The next Monday, Anthea was ready to try. She knew she would see Kingsley in the afternoon, so she had to sneak either in Charms or in Potions. She didn't dare risk Severus' wrath – they hadn't started their lessons yet and although he had been nice to her the two times he came to visit Minerva after hours, he was still very intimidating – so she opted for Professor Flitwick's class. It was also perfect for another reason: that period was for the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.

She couldn't just barge into his class, though. He had an excellent memory and, even at the beginning of the school year, he knew his students. Besides, she couldn't pass for an eleven years old child. She was small even for her age, which frustrated her to no end. No, she had to do that another way. In the morning, she was out of their quarters before her mum left for breakfast. She had already warned Queeny about her intentions for the day. She had expected the elf to be disappointed or disapproving, but it was just the opposite: her big blue eyes had filled with tears and she had almost sobbed about how proud she was of her little Miss. Weird, but fucking cute.

"Professor Flitwick?" she called, rasping her knuckles against the open door of his office. He was always there from sunrise until breakfast. It was far too early for Anthea's tastes, but what she wanted couldn't be obtained without sacrifices such as an hour of blissful sleep.

"Yes, Anthea dear? Does Minerva need something?"

"No, sir. I actually came to see you because… well, I'd like to come assist to your classes from time to time." He stared at her, dumbfounded, so she continued. "I'm bored, and I can already do a bit of magic. I won't try the spells," she lied, "I just want to listen. You won't even notice I'm here." She hit him full face with the puppy eyes, doing her best to look studious and unthreatening. "I just want to learn, Uncle Filius. Mum said I could come to classes if teachers said yes and didn't make me do the practical sides of lessons. Please?"

The Charms Master stared at her for a moment then visibly shook himself. "Well, if your mum doesn't disagree, I don't see why not, my dear. If you have questions about lessons, though, I'll ask that you keep them for after class. Does that seem fair?"

Anthea nodded with enthusiasm. She could work with that; in fact, she would probably work better with that than any of the teachers expected. Since no one was there, she hugged Filius, making him chuckle in obvious affection. He had seen her grow up from a baby, and was really like an uncle to her, since he was such good friends with Minerva. When she was done, she let go of him and turned around with a wave. "Thank you so much, Uncle Filius! See you in class!"

She fled before he could change his mind, beaming so hard she was probably blinding anyone walking past her. Oh, well. Their fault if they stared in the first place. She ran to the kitchens for a quick breakfast then to her quarters for a quill and paper. It had taken her a long, long time to learn to like quills and, even now, she still felt the overpowering urge to stab someone in the eye with the thing.

She was the first to arrive in the Charms classroom, and took advantage of it to tuck herself in a corner. She didn't want to attract attention to herself, for obvious reasons. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she set up her quill and parchment on the little desk she had chosen. She hadn't been in school, in a proper school, for so long.

The students started trickling in right before the chime of the morning bell. It was way more pleasant than what Anthea was used to from her previous life. Most students didn't even notice her: she got a few quick glances and quicker dismissals before Charlie and Dora stepped in side by side. She grinned at their obvious surprise.

"What are you doing here, Anthea?" Charlie asked.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" She gestured to the school supplies on her desk. "I'm here to learn, just like you. Or almost like you, I should say. I'm not to try the spells, just to learn the theory behind them."

"But you'll know everything by the time you officially get enrolled, won't you?" Dora asked. She was almost meek, disturbingly so. Still, Anthea wondered where the bubbly woman from the canon novels was hiding, and when she would appear.

"I'm already bored now. I'll know a lot then, yes, but I will also be able to do more things to feel less bored."

"You hate boredom, don't you?" Charlie asked playfully.

"I'd rather gouge my eyes out rather than getting bored for an hour."

She didn't have time to add anything before Filius closed the door and levitated to his elevated seat. Why people got so baffled in the canon about Voldemort doing so was lost on Anthea. She could devise three different ways of doing so, and she wasn't even a student yet. It was ridiculous.

"Hello, students! I hope you're alert today, because we're going to learn the Quill Sharpening Charm. It's not much use outside of what it was designed to do, but it's going to help you get better accuracy with your wand."

Anthea was already writing as fast as she could. He was considerate, going at a pace slow enough that his young students could follow and still take comprehensive notes. She was the only one there, to her knowledge, who didn't need to listen before writing what he said down. Her memory did it all by itself, the precious thing. She detailed the wand movement, the mechanism of the spell, and two variations that could be achieved with the infamous flick of the wrist.

When the students got started on the practical portion of the lesson with used and broken quills Filius had put at their disposal, she went back to her notes to edit them a bit, then watched the other students. Most of them were having trouble with the accuracy that their teacher had mentioned at the beginning of the lesson. They didn't quite understand something that Anthea had stumbled upon in a book: the point where a wand stopped after a spell greatly depended on where it started its course. They had to plan the movement, not just execute it well.

When the lesson ended, Charlie and Dora were amongst the successful students. They were about half of the class, and only had to write about half the length of the essay Filius asked from the students who hadn't managed. After gathering her things, Anthea flexed her fingers and took off with a smile to the Charms Master. They were just a bit sore, in the best way. Charlie gestured for her to follow him and Dora.

"I can't believe you managed to take notes through the lessons and all!" he said as they made their way to the small courtyard in that part of the castle. "It was so impressive, Anthea."

"That it was," Dora agreed. "Do you think that blue and bronze are in your future?"

"Ha, who knows," she answered with a smile. "I'm in no hurry to discover my future House. Even living here, or especially because I do so, I don't see the point of them existing in the first place. They just create divisions between students who might otherwise have gotten along."

Dora was staring at her, a bit startled, but a knowing smile was floating on Charlie's lips. He had somehow gotten used to Anthea's ways, or just wished to indulge her because he knew how good it felt to be accepted for what she was. "I see you're passionate about the matter."

"There are very few matters I'm not passionate about, Dora. I'm just," she gestured over her face, "I'm just that way, I guess."

"That's okay, though. Imagine just not caring about anything. Now that would be boring."

Anthea nodded. The subject shifted to the Charms lesson. Dora had managed to poke herself in the eye with her wand at one point and, even if she had mastered the spell, Anthea wanted to help. "You have to see it happen before it happens," she explained. "Like, I guess, you would imagine a white line following the trajectory of your wand from start to finish position, and see if it lands where it's supposed to and doesn't hit anything in the way. I could take notes on that subject in a few books and give them to you soon, if you want."

"Sure! But I can't imagine grown witches and wizards visualising a white trail each time they want to use their wand."

"They probably don't need to after a while," Charlie shrugged.

Anthea wanted to answer, but the bell chimed again, signalling for the students that it was time to get back in class. Anthea had her lessons with Queeny to attend, and she really couldn't wait to see Kinsgley later.