That night when Jenna returned to the girl's dormitory in her cat form, the rest of the girls had already returned to their dorm. As it seemed, Dumbledore had already announced the news about the Triwizard Tournament to them, because this was all they seemed able to talk about.

Although Jenna did notice that something was different in the dormitory than it had been last year; a fifth four-poster bed had been added. She assumed that the new girl had probably been sorted into Gryffindor, though she was nowhere to be found at the moment.

Throughout the next few weeks, it was an understatement to say that Jenna was bored out of her mind. Without having Remus or Sirius around this year, she was finding it harder and harder to stick around all day long in her cat form.

In the mornings whenever the others were in class, Jenna would go to the kitchen to visit Mickey. As he told her, the new house elf, Dobby, was a weird one among the other elves, because he wanted to be free and to be paid. Jenna wanted to explain to Mickey that it was all right to do so, but she thought against it, knowing how sensitive house elves got each time being freed was even remotely mentioned.

Sometimes at nights, Jenna would go down toward the Black Lake to take stroll in her cat form, because it was the best way to sneak away from Filch without being noticed. Although Mrs. Norris was going on her nerves as the old cat sometimes kept following Jenna around suspiciously.

Her only amusement other than napping in the common room was to listen on the students' conversations. But even that had gotten boring to her, seeing as all that everyone seemed able to talk about was the upcoming Tournament.

As it seemed, two other magical schools were soon going to join them for three dangerous tasks; Durmstrang Institute, and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, each school being represented by one Champion, which left three champions in general.

Jenna thought it was good that they had changed the rules so only students older than seventeen could join, seeing as it was supposed to be extremely dangerous.

Although she couldn't deny that if this tournament had taken place in their time, she and James and Sirius would for sure have tried to join in, not matter what.

      That day, Hermione was at the library as always, meanwhile Harry and Ron were sitting in the common room, doing their Divination homework. They were supposed to keep a Dream Journal, in which they had to write their dreams and their meanings.

Although Ron and Harry were getting very creative with their dreams.

Ron, sweeping the jumble of scrawled notes off the table, dipping his pen into some ink, and starting to write.

"Next Monday," he said as he scribbled, "I am likely to develop a cough, owing to the unlucky conjunction of Mars and Jupiter." He looked up at Harry. "You know her — just put in loads of misery, she'll lap it up."

"Right," said Harry, crumpling up his first attempt and lobbing it over the heads of a group of chattering first years into the fire. "Okay... on Monday, I will be indanger of — er — burns."

"Yeah, you will be," said Ron darkly, "we're seeing Hagrid's skrewts again on Monday. Okay, Tuesday, I'll... erm..."

"Lose a treasured possession," said Harry, who was flicking through Unfogging the Future for ideas.

"Good one," said Ron, copying it down.

They continued to make up predictions, which grew steadily more tragic, for another hour, while the common room around them slowly emptied as people went up to bed.

Crookshanks had wandered over to them a little while back, leapt lightly into an empty chair, and stared inscrutably at Harry, rather as Hermione might look if she knew they weren't doing their homework properly.

Although something else was going on in Jenna's mind which they could not understand. These two boys really reminded her of James and Sirius back at Hogwarts. They always either copied their homework from Remus, or made stuff up just like this.

Soon, the portrait hole opened and Hermione climbed into the common room carrying a sheaf of parchment in one hand and a box whose contents rattled as she walked in the other. Crookshanks arched her back, purring as she watched the girl walk toward them.

"Hello," she said, "I've just finished!"

"So have I!" said Ron triumphantly, throwing down his quill. Hermione sat down, laid the things she was carrying in an empty armchair, and pulled Ron's predictions toward her.

"Not going to have a very good month, are you?" she said sardonically as Crookshanks curled up beside her on the couch.

"Ah well, at least I'm forewarned," Ron yawned.

"You seem to be drowning twice," said Hermione.

"Oh am I?" said Ron, peering down at his predictions. "I'd better change one of them to getting trampled by a rampaging hippogriff."

"Don't you think it's a bit obvious you've made these up?" said Hermione.

"How dare you!" said Ron, in mock outrage. "We've been working like house-elves here!" Hermione raised her eyebrows. "It's just an expression," said Ron hastily.

Harry laid down his quill too, having just finished predicting his own death by decapitation. "What's in the box?" he asked, pointing at it.

"Funny you should ask," said Hermione, with a nasty look at Ron. She took off the lid and showed them the contents.

Inside were about fifty badges, all of different colors, but all bearing the same letters: S.P.E.W.

"'Spew'?" said Harry, picking up a badge and looking at it. "What's this about?"

"Not spew," said Hermione impatiently. "It's S-P-E-W. Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

"Never heard of it," said Ron.

"Well, of course you haven't," said Hermione briskly, "I've only just started it."

"Yeah?" said Ron in mild surprise. "How many members have you got?"

"Well — if you two join — three," said Hermione.

Jenna immediately looked away awkwardly, afraid to catch Hermione's eyes so she wouldn't ask her to join as well for later on.

"And you think we want to walk around wearing badges saying 'spew,' do you?" said Ron.

"S-P-E-W!" said Hermione firmly. "I was going to put Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Cam- paign for a Change in Their Legal Status — but it wouldn't fit. So that's the heading of our manifesto."

She brandished the sheaf of parchment at them.

"I've been researching it thoroughly in the library. Elf enslavement goes back centuries. I can't believe no one's done anything about it before now."

"Hermione — open your ears," said Ron loudly. "They. Like. Working!"

"Our short-term aims," said Hermione, speaking even more loudly than Ron, and acting as though she hadn't heard a word, "are to secure house-elves fair wages and working conditions. Our long- term aims include changing the law about non-wand use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly underrepresented."

"And how do we do all this?" Harry asked.

"We start by recruiting members," said Hermione happily. "I thought two Sickles to join — that buys a badge — and the proceeds can fund our leaflet campaign. You're treasurer, Ron — I've got you a collecting tin upstairs — and Harry, you're secretary, so you might want to write down everything I'm saying now, as a record of our first meeting."

There was a pause in which Hermione beamed at the pair of them. But the silence was broken by a soft tap on the window. When they looked over, illuminated by the moonlight, a snowy owl perched on the windowsill.

"Hedwig!" Harry shouted, and he launched himself out of his chair and across the room to pull open the window.

It was a letter from Sirius.