Karen is distracted and knocked off her broom into the pile of pillows under the combatants.

"Oh gosh I'm sorry," she says later. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay. That's what the pillows are for ever since Prewett broke her arm. Um, hi."

"Hi! What're three safe substitutions in the Wiggenweld potion?" It's one of the questions Karen took a few minutes on when Stoller quizzed her.

"...maple sap for honeywater, lemur spinal fluid for sloth brain mucus, saguaro thorns for the first but not the second addition of lionfish spines."

"You're gonna be all set."

"Thanks."

And she lines up for the next broomstick duel.

Karen stays to watch.

Stoller has an unusual duelling style, probably building off her reputation for that duel first year which wasn't actually her. She is still attached to using Wingardium Leviosa to stick bits of peoples' robes in place.

"Quirky," Karen remarks after she's done.

"For a while it was a fad and Black looked all murderous over it but then thankfully he graduated."

"And now you probably never have to run into him again."

"I haven't the faintest idea what he's doing with his life, but probably not."

"I remember Miranda muttering a lot about what to do about him, before the duel."

"It was kind of unpleasant. It was nice of her to get upset about it."

"Miranda's great."

"She is! Her mentorship thing's going really well, I think the new batches of Slytherin girls are a lot less lonely."

"I thought about trying to get it going in Ravenclaw but I think it wouldn't work as well - lots of introversion and a very strong study group culture that would obviate half the use."

"And it might be a little less hard to not be pureblood anyway."

"Yeah - not that there's not some people but the incentives are different."

"Some people's not a problem, the problem is when no one will talk to you - or when any one person is willing to hurt you for it -"

"The last time Ravenclaw had a physical violence incident over blood purity that I know about was a few years back with Trembley saying purist things and Corner hitting him for it."

"Slytherin hasn't had any Muggleborns recently so it hasn't come up."

"Did the hat say why it put you there?"