The crisp autumn air filled Myka's lungs as she stepped off the prefects' train car. Students milled around her and she scanned the crowd for a familiar face. The repeated cry of "Firs' years this way!" assaulted her ears as the lumbering figure of Hagrid came closer.

"Myka! Nice to see ye back," he said cheerfully as he passed her. "An' a prefect no less!"

"Hi, Hagrid," she replied, surveying the crowd of first years behind him. She smiled encouragingly at them, remembering how terrified and overwhelmed she had been the first time she stepped off the Hogwarts Express and into the world she now called home.

Suddenly, she heard a someone calling her name. She turned around to see a tall boy in Hufflepuff robes bounding towards her, pushing through the crowd until he was at her side. He enveloped her in a hug that lifted her feet from the ground, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, Pete, did you have a good summer?" Myka asked. He nodded and launched into a story about his trip home to Ohio as they walked towards the carriages together. One of Myka's biggest frustrations was the little amount of time she was able to spend with Pete, who had been her best friend since he inexplicably set her blue Ravenclaw tie on fire in first year Charms class.

"Anyway, how was your summer, Miss Perfect Prefect?" Pete teased, nudging Myka lightly on the shoulder. She wrinkled her nose at the nickname, which she hoped Pete would promptly forget.

"It was fine, I guess," she answered absentmindedly. "My parents took me back to Colorado to see my cousins…"

They continued walking up the hill, swapping stories as the sun set. Myka's eyes traveled lazily across the mostly familiar faces of the students as Pete's chatter continued in the background. Her gaze stopped, though, when she locked eyes with a strange Slytherin girl. The girl's eyes were unusually, unsettlingly dark, and the green of her robes set off the paleness of her skin. As she studied Myka from across the crowd, the vaguest shadow of a smile played at her mouth. Her eyebrows curved upwards in interest. Myka stared back, oddly captivated by the girl's expression. She was forced to break eye contact, though, when Pete jostled her and she lost her footing on the uneven ground. When she looked back over, the Slytherin girl had disappeared into the crowd.

The feast passed uneventfully and Myka was reunited with her housemates. After leading the first years through the common room and to their dormitories, Myka changed into her pyjamas and climbed into bed. It was usually during this quiet time at the end of the day when her mind refused to remain calm. Tonight it was only the Slytherin girl from the crowd who dominated her consciousness for whatever reason. Surrendering herself to the inevitable, Myka allowed the thoughts to run their course and eventually, she drifted into a light but restful sleep.