Sorry this is later than I thought, first week of school was hectic, and the next few weeks entail projects and exams, so I'm not sure when the next update will be. Hope the extra long chapter makes up for it.

"Look!"

"There she is!"

"Where?"

"There, by the Weasley girl!"

"Wow!"

"She doesn't look that old. . ."

These were the things Elizabeth and Ginny heard when they walked from the Fat Lady's portrait to the Great Hall for breakfast. Elizabeth wished she hadn't done her hair in braids that morning, long hair was easy to hide behind. But having braids in her hair, even tiny ones, were important to her. They reminded her of her mother.

"Mother! Mother!" Elizabeth cried. She was only six years old, and was currently very upset. She ran to where her mother was sitting in their quarters. She had tears coming from her eyes, which immediately made her mother concerned. "What is it, Elizabeth?" she asked. Elizabeth pointed to her hair, which her mother seemed to be ignoring. "Helena made my hair green!" She cried. Her mother put her in her lap. "Oh, Elizabeth, you know Helena just started learning color changing spells, and she has been very excited to learn magic officially at the school. I'm sure if you give her the opportunity to apologize, she'll tell you how sorry she is." her mother said soothingly. "But it's green! That's Uncle Salzy's color!" Elizabeth protested. "Slytherin is a good house, darling." Elizabeth shook her head. "It's not Father's house! I want to be in his! Green is different from red!" her mother laughed, and started stroking her hair. "Have I ever taught you about magic braids?" she asked. "No." Elizabeth said. "What are they?" she asked as her mother started braiding her hair. "Well, you put your hair into braids while thinking of things that make you feel sad or worried or angry, and when you finish the braids, you no longer think about those things, and when you take them out, you'll be able to solve the problem." her mother told her as she finished the second braid. "There, your hair is brown again. And when you undo your braids, you'll be able to resolve your fight with Helena." Elizabeth nodded, and said, "Thanks, Mother."

Elizabeth knew there wasn't actual magic in the braids, but wearing them made her feel more connected to her mother. She had her father's name, and now she had her mother's appearance.

Unfortunately, they didn't provide much concealment. She kept whispers as she sat down for breakfast, and was asked many questions by Percy Weasley, Ginny's older brother. He was very eager to meet her, and kept asking about her transition to their world, how she was finding things, if she needed any help she could go to him.

Elizabeth suppressed a laugh as she saw GInny roll her eyes dramatically when Percy wasn't looking.

Her first class was Charms, which she was not too nervous about. She had become more comfortable with her wand, and Remus's visualization technique was very helpful. She was definitely a visual learner.

The class was getting their books out when a boy with light blonde hair sat beside her. "Hi!" he greeted. "Hello." Elizabeth responded, feeling a little awkward. Why was he smiling so widely? "I'm Colin Creevy!" He said excitedly. "I'm Elizabeth." Elizabeth said. "I know! My friends told me all about you on the train ride yesterday! I'm a muggleborn, and my family doesn't get the wizard newspapers, so it was really surprising to hear about you! Are you really over a thousand years old?" Colin said in a rush. Elizabeth glanced around the room, where was Flitwick?

When he did not appear, she submitted to answering Colin's question.

"Yes, I am technically one thousand and twelve years old, but since I was under an enchantment for a thousand of those years, I consider myself to be twelve years old." She said to Colin. "Amazing! Say, do you think I could get a photograph of you? And maybe you could sign it?" he asked. "Um, I could sign something, but what's a picture?" she asked, She heard people around her snickering. Had they been listening in on their conversation?

"Do you really not know what a picture is? Weren't you supposed to be studying over the summer?" A Ravenclaw girl asked, laughing. This made everyone else laugh, except for Ginny and Colin, and another Ravenclaw girl Elizabeth didn't know.

"Leave her alone, Julia!" Ginny spoke up, looking rather angry. "Why should I listen to you, Weasley? I don't take orders from the Heir of Slytherin." Julia smirked. This made Ginny's face go red in anger. "I am NOT the Heir of Slytherin!" she yelled. She raised her wand to utter a spell, but Elizabeth quickly pushed it down. "Ginny, stop! She's not worth it." Elizabeth said. Ginny shot a dark glare to Julia, but put her wand down.

"Aren't Gryffindor's supposed to be brave? Especially freaks that have the actual Gryffindor blood in them a thousand years later?" A Ravenclaw boy called. This made Elizabeth get very angry.

"How dare you insult my family!" She yelled, standing up. Waving her hands in the particular formation needed for the spell, she uttered, "Small as the tiniest mouse, may you now be the size of a louse!" and pointed her hand at the Ravenclaw boy. He screamed as he began to shrink, and many others screamed as well. Elizabeth stood there in surprise. Had she really done that?

"Class, I'm terribly sorry I'm late, Peeves stuck gum in the faculty room's keyhole, and all along the doorframe…." Flitwick trailed off as he saw the majority of the class panicking, and the rest pointing at Elizabeth. "What happened?"

Elizabeth sat in the chair opposite Dumbledore, in his office. She was the last person he was going to talk to about the incident. First was Julia, then Ginny, Colin, and the Ravenclaw boy. "Lemon drop?" he offered. Elizabeth nodded, hoping taking one could help lessen her chances of getting expelled. She sucked on the sour sweet as the headmaster began to speak.

"I believe you know it is not appropriate to make your classmates as small as a head louse, so I think the only reason you are sitting here is that you believe you had a good reason to do so. Would you mind telling me?" Dumbledore asked. Elizabeth nodded, feeling anger at that Ravenclaw boy all over again as she told him her side of the story.

"I was in Charms class, and Professor Flitwick was late, so everyone was talking. A boy named Colin sat next to me, and we introduced ourselves. Then he asked if he could take my picture, and I asked what that was. Then a Ravenclaw girl, Ginny called her Julia, asked if I really didn't know what a camera was. Nearly everyone started laughing, which made Ginny get up to defend me. She was raising her wand to do something to Julia, but I lowered her wand, because I didn't want her to get in trouble over them. Then, the boy I shrunk, he laughed and said Gryffindor's were supposed to be brave, especially me, because I was his daughter and a freak that was over a thousand years old!" Elizabeth said. Dumbledore nodded, and then spoke.

"So you shrunk him for that?" Elizabeth nodded.

"I know it was wrong, but he insulted my family! I was trying to be the bigger person, but he didn't care! I just shrunk him to the size of goodness in him!" Elizabeth protested.

"I can understand why you got angry at him, but you do know that using magic on another student for negative purposes is not permitted." Elizabeth nodded.

"You have worked very hard to get here, Elizabeth. And many still doubt whether you should be here. I don't want you to undo all you've worked for." Dumbledore implored. Elizabeth nodded, now feeling rather guilty for what she had done.

"Fortunately, the spell is easily reversed, so there was no permanent damage done. Though I would advise you to refrain from using hand magic in lessons." Dumbledore told her. "I can't use hand magic anymore?" Elizabeth asked, worried the answer would be yes.

"I did not say you are not allowed to use it, in fact, it could be quite useful. But considering that everyone is adjusting to you being here, perhaps only use it in your dorm room or common room, if you are comfortable with that." Elizabeth smiled and nodded, happy that hand magic had not been revoked from her.

"What will my punishment be?" Elizabeth asked. Dumbledore pondered it for a moment.

"Thirty points will be deducted from Gryffindor, and you must serve a Saturday detention with Professor Lupin. And, if it is genuine, perhaps an apology to Mr. Favorton?" Elizabeth assumed that was the Ravenclaw boy's name. "Yes, Professor." She said, accepting the punishment.

Colin, who felt responsible for the whole incident, apologized profusely when she left Dumbledore's office. His face was red and flushed, and he promised that if she had been expelled he would take the blame for everything. She had relieved him when she swore she hadn't been expelled.

Unfortunately, her punishment was not just what Dumbledore assigned. It seemed like everyone in the school knew what she had done, and nearly everyone was whispering about her behind cupped hands, and pointing. Many Ravenclaws were sending her glares at lunch, though Elizabeth did see the blonde girl from the Charms lesson reading a magazine idly, not paying anyone any attention. At least someone didn't hate her.

At least most of Gryffindor weren't that angry about the loss of thirty points. Apparently a girl above her year had earned twenty points in Care of Magical Creatures, and some of the older students had earned points as well. Fred and George had gotten a kick out of the whole thing, actually. They cheered when she entered the Great Hall with Ginny after their morning in the Headmaster's office.

Elizabeth got a note at the end of lunch, and it landed just beside her cup. When she opened it, she recognized her guardians handwriting.

Elizabeth,

I received notice of your actions this morning in Professor Flitwick's class, please see me after lessons.

-M.M

Elizabeth gupled. This couldn't be good.

After a relievingly boring History of Magic lesson, where Elizabeth had mostly doodled in the margins of her notes while Professor Binns droned on, she and Ginny traversed to the dungeons for Potions. The other three girls in their year, Olivia, Allie, and Zarah, were walking with them.

"I really don't think what you did was that bad. Matthew is a complete prat, and so is Julia. She thinks she's so wonderful just because her family has had five Ministers of Magic in it over the last hundred years. And Matthew has a huge crush on her, so he'll do anything to please her. They had it coming." Zarah was telling Elizabeth. They all laughed, but stopped when they entered the Potions classroom.

Elizabeth had been in it many times before, and had always liked it, but now the atmosphere was different. Snape came into the classroom full of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, and eyed them. "I see our new delinquent is present." He drawled coldly. Elizabeth shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

The lesson had dragged on, and even though Elizabeth was among the few to brew a correct Swelling Solution, Snape had disregarded it, and sent them out of the classroom with a long essay to write.

Instead of accompanying Ginny to the library to start on their essays, Elizabeth went to her guardian's quarters. She opened the door, and walked in quietly, looking around. Since she wasn't in the living room or kitchen, she was most likely in her office.

Elizabeth was right. Minerva was sitting behind her desk, waiting for her. "Take a seat, we need to talk." Elizabeth did as she was told, and sat.

"Your first day here and you already have a detention, Elizabeth! Why would you do something so foolish?" Minerva asked. "Matthew was saying bad things about my family, and making everyone laugh!" Elizabeth replied. "That is not a reason to use magic on him! That is a valid reason to be angry at him, but you shouldn't have gone that far. Julia Harborne's family is a very influential one, and many people always trust their opinion. You know your spot here is contested, and doing things like this could jeopardize everything for you." Minerva said. "I know it was wrong of me, and I shouldn't have done it, but I was trying to stop Ginny from retaliating when he said those things! He was asking for it!" Elizabeth protested. "It seems that he was, but even then, you should try to be the bigger person, Elizabeth. Even when it is challenging." Minerva told her. Elizabeth sighed and nodded.

"Now, I want you to write three hundred lines of 'I will think before I act' before dinner." Minerva said. "What? But I'm already being punished!" Elizabeth said in surprise. "Yes, I know. But since it only took you a day to prove you can help cause incidents like this, I want to stamp that out of you before it becomes a habit." Minerva explained. Elizabeth sighed, but understood what she meant.

What a great first day this was.