The carriage lurched forward gently as the four students sat down and departed the station.  Desiree and the other three Slytherins discussed what they did over the summer, and the other three seemed interested in what Desiree had done, since she was the only one out of the three that spent any appreciable amount of time with muggles at all.  She suspected that they liked hearing her accent as well, and she actually liked the idea of being something of an “exotic”.  Her status as house Quidditch captain didn't do anything to hurt her popularity either, and a topic of conversation was if there was any strategy to beat the hated Gryphondors this year.  Desiree just smiled, tossing her hair behind her ear.<br/><br/>“Oh, she's not going to tell us,” one said.  “I like this girl, she has secrets,” another chimed in.  Yeah, it was definitely a secret, Desiree didn't even know what the strategy was herself.  After all, who could think about Quidditch when it was over a hundred degrees outside, ninety percent humidity, and the two rotating pool guys that came by.  Teasing them was easy, and it was a game to her, made easier that she was only seventeen.  She wouldn't be next summer though so things could get...interesting.<br/><br/>But who cares, now?  School was starting and, unlike most of the teens back home, she was excited to be back here again.  Learning magic was so much cooler than learning history.  The only bad part about it was that she hadn't had any communication with any other wizards or witches since the end of the last term.  Well, unless you counted her mother, and Desiree did.  She was definitely a witch, in more ways that one.  She confiscated Desiree's wand every summer so far, and limited her flying to night time only.  On top of that, she was forced to study for most of her vacation, but without a wand to actually practice, the good of it was up for debate.  She did have her signed Hogsmeade form, though, and that was a plus.  She'd heard so much about it from the older students.<br/><br/>Speaking of older students, her best friend at the school was another Slytherin girl by the name of Siobhan.  She was a fifth year student now, and despite the age difference between them they became friends almost immediately.<br/><br/>Her own strengths were Charms, Illusions, and flying, which she did well on the school furnished brooms, as a Nimbus 2KX4, Firebolt II, or Cleansweep Lucky 13 were beyond her financial means.<br/><br/>The carriage stopped in front of the castle, and the four students climbed down and unloaded their trunks.  They walked to the door, staged their belongings, and walked inside.  Desiree knew that they would inspect some of the students' trunks, she just really, really hoped that they wouldn't check hers.