"First years, this way, please!" A loud booming voice echoed. Marie Josephine turned around only to see a half giant waving at the end of the platform.

"Excuse me, but you must be Marie Josephine Wright, correct?" a female voice called from behind her. A mid-height witch was walking her way, pushing through the crowd of students.

"Yes, that would be me."

"Ah, thank Merlin I found you. I must say, you quite stick out in a crowd."

"Indeed, I wish I didn't. I feel like I've been stared at all day long."

"I imagine, we don't usually get new students except for first years. I'm Professor Vector, deputy Headmistress, as well as Head of Ravenclaw and Arithmancy teacher." The woman introduced herself. She was quite a bit shorter than Marie Josephine, which made the girl feel somewhat awkward. She had long straight hair and wore deep blue robes, and hat with bronze linings. She recognized the colors of Ravenclaw that her dad was proud to wear anytime he could.

"Pleasure."

"I'm here to take you to the Headmistress. We thought it would be best if you were sorted separately and joined your fellow students for the feast rather than be sorted with the first years. Oh, and you can leave your trunk on the platform, it will directly be taken to your dormitory once you know what House you belong in."

"Thank you, that's very considerate of you." Professor Vector took Marie Josephine's hand and they apparated to the Headmistress office, where an elderly looking witch wearing dark green robes and the tightest bun possible awaited them.

"I thought you could not apparate to Hogwarts, Professor." Marie Josephine asked.

"Well, let's say that with responsibility comes privilege, yes? I will leave you with Headmistress McGonagall, I have to go down to orient the students' arrival to the Great Hall."

"Thank you, Professor." The woman left the room, leaving Marie Josephine and the tight-bunned witch in awkward silence.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Ms. Wright, I hope you had a pleasant ride."

"Yes, thank you very much, Headmistress. And thank you for having me this year, I must have caused you an awful lot of trouble."

"Oh, well, better than you not completing your education, Ms. Wright. Please have a seat, the Sorting Hat has a few things to tell you." She placed an old hat on Marie Josephine's head and pointed her to one of the chairs. The girl sat down, wearily waiting for the Hat to say something, just like what James and Fred had explained.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Ms. Wright." A voice said in her head.

"Why, thank you." Marie Josephine replied playfully, tired of hearing the same line over and over.

"Well, quite the attitude we have here." The Hat chuckled. "You know, I must tell you, I quite dislike Sorting older people. When you are still children, it is easy to pinpoint who you are, but when you are older; your character is more complicated, hiding new depths. But I'm sure we'll find a spot for you." Marie Josephine swallowed hard. She was relieved by the Hat's honesty but his comment did not make her feel that comfortable either.

"Your father was a Ravenclaw, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"But you are not. You are very much like him, witty and clever but you are much too reckless and impulsive to belong in Ravenclaw. Perhaps in Gryffindor. It would suit you."

"Well, you see, I don't know. I've met two Gryffindors on my way here and I would feel terrible to take their spot as beaters on their team." The Hat laughed.

"I see. Ambition, yet considerate ambition. Slytherin or Hufflepuff?" the Hat mused. It seemed lost in thought, remembering other students that had been in the same predicament as her. "You know, as I look in your memories I would like to say you are a perfect Slytherin. Especially the one from the train just now." Marie Josephine blushed slightly. "Yet I also see that you are more and more of a Hufflepuff, hard-working and dedicated, and your tendency to think of others before yourself might not be suited for Slytherin... Hufflepuff it will be." The last sentence had been said out loud so that the Headmistress heard it too.

"Very well, Ms. Wright, let me get you some Hufflepuff gear. Your trunk and bag will be waiting for you in your dormitory." She left the room into a back study, and Marie Josephine was left alone in the cluttered yet organized office. There were books and books with colorful covers and magical artifacts she had never seen before. She was intrigued by a particularly beautiful sword in a glass case. Coming closer, she read 'Sword of Gryffindor'. She recalled the History books her father had bought her that summer, in order for her to learn a bit about British history, and especially about the Two Wizarding Wars, in which Hogwarts had played an important part. She wandered around the office a bit longer until the Headmistress came back.

"Here you go, two ties and one scarf for you." She said handing her the black and yellow colored accessories.

"Thank you." Marie Josephine put on one of the ties and stuffed the rest into her pocket.

"Well, all is settled here. Come up tomorrow after breakfast, I'll test you myself in order to see what classes you may take. For now let's go down for dinner, alright?"

"Yes, ma'am." Marie Josephine followed the Headmistress out of her office and down the maze of corridors and staircases. She was absolutely positive she would not remember how to get to the Headmistress's office the next morning. They finally made it to the Great Hall. It was beautiful, the enchanted night sky, the candles floating, the chatter of the students and the shining silverware. It was so different from Beauxbatons. Where her old school was Renaissance styled, Hogwarts castle was Medieval, where her old castle was light colored, full of elegance and delicatesse, Hogwarts was stony, rustic and absolutely perfect. It fit Marie Josephine so much better than Beauxbatons where she had always felt a bit odd. She walked to a table on her left where dozens of other students in yellow ties were sitting. She was looking for students that seemed her age when someone grabbed her from behind.

"Excuse me if I'm mistaken, but you're that new girl from France, are you not?" Marie Josephine turned to find a pretty attractive boy about her height smiling nicely at her.

"Yes, that would be me. I'm Marie Josephine."

"Pleasure, I'm Grant Ward, Head Boy and fellow Hufflepuff, I see."

"Yes, I just got sorted."

"Nice. Please come and sit with me and my friends."

"Uh, thanks, I really don't want to impose."

"Oh, not at all. Besides, it's sort of my job to make new students feel welcome, be it be first or seventh years." She smiled at the boy, strangely relieved by how nice he was. He pulled her towards the middle of the table where two girls and another boy were sitting.

"Hey there Gemma, Daisy, Leo, this is Marie Josephine, she's new."

The three looked up. Gemma and Leo were sitting on the other side of the table while Daisy had to turn around to look at the new arrival.

"Hello, pleased to meet you."

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Marie Josephine!" Gemma smiled the brightest smile Marie Josephine had ever seen.

"Yeah, have a seat." Daisy patted the bench next to her. She sat down with Ward on her other side.

"So, where're you from?" Leo asked, with the most impressive Scottish accent ever.

"France, I went to Beauxbatons up until last year. We moved back here for my father's work."

"Oh, so you're actually British?" Gemma asked.

"Yep, dad's British, mum's French."

"Cool… I was wondering how come your English was so good." Marie Josephine did not have time to answer because the doors opened to reveal Professor Vector and a line of small first years. Everyone quieted down as the new students walked in between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Marie Josephine spotted the Sorting Hat on a stool at the front of the room, right in front of the teacher's table. The first years all looked incredibly nervous and excited, and she could not help thinking back to her own self barely half an hour before.

When all the first years were Sorted, Headmistress McGonagall gave a short speech before clapping her hands and the food appeared on the tables. Everyone tucked in and for some time, all that could be heard was the clinking of silverware. Soon, chatter was added as everyone was catching up on their holidays. Marie Josephine did not talk too much as Ward, Leo, Daisy and Gemma were busy recounting tales about their homes. She took in everything around her, the colors, the noises, the warmth, the atmosphere. She looked at the teachers and found herself hoping she would get some of them while she wished to avoid others.

Finally the tables were cleared and the students began heading to their Common Rooms. Grant and Gemma had to go round up students, so Marie Josephine stuck with Leo and Daisy. She followed them down a flight of stairs and through a few corridors. Soon, they were standing in front of a wall. May other Hufflepuffs were filing while they all made their way through a door that appeared only if you pressed one stone to the left. On the wall across from the Hufflepuff entrance was a large painting of fruit and Marie Josephine couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous idea of a painting of a fruit in a wizarding school.

The girls' Seventh Year dorm was on the third flight of stairs. Daisy and Marie Josephine had waited in the Common Room for Gemma to finish helping all the first years and were finally heading to bed. Daisy pushed the door open and three girls looked up from their beds.

"Hiya, everyone!" Gemma greeted happily. "Good to be back, innit?"

"Hey Gemma. Hello there Daisy, nice haircut." One of the girls greeted. "And, I guess you're the one to whom belongs the new bed. I'm Sarah, pleased to meet you."

"Hi, I'm Marie Josephine."

"Sweet name you got there. I'm Lisa."

"I'm Paula. Welcome to Hufflepuff!"

"Thanks, I'm sorry to crowd your dorm like this."

"Nah, don't you worry." Paula reassured with a wink. "It just means more gossip material."

Instantly the five girls began chatting about this and that and how some boys had nicely grown over the summer and what not. Marie Josephine headed towards the bed where her bag and trunk awaited. She grabbed some pajamas, clean underwear and headed for the bathroom: she needed a shower and some time alone. All this English was beginning to give her a monster headache. She took her time, enjoying the warm water, the smell of her shampoo, all those things that were familiar, even though she was very far from home. She brushed her teeth with her strawberry flavored toothpaste, another memory of home, of the warm French countryside where she loved spending her weekends.

When she came out of the bathroom, the topsy-turviness of Hogwarts hit her full in the face again.

"Did you hear what happened on the train though?" Paula was asking.

"Nope, what?"

"Well, Martha Steward told me that apparently the Pervs got the crap beaten out of them. She didn't see it happen but she saw them running by with their robes all ripped up and bleeding noses and everything!" She continued.

"Wow, please let me kiss and worship whoever did that." Daisy replied. They all laughed.

"Umm, actually…" Marie Josephine said shyly, "I was the one who bet the crap out of them."

"WHAT?" the five girls looked at her with a mix of admiration and surprise.

"Merlin, now I have to kiss you…" Daisy muttered. They all went back to laughing.

"Seriously, though" Gemma tried between fits of laughter, "You got in a fight in the train on the way here? I'm pretty sure that's some kind of record."

"They were trying to feel me up. Actually at first I only immobilized them, they just came back for more. I actually think I have a bruise from Rupert punching me."

"Ouchies. Want me to look at that? I'm training to be a healer I'm good at healing spells" Lisa, the quietest, offered.

"Umm, yeah please." Marie Josephine lifted a bit of her shirt to show her where the bruise was. It was already a dark blue blotch with small patches of yellow all around.

"Nothing seems broken, thankfully." Lisa said after looking at the bruise. She muttered a spell and the bruise faded a bit. "This will only speed up the healing process, avoid anymore fights for the next two days or so, okay?"

"Sure, I'll try." They all laughed a little. "Thank you so much."

"Oy, Fred, James, how are you? How was your summer?" Lee Jordan greeted when they sat down at the Gryffindor table before the beginning of term feast.

"Well, pretty dull compared to what just happened on the train." James joked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well…" Fred began. "There's this new girl in seventh year and we kind of invaded her compartment by accident."

"How do you invade someone's compartment by accident?" Oscar Wood asked, butting into the conversation.

"Let him finish, Oscar."

"So, as I was saying, this new girl is a total Quidditch prodigy. I think James drooled."

"Did not! She just managed to analyze the problems of our team against each of the other teams just from a quick cover of the playing styles of each of them. It was freaky dude."

"Mate, I want to meet her." Oscar Wood was just as obsessed and fanatic about Quidditch as his father (and family) were.

"Oh, but that's not all she did man. She beat the crap out of Paul and Co. Like singlehandedly handled those pervs!" The four boys had a particular hatred for Paul and his friends. Usually they did not mind other boys' business, but they all had sisters and cousins with whom the four had tried to flirt with and that was not acceptable. Their distaste for Paul and Co bordered profound hate, yet they usually did not face them directly, preferring more subtle approaches such as heavily humiliating pranking and what not.

"Wait, she's the one who kicked their ass?" Lee asked. "We saw them running by our compartment in a mess. Dudes, you got to introduce her to me."

"Absolutely. Though we don't know what house she'll be in and she didn't seem convinced by Gryffindor. I just hope she doesn't go into Slytherin. It's not that I've got anything against them, but I don't want the first girl I have ever properly befriended to end up in there." James pointed out.

"Same here dude. Plus her Common Room would be so far away, it'd suck for sneaking out." Fred agreed.

It was at that moment that Marie Josephine entered the Hall with Headmistress McGonagall. Fred felt strangely disappointed that she was no longer wearing her attractive black shorts. You could still guess her curvy figure through her Hogwarts robes though. She was a little taller than McGonagall, and that's when Fred realized she really was tall for a girl. She had been sitting down for most of their encounter on the train.

"Oh, that's her. Guess she got into Hufflepuff." James pointed out, breaking Fred's train of thought.

"Man, she's cute." Wood breathed. The four Gryffindor boys gaped at her for a second.

"Is that Wart talking to her?" The four Gryffindor boys had nicknamed the Head Boy according to a prank they had pulled on him in fourth year. They also despised Grant Ward, as he loved ratting them out whenever someone pulled a prank. Sometimes it was not even them! He hated James and Fred particularly, who were the biggest pranksters. Lee and Oscar only joined in from time to time. They were more of the 'disrupt in class' than 'planned pranking' type. But when the four got their brains together on a prank, you better be stuck in the Hospital Wing and avoid hallways and class as much as possible. Plus, their group consisted of descendants of the Marauders and the Twins, which meant Peeves respected them almost as much as professor McGonagall, and that sure is saying a lot.

"Damn that jerk, I swear to Merlin, if he does anything to her, he's dead."

"Don't worry, Jamesie, she'll probably just castrate him on the spot." Lee teased. They laughed cheerfully at the idea of their nemesis cringing in pain, bent over on the ground as their new idol stood proud and tall above him.

"You know, I think she broke our record. She broke the school rules before even being at school." Wood managed to breathe between fits of laughter. By now, the Sorting had begun but the four boys just could not stop laughing.

After the feast, the boys went up to the Common Room as quickly as they could, hoping to get their favorite couches in front of the fire. They raced past younger students and even in front of the first years. Rose and Albus had given them the passwords in the train, so they could sneak in before the prefects. They were first in the Common Room and immediately jumped to their favorite seats.

"Man, it's good to be back." Lee said lazily as he sank into one of the couches.

"It sucks that we've got classes tomorrow. I like it better when September First falls on a Friday or a Saturday." Wood muttered from under a pillow.

"Dude, do you have to go all depressive on us?" Lee replied.

"Sorry." They sat quiet for a moment. " So when do we get to meet the new girl."

"Her name's Marie Jo, Oscar."

"Yeah, whatever, I just gotta go pay my respects for handling the pervs. I mean they literally tried to shove Minnie in a broom closet by force last year!" He tensed at the memory of his older sister crying in the Common Room after the boys had molested her. Usually they were pretty popular with girls but a few of them resisted their superficial charms. And Minerva had been one of those. She was tough as can be and Oscar had never seen her cry in his entire life. She had always been the one to make fun of Oscar for being a crybaby when he was younger.

"Don't worry Oscar, we're bound to have some class with her so we'll talk with her."

"What's she taking?" Lee asked.

"She doesn't know." Fred informed him. "Apparently she's taking a test with McGonagall tomorrow since there's no real equivalence between curriculums. But she seemed pretty handy. I mean she threw an Immobilus spell on four people."

"True, that's usually a spell for small creatures." James really was curious about this girl. She seemed really laid back but at the same time she was really smart and observant. She almost reminded him of his dad's godfather Sirius Black. He smiled. Oh how he wished he had met the Marauders, his grandfather and his friends and all those people that fought so that his future could be better than their present.

"Well…" yawned Fred. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to hit the dorm." The other three nodded and followed him up to the Seventh Year Boys' dormitory. When they entered, their other three dorm mates were already there, eating chocolate Bertie Bott's Flavored Beans.

"Hey everyone, good to be back, yeah?" They greeted upon coming in. Even after sharing their dorm for six years, the seven Gryffindor boys were clearly divided into two groups and were quite awkward with each other, particularly in the beginning of term. They all got ready for bed and fell asleep before you could say 'Quidditch'.

The next morning, they all woke up really late and entered the Hall a complete mess.

"Why, hello there, sleepy heads, long time no see." Roxanne greeted. She got along well with the four boys, even though she did not participate much in their crazy antics. She was as much like her mother as Fred was like his father and they completed each other perfectly, as twins should.

"'Lo Roxy, nice to see you too, lovely sister of my heart. Has Neville already handed out schedules?"

"Nah, we're still waiting. I hope he didn't lose any this year though." They all laughed at Neville Longbottom's forgetfulness. They knew him quite well, as he was a close friend of the Weasleys. But he required that they addressed him as Professor Longbottom when at Hogwarts to avoid problems with parents and favoritism. When Neville had been appointed Head of Gryffindor a few years back, he had been honored. But his clumsy and forgetful personality made him quite a disorganized Head of House and that was probably why he was not Deputy Headmaster. Everyone knew McGonagall had a particular fondness for Gryffindors.

"Oh well… I hope our schedules aren't too crazy, I mean with NEWTs this year and all. We're gonna die." Lee complained stuffing his mouth with pumpkin pastries. His three friends were doing just the same and Roxanne rolled her eyes at the spectacular gracefulness of the male population of Hogwarts.

"Hello, everyone, welcome back. It's great to see you all looking fresh and ready to die studying for NEWTs." Professor Longbottom greeted upon arriving at their place at the table.

"'Lo, Professor, how're you?" James greeted. He had agreed to call Neville Professor but particularly enjoyed addressing him in an exaggerated friendly manner. Neville did not mind too much, but it infuriated McGonagall, making it all the more worthwhile.

"Good, thank you, James. Now here're your schedules. Wood, please remove your feet from the table, will you? Fred, here's your schedule. And here's yours Roxanne. Jordan, stop poking Molly, please. Here's your schedule. And here's yours Molly. And there's yours James. So far, I haven't lost any, I must say I'm quite proud of myself."

"Wow, Professor, and you're nearly at the end of the table. I must say I'm impressed." Fred grinned at his teacher, who couldn't help but laugh.

"Merlin, Fred, I can't believe this is the last schedule related joke you're going to make." Neville replied sadly.

"Now, don't go all nostalgic on us, Professor." Oscar said in what he meant to be a soothing voice. Unfortunately he was trying to conceal his laughter and it came out as a chocked grunt. That sent everyone into fits of laughter once more.

"Well, I'll see Roxanne and Lee in Herbology later today. All of you have dropped the class for NEWTs, right?"

"Yeah, sorry Professor." James felt really bad. He had loved Herbology but it wasn't required for the job of Obliviator he wanted to take on after Hogwarts and preferred to take more advanced Charms and Transfigurations classes. Roxanne wanted to go into healing school so she needed Herbology, and Lee was hoping to follow his mother's footsteps and work in herbological research at St Mungo's. Oscar and Fred wanted to play Quidditch professionally, but had of course plan Bs. Fred wanted to work at his father's shop, and Oscar could always become a Quidditch reporter.

Their first class of the day was option one and was only at ten o'clock. Seventh years only had classes later, for the only reason that there were less people in the library in the mornings, allowing them to study away from annoying lower years. This also implied that their classes ended much later, but they couldn't complain. They all took different things as option one: Roxanne and Molly had Arithmancy, James Muggle Studies, Fred took Care of Magical Creatures, Lee took Ancient Runes and Oscar had Divination. The four boys had all been required by their teachers at the end of second year to chose different options as they would be too much of a nuisance all together in the same class. So even though Oscar also took Muggle studies, he had had to place that as his second option. Their parents had been right mad at them but they had just laughed it off.