Her first week back at Hogwarts was already proving to be more difficult than anything she had ever done in muggle school and in her first year. Her first class of the day was Transfiguration, which was difficult since Kade kept bumping into her as he examined the notes on the board. When it was time to go to Defense Against the Dark Arts, she and her brother pinched their noses since it still smelt like the room was covered in garlic. Their other classes weren’t too exciting this year either, she noticed. The only class she found more interesting than the others was History of Magic, though she’d thought that way last year too. She didn’t know the exact reason why she found it interesting, she only knew that she’d always found any type of history very interesting in muggle school.

   Kade had said he didn’t find any of their classes interesting so far, especially not History of Magic since he’d fallen asleep during that. Today they had Double Potions with the second-year Gryffindors, which made her twin groan. Kade didn’t like Snape, the potions master, anymore than Snape liked him. When she and Kade made it to the Great Hall for breakfast, the mail arrived. As soon as she sat down, a brown barn owl flew down onto the table in front of her, dropped a letter into her bowl and took a piece of toast. Kade's owl, Muck, had also given him a letter, before it took some toast from his hand.

   Neither of the twins had gotten any mail so early in the year so seeing an owl deliver something to them when school had barely just started made her suspicious. She carefully opened the letter and read that she had been invited to go have tea with Hagrid around three. She quickly wrote her answer on the back of the letter (with a spare quill she always carried around), I would love to have tea. See you soon. Kade had already tied his reply back on Muck’s leg by the time she’d started tying hers on the other barn owls. After tying her reply back on the owl's leg she watched as it flew back out the window, the piece of toast hanging from its beak.

   Later that day, they were in the potions dungeon reviewing what they’d learned a year ago. It was a bit colder in the dungeon, at least colder than the rest of the castle, and wouldn’t be quite as creepy without the pickled animals floating in their glass jars along all the walls, Cat noticed that they were the same ones from the year before. Snape had started the class by taking a roll call before firing questions at her. Thankfully, she had her old notes with her today, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to say, “Asphodel and wormwood make the powerful sleeping potion called Draught of Living Death.” Snape nodded and continued by firing another question. “You can find bezoar in the stomach of a goat, bezoar can save you from most poisons.

   “Wouldn’t it be better if —” she had started to say but he’d fired another question before she could finish.

   Sighing, she said, “There is no difference between monkshood and wolfsbane because they are the same plant also going by the name aconite. Would you please just —”

   Snape seemed to know that she’d already had all the answers to the same questions he’d asked everyone the year before so he instead turned to Allison, asking her what the potion to cure boils was brewed from. Disappointed by her answer, he glared at Cat for a quick moment before telling everyone to brew the potion to cure boils to remind them how to make it. The twins couldn’t hear what he said as  he watched over everyone as they made their potions in pairs. 

   Their hearts were beating so loud that they couldn’t even hear themselves think. Knowing what to do, she took a thin blindfold out of her book bag and tied it around her eyes. She could still see perfectly fine but everyone had started to stare at her and her blindfolded brother with curiosity. Ignoring her fellow classmates, she made the potion based on her memory while Kade took notes next to her since he still had no idea how to make it.

   By the end of the class, she, (Kade wasn’t much help but she already knew that he wouldn’t be), had made the only potion that could actually cure boils. When they got out of the classroom, the twins’s heart’s finally stopped beating loudly and they were able to hear everything again. At about ten to three, she and Kade left the castle and towards the hut on the edge of the forbidden forest. She looked at the small wood hut and saw a crossbow and a pair of galoshes were right outside the front door.  Kade knocked on the door, and they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside along with several loud booming barks. She guessed that Fang was either excited or thought they were intruders.

   He backed away from the door to where Cat was standing and then they heard Hagrid’s voice, “Fang back — back.” Hagrid’s big and hairy face appeared in the crack as he attempted to keep his dog back and open the door. “Need some help there Hagrid?” Cat said stepping closer to the door. “Kade and I can open the door and you can hold Fang back,” she said, Kade nodding behind her confidently. Hagrid nodded and backed away from the door.

   They pushed on the door, slowly opening it, before stepping inside and pushing it closed behind them. Fang, a gigantic boarhound, broke free from Hagrid and bounded straight towards Cat, attempting to lick her ears. “Down Fang. Sorry ‘bout that.” Hagrid said as he pulled Fang away from her. “It’s ok. Fang’s just really happy to see us.

   “It has been a while since we last visited him so it’s normal that he jumped from excitement,” Cat said, wiping the slobber off of her face with the sleeve of her cloak. “Make yerself at home. Gotta wait for someone else. Shouldn’ take too long.” Hagrid said as he picked up boiling water and tried to start pouring it into a large teapot. There was another knock on the door and she said, “We’ll get it, Hagrid,” as she and Kade pulled the heavy door open for the second time that day.

   She smiled when she saw Harry and Ron standing outside, Kade waved at Harry. “Hello Harry, hello Ron,” said Cat as she and her twin held the door open for them. They both nodded as they waved and walked in. “Make yerselves at home,” Hagrid said as they pushed the door closed again. Hagrid let go of Fang and he bounded straight up to Ron and licked his ears, she giggled when she turned around to see the disgust on Ron’s face. “This is Ron,” Harry said to Hagrid as he was pouring the boiling water into the large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.

   “Another Weasley, eh?” Hagrid said, taking a glance at Ron’s freckles. “I spent half me life just chasin’ yer twin brothers away from the forest.” The rock cakes had raisins and were shapeless lumps that seemed to have almost broke Harry and Ron’s teeth but she and Kade liked them anyway. They all told Hagrid about their first lessons as they ate, Harry and Ron were pretending to like the rock cakes. Cat watched as Fang walked over to Harry and rested his head on his knee, drooling all over his robes. 

   They were all delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch “that old git,” though Cat and Kade already knew that Hagrid despised Filch.

   “An’ as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I’d like ter introduce her to Fang sometime.” Cat gasped and Kade groaned beside her. “Why’d you want to do that to Mrs. Norris?” Cat asked, feeling deeply hurt by his comment. “Well d’yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can’t get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it.”

   Cat thought for a moment before saying, “Maybe she wants you to pet her. Every time she comes up to me I pet her, and after I do, she walks away happily.” No one except her and Kade knew why she always petted Mrs. Norris. Harry told Hagrid about his first potion’s lesson, which the twins were interested to hear about since they weren’t in the same year. Hagrid told him not to worry since Snape hardly liked any of the students.

   “But he seemed to really hate me.” Harry said. Cat mumbled, “He doesn’t like me either. Asking me all the questions in the beginning of every class, seeing if I’ll slip up one day and make a fool of myself.”

   “Why should he?” Hagrid said, not meeting Harry’s eyes.

   “How’s yer brother Charlie?” Hagrid asked Ron, seeming to want to change subjects. “I liked him a lot — he’s great with animals.” Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie’s work with dragons, and Cat saw Harry pick up a piece of paper that was on the table under the tea cozy.

   “Hagrid!” Harry said, “That Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday!” Cat and Kade looked around at the others as Harry continued, “It might’ve been happening while we were there!” Hagrid didn’t meet Harry’s eyes and instead grunted and offered him another rock cake. The twins stayed silent while the others continued to chat. Cat and Kade had both left a bit early to get to dinner, the whole way back to the castle she thought about the break-in at Gringotts.