Bryt never got a chance to get Hermione alone to talk to her. She seemed to be holding Bryt responsible for what had happened just as much as she was Harry and Ron and Bryt couldn't blame her. Hermione had tried to get Bryt to talk the boys out of it and Bryt kept insisting they had to go.
With Hermione now ignoring her, Bryt spent all of her time with Harry and Ron, and it showed in her schoolwork as Bryt began struggling to keep up in Transfiguration and History of Magic without Hermione's help. Luckily, Bryt had gotten to where she understood Quirrell's stuttering enough to get by in Defense Against the Dark Arts now.
Not being able to talk with Hermione anymore left had Bryt in a bad mood, though. In the few weeks that had been at Hogwarts, Hermione had become Bryt's closest friend. She could even tell Hermione things that she would have never talked about with Sofí, things she would have let only her diary know. Bryt didn't like not being able to spend time with Hermione, though every time she tried to get Hermione alone to talk to her always ended in Hermione walking off before Bryt could say anything.
Harry and Ron kept trying to cheer Bryt up, which in their minds meant theorizing on what the three-headed dog was guarding.
"It's a cerberus," Bryt said one afternoon when they had gotten into the conversation again while working on homework.
"What?" Harry and Ron asked together.
"The three-headed dog," Bryt replied, "I'm pretty sure it's called a cerberus."
Both Harry and Ron were staring at Bryt with a strange expression.
"What?" Bryt asked, "I read about 'em in Magical Creatures of the World."
"Right..." Ron said, giving Bryt the same look she often saw him giving Hermione, "It's a cerberus, so what's it guarding?"
"Consinderin' they have a cerberus guardin' it..." Bryt said, "It's gotta be somethin' really important."
"Probably something dangerous," Harry said.
"Yeah," Bryt nodded.
Ron and Harry also tried to distract Bryt from Hermione by trying to find a way to get back at Malfoy for nearly getting them in trouble. Mail a week later brought their answer to that. Bryt only had a letter from her family this time, but her attention was caught by six screech owls flying in with a long, thin package. Surprisingly, they dropped the package in front of Harry. A second later, another owl dropped a letter on top of it. Harry had opened it to read and was suddenly grinning brightly, handing the letter over to Ron and Bryt to read:
DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.
It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.
Professor M. McGonagall
"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron gave an envious moan, "I've never even touched one."
Harry grabbed the parcel and headed out of the hall, Bryt and Ron hurrying behind. They barely got halfway across the entrance hall when they noticed Malfoy was blocking the stairs with Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy snatched the parcel from Harry and felt it over before throwing it back.
"That's a broomstick," he said, his voice somewhere between jealousy and spite, "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them."
"It's not just any old broomstick," Ron said with a smug look, "It's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got back home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron turned to Harry and Bryt, "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."
"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped, "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."
"Lay off him," Bryt snapped as Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's side.
"Not arguing, I hope?" he squeaked.
"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," Malfoy said instantly.
"Yes, yes, that's right," Flitwick beamed brightly, "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. What model is it?"
"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir. And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it."
Bryt had to bite her lip to hold back her laugh at Malfoy's expression of horror, though she did start smirking. She, Harry, and Ron headed on up the stairway and Bryt couldn't hold back anymore, she broke down in a fit of laughter.
"And it's true," Harry said when Bryt finally settled down, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team."
"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking the rules?"
Bryt, Harry, and Ron turned towards Hermione, who had sounded angry. She was stomping up the stairs towards them, glaring at the parcel in Harry's hand.
"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, don't stop now," Ron added, "It's doing us so much good."
Hermione spun on her heels and stomped away.
"Hermione!" Bryt groaned, about to follow, but she stopped herself. Hermione wouldn't listen to her anyway. She sighed and turned to follow Harry and Ron back up the stairs.
"You two need to lay off of Hermione," Bryt said for probably the thousandth time.
"She clearly doesn't want to talk to you anymore," Ron said, "Why are you still sticking up for her?"
"Because she's my friend," Bryt glared at Ron, "And even if she wasn', she doesn' deserve bein' treated the way you two treat her."
"Hermione gets mad at you and starts ignoring you," Harry said, "But you still say she's your friend and say we shouldn't complain about her?"
"Bryt, you're the most mental girl I have ever met," Ron rolled his eyes and Bryt hit him upside the head.
"Ow! Bryt!" Ron rubbed the back of his head, "Do you have to hit so hard?"
"Jus' be lucky I like you," Bryt said, "I can hit harder. I actually gave this boy a bloody nose once at my old school."
"What'd he do?" Harry asked.
"Kissed me."
Harry and Ron stopped and Bryt turned, looking at them and noticed they were giving Bryt a weird look.
"You bloodied a guy's nose because he kissed you?" Harry asked.
"What?" Bryt asked, "We were five. At that time, I thought all boys had cooties."
"I'll say it again, Bryt," Ron said, shaking his head, "You're the most mental girl I've ever met."
xxxxx
When dinner came, Bryt, Harry, and Ron ate quickly before heading up the stairs. Breaking rules, Bryt had gone up with Harry and Ron into their dorm because she had wanted to see the broom as well. Luckily, everyone was at dinner, so the room was empty. Harry ripped off the paper on the broom quickly.
"Wow..." Ron sighed, and Bryt stared at it in awe.
The Nimbus Two Thousand was made of mahogany, formed sleek and shiny in the dull light. 'Nimbus Two Thousand' was written in golden letters along the handle and the long tail was of neat, straight twigs. Bryt could see why it was considered the best racing broom. It looked much more impressive than the old school brooms they had used to practice flying the week before.
"Harry, yer so lucky," Bryt said, then getting an idea, "Maybe I can ask my parents for a broom durin' the summer...Not that I'll have anywhere to practice..."
"And you'd need all the practice you can get," Ron teased.
"The broom kept leanin'," Bryt couldn't help but laugh, "And you gotta remember, I crashed into you, so we both ended up on the ground."
"Yeah, but I was flying fine until you knocked me off my broom," Ron replied while Harry started to put the Nimbus Two Thousand back.
"I don't remember you two telling me any of this," Harry said as they headed back down into the common room before other students started coming.
Bryt laughed again, then told Harry about the flying lessons after he had left. She told him about how she collided into Ron, sending them both crashing into the ground, and how Malfoy had tried to taunt them about it, but Bryt had started joking about it.
"Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that you would laugh after falling off a broom, Bryt," Harry shook his head.
"It was actually fun, though," Bryt laughed, "I had been worryin' about crashin' and all, but after I did, I realized it wasn' that bad. At least I didn' go head-first into a tree or somethin'."
Harry and Ron both shook their heads and Bryt grinned at them, then started pulling out her Potions book so she could start on her homework.
xxxxx
Halloween signified that Bryt had been at Hogwarts two months already. She excited about the Halloween feast that would be that night, but she found herself thinking about Halloween back in the States as she ate breakfast with Ron and Harry.
"What's ironic is I went as a witch once for Halloween," Bryt grinned, "Never knew why Sofí found it so hilarious. 'Til now, that is." Bryt laughed when she noticed Ron was giving her a look as if she were insane, a look she had gotten very use to over the past two months.
"It's a Muggle tradition," she explained, "Children dress up in costumes and go to houses in their neighborhood, carryin' bags. We go up to houses and say 'trick-or-treat!' and would get candy from the people owning the houses. Sofí, Julio, and I went trick-or-treatin' together every single year until they began going to a Salem Witches' Institute, then I went with my brothers."
"Muggles are strange," was Ron's only reply. Bryt laughed and turned back to her food.
Charms turned out to be a great plus to the day. Flitwick announced that they would be trying a levitation charm, which Bryt had been wanting to do since the first day. The class was put into pairs for practice. Bryt had been partnered with Neville while Harry and Seamus were paired and Ron, to his great displeasure, had been paired with Hermione. Hermione didn't look to pleased, either, by this choice. Bryt herself had been hoping to be paired with Hermione. At least then she would have probably gotten her friend to talk to her, though every attempt had failed before.
"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" Flitwick squeaked, "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too—never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."
Bryt got irritated early on in the class, swishing and flicking over and over, though nothing would happen. At one point, Seamus set his feather on fire, and Ron was waving his arms around, shouting the spell.
"You're saying it wrong," Hermione snapped, "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."
"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron growled.
Hermione straightened herself up and flicked her wand as she said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
Hermione's feather rose four feet above the students' heads and hovered there.
"Oh, well done!" Flitwick cried, clapping, "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"
That had Bryt more determined. Trying to mimic Hermione's movements, Bryt tried again and again, but had no luck. She suddenly began slamming her wand on the table, snapping out the spell. The feather never floated, but her wand did give a loud bang. Bryt gave a startled screech and jerked back, causing her chair to tumble backwards and she fell with it. Scrambling to her feet, Bryt gave a grin as the class erupted into laughter and soon was laughing herself. She looked over and noticed Hermione was staring at Bryt with a worried expression and Bryt grinned brightly at her to let her know she was okay. Hermione turned away quickly and Bryt frowned slightly as she picked her chair back up, wondering what it was going to take to get Hermione to talk to her again.