Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Author's Note: I'm sorry for the late update. I was asked to watch someone's house last minute so I've been dealing with that as well as normal day-to-day stressors in my life. I hope that the chapter makes up for it taking so long, but I'm also hoping to update again very soon.
Fred and George POV.
Fred and George were pleasantly surprised with their day thus far. They definitely did not expect to make new friends among the first year students, after all their own brother was a nightmare at that age so why would they want to hang out with other students of the same age. Honestly, they sort of just believed that anyone younger than them was automatically more annoying and irritating. They could only base this belief off of Ron and Ginny, though, so it wasn't the most scientifically sound.
The two twins had also not expected the 'Girl who lived' acting akin to a 'proper pureblood' or whatever it was that their mum spoke about in a condescending tone whenever anyone asked about societal expectations. If there was one thing that the twins had learned from their mother, it was to not emulate the way that she acted. More often than not, Fred and George ignored the woman that gave birth to them, not feeling anything really towards her (maybe a small amount of embarrassment from the way she acted?). Being ignored from an early age could likely explain their apathy towards their mother. It always seemed that the twins were the least important of their siblings, especially after Ron and Ginny had been born. But, whatever, it didn't matter anyway because the twins would do what they did best - prank everyone they possibly could.
Now, with little Maera Potter on their side as well, they were looking forward to all of the mischief that they could start up. Just when they were beginning to feel like they couldn't expect anything new out of Hogwarts, too, the little first year appeared with all of her own pranking ideas. The twins were desperately hoping that she would end up in Gryffindor so that they could easily work together. There was another part of them that also wanted her in their house so that they could more easily watch over her, that Granger girl as well as Ron had set them on edge concerning Maera's safety. They didn't doubt, though, that the girl would likely make friends with people in whatever house she ended up in - so she was likely safe wherever she went.
Fred and George met up with the Gryffindor quidditch team when they walked into the Great Hall. Taking a seat, they made sure that there would be room near them if Maera was sorted into their house by placing the girl's bag down. If they placed the bag between them and took up some more space on the bench than normal, well, no one could really fault them. Loki, the adorable fox that the two had grown to care for almost as quickly as Maera, popped his head out of the bag to look around. The two noticed the mischief in the little fox's eyes and, no matter how much they wanted to help him cause chaos, they ensured that he could not get out of his spot. After all, they didn't need Maera getting upset at them for losing her fox.
The Great Hall was filled with the noise of many people talking. Fred and George were simply sitting, waiting. They both took turns petting Loki out of sight of the others around them. When Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor quidditch team captain, started a speech on what they as players would be working on that year, Fred and George quickly ignored him. The speech was probably the same as last year anyway. Also, they didn't have a seeker for the team, so it wasn't like they could practice fully until Wood found a new seeker.
Fred noticed first when Professor McGonagall walked in, elbowing George lightly to get his twin's attention. They both settled further into their seats, realising that the sorting would begin very soon. They quietly watched as Professor McGonagall set up the Sorting Hat on its little stool. She then moved on to speak with Dumbledore. There was something about the man that made Fred and George apprehensive. He seemed far too cunning considering the dimwitted and downright odd ways in which he acted. The twinkle that was almost constantly in his eyes was unnerving and the two didn't know how to feel. Also, the fact that their own mother was a blind follower of the man didn't speak well of his true character.
McGonagall finally moved away from the old man and went back towards the doors of the Entrance Hall. Fred sat up straighter in his seat and noticed George do the same. As soon as the little group of first years came in, the two twins were immediately looking for their new friends. Maera was easy to notice if you knew what to look for. When the group of first years came to a stop, she had moved to be right next to Draco. She also was by far the shortest member of her year, so that helped the two find her significantly faster. They were just lucky that she hadn't been sandwiched into the group of students, her height would have caused quite the issue if she had in that case. She looked up and locked eyes with them. The two smiled, a mischievous uptick to their grins. They hoped that they were reassuring her, Fred gave her a thumbs up as George subtly waved. The girl smiled kindly back and waved a little as well.
Professor McGonagall started to call the names and the twins found themselves wondering if she'd be called to the hat as Potter or Black. Little did they know, but Maera was wondering the same thing herself.
Maera POV.
Maera was waiting for her name to be announced. Which name would be called though? Would she be considered a Potter or a Black? If she had to bet, she was expecting them to call her up as Maera Potter - especially since her Hogwarts letter only had that as her name. Why wouldn't they call her by her full name, though? Why did it seem like everyone wanted her to only be Maera Potter and not Maera Potter Black? Probably because of everything with Sirius.
She didn't realise that she had zoned out - worried as she was about what name she'd need to be paying attention for, but suddenly Draco was squeezing her hand and looking at her. She blinked at him, unsure of what was happening. He smiled slightly before letting go of her hand and walking towards the hat. He's being sorted, she realised. So she probably was going to be called forward using Potter first, though she could still be called to the hat as Potter Black and not just Potter.
Maera focused solely on her cousin. She expected him to get into Slytherin, but she couldn't be sure. After all, the boy had been quite loyal and protective when it came to her, but he also sought knowledge in different formats. Arguably, all of this could still be explained to support a decision into Slytherin house for the blonde. Draco sat upon the stool, his 'perfect pureblood heir' mask in place. Professor McGonagall came forward and placed the raggedy, brown hat onto Draco's head. She giggled slightly when it tilted to the side, but stopped quickly. She looked around her to see if Neville and Blaise were still with her, but she couldn't find Neville. That was when she remembered that his last name was Longbottom - he'd already been sorted and she'd missed it! She felt terrible and turned around, looking among the tables around her. She found Fred and George again and sighed in relief when she noticed Neville sitting next to them. They smiled and waved to her, making her smile as well. She turned back to the front to continue watching Draco's sorting take place.
The hat had been sitting on her cousin's head for approximately five minutes at this point, but his mask had not faltered. Just as she had turned back, thankfully not a moment sooner, the hat finally announced in its booming voice, "Slytherin". Professor McGonagall took the hat off of his head and Draco calmly walked towards the table with the students in green. He made eye contact with her and nodded his head slightly, as if giving her strength for her own sorting. She smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up, knowing that he'd still be her friend even if she wasn't sorted with him.
Professor McGonagall turned back to the front and called out, "Potter, Maera."
Maera was disappointed that they didn't say Potter Black, but she hadn't expected much. Whispers had broken out around the hall and it seemed that everyone was paying attention, something that couldn't be said for many of the other sortings. She gulped slightly before walking forward, noticing all of the eyes turn to her. She held her head high, a mask of her own (though definitely not as perfect as Draco's own) currently shielding her from the crowd.
Professor McGonagall looked down at her in surprise, before smiling kindly at her. Maera looked at the table of faculty in front of her, avoiding Dumbledore's eyes as Mr. Malfoy and Professor Snape had told her to do - something about the man trying to see into her mind. She made eye contact with Professor Snape and held it for a moment, the man offering his own smile in the form of a lip twitch (all that she expected he could do in front of all of the students that believed him to be a 'greasy dungeon bat'). She sent a small smile back before turning and sitting down quickly. Her eyes locked onto the twins for a brief second and then everything went to black as the hat came down over her head.
Hmm, where to put you? She heard the hat ask, slightly startling her in her seat.
"Um, hello, Mr. Hat. It's nice to meet you." She said slowly, not exactly sure what was happening.
Hello, dear, it's nice to meet you, too. The hat seemed to be amused with her. Now, where to put you? You are quite loyal, hardworking - you'd make a great Hufflepuff. But, you also strive to learn and go out of your way to gain knowledge, so maybe Ravenclaw is where I should put you?
Maera smiled lightly before saying, "Wherever you think I should go is likely where I belong."
Well, that's no help. The hat seemed to be thinking quite hard about her sorting. You could also fit so well into Slytherin or Gryffindor. What would be the best fit, though? Where to put you, where to put you, where indeed? Maera stayed silent, she didn't want to influence the hat in any way - even if she would love to be in Draco's house she didn't want to be there just because she had told the hat to put her there. In her opinion, any of the houses would be fine, she was simply happy to be at Hogwarts. Hmm, thank you for thinking so highly of me, but I seem to be stuck on where to put you. She hadn't realised that the hat could hear her thoughts, or whatever it was that the hat had just done. Are you sure that there's absolutely nowhere specific that you'd like to be placed? Perhaps the house where each of your parents went when they were in Hogwarts? Or the house that the Black family is known to go to? A brief flash of an orange-red color went through her mind and the hat seemed to nod to itself, accepting whatever that was as an answer to its question.
Better be it began before shouting aloud, "Gryffindor!".
The hat was quickly pulled from her head. The hall seemed to be stuck for a second before clapping broke out from each table, though there was far less clapping from the Slytherin table. She looked over briefly and noticed that the main source of clapping in that direction was Draco, the blonde had a smug, but proud smile on his face, seeming to say 'I told you so'. She subtly stuck her tongue out at him before heading towards the table covered in red.
She located the twins just as easily as she had every other time that she had been looking for them, subconsciously noting the orange-red of their hair, and walked towards them with a large grin on her face. As she reached them, she went to sit next to Neville, but found herself pulled by George to sit between him and Fred. Maera blinked at the twins for a second, the grin having fallen off her face. They looked at her happily before noting the loss of a smile and seemed to think something wrong had happened. She watched them for a second as they tried to figure out what they had done wrong, before smiling wickedly and sticking her tongue out at them. The two redheads sat dumbfounded before retaliating by grabbing her from both sides and squishing her in a hug.
"All right, you two, that's enough. It's my turn to welcome Maera to the table." Neville said from his spot on the other side of George - she was surprised and happy to note that he didn't stutter once while stating this. The shy, blonde pushed George slightly before getting to Maera and giving her his own hug.
Their joyful celebrations couldn't last forever, though. Suddenly Maera heard a throat clear from across the table. She looked up and found herself face to face with Granger. The smile on her face was a lot more strained now.
"You're Maera Potter, then," The other girl said superciliously. Before Maera could give any acknowledgement, the bushy-haired girl continued, "My name is Hermione Granger." She stuck her hand out while leaning even further forward.
Maera stared at the girl's hand, dread slowly filling her. This felt like a test or something worse. People were watching her, trying to see what Maera would do. Thankfully, the twins were on her side. Fred and George grabbed her hands slyly within their own before telling Granger, "Sorry, seems her hands are too busy to shake yours." They showed off their linked hands and grinned impishly at the other girl.
Granger looked affronted for a second, before turning back to Maera. She raised an eyebrow at Maera, seeming to expect something. The black-haired girl sat in confusion, her hands still trapped within the twins'. Granger shook her arm at Maera, trying again to receive some sort of acknowledgment.
Instead of doing anything expected, however, Maera simply gave an apologetic shrug, stating calmly, "Sorry, seems my hands are no longer mine - at least not at the moment. Oh, and it's Maera Potter Black, but you can call me Potter, Black, or Potter Black." There, she'd cemented her view of the other girl to the people around her and all without stuttering. All of the Gryffindor table should know by the end of the feast how Maera felt and, hopefully, it would go around the entire school by dinner the next day.
"Why would I do that when I can call you by your first name, Maera?" Granger asked, though the question felt rhetorical. "Anyways, your name is Maera Potter, not Maera Potter Black, so it wouldn't make any sense for me to call you Black or Potter Black either."
Maera blinked at the girl in shock. What did she mean that Maera's name wasn't Maera Potter Black? Of course it was! She even had all of the paperwork to prove it since she had been to Gringotts so much over the past month.
Granger continued to speak, oblivious to Maera's slowly worsening mood, "All of the books on you are very clear. Your name is Maera Lily Potter, you are the orphaned daughter of James and Lily Potter, your parents were murdered by 'He-who-must-not-be-named', and you grew up in the muggle world taken care of by a loving family with knowledge about wizards until you were of age for Hogwarts." As she spoke, Granger ticked each supposed fact on a finger. Finally looking up from her lecture, Granger looked down on Maera once more - though she was surprised by the thunderous expression on the dark-haired girl's face as well as the red flush coloring her cheeks.
"How dare you." Maera quietly seethed, gripping onto the twins with both of her still trapped hands. The two red heads were looking down at their new friend in worry, unsure of how she'd take all of the information that Granger had so coldly thrown at her. "How dare you." Maera repeated, little sparks of magic coming off of her unknowingly. Granger took a quick step back in shock, finally standing at a respectable distance concerning social norms. The people around them at the table stared uncomprehendingly at the unconscious use of power from the tiny girl.
"My parents," Maera started, the anger coursing through her strong and unending - she was surprised at her own ability to stand-up for herself as she wasn't known for doing so normally, "Were murdered by a sociopath, a man that wanted control of our entire world, that is not something that you can simply state as if it were a scientific fact like the sky is blue or something equally impersonal. Not only were they murdered, but they died protecting both myself and the wizarding world. They died fighting for all of us, so, again, how dare you. Also, I'd like to point out some fallacies that your beloved 'history' books told you about me. I did not grow up in a loving family that knew about magic. Truly, I grew up with my muggle aunt and uncle, both hating magic enough that I didn't know anything about it or my family until I received my Hogwarts letter." Taking a breath, Maera's temper cooled down slightly - sparks no longer flying off of her, though her hands still gripped onto the twins desperately. "Also, my name is Maera Potter Black. My parents decided to have my godfather adopt me when I was a baby. That godfather, well, his name is Sirius Black and he is my father just as I am his daughter, thus making me a Black."
Everyone seemed surprised by this revelation, some of the Gryffindors paling when they recognized Sirius' name before seeming to remember that he had been released from prison. Maera knew there was still doubt surrounding her father's innocence and she hoped that her announcement would help put many of them to rest. Granger looked as if she was about to reply, likely going to say something against the truth that Maera had just provided, when another name was announced across the hall - the sorting was still going on, after all.
"Weasley, Ronald." Professor McGonagall stated, looking at the boy disapprovingly as his uniform was still severely wrinkled and the dirt smudge remained on his nose. Maera noticed the twins look down slightly in embarrassment and she squeezed their hands once in reassurance. She also noticed the older brother from the train platform earlier put his head in his hands, seemingly despairing over the appearance of his youngest brother. Weasley walked up to the hat, likely trying to swagger forward with some sort of cool that he didn't possess - to Maera it just looked like he really needed to use the bathroom. He sat on the stool and the hat had barely skimmed the top of his head when it announced: "Gryffindor".
The twins groaned on either side of her and she laughed slightly when they buried their faces into her hair. There was sparse clapping coming from the table, no one really knowing what to do since the Weasleys themselves hadn't reacted accordingly (at least not in everyone else's eyes). Weasley walked to the table, still attempting to swagger or whatever and stopped next to George, looking at his brother with a smug grin.
"Well, aren't you going to move so I can sit with my best friend, Maera, while you and George go do whatever it is you normally do?" He asked with an arrogant tone, waving his hand dismissively at his older brother.
George looked at his brother, not seeming surprised by his rudeness, and was about to respond when Maera said coldly, "Why don't you go and sit with someone else, Weasley? Also, that was George that you were just talking to - how can you not even tell your own brothers apart?" She turned to ignore the boy and added over her shoulder, dismissively, "And it's Potter Black to you."
Weasley looked at her in anger and likely would have started some sort of scene if Neville didn't direct the boy to the other side of the table - far enough away from them that he couldn't bother them again, hopefully. Maera smiled at Neville in thanks before looking back to watch Blaise's sorting, knowing that he'd likely be last given that his name was Zabini. She watched happily as the boy was called forward and the hat was put on his head. This sorting took about the same amount of time that Draco's had, and she wasn't surprised when the results were the same. She laughed lightly as Blaise walked over to the Slytherin table, winking at her as he sat down next to Draco.
Due to the distraction that Blaise's sorting caused, Maera did not notice the people directly near her staring between her and the twins in surprise with a single thought: How did she know that was George. The twins, too, were questioning how a girl that had only met them hours earlier could tell them apart easily, it seemed, when their own family still struggled with that very task.
With the sorting coming to an end, Professor McGonagall came forward to clear the Sorting Hat and its stool out of the way as Headmaster Dumbledore stood. The old man stood before the students, his robes were a shocking lavender and had small, yellow sunflowers everywhere on them. He opened his arms wide and looked out at all of the students, welcoming them for the new school year and beginning the feast - after saying some crazy things that Maera decided to ignore (what did odment even mean?).
Food appeared magically on the table. There were multiple entrees and sides spread everywhere as well as different types of drinks that they could choose from. Maera looked at all of the different dishes before grabbing a small serving of a roast chicken breast that seemed to be lightly seasoned as well as a good portion of roasted veggies and some mashed potatoes. Although she had been working on fixing the damage that the Dursleys had caused, Maera still needed to regulate the amount of food that she ate.
"Mae," Fred said, leaning towards her, "Now that you're a Gryffindor, are you ready to join the dark side?"
"The dark side?" Maera asked, smirking lightly with amusement in her eyes.
"Well of course, Mae," George started, leaning in from her other side, "Well, maybe dark side isn't the best name for it?" At this, George looked to his twin, likely about to ask him for a name suggestion. However, he was interrupted before he could even go to do so.
"Dark side!" Granger shrieked, causing people all around the hall to turn and look in her direction. "How could you ask Maera Potter to join the dark side? She's the epitome of a light witch - she would never join you two and any other dark wizard!"
"Yeah, Fred, George, Maera would never join the two of you, so let her come and sit with me, her best friend like she should. I'll help her realise that you two and any one else claiming to be on the dark side are obviously inferior to us." Weasley said, leaning across two other first years to shout down the table at them.
Maera, Fred, George, and even Neville stared at the two people that had been consistently getting on their nerves for a few seconds. It was at this moment that the four determined there was no good way to confront these two - they'd continue to spew garbage no matter what.
Neville rolled his eyes before turning to speak with Maera, effectively ignoring Weasley and Granger. "So, Mae, what's this I hear about a dark side?" He wiggled his eyebrows like he'd seen the twins do earlier in the day, or, he tried to at least.
Maera giggled and said, "I'd like to know more about it, too, Nev."
"Well," Fred began, "firstly, if you are a member of this specific dark side, then you should know that Mae is mine and Georgie's nickname for this little bean next to us, so get your own Longbottom." Fred had his arms crossed slightly as he looked down his nose at Neville, as if imitating some of the more ridiculous looking purebloods in Diagon Alley.
It was now George's turn to roll his eyes, "Ignore him, Nev, you can call Mae whatever you want as long as it's okay with her." Fred pouted lightly at his brother before winking at Maera, a joking smile on his face. Maera laughed at the boys, happy to be their friends. "Now, to actually explain what this dark side we were speaking of is," George started, playfully glaring at Fred, "This dark side involves being friends with the two greatest pranksters at Hogwarts -" George likely would have continued, but he was sadly interrupted once more by Granger and Weasley.
"Pranksters!" The two shouted in unison. They stopped to look at each other incredulously.
"What do you think you're doing?" Weasley asked Granger, a slight red beginning to overtake his face.
"I'd ask you the same thing," Granger started, "But I imagine that I wouldn't learn anymore than I already know. Anyways, I'm trying to talk with Maera Potter - she obviously shouldn't be friends with pranksters or other such riff-raff. Not to mention, I would make such a better friend for her because I already know so much about magic since I've been studying since I found out about Hogwarts."
"Well, she's my best friend, so I obviously know what sort of people she ought to be hanging out with better than you!" Weasley shouted.
The two began to argue with each other, forgetting about Maera and her real friends. Maera just hoped that the two would be too busy to remember whatever they wanted to tell her. Turning back to George, she indicated that he should continue.
"Anyway," George said, clearing his throat lightly, "This dark side includes being friends with the amazing Gred and Forge as well as helping these two with their out of this world pranks! So, what do you two think?"
Neville and Maera looked at each other for a second, pantomiming a serious discussion. "Hmmm," Maera said, rubbing her chin with one hand, "this is a really difficult decision."
Neville nodded, "I agree, I think that we both will need to think this over. Maybe give us until the end of the week to decide?"
Fred and George looked at each other before nodding. The four would have likely continued their little bit if the other Gryffindors around them didn't start talking, trying to ask each of them (though Maera more than the others) many different questions.
The quidditch team quickly dragged Fred and George into a discussion, asking about Maera and how the two had met the famous girl. Because of this, Maera and George were somewhat forced to switch positions or they'd be stuck leaning around each other. Maera moved quickly to George's other side, taking her bag and Loki with her. Slyly feeding the little fox, she tried to answer as many questions that she could from those around her, at least the questions that she was okay with answering.
"So, Potter Black?" One boy started, his Scottish accent thick. Maera nodded to show that he had addressed her properly, and the boy continued, "Is it true that Sirius Black was innocent?"
Maera's smile grew a little strained, knowing that she'd likely have to answer this question more times than she could count and people would likely still ask and not believe the answer. "Yes, Sirius Black is innocent of all that he was accused of. Did you know that he wasn't even my parents' secret keeper like everyone believed?" Here she looked at the people around her, noting all of their eyes on her - aside from Weasley and Granger as they were still arguing. "Peter Pettigrew was their secret keeper and the one that chose to betray them to Voldemort, though no one is exactly sure what happened to Pettigrew after that Halloween night since Sirius was in prison for so long and my parents and Voldemort are dead," She continued, some people flinching at the man's name, "Of course, all of this information has now been made public due to Sirius finally receiving a trial. The trial records are in the Ministry and anyone can go and look at them if they'd like to double check my story."
The people around her nodded, absorbing the information. From there, the questions she was asked were less about her family and everything surrounding that and more around her favorite areas of magic, foods, colors, etc. It was the first time that she had ever been asked these questions by so many different people and she was very willing to answer them - though she didn't accept friendship with those around her like she had done with Draco, Blaise, Neville, and the twins. There was something different about them that made her feel more comfortable than the people currently vying for her attention. So, she put forward a pureblood mask and answered questions kindly if not a little evasively whenever they got too personal. Sometime during the questioning, the food on the table had switched to dessert, and Maera found that she could finally talk one-on-one with Neville.
"So, Nev," Maera started, speaking quietly, "How are you? Are you happy to be a Gryffindor?"
Neville smiled at her, she was happy to note that the boy seemed more confident than he had been on the train earlier, "I'm doing just fine, Mae. Gryffindor was my father's house, Hufflepuff was my mother's, I would have gladly taken any house, but my grandmother will be happy to know that I followed in my father's footsteps."
"That's good, Nev." Maera said. The two continued talking while eating their desserts, Maera had grabbed a small serving of pudding since it was about the only thing she could currently eat with her diet. They talked about the subjects that they were looking forward to learning and offered help in whatever subjects they felt they were better suited for. Neville loved Herbology and told her all about his garden back at Longbottom Manor.
A throat clearing on her left as well as an arm dropping across her shoulders allowed Maera to know that the twins were finally done with their conversation, so she turned to them - swiftly dragging them into the conversation that she and Neville were having. The twins offered help in their own best subjects - potions for Fred and charms for George. Loki slipped out of her bag and sneakily climbed into Fred's lap, seeming to find him the most comfortable out of each of them. George and Fred doted on the little fox while Maera and Neville continued to talk about what they were excited to learn, though they did occasionally take turns sneaking Trevor some pets since the toad had decided to stick with Neville. And, yes, Maera was sure that most people would never pet a toad, but the little amphibian seemed very accepting of little pats. Fred and George started talking about pranks they had pulled in the past, explaining them to Neville and Maera as much as they could in their present company. Maera told them about the pranks she had read about and Neville simply listened - not necessarily as knowledgeable concerning pranks.
The Headmaster stood just as the desserts disappeared from the table. He walked to the podium in front of the long table that the faculty sat at and started discussing multiple rules that everyone needed to remember and learn in the case of the first years. He also mentioned that a corridor on the third floor was off limits and quite dangerous so obviously no one should go through the corridor, or likely even near it. Maera didn't understand why the old man seemed to be looking at her when he stated all of this, as if she would willingly choose to go down a corridor that was deadly according to the warnings from the Headmaster. He gave further instructions before asking them to all stand and join him in signing the Hogwarts school song to whatever tune they wanted. Dumbledore lifted his wand and produced the words so that the student body could easily follow along. The twins started singing quite loudly to some sort of funeral march while Neville chose 'Happy Birthday' to follow along. Maera wasn't sure what tune to follow, so she made a hybrid of the two given that she was stuck between the twins and Neville and they were all she could hear. Finally, after what felt like far too long for a song to continue, they were dismissed from dinner.
"First years follow me!" The elder Weasley shouted, indicating that all of the first years needed to go with him and another Gryffindor in his year.
"Ah, seems Perfect Percy's calling you both, doesn't it Forge?," Fred said, leaning towards Maera.
"It does seem that way, Gred. What do you think, though, should we come with?" George asked his twin, wiggling his eyebrows impishly.
"You know, Forge, I think we should. There's nothing saying we can't come along as older students, after all, we're going to the same place." Fred stated, draping an arm around Maera's shoulders and directing her towards Percy.
George followed closely behind with Neville at his side. The two redheads stuck out like sore thumbs among the first years, they were towering above the other students. Percy noticed them and sighed, seeming to understand that the twins would be joining them for their trip through the castle.
"Now, my name is Percy Weasley. I am a fifth year as well as a prefect for Gryffindor. If any of you need help, please feel free to come to either of us or any of the other prefects. If you will follow me, I will show you to Gryffindor tower so that we can assign you each of your bedrooms and get you sorted for the evening." Percy stated while turning to walk out of the hall. The other prefect stood quietly to the side, waiting for the first years to pass so that they could follow the group from the back.
Fred and George offered commentary as they walked through the halls. They pointed out useful passageways, hidden corridors, trick steps, and anything else that they thought Maera and Neville would need to know. Finally, the group stopped in front of a portrait with a woman with a pink dress on inside.
She looked down on the group, a painted eyebrow raised in question. "Password?"
"Fortis." Percy stated clearly. He then turned as the portrait swung forward to reveal a doorway. "This is the entrance to Gryffindor tower, the current password is fortis. If you forget the password, please ask a prefect for the password. A new password will be given out each month, so be prepared and try to go everywhere with at least one person until you are certain that you will remember the password." Percy then held the door open and indicated that each of the students should step inside.
Maera looked around in wonder. The common room seemed very comfortable with plush carpeting and overstuffed chairs and couches. There were small tables spread among the chairs so that students could work on their homework or whatever else they might choose to do in the common room. A cheery fire was lit in the fireplace with a nice couch in front of it. A bulletin board was on the wall near the door, different announcements tacked to it. Each of the first years gathered into a loose circle, waiting for Percy to give them further instructions.
"Alright," Percy started, clapping his hands slightly, "since there are an equal number of students, it won't be overly difficult to separate you for your dorms. Boys, you will be up the right staircase while the girls will be up the left staircase. A communal bathroom is located within your dorm and each of the beds will have your things in front of them, though do feel free to switch beds if you'd like. Now, off to bed you all go, first day of classes tomorrow!"
The boys and girls quickly went their own ways, but Maera, the twins, and Neville stayed in the common room a second longer.
"Good luck with Granger and ickle Ronnie." The twins said, sincerely hoping that Maera and Neville would be okay. "We'll see you both in the morning for breakfast." The two walked off after receiving a hug from Maera, wishing them good night.
Maera and Neville looked at each other, both knowing that their dorms would likely be the last place either would find comfort or relaxation.
"See you tomorrow, Nev." Maera said, hugging the other boy quickly before rushing up the stairs. She walked into the girl's dormitory and was happy to notice that her bed was closest to the bathroom - it seemed the other girls were happy with where they had already been placed. Also, Granger was on the opposite end of the room from her, another plus. Maera walked to her bed and prepared her things, grabbing a pair of pajamas and her night things before entering the bathroom. She left approximately fifteen minutes later with her hair tied up and out of the way so it would dry during the night after her quick shower. She replaced her toiletries in her trunk and climbed into her bed, grabbing Loki so that he could sleep with her. Wishing her roommates a brief good night, she closed the curtains around her four-poster bed and sunk into the soft comforter and pillows. She cuddled Loki closer and shut her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.