The next morning, on their way to breakfast, Rommie and her friends were practically shoved out of the way as Crabbe, Goyle and a green haired boy she didn't recognise angrily crossed the entrance hall and marched to the Slytherin table.
"When my father hears about what you've done he'll..." the boy angrily started to tell a smirking Pansy, and only then Rommie realised this was Malfoy. Apparently Pansy and her friends used a jinx to dye his hair in revenge for trying to get them caught.
"He'll realise that some people actually work rather than sit in their manor all day," Pansy interrupted Malfoy, towering over him as all four of the other Slytherin first-year girls glared threateningly at Crabbe and Goyle (and it wasn't an empty threat, since three of them – Millicent, Isobel Runcorn and Pansy herself – were actually bigger and more intimidating than the boys), "And then he'll reconsider bothering the head of the Department of Accidents and Catastrophes with complaints about his daughter's harmless little prank."
Many, most noticeably Ron Weasley, giggled with delight at Malfoy's humiliation. But Rommie felt sorry for him, especially since he unintentionally helped her last night. After breakfast, she and Hermione did a little research and found a spell he could use to turn his hair blonde again, although his ungrateful huff when they gave him the spell's instructions made them regret it a little.
Still, in the following days things seemed to be improving for Rommie. The rivalry between Pansy and Malfoy seemed to distract the tall girl and her friends from bullying her (except during potions class, under Snape's encouragement). Additionally, Ron seemed to regret his unintended part in what happened to Rommie (although he was probably too proud to admit that), and was now much less hostile toward her.
Things weren't all perfect for the Gryffindors, however. After Rommie told her friends what Ron said to her, Hermione demanded Ron to apologise (which Rommie told her he was never going to do, and she wasn't even sure he should). Once he refused, the ginger boy and bushy haired witch seemed to find more new reasons to be angry at each other every day. Thankfully for everyone's ears, after a few days of escalating arguments they decided to ignore each other completely instead.
About a week later during breakfast, as mail-carrying owls flooded the great hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by Hera – Jaimie's falcon. She dropped the package right in front of Jaimie, knocking her breakfast to the floor, and fluttered away.
"Is this what I think it is?" Rommie heard Ron quietly ask Jaimie, as the redhead witch read the note attached to the package, "Your Cleansweep Seven?"
Jaimie shook her head, showing him the note. When she noticed Rommie's curiosity, she gave her the note as well, trusting the black haired witch won't tell anyone.
Dear Jaimie,
I was so glad to hear the good news about you joining the Gryffindor Quidditch Team when Professor McGonagall asked me to send you your broomstick. I'm sure your father will be proud as well.
I hope you won't mind that I took the liberty of buying you a new Nimbus 2000 rather than send your Cleansweep (don't worry, I bought it with your father's money).
Also, Professor McGonagall asked me to remind you not to open the parcel at the table, since the other students aren't supposed to know you have a broomstick (although I'm not entirely sure what else they could think is in the broom-shaped package).
Good luck on your first training with the team!
Uncle Remus
"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously, "I've never even touched one."
Soon afterwards, Jaimie left the hall with Ron and Fay to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class. As they got up from the table, Ron looked at Rommie and opened his mouth – possibly to remind her not to tell anyone – but a glare from Hermione who sat next to her stopped him instantly.
The following weeks were some of the best Rommie ever had. Even though the tensions between Hermione and Ron continued to grow, and Snape continued to make his class as insufferable as possible to her, the black haired young witch was finally feeling like she belonged in Hogwarts. The other Gryffindors seemed to accept her as one of them now that they got to know her, and their classes were (for the most part) getting more interesting as they finished mastering the basics.
The thing Rommie was most grateful for, however, was that for the first time in her life she had real friends. Hermione and Rommie were almost inseparable, and more often than not they were with Nieve as well (although apparently when her friends were being too bookish and studied in the library with Padma Patil, Nieve preferred to spend that time discussing herbology with Hannah Abbott).
Even when Pansy seemed to have grown bored with her and Malfoy's 'war', which meant Rommie was once again her favourite target, she couldn't bring the Gryffindor witch's mood down for long. Rommie managed to learn a couple of basic healing spells, allowing her to visit Madam Pomfrey less frequently – she thought she could trust the matron's discretion, but she didn't want to risk Professor McGonagall knowing about Pansy's bullying.
"It's not so bad," she'd tell Hermione whenever the bushy-haired witch tried to change her mind, "I promise I'll tell if they even think of hurting you or Nieve, but as long as it's just me this is my decision."
On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors (although as Padma pointed out when they entered the charms classroom, they were nowhere near the kitchens so the smell was just the effect of a spell). Professor Flitwick opened the class with the announcement that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Nieve's toad zoom around the classroom, and put the class into pairs to practice.
Rommie was partnered with Padma, and Nieve's partner was Jaimie Potter, but Hermione was to be working with Ron Weasley. It was hard to tell whether Hermione or Ron was angrier about this. The two haven't said a word to each other in over a month – ever since a whispering argument in the library that ended with Madam Pince deducting ten points from Gryffindor and barring them both from the library for a week (a punishment that Hermione obviously took much harder).
"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" reminded Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual, "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."
It took them a while to get it right, but eventually Rommie and Padma were the first two to make their feather fly. "Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping, "Everyone see here, Miss Patil and Miss Black have done it!"
He awarded their houses five points each, and Jaimie, who also got her feather to fly shortly after them, was helping Nieve with the spell. But others seemed to have more difficulty with it. Seamus Finnigan and Fay Dunbar were constantly swishing and flicking their wands, but their feather didn't even move. Eventually Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and accidentally set fire to it, which Fay had to put out with her hat.
At the next table, Hermione looked at the feather sadly as Ron waved his long arms like a windmill and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Apparently the witch hasn't even gotten a chance to try casting the spell yet, since his exaggerated movements blocked her access to the feather.
"You're saying it wrong," Hermione finally 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 snarled.
Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.
"Professor, Hermione did it on her first try," Rommie said proudly, smiling at her friend.
"Very impressive, Miss Granger," Flitwick said, smiling brightly, "Four points to Gryffindor."
Weasley was in a very bad mood by the end of the class. "It's no wonder no one can stand those two know-it-all's," Rommie and Hermione heard him tell Jaimie as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "They're a nightmare, honestly. "
"You know they can hear you, right?" Jaimie reminded him with a hint of scolding in her voice, as the two witches walked past them.
"So?" the ginger boy said defensively, "Maybe it's time they noticed you'd have to be a lunatic to want them as friends."
Rommie and Hermione ignored Ron. They knew he was just jealous, and didn't really care what he had to say.
Either way, when the next class was about to begin, they had a much more pressing concern.
"Where's Nieve?" Rommie asked Hermione, but the other girl had no idea.