Here we go!

I was the first to Transfiguration. Most of the first years were still down in the great hall eating their breakfasts. My stomach gurgled, begging for food, but I wasn't in the mood to eat.
Twiddling my thumbs, I sat there, and stared blankly at the blackboard, waiting for the bell to ring and for the students to filter into the classroom.
Soon enough, the bell rang, and the kids all shuffled reluctantly into the classroom, unwilling to start a new term.

"Good Morning class," Prof. McGonagall said as she strode into the classroom, and stood at her desk.
"Good morning Professor McGonagall," we chanted in a sing song voice.
I kept my head down and avoided making eye contact with her. It helped that my desk was in the back of the classroom.
"Right class," she said, taking out her wand and charming some chalk to write on the board. "Today, we will be learning about transforming an item into something completely different from its original form. For example, like a quill to a teacup."

The lesson went by slowly. I had managed to transform the feather I had into a pin cushion and back several times by the end of the lesson.
I wonder how Tash, Sam and Laurie are. I thought as I watched everyone attempting to transfigure their feathers.
Someone prodded me in the back. I turned to look, and there I saw a very bruised Zofka, and an even worse Petunia.
"Hello Annie," Petunia said, smiling a sickningly sweet smile at me. "I just wanted to say to you that you're dead," she said it in such an off hand manner that I knew that I was in trouble. If I wasn't expelled from school, then I would be in for a much worse fate.
Zofka cracked her knuckles menacingly from her seat next to Petunia.
"Ve know vhere you lif!" she said, trying to sound threatening.
Petunia whacked Zofka over the head. "Of course you know where she lives, Zofka you blubber brained twit, we go to the same school!"
I snorted into a handkerchief, trying very hard not laugh.
"Ja, but ve know vat classes she has and vat time she has free!" Zofka hissed back to Petunia.
Petunia facepalmed. "That's because we all have the same lessons."
Zofka screwed her face up, looking as though she was in great pain. Then she realised what Petunia had said to her.
"Oh. Ok. Vell, do ve haf punch up now?"
Petunia sighed. "No, we do not have a punch up."
Suddenly feeling a little pluckier, I made fun of Zofka. "Ja, ve haf no punch up today!"
Petunia laughed, but Zofka screwed up her face again. "Vhy did you shpeak like thet?"
"Never mind." I said as I turned back to my work.
I smiled as from behind me I heard the sound of Petunia whacking Zofka round her head again.

The lesson ended, and everyone left the classroom. I left in a particular hurry, as to avoid talking to McGonagall.
A heavy rain had come over the grounds of the school, and it was very muddy.
We put our hoods up and ran to the Herbology greenhouses on the other side of the school.
Everyone was soaked through by the time they had arrived at Greenhouse 1.
Stuck to the door was a notice from Professor Sprout.
Herbology Cancelled today due to infestation of flesh eating slugs. Please come to the great hall for a special lesson.
"Herbology's cancelled?!" A dismayed Ravenclaw shouted from the crowd.
"That's a good thing!" A Slytherin yelled at the Ravenclaw.
Groaning and grumbling, we returned to the courtyard that was the quickest way to the Great Hall.

We all went into the Great Hall to see something amazing.
The tables were all gone, and at either end of the hall were 3 hoops, each of them different sizes.
Lines had been painted onto the ground, and wooden stands were stood by the walls.
In the centre of the room, there were 14 brooms floating in a circle at waist height. In the middle of the circle was a big, old chest with locks on it and two beaten up bats.
As one, the class breathed "Quidditch."
"Yes, indeed, we are playing Quidditch," Professor Sprout said as she walked into the room. "Now, I believe that this is the Ravenclaw and Slytherin first years, am I correct? Good. Today, I will be teaching you about Quidditch."
Professor Sprout talked to us for about half an hour about the rules and positions of Quidditch.
She explained to us that we were using foam bludgers and a training snitch for our games.
We were split into teams of 7, Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin. Each house had two teams.
Unfortunately, due to Laurie and Tash's absence, the Ravenclaw's girl team was missing one beater and a chaser.

For the rest of the lesson, we played Quidditch in the hall.
As a beater, I was able to whack out all my emotion into the bludgers, and I even managed to knock Zofka and Petunia off their brooms, only to have them float in midair from a security spell cast by Prof. Sprout.

The lesson ended all too soon, and we left the great hall to deposit our bags and stuff.
By the time that we had all returned to our respective houses and dorms, dumped our bags and returned to the hall, everything was back to normal.

I ate lunch with my new friends. Conversation was never scarce with that group. They were always plotting of ways to get back at people who had been rude to them and such.
Looking around at the Great Hall, no one would have ever expected that a full size Quidditch Pitch had been set up in there only 10 minutes before.
I finished my lunch quickly and went up to the Hospital Wing to visit my friends.
They were all still unconscious in their beds, so I couldn't talk to them of anything.
Madam Pomfrey shooed me out quite quickly though, so I went off on my own and was bored.

The rain was still hard outside, but I didn't care.
I walked out of the courtyard gates and walked down to the lake inlet where the Roamers' rock was.
Checking that no one was watching, I went inside and stood, watching everything happening around me. Windows in the rock had appeared, which showed enemies and friends.
The girls were still sleeping in the hospital wing. Luella was sitting up in bed, chatting to Sophie quietly. Zofka and Petunia were in the library, taking out a book, and Stan, Chicken and Titch were fooling around in an empty classroom.
I checked my watch. It read half past twelve. I still had an hour and a half of lunch break left.
Then, I checked my map to see if anyone was about and then went to the owlery.

Albus was perched on a low beam of the owlery. Attached to his foot was a magazine which I had ordered and hadn't received in the morning. I took the magazine and stuffed it into my pocket.
From my other pocket, I extracted a self inking quill and an order form for Honeyduke's.
I ordered half a dozen chocolate frogs and a packet of Bertie Botts' every flavour beans for my friends. I folded the letter up and put it into the envelope along with the money.
"See you soon, Albus." I said as Albus flew off.

The rest of the day went quickly, and soon, I had to go to the principle's office.
Palms sweating and dread in my heart, I walked the condemning corridor to McGonagall's office.
My hands shook as I knocked on the door.
"Come in," McGonagall said from her office.
I walked in and stood just a step away from the door.
"Now, Annie, I am disappointed to find out that you have been duelling with other students. Could you please explain yourself? I would like to know everything."
I said everything to McGonagall, told her of all the niggles between Luella and our group. I owned up to the broomstick incident, but didn't blame Laurie. Everything poured out, and I felt terrible but better at the end of it.

"Well, Annie, I can see that you and Luella have had some difficulties between you. What you did was completely out of order, especially sabotaging her broomstick and duelling. She or yourself could have been killed. I am most disappointed in you, Miss Bolt. Normally, the consequences for your actions would mean expulsion." I hung my head at this. "But," she continued. "This time you will not be expelled. Instead, you will be banned from all clubs, excluded from all special trips until the end of the school year, and you will have 2 months' detention. The same will go for your friends and Luella and her friends when they get out of the hospital wing. Now, please go along, enjoy your free time."

Once I was out of McGonagall's office, I leaped for joy, and did a little dance of happiness. I wasn't expelled! That made me happy. Although I had other punishments, I wasn't leaving the school that I loved.

Filled with joy, I sprinted off to the Ravenclaw commonroom and told Peggy and Mel, who told Renee and Nike, who were overheard by Neko and Raph.
"Wow Annie, you got off lucky there!" Peggy said as she hugged me.
"Yeah, Annie, you have no chance now if anything else happens this badly." Mel said as she joined in the hugging.
"Well, you won't be able to hang out with us after school hours are over, but at least you're not expelled." Raph said as he hugged all of us, robbing us of the ability to breathe.
"Raph, dude, I think you're killing them!" Neko said as he pried Raph away from the hug.
Renee and Nike were rolling around laughing at us.
Peggy, Mel and I all looked at each other, and then we pounced on Renee and Nike, and hugged them to death.

Dinner came and went, and I went to check on Tash, Laurie and Sam.
Sam stirred in her sleep, but otherwise, the others were dead to the world as they slept.

I returned to the common room and sat down on a sofa next to fire.
Peggy came up from behind me and covered my eyes. "Guess who," she said, putting on a low voice.
"Um... Peggy!"
"Darn it, you're right!" Peggy said as she sat down on the other sofa. "Have you ever played Wizard Chess?"
"I know how to play ordinary chess, and that's the same thing, isn't it? Except for the pieces moving on their own."
Peggy produced a chess set and set it up. "Let's play then!"

We started a long game of Chess. Mel came up to us whilst we were playing.
"Aaw, look at the geeks playing their geeky game of Chess!" without realising, Mel put her hand down next to a chess piece as she was talking.
Peggy and I looked at eachother, then Peggy winked.
"Knight to E4!" I said. The knight piece hopped along the board and landed heavily on Mel's hand.
"Yowch!" she said as she drew her hand away from the board, knocking over all the pieces.
"Game's over, I guess." Peggy said, standing up and packing the set away. And not a moment too soon, for the clock chimed 8 and I had to go up to my dorm.
"Night guys!" I called as I went up the stairs. I changed out of my uniform and into my pyjamas.
I put the uniform into the dirty linen basket at the side of my bed for the house elves, and I got out a fresh and dry uniform from my trunk.

Lying in bed, I went over the day's events in my head, and I decided that this term wasn't going to be half bad.