One Tuesday night, Beatrice Evangeline Castell went into the kitchen. Her cousin, Dylan Andre Colter wondered much about what she was doing and decided to check on it. When he walked inside, he saw a tray of homemade chocolates.

“Oi, you made these?” He asked Beatrice.

“Yup! Feel free to get some dear cousin.” She replied in a very light voice, shoving the tray of chocolates to him.

Dylan, without feeling any suspicion quickly pounced on the chocolates while Beatrice was looking away, a mischievous grin plastered on her lips.

“These are good….hmmm..eeeekk! Wha--? Waaa....WATEERRRR!”

“Mwahahahaha!” Beatrice laughed wickedly.

"Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest wizards of the age. The four school houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin.” Beezus read from the thick book that she holding entitled ‘Hogwarts, A History’.

It was still a few weeks away before classes would start yet she was already very excited to set foot on Hogwarts. And that was the reason why she was reading the book, to know more about her soon to be school. This is only the start.

“We’re supposed to, right? I mean..Especially when you have been through miserable times in the past.” She told Kurumi. The Gryffindor Prefect gave her a small smile in return. They were currently on the Gazebo, sitting on one of the benches and talking about ‘A person should be happy and thankful at all times’.

“But you know Beezus, things happen for a reason. If there are times when we feel so low, there’s a purpose why it's happening.”

Beezus pondered on what Kurumi had said.

“Oh, lighten up! Here, have some cookies.” Said Kurumi, handing over a box of cookies.

“Hurry Erin! Hurry!”

“Wait up, Bee!” Erin called after Beezus. It was three days before Christmas and both of them are staying at Hogwarts for the Holidays. The school grounds are almost covered with snow and the brewing air was feeling colder and colder.

Beezus suddenly came to a halt and Erin wondering what happened quickly paced nearer. “What’s wrong?”

“Hmm..Nothing.” But Beezus was looking intently on the Whomping Willow. “Can it still move with all the snow stuck on its branches?” Beezus asked out of nowhere.

“I don’t know. Come on, let’s just make a snowman.” Erin suggested enthusiastically.

Potions was one of Beezus’ favorite classes but also one that she detests at certain circumstances. With the exceptional Potions Mistress, Professor Lafay, her rules and all the what not, only those who are patient and persevering enough would be able to pass.

“Now, for the last step. Add the Bubotuber Pus.” Said Professor Hecate Scarlett Lafay.

Beatrice quickly placed on her gloves and followed the instruction which was to add the Bubotuber Pus in the mixture. The potion turned into an awful shade of green.

“That sure doesn’t give off a good tangy smell.” She complained, covering her nose.

“If you can’t take the heat, don’t tickle the dragon. If you can’t take the heat, don’t tickle the dragon..”

Beezus gave Harvey a confusing look. They were at the Common Room and her friend was walking around, repeating that phrase again and again.

“Harvs, what exactly are you doing?” She couldn’t help but ask.

“Huh? Me?” Now, the boy seemed to be daydreaming off to somewhere. “Oh. I was just..trying to decipher the meaning of that passage.” He explained.

Beezus crossed her arms in front of her chest, “Maybe it means we shouldn’t do something that we can’t handle?”

“Statua Habitum,” the eaglet uttered as she drew a square in mid air right above the paper with the picture she brought with her in the middle of it. The paper contorted, crumpled and moved here and there. However, when Beezus blinked it suddenly had turned into a frame.

Beezus couldn’t help but smile at the sight that met her eyes. The picture frame wasn’t that good. It’s color was a faded silver of some sort and its designs were not that attractive to the eyes. But t'was the picture that was important to her for it held precious memories.

“I’m hot,” she said. And by that, she meant her temperature for she had a fever. Beezus pulled the dragonhide gloves tighter above her wrist, she would be needing not only the Freezing charm but also the gloves’ thickness to avoid being burned by the Fire Bush seeds that she was plucking.

Incantation uttered, she aimed her wand at the seed. After a while, she reached out to pick it up, yet when she did, she immediately pulled out her hand. She was burned! And when she looked at her hand, she found out her gloves had a small hole.

‘His name is Jonathan Kim. He is a Pureblood, a sixth year student sorted under Slytherin house. He’s more arrogant than you and more annoying than Mordred, you remember him right? Well..he didn’t came back for this term. Anyway, this Jonathan has that aura like him and I’m loathing it. He uses blank expressions all the time and he seems to be made of stone. However, Kurumi..I’ve told you about her, she cares about him so maybe he’s a good person after all?’

Beezus returned her quill on the inkwell. She wondered, how would her cousin respond to this letter?

“Merlin’s beard! What has happened here? Did a tornado pass?” Beezus’ Aunt Belinda asked hysterically upon entering her room. She looked at her casually. “Why? ….I mean, what seems to be the matter Aunt Bel? I’m just trying to sew a pair of socks,” the young eaglette replied.

Belinda sighed deeply, sat on one side of her bed, and then started pulling the tattered and scattered pieces of cloth together. “You know darling, I appreciate you doing your best to sew. But..” the woman eyed her work with pity. “Perhaps it’ll take a decade before you actually learn to sew?”

“When was the Treaty of the Recuazem established?” Beezus couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as she read the first question on their History of Magic homework. Who the heck was Recuazem? Was he or was that even a name? She sighed as she pulled out another book to search for the answer to that question.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

An hour and a half passed and Beezus was now staring at her watch uncomprehendingly. Suddenly, she yawned. And that was followed by a very curious frown. She looked around and said, “What am I doing at the Library again?”

The young eaglette gulped as she crumpled on her closed fist the letter she received from her cousin early that morning. It said something like there was probability she might not come back to Hogwarts next term because her Aunt and her boyfriend was getting married. Hence, they’ll be migrating with her to Japan.

Beezus couldn’t believe it and she didn’t want to. She wanted to come back next term and the next ones after that. She loved the school and she surely would miss all her friends and even the Professors too. No, she didn’t want to say goodbye.

She gulped as she stepped inside the Great Hall. The loud chatter, goodbyes and conversations of her fellow Hogwarts students filled not only the room but also her senses. Beezus shut her eyes for a while and thought about everything she had experienced at the school which had a great impact on her.

She didn’t wanna say farewell to the place just yet. But if she won’t have a choice, she was grateful that she had the chance to be there.

The eaglette exhaled gently then plastered a smile on her face as she walked towards the Ravenclaw House Table.

“It was my first time..it was too quiet there.” Erin told Beezus over the telephone. She was telling her about her trip to Gringotts that morning. She went there with her father to withdraw some wizard money. “And we were greeted by this goblin who was really small but also stout. I think his name was Forebeak, and he was balding! His teeth was like shark’s teeth, yellow and..it looked gross! His eyes were very small too and his nose was very big,red and had big pores.”

Beezus just stayed listening. What was Erin describing? Her trip or the goblin?

A maroon trolley, a grey leather-trimmed travel bag, a trunk with wheels and a small shoulder bag – her companions as she stepped inside the Hogwarts Express.

“I’ve gotta stop bringing so many luggage with me.” Beezus sighed, pulling the trolley and trunk behind her. “Really.”

At long last, she found a vacant compartment. She immediately went inside and placed her bags on the rack. When it was the trunk’s turn, she accidentally let go and it fell right on her feet. She was speechless for a second as her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Then she screamed, “OWWWW!”

“Beatrice Evangeline! Do come down already!And hurry!” Grandma Eva was calling her eldest granddaughter to come down.

“Yes Grandma! I’m coming..” Beezus replied, then she jumped over to the other side of her bed, reached out for her silver sandals. Suddenly, a thought struck her. Beside the sandals was her favorite pair of converse shoes. “Hmm..surely they won’t notice if I wear this under my dress right?” she whispered to herself as she eyed her white Grecian-inspired bridesmaid gown.

With a wide grin, she put it on and twirled in front of the mirror. “One thing I love about muggles….shoes!"

Beezus was shuffling right on the spot she was standing and just listening to how her fellow eagles were planning who will do their activity in Charms when all of a sudden, Prefect Louisa Carter announced that the two of them will represent their house.

O__________________o

“H-huh? Whaaaaat?” Beezus asked, reluctant. Did she hear her correctly? “Oh, okay…Sure.” She then trailed off, nodding absent-mindedly.

Gripping her wand, she turned and faced the pile of untidy clothes that she was going to work on. “You can do this Beezus,” the Ravenclaw assured herself, raised her wand and performed the Folding Charm.

“No, and no..” Indy replied when Beezus asked if she could borrow her best friend’s Pink Ted, that fluffy teddy bear that she often carries with her. “You’re so mean,” Beezus shot back, got up and sat on the edge of Indy’s bed. “Oh, and what are you doing?” She added, eyeing Indy who was seemingly sticking pictures above her bed.

“Well, isn’t it obvious? I’m putting pictures there,” she answered, pointing the wall. One picture caught Beezus’ attention. Indy was smiling shyly there and she looked like a…........veela? Naah, Indy was pretty but too childish to be a veela.

“Hey, what’s happening to you?” asked Beezus worriedly, as she scampered to where her bestfriend was. Apparently, Indy had been choking, gagging, struggling with the scarf that was tied around her neck.

“It.. won’t…budge.” Indy uttered out with difficulty. “Help me untie it bestie.” Indy said, her voice all woozy.

Immediately, Beezus grabbed the scarf, untangling and disembroiling it from Indy’s neck. At long last, she managed to unlatch it. “Why were you wearing something like that?” She demanded afterwards.

Indy looked at her innocently and said, “Because Daichi gave it to me.”

Beezus just sighed and rolled her eyes.

Beezus wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her right hand and examined the writing on her left arm. “A few more letters and I’ll be finished with this madness.” she told herself reassuringly. If it wasn’t for the dare, she wouldn’t even dream of vandalizing her own skin. But she gave her word and alas, had to oblige. She brought the quill back on her arm and continued writing. Once done, she examined it and frowned, obviously unsatisfied. “Ugh. This quill is too shaky my penmanship looks like chicken scratch!”

Good going Beezus, blame the quill.

The Ravenclaw took out her handkerchief and silently dabbed her eyes using it. The Headmaster’s End of the Term speech was done and from the way he stated it, it appears he wasn’t going to be the Headmaster next term anymore. Beezus haven’t really talked with him personally for the three years she had been at Hogwarts and under his authority. Despite this, she fully respected the man. Because of him, her every term stay at the school was always filled with precious memories. “Thank you for everything Headmaster and I’ll keep in mind not to die.” Beezus said silently.

Beezus looked outside the window as the train ride started. Three terms down, four more to go. It was officially summer and she gets to spend her vacation with her Grandma Beatrice. Obviously, her name was derived from the woman’s.

She always dreaded seeing her Grandma when she was young because the woman was very strict. One time, she got locked up in the attic because she set out fireworks in the living room. Merlin, she could still remember her Grandmother calling her the most misbehaved child in their family.

Hmm.. It is surely going to be an interesting summer.

The Ravenclaw fourth-year-to-be stood up and started striding from one side of Florean Fortescue’s Outdoor Setting to the other. She was walking at a steady and consistent speed, back and forth. Why, Jonathan still hasn’t arrived and it has been an hour past the time they’ve set for that meeting. She was growing anxious and irritable.

Finally, he emerged from the large crowd enveloping Flourish & Blotts, large books in both hands. “Jonathan!” Beezus snapped. “I’ve been waiting for years! You could’ve moved faster, you know.”

The Slytherin graduate rolled his eyes and said, “Good to see you too Castell.”

Beezus carelessly pressed her left cheek on the surface of their dining table with a deep sigh, strands of her now short hair falling insensitively on her face and covering her eyes. She sighed more before straightening herself back up.

She still couldn’t believe that her Grandmother cut her hair last night. The experience was rather dreadful and she wasn’t feeling any more comfortable with how light her head felt. Out of frustration, she shrieked and pounded her fists on the table. She wanted to wail and roll on the floor.

She was so depressed that it drove her nuts!

“Ravenclaw’s leading by 85 points!” the commentator announced. Cheers and shouts filled the Pitch and Beezus punched the air with overflowing enthusiasm. They were close to winning….they had a chance to win the Cup…..if only the Snitch would appear now……

Suddenly, she could see gold flickering right between her eyes. IT WAS THE SNITCH! Mobility failing her, she stared at it motionlessly. She could grab it… but she can’t….shouldn’t….because she wasn’t a Seeker.

“Watch out Castell!” she heard someone yell.

.. … …. TOO LATE.

A bludger hit her on the side as her senses were slowly engulfed by darkness.