Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

The next day came quickly for Maera. After the semi-eventful day before, Maera hadn't expected any more excitement so quickly. She found herself proven wrong, however, when she came into the common room the next morning ready to meet up with Fred, George, and Neville for breakfast. Looking around the room, she didn't expect to see much given the time that she often got up was far earlier than anyone else. Deciding it would be best to check if there were any specific announcements on the bulletin board off to the side of the room, she moved in that direction.

It was good that she did, too, given that there was a specific announcement for all of the first years pinned front and center on the board - an announcement that had not been there the night before. She quickly scanned the paper, not overly concerned by what it was. She picked up the gist easily, they would be having their first flying lessons this week (she still couldn't believe that the stereotype of witches flying on brooms was true, even after Draco had told her). The classes were broken up similarly to how they were broken up for any of the other lessons. Gryffindor would be with Slytherin, so there was a high chance that Weasley would instigate some sort of fight (she'd need to stay alert to be out of trouble for that). Finally, the most important part of the announcement, their lesson would be Friday in the morning during their normal study period that day. Essentially, she had a week until she'd try out a broom for the first time - she probably would have been able to try one out at the Malfoy's manor, but everyone had been too busy and there was still concern at the time for her physical health. Butterflies of excitement burst forth in her stomach at the same time as a small ball of anxiety. She'd only ever heard amazing things about flying. Not to mention, she was consistently told that both of her fathers had enjoyed flying and were naturals. She could only hope that she would be the same as well. Quashing down both, she thought about how her friends would react to the announcement.

Neville would likely be dreading the lessons. He complained often enough to their group whenever Fred or George mentioned flying. The boy honestly seemed terrified by the concept of leaving the ground without any solid support. Maybe it had something to do with his love for plants? Maera couldn't be sure, but she knew that he would not enjoy this coming Friday (she'd make sure to keep an eye on him during the lesson).

Draco and Blaise, on the other hand, would both likely be ecstatic for the lesson. The two boys would argue with each other about the best model of broom and the best quidditch teams and whatever else they could find when it came to flying (also when it came to generally any other subject, it seemed). She could already imagine the two fighting to keep their masks of indifference on in the face of flying on brooms again.

The twins would probably love that the first years would be having their first lesson this week. The two had wanted to take her flying since they had gotten to Hogwarts, but they were wary to do so without her having any previous lessons. She personally thought that they wouldn't care about her experience, or more so inexperience, if their brooms were better. The two complained about their brooms often, but they did praise the brooms about the same amount of the time. It was likely that Fred and George would blame themselves, though, if something went wrong while she was on one of their brooms, so she wasn't allowed to go flying with them like they wanted until after her first lesson at the least.

As Maera continued to wait and contemplate flying, she was unaware of the two red-heads coming up quickly behind her. A blonde boy was following them, but in a more sedate and world-weary manner. The twins snuck closer and closer to Maera, likely hoping to scare her as she had done to them often enough in the past, but, before they could do so, she turned around.

Maera looked at her friends in surprise, but smiled and started leading the way to breakfast.

"So," She said, smirking at Fred and George as they walked through the halls. "Were you two trying to spook me earlier?"

The two twins looked affronted by the accusation. "Who, us?" Fred asked in false innocence.

"Why, we'd never do that to you, Mae!" George added.

"Why would you ever think that?"

"We only ever have the best in mind for you."

"Yeah, we would never scare you!"

The two probably would have continued if Neville hadn't decided to interrupt them by adding, "Of course they would never scare you, unless they were trying to prank you. Someone might even say that they had been trying to prank you earlier, but were caught before they could actually do anything."

"Nev, you wound us!" George exclaimed, a smile on his face.

"How could both of our dear friends betray us so, Forge?" Fred asked, turning to his brother.

"I don't know, Gred, I don't know. We would never betray them like this!"

"We most definitely would not!"

"Why, it's an insult that they would even pretend to be our friends for so long just to do this, now isn't it, Gred?"

"Why, I think you're quite right, Forge!"

"Okay, okay," Maera interrupted with a laugh. "We get it, you weren't trying to scare me - you two would never do something like that and, by questioning you in any way, we were insulting you."

The twins looked at each other for a brief second, acting as if they were going to continue with their charade before smiling and nodding at Maera.

"That would be correct, dear Mae." George said, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"But," Fred continued. "It's alright. We forgive the both of you." He, too, slung an arm around Maera's shoulders.

With both arms around her, the twins set off directing her further to the Great Hall for breakfast.

The day passed by rather uneventfully. It seemed that, beyond herself and Neville, none of the other Gryffindor first years had noticed that their flying lessons would begin on Friday. Because of this, there was little to no talk about it among the Gryffindors throughout their classes that day.

Weasley and Granger also hadn't acted out during any of their classes. Or, the two weren't as extreme in their behavior as they were when the school year had begun. Granger would still answer questions out of turn, or sometimes even just speak out of turn, but most of the teachers had figured out ways around this. Weasley was more often than not asleep during the majority of the classes that he could be asleep in, so he didn't bother anyone most of the time.

Today was different than normal, however, because everyone was busy. Neville had some questions for Professor Sprout, so he had chosen to spend their study period there, apologizing that he'd miss their study session. Blaise and Draco were helping Professor Snape with something, they hadn't elaborated beyond that so Maera wasn't even sure what they were doing, really. Finally, the twins had quidditch practice tonight, something that they had not known until around lunch time that day. It seemed that Gryffindor didn't have a player for the seeker position (Maera thought that this was the person that caught the snitch - a ball worth a hundred and fifty points that also ended the game when caught, but she couldn't be sure) and they needed to have try-outs before the season started.

Maera was currently alone in the library, reading one of her many extracurricular books. This one happened to be the small book that she had found on animagi. It was all more real to her now that she had seen Professor McGonagall transform from a human into a cat and vice-versa. But, she did feel like there was something more familiar about the magic than she could remember - whatever it was, it was at the tip of her memory, so close and yet so far from her.

Putting her book down briefly, she looked around the area of the library that she was in. There weren't many other students and there likely wouldn't be many until tests were about to be given. It seemed that many wizards didn't find studying useful, or at least not many outside of Ravenclaw. She didn't even think that there was another Gryffindor anywhere in the library, not even Granger!

Just as she was about to go back to her book, however, Maera noticed a flash of red and gold in her peripheral vision. Turning slightly, she noticed that Percy, the twins' older brother, was sitting at a table only slightly more secluded than her own and surrounded by dozens of books. The boy looked, well, for lack of a better word, stressed-out. His face was pinched and his shoulders were at his ears. He seemed to be searching through every book for something, but he couldn't find whatever he was looking for. There was a desperate and fearful look in his eyes that worried her.

It worried her enough that she gathered her things and put them into her bag, walking away from her own table and towards the older Weasley. She cleared her throat when she arrived, not wanting to startle him too much, but he didn't notice.

She sighed and said slightly above a whisper, "Excuse me."

Percy startled and looked up at her, his face was even more pinched from here and the crazed look in his eyes was more pronounced. His hair was even messed up from the amount of times that he had grabbed at it while he had been looking through his books. He looked at her in uncomprehending confusion for a second, seeming to not understand why she was there. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he quickly sat up straighter, flattening his hair (or trying to do so, at least) with one hand.

"Um, yes? What is it that you need?" He asked, his tone not nearly as pompous (as the twins would say) as it normally was.

"Do you need any help?" She asked, not really sure what she could do to help him. She looked away from him, not wanting and unable to look at him as he seemed to comprehend her words.

The older boy looked at her, confusion clear on his face. "What do you mean?"

"It's just," She started, nervous despite feeling like she knew him on some level from talking with the twins. "It's just that you looked very stressed?" She finished lamely, not able to look him in the eyes. She hated that this would happen sometimes. Talking with strangers was still difficult for her, despite the continued aid she received from her friends. She figured she could just be glad that she wasn't stuttering.

"Oh." Percy said, the surprise palpable in his tone. "Um, not to be rude or anything, but I don't imagine you could help me even if I needed it." Towards the end of his statement, he seemed to be putting more effort in to sound arrogant or pompous.

"What does that mean?" She asked harshly, looking the boy in the eyes again. A heated flush had begun to climb up her neck. What did he mean by that? Was she not smart enough for him? Her anger was beginning to lead her down a path of thoughts that she found supported the twins' view of their older brother, that he was a pompous jerk - the 'perfect Weasley'.

"Well," Percy began, seemingly falling into that role right before her eyes. "You're a first year, are you not?" Before she could answer the question, the older Weasley had already continued. "My younger brothers wouldn't even be able to answer the question I'm trying to figure out, so I highly doubt that you'd be able to answer it either." He stuck his nose up at the end, turning away from her.

Maera was about to walk away. There was no reasoning with the older boy, it seemed. But, there was still that slightly crazed and stressed look in his eyes. Sighing to herself, she squared her shoulders back, determination filling her. She would help Percy Weasley with his stupid question and she would prove herself while doing so. (If she could also help the older boy along the way with his 'perfect' image, well, that would be even better).

"What's the question?" She asked, moving to look over his shoulder. He tensed and seemed ready to turn around and tell her off, but she located the question on the parchment sitting in front of him before he could. It looked like Professor Snape had requested some background knowledge on the wit-sharpening potion, something she had read about over the summer. The question that the older Weasley was stuck on asked: 'Who is credited with the creation of this potion?'. It was definitely a tricky question. Maera was slightly surprised that Professor Snape would even ask something so obscure, but she figured that he had a reason for doing so. "I think that I've come across this in one of my books before."

"You have?" Percy asked, shock coloring his tone.

Maera nodded, smiling at him. "Yeah, we could go back to the dorm and look through my books to find it? That is, only if you'd like to."

"Yes! Oh, yes! That would be perfect! Let's go now!" He said, scrambling to grab all of his things. Maera helped him and soon the two were walking awkwardly through the halls on their way to Gryffindor tower.

"So," Maera said, dragging out the o in the word. "How are you?"

Percy looked at her in surprise, simply saying, "I'm fine." He didn't continue. He turned and began to walk a little faster.

Rolling her eyes at the boy's behavior, she said, "Really? Because you seemed insane with stress earlier - not even twenty minutes ago."

"I'm fine." He insisted, biting out the words slowly and precisely. It seemed like he was trying to convince the both of them that this was true.

Huffing to herself, Maera shook her head. "I don't think you are, Weasley."

His shoulders tensed and he seemed about to respond, but they had finally reached the portrait and all too soon he was shooing her away to her room. Shaking her head once again at the boy's behavior, she shrunk her trunk and brought it down to the common room.

Looking around, she located Percy at a small table in the corner. There were more people in Gryffindor tower than there had been in the library, including the youngest Weasley, but Maera paid them no attention. She subtly waved her wand to enact the same spell she had used all that time ago that allowed her to speak at a normal volume without others hearing before she sat down at the small table. Tapping on the trunk, it regrew to its standard size. She quickly located all of the potions books that she had within her trunk and brought them out for them to look at together.

Before she could open one to begin the search, however, Percy leaned over and placed his hand on hers, stopping her. "There's a spell," He started, explaining why he had stopped her from her search. "If you say requiro and what you're looking for while turning your wand to the right, then the book should bring you to the places that your term is used." He demonstrated the spell on the book nearest to him, finding exactly one passage wherein 'wit-sharpening potion' was used.

The two quickly searched through the group of books, putting back any that did not mention the wit-sharpening potion. After about a half hour of searching, the answer fell before them.

"Look here, Weasely," Maera said, turning the book she had in front of her around and tapping at a part near the middle of the page. "It says here 'the wit-sharpening potion is said to have been created by Genevieve Heartstrong…'. It goes on to say some more about the potion that might be useful, if you'd like to borrow the book?"

Percy blinked in surprise. Slowly, a small smile came across his face as he nodded his head in acceptance. She handed him the book and he began to work on finishing his homework. She packed up the other books sitting on the table before pulling out her animagus book and picking up where she had left off. The two sat in companionable silence until the older Weasley had finished his paper. He sat back in his seat, relaxed for the first time that Maera had seen, and looked up and around the common room. She watched as he took in all of the people around the room, noticing his own younger brother off to the side, playing some sort of game or other it seemed. Finally, his eyes came back to her. He seemed surprised that she was still there.

"Um…" Percy started, pausing briefly. "Thank you?"

"No problem." Maera said, smiling at him.

Percy nodded and seemed to be waiting for something more. Maybe he thought she would be getting up and leaving, maybe he thought she was going to say something else. He definitely didn't seem prepared for her to go back to reading her book still at his table.

"Uh, Ms. Potter-Black, do you need anything?" He asked, not even stumbling over her preferred method of address.

Looking up at the boy, Maera smirked lightly. She noticed the way he tensed in response, so she schooled her features into a more benign smile. Grabbing his hand that was laying on the table, she asked, "Weasley, are you okay?"

The boy was shocked once more. It seemed that the only thing that Maera could do was shock him. He rushed to nod his head, gulping in a breath. He likely would have tried to say something to convince her, but Maera decided to stop him before he could.

"It's just that, I don't think you are." She said, looking at him earnestly. "The twins have told me that you're their 'perfect' older brother, that you fit into the role that your mother expects her children to fill…" As she was talking, she felt the boy stiffen and try to retract his hand - she allowed him to do so, not wanting to force any sort of contact. "I just want you to know," She started, looking him in the eyes. "That you don't have to fill that role. No one ever said that we have to be what our parents expect. I mean, look at me. I can't imagine that my mother or father would have wanted me to know how to cook at the age of four, but I do and I personally wouldn't change that about myself just to fit into whatever mold they had in their minds. I don't plan on changing myself when I meet my other father this December."

Percy looked at her, seeming to mull over her words. "But," He said, confusion, worry, fear, and many other emotions in his eyes. "How can I be accepted by my family without fitting that role? What else would I do? All I've ever done is fight to fit in so that I'm not treated poorly by my mother or father. I've seen what has happened to the twins because of their rebellion - I could never do that."

"You don't have to fit into your family, Weasley." Maera said with such conviction that the boy looked at her, hope finally settling in his eyes. "You can make your own family just as the twins are doing now. You don't have to fight to be accepted by people that won't accept you for yourself. Trying to force yourself to be something that you aren't is only causing more issues, and, in my opinion, the fact that your mother expects you to fit this expected mold so closely just shows that she already is treating you poorly. I would argue that this qualifies as mental and emotional abuse. You do not deserve to be treated this way. I'm sure that your real family will accept you no matter what you do, and that includes if you choose to be as chaotic and mischievous as the twins."

It was as if no one had ever told Percy Weasley any of this. The boy was so shocked by her words he didn't say anything for a good fifteen minutes. He seemed to be thinking over everything she had said and trying to compare it to what he already knew. Eventually, however, he nodded to himself and looked at her, a new determination in his eyes.

"Thank you, Ms. Potter-Black, and I would be honored if you call me Percy, no need for Weasley."

She smiled and nodded, accepting the first name easily. "Only if you'll call me Maera."

"Of course, Maera." Percy said, smiling back at her. He ducked his head, a light flush coating his ears. "I was also wondering - that is, if it's possible- um, well, uh, would you want to help me find that family you were speaking of?" He addressed this question more to the table than her, but she ignored that, readily agreeing to help him.

"The first thing we should do," She said, packing up the rest of the things on the table for him. "Is re-introduce you to the twins. I'm sure Fred and George would love to meet their real brother."

Percy nodded, and the two hurried off to the Great Hall for dinner.

Dinner that night was trying. Maera had to convince the twins to hear Percy out and make sure that none of them were fighting or being prats to each other. Draco and Blaise hadn't been there when she and Percy had entered, so Maera had sat at the Gryffindor table. Neville watched Maera work on rebuilding the strained relationship between the three Weasleys and offered no help, though Maera wasn't sure what help he would be able to offer anyway.

Eventually, the three boys were able to work out some sort of system. The twins stopped making fun of everything that Percy said and, in turn, Percy stopped speaking in the pompous way that he normally did for everyone around him. The three brothers talked about how their classes were going, what they wanted to do after Hogwarts (Percy was now happy to talk about wanting to become a magizoologist, something that he'd never mentioned before), and anything else they could think of. It seemed that, once the twins had determined that Percy was actually trying and no longer forcing the 'perfect prefect' image, they were far more willing to listen to him. Percy seemed to be enjoying the time with his brothers, gladly offering insight on some of their pranks and jokingly reminding him that he was still a prefect.

Overall, Maera felt that dinner had been a success by the end of it. Percy was now being welcomed into their group and his relationship with the twins was the strongest that it likely had ever been.

The twins and Percy continued to talk over the rest of the week and Maera was happy to see that they were beginning to be like family to one another again. She, Neville, and, eventually, Blaise and Draco continued to study with each other as they had every other week before. Blaise and Draco seemed only slightly surprised by the addition of another Weasley to their group, briefly introducing themselves to Percy and simply moving on.

The two Slytherins finally explained to her, too, why they had been so busy that Monday. They were working with Professor Snape on different potions so that they could be more prepared. They had wanted to invite her to join them, but they weren't sure if she'd want to join. She rolled her eyes at the two boys and said that she'd love to join them. Neville asked if he could join them as well, given his lackluster performance in potions, and the two were more than willing to offer him the chance.

Finally, as the week came to a close, it was Friday - the day of their first flying lesson. At breakfast, the four first years sat together at the Slytherin table (the Weasleys they were friends with were sitting together at the Gryffindor table, discussing something that had to do with their family owl that was currently laying flat on the table in front of George). Hedwig had come in for the breakfast rush as well, bringing letters for both Draco and Maera from the Malfoys. Draco had been using Hedwig the most out of the two of them thus far in the semester, but Maera did make the time to visit her beautiful owl whenever she could. As Maera was reading the letter from Mrs. Malfoy, a loud screech filled the hall. Suddenly, a strong looking barn owl flew down from the ceiling of the hall and towards Neville, holding a package for the boy. The blonde Gryffindor accepted the package thankfully and the owl flew off, briefly nipping at the boy affectionately.

"What've you got there, Nev?" Blaise asked, leaning across the table and towards the box in interest.

"I'm not sure, Blaise, but it looks like it's from my gran." Neville said. Maera noticed that his voice seemed to strain on the word gran - she'd need to talk to him about it later.

Neville carefully opened the package, pulling wrapping away from whatever it was inside. Slowly but surely, a small, glass orb was unearthed from inside the box. The four first years looked at it, trying to place what the object was.

"I feel like I've seen something like this before." Neville said slowly, turning the ball around in his hand. A gray smoke sat inside of the ball, and, as Neville turned the ball around, the smoke suddenly became red.

Blaise and Draco snapped their fingers at the exact same time. They looked at each other affronted. Maera laughed, covering her mouth with a hand and trying desperately to stop herself from laughing further - though it was definitely a difficult task. Neville also looked like he was trying not to laugh, keeping a semi-inquisitive look on his face.

Draco quickly said, while still staring at Blaise, "That's a remembrall."

Blaise continued before Draco could, "It's supposed to tell you when you forget something. The smoke will turn red when you've forgotten something, and, when you remember, it will revert to its original color." As he said this, the smoke within the ball turned back to a light gray.

Neville nodded, smiling. "I've a dreadful memory. Gran must think that this will help, how…" He paused, seeming to search for the right word. "Thoughtful of her."

Right as he finished, the smoke inside the ball turned a dark red once again. Everyone stared at it.

"It seems," Blaise said, shaking his head in amusement at the ball. "That you've forgotten something else, Nev."

Neville flushed in embarrassment. "It seems so." He agreed. "I just don't know what I've forgotten."

Maera, Draco, and Blaise burst out laughing at their friend's misfortune. They turned back to their breakfast, putting the remembrall out of mind. Afterall, there was something far more exciting happening just after they were done eating - their first flying lesson.

Breakfast flew by after that. The four were soon waving goodbye to their friends at the Gryffindor table and walking out of the Great Hall and through the doors that lead to the grounds that surrounded the school. They walked carefully towards a large flat area that was dedicated to the first year's flying lessons. There were brooms, enough for each first year, laid in two rows along the ground when they arrived. It seemed that the teacher expected them to split up by house, but Draco, Blaise, Maera, and Neville stuck close together.

Moving towards four brooms, they waited patiently for the rest of the class, as well as the teacher, to turn up. Draco and Blaise started talking about different things that Maera and Neville would need to know. They emphasized the importance of intent (once again) when it came to flying. It seemed that, if you were nervous on the broom, then the broom would likely notice this and react poorly to you.

It wasn't long before Madam Hooch, the flying instructor as well as quidditch referee and coach, came to the flat area. She had a broom over her right shoulder and a pair of goggles resting on her gray, spikey-haired head. Her eyes were not unlike an eagle's in Maera's opinion and the robes that she was wearing appeared as if they were made to be flown in.

"I see that you all can get to class on time, at least." She said, smiling at the four. Just as she finished, however, the rest of the Slytherin first years came from the direction of the castle. "Well, at least you four can be early. Welcome, Slytherin first years. Please go ahead and find yourself a broom. We'll just be waiting for the Gryffindors to finish arriving and then we'll start your lesson."

Maera wasn't sure how much longer it took the other Gryffindor first years to arrive, but they were most definitely late to the class. Madam Hooch didn't seem pleased with them and made this apparent by taking ten points from Gryffindor for tardiness.

"Now that everyone is here," She said, looking pointedly at the Gryffindors opposite Maera, Neville, and the Slytherins. "We'll be learning to fly today. Brooms are finicky things. They scare easy, so make sure that you aren't spooked when riding or you'll fall faster than I can say snitch. The first step to flying is to stick your flying hand - that'll be your wand hand for those of you that don't know, out and over the broom. Say in a clear and confident voice 'Up'. Go ahead and try it now."

All of the first years attempted to follow Madam Hooch's instructions. Maera looked at her broom and said, "Up" with as much conviction as she could. The broom shot straight into her hand. Smiling, she looked over at Blaise and Draco, noting that their brooms were also in their hands.

She heard a shaky voice cry "Up" from next to her and looked over. Neville's broom shook lightly in response. The blonde Gryffindor was staring at the broom with wide, fearful eyes. There was no way that the broom would respond appropriately to him. Moving over to him, Maera put her hand on top of his outstretched hand and smiled reassuringly at him, telling him to try once more. The boy nodded and repeated the command. Instead of flopping over, the broom jumped into his hand this time, still slightly hesitant just as Neville was.

"Now that everyone has their brooms, we're going to mount the brooms. We are not, and I repeat not, going to take-off, yet. For now, just put one leg on either side and wait." Madam Hooch instructed.

Everyone rushed to do so, eager for the chance to fly. Maera, Draco, and Blaise mounted their brooms easily. Neville, however, was struggling. The broom was bucking up and down, not interested in having him ride it. Maera looked over and was about to get off of her broom to help him, when the broom suddenly pushed into the air. Everyone watched in shock and, for some, horror as Neville rose higher and higher. Madam Hooch moved quickly and jumped onto her own broom, rushing to help Neville.

The flying instructor brought her broom level with Neville's and reached out for him, helping him onto her own. The abandoned broom flew off into the distance, careening towards the forest. Madam Hooch carefully directed her broom back down to the ground. As it stopped, Neville jumped off of it and back to the ground.

"Let's bring you to Madam Pompfrey, she'll help with the shock." Madam Hooch said as she dismounted her broom. She began to lead Neville away, but turned quickly and barked an order at the other first years. "Don't try flying while I'm gone. If anyone does, I'll see to it that you'll be expelled faster than you can say quidditch." With that, she was off towards the castle.

Maera walked over to stand with Draco and Blaise. The three were equally concerned for their friend and discussing what they could do to make it up to him. They couldn't imagine how the shy boy was feeling, struggling with a broom in such a manner in front of all of the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years.

"What's this?" They heard a whining and arrogant voice say.

Turning, Maera noticed that Weasley was holding Neville's remembrall in his hands. "That's Neville's." She said, her teeth gritted in frustration.

Weasley looked at her, a smarmy grin on his face. "Hmmm, so it's something you'd want to give back to him, then?"

Maera didn't respond, knowing better than to entertain the boy. Draco and Blaise, however, were not as wise it would seem.

"Give it back, Weasel." Draco said, moving in front of Maera and holding his arm out.

"Yeah," Blaise said, coming to stand next to the blonde. "Give it here. We'll make sure that you won't get into any sort of trouble, with the school or otherwise, if you just give it back to us now."

Weasley's face was beginning to turn that bright red that it seemed to favor whenever he was speaking with Draco, Blaise, or any other Slytherin. "Now, I don't think I'll do that." He said, glaring the two Slytherins down. "I'd rather get some sort of reward for saving a fellow Gryffindor's things from two Slytherin bullies." Here, he leaned towards Maera and winked at her. "What about a kiss from a beautiful Gryffindor princess?"

Blaise and Draco looked furious despite their Slytherin masks. Maera couldn't let them deal with Weasley, nor did she want to. Moving around her two friends, she stared down her nose at the youngest male Weasley.

"Give the remembrall to me, and we'll all forget that anything happened." Maera said, offering no other option.

Weasley's face filled to a deep red and he glared heavily at her. He looked away for some sort of solution to his current predicament, obviously not wanting to give up the remembrall. Spotting his broom, the boy quickly mounted it and shakily took off into the air.

"Why don't you come get it?" He asked, holding the sphere into the air in one arm.

Maera, her temper at its highest and her patience overly thin, stomped to her broom, pushing past Draco and Blaise. The two Slytherins half-heartedly attempted to stop her, seeming to forget that she had never actually ridden a broom before. That detail didn't matter to Maera, either, as she mounted the broom and pushed off.

A sudden rush of adrenaline filled her as she rocketed into the sky. As her stomach dropped, her excitement and joy rose. She felt at home on the broom. It was as if she had been meant to fly and had simply forgotten. Quickly gaining an understanding of how to control the broom, she turned to face a pale and fear-filled Weasley. She leaned forward on her broom towards him, shooting off in his direction. The boy watched her with wide eyes, not knowing what to do. Looking around, he threw the remembrall with all of his might towards the castle. Maera noticed this and turned abruptly on the broom, skimming past Weasley and causing him to steer his broom towards the ground. She steadily gained speed towards the ball, but it wasn't fast enough. The remembrall began to fall towards the earth, accelerating due to gravity. Maera followed her instincts. She pushed hard on the broom, bringing it into a ninety degree dive. She was gaining on the small object. Putting an arm out, she felt her fingers skim across the surface of the glass ball and she pulled in, bringing it to her chest as she pulled up on the broom with her other hand. Her feet barely touched the green grass as she flew higher into the air. She looked down at the small, glass ball, pride filling her.

Maera directed her broom back to the other first years, landing to the stunned silence of everyone around her. She showed the remembrall to Blaise and Draco - the two boys immediately surrounding her in a hug. They then began looking her over for any injuries and berating her for flying so dangerously.

The two likely would have continued to do so for longer, but they were interrupted by a loud voice with a thick Scottish accent saying, "MAERA POTTER-BLACK, COME HERE THIS INSTANT!"

Maera looked up in surprise, noticing Professor McGonagall standing at the edge of the grounds. The woman looked furious. The first years, aside from Granger and Weasley, seemed worried for her as Maera moved through them to meet up with her head of house. Draco and Blaise both offered her a 'good luck' as she left them, though the two were unhappy to be apart from her after her stunt.

Shuffling forward, Maera looked up at the transfiguration professor and prepared herself to be expelled.

Professor McGonagall looked down at her through her glasses and bit out, "Follow me, Ms. Potter-Black." The imposing Scottish woman then turned on her heel and walked briskly towards the castle.

Following the professor was honestly quite harder than Maera would have thought. Professor McGonagall walked at a very fast pace, one that Maera's shorter legs were not able to accomplish without more steps. Due to this, by the time the professor stopped outside of the defense classroom, Maera was out of breath and bent over slightly.

"It'll be just one second, Ms. Potter-Black, wait here." The professor said before entering the classroom. Just as she said, no time passed before she had come back, this time joined by a Gryffidor boy that Maera would guess was in his fifth year. The boy looked stereotypically Irish, aside from his hair being brown. His pale skin was covered with small, somewhat noticeable, freckles. He was also tall and strong, with muscle covering the entirety of his body.

The professor led the boy and Maera into an abandoned classroom just down the hall from the defense room. She looked at them. The silence in the room was heavy, and Maera could tell that it was bothering the boy just as much as it was bothering her (she was just better at hiding it).

"Why'd you bring us here, then, Professor?" The boy asked, his voice heavy with an Irish accent.

Professor McGonagall smiled at him for a second, leaning forward as if she were about to announce some life-changing information. "I've found you a seeker, Wood."

Maera looked between the two in confusion, recognizing the quidditch position.

"What do you mean, Professor? You want me to put Maera Potter-Black on the Gryffindor quidditch team? As our seeker? She's just a first year!" It seemed that Wood was just as confused as Maera.

"Yes, Wood. I think that Ms. Potter-Black could be the best seeker that Gryffindor has ever had, including Charlie Weasley." Maera wasn't exactly sure what this meant, only knowing from the twins that their brother was an amazing quidditch player, but Wood seemed impressed.

"Better than Charlie Weasley?" He asked, seeming to doubt the professor. There was hope in his tone, though, indicating that he wanted her to be correct.

Professor McGonagall nodded. "I watched her get onto a broom for her first lesson and catch a remembrall from a fifty foot dive! She's a natural!"

Maera wasn't sure if she should speak up now, but decided to add in anyway. "It was also my first time on a broom." At this, Professor McGonagall looked completely and utterly shocked. Wood looked as if he couldn't believe it while also desperately hoping it was true.

"Could she even play, Professor?" Wood asked.

"I'll make sure that she can with Professor Dumbledore. There is no way that I will let this raw talent wait a year just because of a rule that first years can't bring a broom. There's nothing in the rules saying that a first year can't be on the team, the rule is only about owning a broom." The Professor continued for a second about the logistics behind Maera playing while Wood added in his own input. The two seemed to come to a conclusion because they nodded at each other before turning back to her. "Now, Ms. Potter-Black, I would like to congratulate you on your position on the Gryffindor quidditch team. You will be meeting with Wood here to work on your understanding of the game as well as your abilities secretly until after the first game of the season. I also ask that you do not let anyone know about your new position unless you believe that they can be completely trusted."

Maera nodded to show that she understood what she was meant to be doing.

"Good." Professor McGonagall continued. "Now, I'll bring you back to your lesson and explain that I needed you for a second to Madam Hooch. Wood, back to defense with you." Dismissing the older boy, the professor waited a second for him to hurry off before bringing Maera back through the castle and to the grounds where the flying lessons were continuing.

Everyone was standing beside their brooms when they arrived and all action stopped. Madam Hooch looked over and moved to speak with Professor McGonagall as the transfiguration professor pushed Maera back towards her broom.

Ignoring the looks of everyone around her, Maera quickly whispered to Draco and Blaise that she would explain everything later. The two didn't seem too happy with that decision, but they respected that she couldn't currently say anything and didn't push.

Eventually, the flying lesson continued and each of the first years (or, at least those confident enough that their brooms would let them - meaning that Granger was not included given her broom's inability to even move when she said 'Up') was able to hover briefly for a short period of time before they had to go back inside for the rest of their lessons.