"It was hard for me, but seeing as I'm used to being alone a lot, I managed to survive easily." Amanda said, pausing for a second to sigh. "Although next term it would be nice to meet a guy who actually liked me for a changed. All I want is to be loved, since I don't have parents anymore." She said, finishing her thought. "Well, I hope we all come back to Hogwarts again next term" She said, hoping the Ministry didn't interfere again.

Aww, poor Amanda. Although Whitney knew how Amanda felt, she did feel as bad as she thought Amanda did. "It's okay hun, I'm sure you will" she said smiling. She was shocked though, Whitney hadn't needed to say hun in a while. 'Hmmm.' "Ugh, why does the ministry have to interfere so much anyways?" Next year better not be bad, if it is, I might just transfer to Beauxbatons or Durmstrang(if it were possible); Whitney was only half joking with this. "Like you said, I guess we'll see." She quickly looked around the Great Hall realizing she'd only actually eaten here a few times.

"I don't know why the Ministry has to interfere, frankly its frustrating. All I want is to get my education without any problems." Amanda said with a shrug. "Yeah..hopefully. I'm not exactly sure what guy would want to love a girl who's got so many problems as I do" She said, looking down at the table.

Amanda was right, interference really was frustrating. Not only from the ministry either. "I hear ya sister." she said without meaning too. Whitney had managed to control herself all year but when it comes to the end of the year she had to let something dorky slip. "Sorry,bad habit from back home." Listening to Amanda, Whitney looked at her and saw something for a second. It was in her eyes but than Amanda looked down at the table and it was gone. "The right one. He's out there, I promise you that much." Even though Whitney wanted to ask her what her problems were, she figured it would be best not to. Instead she sat there staring at Amanda to see what her next move would be.

"Well when do you think I'll ever find him?" Amanda looked up from the table to look at Whitney. She rustled through her pockets and pulled out a bracelet. "Here Whitney, I want you to have this." She said and handed it to Whitney.

"Well.." and just as she was about to come up with an answer for her question, Amanda had pulled out a bracelet from her pocket. It wasn't just any bracelet either. It had been made with some type of thread and it had four colors, orange,red,yellow and...was that green? 'For Slytherin?' she asked herself. The bracelet looked as though the person who made it tried to make it symmetrical and almost perfect. Which, in Whitney's mind, it was. She absolutely loved how the threads/strings blended together to look as one. "It's beautiful. Thank you, but, if you don't mind my asking, why are you giving this to me?" Whitney asked curiously. She felt bad, she hadn't gotten Amanda anything.

"Well, I wanted you to have this as a symbol of our friendship. If you ever need someone to defend you, I'll gladly do it." Amanda said with a smile, that bracelet she made earlier this term when she had nothing to do.

'Awww!' Everyone seemed to be loving Whitney lately. "That is so nice of you! You are a great friend. I'm super glad I met you this year." Completely true. Although they hadn't spoken much, Amanda was one of her closer friends. "And even though I'm not the best defender, if you ever need to talk about anything at all or just need a shoulder to cry or lay on, I'll be here." 'It's what I do best.' she thought. People did seem to find her rather comfortable and comforting,not that she minded. Whitney slipped on the bracelet; perfect fit. "I'm sorry I didn't get you anything. I'll make sure to get something for when I see you in September." she told her nodding almost vigorously. She really did feel bad.

"Well that's great to know Whitney. I cannot believe I'll be a 3rd year next term. Seems like only yesterday I was just coming into Hogwarts as a 1st year. I've learnt so much already and made so many awesome friends that I cannot wait to come back and get back into the duelling arena." Amanda said smiling.

"It's alright Whitney. Well, it could always be my birthday present, since I'm turning 13 on July 3rd." She said honestly.

A little satisfied, Whitney listened to Amanda talk about her first years at Hogwarts. "I sort of know what you mean. I mean, yes, it is my first year, but I've made so many friends," 'All older' she added in her head, "I never would've thought I'd leave my first year with friends from every house. I can't wait to know what being a second year is like, let alone a third year." said Whitney. The dueling arena? This was something Whitney had never gone to because she hated violence.

"Sounds perfect!" she replied before Amanda was even done with her sentence. "I'll make sure to send you something."

"Being a 2nd year is much better than being a 1st year. I mean, you know the professors and you've got friends. You're much more confident, since you know exactly what to do." Amanda said nodding. "The duelling arena is a place you'll have to go eventually, plus its a great place to practice any spells you learn during lessons." She said and shrugged.

"Well, I'll make sure to send you a letter sometime during the summer with my owl, letting you know how everything's going and such." Amanda said, smiling.

Nicholai grinned as he saw Amanda and Whitney and approached them and took a seat. "If it isn't two of my favourite girls," he put one finger up as if to stop them from saying anything, "now I am quite aware that that list may seem extensive; but you two are quite near the top." He grinned again and poured himself a glass of water.

"Aww Nico, you're sweet." Amanda said, smiling, feeling a slight blush come onto her cheeks. She helped herself to some of the food at the table, picking up her fork and knife and eating slowly.

"That's true." Only how many more months till she was a second year? The dueling arena sounded funish. Whitney would never want to have an actual duel there though. "Practicing spells always helps. Especially if we want Slytherin to win next year."

"I'm still up there, am I?" she said turning to Nico, laughing. It'd been a while since she'd last seen him also. Why was it that everyone was randomly appearing now. Not that she minded Nico, he'd been nice from the start. "Hey Nico. Wasn't I supposed to end up as the first one on your oh so very long list?" she asked sarcastically. Whitney knew that Nico really did have a long list of fanatics, but she loved teasing him.

"I could always help you out if you want. I was taught a few things by the former Slytherin Prefect Cassandra Trelawney back in my 1st year. And plus Kayla's showing me a few things to help me duel better when I go see her in Greece." Amanda said, remembering when Trelawney had first tutored her.

"Some people make it easier than others, princess." Nicholai replied, reaching for some bread and buttering it.

Nicholai laughed; Whitney amused him, "That is true; but somehow a Hufflepuff managed to snag that top spot." Nico made a whodathunkitface but then grinned good naturedly as he flicked his gaze over to the Hufflepuff table, spotted Kayla with Maddox and Kyler and raised an eyebrow as he noticed that Kyler looked agitated.

Strike of the Dramapuffs perhaps?

He thought about what Whitney had said before addressing him; obviously she'd been speaking to Amanda and he nodded, "Practice is important, but make sure you study too; since the theory is equally relevant and can sometimes save you from making a mistake you otherwise wouldn't have made." He paused, "I hope to see both of you on the top 5 for Slytherin next term."

"Well Nico, I intend to make Slytherin proud next term. I shall work as hard as I possibly can to earn points and try to stay out of trouble in the process." Amanda said, with a smile.

"That'd be great!" Whitney really could use the extra practice. DADA was never and probably never will be her best subject. "I'm sure that would be a lot of help. Especially with all of the trainings you've already had."

"Boo! Slytherins are so much better." she said laughing. Whitney knew a little about Nico's Huffie. Not so much her name, just that he had one. "Don't worry, I'm good with being number two." she said laughing and winking. 'These will be the days I remember.'

Leave it up to Nico to turn an End-of-Term Feast into trying to become one of the best Slytherin students. "Not everyone can be a Nico," she said,then added, "But I'll try harder. There's no way I'm going to be first though. That spots all for you, whether I like it or not." Whitney told him with a big smile. She was never the best at anything when it came to school,but as she promised to Nico before, she would try harder.

"I'll show you a lot of what not to do during a duel. There are a lot of people in the school who are sneaky. They do cheap shots, I would know, I used to be one of them. I'll tell you that story next term." Amanda said, remembering that day all too well.

Nicholai leaned forward and smirked, "Oh but it is much more fun to earn points and get in trouble... so long as you don't get caught." Nicholai turned toward the staff table and raised his glass toward the Intern, thinking about the Amortentia and how the Gryffindor Prefects hadn't brought him down for that.

Nicholai laughed in genuine amusement, "Last term I wasn't number one... Trelawney was, and Will was up there too. Things change you know. Where is your Slytherin ambition, Whitney? You should be plotting ways to take the lead." He smirked again thinking about points, "Try to break 900." Actually, Nicholai, Anna and Astrid all would have broken 1000 had they'd gotten all their points. But who was going to complain about 900?

"Ah yes. Well, that's my problem. I get caught for what I do. But, I do have a few tricks up my sleeves for next term." Amanda said with a smirk on her lips.

Finally having made his way into the Great Hall, Raiden stared at the House Tables in thought. Should he sit with his own house? Because really... at the beginning of the term, sitting with Gryffindor had proved to be a terrifying mistake for some part, at least... But he had Gryffindor friends... and Hufflepuff friends... and Ravenclaw friends, too...

Right. Own House Table. Best idea.

Raiden half-skipped over to the table and found a vacant seat. Quietly he slid into it and chewed on his bottom lip as he stared. Fooooooooood. Food was good. And he... was a very hungry little Raiden.

Whitney was rather interested in this story. "Sounds interesting. I'll make sure to ask you about it next term, if you happen to forget." Even though sneaky wasn't right, it sounded pretty fun, of course she didn't say that aloud.

"Yes well," she though for a moment, "I'm sure you were very close to first." Whitney finally said laughing. "Ah, that wonderful Slytherin ambition." replied Whitney only half serious. That ambition did seem to get in the way at times. "900?!" she practically yelled. Whitney was barely in her mid or low 200's. "Um....sure? Like I said, I'll try. At least I didn't make us lose any points though, right?" Of this, Whitney was proud. She always did know how to break the rules and follow them at the right time. "If you want, I can find a way to double up on my classes. Maybe that'll get me above 900 quicker." Now she wasn't serious at all about this, and she hoped Nico knew this. "Oh, and I'll make sure to listen a lot more too. I have a huge problem with that." This wasn't a lie but she had to laugh at it.

"It was against a Slytherin as well. That was even worse. I got an awful cheap shot delivered by Kayla when we used to be enemies, she stunned me from behind and I was down for the count" Amanda said, vaguely remembering that.

Nico plastered a slightly mournful expression on his face, "And here I was thinking I was leading by example." he paused and looked at her, "only a few tricks?"

Nicholai smiled as Raiden joined them and solemnly levitated a plate of pumpkin pasties away from the boy just incase he was tempted.
"Raiden, how are you?"


Nicholai shrugged, "You might surprise yourself, Whitney." He grinned then, around at Whitney and Amanda, and included Raiden in his next statement, "Actually you guys all did fairly well; I'm almost proud. I bet Evangeline and Will are impressed by how hard you all worked. As long as you know there is always harder. As Intern Trelawney says; second place is first place loser." He held up his glass and grinned, "Well I'm kind of happy with that this term so here's to first place losers!"

Yeah.

It was official.

The Hufflepuffs had rubbed off on him.