Disclaimer: I own nothing but an original plotline and a few characters. If you recognize a character, they belong to JKR. If you don't, they're mine.
When the girls went down to breakfast the next morning, they were instantly mobbed. Keven, Luna, and Lupa had heard about the events of the previous night.
"Did you really use Dark magic on school grounds?" Luna asked Angel.
"Yeah, and did you really faint?" Lupa asked Lily.
"Yes, I really used Dark magic on school grounds, though I didn't know it was a Dark spell at the time I cast it. I thought it was just another spell." Angel grinned. "Guess I was wrong, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess!" Luna looked shocked. "That has to be a record, getting called into the headmaster's office on the first night. Not even we've been able to top that!" The twins grinned mischievously at each other. "Though we certainly plan on trying!"
"So did you really faint, Lily? Are you sure you're okay?" Keven seemed concerned.
"Yes, I fainted, Keven," Lily replied. "And believe me, with the fuss my father would have raised, Madam Pomfrey made absolutely certain I was okay," she added dryly.
Cissa noticed the relieved look that flitted across Keven's face. She decided not to say anything, but Keven wasn't so lucky when it came to Luna and Lupa.
"Aww, does ickle Kevvie fancy our Lily?" Lupa cooed.
"Ooo, when the headmaster finds out about this, you won't be able to breathe without him knowing! And you can forget about time alone!" Luna cackled at the very thought.
Keven, who had blushed beet red to the roots of his hair at the first comment, was saved by the arrival of the morning mail. Angel, who had trained her bat to bring her the morning mail long ago, searched the sky for her pet. When she finally spotted him, she almost laughed at how tiny and out of place he looked among the much larger owls. As soon as he spotted her, he went into a dive. He broke the dive, hovered inches in front of her face, and dropped an envelope into her lap. She held out her hand, laughing at what she called his Kamikaze Mail Dive, and he landed, dignified, on her hand.
"Asylum, you crazy little thing," she laughed, ignoring the letter in her lap for the moment as she fed her bat little bits of bacon from her plate. "I'm going to laugh one of these days when you stop too late and end up hitting me in the face!" Asylum nipped her finger, then nuzzled it affectionately.
"I thought you said you were of Muggle birth," Lily frowned. "I don't think I've ever seen a Muggle with a pet bat before."
An older student sitting near them laughed. "I don't think I've ever seen a pureblood with a pet bat before, either," he said.
"Oh, shut up, Ted," Cissa laughed. "Be nice to Angel. She's got detention with Uncle Charlie for the next three nights, so she's got enough on her plate without you picking on her."
"Angel, huh?" Ted glanced over at her. "If she's been using the Dark Arts, she's no angel I've ever heard of!"
"Oh my god!" Angel burst out. "It was a bloody mistake! Besides, I was my parents' little angel, obviously. Otherwise, they wouldn't have named me that." She smirked at Ted, who was laughing uproariously at having gotten under her skin.
"So how did you, a Muggle, come to have a bat trained to bring you your mail?" he asked when he finally settled down. "I'm not a snob or anything, I just thought only witches and wizards had animals trained that way."
"Well, ordinarily, I guess you'd be right. But I'm not ordinary." She grinned; she'd have thought that was obvious just by the fact that she was attending a school for witches and wizards. Ted caught her grin and laughed.
"I found my bat on my doorstep one morning when I went out to get the mail. He hadn't gotten back to his cave because he had a broken wing. So I splinted his wing and took care of him. When he was healed, he just…stayed with me. I tried to release him into the wild, but he wouldn't leave me. So I kept him." She rubbed the top of his head affectionately.
"And the mail part? Why is he trained to bring you mail?" Lily asked.
Angel laughed. "He's trained to bring me the mail because I'm lazy."
"Okay, you're going to have to explain that one," Ted laughed.
"Well we usually lived in London, and the mail there runs really early, usually before dawn, even. I usually let him out at night to hunt, and since he usually came back after dawn, I thought it'd be neat to teach him to pick up the mail on the way in. I didn't really expect it to work, but somehow…it did. So now Asylum is trained to bring me my mail no matter where I am." She opened the envelope in her lap, and pulled out her schedule. "Hmm, Transfigurations followed by Flying, then lunch, which is immediately followed by Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms. Tomorrow is Potions, Herbology, lunch, Transfigurations, and History of Magic. Not bad, over all."
"Yeah, if you like all your teachers," Ted grunted. "Personally, I hate Potions. Professor Snape may be old, but he doesn't miss a thing. He has a major grudge against Gryffindors, in general, and me in specific. I swear that man hates me with a passion."
"He hates all of us, Teddy," threw in another student. "You know why, too. You've been told our family histories, just like I was. By the way, I'm Albus Potter, Lily's older brother." He extended his hand and Angel shook it before gathering her things.
"It's really nice to meet all of you, but if I'm to make it to Transfigurations on time, I've really got to run. See you at lunch!" Angel turned to leave, but was stopped by a hand on her arm.
"Do you know where you're going? This castle can be pretty tricky if you don't know the way. I'd be glad to show you," Ted offered.
"Erm, no thanks, I think I can find it on my own." Angel blushed slightly at the hoots of laughter from Albus.
As she hurried away, Angel heard Albus teasing Ted, saying, "She's too young for you, mate. She's just a kid!"
"Yeah, well, Uncle Bill was probably about my age when Aunt Fleur was a first year," she heard Ted retort sullenly. Angel couldn't help it, she smiled. A sixth year fancied her! It was kind of funny, really. And sort of sweet at the same time. She might consider it when she got a bit older, but not now. Right now, she had enough to deal with.
She got into class a few minutes before it started. She sat down next to Lily and Cissa, who were staring at her curiously.
"Where have you been?" They asked as one. "We thought you were right behind us when we left the Great Hall," Cissa added quietly.
Angel grinned conspiratorially. "You'll never guess. I was with a couple of boys, fifth and sixth years. And one of them, the sixth year, fancies me! It was so sweet…he offered to walk me to class!"
Lily and Cissa twittered excitedly.
"Did you let him?" asked Cissa.
"Did he kiss you?" Lily wanted to know.
"Who was it? Do I get to punch someone?" asked Keven who was sitting nearby.
"No, I didn't let him, so no, he didn't kiss me. And guess, Keven. I never left the Great Hall until I came to class, so it should be fairly easy." Angel turned to the girls and whispered, "I was talking with Ted and Albus, and actually, Ted only offered to show me the way to class. But I think he really does fancy me." They giggled conspiratorially before glancing over at Keven, who just looked confused.
"Okay, class. Let's see who managed to find their way here with no mishaps," Professor Ginny Malfoy began calling roll. "Well, it looks like most of you are here so let's begin. Open your books to page thirteen."