After meeting in the library the following day Magnolia managed to convince them to focus on pranking other students before moving onto teachers. It didn't take long for them to pick on Filch. Magnolia felt bad for the poor man, born a squib, lonely and only had his creepy red eyes feline Mrs.Norris. That didn't mean he didn't terrify her beyond words.

Magnolia sat in the library weeks later, scanning through books as she wrote her transfiguration essay. Professor McGonagall had a soft spot for Magnolia but the older witch would never admit it. McGonagall saw a lot of herself in the young witch. Magnolia's attention is pulled away from her book when she hears a loud crash come from the other side of the library. Magnolia turns her head towards the crash and see's Cedric crouched down picking up a stack of books.

Mrs. Pince the library gives him a nasty look and pulls her wired finger to her lips, shushing him. Magnolia puts a placeholder on her book and gets up from her chair to help him. She grabs the books closest first and helps the older boy gather them.

"Thanks Maggie. Guess I grabbed too many." Cedric shrugs.

"Happens to me all the time. Life of a bookworm I guess." Magnolia chuckles, handing him the small stack she collected, their hands brushing sending butterflies in her gut.

"Well best get to studying. Don't want to fail O.W.L.S." Cedric beams. He stands on his feet now evening, his grip on the books.

Magnolia's eyes scan to his hands gripping against the hard spines and feels her cheeks warm. Maybe she had a small crush on him but who didn't, she thought. Juniper raved about him constantly, talking about his pretty eyes, gorgeous smile, and perfect hair. Magnolia had never gotten the jittery feeling that came with a crush before except when Cedric smiled at her. He shot her a cool smile and waved as he went back to his shared table with Ernie and a few other boys from their year.

Magnolia moved back to her chair but struggled to get focused in again. Roxy slammed down a book on top of the one in front of Magnolia. Earning another shush from Mrs. Pince. Magnolia gave her an apologetic smile before turning to Roxy.

"Are you ready to study?" She asked the smaller girl.

Magnolia was not looking forward to these exams. She had only taken one exam before and she got stressed about it. She stayed up cramming the night before and forgot everything once she had got to school that day. Her mother wasn't mad about her poor grade and just told her that she just needed to schedule out her time, after that Magnolia spent her studying time organizing all of her notes strategically.

Magnolia looked across at Roxy and shrugged, "I guess, better now than never." Magnolia cracks open the book in front of her and begins jotting down notes.

The two carried on these study sessions for the following weeks leading to the end of the year. Occasionally Juniper would study with them but she didn't study very conventionally, focusing more on the practical skills. Days melted into weeks until Magnolia sat in her chair listening to everyone breathe simultaneously as their quills scratched against parchment.

Magnolia spent the following weeks in the library between her free time. Potions got harder, Snape didn't make it easier on her when he paired her with the short haired blonde girl who Magnolia seemed to rub the wrong way with everything she did.

Not only had she tripped on her that first day but following Christmas the twins had decided to ramp up the prank targeting quite a few Slytherin kids. Her name was Helena Thatcher, a pure blood witch who despised Magnolia. The twins and Lee walked behind the three Hufflepuff girls as they walked down to potions.

Magnolia sensed they we're getting into some sort of trouble but chose to ignore it. Roxy and Juniper walked into class taking their usual seats, Magnolia lingered waving the boys goodbye.

"Don't get into too much trouble, please?" She pleads weakly.

Lee chuckles, "You underestimate these two. Trust me they have their ways." Lee winks before waving her away. She shook her head and walked into class.

She pulled her book out and set it on the table in front of her, Snape's footsteps clicking against the floor.

"Turn to page 203. You'll be broken up today and paired off." Snape grumbles lowly.

Magnolia waits as he starts pairing people, Roxy gets paired with Samuel Nott, a Slytherin. Juniper moves to her seat beside Aidan, a Hufflepuff boy who they had helped study once before. Her nerves start to rise a little when she notices Helena still alone.

"Miss Thatcher and Miss Lancaster," Professor Snape turns to look at Magnolia, "Perhaps this will help you focus better." Snape pointed his words at her this time.

Her gaze shifted to the pages in front of her, she bit at the inside of her cheek. The other girl strutted over to the open seat beside Magnolia and plopped down. She flipped through her pages with attitude before turning to look at Magnolia with a sneer.

"Just do what I say and we won't have any issues." Helena spews.

"I'm just as capable of doing this as you, " Magnolia attempts.

"Whatever." She flipped her hair back and looked at Magnolia with another grimace.

Magnolia turns back to her book, hoping the class passes quickly. She never understood why Potions were so hard for her considering she excelled at baking and anything in a kitchen. Maybe she needed to teach herself like it was a recipe, she had thought to herself.

"Godric, do you Hufflepuffs ever pay attention?" Helena scowled. "Cut up that root faster."

Magnolia rolled her eyes and went back to working on the potion. They continued working in mostly silence except for the occasional check on progress. Once class was over she was quick to close her book and get away from Helena.

She runs out of the class and bumps onto someone right outside the door. Magnolia falls and lands on her bum. She looks up to meet eyes with Cedric. The older boy smiled down at her and extended out a hand.

"Slow down there." He chuckles. She felt jitters in her stomach as his hand gripped hers.

His hands were smooth and soft, much different than she expected for a bit. She brushes off the back of her robes and stands to her feet. Her cheeks heat up and she mumbles an excuse before running up the steps to go to her Charms class.

Roxy and Juniper catch up behind her, they were already talking about their partners.

"He's just so obnoxious." Roxy groans about Nott. "Just like every pure blood I've ever met." She rolls her eyes.

"How do you think it is working with Aidan, he can barely tie his shoes!" Juniper exclaims.

"How was Helena?" Roxy asks noticing Magnolia at their side.

"Absolutely horrid. I'd rather eat bees than work with her another minute." Magnolia adds finally.

The girls share a chuckle, "Eat bees? That's pretty bad Maggie are you sure?" Juniper quips with a grin.

Magnolia shrugged and turned up the staircase. "Only a few more months and then I won't have to deal with her all summer."

••••••

Magnolia plops down on her bed following her final class of the term. Her head sunk into the pillow and she rested her eyes. She was shaken awake by Juniper plopping down on the foot of her bed. Magnolia noticed she was still in her robes and uniform curled on top of her covers. She sits up in her bed and notices the darkness.

"Roxy tried to wake you up for dinner but she said you wouldn't budge." Juniper points, "I bet she just stood at the door and whispered at you." She glances behind her at frowning Roxy.

"I poked her a few times too." Roxy shrugged sitting on the other side of her bed. They were both in their pajamas.

Magnolia sat up and reached around her robe pocket in hope to find a snack she may have stashed. She digs out an empty napkin and crumbs from the pumpkin pastie she ate as she walked between her classes finishing up her homework. Her head sinks back down.

There was a knock on the door before Demi pushed open the door. As time went on the younger girls didn't mind Demi's company, she had a lot of interesting stories about Hogwarts and quidditch games. She also gave the sisterly advice Roxy nor Magnolia had of their own. Sometimes if her dorm mates bothered her she'd sneak off to the first year dorms and sleep in one of the extra beds in their room.

She has yet another note, "I'm going to charge those little buggers next year. This is their warning." Demi rolls her eyes handing Magnolia the slip of parchment.

Magnolia sits up and unfolds it,

Meet us outside the Hufflepuff common room, we've got a surprise. Now preferably.

Fred & George

Magnolia folded the slip back and stuffed it into her robes. She changes into a pair of sweatpants and an old band t-shirt her mother had tucked away in the back of her drawer. Magnolia figured she wouldn't miss it anyways. It hung off her loose, she tied her hair up loosely into a ponytail. She slips her feet into her bunny slippers and walks towards the door.

"Off to meet the boys, I see how it is." Juniper thrusts her on her chest dramatically faking appall.

"Always with the theatrics." Magnolia rolls her eyes. She waves the trio goodbye and walks down the stairs to the common room.

She notices Cedric sitting on the couch in front of the crackling fire, he waves at her with a grin. She gives him a small wave and continues her trek. When she exits the stacks of barrels and spots the twins leaned up against one of the nearby walls chatting with each other.

They're both changed into pajamas, wearing worn Gryffindor quidditch t-shirts likely from their older brothers and matching deep red plaid pants. She shuffles towards them, they both glance down at her feet and then up at Magnolia's, back to her slippers and then at each other.

The two pause like before chuckling, "How cute!"George exclaims nudging Magnolia's shoulder.

"Enough about her rabbits, we've got a starving girl to feed." Fred says linking his arm with Magnolia.

"M'not starving," her stomach grumbles on cue, "Hungry maybe." She mumbles.

She lifts her head to look at Fred who's at her side, "How do you expect to feed me if I missed dinner?" She questions.

"A gentleman never reveals his secrets, but we've got a way into the kitchen." Fred smirks down at her.

Magnolia hesitates stopping her steps, "Don't worry Mags, we've got it covered. No trouble will come your way. I promise." Fred leads her forward pulling her in closer.

Magnolia turns her head to watch the common room doors disappear around the corner. She had to admit it was a beyond kind that they wanted to make sure she ate before going to bed. Only a few people lingered in the halls before the trio slipped into the kitchen. Magnolia was met with a huddle of short, crooked boned elves, she remembered learning about house elves from Roxy, her family had two that she said were probably taken care of better than most other families.

"Mr. Weasley and Mr.Weasley, you have a friend now." A girl elf pushes past the group to stand at the front.

George crouches down and nods, "Winky this is Magnolia Lancaster, she missed dinner so we might need your help with that." He proposes with a smile.

She nods before turning and waving the other house elves away. They all scatter around the kitchen taking up different posts.

"Miss Lancaster, have any requests?" Fred questions formally.

"What was dinner?" Magnolia asks.

"Shepherd's pie," George replies from her other side now at his feet again.

"I'll have that if you have anything left? I'd feel too guilty if you went through more trouble." Magnolia confirms with a grateful smile.

The twins sit down on one of the nearby empty countertops. Fred pats the empty counter space beside him, Magnolia stands up against the counter and tries to pop herself onto the counter struggling to get up. She tries kicking one leg up and swinging herself up but that fails as well. George peers around Fred and watches Magnolia struggle.

Magnolia backs away from the counter slightly and uses the cupboard door to prop herself up, finally she is able to sit on the counter top. Fred has his lip between his teeth holding back a smile.

"Laugh all you want, at least I'm not 10 feet tall and have to duck through doorways." She sticks tongue out at him annoyed.

"Wasn't laughing, simply observing." He shrugs letting the smirk slip.

She rolled her eyes and nibbled against a cracker from a plate of cheese and crackers one of the house elves had brought by as she was struggling. "You're like a little mouse or something." Fred jokes.

Magnolia stopped mid bite, dropping the cracker a little. "It's cute." He adds mumbling.

Winky brought a plate with Shepherd's pie and a fork. Magnolia thanked her and began digging in. The twins dig into plates of their own.

"So how'd you know we aren't going to get caught?" Magnolia questioned in between bites.

The twins share a knowing look and smirk before turning back to meet Magnolia's grey eyes. "Why do I feel like I'm not going to like your answer?" She ponders.

"Because Mags, you know us far too well." Fred extends a hand to her shoulder.

Magnolia rolls her eyes, "Just tell me then."

"You have to promise not to tell anyone, especially June and Roxy." George warns from around Fred.

Magnolia nods, taking another bite of shepherds pie.

"We have a map." He says simply.

"A map?" Magnolia echoes.

They nod, "A map," George echoes again.

"Shows us where everyone is-" Fred begins

"Every day, all the time." George finishes.

No

Magnolia raises a brow, "Show me." She says.

George pulls the folded parchment from his back pocket. He passes it over to her, she puts her now empty plate down beside her. The parchment is blank and Magnolia's finger traces over the folds.

"It's blank. How are you supposed to read a blank map?" She questions looking up to meet their attentive eyes.

Fred takes the folded parchment from her hands and waves his wand over it, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." He says.

Magnolia watched eagerly as words appeared on the page, the words read

The Marauders Map

Her eyes scan over the names, Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail and Prongs, and she can't help but wonder how they made the map. She peels it from Fred's hands and unfolds it revealing all of the grounds at Hogwarts, down to the passageways she had never seen.

"We nicked it from Filch last years, figured he won't be missing it." George shrugged as he watched her stare down at the moving and stagnant footsteps.

"No one else has one?" Magnolia asks, finally looking up from the map. The twins shared a shake of their heads, "What if someone finds this one and they find out you two took it?" She continues.

"Watch this," George leans over his brother taking the map from Magnolia, "Mischief managed."

The map fades before their eyes and it's gone, "As long as you say that when you're done it disappears. Took us a little while to figure it out but it's been working out well so far." He adds with a shrug.

Magnolia nods in amazement, "Quite brilliant." She mused. Winky walks over to take the empty plate from Magnolia's side.

"Would Miss Lancaster like anything else?"The house elf asks. Magnolia shakes her head.

Magnolia didn't want to risk being late back since it was one of her last nights. "Do you have any fun summer plans?" Fred asks from beside her.

Magnolia shook her, "I'll probably just do what I always do, bake and read." She shrugs.

"Will you write to us this summer?" He asks.

Magnolia doesn't even try to hide her grin as she looks back into the boy's brown eyes, his face scattered in freckles like his own personal constellations. Magnolia nods happily.

"Of course! You guys are the first friends I made here." She beams.

He grins in return, "Errol might love that," George chuckles from beside them.

Magnolia looks at them strangely, "Who's that?" She questioned.

"Our family owl, a bit odd for an owl but he gets the job done." George pauses with a grin, "Most of the time at least." He laughs.

"Who ended up winning the house cup?" Magnolia questions.

"Slytherin." George says with a frown.

"Well I guess there's alway next year." She shrugs in return.

Magnolia moves from the counter to her feet, "We should probably get back before it's too late." Magnolia adds.

George and Fred move to their feet. Winky picking up their emptied plates. The trio wave the house elves goodbye and exit the kitchen. They turn the corner and walk towards the Hufflepuff common room.

"We'll try to meet you here in the morning before breakfast. That way we can ride the train together?" Fred offers.

Magnolia nods with a smile, "Goodnight boys. Thank you for dinner." She says giving them each a hug.

The twins disappear up the stairs and Magnolia knocks on the barrels rhythmically, the door opens. She skips up the stairs, kicking her bunny slippers off before carefully climbing under her covers. Juniper and Roxy lied still and peacefully in their beds, Juniper snoring softly. Magnolia let her head sink into the pillow, she took in everything she could of the room.

Hogwarts became a second home for her. She had a family here, she made friends so much easier than she ever had before. Magnolia couldn't wait to see how her life would unfold now that she had Hogwarts in her future. She closed her eyes, a smile staining her lips as she drifted to sleep.