Lightning crackled against the sky as rain poured over my already soaked and shivering body. I gripped my broom tightly as another gust of wind threatened to send me down to the ground below, the promise of broken bones and internal injuries screaming in my ears. My old captain Lena Alvarez's voice echoed in my ears as I continued to fight against the wind.

"I'll be damned if I let Mother Nature pull one over on me. Claws, to the sky and fly like the ravens you are!" she used to shout into the sky.

As much as I hated to admit it – and I never would to her – she was right and I was determined not to let some hippie woman with a flower crown decide whether I was going to play or not. Leaning closer to the handle and coaxing the broom forward, I squinted out into the rain, straining to find my other Chasers in the storm. Another strong gust of wind hit and I felt my grip on the broom slip. I looked down, only just registering that my gloves were nowhere to be found.

Bloody hell, I thought, gritting my teeth as I felt a splinter wedge deep into my palm.Just my luck to forget my gloves today.

I clenched my fingers tighter but the soaked wood slid through my hands and fell backwards towards the darkness below. My screams were drowned out by the shrieking wind as I fell into the abyss…

I woke with a jolt and sat straight up in bed, clutching at my chest as my heart threatened to beat out of my ribcage. Looking around, I took in my surroundings and breathed a sigh of relief that I was in my room and not falling as I had been in my dream. I glanced over at the clock on my bedside table and felt my heart skip a beat; my alarm would go off in a few minutes, so it was futile to try and go back to sleep, meaning my final day at home started now.

I jumped up, my blankets falling onto the floor as I went. Yesterday I had packed up all of my things but I was still worried that I had forgotten something. My entire closet was packed into one large trunk, so instead of riffling through that, I checked my Quidditch bag. The smell was so bad my eyes almost watered. It was an unfortunate side effect of my love for the game – and my laziness and unwillingness to properly wash everything.

I checked that I had my gloves, my shin guards and my arm guards, my goggles, my cleats, and my Hogwarts cape. I held the cape in my hands, letting the soft blue linen run through my fingers as I reminisced over games once played and teams left behind. I would be lying if I said I had wanted to leave my friends, but I would also be lying if I said that the Oakshaft Quidditch Academy wasn't something to leave them for. Going to the OQA was a sure fire way to increase my chances at getting an offer from professional reserve teams, and that was my goal.

I reached deep in my Quidditch bag and dug out the ratty child's shirt that had been given to me when I was only a few months old. The magpie set upon a black and white background stared at me as I gazed upon it. The Montrose Magpies were my dream, and had been my dream since I could remember. It had added quite a bit of fuel to the many debates at Christmas time when we had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Weasley's house. But no matter how many times Uncle Ron insisted that the Cannons would be great again, or Aunt Ginny assured me that an all-female team was the way to go, or James bellowed out that no one could ever match up to Puddlemere United, I stuck to my guns.

Suddenly, my alarm beeped, breaking me out of my reverie. I stumbled over my blanket as I scrambled to turn it off before it woke the entire house. It caused much more noise than I had intended. I froze, listening to see if I had woken anyone up but since I didn't hear any movement from down the hall, I started to put everything back in the large duffle, careful to put back the child's t-shirt in the hidden pocket at the bottom of it. Just as I was zipping it up, there was a slight knock at the door.

"Come in," I said in a low voice. Although it seemed that I had woken someone up, I wasn't about to wake up the rest.

The doorknob turned slowly, followed by the opening of the door until I was staring into my mother's bright green eyes. She had her strawberry-blonde hair pulled back in a messy bun that only emphasized her sharp features. I had always wanted the high cheekbones, button nose, and bow lips that had somehow stayed with her, even with her aging years, but I had been doomed with plump cheeks and eyes that were slightly too far apart for my liking. At least I had gotten her blue-green eyes, something my younger sister Lucy was none too pleased about.

She smiled at me from the doorway, the light from the hall illuminating her slim figure. "Too excited to sleep? Or did you wake up early just to pack?" Her voice held the gentle lilt of her hometown of Dublin, dampened by years in English territory.

"I had a nightmare," I explained, "that I was falling off my broom. Woke up before my alarm. I was just double checking all of my things."

She walked over to where I was sitting next to my duffle and crouched down. Her hand came up to cup my cheek as she brushed aside a strand of vibrant copper hair with her thumb. "I'm going to miss you, Molly. Every single day."

I blushed but still pressed against her hand, revelling in the warmth. "I went to Hogwarts for six years, Mum." Rolling my eyes, I continued, "It's no different."

"Oh, it is," she assured me. "This time I know you'll be off having the time of your life, forgetting all about me."

"I won't forget about you, Mum." I reached forward and wrapped my arms around her waist.

She hugged me back and sighed. "I've made sure of that. Your father and I got you a present for before you leave. Come with me."

The small kitchen light washed over the sharp white linoleum, too bright for my eyes. As I squinted, trying to get accustomed to this new brightness, I noticed a large, strangely wrapped package on the counter. Blinking a few more times to get rid of the white blotches in my vision, I saw the thing, long end of one side and the thicker, bulkier end of the other.

"It's a broom," I breathed. I turned to see not only my mother but my father and my sister standing behind me, beaming as they watched. "You got me a broom?"

"You weren't going to let her open that without us, were you?" Dad murmured, pulling Mum closer by the waist.

She laughed as she gave him a peck on the lips. "Of course not. I was just showing it to her. She woke up earlier than we expected."

Lucy skipped over and hugged me tightly. "We were going to make you breakfast in bed and you could've opened it then, but I guess Mum ruined the surprise."

"Can I open it now then?"

Nods from my parents encouraged me to race over and rip open the plain brown packaging. I didn't have much patience on a regular day, let alone when I was being gifted a new broom. When the final piece of paper was out of the way, I felt my heart stop. The rich dark ebony was as smooth as butter and the foot grips were shining with a sheen that could only be of goblin-made ironwork. Hazel twigs were smoothened out at the end, the sleek shape causing my breath to be taken away. The bolt of lightning engraved in gold on the handle along with the number 157 sparkling in the kitchen lightning.

"A Firebolt Supreme," I gasped. "You didn't." I let my fingers ghost across the gorgeous handle, memorizing the small dips and grooves that would held grip and stability once it was in the air. "These are… these are…"

"The fastest brooms in the market," Dad finished for me. He smiled and came forward to lazily draw his fingers along it. "I know. But this comes at a cost, young lady. I'm not paying your way through this academy and giving you a new broom without a promise."

I groaned. "I know. I'll get all my N.E.W.T.s I promise Dad. An E or an O in every single one." I glanced over at Mum, who nodded slightly to show me that my response was the right one. "Now, can I go try this out?"

The Firebolt Supreme was faster than anything I had ever experienced. The hazel in the back helped amazingly with turns and I outshined Lucy when she took my old Air Wave Platinum – well hers now, along with her Turbo XVX – for a race. Afterwards our parents took us out for breakfast instead of making it since I was already awake and everyone was hungry. We were joined by Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur, along with my cousins Dominique and Louis. My other cousin Victoire was on her honeymoon with her new husband, Teddy. When breakfast was over, they gave me a small present. Inside was a golden necklace with a small portrait of a man on it.

"Fleur's idea," Uncle Bill had explained. "She thought it would keep you safe."

Aunt Fleur smiled at her husband, as her brilliant blue eyes bore into mine. "Eets Saint Joseph de Cupertino. 'E is the patron saint of aviation and students."

Before I left, Dominique hugged me tightly and made me promise to write her every week if I could. She would be the hardest to leave behind. We've been best friends since we were little and have been through so much together. I could see her wiping her cheek as our car pulled away, and even though we promised each other we wouldn't cry, I could feel a tear running down mine as well.

The necklace was now draped around my neck, the saint resting on my chest inside my shirt. I had been so touched that Aunt Fleur had thought of that. It would keep me safe in the air, and hopefully while I was taking my N.E.W.T.s I fingered the golden chain as my father drove down the long and winding driveway that led to the Academy. My stomach was in knots and I felt faint as we passed dozens and dozens of trees. Every time we passed a new one, we were that much closer to the next eight months of my life.

Finally, the great walls came into view. Rich red brick stood out against stark white panelling, and half a dozen smokestacks lined up along the roof. But the most extraordinary part of the academy wasn't the building itself but what was happening around it. Trunks flew alongside people on their brooms, zipping around, collisions narrowly avoided midair. Navy-blue robes adorned with two crossed golden bulrushes were scattered amongst those without any, and I felt butterflies in my stomach.

"James would die," I breathed.

Lucy strained from her seat to see what I was seeing as we pulled up to the edge of the road. "Is that Puddlemere United?!" she gasped. "Oh my god, Mols, do you get to meet them?!"

I took a deep breath in. "Only one way to find out." I opened the car door.

Almost immediately a short, pudgy girl with wavy brown hair appeared. Her hazel eyes twinkled as she smiled brightly. "I'm Heather Wilder," she stuck out her hand for me to shake it, "and I'd like to welcome you to Oakshaft. If you get your trunk and any other bags out of your car, we can take your bags and I'll have a player over here immediately to get you situated. And what's your name and position?"

"Molly. Molly Weasley." I glanced back at the car as Lucy climbed out, giving me a pair of thumbs up as encouragement. "I'm a Chaser."

Heather's smile seemed to grow if that was possible. "You're the Holyhead Legacy! I'll be your coach in training this year. I'll grab Jackie to come help you, I think you'll like her."

I nodded, too overwhelmed to say thank you, before turning back to the car and asking Dad to open the trunk. Mum got out and helped with the trunk and my duffle as Lucy and Dad stood and watched us. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a figure with navy robes descend from above and land next to Dad. I turned to see Lucy's eyes bugging out and stifled a giggle before turning my attention to the player before me.

"I'm Jackie Jernigan," she grinned. "You must be the new Weasley girl. I could tell by the hair."

I felt blood rush to my cheeks as I nodded. "Molly."

"Alright, Molly. Are you ready for your first training exercise?" Jackie nodded at my family and then my trunk. "You'll need to say your goodbyes and then I'll show you to your room."

I turned to my family, well aware that Jackie was studying us all. I was used to it by now, especially anytime we were out with Uncle Harry. However, it usually wasn't Aunt Ginny that caused so much attention to be drawn to us. Now that I thought about it, if I was attending a Quidditch academy I should've been prepared for that. Deciding to block her out, I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around Lucy first. After a minute or two of hugs goodbye, half of which was Dad berating me about making sure I did well on my N.E.W.T.s, they piled back in the car and waved goodbye. As I watched them drive away, I was acutely aware of Jackie staring at me.

"Okay frosh," she quipped, her tone lighthearted, "levitate that trunk and let's go for a fly. Your trainers expect you to hold concentration on that all the way around that track."

I nodded, unable to speak. Jackie quickly sent away my bag with a flick of her wand. She kicked off the ground, hovering just above my head as she waited. I mounted my new broom, the wood still gorgeously smooth. Kicking off, I held on with one hand while the other gripped my wand. I quickly cast a levitation charm on my trunk and felt relief that it responded.

"You'll be on the Morgan Minxes with Heather as your coach," Jackie said as we began flying through the wind. "Your roommate has already arrived, so after you both have unpacked, make your way to the pitch along with your fancy new broom. That a Firebolt Supreme there?"

I steadied myself as a particularly nasty gust of wind disrupted the fragile balance I was keeping up with one hand on the broom. "Got it today as a gift."

Jackie turned slowly, checking her shoulder to make sure I was still following. "I was about to get the Thunderbolt VII a few years back, but I'm sticking with my VI until the VIII comes out next month."

"The VIII will be safe then?" I asked. Since the inquiry that had been launched into the Thunderbolt VII had concluded that the manufacturers had been skimping on quality product in making the broom, the demand for the newly improved VIIs had been at an all time low. Mum had almost bought it for Lucy before Dad had nixed the idea when the inquiry report had passed through his office the day before they were rereleased.

Jackie slowed as we neared the other side of the large building where a thick grey door was propped open with a large rock. "I've got a cousin who's working on the new release. He promises that it's in tip top shape. Tells me it's going to be faster than your bundle of sticks any day." Her voice was lighthearted and matched the easy smirk that blossomed on her face as she turned to me.

I smiled back, my nerves subsiding about being so close to a veritable Quidditch legend. "Yeah, alright. Owl me when that happens and we can find out."

She chuckled and shook her head, her eyes shining with childlike glee. We flew in silence for a minute, my gaze scanning the grounds, trying to get a feel for the place that would be my home for the next few months.

We finally landed in front of the open door and I let my trunk drop to the ground with a loud thump. Almost immediately, Heather burst out of the open door, her dark hair swinging behind her. She thanked Jackie before the girl sprang up into the air once more and zoomed off, and then turned to me with a genuine smile.

"Your room is 206," she handed me a key with the number engraved upon it, "and your roommate Juliette is already starting to unpack. Here, let me get your trunk and we can go upstairs."

With a flick of her wrist, her wand fell out of her sleeve into her hand, and with another flick, my trunk flew up again and bobbed slowly towards Heather. I gave her a nervous smile and walked into the building, starting up the stairs. She chirped on about getting unpacked and meeting my roommate and afterwards meeting everyone on the pitch outside as I walked up the stairs, barely listening to her as I stared at the photos on the wall. The teams pictured were all in red robes and all of them seemed to be girls.

"The Morgan Minxes have been an all girls team since the beginning here at Oakshaft," Heather's voice finally broke through to me just before we got to the landing. "Obviously we haven't been called the Morgan Minxes since the start, coaches get to pick the team name every year, but we've only ever fielded female players."

I nodded silently and opened the door to let Heather and my trunk get through first. She went almost all the way down the hallway until she finally stopped at the second to the last door on the right. The door was open so she sent my trunk into it and I heard it land softly on what I assumed to be a bed.

"Here's your room!" She turned back to me with her sparkling smile and gestured into the room.

I walked past Heather and into the room where a shorter girl with long, blonde hair stood next to a well-made bed, a nervous look on her face. It seemed as though she had unpacked most of her things, her trunk already on top of the large dresser that was on the right side of the room.

"Hi, I'm Juliette Michaud," she said softly, her voice lilting on her name. "You're Molly then, yes?"

"Yeah." I walked over and placed my broom on my bed, then stuck my hand out for her to shake. Her grip was firm and her hands calloused. "I'm a Chaser. You?"

She laughed, smiling for the first time. "That's such a coincidence! So am I!"

I giggled in turn. "Guess this was meant to be. I guess I'll unpack and then we'll go over to the pitch?"

She agreed and we lapsed into comfortable silence, both unpacking and reorganizing. She told me that she came from France, in a small town just outside of Paris, called Bonneval-sur-Arc. She'd been playing Quidditch since before she'd even started at Beauxbatons, and had left her friends and boyfriend there this year to attend Oakshaft. She'd been in love with the idea of joining the Harpies since she was younger and I'd had to contain my laughter as she had taken out player's cards and Aunt Ginny had coincidentally been on top.

I told her about having to leave my friends at Hogwarts and that I'd been a Magpies fan practically since birth, to which she jokingly told me that any Magpies merchandise that landed on her side of the room would be banished forever. When I finally mentioned my last name, her jaw fell open and her eyes lit up. I promised to introduce her to Aunt Ginny, and that she could most likely get her player card signed. Then I'd told her about all of my cousins, and how our games in the backyard were the reason I'd fallen in love with playing. By the time all of our stuff was unpacked and it was time to get onto the pitch, Juliette and I had grown to be friends.

"Is that the Firebolt Supreme?" Juliette asked, rummaging through her wardrobe to grab her broom. "I've been coveting that since the World Cup. My mum gave me an ultimatum though – aha!" She came out of the wardrobe, a triumphant look on her face and a gorgeous ebony broom in her hand. "It was get the Firebolt Supreme or a horse. Bet you can guess which one I chose."

I pulled on a hooded jumper before fixing my hair into a ponytail. "You've got a horse?"

Juliette smiled and looked at her feet. "Yeah, Apollo. He's my baby. I kept this Nighthawk but I got him, so it all worked out."

I stared at her dark broom, admiring the dark, polished wood and the slightly erratic yet gorgeous twigs of ash at the back. "Which one is faster?" I joked, walking out of the room, Juliette on my heels.

"Definitely the Nighthawk," she laughed, racing down the stairs behind me. "So how about a bit of friendly competition?"

I looked behind me and saw the wicked glint in her hazel eyes. "Until your feet touch the pitch ground. 1… 2… 3… Go!"

We both hooked our legs around our brooms and kicked off, rocketing into the sky.

When we got to the pitch, Heather was waiting for us along with two of the other three coaches: a tall and very muscular boy who introduced himself as Arthur Grant, and Jenna Brown, a taller girl with dark, curly hair. They mentioned that the fourth coach, Sonia Holt, would be arriving the next morning, and then had us sit in small circles to get us acquainted with others who would be at Oakshaft with us.

After a bunch of introduction games, we went to their version of the Great Hall, called the Canteen, and had a nice lunch. Then we were allowed to go out to the pitch and scrimmage against each other, which was an absolute mess with over fifty of us on the pitch, completely unaware of which way we were supposed to be flying. The Beaters were flying about and swinging their clubs at each other, the sound of wood on wood clacking across the pitch, followed quickly by their easy laughter.

Finally, the coaches came to meet us, rounding us up to bring us back to the Canteen for dinner. Dozens of sweaty Quidditch players walked through the halls of the academy, conversations about positions and brooms abundant in the stone hallways. Juliette was walking beside me but talking to another girl on the Minxes, a shorter girl with dark skin and curly light brown hair named Brooke Aguilar. I continued to walk in silence, studying those around me. I could tell who would be difficult to play with, who would be difficult to play against, and who would be a wild card. As I was contemplating this, a taller figure appeared next to me.

"Hey, I'm Cedric," a low voice murmured, pulling my attention to the new boy beside me. "We were in some classes together at Hogwarts."

I smiled up at the blond, green-eyed boy that I had indeed had classes with back at Hogwarts. "I know. Didn't realize you would recognize me."

He laughed and ran his left hand up and down his right arm. "Yeah, of course I did, Weasley. I make it a rule to know all the Chasers that could potentially beat me in a shoot out." His grin caused his green eyes to shine as he reached over to tug on a strand of my fiery hair that had fallen loose from my ponytail. "Plus, who could forget your fiery hair. Anyways, how did you recognize me?"

"You really think that anyone in our year wouldn't recognize the great Cedric Wood?" His cheeks darkened slightly. "So what are you taking for your N.E.W.T.s?" I asked, looking for a neutral ground as I felt my cheeks heat up as well.

"I'm taking the general courses," he sighed. "I've no idea what I want to do after Quidditch. It's a bit strange, thinking so far ahead. I mean, how am I supposed to know what I want to do after retirement?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "I feel the same way. I guess I'll be seeing you in class then?"

"I'm looking forward to it. Hey Joseph!" With that he chased off after another one of the chasers, the two boys greeting each other like old friends.

"Who's that?"

I turned to see Juliette and Brooke staring at me with questions in their eyes. "Just someone from my old school," I said nonchalantly.

"Seems like you know each other well," Brooke teased, her easy smile causing her brown eyes to sparkle.

"I think that's the first time we've actually had a conversation," I mused. "Anyways, I'm not here for boys, I'm here for Quidditch."

Juliette giggled and flipped her long, blonde hair over her shoulder. "Can't we do both?" The three of us laughed as we entered the Canteen. "So," Juliette continued, "how do you girls feel about a little party tonight?"

A.N.: Hi guys! Hope you liked the first chapter of this story! Of course, I couldn't have done this without a bunch of help. Of course I used some of my own experiences (I always do), but I really had a lot of help with this story.

So I want give a big thank you to my Betas: Dee/HeyMrsPotter, Anja/merlins beard, Kayla/ohmymerlin (yes I used a lot of Betas, I'm really nervous about this story especially this chapter) and Julie/banshee who is basically sent from the heavens to critique my every word (something I desperately want and need) and who gave me questions to muse over while I continue writing; to Branwen/Beeezie and Vicki/TearsIMustConceal for helping me decide on face claims (yes, I needed help with that because those help me visualize the story and these two helped me tremendously); Leigh/AdinaPuff and Kevin/TidalDragon who helped me iron out plot; and finally, to Bianca/victoria_anne, who helped me so much with the plot and was basically my sounding board for my entire story, and who constantly had beautiful things to say and crazy good suggestions.

Also, confessmuch on tumblr has some amazing headcanons that seamlessly kind of matched what I had envisioned but also added to characters' backstories and hpnextgenuniverse also on tumblr has some really great ones too that have inspired some of the little quirks Molly might have.

Honestly, I could not have done it without you guys. So I hope you who are reading (yes you), liked this first chapter, but whether you did or you didn't, I'd love to hear your comments, questions, thoughts, and/or concerns! Thanks guys!

Lo :)