He Who Denied Gryffindor Entirely

Evita took out a Silver Sickle and got two large glasses filled to the brim with cherry juice and ice. She drank her juice, but her mouth never stopped moving. "But I think Professor Snape is more like a total rejection of Gryffindor, isn't he? Look, most of the time he only takes points from your house. We generally consider that a sign of deep-seated hatred."

Unfortunately, Bill choked on his soda at her words. Coughing, he changed the subject. "Fred and George wrote to me yesterday, urging you to write back soon. The two of them said they waited and waited until Mum's hand landed on their backsides, since they'd kept the owl occupied for so long. Anyway, they've been waiting for your reply."

"Ah!" Evita let out a short shriek and pulled a quill and parchment from her robes. "I completely forgot about that! Let me think, how many replies have I fallen behind on lately..."

She counted on her fingers, a little anxiously. "Lily, Newt, Tina... Oh, heavens! More than twenty!"

Evita was no longer in the mood to chat. She hurriedly wrote her replies in The Three Broomsticks, glad she had stored all the letters she hadn't read in the system, so she could reply to them now.

Sirius had sent the most letters. After all, he was energetic and had plenty of time on his hands. In her reply, Evita maliciously suggested he get a job, or, failing that, go help Lupin.

The Nonexistent Shop did brisk business every day, especially with the fruit gummies she had developed. After all sorts of suggestions from the House-elves at Hogwarts, they had acquired truly marvelous effects: the strawberry flavor made you feel as though you were floating on clouds, the blueberry flavor as though you were plunging into the deep sea, and the apple flavor as though you had stepped into thin air and were plummeting...

They were exciting, novel, and great fun. Evita had named them One Thousand and One Adventures, and she was still working on them.

Besides those, the Nonexistent Shop also sold all kinds of interesting gadgets, such as glowing skeletons that danced and funny dolls that mimicked speech...

Evita wrote at a furious pace and soon finished her replies to the adults, leaving only Harry, Fred, and George.

She bit her thumbnail. Harry's reply was easy to write. He was four, still at the age when he couldn't read, and would be happy just to get a letter. The twins were different, though: they were at an age when they were bursting with curiosity and hated by everyone, even dogs.

Faced with all the questions in their letter, Evita kept a straight face and spent a full hour writing a careful reply.

Even their playful questions about pranks had to be answered seriously.

Until-

She saw this passage.

"Evita, George and I discovered something!

"Fred and I discovered something!

"That is-

"We managed to use magic at home!

"We covered one eye with our left hand, but we could still see what was behind our palm."

Evita raised her left hand and covered one eye. After a quick test, she couldn't help smiling. Then she lowered her head and continued reading the letter.

"Haha! Did we fool you?"

-"Yes, you did. You two really are amazing."

Evita wrote more than a dozen lines, then put the parchment away.

Bill, whom she had asked to shop at Honeydukes, came back too, and the two returned to Hogwarts together.

During the two short holidays in her third year, Evita again chose to stay at school. She was also invited to a party held by the ghosts, but the food smelled so awful that she turned pale and left early, declining the ghosts' enthusiastic suggestion.

The Quidditch final was shortly after the Easter holidays, and she absolutely refused to have anything go wrong at a time like this.

Once again, they faced their old rivals, Gryffindor. Evita made it safely to the day, and the match went just as smoothly. When she caught sight of the little golden ball, she decisively lunged for it, then flew high above the crowd to thunderous applause.

Winning the Quidditch Cup again kept her excited for a long time. Even the muggy weather as June approached failed to cool her enthusiasm, though the heat made her want nothing more than to lie in the sun on the grass with an iced fruit juice.

But she couldn't. The exams in early June were approaching, and the Hufflepuff Common Room was full of students revising.

Evita was revising hard too. She had four exams on Monday, each two hours long. Fortunately, none of them clashed, or someone would definitely have discovered the secret she was hiding.

Exam week soon arrived. The first exam, Arithmancy, tested them on Bridget Wenlock and the number "7." Evita completed the paper without a hitch and gained a basic idea of how difficult the exams were.

Transfiguration and Charms went just as smoothly. Even Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, who were supervising, couldn't help showing their satisfaction.

Not until night fell and her final exam, Ancient Runes, was over could Evita roll into her soft blankets and sleep.

Tomorrow she still had Astronomy, Potions, and Care of Fantastic Beasts...

With that thought, she drifted drowsily into a dream.

The exams ended in the second week. Thanks to the Quidditch Cup, Evita's eagerness to raise her hand and answer questions, and the students who worked hard and avoided losing points for their house, Hufflepuff successfully won the House Cup again. The End-of-Year Feast was held in the Great Hall, which was decked out in black and yellow. The Hufflepuff table was especially lively, with everyone laughing and celebrating.

The next morning, Evita once again boarded the Hogwarts Express as the top student in her year, with Tonks and the Weasley brothers sitting opposite her.

Charlie had the Weasley family's classic red hair. He wasn't as tall as Bill, and he had a very serious-looking face. As he gradually became more familiar with Evita and Tonks, he asked with great interest, "What's Care of Magical Creatures like?"

"There are lots of animals," Evita said lazily, resting her chin on the Kneazle as she held it. "Flobberworms, Fire Crabs, unicorns..."

Charlie, who had always liked outdoor activities, pressed her. "Is it interesting?"

The Kneazle made a grunting sound like a little pig. Evita tilted her head and lay very gently against it, blinking as she answered, "I think it's very interesting."

So Charlie turned to Bill for confirmation. Bill considered it briefly. "If you don't count the injuries."

"The animals are all lovely," Evita added. "It's fun chatting with them."

"Chatting?" Tonks leaned forward curiously. "With the animals?"

"Yeah," Evita answered, lifting the Kneazle in her arms. She and the cat gazed deeply into each other's eyes. "Like right now."

She meowed twice, and the Kneazle meowed back.

Tonks: "Meow, meow?"

The Kneazle swished its tail, closed its eyes, and ignored her.

Tonks: QAQ.