Siobhan gnawed on her lip, hair frazzled and tie coming undone as she waited outside the Defense classroom on Friday morning for a double period. She was sure Snape wouldn't let Kyle move from their seat down the front -- next to her -- but if he did... if he did...

Well, she might cry. It was the only class where she got to sit next to her best friend in the world now that Potions had her working with Yvette.

It had been a long week. Far too long. She had barely finished her essays in time, hopefully to an acceptable standard, but all of the classes seemed somewhat lacking. Care of Magical Creatures was downright disappointing. Where were the dragons, the ashwinders, the kelpies? The few brief times she had managed to meet up with Kyle in empty classrooms were hardly long enough, usually during lunch only. She had to wonder about her brother's motives: [i]was it worth this unhappiness[/i]?

Just before the bell rang, she carefully went inside and took her previous seat down the front of the class. Siobhan left her bag off the seat just in case Kyle decided to (or was forced to by the professor to) sit there.