To new readers, welcome, and to familiar friends, welcome back! This is meant to be a short NG, OC spin-off of a longer fic that I'm writing, Thorns Have Roses, which currently has 23 chapters and is almost at the end of fourth year - (insert shameless plug here) I'd recommend you check it out if you haven't already. I realized that I enjoyed writing for James Potter and my OC Andrea far too much not to give them their own fic, basically, and there were many fun moments I alluded to in THR that I want to write but didn't get a chance to since I was limited to Rose's POV. This story is meant to stand on its own, however, and so reading Thorns Have Roses certainly isn't a prerequisite - everything you need to know will be filled in along the way.

So, let's get down to business

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any associated characters, etc (besides Andy).

Updates: I have a few chapters written (one chapter per Hogwarts year), so I'll be posting those probably about a week apart. After that point, I'll be alternating posts between THR and this story, as once I catch up to the timeline in THR I won't want to give too much away in either concurrent storyline. I'll try to update regularly, but taking a full course load, studying for the MCATs, and writing personal statements are extremely difficult and time-consuming.

Reviews, favorites, follows and PMs are all greatly appreciated 3 Please let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions! As I said, I only have the first few years written, and only a general outline of the rest of their time at Hogwarts, so if I like your ideas and they work logistically I'll try to incorporate them.

Enjoy :)

First Year

Andrea Sterling ducked the Stunning Spell aimed at her chest in the nick of time. She threw up a Shield Charm, just in case she was too slow to dodge it completely, though with her quick fighter's reflexes that was highly unlikely. The poor first year behind her, a small Hufflepuff girl named Maeve Macmillan, wasn't fast enough; the spell hit her full on, causing her to slump unconscious against the castle wall. Andy growled in frustration before casting a weak Leg-locking Curse in retaliation at her attackers.

Andy couldn't stand to see other first years get picked on, and had long ago resolved to step in whenever she witnessed it. Though she wasn't a particularly skilled duelist (she was only a first year herself, after all, and a Muggle-born to boot), training for years in MMA had given her a keen sense of justice and a fighter's spirit, and she'd worked hard over the past few months to improve her defensive spells so that she could survive in a duel long enough to land a few physical blows. Some of the others students, the bullies she sought revenge on, said she was barbaric for using Muggle tactics to fight back against them. For Andy, it was only a simple matter of advantage. Of course she would use the best option necessary, do what needed to be done so that the bullies' intended victims could escape, and if that meant using her fists rather than spells because it was what she knew best then so be it. When she'd passed the third floor on her way back to the common room from dinner and heard the taunting voices of older male students echoing down the corridor, then, Andy hadn't thought twice about intervening to aid whoever they'd managed to corner this time.

This didn't make her very popular among some of the students, of course. She dodged a second Stunner, and used the movement to her advantage to gain a bit of ground between her and the Flint twins, who had started this when they decided to corner Maeve. Once she reached them, the fight would be all but over; though they were both large and strong, especially Caius who played Beater for the Slytherin Quidditch team, the fifth years were unskilled in physical brawls compared to Andy and she could easily take them with a few dirty moves. Magically speaking, they were her superiors, but fist fights? That had always been the Gryffindor girl's territory. Of course, they would probably run before she got within arms' reach, abandoning their quarry to her care. They weren't stupid, after all, and this wasn't the first time they'd gotten into it with her; Thomas had left their first scrape with a black eye, and Caius had very narrowly avoided a dislocated shoulder.

There was one disadvantage to her tactic, however: moving closer to her opponents meant that Andy had less time to react to spells before they reached her. She was on guard because of this, focusing intensely on Thomas and Caius, daring them with a defiant gaze to make a move as she took another step closer. Thomas looked like he was wavering, his blue eyes beginning to look hesitant as he glanced involuntarily at his brother. Of course, he couldn't afford another trip to the Hospital Wing, not with a Quidditch match against Gryffindor tomorrow – he would need to be in top form to catch the Snitch before Ganesh Wood spotted it and continued his House's winning record. He started to take a step backwards, and she pressed her advantage, slowly moving closer-

A loud bang coming from the right startled Andy, distracting her momentarily from the fight at hand. Caius used the opportunity to hit her with a Slug-Vomiting Hex before bolting down the corridor with his twin, who she saw was now limping. What the bloody hell had just happened?

The answer to her silent question made itself known as several slugs made their way out of her mouth in a sticky, disgusting pool of sick. "Ugh," she managed to choke out as she sank to the ground, "every time I think magic couldn't possibly get any worse!"

"It won't last very long," said a gangly black-haired boy as he came into her field of vision, kneeling next to her concernedly and conjuring a bucket for her to throw up into. "It's best to just get them all up. Are you alright? They didn't hurt you before I got here, did they?"

"Oh, no, I'm just -" here she paused to throw up another slug "dandy, thanks." After a few more of the horribly slimy things made an appearance, a thought occurred to her. "Wait, were you the one who got Thomas?"

The boy grinned devilishly. "I am. Can't say I'm sorry, either, those snakes certainly had it coming, cornering two younger students like that."

"You thought they cornered me? I would have beaten those-" more slugs caused her to choke on her words.

Her companion's smile had turned arrogant. "You? Beat them? They hit you with a Slug-Vomiting Charm, for Merlin's sake! And your friend over there has clearly been Stunned."

"She's not my friend, I was defending her! They wouldn't have hit me if you hadn't distracted me with that bloody racket!"

"I think you just don't know how to say thank you."

"I think you're just incapable of recognizing when you aren't needed. You're just like Sir Cadogan, charging in to the rescue and doing more harm than good." The effect of her words was somewhat marred by the multitude of slugs that poured from her mouth after, so she added, "I can handle myself with those two, I'm the one who gave Thomas that mouse in September."

Here the boy looked surprised. "That was you? I didn't hear anything about that, he said it was a Bludger, before Madame Longbottom fixed it."

"I don't brag, they don't tell their friends – it's a little unspoken deal I have with the Flints. And other bullies." Here she paused for more slugs. Really, forget Unforgiveables, or Azkaban – Andy thought vomiting slugs was horrid enough to turn any Dark wizard straight. "No one wants to get beat up by a first year, a girl no less, and they certainly don't want their friends to know either. I don't seek them out, and they don't seek me out, I just stop them when they try to get at the small ones like Maeve."

"Don't they try to have a go at your friends, then?"

"I don't have any," she replied tersely. Here she thought of Rose Weasley, however, and changed her answer. "Well, I have one. But we aren't in the same House, and she can take care of herself. Now look, I don't know who you are-"

"James. James Potter," he said, extending a hand to help her up her as he stood. "You're looking better, now."

Andrea ignored his hand and rose on her own. Ah yes, she was finally meeting Rose's mischievous, annoying cousin. From all of the stories she'd heard, Andy had expected him to be, well, a bit more unkind. And taller. He certainly seemed to have a bad case of White Knight Syndrome, though, exactly like Sir Cadogan in the Divination corridor. And he was a prat. "Well, James, my name is Andrea Sterling. I appreciate that you were trying to help. But don't get in my way again." With that, she turned to pick up Maeve, who seemed to weigh no more than a feather, before turning on her heel and heading to the Hospital Wing.

Several days later, Andy stumbled on the stairs heading down to the dungeons for Potions, tripping over the hem of the new robes she'd gotten for Christmas. As she began to fall to the floor, however, a strong pair of arms caught her around the waist. "Up you go, Sterling," said a familiar male voice in her ear.

She turned to face him. "Potter? Well, thank you."

He smirked. "Don't mention it." Fred Weasley, standing behind James, snickered quietly. A quick elbow to the ribs by his cousin silenced him. "Yes, well, we'd best be going," said the second-year, and the pair ascended the stairs without another word.

Andy reached into her robes for her wand, determined to do something about this hemline, and felt something small and round sitting in her pocket, the size of a pearl. As her palm made contact with its surface, it exploded in her hand, creating a cloud of pink smoke around her that clung to her skin, her hair, her robes. Looking down at herself once the air had cleared, Andy realized she was the precise shade of a Pygmy Puff, and scrubbed her hands together in a desperate attempt to return them to her normal tan color. Nothing worked.

Two voices burst into laughter at the top of the stairs. She turned to see James and Fred, nearly falling over with tears of mirth in their eyes. You're going to wish you hadn't done that, Potter, she thought to herself. I told you not to get in my way again. You don't want to make an enemy of me.