The Thunderbird party had food and drinks everywhere, and both Atria and Haytham were congratulated by so many of their housemates that they lost track of who was who rather quickly. It was easier for Atria to slip off, due to her small, unassuming stature, and she managed to make it back to her room before midnight, a small, satisfied smile on her face.

She hadn't exactly managed to convince her mother that defensive magics were useful, but her grandmother-she'd loved it! She was actually making someone proud! She clipped the small golden dangly collar decorations down and her smile grew as she looked into the mirror. Only two people got such an accessory once a year. And they were made of real gold, and enchanted to glint even in the dark.

They were beautiful. Atria had only seen something so elegant in her mother's and grandmother's jewelry cases, and now she had something similar for her own. A knock on her door broke her from her reverie and she walked over to it, her cloak splayed across her bed and her clothing in slight disarray-she hadn't bothered to fully dress or undress-her uniform was untucked and loose around her shoulders, different from her usual uptight and put together look.

She opened the door and said, "Yes?"

"Good show today, Atria. You did really well." It was Haytham.

"Thanks! Come in if you want." Atria held the door open for him as the wards reallocated resources to let him in.

He stepped through the door without any issues, so the wards recognized him and his intentions. "I just wanted to say, Atria, that I'm proud of you." His arms wrapped around her for a minute and she stiffened but finally relaxed and hugged him back in turn.

"Thank you, Haytham." Her voice was a little breathy, and it almost cracked on his name, but she was holding it together.

"I know your mom disapproved, so I wanted to let you know that some of us know how hard you worked and how much you studied to win. It's not right that she didn't even congratulate you."

"It's always been that way," She admitted, sitting on the bed, "Like.. I don't know, but even as an elementary schooler, when I got perfect grades it was.. Just expected from me. It never got acknowledged or anything like that. Even with me being in advanced classes, my mom doesn't even acknowledge that in and of itself."

There was a sadness to her voice as it came out soft and thoughtful, as if this were the first time that she'd said such a thing aloud. "I'm not even allowed to talk about anything regarding what happens at home. She said they'd take us away.."

Haytham walked over to the bed and sat next to her. "I'm trying," Atria admitted, "I only have six more years before I can leave. Before I can get out."

"I know you are. I came to give you my home address. If you ever need anyone, or somewhere to go, please floo me. Or have someone bring you. I don't care what your mother would try to legally do. My family and I would help you. And Jasmine's. You have to promise me that if it gets.. Bad enough, that you'll come to me."

"..I promise, Haytham." She took the small, folded paper from his hand, and he rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Goodnight, Atria. I'll see you at the beginning of next year if everything goes smoothly." A smile lit his face and Atria found one tugging at the corners of her lips. "Hopefully."

The next day, before they flooed home, Atria was fitted for her Hogwarts uniform. She'd chosen both the skirts and pants-sometimes she liked both, and that was okay. Apparently their school uniforms were very strict, but they'd lifted the ban on skirts only for female-presenting students. Atria had to admit that sometimes she didn't feel like a girl at all. She'd definitely have to research it when she came back.. If her mother or brother heard about her questioning such a thing, there would be hell to pay for sure!

But at least that was done and over with.

But that summer was.. Miserable. Ezra demanded that Atria only visit her friends once a week, if that, and made sure the rest of the time was filled with chores, duties and cleaning with no time or room for summer homework. Not that Atria would have a hard time doing it the night before it was due-it was just the fact that because Atreus couldn't do magic before school, she was completely barred from even mentioning it.

It infuriated Atria more than she cared to admit. Make no mistake, Atria had been sneaking into her school supplies and studying from Haytham's old books, focusing mostly on dark arts and dark arts defence. She was sure she could at least jump forward another class with that in and of itself, maybe even further than that if she could study or practice a little more before the year started. Of course, she would have to be thoroughly tested, both theoretically and practically to even be considered.

She got the schedule-selector from both Hogwarts and Ilvermorny, and as there were overlap between courses, she could choose the ones that she saw fit. She chose to stick with Professor Starling's Advanced Transfiguration Courses, Swapped Advanced Potions from Professor Bonneville to Professor Snape's, Herbology with Hogwarts Professor Sprout, Intermediate Kendo and Fighting Styles, Intermediate Elemental Manipulations with her usual instructors. She'd completed the entire course list for Theoretical Magics and Applications, so she didn't choose any of them..

Advanced Wandless Magic, which was usually reserved for seventh-years, and was taught by Danika Cross herself was available for her to choose as well. She had all her major courses selected, having a healthy balance between both Hogwarts curriculum and Ilvermorny's. She also chose, Theory of Magical Castings, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Current Applications.. It was a lot, but by her standards, she'd be able to do it. Instead of with Professor Starling, though, she was sure it had to be with other teachers. And.. there was language instruction. She noted that down in her schedule as well.

Before she sent off her course request, she made sure to write at the bottom of the paper, asking if she could be tested for advancement in dark arts as well as dark arts defence. It was just a whim, but the thought of it excited her.

And with Hogwarts and Ilvermorny being time zones apart, she was sure she could fit these classes into her daily schedule with no issue.

Seeing as most of them cycled out every 9 weeks, with her being able to take 4 a year, she was progressing quickly through most of the electives, even if they were rigorously paced. They only offered japanese 1-4 the first year, then French, then Spanish the year after, as noted on the keep-at-home paper.

Atria would definitely be busy this year, that was for sure.

She still managed to do her stretches and her daily katas-and the practice sword that they'd given her was used as well. She hoped that her basics at least stayed sharp, so she could at least fall back onto them when she needed them. Especially if she was going to be tested in offensive and defensive magics.

Of course, she still had to take the potion over the summer, and while she was starting to gain an immunity to it, the potion's concentration was also increased. She couldn't catch a break between her mother and her nosy brother who decided to try to get as much information about Ilvermorny as possible out of her.

Somehow, some way, she managed to practice her wandless magic without too much trouble, but it was mainly done at night, when she was sure they were asleep. She didn't cast anything that would make too much noise or cast anything that could cause potential problems-but just being able to access her magic and see a physical manifestation of it managed to soothe her enough to get through the summer.

The night before they were to go to Ilvermorny, everything was packed and sent ahead, and Atria stood in the foyer with her Ilvermorny robes neatly cleaned and tailored, her golden collar clips glinting in the soft lighting.

She couldn't wait to get her wand again. She couldn't wait to feel her magic, to cast spells, to be free again.

Her mother bustled around Atreus, making sure to smooth out wrinkles and imaginary lint, finally stepping back and making a few happy laughs. "Look at how handsome you are! My proud little man."

"Mom." He rolled his eyes but a pleased blush sneaked over his face.

"Remember, dear. If you have a choice, choose Wampus." Here, she shot a look over at Atria and then her expression mellowed back out as her gaze found Atreus again.

"I remember, Mom. Wampus is the best house, anyway."

Atria begged to differ, but she didn't dare say anything. "Alright. Mommy loves you both, don't forget to write and tell me all about school!"

Atria nodded and mechanically hugged her mother, going through the motions without really feeling anything except desperation and the slight hope of freedom. She was sure it was a bad thing, but after being treated like cinderella all summer, she was tired of her mother and brother and their demands.

"We'll write, don't worry," She assured, and then turned to the fireplace, grabbed a tiny bit of floo powder, tossed it into the mantle, and then disappeared with a hushed, "Ilvermorny Academy!"

Atria swirled out of the fireplace and stepped out quickly. She made sure Atreus was in the correct room before she made her way up the staircases, finding Anson, Jasmine and Haytham again.

"Merlin, I missed you all so much!" She practically threw herself at them in a tight hug, and she smiled as they prattled on about their summer, telling her about the beach and the waves and the carnival rides they'd been to.

It was sad that she'd missed most of it. It was truly unfair.

"Looks like your Mom got what she wanted," Haytham commented, "Atreus went to Wampus, so you'll not have to interact with him very much."

Good. The relief on Atria's face was surely apparent as Haytham patted her on the shoulder. "Now to keep your Hogwarts houses separate."

That would definitely be easy. Atreus would be sorted first, due to his name being first alphabetically. All Atria had to do would be sorted somewhere-anywhere-else. She was sure Hogwarts sorting was a bit simpler than Ilvermorny's-or at least, she hoped it was. She hoped it took their wants into account as well.

It was that moment that Atria's gaze caught someone in the corner of her eye-he.. Was blue? She shook Haytham's sleeve a little and murmured, almost too softly to hear, "Am I.. seeing things or is that man blue?"

"Yeah! He's one of the guards. His name is Kisame," Haytham nodded, "My uncle introduced us to them over the summer, most of them are… okay.." The way he said it made Atria doubt him, but..

"Okay. I guess I'll have to take your word for it. At least I know I'm not hallucinating or something.."

Haytham's chuckle was warm and relaxed and it rolled over Atria's anxiety like a soothing balm. Things were better here, she decided. "I kind of want pork tonight… do you think they'll have some?"

"Maybe. Last year they did beef roast."

"There's half a chance, then." His lopsided smile didn't leave until he'd pulled out Atria's chair and situated himself next to her as Headmistress Cross went over the usual start-of-term announcements, and then, the guards stepped up to the center of the room with her.

Atria's eyes rolled over them, curious and assessing. Haytham's gaze followed hers and he nodded, "The blue one is Kisame, the one with the black hair and red eyes is Itachi, the blonde one is Deidara, and the short one covered by the cloak is Sasori. The man with the scythe is Hidan, and the man in the mask next to him is Kakuzu."

He paused for a moment, "There are a few others, but they aren't here right now. Their names are Konan, Pein and Zetsu."

"So.. odd question, but why isn't Hidan wearing a shirt?"

"No idea, but he refused to wear one."

Pfft. Atria's lips tilted up. "Interesting."

"These are our guards. There are three teams here currently that will move between Ilvermorny Academy and Hogwart's School to make sure that you all are safe and well to and from schools. You may ask their names at a later date."

"Collectively, they're known as the Akatsuki."

"On September 1, 6:00 AM, all students participating in the Hogwarts exchange program need to be in the dining hall on time and dressed in their Hogwarts uniform. All student belongings must be packed away for travel by that time, as well."

That would be easy to remember.

Atria was honestly excited to go to Hogwarts-even though in the beginning she hadn't been-now, she was ready. She mulled it over in her head as they ate dinner, generally picking over her food as she thought of the spells she would have to brush up on. "Haytham," she finally said, "I asked to be tested.. In regards to offensive and defensive magics. To see if I can jump years with it. Maybe just one at the most is what I'm thinking, but I need a study partner, because, you know.."

"So you mean we work on getting your spellcasting abilities up because all you've been able to do all summer is read theory and you got bored enough to go through all my old books, huh?"

"Yeah, sounds about right?"

"Atria, you're gonna be the death of me, but we'll do it."

"Pffft."

"We can start tomorrow in the dueling classroom. Nobody's ever in there unless it's time for dueling club."

"Sounds like a plan."

That night, Atria rested better than she had in the past two months. The morning of, she woke up, got her wand, and then was summoned to Professor Starling's office-which wasn't strange. To her, at least.

After she walked in, she closed the door behind her and turned to Professor Starling. "Professor," She acknowledged.

"Atria, I saw your request on your scheduling papers and I want you to know that it was granted, considering the fact that you're already quite a bit more ahead than most other students are. Usually, the Headmistress doesn't give chances like this.. But you're already in her advanced wandless magic course, so she made an exception."

"Due to the school's exchange programs, you'll have to wait a couple weeks until everything's settled, but it'll happen as soon as Headmistress Cross is able to test you."

"We'll send you a message with a time and place, and of course, your mother will be notified. If you want, you can ask your friends to come spectate, as there are going to be more than a few teachers there."

Atria nodded. That made sense, after all..

"Thank you, Professor Starling," Atria responded.

"No problem, Atria. I was happy to see you in my advanced transfigurations courses, too. I had thought you might want to study under Minerva."

"I considered it, but I wanted to keep things even, you know? There are instructors here that I'm more familiar with and that knows more about," Atria waved her hand around to enhance her statement.

"Will the Hogwarts professors know about Atreus and I?" She asked blandly.

"Yes. They already know, and accommodations have been requested and approved. Madam Pomfrey, the Healer on duty is aware of your immune system and your severe asthma. Professor Snape was very intrigued at the thought of a potion that could transfer magic from one to another, so if you're in his house I can imagine him asking some questions."

She should have expected it but at least that was one less thing she would have to worry about.

"They upped the concentration in the potion," Atria admitted suddenly, "I'm having issues with getting used to it. I feel so tired, Professor…"

"I'm sorry," her voice was tinged with compassion, "I can give you a strengthening solution and some extra vitamins to help, but other than having your mother stop giving it to you, I can't change anything."

"And she's dead set on me taking it, even during summer. It's not your fault she's so.. Relentless." Atria's voice was tinged with resentment, turning her usual flat voice into a sarcastic-sounding drawl.

"Unfortunately, you can't do anything about her now," Professor Starling acknowledged as she rustled around in her drawers for a moment before giving a red-colored potion to Atria. "But we can alleviate some of the symptoms. Take this, and I'll keep you in here for a few minutes to make sure you'll be okay, and then you can go spend some time with your friends."

"Sounds good," Atria agreed as she uncorked the potion vial and drank it in one go. "Ugh- why are these always so gross..?"

"No idea.."

Atria's eyes slipped closed as she breathed in and out, finally feeling some semblance of energy after months of exhaustion. "Finally…" She breathed.

"I can give you one every three days, anything more is toxic." Atria laughed at that.

"As if what I'm already ingesting isn't toxic." Her tiredness was giving her a sharp tongue, but not addressed at her Professor.

"Ironic, isn't it?" The faint amusement filtered off Professor Starling's voice, and their conversation lapsed into a comfortable silence.

Atria had relaxed to the point of nearly dozing when Professor Starling quietly stood and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Dear, if you're going to sleep, I'm sure your bed would hurt less than my chair."

"Mm… I have to go revise with Haytham.. I only have two weeks to get everything ready.."

"Try not to overdo it, child, there's no rush." Professor Starling's gaze was kind and slightly admonishing, and Atria smiled.

"Thank you for worrying about me, but I'll be okay," Atria assured as she shook off her light doze. "Really. I'll be sure to check in tomorrow, okay?"

"You do that," The amusement was back.

Atria waved as she left, softly closing the door behind her. The strengthening solution was working, she knew, as she was able to go down a few flights of stairs without having to stop and catch her breath. She took them quite a bit slower than she usually did, though, and arrived ten minutes later than Haytham.

"Sorry," She apologized, "I had to take the stairs slow today."

It was then that she noticed two of the guards in their black and red cloaks milling about in the room with Jasmine and Anson.

"We have to have an audience to make sure we don't kill each other, Professor Starling's orders," Haytham said.

"Nice." The sarcasm dripped off her voice like poison.

And then she sighed, "Regardless, we should probably start soon. I have a lot to try out and try to incorporate, but I do have two weeks to get all of the spells down."

"Two years of spells in two weeks. Totally doable." It was Haytham's voice that dripped with sarcasm this time, but his eyes were crinkled with amusement.

"Oi. Any idea when you're gonna start?" Atria jumped at Kisame's interruption. He wasn't there, and then he just was-

"Merlin's mother's saggy-" Haytham slapped a hand over Atria's mouth.

"Just in a few. We're trying to figure out which year to start with, since Atria's already ahead. Atria, they're going to be your moving targets. They're also going to curse you back, so take that with what you will."

"So a mini-duel..?"

"Yeah."

"We can just start with fourth year material, and if I go through that quickly I guess we can start again another day?" Atria was already itching to hex someone.

"Sounds good to me, kiddos. Itachi's just going to observe to begin with."

Atria didn't like that she would end up playing whack-a-shark with their guards though. "So I guess we're playing whack-a-shark with you, then?"

Kisame's laugh was rough and deep and he ruffled her hair. "I like you, kid. Got spunk."

Atria gave a slightly nervous chuckle and paged through the book-there, the first spell- the knockback jinx she used at the last year's dueling competition. She already knew that one, so it was only a matter of hitting Kisame with it.

And that took a while. He was so fast! Atria had never shot spells at someone or something moving that fast before and it took a while for her to get accustomed to it, but once she did, she managed to hit Kisame with it three times. Each time, he rolled and landed easily, completely unharmed. That made her feel a little better, then. He obviously could move quicker than he was, but he seemed to be going easy on her.. For the time being.

The fourth-year spells came easy to her, with only a few minor spells giving her trouble the first time she cast them. Every subsequent attempt came out perfect, as she thought it would. To her, the castings were completely intuitive. Close to the end though, she started wheezing and only managed to get through the casting due to her inhaler.

"Nice job, kid. It didn't take us as long as I thought it would."

"No, I'm good at it," Atria agreed, "Thank you for supervising us, though!" Her lungs ached and burned, but there wasn't really anything else she could do to help them.

"No problem. Oi, Itachi-san! Did you happen to get it all?"

"Yes, Kisame-san." Itachi's voice was more plain than Atria expected, but judging him by how he looked, she didn't know what to expect out of him. "Everything is in order."

"We're going to call it for today," Haytham explained, "I don't want to push Atria more than she already has been.."

Her eyes fell to him and he shook his head. "We're not calling it-I am."

"'Cause we all know Atria will push herself 'til she's in the hospital when it comes to this.."

She sighed. "Fine. but I want ice cream."

"Deal."

"Wait-wait wait- What's this deal about?" Hidan and Kakuzu had apparently heard the ruckus and came to investigate.

"Atria's being stubborn so we made a deal. She takes the rest of the night off and I get her ice cream from the kitchens."

"That's not much of a deal, sounds like a win-win for her," Kakuzu commented.

"She's a work-a-holic so to her, it's a concession."

"I'm literally right here, you know?"

"Grow another inch and I might be able to see you, jumping-"

"Ouch!"

"Maybe you should look down every once in a while and make sure you watch where you're going-"

Hidan's cackle was definitely loud enough, Atria thought, but the smile on her face was genuine.

"You got me, oh Ice Empress! You have frozen my once warm, beating heart!"

"Careful or I might freeze you overnight and have someone unthaw you in a microwave. Cooked Haytham, fresh out of the freezer."

Anson laughed at that one, and Atria snagged the books, shrunk them, and stowed them away in her pockets for later. "Same time tomorrow, then?"

"Sounds good. I'm gonna go see my friends in Serpent for a bit. Be careful with the stairs."

"Will do, boss."

Atria's way up the stairs took a fair bit longer than she would have liked, but when she got back to her dorm, there was a cone of vanilla ice cream sitting on her desk. She shouldn't have been surprised, but she was. She still wasn't used to considerations like this- and she definitely had a hard time remembering the fact that they were because they cared for her and not because she'd followed a correct order.

She felt great, but she knew that would soon wane quickly. Regardless, she found herself on her bed, a few of her texts in hand as she dozed in and out of sleep before bedtime, only standing and kicking her shoes off before rolling under the covers and sleeping in earnest.

The next day, she managed to get through the fifth-year's curriculum, and the day after that, the sixth year's and the day after that, the seventh year's. Her spells were good, with enough power behind them to pack the punch she needed them to. To her, it was a wake up call- one that proved she could do whatever she wanted if she put her mind to it.

Most third-year students couldn't even manage to cast a fifth-year charm, much less NEWT-level defensive and offensive magics.

Of course, Kisame and Itachi were ever-present during their sessions, walking around, asking questions-Atria had a feeling that Itachi's eyes were more than they appeared, as they had taken to having smaller duels with the spells she was learning. She recognized her own moves, her own idiosyncrasies in another person.

It was only after a session, when she'd had an attack and everyone had left besides her, Haytham, Itachi and Kisame that she broached the question. "Itachi-san," She used the moniker that Kisame used, trying her best to keep the pronunciation similar.

"I know this question might come off as rude or nosy, but.. I couldn't help but notice your eyes. I know family magics are rare, and in most cases are highly sought after.. But are your eyes part of your family magics? I can imagine that they copy or mirror things.. It was a bit strange fighting myself, you know?"

Kisame laughed again and Haytham smacked her on the back of the head, "You can't just ask people about their bloodline like that-"

"Look! I'd be willing to offer just as much information in return!"

Haytham rolled his eyes.

"My eyes are called the Sharingan," Itachi said, "From the Uchiha clan. They can copy everything but bloodline.. Limits, or magics, in this case."

"I.. have both the Clare and Auxatia family magics." She tilted her head to the side and continued, "The Clare's magics has to do with elemental manipulations. In particular, the water and fire-type aspects. It's more like an enhancement, such as my grandmother can manipulate blood on the full-moon, and my great-great grandmother could manipulate lightning."

"The Auxatia family's bloodline has to do with mental acuity and defenses. Most of us are natural occluemens or are skilled in the mind arts, when trained for it."

Haytham whistled, "Damn. I'd hate to be your enemy when you reach majority."

"Itachi's is cooler. Imagine being able to learn everything you see! I would never have to study from another book, all I'd have to do is be able to see them."

"That's why it's so powerful. I'd rather not have that information getting out, if you please. I'm rather infamous in my own right and I don't want other students to panic." Atria wondered just exactly who Itachi was.

"You have my word I won't tell anyone else about your bloodline. Or your full name," Atria agreed.

"I will do the same."

It was such a weird interaction.

It was such an easy habit to get into, going to the dueling classroom after classes were let out for the day to practice spells, to do homework together or study, but that soon became a thing of the past a week later.

It was time to go to Hogwarts.