Callum's family was huge. There were five children from his own mother and father at Hogwarts- Aglaia, Blake, Harold, Daren, and himself. And his aunt and uncle had even more of the Knight brood in the school- his cousins Galen and Talon were also fifth years, and they had siblings as well. The whole family had a bad reputation- causing the two non-Slytherins of the Knight family to suffer. Galen and Blake had somehow wound up in the wrong houses. At least Ravenclaw was acceptable, but Gryffindor? Callum remembered when Galen was sorted- he had been shocked to hear the hat put him in Gryffindor. And from that moment on a rift formed between the two cousins.

Even though the two of them were different in many ways- they were still family. He had grown up with Galen, and the two usually got along well enough. They shared enough common traits and points of view to not want to throttle each other at every twist and turn. If only Blake were that way! But no- his little brother had to like muggles, and had to want equal rights for werewolves. It was as though Blake was doing everything he could to make Callum hate him. But still- the Slytherin had been trying recently not to make Blake's life too miserable. (Apart from the Ayla stunt of course, but that had just been hilarious, and whether Blake knew it or not he needed someone to save him from that loose Hufflepuff wench.)

At least Galen understood non-wizards weren't equals. Whether it was creatures or muggles. At least Galen had some sort of pride. Often times Callum wondered how the sorting hat had shoved his cousin into Gryffindor. But he also remembered the conversation in his own head with the sorting hat- he'd almost been placed in the same house. Callum had refused, though. Apparently the dumb, enchanted sack of cloth thought that the fact Callum had morals automatically made him a Gryffindor. Just because he refused to hurt women didn't mean he was going to stand up for other peple or that he was brave and what-not. (Even though he was, and in his younger years he'd even had an adventurous streak.)

And because Galen understood and wasn't completely undesirable company (even if the two of them had their differences), so hanging out with him and practicing a few charms or talking about girls was alright by Callum.

Currently Callum was lounging by a tree, school bag by his side. He casually flicked his wand at a nearby flower- one of the few to bloom so early- "Engorgio!" he watched as the flower swelled up. A boring spell to say the least- not nearly as interesting as it had been whenever he'd used it on Sellaphix outside of defense that day.

"This place has really gone to the dogs," Callum commented to his cousin. "Have you seen the house points recently? Hufflepuff is starting to catch up. That's just pathetic- for them to have a hundred points more than Gryffindor. They're going to catch up to my house if we aren't careful." Callum flicked his wand at the flower again, watching it shrink. "Someone ought to put those stupid badgers in their places."

Galen and Callum had more in common than most people realized. There were differences, obviously, but the mechanics of their brains were incredibly similar. Often, even if they were fighting they could at least see the reasons the other behaved the way they did, even if they didn't agree. It also shocked most people that they could get along, being rivals on the Quidditch field and defending members of their own houses against the other's verbal assaults. Family, they both knew, would always be important.

"You are telling me?" Galen said from his perch up in the tree. He set aside his Defense Against the Dark Arts book and looked down to Callum. "I can not even focus on studying. We should do something. Now."

Couldn't focus on studying? Callum was unsurprised by Galen's impatience. Gryffindors- all of them- seemed to have short attention spans and be incapable of finding satisfaction in relaxation. The Hufflepuffs were often the same way. Callum looked up at the branch where his cousin was lounging, and shrugged. "It's what happens when your house happens to be overrun with stupidity and insolence. Nobody knows their place." As if Callum was much of one to talk. He'd been having his own problems with professors, but recently things seemed to be looking up for him.

Standing up, Callum brushed off his pants and latched onto another branch of the tree, hoisting himself up before summoning his bag to hang it on the tree out of reach. He stood, looking over the grounds. There weren't very many people outside at the moment- though he did see a student wandering in their direction. "What do you propose we do, Galen?" Callum asked. "It's not as though there's anything entertaining to do. Everyone's too busy trying to get their homework done or studying for their OWLs." Which was what they ought to be doing.

He sat himself down in a fork of the branch, flicking his wand at the ground, making dirt explode into the air. "So if you have any bright ideas, I'm all ears."