Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Author's note: Due to a lot of stuff going on, this chapter is later than I wanted it to be. I'm going to aim to post a chapter a week, however, from now on. Thank you to everyone for the support, I hope you're all enjoying the story as much as I enjoy writing it.
Maera woke up the next morning early. She was too excited for her first day at a new school and all of the opportunities that it would provide to fall back asleep, so she simply chose not to. What else was she supposed to do, lay around in bed until her roommates got up and started to get ready? She figured she could simply take advantage of the quiet room and the fact that everyone else was asleep to get ready for the day.
Maera carefully extracted herself from her bed, moving the small ball of fur that was Loki out of her way so that the little fox could continue to sleep in. She closed the curtains around the bed so that no one might notice him and grabbed a clean uniform from her things, noticing with surprise that certain aspects of the uniform now reflected that she was a Gryffindor. The most obvious change to her uniform was that the tie was now red and gold, the colors of her house. Smiling at the sight, she walked into the bathroom and hurried through her morning routine. She didn't think now would be a good time to show off any of her metamorphmagus abilities, so she ignored the urge to change anything up. Maera did choose, however, to put her hair back in a simple French braid. Something she had remembered from her many books and lessons on etiquette and wizarding culture was that most young women from pureblood families will wear their hair back in order to avoid appearing anything less than put together. It'd be best for Maera to appear in the best light for the many members of Hogwarts.
Walking back into her shared room, she noticed that none of the others were awake. Still unsure of what exactly she was meant to do about that, she simply shrugged and grabbed the books required for each of the subjects that she would be taking this year - she didn't expect that she'd need all of the, but it was always better to be prepared than need to come back later to grab anything that she was missing. Plus her bag had weightless and expansion charms on it so it wasn't a big deal. Maera double checked that she had everything she needed before turning and leaving the room.
There was no one in the common room when she came out, though she wasn't surprised given how her roommates were still asleep. If she were afraid of running late in any way, Maera figured she'd simply need to see if Granger was awake because it was highly likely that that girl would ever be late to a meal, let alone to a class. Choosing the comfiest chair that she could, Maera sat down and pulled out her transfiguration textbook to review.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she had easily gone through the books on her without feeling as if she had forgotten anything overly important from the first couple reads of each book. Reviewing potions was helpful, same with the wand movements for the different spells for charms and transfiguration. Altogether, she felt comfortable with the first year material and she didn't think that any of the classes would be overly challenging on the first day - or she hoped that they wouldn't be at least.
Maera looked up when she heard someone stumble down the stairs. Her viridian eyes lit up upon seeing Fred steadying himself at the bottom of the boy's staircase. She smiled as she noticed that he hadn't noticed her yet, he was too focused on looking up the staircase for who she could only imagine would be George. Standing quietly, she snuck behind the taller boy and waited a second, hoping to create an overall feeling of calm and security. When she noticed Fred relaxing, likely because George was finally coming down the stairs, Maera smiled wickedly and poked the boy in the sides. The reaction was immediate. Fred's body scrunched in as he released a small shriek, his voice cracking lightly in the middle. George, who Maera was now able to see over Fred's shoulders due to his compacted state, was staring in shock. His eyes were wide and locked onto her, understanding what exactly had just happened. Blinking, he stared a second longer before beginning to laugh at his twin.
Fred seemed to determine that he was safe from any further attacks due to his brother's laughter and turned to face his assailant. It was obvious that the thirteen-year old was not expecting Maera to be the cause of all of this. His own reaction was almost identical to his twin's, though she didn't think that either of them would necessarily believe her if she told them that. Slowly, however, Fred smiled a genuine and, dare she think, impressed smile at her. Shaking his head slowly, Fred slung an arm over a still laughing George's shoulder as well as her own before directing them both towards the portrait hole.
The group of three calmly walked down to the Great Hall with commentary from both twins after George finally stopped laughing. They explained how the first day generally went for first years and provided some advice on the different teachers - including some specific hints about what to expect like Professor McGonagall being recognizable from her glasses, whatever that meant. Maera noticed that not many students were awake, or at least that it didn't seem that they were and mentioned this to the twins. They assured her that it was fine, not that any of them seemed to be overly interested in paying attention to rules. Entering the Great Hall was similar to the night before, but Maera was happy to notice that not everyone seemed to be sitting at their house table. She noticed some Ravenclaws mixed in with the Hufflepuffs that were present, but, since she and the twins were the first Gryffindors present, she wasn't sure if it was expected and the other two houses chose to ignore it, or if it was the norm. Continuing to look around the room, Maera's eyes landed on Draco and Blaise.
Unconsciously, she pulled both twins with her as she walked to the Slytherin table. She didn't notice as the entire hall grew quiet or the sudden onslaught of eyes on her. Maera's focus was solely on getting to the person she considered to be her best friend. There was a small part of her that acknowledged that the twins might not want to sit with the Slytherins, but she ignored it, too focused on her current quest to interact with Draco like she had for the past month. Finally reaching the two Slytherins, she sat down heavily onto the bench across from them, tugging the twins down with her. Fred stumbled slightly when bending his long legs in order to sit down, but George was able to sit far more gracefully. Maera giggled at that, commenting lightly on it while moving to fill her plate with as much food as she was currently told to partake in (the healer had mentioned that it would be better for her to have more meals during the day that were small rather than having three large meals like most other people).
As she was scooping some scrambled eggs onto her plate, Draco cleared his throat, obviously intending to gain someone's attention - she figured he wanted hers. Rolling her eyes, she looked up at the blonde boy.
"Yes?" She asked, not understanding the disbelief and humor in his eyes. The boy's mask was up and she was somewhat disappointed to notice it given that he didn't normally have it on when they were alone. But, they weren't alone. She realised that she had been acting as if she were having breakfast at Malfoy Manor and not Hogwarts, somehow forgetting about everyone except for her own friends. Blinking in surprise, she looked around at the other students and finally noticed all of the eyes that had been watching her in shock. Her face felt hot. It was probably a deep red, maybe even the same color as the twins' hair, though she couldn't be sure about that.
"Maera," Draco sighed, rubbing a hand over his face in what she assumed was amusement, "Why are you at the Slytherin table instead of the Gryffindor table? You know that Slytherins and Gryffindors don't mix. Also, why'd you drag these two with you?"
She could tell that he was teasing her, not fully understanding her motivation to come and sit with him and Blaise for breakfast. She could forgive him for this though, the boy hadn't been raised the same way that she had. Maera felt that it was important to eat with Draco and she was not going to allow some dumb school to stop her from doing so.
Raising an eyebrow at her cousin and friend, she said, "I thought that we agreed to ignore those stupid house dynamics, dear cousin." The boy looked momentarily surprised at her use of the word cousin, but he seemed to understand that she was, for lack of a better word, claiming him as someone close to her - as family. In the long run, she was sure that it would be good for him to be known as her cousin, especially since everyone was likely to know by the end of the day given the way that the hall was filled with whispered conversations. "And anyways, Dray, how could I not want to eat with you! Plus, I brought Fred and George so that they could meet Blaise." At this, she proceeded to introduce the three boys, happy to note that they seemed to be getting along quite well.
Turning back to her food, Maera quietly ate while listening to the boys around her talk about whatever they felt was important. Shortly after Maera and the twins had come down for breakfast, other Gryffindors were showing up. About midway through breakfast, Neville came and joined them at the Slytherin table, seeming to be slightly nervous while doing so - until Maera noticed him and swiftly brought him over to their area, sitting him down next to Blaise and across from George. Conversation continued from there, some of the other Slytherins even joining in by asking questions or simply adding their opinions in ongoing conversations. Fred and George specifically seemed to be speaking with a cluster of Slytherins about quidditch, though Maera couldn't say that she was fully paying attention to that conversation.
Overall, Maera found herself deeply enjoying breakfast. She was happy with the atmosphere at the Slytherin table and she could likely get used to the calm in comparison to the crazy that was the Gryffindor table - not to say that she didn't like the Gryffindor table though, the atmospheres were just different.
She was very grateful, however, that she was sitting where she was considering the terror that Granger and Weasley were wrecking on the Gryffindor table currently. From where she was sitting, she could still hear Granger's shrill voice as well as Weasley's bumbling and arrogant tone. She cringed whenever her own name was brought up, but she ignored it as best as she could. It helped that the Slytherins seemed to find it as annoying as she did because they each would talk about one thing or another even louder in order to drown out the two Gryffindors. Fred and George also appeared to be trying to help in their own way. Whenever their brother's voice rose above the general noise of the Great Hall, the two would lean closer to her, sandwiching her tighter between them, and whisper in her ears about different prank ideas they had and wanted her help with. That honestly might have been the best part of her breakfast, but she couldn't say for sure.
Near the end of breakfast, the professors that were also heads of houses (that is, Professors McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick) went through the tables to hand out schedules to the students sitting in their areas. It seemed that they even had some sort of system for the students that were currently sitting outside of their own house's table like Maera, Fred, George, and Neville currently were. Maera watched as Professor Sprout handed some schedules to Professor Flitwick in exchange for some schedules from him before the two professors went through and handed schedules out to everyone at their table. Professor McGonagall seemed to dread doing the same with Professor Snape, but did give the potions professor with four schedules from her stack and then continued on to pass out schedules to those at Gryffindor table.
Professor Snape walked calmly towards the Slytherin table, seeming to not mind the many eyes tracking him through the room. He stopped by Maera and the other Gryffindors first, handing their schedules to them without saying much of anything. He moved on quickly and gave out the rest before heading back to the faculty table. Despite all of this, Maera understood that his disinterest was false. His lips had twitched slightly, creating a small, barely there smile that was gone in less than a second - seeming to say that he hoped she would have a good day without expressing any obvious emotions.
"So, firsties," Fred started, leaning towards Draco, Blaise, and Neville.
"What classes do you have today?" George finished for his twin, seeming to know what he was going to say without any trouble - something that Maera had noticed but hadn't commented on just yet despite her own curiosity.
She looked down at her schedule for the first time, noting the different classes that would now take up her days. Aside from the classes however, she also noticed the empty spaces, the times wherein she wasn't expected to have class and likely was meant to do homework or some other important task - maybe this time would be useful for pranking? It was something she'd need to discuss with the twins to be sure.
"It looks like Gryffindors have transfiguration first with Hufflepuff," Neville said, looking intently at his schedule.
"And Slytherin will be in charms with Ravenclaw first. After that, however, we'll have double potions with the Gryffindors." Blaise said, smirking at Maera and Neville. "Guess we'll see who our partners will be? Or," Here he leaned so that Draco was blocked slightly from Maera's view, "Maera and I could be partners while Draco and Neville can partner up, how about that?"
Blaise leaned back, mischief in his eyes. Draco looked stunned, momentarily forgetting where he was, most likely, because he started to sputter indignantly. "No! If anyone will be Maera's partner, it will be me, not you, Zabini."
Ahh, so Blaise still hasn't allowed Draco to call him by his first name yet. I wonder how long that will last?
"Hm, no, Draco, I think that Maera and I should be partners." Blaise said, his voice somewhere between teasing and arrogant.
Maera giggled to herself before saying gently, "How about we wait until potions to decide on partners? What if Professor Snape makes us sit according to our houses?" Both boys looked surprised at the question, probably never thinking that they might be stuck sitting only with Slytherins in their classes - though they might also not be completely against that for the classes that they don't share with Gryffindor. Rolling her eyes lightly, Maera continued, "And anyways, I think that I'm the one that should get to choose my partner. What if I want Neville to be my partner? Ever think about that?"
"But, Maaaeeeee." Draco whined (actually whined!) quietly.
She looked at him and noticed, for the first time, the nervousness in his eyes. She was so used to him being the one who felt confident all of the time that she didn't know what to do now. Taking a breath, she looked away from the blonde - she couldn't keep looking into his eyes, the nervousness was making her feel something that she couldn't fully put a word to.
Before she could do anything to reassure Draco, or anything to even just make it all seem like some big joke like she had thought it had been to begin with, people began to get up all around them. Draco and Blaise were being herded towards the doors, off to their first class. Maera's eyes locked with her first friends, and she knew that she'd need to make up for this in some way.
"It'll be fine, Mae." Fred whispered in her left ear, "You'll see him later and be able to help him then." She felt like she should be surprised that Fred knew what she was concerned by, but, looking up and meeting his eyes, she found that she didn't care. If Fred knew how she felt, then that just meant that he was a good friend, right?
"Yeah, Mae," George said, leaning in from his side and laying a hand on her shoulder, "Mini Malfoy will be okay, and you'll be okay - neither of you need to have this figured out yet."
Fred and George really are great friends, she thought, smiling at both of them and feeling slightly better.
Taking a breath, Maera nodded at Neville to say that they should go before they ended up late to class. "I'll see you both at lunch?" She asked, waiting a minute for them to agree before walking off with her fellow first year.
Thanks to the 'tour' that she had received from the twins earlier, Maera was able to lead Neville to the transfiguration classroom with little to no trouble. They had to struggle through some crowds sometimes, but they were able to find each other again each time so that's all that matters. It probably would have been easier if they had been holding hands, but Maera couldn't do that. Holding someone's hand while walking through a crowd was currently a right that only Draco and the twins had been bestowed (she honestly didn't even understand why she had allowed the twins the right anyway).
Walking into the classroom, Maera took note of the group of Hufflepuffs that were already sitting on the right-hand side of the classroom. She looked to Neville and the boy shrugged his shoulders, not seeming to understand either if they were specifically meant to sit anywhere. Exhaling a short breath, Maera pursed her lips as she observed each of the seats in the room before walking towards the front desks on the right-hand side where two Hufflepuff girls were currently sitting. She sat in the seat on the far left of the table, finally noticing that there was a cat in the classroom. Neville sat down beside her in the only available seat as she continued to watch the cat - there was something incredibly familiar about it. The markings around its eyes were the only identifying characteristics in her opinion, aside from them she would think that this cat was just like any other. Narrowing her eyes, Maera contemplated why the markings were so intriguing and unique. It was as if it was on the tip of her tongue. Honestly, they just looked like the cat was wearing glasses, but that didn't make sense since cats don't wear glasses. She almost groaned in frustration at the puzzle in front of her (it shouldn't be this hard!) when she remembered what the twins had said.
McGonagall was recognizable by her glasses!
It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head. McGonagall was the cat! There was no other explanation for its presence in their classroom or for the odd markings. They looked like glasses because they were glasses.
Smiling at the cat, Maera turned and introduced herself to the other girls. She couldn't be seen as rude, after all. The blonde girl sitting next to Neville was Hannah Abbot (she provided Maera with permission to call her Hannah which Maera appreciated, though she wasn't sure if she would give the same in kind) and the brunette next to Hannah was Susan Bones (Maera wasn't given permission to call her Susan, necessarily, but the girl seemed to lean towards allowing it in the very near future). Neville was also given the same introductions, but he was given permission to call both by their first names since he offered his freely - he wasn't as concerned by what was expected and what wasn't in comparison to Maera, it seemed.
The four students calmly sat at their desk and discussed little things of no real importance as they waited for class to begin. Shortly before the beginning of classes, the majority of the Gryffindor first years came into the class. It seemed that the only student missing was Weasley, but Maera wasn't very concerned for him. It was also interesting for her to observe her fellow Gryffindors as they came in. The two girls from her dorm went and sat in the middle of the left-hand side of the room, keeping far away from the Hufflepuffs. The two other first year boys sat behind the girls, not even looking at the Hufflepuff half of the room. Granger, when she came in, rushed to the front row on the left-hand side of the room and took up as much of the desk as she possibly could (that is, she took up the entire four person desk with only her own materials).
Keeping one eye on Professor McGonagall, Maera ignored her other classmates to an extent as she got to know the Hufflepuffs. She could see her fellow Gryffindors watching her and Neville, likely confused by their choice in seat, but she couldn't care less. She wanted friends for the first time in her life, and she wouldn't let some dumb school or house pride or whatever it was (prejudice, maybe?) stop her from meeting new and interesting people. Granger had even tried to gain Maera's attention by whispering her name harshly across the aisle, not seeming to understand that everyone could hear her.
Finally, the clock struck the hour and class began. The cat leapt off of the desk and turned into Professor McGonagall, just as Maera had suspected. Though, the rest of the class didn't seem to have come to the same conclusion as her given the various stages of shock and surprise that she could see on each person's face. The professor quickly went through the role, noting those present and absent. She had briefly stopped at Maera's name (thankfully she had read it as Maera Potter-Black, so Maera hadn't needed to correct her) and looked at her, but then continued with little to no pausing (aside from Weasley's name given that the boy wasn't currently present).
Professor McGonagall observed each of the students for a second, then turned to her board and waved her wand. A wall of notes appeared and she instructed each of the students to copy the board, but that they should feel free to ask questions if they had any. Quickly pulling out her parchment and quill, Maera went to work on copying the information from the board. She was suddenly grateful for Mrs. Malfoy's insistence in learning how to use a quill during the final month of the summer. She found that holding the quill wasn't as awkward as the first time and that she could more easily read the information that she was writing. Because of this, Maera finished with all of the notes fairly quickly and waited to see what would happen.
Professor McGonagall was currently a cat again. Maera was curious how the teacher changed herself in such a way and if it was something taught, but she figured that she'd look further at the many books she had on transfiguration to see if she had any information on the subject area. She also did wonder, however, if she'd be able to change herself into an animal such as the professor had done given that Maera was a metamorphmagus and currently capable of changing herself in many ways.
Just as she was about to look away from the teacher to observe her classmates some more, the door to the classroom swung open with a crash. Weasley ran in and stopped in the doorway. He bent over, chest heaving with breath. It seemed that he had run all the way here from wherever it was that he had come from (Gryffindor tower, maybe?).
Looking up, he smirked arrogantly and said, "It seems like McGonagall isn't here, then? Guess I'm not as late as I thought I would be." He observed the room and noticed Maera sitting in the front on what was likely considered the 'Hufflepuff' side of the room. "What're you doing over their, Maera? Come on over to the better half of the room and sit with me, your best friend! After all, I'm probably going to be more help to you in the long run than any of those leftovers and what-have-you's that are in Hufflepuff house." The Hufflepuffs looked offended and the Gryffindors that weren't Weasley or Granger seemed to be trying to disappear (likely not wanting to be associated with Weasley).
Maera likely would have responded in some form, though she wasn't sure if it would have been entirely appropriate in a classroom, but Professor McGonagall spoke up before she could. The teacher that was currently a cat jumped forward and transformed in such a manner that she was a professor once more directly in front of Weasley. The arrogant smirk fell from his face immediately and he became not unlike a piece of paper in color.
"What was that, Mr. Weasley, about being late?" The stern professor asked, her Scottish accent thick with her annoyance at the younger man. "And," She continued, raising an eyebrow behind her glasses, "What was that about leftovers and what-have-you's?"
"Uh, um, u-uh." He stuttered, seemingly incapable of any form of speech.
"Hm, that's what I thought. Well then, Mr. Weasley, please sit down next to Ms. Granger and start taking notes."
It seems like Weasley's going to get away with treating people like garbage, how disappointing. I would have thought that Professor McGonagall was more fair.
"Oh, and that will be fifty points from Gryffindor for coming half-way through class as well as for speaking poorly about other students."
Or, maybe I judged her too quickly. Maera thought, a small smile on her face as she turned back to the front of the room.
"Now, for those of you who have finished with your notes, I would like each of you to try the practical portion that goes along with the theoretical." Professor McGonagall walked to the front of the room and tapped her wand on a box. Smaller boxes floated out and were distributed to each student. "Inside of these boxes, you'll find a matchstick. I would like for you to take what you have learned from the notes and apply it to turning this matchstick into a needle. The first student to do so will earn ten points for their house. If you need any help, please feel free to ask for it. Good luck!"
Maera picked up her box and opened it, grabbing out the small match. Turning it around in her hand, she thought through everything she had read about transfiguration. The number one thing that each book mentioned was intent. In order to perform magic of any kind, it requires intent. Nodding to herself slightly, Maera took in a deep breath and picked up her wand while transferring the matchstick to her other hand. She waved the wand over the matchstick and thought about it changing into a needle while whispering the words Professor McGonagall had written on the board. She pictured in her mind what a needle looks like (partially grateful that Aunt Petunia had forced her to learn how to sew, making her very familiar with a needle's appearance). Slowly, and then all at once, the matchstick became thinner and more pointed. It turned a shining silver color and an eyelet formed at one end. Maera had done it. She'd transfigured the match into a needle. She put the needle down to wait for Professor McGonagall.
Turning to Neville, she noticed the boy looking at her in surprise. She raised an eyebrow inquisitively and he turned a light red.
"How did you do that?" Neville asked, some awe filling his voice.
It was her turn to blush now, but she smiled at him and said, "The most important thing to remember is intent. Think about a needle while performing the spell so that your intention is established. And, if it helps, look at my needle to think about what you need to do."
Neville nodded in thanks before trying to do what she had said. Or, she figured he was trying to follow her advice. His match didn't turn into a needle like her own needle on the first try, but it did become more pointed and a light gray color - so there was definitely something going on. Maera continued to encourage him so that he wouldn't give up on his transfiguration. She was so busy doing so, in fact, that she didn't notice Professor McGonagall coming their way.
"Ms. Potter, Mr. Longbottom, please work on your own transfiguration." She said, looking down her nose at them.
"Oh, but, Professor McGonagall," Maera said, rushing to correct the teacher, "I'm just helping Nev with his transfiguration because I've already done mine." She pointed out her needle to the professor.
Professor McGonagall's eyebrows rose, surprise covering her face. "It seems you have," She said. "Perfect job, Ms. Potter. I expect that we'll see great things from you." Maera blushed lightly under the praise, but frowned when she realised what the professor had called her.
"I'm sorry, miss, but it's Potter-Black, not Potter." Maera said this while looking at the professor, hoping to catch her eye in order to convey how important it was to her.
Professor McGonagall looked confused and surprised for a second before simply nodding. She gave Maera ten points for her job well done before moving on to the other students. Maera should have known, though, that class couldn't stay peaceful for long.
"What did she mean by 'perfect transfiguration'?" Granger asked, leaning across the aisle to speak with her.
Maera looked at the other girl and weighed her options. Honestly, she'd rather just not reply. Turning away, Maera went back to offering tips to Neville.
"Excuse me," Granger said, her voice louder now, "but I asked you a question."
Maera rolled her eyes at Neville as if saying, can you believe her, before continuing to talk about the transfiguration. Of course, this was not the right choice to make. What better way to get on Granger's bad side than by ignoring her, right?
"Professor McGonagall!" The girl shouted, her voice overly harsh and demanding, her arm raised and waving wildly back and forth.
The professor looked up sharply, obviously not expecting to be called up in such a manner. She began to walk over to Granger, though she didn't hurry, likely not thinking that it was of any emergency.
Granger shook her arm more vigorously, leaning towards the older woman, "Professor! Why is it that Maera's needle is perfect? What about mine? I'm sure that it's superior to Maera's, but I could always help her if she needs tutoring or something similar. After all, school is one of the most important things in the world."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the loud Gryffindor in surprise. Well, everyone except for Maera. She rolled her eyes before turning fully away from the girl. She'd need to remind the girl outside of class not to call her by her first name without permission, but she'd first need to figure out how to do so.
"Ms. Granger," Professor McGonagall began, stepping closer to the girl. "I will take a look at your work as soon as you calm down. I'm not sure how muggle schools work, but I am sure that this behavior is not appropriate for the classroom."
Despite Professor McGonagall's words, Granger continued to lean in her seat while looking between the professor and Maera. Her eyes seemed wild and crazed, something that Maera found quite unsettling.
Professor McGonagall finally came to Granger's desk and began to look at the needle. Maera couldn't directly see it herself, but the few glimpses that she did notice revealed work that was rather similar to Neville's own first attempt at the transfiguration. The boy in question seemed more confident now as his own matchstick was not unlike a needle in everything except for some specific details (like his needle was missing an eyelet and might still be as brittle as a match, but he had made progress so Maera was happy for him).
"Ms. Granger, this is a good start, but I must tell you that this work is not perfect." As Professor McGonagall said this, Granger looked confused and didn't seem to believe the teacher. The bushy-haired brunette would likely have spoken up to defend her work, but the stern, Scottish woman continued, "And, that's not a bad thing. There are many areas wherein you could improve and improvement is the sign of a great student. In all, it's a mighty good first attempt, but I would recommend working more on the spell in order to receive top marks like Ms. Potter-Black."
Granger looked like she would say something more, but Professor McGonagall called for the class' attention before explaining the homework that would be due the following week (a two foot paper on intent and how it affects transfiguration). She then went on to dismiss the students, allowing for everyone to escape what likely would have been a rant of some sort from Granger.
Maera quickly pulled Neville from the room and dragged him towards the library (or, at least, where the area that the twins had briefly mentioned the library to be located in earlier). Since they had a free period before lunch, she figured that it would be best for them to work on their homework assignment together. The two had to duck past multiple people, the stream of students of all years heavy in this area of the castle as they all made their way to their lessons, before they made it to the library. Finding a small table that was out of the way of all of the others, Maera swiftly pulled out the things that she would need to work on the transfiguration assignment. Looking up, she noticed Neville watching her curiously.
"What is it?" Maera asked, continuing to lay out everything she'd need.
"Just, what exactly are we doing, Mae?"
"Oh, I figured we'd work on our transfiguration homework now so that we don't have to worry about it later." She said, rushing to add, "We don't have to, though, if you would rather do something more fun or whatever else?"
Neville seemed to think for a second (though she wasn't sure about what) before shaking his head slightly and smiling at her. He grabbed his own transfiguration supplies out of his bag and prepared to work on the assignment as well. The two passed the entirety of their study hall in this manner, working together on their assignment. They had even gotten so engrossed in their work, that they missed lunch before they happened to look at the time.
They're next class would be potions. Maera had noticed that, for some odd reason, their Monday classes were their lightest in comparison to the rest of the week. It didn't make much sense to her, given that they'd probably be able to use study sessions later in the week over the beginning. But, she couldn't complain given that this would be the same for the other first years as well. Rushing through the hall, the two made the journey down to the dungeons and the potions classrooms as quickly as possible. They were rather lucky to get to the classroom even the slightest bit early given that they had to deal with the moving staircases for a good portion of their trip through the castle.
Taking a deep breath, Maera calmly walked into the potions classroom with Neville at her side. She noticed very quickly that, once again, they were the first Gryffindors in the classroom. It was more surprising this time, however, because the class would be starting so soon. Looking around, she found Draco and Blaise had grabbed a four person desk on the left half of the room and were sitting a seat apart from each other. Maera grabbed Neville's elbow and directed him to what she believed to be their seats.
"How are you, Dray?" Maera asked quietly as she dropped down onto the stool between Blaise and Draco.
The blonde boy looked at her for a second and she recognised the same nervousness from earlier as well as what seemed to be insecurity within his gray eyes before he leaned over and said, equally as quiet as she had been, "I'm better. Blaise helped me calm down and promised that he had only been joking earlier. I'm sorry if I seemed out of line, demanding that you be my partner, but… It's just that," Draco looked like he wasn't sure how to say whatever it was he wanted to tell her, but he continued anyway, "It's just, we're already in different houses, and I know that we expected that, but I grew used to you being around this past month. I don't want to lose what little time during the week I get with you because Blaise wants your attention."
"Dray, I promise that we'll see each other far more than just in classes. Also, I see that Blaise gave you permission to use his name, hm?" She raised her eyebrow in amusement at him, but kept her face overall open and honest so that he would understand that there was nothing for him to worry about. "Also, I promise that being in separate houses will not seperate us. We can study together during our study periods and we can eat lunch at whichever table you want to during the week, sorry for missing lunch today by the way… But, don't worry about wether or not we'll be as close as we were this past month - we'll be even closer now."
It seemed to be the right thing to say, because he nodded his head and smiled briefly at her before pulling his pureblood mask back up and sitting forward with his nose in the air. Maera smiled in amusement and slyly grabbed Draco's hand, squeezing it to offer him some further comfort.
The door to the classroom opened suddenly, but the only two to react to it were Maera and Neville. The Slytherins just continued doing what they had been, though Maera noticed Draco had the smallest and briefest of smiles on his face and she suspected that it was due to the way that she had reacted. Sticking her tongue out at him, she turned back to the door again to see what exactly was going on. Professor Snape was striding through the door, his robes billowing behind him in a manner that Maera would not have previously believed possible. Schooling her own face, she turned to face the front of the classroom, ignoring the Gryffindors following after the professor. She pulled out her things and prepared to take notes. She watched from her seat as Professor Snape started writing on the board. Having insight on the man from the times that she had interacted with him over this past month, Maera knew that he would expect the students to begin taking down the things that he was writing - he wouldn't tell them to do so as that should be an obvious thing to do. So, she carefully began to write down the instructions that he provided on the board.
It seemed that she wasn't the only one to think to do this, which was good, but she was the only Gryffindor aside from Neville to do so. The entire right side of the classroom (the side that the Gryffindor's had claimed upon entry) was sitting and watching the professor. Even Granger wasn't writing down what the professor was putting up on the board.
Eventually, Professor Snape finished writing and turned to face the classroom. He pulled out a scroll and started to go through the roll in order to determine who was present and who was absent. Maera was still a little surprised that they concerned with roll as much as they were, but she figured that it was probably just a school thing.
"Potter-Black, our local celebrity." Professor Snape said, a small sparkle of amusement lighting up his eyes.
Maera looked up and rose her hand, indicating that she was, in fact, present. The man continued, though she noticed the mischievous smirk that he wore through the rest of the roll. It would seem that he was planning something, though Maera couldn't say what his plan was.
"Now, potions is one of, if not the most important subjects that you could ever learn. This is why it will be imperative that you all listen to my instructions and never interrupt class with unnecessary comments, wand use, or whatever else you might try to do - this includes speaking without permission." The professor said in a cool drawl, continuing to speak more in-depth over the many ways that it could be used before asking suddenly, "Miss Potter-Black, where would one look if they needed a bezoar?"
Maera blinked in surprise, taking a second to absorb the question. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Granger's hand waving wildly in the air.
"A bezoar could be found in a standard potions classroom among different ingredients used to treat poisons, but it is originally found in the stomach of a goat, sir." She said, keeping her face blank.
Professor Snape nodded, "That would be correct, ten points to Gryffindor, Miss Potter." He turned to look around the room, narrowing his eyes on different students. "Weasley!" He shouted, causing the red-headed boy to jerk abruptly in his seat, "What is the difference between wolfsbane and aconite?"
The boy opened and closed his mouth, his face turning a deep red quite rapidly. Granger was leaning onto her toes in her seat, her arm waving so aggressively that Maera was somewhat concerned that she might hurt herself.
"Well, Weasley?" Professor Snape prompted, staring the boy down.
"I don't know, but I think that Granger knows." The pompous boy said, an arrogant smirk on his face. "Why don't you ask her, she's a know-it-all, anyway."
"Ten points from Gryffindor, Weasley, for talking back to a professor. Now, Miss Potter-Black, do you know the answer to Weasley's question?"
Maera nodded and said, "It's a trick question. They're the same plant, just different names. They both also go by monkshood."
"Ten points to Gryffindor, Miss Potter-Black." Snape said. He turned back to the board and it seemed like their impromptu class quiz would be over, likely just in time for them to begin working on the potion that would be assigned for the day.
"Professor Snape! Do you have any other questions? I personally knew the answer to both and I think that they were too simple to accurately test our classes knowledge, as I'm sure you wanted to see how much we knew as beginners." Granger said, standing at her seat and trying to get the Slytherin Head's attention.
Snape turned and looked down his nose at the young, Gryffindor girl, "Ms. Granger, did I say that you could speak out of turn?"
"Well, no, sir, but -" She began, before being quickly interrupted by the irritated teacher.
"Then you should not be speaking currently. Now is not a time for you to try and demonstrate your knowledge by answering unnecessary questions, Ms. Granger. Now is a time for you to demonstrate your skill and understanding of the material by creating a potion with your partner - something it seems that you are in fact missing, if I'm not wrong. So, stop interrupting class and go and sit with Weasley." He turned to the board again before saying over his shoulder, "And fifteen points from Gryffindor for your continued disobedience." He moved to address the class after tapping the board with his wand, "Now, all of you will create is a cure for boils. Here are the instructions, share one cauldron to two people, and you have the rest of class to create the potion - off you go!"
Everyone quickly moved to pull out the necessary equipment. Draco picked up his cauldron while Maera pulled out the listed ingredients from her own storage (Professor Snape had mentioned that the potion's store-cupboard was only meant to be used by students if they had run out of supplies, so they weren't of the same quality as what she would provide anyway). Maera and Draco worked well together. They quickly and efficiently divided the tasks that they needed to perform in order to maximize their time overall. Maera worked on cutting, slicing, crushing, and the overall prep work for each ingredient while Draco determined the timing needed for each item to be added into the potion as well as the stirring necessary. Maera found that potions was calming just as cooking had been. She didn't need to worry about the state of her cuts or other prep work given the experience that she had from the many years that she had cooked for her family, so she allowed herself to relax.
About halfway through the class, the calm couldn't last. Snape was walking through the Slytherin half of the classroom, complimenting or suggesting as he went for each potion, when a shout from the Gryffindor side caused him to turn around. Following the shout, a potion that one of the Gryffindor boys (Maera thought that it was Seamus Finnigan) was standing in front of suddenly exploded. Professor Snape waved his wand in a wide, downward arch across his body. A shield shimmered to life in front of the left-half of the classroom as the potions master moved forward to contain any of the potion currently spilling out of the destroyed cauldron. The two Gryffindor boys were standing on their stools while the other Gryffindors were on their desks.
"Mr. Finnigan, are you alright?" Snape asked, walking over to the boy on his stepstool.
Seamus (she distinctly remembered the boy offering his first name to her the night before) was hunched in on himself, moaning lightly. It seemed that the only answer he could offer to Professor Snape was a sharp shake of the head.
"Mr. Thomas, if you are better off than your partner then make sure the two of you get to the Hospital Wing now. Tell Madam Pomfrey that you were making a cure for boils and that, if my hunch is correct, you two added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off of the heat. She'll be able to treat you both for that in no time. Now, off you go."
The two students rushed out of the room, Dean (again the name had been offered to her to use) was helping Seamus by allowing the shorter boy to lean against him as they went. Professor Snape then set about cleaning the room, waving his wand to make it a quicker and more efficient process. The Slytherins as well as Maera and Neville returned to their work, making sure to follow the instructions completely. The other Gryffindors, on the other hand, seemed to just sit and stare at the professor. This was likely going to cost them in the end, though, since class would be over soon and they wouldn't finish their potions in time.
Class was slowly coming to an end and Maera and Draco were working on bottling up the potion they had made. Based off of the description that was in their instructions, it seemed to be correct. Their potion was a nice blue, not too dark and not too pale. Overall, they felt confident. Looking at Blaise and Neville's work as they bottled their own just minutes after Maera and Draco, they could distinguish some visible differences, but Maera figured that they would all do well. The four walked up to Professor Snape's desk and put down their bottled potions before picking up their things and leaving the room (they were allowed to do so for finishing early). It seemed that they were the first four people to leave the room, so they likely were the first to finish as well.
They walked slowly through the halls, heading to the library for their second study period that would last until dinner time. Moving through the halls, the group of four kept quiet. They didn't want to get in any sort of trouble for being out of class early, even if they were given permission. It sort of felt like they were breaking the rules without actually doing so.
The library was empty aside from some older students which included two familiar red-heads. Maera began to walk towards the twins' table and the others simply followed after her. It was becoming very apparent that, if anyone were to be the leader of their little group, it would be Maera.
Coming upon the twin pranksters when they were completely unexpecting was a gift in Maera's opinion. It meant that they could have a little fun with the situation, but the location complicated things somewhat. Madam Pince, the librarian, expected people to be quiet (or more like silent) the entire time that they were in the library. She did not care for talking of any sort and was more than willing to shush anyone that made any sort of noise (she'd also willingly kick out or ban someone for being loud multiple times). With this in mind, Maera indicated that the others should stay quiet by putting a finger over her mouth. Taking her wand out of her book bag, she thought back to a spell that she had found in the pranking book that she'd read often this summer. The main purpose of the spell was to create an environment that would be completely silent to those outside of the caster's range, in this case everyone in the library but Maera and her friends.
Thinking of the spell, she quickly performed the necessary motions. Casting silently was supposed to be a skill taught to seventh years (though only those that showed any ability to do so given that it was one of the toughest skills to learn), but Maera figured it couldn't be as difficult as every book made it seem. She breathed out slowly as a shimmery barrier came into existence around their small group (this of course included the twins and their table). It had worked, she'd cast a spell without saying it aloud.
Maera slowly tiptoed closer to her two favorite red-heads, taking care to be as silent as a shadow following its owner. She was lucky that the two were facing away from her. They seemed to prefer sitting on the same side of any table that they were at, she figured it was probably a twin thing. Coming up behind the two, she raised her wand and transfigured their hair into their favorite colors (something they had both felt was important to tell her on the train). For Fred, she gave him alternating stripes of purple and orange. George also received purple and orange hair, since he and his twin shared the same favorite colors, but his was spotted. Feeling good about the spell work, Maera moved closer and leaned over their shoulders, tuning into their conversation that she could now hear.
They were talking about some sort of prank that would involve changing all of the soap in every bathroom throughout the castle - admirable, but likely to be very difficult and time-consuming.
Smirking to herself, Maera took a deep breath and said, "So, what's this about bathrooms?"
Their reactions were instantaneous. They both shrieked quite loudly, making Maera happy that she had the forethought to put up the silencing barrier spell. From there, they turned to stare at her incredulously for a few seconds before looking at each other and then back to her. This back and forth continued until they realised what had happened and began to laugh. She was surprised that they hadn't noticed their change in hair yet, but figured that it would come soon enough.
Maera smiled cheekily at the two and went to sit on the opposite side of the table where Draco, Neville, and Blaise were currently putting their things down (laughing at the twins as well) when Fred and George grabbed both of her arms and pulled her down between them.
"Well then, Mae, 'seems you're becoming quite the prankster. Wouldn't you agree, dear brother?" Fred asked, looking towards George.
"That I would," George started, turning to Fred. But, he stopped as he seemed to realise that his brother didn't look quite like he had the last time he had checked. George blinked in surprise before laughing uproariously while pointing at the other third year.
"What're you laughing at?" Fred asked, his brow furrowed. As George bent with his laughter, however, Fred finally noticed his twin's hair. "Oi! Your hair!"
George stopped laughing and sat up, "What do you mean my hair, what about your hair?"
Fred put a hand to his hair and felt it. He turned to the journal sitting on the table in front of him and pulled his wand out. Transfiguring it into a mirror, he looked at himself and burst into happy laughter. A wide and genuine smile was taking up most of the space on his face as he turned to George, offering the mirror to his twin who also began to laugh at his own reflection.
"Mae," The two said, turning to the younger girl between them, "You have to show us how you did this. It's amazing!"
Nodding in acceptance, the girl agreed and promised to do so after finishing her homework for the day. The twins didn't argue with her and quickly went to work on their own assignments so that they would have time to learn what exactly she had done.
Their little group worked in the library until dinner time, the twins also having a free period at the same time as the first years. They then went down to the Great Hall for dinner, sitting once more with the Slytherins since Draco and Blaise weren't likely to be accepted at the Gryffindor table. Overall, Maera felt that the day had its ups and downs, but it was probably the best first day of school that she'd ever had.