Pristine, black dress shoes clicked across the marble floor. The noise, however, was drowned out by hundreds' of children's chatter. They were all busily bustling to their next classes. In the center of the action, a small, blonde-haired boy was struggling towards his classroom. His usually smiling mouth was turned down in frustration. His little hand was clamped down on his Hogwarts schedule.

Jeb smirked, allowing his black shoes to carry him towards the boy. The students politely parted for the 'Head Auror.' Within seconds, he was behind the child on the stairs. Just as he was about to step off, the stairs lurched to the side, beginning their rotating journey to the other side of the stairwell. Jeb heard a muffled curse from the other stair tenant. They were the only two on the stairs. The scientists smiled, and adjusted his glasses.

He made his way down the stairs towards the boy in the blue Ravenclaw robes. He looked ready to throw a tantrum and was impatiently waiting the stairs to return to their original position.

"I swear to God, when I find Nudge, I'll wring her neck for forcing us into this school," he mumbled under his breath. "Why couldn't we have just bombed the place and stolen Max…"

"Now that's a big no-no, Gazzy," Jeb whispered in the boy's ear.

The little boy in questions nearly rocketed twenty feet in the air. Instead, his foot slipped on the edge of the stair, nearly sending him plummeting twenty feet to the cold floor.

"Jeb…" he growled, whipping around to face the Flock's sworn enemy.

He chuckled. "You'd think I would get a warmer welcome as your foster father."

"You are dead to me!" Gazzy practically screeched. "You've put the Flock through hell! Do you even know what you've done to Max?"

"What about what you've done to Max?"

He paused with his mouth opened.

"Exactly."

Jeb's face broke into a smug smile, as the stairs locked into their original position.

"Let's go for a walk," Jeb began, grabbing hold of Gazzy's arm, pulling him along, "shall we?"

Ignoring the Flock turned out to be harder than I thought. The fact Fang was constantly checking on my wounds wasn't helping. Avoiding Remus and his gang proved to be exceeding easy. He went out of his way to ignore me. Every time his eye met mine, he looked away guiltily. I tried desperately to organize my thoughts and formulate some sort of plan of action, but the overwhelming amount of homework made sure to take up all my free-time. Similarly, I received multiple detentions for sleeping in class or beating up Slytherins who think they can beat me in any fistfight. With that, I'd end up passing out as soon as I came back from cleaning Filth's (or whatever his name is) trophy case.

If that wasn't enough, my sleep-deprived mind decided joining the Quidditch team would be a good idea. My lack of freedom led to lack of flight, thus zooming about on a flying broomstick would be the best substitute. I ended up waking up an hour early to practice. Although I'm used to flying, balancing on a thin piece of wood was another story. After perfecting my technique, I began to practice for the Beater position. Often, I saw James or Remus on the pitch as well. He made a point of trying to mend our friendship, by casually flirting with me as I grabbed a school-supplied broom. I would weakly smile, only to retreat to the air. He never mentions my wings, and neither do the other Maruaders. Sirius would hint at it, complementing my broomstick technique, saying "You must be part bird," or phrases along those lines.

After two weeks, I began breaking under them, allowing for an occasional conversation between myself and James or joking with Sirius. Remus, however, was harder to reach.

I quickly realized he couldn't possibly an Eraser. The guilt in his eyes only showed me how deeply he regretted that he had injured me. Once, when I was working on homework, I allowed a wince at my dominant arm's injuries when I thought no one was looking. However, when I looked around, I saw Remus staring angrily at the wall, the self-loathing palpable in the room.

At the end of September, the Maruaders (excluding Remus) all confronted me in the Quidditch pitch locker rooms.

"Oy, Max!"

I turned around as I simultaneously shoved my sweaty clothing into my locker. James, Sirius, and a somewhat-reluctant Peter stood in the doorway. After triumphantly slamming my locker shut, I slung my bag over my shoulder and faced the threesome.

"Yeah?" I asked.

James walked up beside me and grabbed my bag in a gentlemanly gesture. I raised my eyebrow, but allowed my former friends to lead me into the foggy afternoon and towards the school.

"What?" I demanded, pulling up short in front of Hogwarts.

"We need to talk," James said.

I rolled my eyes at the cliché phrase. "Can you make it quick? Professor Slughorn gave me a three-page essay on the uses of unicorn hairs, or something…."

"It won't take long," Sirius vowed.

We all plopped down on the arch-like windows facing the courtyard. A few students (mostly first years) milled about. A few stupid Slytherins shot us evil looks, while I responded in kind.

James turned towards me, and suddenly became extremely serious. "Max, we know it's hard for you taking in Remus' secret, and I'm sure you're uncomfortable with us knowing yours, but we want this to end."

"Huh?"

"We mean, our friendship has been tested, but we hope to get out unscathed," Sirius continued. "Plus, we hormonal teenage boys are ecstatic to have a girls amongst the Maruaders' ranks!"

I smiled broadly, but awkwardly stared at the ground.

"I know," I finally said, barely above a whisper. "I'm pretty bad in social situations, especially when I rarely trust anyone… I mean, I want to put my faith in someone, but they don't want to put faith in me."

My mind immediately reeled back to Fang's apologetic face.

"I'm sorry Max, but I think it's best you go," he was saying, exactly as it was three months ago. "We- the Flock- believe it would be best if you left."

Clenching my fists, I flash a smile in James' direction. "I promise, from now on, we're friends again!" I proceeded to shake everyone's hands heartily, resulting in laughter. "You guys are the truly the only honest people in this school."

"You should let Remus know," Sirius commented offhandedly.

"Speaking of which, where is our lunar-loving buddy?" I questioned, my eyes searching the nearly barren courtyard.

"He took your silent treatment pretty badly."

"Oh."

"Yeah. He hates what he had become, and whenever he injuries anybody, even us, he kinda shuts down and goes into an emo mood."

"Well, I should go and talk with him, then!" I decided, grabbing my bag. "You guys are the best. I want you guys to know the truth about me."

My hand nearly flew to my mouth as the words slipped out. The trio looked up at my in unison, surprised.

"Meet me by the Forbidden Forest around midnight," I whispered before I would rethink my decision.

Without looking back, I raced towards the common room. After jumping in the shower and finishing my essay, I was still yet to see Remus. I decided to catch him when everyone was dispersing for dinner. I patiently waited by the fireplace as people streamed out the doors. Fang and Iggy were among them, but they (thankfully) didn't send me a second glance. They were too engrossed in something another boy, who was around Gazzy's age, was explaining. Worry was written over their features, but I was too preoccupied with searching for Remus' face. He never showed.

I even waited an extra five minutes for him, cutting into my precious dinnertime. When I felt all the boys were gone, I walked up the stairs, turning towards the boy's dormitory. After listening with my inhuman senses, I concluded there were no boys inside. To be safe, I gently rapped against the door.

"Remus?"

I was met with silence.

"If you're in there, please answer me. I'd feel rather foolish for talking to dust bunnies instead of Remus."

This time, I heard a bed creak, as if someone was standing up. The mahogany door creaked open, to reveal brown locks and a pale face. He stepped outside, making sure to avoid any physical contact with me. I immediately noticed how thin he had gotten, and how frail he had become.

"What happened to-" I began, only to be interrupted.

"I'm sorry."

I paused, taken aback.

"You did nothing wrong-" I tried once more, walking towards him.

In turn, he shook his head violently, backing away. "I'm a monster. I should have been able to stop myself, but instead, I ended up hurting someone innocent, a friend…"

"Really? Innocent?" I laughed. "Please."

He looked at the ground, shadows dancing across his face and making the shallow cheeks more prominent.

"You don't have to beat yourself up over it. You need to eat and realize I've forgiven you already, and I don't forgive easily."

His wide eyes bored into mine, full of hope and joy. "Really?"

"Yes, you idiot," I said playfully, punching on the shoulder. "How about we go to dinner?"

He nodded, and for the first time in a month, a bright smile lit up his face. Its radiance reached every dank corner of the common room, even piercing a spear of light into my stone-incased heart. I couldn't help but smile with him, inherited the contagious smile. With that, we both sprinted to the Great Hall, desperate to get ahold of some of the steak that was rumored to be served tonight.

I slipped out from underneath the blankets, and gently slipped my feet into the sneakers. I heard Daisy stir as I eased myself out of my four-poster bed, causing a disturbance in the mattresses' springs.

Luckily, she was a heavy sleeper, and I was able to slip on a windbreaker and make my way to the courtyard in which I spoke to the Marauders in earlier without an interference. As expected, it was empty, giving me plenty of space to slip off my jacket and unfold my wings. After checking the surrounding windows for light or any teachers, I took to the air. Although it was cold and the air was extremely foggy, I basked in the thin water droplets clinging to my feathers. Before long, I was over the Forbidden Forest, gliding above the treetops. I scanned the perimeter for any signs of life, but aside from the Whomping Willow swaying opposite of the wind, there was not a whisper to be heard. I sighed, and proceeded to dive lower, allowing the trees to be my cover.

Finally, I soft whisper caught my ear, causing me to veer around and head towards its direction. Once I confirmed the voices I heard were indeed from James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus, I dived and landed neatly next to them.

Peter nearly jumped out of his skin, while Sirius and James stared at my wings in awe. Although they both had already seen them, my wings must have really astounded them. Remus, however, merely extended a hand to help me up, even though I was fully capable of getting up. I nodded my thanks, and began to fold in my wings.

"It must be annoying to have them inside a robe the entire day," Remus commented. "Why don't you just let them out for a while?"

Without missing a beat, I once again allowed my wings to snap open, displayed in their full glory. Yet again, Sirius and James gaped at them.

"Oh, calm down," I joked, easily falling into our previous, humorous conversations.

"How can we?" James responded, casually wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "The newest addition to the Marauder's is not only female, but part bird, or something."

I plopped onto the ground, rolling my eyes. Patting the ground invitingly, I nodded towards the boys. Eyeing the moist ground, they reluctantly sat on the ground next to me.

"Technically, I am part bird," I agreed slowly. "See, before I was born-"

"Ooooo..!" James interrupted excitedly, wriggling. "Story-time!"

Yet again, I rolled my eyes. "If you let me finish a sentence, then it would be considered 'story-time.' You guys do want to get to the good part, right?"

Although it was a rhetorical question, they looked up at me and vigorously nodded, followed by them making a big show of getting comfortable on the ground. The boys' faces lit up with smiles as they gazed up at me.

"Please, ," they said in unison, "teach us your ways!"

It seemed impossible, that mere hours ago, I had thought these four boys were anything but my friends. Then again, throughout my lifetime, I have learned that looks can deceive. However, I am known to read people well, and thus far, they have only exemplified kindness and humor. If they were evil, I probably would have noticed by now. Either way, my story would be detailed, but names and locations were to be restricted for obvious reasons. One can never be too careful in a world like this.

The Marauders were yet to act suspiciously. They were kind, funny, and had the maturity level of toddlers. Except Remus. Despite knowing him for less than a month, yet he seemed to be the most calm and collected of the four. At that moment, with his liquid-brown eyes staring into my dark ones, I felt warmth spread throughout my cold heart.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," I continued, giving the boy's a warning glare, "before I was born, my parents-mainly my father- spliced my DNA with a bird's, creating the first successful mutant." I paused briefly, allowing the information to sink in. Then, in a quieter voice, I continued, "After me, other children had to suffer the same transformation, becoming part bird, part human. Those kids are Fang, Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, and Nudge."

"That new girl from Ravenclaw?" James questioned.

"Yeah."

"She's kind hot," he pointed out offhandedly.

"Watch it!" I exclaimed, playfully punching him in the shoulder.

He rolled his eyes, but allowed me to proceed to story-telling.

"Our childhood was a nightmarish experience. We lived in an experimental institute called the School, where we slept in tiny cages and spent our waking hours being treated like lab rats. We had more surgeries performed on us in the son of a few years than any other living being. Such experiments ranged from mental torture, to physical exertion, and any unsatisfactory results were met with harsh consequences.

At that, I pulled up the sleeve of my jacket exposing my scars. They told their own stories, ones of hell, electric shocks and whips meeting skin. Some were deeper than others, but each one had a surgical precision to them, making it undoubtfully the work of skilled scientists and surgeons.

The boys sucked in a breath, a look of horror and rage written across their features. Remus went as far as placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

With this background information off my chest, my story began to flow out, starting with Jeb saving us, forming our own family, better known as the Flock. I recounted our many captures, fights and challenges, down to the last Eraser battle. The boys smiled at the funny tales from Virginia and grimaced at every near-death situation I recounted to them. Each battle won was met with rounds of applause while injured Flock-mates caused them to frown at the ground. When I concluded my story (taking care to leave out WHY I am in Hogwarts, ignoring the Flock), the Marauders clapped loudly.

"Bravo!" James exclaimed.

"Encore! Encore!" Sirius vigorously added.

A smile pulled at my lips as I watched the four boys- my friends- applaud my biography and story-telling skills. Remus, despite my amazing lying skills, noticed that the story had a few plot holes.

"So why are you and the Flock constantly fighting?" Remus asked after the applause died down. "You guys are willing to give your lives for one another, yet you have chosen to avoid them."

I grimaced, which did not go unnoticed by Remus and the others, who were now all giving me scrutinizing looks.

He had hit the nail on the head. One, I'm sure, the Flock was trying to answer themselves. I wasn't known to be the forgiving type, but the Flock was my family. I loved them unconditionally and was willing to take a bullet for any one of them, even now. This fight however, was different than the others.

"It's… complicated," I mumbled.

Scanning the night sky, James offhandedly commented, "We have plenty of time."

Sirius took advantage of the pause: "Yet some of us lack the brains…"

"OY!" James screamed, pouncing on his friend, landing in a heap of limbs and unkempt hair.

I smiled as I watched the two boys settle their difference in an old school fist-fight. However, it was obvious it was a fake tussle with light punches thrown here and there. I gave them time to sit up properly and dust off the dirt from their shoulders and pants.

Taking a deep breath, I prepared to spill the beans.

"Once, after we were captured, the School knew a surprising amount of information about us, as if they had an insider spying on us. We fought amongst ourselves, trying to determine if it was one of us. Apparently, my behavior proved to be the most suspicious out of all of them so they…." My voice cracked. I paused, collecting myself before continuing: "They decided to exile me."

I let the words hang in the air, while I allowed the story to unfold before my eyes in the safe recesses of my mind.

Heart-broken, I fled to the only place I can call home; the Martinez's. As always, they welcome me with open arms and fresh chocolate chip cookies. Summer was just starting at that time, allowing Ella and I to bond like real sisters. Our fun activities ranged from movie watching to visit the park, even the occasional clothing store visit. The time period was, dare I say, normal. Ereaser attacks dwindled into nonexistence. My half-sister was careful to talk about the Flock, but curiosity got the better of her. Despite the Flock-related question targeting Iggy, each one nonetheless tore at my heart.

Around mid-July, my mother started to pose questions about my school attendance in the fall. I attempted to put off answering as long as possible due to the fact all memories associated with the word 'school' are usually haunting nightmares. Our solution, however, came to us in August in the form of an acceptance letter to a private school in England, one that the internet had never heard of. The school, Hogwarts, claimed to teach young wizards and witches, an absurd concept. The supply list asked for cauldrons, wands, and potion kits.

I thought this was a joke, at first. However, when we went to England ourselves to Diagon Alley, and I saw the witches and wizards bustling around in a magically shielded city, it was hard to deny the truth: I was a witch, and I was going to Hogwarts. Maybe there, I would finally calm myself and return to the Flock.

My mother and I stayed in England until September 1st, visiting wizarding hotspots and even getting a mine cart ride in Gringotts. Mom, however, was not as excited about the eccentric wizard customs, including their odd products, including flying brooms and school supplies with minds of their own. Being a woman of science left her confused yet excited. She looked eager to dissect everything, including the humans. It was somewhat scary, but she eventually cooled down, enjoying the Butterbeer and even coughing down some Firewhiskey.

Throughout this time of adventure and investigation, I had an epiphany.

I realized that the Flock had every right to kick me out of the Flock. In the end, I am the weakest link. I had raised the Flock by myself, and I am willing to, as Bruno Mars so skillfully put it, catch a grenade for them. If one of them were to be captured, I was willing to put everything aside, including the safety of the other Flock members to hunt down the captured one. My maternal instinct will prove to be my ultimate demise. It was pathetic that the love I felt for the Flock could be easily wielded against me.

"Oh," Remus said quietly, snapping me back into the present.

"Yeah…" I sighed.

Luckily, my answer satisfied them. It did look like James wanted to pressure me some more, but he looked at my face, then dropped his eyes. Obviously, something in my facial expression was both reminiscing and warning. A comfortable descended around us, acting like a cloak against the brisk night. The dull candlelight pouring from the castle disappeared, dominated by the beautiful starlight. With no civilization for miles in each direction, the night sky was overflowing with stars. If you stared hard enough, the colorful wisps of the edge of the galaxy came into view, painting the black, night canvas.

The boys, however, did not want to waste time appreciating nature like I have learned to. Curiosity plagued their minds, making them resort to begging me to show off my wings. I was eager to fly around, they didn't have to beg for long.

Quickly, I unfurled my wings and took to the air. I flew around them, maintaining low altitude. For the sake of keeping them interested, I banked, twirled, dived, maneuvered and even went as far as flying at the speed of sound (my specialty). I landed to a round of applause with all four of them staring in awe as my wings folded back neatly against my spine. They proceeded to bombard me with question about wings, flying, and my mutant powers.

As the hours trickled away, we walked back to the castle, arm in arm, a long human chain that was bound physically and mentally. Each of us wore a bright grin, joking and laughing, our voices only dying down as we approached Hogwarts. Giggling under our breathes, we squeezed past the half-conscious Fat Lady and into the Gryffindor common room. Saying our good-nights, we split to our gender-respective dormitories. I'm sure, like me, they fell asleep with smiles etched onto their face.

If only I could freeze such a moment in time.

It seems the chapter I posted the first time was computer code. I apologize and hope it doesn't happen again! Anyway, here is a super-extra-long chapter for you, since I have been gone for five weeks at camp. I am also going to leave for a trip to Europe within a few days, but I AM taking along writing material! So go on my profile and vote on my poll so I know which story to update!

Also, check out if you are a passionate writer willing to put away some time into writing a novel.

Keep Calm and Read on (that's it! This is my catchphrase!)

P.S Counting down the days to Doctor Who season 8 premiere!