"TREVOR!" A pudgy boy was running around looking for something lost, but he wasn't watching where he was going. He ran into Avery with a solid Thump.
"Are you alright?" She asked, grabbing his shoulder and standing him up a bit.
"Y-yes, Are you?" He asked, looking panicked.
"I'm fine." She smiled, "Avery Tilden." She held out her hand.
"Neville Longbottom." He shook her hand. "I've lost my pet toad Trevor." He frowned.
"I'll help you look for him." She smiled.
They searched the Hogwarts Express and recruited a girl with curly brown hair to help look. When he didn't turn up in the aisle, they started checking the cabins. The girl, Hermione went into one with two boys; Neville was checking one next to it, so Avery opened the door to another.
"Hi, have you three seen a toad?" She directed the comment to a boy with silvery blonde hair and two thick boys.
"No. Sorry." The assumed leader responded. "Wait, aren't you Avery Tilden?"
"Yes, and you are?" She asked quizzically, she had no idea who this boy was, let alone how he knew her.
"I'm Draco Malfoy. Your father works for the ministry with my father, though he associates with the wrong sort." Draco sneered. "My father told me to watch out for you, said you are a nice girl."
"The wrong sort?" She was starting to dislike this boy.
"Muggle lovers." He said simply.
"Oh. I don't see where the problem is. I have to go find the toad now; can you keep an eye out?" She backed away.
"Yeah, Sure." He looked away.
Shutting the door to their cabin, it hit her who his father was. She had heard her father talking about him before. The Malfoy's were pure blood, but the type that looked down on everyone that was less. It also occurred to her that maybe that's why Draco seemed a little off-putting. It was more his father than him, she told herself she'd give him the benefit of the doubt. Avery made her way towards Neville who was backing out of the last cabin.
"Gran's gonna kill me." He was sighing.
"It'll be okay, he'll turn up." She smiled at him reassuring him.
"You two better change into your robes, we'll be arriving soon." Hermione approached them, and they followed her orders. Before they could meet up again, the train pulled to a stop and they were ushered off.
"First years! First years this way!" A giant man was calling to them. Avery fell in suit with two boys, one with red hair, and one with black hair and glasses.
"Hello Hagrid!" The boy with glasses greeted the giant.
"Hello Harry, make way now, don' be late!" He called to him.
"Hi, can I walk with you?" Avery asked the two boys.
"Of course, I'm Harry Potter." The boy with glasses introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you Harry, I'm Avery." She smiled at them both.
"And I'm Ron Weasley." The red head greeted her; he was smuggling candy in his robe.
"Weasley... Is Arthur your father?" She asked.
"Yeah, our dad's work together." He said trying to control and opened chocolate frog.
"It's nice to finally meet you; I've heard great things about your family."
They were ushered into boats and send towards the massive castle, everyone was in awe. Amazingly, they made it across without anything happening to them. She had heard rumors on the train that every year or so, the lake monster likes to grab people. She felt a bit like cattle as they were ushered towards the great hall by a tall, older woman who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. As she began to explain something, she noticed a toad appear at her feet. Just as she began to wonder if it was Trevor, Neville answered by shouting and picking him up, earning a stern look from McGonagall.
"Now then, I'm going to make sure things are ready for you, please wait here quietly." She turned and walked away.
"So it's true then, what they were saying on the train, Harry Potter has returned to Hogwarts." Draco appeared in front of Harry, Avery, and Ron. He made a snide comment towards Ron and his family, which made her want to hit him, but Harry stood up for him and declined his offer to be friends. Draco wasn't happy about this, but he was interrupted by McGonagall hitting him with a rolled up scroll. He smiled slightly at Avery before walking away.
"We're ready for you." She said and the great doors opened. She led them to the front of a massive hall. It was the tallest room Avery had ever seen. The ceiling had been bewitched to mimic the sky; she had read something briefly about it in a book. There were four long tables, one for each house, and a long table in the front that the teachers were sitting at. Each seat was marked with a golden plate and goblet. Her stomach growled from a mixture of hunger and nervousness.
"Gather round, gather round." McGonagall instructed. "Now, when I call your name I want you to come forward so we can place the hat on your head. He will put you in your new home." She touched the old brown hat and it spun to life singing a song. When it finished, it was silent. The sorting began. Most of the friends she had made were sorted immediately in to Gryffindor, except Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle, they were put in Slytherin.
"Avery Tilden!" Her name was called, suddenly she was nervous. She sat on the stool and the hat was put on her head.
"Oh, a Tilden... Your family is of Gryffindor. Brave hearts...loyal...but your mind...you are full of wit and brilliance...you would do well in another house as well. You will bring greatness to a poor at heart. Better be...RAVENCLAW!" She heard a grand cheer from her new home's table, but she glanced at Gryffindor before heading over there, they seemed to look a little disappointed, but she marched to her house.
"Listen up!" It was Dumbledore. "Now that the sorting is done, I just want to go over a few things. First, I want to remind you all of a few rules. The Forbidden Forest will, and always will be off limits to students," His eyes glanced over to two red headed twins at the Gryffindor table. "Secondly, the third floor corridor is forbidden. We will keep close watch on it, so don't try to enter. Most importantly, enjoy yourselves." He clapped his hands and the empty gold serving platters filled with food. Gasps could be heard from all the first years. Dumbledore took his seat again, and the actual feast began.
Full and happy, Avery followed her prefect towards the common room. She hadn't really had a chance to catch his name. "Now, the other common rooms use passwords, we don't need them. Ravenclaws are known for their wits, so it's time to put it into good use. For our system, we hit the knocker, it asks us a riddle, and you won't be allowed to enter unless you solve the riddle. Don't be surprised if you find several Ravenclaws outside the common room trying to solve it. I just highly recommend you double check your bags before you leave." He explained to them, making them giggle. "Since you have me, you won't have a problem getting in. The riddle on the first day is never very hard."
He showed them how to open the door, and answered the riddle letting them in. "Girls rooms are that way, boys are the other. You'll find your trunks have been brought up." He smiled and sent them off to bed.
Avery picked a random room and got a bed close to the window. She hadn't really made any friends yet, and the girls in her room kept to themselves. They were apparently friends from before school started. Avery sat by the window and admired the view.
Her first few days kept her busy, though she didn't really have a class with Gryffindor, she was mainly stuck with Hufflepuff and Slytherin, but she was able to see Neville and her other friends during free time. Today she was sitting at her favorite table in the vast library. It was near a window, which meant it was always warm. It was also near the back, which made her hard to find unless one was determined.
"I hate flying." Neville stated, sitting down across from Avery.
"Why?" She asked, not looking up from the book she was reading, she was intrigued by an article on bezoars. "Did you know that bezoars are like a universal antidote?"
"Wow, really? But seriously, look." He stated, causing her to look up and see his wrist wrapped.
"What happened to you?" She asked, now concerned.
"Well, I'm obviously not great at flying. I kicked off the ground a little too hard and fell." He was now resting his head on his good arm. "I'll never be good at anything."
"That's not true." Avery frowned, and reached to pat his hand. When he didn't respond she added, "Sorry about your arm."
He smiled weakly, "The worst part is that I lost my remembrall my Gran sent me."
"That was yours?" Avery exclaimed, causing Neville to perk up. "Didn't you hear? Harry has it. Come on, let's go get it." She promptly shut the book she was reading and grabbed his good arm and headed out of the library. It was about time for lunch, so she assumed they would be there, and sure enough Harry and Ron were sitting at the usual table. Hermione had just sat down to join them.
"Harry!" She called to him, and the trio looked up startled.
"Hey, Avery, Neville." He said, and he figured out why they were there and handed over the remembrall.
"Thank you, Harry!" Neville said, as soon as he touched it, it turned red. "Oh man."
The two sat down with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"Harry, I overheard Draco in the library earlier saying he has a duel with you. Tonight." Avery lowered her voice.
"Yeah, tonight in the trophy room." He sounded less enthused. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"You both are going to get expelled." She stated then got up, "I have to study."
"That's not going to stop her from meeting up with us to go, I'll bet." Ron sighed.
"Oh hush Ron, she's not that bad." Avery stuck her tongue out to him. "Are you his second?"
"She's a menace." He threw his hands up. "And of course, who else would it be!"
"He's mad because she corrected him in Charms today." Harry explained. "What's a second?"
"It means I'll take over if you die." Ron told him, causing him to turn pale.
"Don't worry Harry; I doubt you'll do any damage to each other. Probably just produce a few sparks." Avery laughed.
Later that night, Avery slipped out of the Ravenclaw tower to meet her friends. Ron was right, Hermione tagged along, as did Neville.
"I'm surprised to see you here." She whispered to Neville as they followed behind the other three.
"As if I'd let you go without me!" He shot her a look.
They were all stopped in their approach by the sound of Filch approaching.
"Oh no, why is he here, and now of all times?" Ron whispered.
"I bet Draco didn't even intend to show up, I bet he told Filch!" Harry whispered back.
Hermione answered by elbowing them both and signaling them to be silent. Avery singled them to back away.
"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" They heard someone yell behind them. They all turned around to immediately see Peeves behind them. He continued to shout.
"We've got to go, NOW!" Hermione yelled, and led the way. They ran to the nearest room and ran into a locked door.
"Oh no! It's locked!" Ron shouted, messing with the handle.
"Oh, Move over!" Hermione shoved him. "Alohomora." She said, pointed her wand at the door and it immediately unlocked and the group ducked behind the door until Filch left.
"Where are we?" Neville whispered, they were all pressed to the door, ignoring what was behind them.
"We're in the forbidden corridor." Hermione answered.
"Does it feel a bit breezy in here?" Harry asked, and they all agreed. Neville was making a whimpering noise and tugging on Avery's sleeve. They all turned around slowly, behind them was a giant three-headed dog, and he was not happy, he barked fiercely causing them to scream and flee the corridor.