Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Author's Note: There might be some specific Weasley bashing (Molly, Ginny, and Ron [I dunno about Percy as of yet, but I'll think about how I imagine his character will interact with Maera as the story progresses, currently I just can't see Ron, Ginny, or Molly being interested in actually knowing and being friends with Maera so yeah]) and Hermione bashing - please don't read if you don't like/aren't okay with this development. Also, I'm thinking about cross posting this story on AO3, what do y'all think?
The rest of the summer went by rather quickly in Maera's opinion. Her days were filled with learning more about the wizarding world and the subjects she would take at school, going to different appointments with the Malfoys (such as doctor's -or healer's?- appointments and going to Gringotts to discuss her father), and getting to know her new family better. She was immensely happy the entire time, though.
The clothes that she had bought during her first trip to Diagon Alley didn't fit anymore due to the regimens that her healer had put her on, including her school uniforms, so she had to buy new things again (not that her bank account couldn't afford to do so, especially since it was only one of her vaults). But she was fine with that, especially since she had grown! Sure, she was still shorter than Draco and most likely any other eleven year-old, but she was four inches taller than she had been! The healer had also figured out that her glasses were most definitely not meant for her and provided a solution. As long as Maera took very specific potions along with all the others she was meant to, then she would likely have perfect vision again before returning to Hogwarts. She could confirm that this was true, too, given that the world was already super clear and she was meant to leave for Hogwarts tomorrow.
Altogether, the summer was quickly coming to an end and Maera was grateful for everything that had happened. Just as the Malfoys, Mr. Snape, and the goblins had promised, Maera's father had been released from the prison he was staying in - though she hadn't gotten to meet him yet. Mrs. Malfoy had said that he needed to heal before meeting her, so she would probably get to see him at Christmas time. This just meant that Maera needed to get him the best gift possible, though, to make up for all the time that they had been apart.
Draco had told her that her father's release would cause a 'large splash' in Wizarding Britain, but she hadn't realised how true that was. The day after Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy told them the good news, the manor had been barraged with letters, newspapers, and countless other bits of mail by thousands of owls. It was both terrifying and awesome to experience, though Maera didn't think she'd want to relive it anytime soon. It seemed that the overall consensus within Wizarding Britain was that Sirius Black couldn't have been innocent, despite the large amount of evidence that indicated it. There wasn't anything that Maera could do currently, though, so she ignored everyone's opinions about her father and continued to count down the days until she could officially meet him.
Currently, Maera was inside the room that she had been given for her stay at Malfoy manor. Mr. Malfoy had shown her how to use her trunk after demonstrating the same thing to Draco, and she was excited to play around with how she would pack everything. The Malfoy Lord, as she had found out during her studies (she was also surprised to find out that she was heir to at least two very important houses), had bought her what he stated was a basic trunk, though she felt it had to be more than just basic given the different compartments and everything else it had to offer.
The cherry trunk had multiple compartments that she could and would use to her advantage. One compartment had shrinking, expansion, and sorting charms on it so that she could put all of her clothes away just as she would want to - even going so far as to make it so that she could think about a specific article of clothing that she would want and it would appear for her. She first put her school uniform inside of the compartment and then went on to choose her favorite clothes out of her entire wardrobe. Sure, she could probably fit the entire wardrobe within the compartment, but she didn't want to bring everything. Maera knew she would likely be in her uniform most of the time anyway, so it didn't matter that she could bring everything if she couldn't even wear it all. Not to mention, some of it wouldn't be necessary while she was away - for example her dress robes would not need to be brought to Hogwarts, so she would leave them at the manor. Nodding to herself, she continued to pack the clothes that she wanted to bring, aside from one pair of her uniforms and something to wear tomorrow while on the train. She was sure that Draco would do the same thing since his mother had warned them that they'd need to do so.
Moving on from her clothes compartment, she next opened the library compartment that was hidden within the trunk. This compartment also had expansion and sorting charms on it, providing the same feature where she could think about the book that she wanted and it would be provided to her. She took care when putting all of the school books she had already read and marked up with notes within the compartment. After doing so, she stared at all of the other books that filled the bookshelves within her room. Finally, she grabbed the ones that she had yet to read (these books were new to her collection as she had only bought them recently) as well as her favorite books including the book on animagi that she was working to understand better - there was something about the book that called out to her. She also decided to bring a book on pranking that she had seen and had immediately fallen in love with. Maera stared at the pranking book for a second before placing it with the things that she wanted to keep out for tomorrow instead of within the library compartment of her trunk, after all, it would likely help her stay calm during the trip tomorrow.
Maera then continued to sort the other things that she would need for school. She put her things for astronomy like her telescope within a random compartment that only had expansion charms on it. The things that were meant for her potions class were put into a compartment with expansion, sorting, and preserving charms on it so that nothing was likely to go bad during the school year. She then finished packing her things by putting whatever she'd need for her little fox pup within another compartment as well as owl treats for her beautiful snowy owl. Maera still couldn't believe that Draco had allowed her to bring both of her new friends by offering to take the snowy owl as his own pet instead of his handsome eagle owl. He had insisted that it would be fine because his parents could use his owl to send him things and this way they had to send things so that he could see his own friend. She personally felt that he didn't want her to be sad without one of them at Hogwarts and offered out of kindness. It seemed that the boy was becoming more aware of others' feelings day by day. Or, maybe that was just her own feelings. Anyway, she was excited to be able to take both animals with her.
The little fox pup had grown slightly in the month that they had been together, but he was still small. He was an excitable little monster. He would yip at her whenever he wanted attention and run around with energy that she couldn't fathom. He seemed quite mischievous, always getting into things, so she had named him Loki after the Norse god of mischief. In comparison to her little Loki, the snowy owl was a caring mother hen. She would seek Maera out whenever she could while they were at the manor and seemed to watch her carefully with her large, amber eyes. She was also an amazing hunter and would often get her own dinner instead of eating the owl food that Maera had bought, though she never did say no to a treat. While reading some of her books, Maera had come across the name Hedwig and had thought that it fit her owl perfectly. Draco thought the name to be ridiculous, especially in comparison to his Archimedes, but it would now seem that it had grown on him just as her owl had. After Maera, Hedwig's favorite person was Draco and that was likely to never change.
Maera closed the many compartments of her trunk and brought up the main compartment that was easily accessible, putting some things for Loki and Hedwig inside as well as the uniform she had kept out and the pranking book. Shutting the trunk with a click, she keyed the security to her blood as Mr. Malfoy had shown her and placed a password on it (these security measures were another reason that she felt the trunk was not as basic as Mr. Malfoy claimed). Now all that she'd need to do in the morning was shrink the trunk so that it might fit in her pocket to take with her.
She walked from her area at the side of her large bed and went into her bathroom, pulling pajamas from her closet as she went. Getting ready for bed, she went through her new nightly ritual before climbing into the soft sheets she had slowly grown accustomed to. Excitement filled her as she laid down, ready for the next day and the adventure it would bring.
Little paws on her face as well as a slobbery lick across her cheek pulled Maera out of the wonderful sleep that she had been having. She looked at the small pocket watch on her side table and noticed that it was rather early being six in the morning, but nothing that she wasn't used to. She jumped out of her bed and rushed through getting ready for the day.
Maera had chosen to compliment her natural appearance that day, not wanting to show people that she was a metamorphmagus unless absolutely necessary. It would be better to show up at Hogwarts the way that they expected her to be, or at least as close as she naturally was to that, instead of something else. She did wonder, though, what would happen if she chose to defy what was expected of her. What would they think if she walked up with red hair, like her mother, and hazel eyes, like her father? It didn't matter though, because she was going to try to remain as in the mold as she presently could - in the future, however, who knew what she would do.
Maera picked up the dress that she had chosen. It was a beautiful green with silver threading made to specifically match her eyes. The dress was also made with comfort and style in mind, proving to be both casual and cute. It was short sleeved and the skirt came to her knees. The neckline was simple and the small friendship necklace that Draco had given her would be easily seen by all, the silver dragon complimenting what she wore more than she had expected it to. She pulled on a pair of tights that fit within the Hogwarts dress code as well as shoes that met the guidelines. She tied her hair into low pigtails, hoping to keep the unruly curls under some sort of control. Her bangs lay across her forehead, keeping her scar out of sight. Looking at herself for a brief second in the mirror, she nodded her head and went to her trunk. She tapped it with her wand before placing it into the pockets of the dress that she was wearing (she was shocked that Madam Malkin had put the pockets in, but she'd always be grateful that the woman had).
Observing her room once more, she hit the palm of her hand against her forehead as she realised that she had forgotten to put some of the things that Loki would need as he traveled with her inside of the messenger bag she planned to use for her books during the school year. Scooping those things up, she stared at the little fox still lying among her sheets for a second before putting him into the bag as well. Loki's head popped out of the bag and he yipped at her before making himself at home, ready for the adventure they were about to embark on.
Leaving her room, she made her way to the dining room, greeting the house elves that she saw on her way. Living at the manor for the remainder of her break allowed Maera to learn many things about wizarding culture. One such thing that she had learned was that house elves were a specific type of creature that needed to bond to a wizard family in order to survive and thrive. It reminded her of mutualistic relationships that she had briefly learned about in one of her science classes back in Surrey. From what the Malfoys and books she had explained, the house elves were capable of controlling their magic only when in the employment of a witch or wizard. The moment that an elf felt that they were no longer a member of the household, or even if an elf felt that they would rather be free than a member of the household, then they would lose their control over their very powerful and dangerous magic. Some instances had occurred throughout the world, of course, where elves felt something similar to these emotions and the results were disastrous. Maera made sure to observe the elves within the Malfoy's household and even became friends to them, specifically one elf named Dobby was a friend to the young witch - though she made sure to talk Dobby out of some of his own doubts concerning his position within the house. She was lucky, too, that she was able to do so. If Dobby's doubts had continued, it would have been likely that his magic would have driven him insane - resulting in many issues.
When she finally came into the dining room, Maera was happy to note that everyone but Draco was present. That is to say, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy were sitting at the table eating a light breakfast along with Mr. Snape.
"It's good to see you, Maera" The potions professor started, finally calling her by her name after she insisted that he must for weeks throughout the summer, "I hope that you are ready for your first potions class this semester."
The smirk that accompanied his statement was teasing. He knew that she had been studying whenever she could and that she had learned as much as she could about each and every subject. Maera wanted to be ready for whatever her teachers had planned and didn't want to be the only student lost during the first week of the semester. After all, there was no way that the teachers wouldn't teach something to them in the first class. Mr. Snape had all but hinted that he would be giving them some sort of quiz - though he wouldn't tell Draco or her what he was expecting them to know. Because of this, she stuck her tongue out at him before turning her nose up in an imitation of the professor, himself, before sitting in her spot at the table.
Breakfast continued with small talk from everyone. The Malfoys wanted to make sure that she had everything that she needed, if she didn't they would send her whatever she needed with Draco's owl. Mr. Snape explained that he had come to experience their first trip to Platform 9 ¾ . He wanted to take the both of them through the muggle entrance, but the Malfoys seemed hesitant about doing so. Maera expressed her interest in the muggle method simply because her mother had used that method. Why wouldn't she want to experience something the same way that her mother had? The Malfoys finally agreed to let Mr. Snape bring them all in the muggle way, though they weren't looking forward to it in the same way that Maera was.
Draco finally came trudging into the room as breakfast was coming to an end. The normally impeccably dressed young man seemed all out of sorts this morning. His hair was sticking up in odd areas and his clothes were rumpled. He sat down with a sigh next to Maera and quietly grabbed what he wanted to eat, though it wasn't very much.
"Are you alright?" Maera asked him, concern apparent on her face.
Draco nodded before saying, tiredly, "I was too excited last night and couldn't fall asleep until it was already some early hour in the morning. I then woke up late and had to rush to get breakfast, though now I don't even know if I want to eat - I'm surprisingly nervous."
Maera wasn't surprised that Draco was nervous. For all that the boy was confident in himself, he was also severely insecure about how other people saw him. He'd already cultivated an image with many of the children their age and he felt that he needed to stick to that image - even if he had outgrown it or changed in some ways.
Maera frowned at him, grabbing his hand and saying, "It doesn't matter what they think of you, I'll be by your side no matter what." The 'even if they were in different houses' went unsaid.
Draco looked at his cousin and seemed to see something in her expression that calmed him. His shoulders dropped as he let out a breath and he nodded at her, a small smile on his lips. Looking back at the food in front of him, he picked out some other things that he wanted to eat.
After everyone had finished their breakfasts, the two eleven year-olds went to double check their rooms for everything that they needed. Maera didn't notice anything else that stood out to her, so she simply patted her pocket to make sure that her trunk was still there (it was) and grabbed her bag with Loki in it (the fox had fallen asleep and was currently hidden under a purple blanket she had put in the bag for him).
She met back up with the others in the drawing room that she had first come to the manor in, and prepared to floo to the muggle side of King's Cross. Draco had taken to holding her hand during trips through the floo as she wasn't the most graceful when it came to this specific type of wizarding transport, and this time was like any other. The two stood in the floo side-by-side as Draco threw the powder down and exclaimed the location they wanted. She felt the awful feeling of being flushed that she associated with the floo before closing her eyes and gripping Draco's hand tighter. They came out at King's Cross no worse for wear, though Maera did stumble slightly before being righted by Draco. Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy had gone first through the floo and were already waiting for them. Mr. Snape soon followed and exited the fireplace rather gracefully, something that Maera was secretly jealous of.
The adults slowly led them through the busy train station. Maera was holding onto Draco's hand while looking around at everything. It was rather odd to look back at the muggle world after being in the wizarding world for a month, but it wasn't terrible. She noticed many families around them, but none seemed out of the ordinary to her, that is, until she noticed a family of redheads.
Now, there's nothing wrong with people with red hair, but Maera could tell that they weren't like the other families on the platform. Something in her magic hummed happily as she looked at them quizzically. What was it about this family that stood out to her? Sure, they had some interesting clothes and one of them looked like he had a pet rat (which, okay, whatever), but aside from that she would guess that they were simply muggles. And then the mother opened her mouth.
"What's the platform's number?" She asked, her voice a piercing sound that carried across the train station. People stopped to look at her from every direction, and Maera could see the three adults with her cringing from the noise.
"Nine and three-quarters!" The little girl holding the mother's hand stated, her high voice also carrying through the station. The other pedestrians in the area seemed to believe that these people were crazy, homeless, or some other variation of that and ignored them. Maera couldn't ignore them though, it was kind of like watching a car wreck happen in front of her.
Three of the boys that were with the family were walking slightly faster than the others, likely trying to distance themselves from the possibility of being associated with that level of crazy. The boy leading the group seemed to be the eldest of the children there. His red hair seemed to have a slight curl and he walked with a pompous sort of swagger. Directly behind him were two boys that she would guess were only slightly older than her. They looked to be identical twins, matching smirks on their matching faces. They also seemed more insistent in distancing themselves from the others than the boy just ahead of them.
Tearing her eyes away from the twins, she noticed the other three members of the family lagging further behind. The mother seemed to be on the look-out for someone, though Maera wasn't sure who, while the daughter and youngest son seemed to be arguing quietly about something. The youngest red headed boy looked to be the same age as her and Draco and he had a large smudge of dirt on his nose. Maera stared at them, unimpressed, before finally looking away.
She noticed that they had approached the barrier that separated platforms nine and ten. The adults stopped. Maera slyly looked at Draco, hoping that she wasn't the only one confused. Thankfully, Draco's mask fell briefly to show his confusion before coming back up into the unfazed and uncaring look it normally was. She wasn't sure if he did that to let her know better what he was thinking, but she appreciated it all the same. Draco had been doing similar things since their trip to Diagon Alley and she felt that they had cultivated a rather useful form of communication that only they would understand because of it.
"This is the entrance to platform nine and three-quarters." Mr. Snape said, a small smirk on his face and amusement in his eyes as he pointed with a sweeping gesture at the barrier.
Maera looked at Mr. Snape as if he were insane. What did he mean that this wall was the entrance? What were they supposed to do, walk through it? The part of her that forgot about magic was insistent that it wouldn't work. She'd more likely end up hurting herself if she even tried since, you know, the wall was made out of bricks and bricks are generally solid material, so there'd be no way for her to walk through the wall and there was no way that she was even contemplating doing so, no thank you, no sir, not her and definitely not today, and nothing, literally not one thing in the entire world, would get her to attempt walking through that wall -
Her internal rambling was cut off by the screeching of the red headed mother as her family got closer to theirs. Looking back and forth between the woman and the people that she had quickly come to trust, Maera decided that there was no way that Mr. Snape or the Malfoys would be trying to trick her - at least, she didn't think there was. Taking a deep breath, she clutched Draco's hand tighter and ignored his indignant squawk as she dragged him towards the barrier with her. Just as she felt that she was going to run into the bricks and become unfortunately acquainted with them, she fell through the wall.
Looking around her as she continued to walk, Maera was shocked. In front of her was a beautiful, red train with Hogwarts' Express written in a glittering gold font along the side of it. There were people everywhere - children getting on the train, some saying goodbye to their families while others met up with friends. She noticed Draco staring in awe, too, out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't believe that this was happening, she was finally going to Hogwarts. A large smile spread across her face, so large that her cheeks were aching slightly.
A throat cleared behind them, and the two eleven year-olds spun around in surprise. Mr. Snape stood behind them, amusement gleaming in his eyes. Mrs. Malfoy looked to be hiding some delighted laughter behind a dainty hand. The adults ushered them towards the gorgeous train, making sure to say goodbye and let them know that they were only a letter away - or, in Mr. Snape's case, only a trip to his office away. Maera quickly hugged each of the adults, making sure Draco had done the same thing, before dragging him onto the train.
The two looked for an empty compartment that they could claim for themselves, not wanting to have to deal with expectations and whatever else the other students might throw at them. Upon finding the ideal compartment, the two went inside and unshrunk their trunks. They grabbed what they needed, Draco pulling out a book and letting Hedwig out so that he could let her fly to Hogwarts as soon as they pulled out of the station while Maera grabbed her prank book. Sitting opposite to each other, they blocked out the outside world completely and fell into reading their books. Loki jumped from her bag and into her lap, curling up so that she would pet him.
Very little time passed for the two, however, when their compartment door was suddenly opened. The red headed boy, the youngest in the family she had seen earlier, was standing and staring at them. Maera raised an eyebrow in Draco's direction, grateful to note that he was clearly confused by the boy's appearance just as she was.
Deciding that Draco would likely make an ill impression given his penchant for sticking his foot in his mouth when talking with new people, Maera addressed the boy first (she was happy that her time with the Malfoys had helped her stutter disappear mostly - it now only showed up when she was deeply distressed in some way), "Hi, um, how can we help you?" She asked the question as politely as she could.
The boy looked at her before dismissing her existence and question completely. He turned to Draco and asked, "Have you seen Maera Potter? I'm going to be her best friend."
Maera stared at the boy stunned. How could he simply dismiss her presence? Also, how dare he claim that they would be best friends, she didn't even know him!
Draco seemed to sense her indignation and smirked at her, "Hm, let me guess," he began, disdain dripping from his words as he stared down his nose at the other boy. "Red hair, hammy-down clothes, you must be a Weasley."
The red head looked furious. His face was slowly becoming a darker and more vibrant shade of red than his own hair, something that Maera previously didn't think was possible.
"Well then, Weasley, I guess that I should tell you that no, I haven't seen Maera Potter around anywhere, though I doubt she would be friends with you anyway. Now, go on, out of our compartment." Finishing his statement, Draco dismissed the boy by turning his head back to his book.
"Why you-" Weasley began, clenching his fists, "Who are you to boss me around! I'll have you know that Maera and I will deal with little death eaters like you when we're ruling Hogwarts together in the best house - Gryffindor! And, let me guess, pale blonde hair and an expression like you've just smelt dragon dung? You must be a Malfoy, you look just as ugly as your mother." The boy turned to Maera and seemed as if he was about to continue his barrage of insults when two others appeared at the compartment door.
"Now ain't it surprising, Forge," One of the red headed twins began.
"What's that, Gred?" The other said.
"Well, ickle Ronniekins is starting fights before we've even left the station!" The first twin stated, faux surprise coloring his tone. Maera noticed that this twin seemed to be more outgoing than his brother. He was tall, just like his twin, though arguably slightly taller. He also had a more joking quality to his voice than his brother, the other's voice seeming somewhat softer in comparison. Maera filed these differences away in her mind, not understanding how important it would be to the two twins later on.
"Why, Gred, we can't let that happen, now can we?" The second twin, she'd call him Forge for now, asked in a slightly more mocking manner - though it definitely did not reach the same quality as his brother's own tone.
"No, we can't," Gred said, turning to someone in the hallway. "Hey, Lee, come-'ere and show ickle Ronnie your new tarantula!"
Ickle Ronnie's face suddenly paled and he staggered backwards, a look of utter horror crossing his face. The two twins pulled identical wicked smirks and stared at their brother, waiting to see what he would do. The obnoxious redhead seemed to understand that his brother's weren't fibbing about the spider's existence and he quickly turned and ran from their compartment.
Laughing at his retreat, the two twins turned and looked at Maera and Draco, a slightly kinder version of the smirk on their faces.
"So, who're you two?" They asked, their voices overlapping and mirth coating their words.
Maera smiled at the twins, somewhat worried about them due to the demonstration she had just seen, but also deeply interested in getting to know them better. Her magic was humming like it had been earlier when she had seen their entire family, something it hadn't done when ickle Ronniekins had just visited.
"My name's Maera and this is my cousin Draco." She said, indicating the blonde boy when she said his name.
Draco had a mask of indifference on his face as he nodded to the two in greeting, seeming to find them more tolerable than their younger brother.
The twins stared at her in disbelief, her greeting slowly sinking into their minds. "You're Maera Potter, aren't you?" They said, once again at the same time.
Maera blushed slightly, the fame being something that she wasn't accustomed to in any way. "Um, I mean, technically I'm Maera Potter Black, but everyone knows me as Maera Potter, so yes, in a way I'm Maera Potter."
Her answer, as expected, confused them.
"Wait, so you," Gred began.
"Are Maera Potter Black?" Forge finished, seeming to know what his twin would say without any thought the transition was so seamless.
Maera nodded and explained the circumstances of her parentage while also being sure to clearly explain why her father wasn't evil like everyone believed he was. She then explained how she knew Draco and some of the things that she had learned during her short stay in the wizarding world. Gred and Forge absorbed the information readily, at some point sitting down and shutting the door to the compartment. Gred sat on the bench next to her while Forge sat next to Draco across from them. Of course, just as Maera had finished her explanation and allowed for a lull in conversation for the twins to ruminate on everything she had just said, Loki decided to pop up in her lap and cause some mischief. The little fox jumped from his comfy napping spot and onto Gred's lap, bouncing around and yipping like crazy.
No one knew what to do for a minute. Gred and Forge stared at the fox in shock as it continued to make Gred it's own playground while Draco began laughing hysterically. Naturally the blonde found this hilarious - he thought that any moment of embarrassment for Maera was hilarious. Maera, herself, was trying to get Loki to come back to her, a dark blush coloring her cheeks and her hair beginning to turn an equally dark pink unknowingly.
Loki finally seemed to give up on playing with Gred, but he also didn't seem to want to end his reign of mischief. Looking at Maera, he smirked slightly - at least as much as a fox can smirk - before turning in a circle and laying down in the boy's lap.
"I'm so sorry, I don't know why he's acting this way." She said, embarrassment strangling her and making the words somewhat difficult to understand.
Gred and Forge looked up at her and their jaws dropped in shock.
"You're a metamorphmagus!" They exclaimed.
Draco stopped laughing and looked up at her, panic on his face. Maera picked up a piece of her hair and noticed immediately that it had accidentally changed color. She groaned before turning it back to its original state.
"Yes," She said, resignedly, "I am a metamorphmagus. Though, I was hoping to keep it a secret for longer than a few minutes. We haven't even left the train station and I've already accidentally shown two people, what kind of control do I have - none! That's the answer!" She put her head in her hands and lamented her lost secret. She could feel Draco's eyes rolling from where she sat despondent.
Suddenly, she felt her hands on either of her shoulders. Looking up through her bangs, she noticed the twins had both adopted rather serious looks that didn't seem to fit on their faces.
"No need to worry," Gred once again began.
"We won't tell anyone, promise." Forge continued. The two then crossed their hearts before holding their other hands in the air. As they said this, the train began to pull out of the station, leaving behind London and beginning their new journey.
Maera smiled at the two and thanked them. There was something about the two that led her to believe that they would honor this promise as well as any other that they made to her. The magic within her hummed even more, seeming just as happy as she was.
"Oh," Gred said, "by the way, my name is Fred Weasley, and you both can call me Fred no need to call me Weasley - there's already too many of us."
"And I'm George Weasley, same by the way, no need to call me Weasley either." Forge said.
"Ah, that makes more sense than Gred and Forge." Maera stated, laughing at the silliness of their introduction. "You can both call me Maera." She looked at Draco and he also allowed the two to refer to him by his first name, something that surprised Maera but also made her immensely happy.
The twins blushed slightly before nodding. They then went on to explain that their brother Ron was the boy from earlier and that he could be quite the pain in the butt. He had supposedly been worse than ever before this past summer since he was not only going to be going to Hogwarts, but also because their mother had told him that Maera Potter would be his best friend. Maera grimaced at this and the twins laughed.
The four continued to talk as the train ride continued, though Draco would only speak up sometimes - far more interested in his book than the stories that the twins were sharing. He had, of course, let Hedwig out as soon as he could, so the only animal in the compartment now was Loki. The little fox was still curled up in Fred's lap, not moving despite Maera trying to entice him with treats or his favorite toys and blankets. Giving up, Maera officially introduced the two to Loki and told Fred that, if he was okay with it, Loki could stay on the boy's lap for the remainder of the ride - or as long as the fox wanted to, that is.
Maera and the twins hit it off. They talked about everything and nothing without any worries and seemed to understand each other very well despite having just met. The longer she spent with them, the happier and more comfortable Maera felt. She'd only felt this close to one other person before and that was Draco, though she'd argue that she had become friends with the twins much more quickly than she had with Draco. Learning that the two enjoyed pranks, she showed them her book and talked about different ideas that she'd had. Their eyes lit up in excitement and they began to plan what the three of them, four if Draco wanted to join as well, could do during the school year.
People passed by outside of their compartment, though no one tried to come in again - something that they were very grateful for. The trolley woman came and went, the eleven year-olds buying some candy and sharing it with the other two in spite of their protests and everything seemed to be going well.
Of course, this was when something bad had to happen. Just as they'd been discussing some of the spells that they would learn in their first year, the twins were rather smart despite claiming otherwise, a girl with bushy brown hair barged into their compartment dragging a blonde boy behind her.
She looked down at them with a haughty expression before asking in a bossy tone, "Have any of you seen Neville's toad?"
They each shook their heads no, not understanding fully what was happening.
The girl's dull brown eyes lit up as she noticed that Fred was holding his wand, seeming as if he were about to perform some sort of magic. She pushed George so that the boy would make room for her on the bench seat and sat down, leaning towards the other twin. Fred's eyes burned with anger at her treatment of his brother and Maera could tell that the girl had made a mistake.
"Oh! Are you performing magic? Well then, let's see it, I've already done multiple different spells, myself." Her bossy voice was grating as she demanded to see whatever Fred had been about to do.
Fred raised his eyebrow and looked to George, seeming to have a conversation with the other boy. George eventually nodded, Fred seeming to get his way.
"What's the name of your toad?" Fred asked the blonde boy - Neville was what the bossy girl had called him.
Neville gulped for a second before saying, stutteringly, "T-t-trevor!"
Fred nodded, not commenting on the stutter, before saying clearly while waving his wand, "Accio Trevor!"
Nothing seemed to happen. The bossy girl had a condescending smile on her face as she began to placate Fred for messing up the spell. After all, it was a spell taught in fourth year and Fred obviously wasn't a fourth year, so there was no way that he would be able to perform the spell. Fred ignored the girl's grating voice, an impassive look on his face.
Just as her condescending speech was beginning to grate on Maera's last nerves, a whooshing sound could be heard from the still open compartment door. Fred lifted his hand just as a blur came and fell into his palm. Everyone stared at the toad now sitting calmly in the redhead's hand, even Draco had looked up from his book to watch the proceedings.
"Is this your toad?" Fred asked the blonde boy.
He nodded, a grateful look on his face as he accepted the toad from Fred. "Thank you s-s-so much!" He said, only stuttering slightly. "My name is Neville Longbottom," He started, but was quickly interrupted by the bossy girl.
"How'd you do that?" She demanded.
Fred looked at her questioningly. "Uh, magic," He said, stating the obvious. Maera giggled slightly, but quickly covered her mouth. Fred looked at her, his eyes alight with mischief while Loki looked up from his spot in the boy's lap.
"B-but that spell is a fourth year spell!" She stressed, not seeming to believe that someone not in their fourth year could learn the spell.
"Who said that I was a first year?" Fred asked, his eyebrow raised and the wicked smirk back in place.
This seemed to calm the girl down, if Fred could perform the spell and he wasn't a first year, then that obviously meant that he was a fourth year.
"Of course, I never said I was a fourth year, either." Fred stated coolly, petting Loki behind his ears.
The girl looked as if she were about to explode. It was as if she simply could not understand another student being able to perform spells above their year level.
"But that's not possible!" The girl said, confusion and stubbornness audible in her words.
Maera decided to voice her opinion. "I don't think it's as impossible as you think. I, personally, have done multiple spells that are above a first year level, so obviously it's not impossible."
This was the wrong thing to say. Now the bossy girl was glaring at Maera with a look of hatred that was far more familiar on her muggle relative's faces. She felt Fred stiffen next to her and noticed Draco and George also stiffen out of the corner of her eyes.
The brunette leaned towards Maera and whispered in a challenging way, "Prove it."
Maera stared at the girl in surprise. What did she want her to do? Thinking through the many spells that she had read and practiced while in her room over the summer, Maera decided on one with little thought to when it was taught at the school she'd soon be attending. Grabbing the bowl that she kept on hand for Loki from her bag, she sat it on the seat between her and Fred, scooting over slightly to do so, and whispered the incantation for the Aguamenti Charm, the water-making spell, while doing the wand movement.
Everyone in the compartment, aside from Draco since he had been there when she had first cast the spell, seemed surprised when water shot from her wand and filled the small bowl. However, the bossy girl looked furious. Her face was an ugly shade of puce as she spluttered indignantly. Before she could do anything, though, Fred and George quickly escorted her out of the compartment. They brought Neville into the space and shut the door, locking it so the girl couldn't come back in.
Neville nervously sat down next to Draco while Fred and George sat on either side of Maera, sandwiching her in between them. The two boys seemed tense and were breathing roughly, but they also seemed to be calming the longer that the compartment went unaccosted by anyone - specifically by bushy-haired girls or their younger brother. Loki had jumped from his spot with Fred when the boy had moved to rid their compartment of the bossy girl and he was now drinking the water the Maera had provided him.
"T-t-that was impressive." Neville said, staring at Maera with barely concealed awe.
Maera blushed lightly before telling the boy that she had simply practiced a lot, ignoring Draco's derisive snort in the background.
"Anyway, my name is Maera Potter Black, it's nice to meet you, Longbottom." Maera said, offering her hand to the other boy. The others introduced themselves to the blonde as well, making sure to stick to societal expectations.
Neville seemed surprised by her introduction, but didn't freak out, so she was appreciative of that.
"You can call me Neville, by the way." He said to all of them, receiving a smile and permission to call them by their first names in return from everyone (though Draco didn't smile, simply allowing the boy to call him by his first name).
"Who was that girl, anyway?" Fred asked, annoyance and anger coloring his tone as he thought back to the bossy girl.
Neville groaned lightly before saying, "Her name is Hermione Granger. She's a muggleborn that thinks she's the smartest person around - hence her issues with Maera and Fred performing spells that are above their year levels, though Maera really did outperform everybody in our year most likely by doing that Aguamenti Charm. She wouldn't listen to me when I told her that we should simply go to a prefect concerning Trevor and that it would be rude to barge into people's compartments. She also didn't want to listen to me when I tried to explain why she shouldn't call anyone by their first name without asking permission - she told me that that was too old fashioned." The annoyance he felt towards the girl was palpable. It would seem that they would need to avoid her as much as they could if they wanted to get through the year without any more issues.
"Well, I'm just glad that Mae showed her her place!" Fred said, slinging an arm around her shoulder.
"Yeah, me too!" George said, smiling at her and wrapping an arm around her waist.
The two redheads hugged her into their sides, something that no one had ever done before, but that she found she was surprisingly comfortable with. Draco's eye twitched briefly before he went back to his book, a small frown on his face. Loki, finished with his bowl of water and not wanting to be left out, climbed into her lap, laying down contently.
The five companions talked as the train ride continued, only stopping briefly to change into their uniforms. Maera noticed that the twins both were wearing Gryffindor ties and was excited at the possibility of being in the same house as them.
Before they knew it, the train started to slow and with it, their arrival to Hogwarts came ever closer.