• The students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and wizardry sat in the Great Hall after awaiting the usual speech Dumbledore gave after the Sorting. The large room was well lit, with the usual thousands of candles floating randomly in the air. As the new students sat at the tables, Dumbledore stood and motioned for silence.
    “Welcome to another year of magical enlightenment! Let me begin by saying these few words: Dig in!”
    The gold shining plates that covered all four tables were suddenly filled with heaps of delicious food. Two students at the Gryffindor table were digging in with extra ferocity. On the left sat a beautiful girl with long reddish hair that hung down just past her shoulders. She tore a chicken leg apart and gnawed on the bone after she finished the meat. She reached one of her slender arms to the right to grab a piece of bread, but knocked into the hand of the boy sitting next to her. He turned to look her in the face.
    “Hey Myth,” he said nonchalantly. He pulled his hand back slowly to let her get the bread and marveled at how much she had grown. Last year she had still been a child, and a friend. But he had never seen how truly beautiful she was until he saw her changed features. Her hair was longer, and seemed to almost shine in the light of the candles. The boy wondered if anyone else noticed this, then realized that he didn’t care. She was his best friend, and he had always known that she had a crush on him. But now… he was becoming aware of feelings he had never noticed before.
    “Hey Seph,” she said through a mouthful of bread. He chuckled at her muffled voice and turned back to his food.
    Seph tried to eat his food without looking at Myth too much, but it was difficult. She had grown more slender and curvaceous since reaching puberty. Overall, it was overwhelming to Seph. As he ate, he caught a faint fragrance in the air. “Hey Myth, are you wearing a new perfume?” he asked, quite bluntly.
    She blushed for some reason and shook her head. “Nope… Why do you ask?” She blushed even deeper, which caused Seph’s cheeks turn a light pink.
    He lifted a lock of her hair and brought it to his face. He inhaled lightly and detected that same scent. “A new shampoo then?” he asked.
    Myth giggled and pushed Seph’s hand away. “No! What’s with you today?” she said, still giggling.
    Seph blushed a deep red, and turned back to his food. “N-nothing,” he stammered. He dug into his pudding with new ferocity, not once looking back at Myth.
    Myth ate the rest of her meal in silence, but she too had noticed the changes in her best friend. His black hair wasn’t any longer, but she noticed that he was wearing it a different way than he normally did. His black hair hung just longer than his shoulders, and curled upward slightly at the ends. His bangs, slightly longer than she remembered, covered the left half of his face. It revealed just enough so that he did not appear emo. His Hogwarts robes seemed to fit his body a little closer, showing a well toned upper body. Myth blushed when she saw how fit he had become. She had always had a crush on him, but he had changed drastically over the summer. She felt a slight pang of discomfort. Now that he was older and looked better, the girls would no doubt be all over him. Myth sighed. At least he’ll always be my best friend.
    As soon as the students were finished with their dinner and desert, Dumbledore stood up and raised his hands for silence once again. “Welcome back, dear students, to your next year of magical education. To those of you who are new, please note that as usual, the Forbidden Forest is off limits. Wandering the halls after dark is also not allowed. Mr. Filch has asked me to remind all students that the list of forbidden magical toys is posted in his office, and that all students should read this list before purchasing or asking for a gift. Well, it is not my intention to keep any of you up any longer. On the contrary! Your beds are made and awaiting you. May they carry you to happy dreams in far off worlds. Good Night!” He lowered his hands and turned to leave the great hall.
    The students of the school followed their Prefects out of the hall and toward their common rooms. The Gryffindor Prefects, a boy by the name Demira Shadian and a girl whose name was Myx Diaspora, led their fellow Gryffindor students up to the tower that was their common room. The new students gasped and pointed as the staircases moved to and fro, changing where people were going. Seph and Myth were both sixth years and had seen most of it before. They smiled at each other as the newer students oohed and ahhed at the marvels of Hogwarts. Seph was too tired to think about how his feelings for Myth may have changed, and just wanted to get to his bed and sleep. Myth was tired too.
    The group reached the portrait that led into the common room, and stopped. The two Prefects stepped forward. Demira told the new students about the Fat Lady and that every couple of weeks the password changed. Myx stepped up to the portrait and confidently said, “Transmogrification,” which caused the portrait to swing forward revealing entrance. As all the newer students piled in, looked around in wonder, Seph took Myth’s hand and led her to the armchairs. He sat down in one, while she sat down in another.
    “So did anything exciting happen over the summer?” Seph asked casually. He swept his long bangs out of his face so he could give his best friend his full attention.
    “Oh, the usual. Attacked by a hoard of rampaging trolls and a couple of dragons. Nothing out of the ordinary.” They both chuckled at this comment. “So what about you? Anything interesting happen to you?” Myth asked.
    Seph shook his head. “My uncle got a new job with the Ministry, but it’s not all that interesting. He does something with magical animals and other creatures. It really doesn’t interest me too much.” He sighed. “So, what classes are you taking?” he really didn’t need to ask, for they had always gotten all the same classes. They both wanted to be the same thing when they grew up: alchemists. They both found a strange attraction to potion creation and experimenting with ways to extend human life.
    “Hmmm…” Myth pulled a schedule out of the backpack she had been carrying. “Potions, History of Magic, Ancient Runes, Transfiguration, and Herbology,” she read from her schedule. “What about you?”
    Seph smiled. “All the same, of course. You would think that someone would have tried to stop us from taking all the same classes, huh,” he asked.
    Myth nodded. “But I’m glad we have all the same classes. I don’t even know most of the other Gryffindor’s all that well. It’s good to have classes with your best friend.” She blushed lightly, and stood up. She gave Seph a hug and told him that she needed to go to sleep soon or she would pass out.
    “If you passed out, then I would just carry you to your bed, you know.” He smirked at her as she blushed.
    “You wouldn’t be able to get into the girls dormitory. Remember? The stairs would turn into a slide and you would probably end up hurting us both!” She giggled at the thought.
    Seph chuckled as well. “Oh well. Well, goodnight. See you tomorrow in Potions.” With that Seph and Myth went to their separate rooms.