Nuh huh. Still, settling down on the seat crossing her legs, Evangeline smiled at her friend. YAY!!! Apparently, her and Anna and Clifford weren't the only 7th year old Prefects anymore. "Sooo ... did you have a good summer?" Hehe. She must've!

Turning to look at Anna when she adressed her - Evangeline would have rather she hadn't, honestly -, the Slytherin Prefect tugged at her lower lip. She had never really against Anna except for the fact she dated Cale Newell and Clifford absolutely hated her. Okay, maybe hate was a far too strong word. He didnt get along well with her. Hah. "Congrats on your new position." Pssh. Evangeline was far too diplomatic. Gigglesnort.

Why the Ravenclaw female Prefect was looking at her like that, almost as if she was about to jump up from her seat and bite her, Evangeline wasn't sure and one simply curious eyebrow cocked itself upwards. Hmmm. "Rachel, isnt it?" She was pretty sure, it was. "Hey there." Hehe. Ravenclaw's were just crazy and that was it.

"I thought that too. I didnt think they wanted to." Evangeline honestly said to Clifford, her grin now much wider and true. She had a feeling her parents were as overwhelmed as she was - she was going to Hogwarts for the last time, after all! Slipping her hand into his, she let out a small chuckle at his words and nodded in agreement. They should have indeed visited her parents more often. But oh well.

She was going to tell him how he ought to keep Anna in her place no matter what, when that meeting actually started and Evangeline turned to look at Anna, cringing inside. "Dear Merlin, must she really speak so loudly?" She asked in a barely audible breath, her free hand moving to ruffle her fringe. It was far too long and almost covering her eyes and she wanted to properly look at Anna. Clearly, the Gryffindor girl was insecure and that was just ... brilliant. Snort.

That hand soon moved to stand in front of her mouth, hiding it from view and hopefully disguising her snickers. All that rubbish about being a strong team and working together .. surely Anna didn't believe that. And easy-going term? Evangeline wondered if Anna had been living in the same school she had for the past six years.

When the girl was apparently - and finally - finished, Evangeline rolled her eyes and turned to look at Clifford who now had to speak, it seemed. "Go on. Tell them your name. Oh wait ... she already did that too." Bossy and controlling indeed.

Turning at the sound of her name, she twisted around in her seat until her eyes landed on Clifford and nodded with a big grin. "Yeah, it is," she replied cheerfully, and pulled a thick strand of hair off her face so she had missed the uneasy look he had sent over to her. "Oh," she replied, slightly surprised as he introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you Clifford," she added and was about to hold out her hand for him to shake when she noticed the way he was looking at her.

Er... Is he ok? she asked herself and cocked her head slightly to the right as she regarded him, feeling more and more confused by the second. Eh - what the heck. Nodding at him, she ditched the hand shaking idea since it looked like he was going to faint if she moved too quickly, she instead opted for a grin and pulled her lips towards the farthest corners of her face in a HUGE smile.

"Yes, yes it is," Rachel squeaked as she adjusted herself so that she could see Evangeline, deciding to just ignore Clifford's uneasy glances at her - maybe he's sick?
Great, she had recognised her. Any moment now the Slytherin female prefect would say how she remembered her from her younger years at Hogwarts and tell the whole compartment about her clumsy acts.

Oh. Um, ok. "Hiya back," she replied with a grateful smile, almost sighing with relief as her voice sounded more like her own and less like a mouse caught in a trap. Ok - so recap on the Slytherin Prefects: One seems to think I'm the wizard female version of Frankenstein, and the other either has amnesia or is nice and just doesn't remember the time when a kid bumped into her on the train and almost caused her death... The kid almost died, that's for sure. Odd couple, those two.


Shaking her head slightly to rid herself of her present thoughts - or at least shove them in a corner of her brain where they wouldn't interrupt - she turned to face Anna as she got up and leaned against her chair as she prepared herself for the speech that she knew Anna was about to start.

More meetings? Hmm... Things have changed from last year, that's for sure. As Rachel listened attentively to the Head Girl, she couldn't help a small smile that crept onto her face as Anna talked - her speech was so light and carefree, and pink, and just so nice that it almost made Hogwarts seem like an easy going sort of place. Maybe for some people - but certainly not for me, nor the rest of the Fifth years... Neither will it be easy going for the Seventh years... Well, we're in for a fun year! she thought, the voice in her head turning sarcastic at the end. Thing is, it probably will be fun - as every Hogwarts term is; but unlike the rest of the terms, this one will involve a lot of sitting on our bottoms in the common room.

"Hey Anna...and yeah." Vanessa smiled, well she really wouldn't be here if she wasn't to be honest, but Anna seemed to be all nice about it. And she noticed that Anna's badge was a little different to the others, and the fact that she mentioned that she was head girl, made Vannie think to congratulate her aswell.
"And congrats to you to...on head girl"

"Yeah...my height doesn't show that." Vanessa giggled to herself, as she smiled at Rachel. Yes she really needed to grow a little to look her age. But then sometimes maybe her short height was a good thing.
"Yeah...I spent most of it with my boyfriend." She nodded, well there had been the tour, and then that party and Italy. Yes it had been quite a good summer, one to remember. She had enjoyed it too, but now she was back, and ready to start studying, so that she could get the grades that she needed.

"It was...good." Vanessa spoke, nodding at Clifford, although she had just spoke about it to Rachel. And she didn't really want to go into the details. She didn't really know Clifford that well, even though he was one of her closest friend's boyfriend.
"And Congrats on Head boy Clifford." She nodded, with a smile. He would do awesome.

"Yussh....Spent it with Miles." Vannie said with a beam. She knew that by just saying that, that Evangeline would know that it had been special. "We went to Italy" She nodded, grinning. She had really enjoyed the holiday in Italy,and she'd like to go back again. "Did you?"

When Anna began to talk, Vanessa turned her head to face the Gryffindor prefect and Head Girl, and listened to her, nodding at what she was saying occasionally. Ooh. They were going to be having more meetings like this during the year. That sounded like a good idea, although she'd have to tear herself away from her schoolbooks to attend them.
She glanced to Clifford as Anna handed over to him, if he had anything to say.

WHUUUUUUUT? Greingoth wanted to the whole speech/meeting thingymabob right NAO? Oh, but he wasn't ready! He needed more time! Shouldn't they wait for the other Gryffindor? That'd win him more time to at least prepare ... get his head round this -

Obviously not gonna happen.. nope, Greingoth was already on her feet and talking. Talking a whole lot too. Great. Clifford stumbled on the hem of his new robes as he hastily got to his own big feet. Couldn't they do this sitting down!? All the eyes looking up at him simply freaked him out. 'Specially Rachel and that insane grin on her face. Ack.

The palms of his hands had grown considerably sweaty, and Clifford had to remind himself to breathe. Head Boy passing out in the Prefect's compartment - that'd be cool. NOT! Finding that looking anywhere else made him want to jump straight through the train window, Clifford studied the seven pairs of shoes in the compartment.

Jeeez. What were those Vanessa was wearing? EW! And scary Rachel! Her shoes looked just as crazy as she was.. Denton - he happened to have pretty cool shoes.. and -

... and - and did he want to add anything?

"Wh - Whaaa?" Swaying a little as the train rounded a corner, Clifford looked back up. "Well I uh - I think you pretty much erm.. covered it all, Greingoth." The Slytherin just about managed to get out, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously and laughing nervously at Evangeline's comments. "We're uhhm.. just here to, y'know.. make sure everything's running nice and smooth and uhhh ... nice shoes Denton."

Bah.

Chris Potter slid opent the compartment door to the Prefects Compartment with a blushed grin. "Sorry everyone, Im late." He smiled to Anna and took a seat next to Rachel, the Ravenclaw he had met in Diagon Alley and until now didnt know was a Prefect. He pulled out a notepad and began writing the rest of the notes he could from here on and would just talk to Anna when they got to the school about what he missed. He smiled around at Dominic and Clifford and all the other Prefects new and Old.

It didn't seem like very long before the compartment door opened behind him and someone else entered - or maybe slipped through before he closed it - and of course, it was the one person Dominic had been dreading most. His hand shifted almost automatically to his pocket which contained a folded parchment that he received just before boarding the train.

Please try and be nice to the new Hufflepuff Prefect, whoever it may be. Honestly though, how could she expect him to follow her seemingly last request though with all they've been though? But that wasn't her only request. And it was how she concluded the letter that really stung hard; I know that we got off to a somewhat shaky start at the beginning of last term but I would like to think that we managed to put that aside and can consider ourselves sort of friends now.

For that reason, Dominic brushed aside the feelings and angst, making an effort at being diplomatic. "Hello Vanessa," the sixth year greeted, noticing for the first time that he was the only sixth year prefect. Well possibly the new Gryffindor Male, but that was still unknown . . .


Wait... What was that!? Dominic turned his thoughts abruptly from the folded letter and the new Hufflepuff Prefect at hearing the little LOUD announcement from the Slytherin Prefect. HOLY CANARIES!!! Head boy!?!! Clifford Carden!? There had to have been some mistake over that, Dominic decided, but sure enough for his own benefit - squinted his golden eyes and leaned in to get a better look at the older boy's robes.

HB - Head Boy. It was there, shimmering and blaring and ugh -- !!

CLIFFORD CARDEN! Anti-Willow Kovac for reasons Dom did not know. Head Boy.

"Uh... Congrats on the new position," Dominic finally muttered about, but then noticed the surprised look on Carden's face. Like he half expected him to be limping in here, physically harmed or something. Bruises or whatnot. "Uh... Are you okay?" Probably nothing.

Ah, the Ravenclaw Prefect noticed him. She was usually pretty pleasant and didn't really disturb him too much, which was a nice change of pace. But wait, why was she looking at him like that!?! Confused or something.

"Hi," Dom repeated again, watching her carefully. "How was your summer?" Small talk was good.

And small talk with Rachel almost kept him preoccupied enough to barely be aware of Anna staring at him. His eyes -- his hair -- Yes, Dominic Denton was fully aware that Anna Greingoth, fiance of Cale Newell and Gryffindor Prefect and now Head Girl was captivated by his every move. And to be frank, he didn't particularly care as much as he should have. Actually, he was thriving in the attention from her.

"Hey A--" He stopped himself, as he realized she used his last name. Odd, for Anna anyway. "Greingoth," He smiled musingly at her. "Chaos yes. You could say that again." The Hufflepuff chuckled lightly. Prefect meeting? Oh right, he had just heard something of her and Carden being the new head girl and head boy. Chris? Who...? Oh well... the brief meeting was evidently about to begin.

Ah, Chris was the new male Gryffindor Prefect, Dominic picked up on from hearing Anna answer Clifford. And then before he could dwell anymore on who Chris was - because Dominic hadn't the slightest recollection of him - Anna was speaking loudly, standing up too from her seat.

Meetings!? Ugh, that was slightly annoying to say the least. This was his sixth year, which was supposed to be a year off from the pressures of school and stuff. Strong team? Working together? Dominic mostly just nodded though at what she was saying; this would be an interesting year that was for sure. Once she was finished - thank Merlin since she seemed to ramble for ages - Dominic glanced over to Carden to see if he had anything more to say. Which of course was unlikely, since Anna seemed to cover just about everything.

Why did Carden look as though he was completely and utterly speechless? The poor Slytherin Prefect seemed to stumble on his robes, which despite the fact that Dom was angered with him for not understand the Kovac thing, he did feel bad for him. Must be the Hufflepuff inside him that wanted to just reach out and hug Clifford right now; offer words of encouragement.

Yes, Carden definitely looked as though he wanted to pass out? Or throw up? Neither one would have been very pleasant, mostly because Dominic was sort of anti-sickness. Weak stomach one might argue, which is odd considering that he played quidditch. But quidditch was different.

Awkward stumbling. And wait, WHAT!?! Did Clifford Carden just seriously comment on his SHOES!? Was he for real or sarcastic? "Uh, thank you Carden," Dominic said nonetheless, as it'd have been rude to NOT reply to that random mark in the middle (or end rather) of their speech thingy.

And right on queue, a boy - who Dominic could only assume to be the Gryffindor Prefect - entered the compartment, sheepishly apologizing and then instantly going to the notetaking. OH! Just what they needed was another KNOW-IT-ALL Gryffindor Prefect?! Dominic was beginning to think that perhaps that was a requirement for Gryffindor Prefects.

Glancing cautiously at his new "bosses" - Anna and Clifford - Dominic then looked back towards Chris in time to catch him smile at him and the others. "Hi there. I'm Dominic Denton, the Hufflepuff Prefect. Sixth year." Okay - perhaps not 'the' Hufflepuff Prefect, considering the other one was sitting there with them. But it was only Vanessa Corbette

Anna smiled politely when Evangeline congratulated her on her new position. For reasons Anna may never know, Team Cardeen didn't seem to think too highly of her. Ahh, well. You can't please all the people all the time. Ever since she'd been made Head Girl, though, Anna had vowed to get along with everyone as much as she possibly could. So Evangeline didn't really like her...and neither did Clifford...but if they were expected to work together as prefects and Head Boy and Girl, they'd all have to make some attempt to play nice. So it was with that thought in mind, Anna continued to make polite conversation with the female Slytherin prefect. "Thank you, Evangeline. I'm really excited about the new position," she said. There. There was no harm in a simple thank you, right?

"Ah, well, welcome to the team," Anna replied. She didn't really know Vanessa all that well, but from what she did know, the Hufflepuff girl seemed to be really nice and polite. It'd be interesting to see how well she could get along with Denton, too. Dominic seemed to have some sort of weird history of not getting along with his co-Hufflepuff prefects. "You're welcome," Anna replied, glancing down at her Head Girl badge for just a moment. It still seemed odd, after three years of being prefect, to suddenly look down and see a different sort of badge. In a small way, Anna understood what Cale had been talking about when he told her how weird it was to no longer have his prefect badge pinned to his chest.

As soon as she addressed Clifford and gave him the opportunity to speak, Anna stepped to the side and waited patiently. He seemed to be a nervous wreck, which was, to Anna, a bit odd for Clifford. Of all the times she'd been around him, he'd always seemed fierce and unstoppable. He was usually tough to beat in Quidditch, and he nearly always answered questions in Flying class before she did. To see him nervous about something was definitely a first for Anna. Anna wrinkled her eyebrows in slight confusion while Clifford talked. He bounced from covering it all to nice and smooth to Dom's shoes. Anna glanced down at Denton's shoes, wondering what was so great about them. Meh, must be a guy thing.

When the compartment door slid open, Anna glanced up from Dom's shoes and spun around. She smiled when she saw that the new occupant was her co-Gryffindor prefect, Chris Potter. "It's alright, Chris. We were just discussing some of the prefect duties we'll have to do this year," she said. When he took out a notepad and got started jotting down a few notes, Anna turned back to Dom.

...who'd seemed to notice the way she'd been staring at him. Oops. That wasn't good. Giving guys an ego boost was never nice. Anna didn't even like Dom---not like that, at least. She'd really have to stop giving him those unintentional ego boosts. Yeahhh. Anna playfully rolled her eyes when Dom called her 'Greingoth'. Sure, she'd called him Denton, but that was only an attempt to play cool after he'd caught her staring at him. "Hello, Dom," she said, greeting him a second time in order to use his first name instead of his last. Having nothing else to say, she simply echoed Clifford's words. "Nice shoes..."