"You've been quiet, Draco. Something the matter?" Draco Malfoy schooled his features into an emotionless mask as he turned to look at his best friend. Blaise Zabini smirked at him, his head held firmly in his hand as he stared calculatingly at Draco.
"I don't know what you mean, Blaise." Blaise's smirk widened before motioning to the Gryffindor Table. "Didn't Lord Malfoy want you to befriend the two Potters? If I remember his words were 'they will be very powerful alias to have in the future'." Blaise mocked his father as Draco narrowed his eyes.
"He's not what I expected." Draco admitted, looking at his breakfast. It was lucky that it was still early and most of the first year Slytherins were done or hadn't arrived yet.
Blaise gave him an intrigued look. "What did you expect?"
Draco frowned. "He was well versed on pureblood laws and even the unspoken rules between the sacred twenty eight. He referred to me as my proper title."
Blaise smirked sending a glance to the Gryffindor table. "How Slytherin of him."
Draco smirked. "He could've been in Slytherin. The girl who lived though-"Draco's lip curled as he thought of her. "Gryffindor." He spat it like a curse word.
Blaise raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps there is more to her than you think. Either way, you still need them on your side."
Draco frowned. "This might be harder than I thought. With Lord Potter and Lord Black between them, they most likely already think badly of House Malfoy."
Blaise smirked. "Lord Black is Heir Potter's godfather right? He may have been a Gryffindor but he was still a black, it's probably where he learned the pureblood customs."
Draco nodded before heaving a light sigh. "I just have to bide my time. Wait for the perfect moment."
From the corner of his eye, Draco spotted an icy blonde and smirked. "Greengrass." He acknowledged to the blonde first year who sat at the table not too far from where they were.
Her icy blue eyes turned on him and revealed no emotion. He could see she had already begun learning occlumency, with how closed off her emotions were.
"Malfoy, Zabini, Nott." She nodded before turning to her breakfast, her back stiff. Draco turned to see Theodore Nott had sat down next to Blaise already, giving them an unreadable look.
"Theo." Blaise grinned at him and Theodore rolled his eyes but Draco could see he was nervous.
"Why are you nervous?" Draco demanded.
Theodore's eyes widened before he muttered "Flying class is this afternoon."
Blaise nodded understandingly while Draco rolled his eyes. "You've been on a broom before, Theo. It's no different."
Theo winced. "Yes but only because father forced me."I hate flying."
"Speaking of your father, Theo." Blaise smirked as they spotted a large eagle owl flying towards them. Theo ducked as it swooped right over them before landing angrily on the table, giving Theo an angry look.
It held out its leg and Theo gulped before reaching out for it. He hesitantly untied it and let out a sigh of relief as he grabbed the letter but the owl gave a loud shriek before biting the closest body part. In only a second it took off leaving the Slytherin table behind.
Theo cursed as he held his bleeding finger. "Bloody bird." He opened his letter as both Draco and Blaise smirked in amusement.
"Malice really hates you, doesn't she?" Blaise grinned at him. "Any news?"
Theo shook his head. "Just how I'm a massive disappointment and if I don't get top of the year, I'll bring shame upon my family so you know the usual." Theo shrugged.
"Harsh." Blaise commented with a smirk. Theodore dug into his breakfast, ignoring Blaise's comments.
"That's Lord Nott for you." Draco smirked before turning to Blaise with a raised eyebrow. "And how did Lady Zabini take to having her beloved son sorted into Slytherin?"
Blaise grinned before giving a mini bow from where he was sitting. "Oh, how proud I am of my heir, it is such an honor to have birthed such an amazing child. A prodigy already."
Draco scoffed. "How'd she really take it?"
Blaise rolled his eyes, giving a sigh but amusement still colored his eyes. "She is decorating her newest wedding in silver and green in my honor."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Isn't this her seventh?"
Blaise gave a quiet snort. "Seventh this year maybe." He told him, picking at his food. His eyes lit up and a smirk came on his face as he spotted something behind Draco's back. "Looks like your Golden Twins have finally graced the great hall with their presence this morning. Looks like a rough night."
Draco didn't acknowledge him but his eyes lit up as he slightly turned to keep an eye on the twins as they sat at breakfast but not enough to make it obvious.
"Draco." A voice purred and Draco barely managed to keep his face straight as he turned to the delightful new arrival. "Parkinson." Blaise acknowledge with a nod, attempting to keep the smirk off his face. Pansy leapt to sit next to the blonde haired Malfoy and gave a smug grin to Daphne who rolled her eyes as Tracey Davis sat next to her. The two girls behind her, Millicent Bulstode who Draco was pretty sure had the blood of a troll in her and a smaller girl with black hair and glasses.
"Bulstode." He acknowledge as Pansy grabbed onto his arm with a smirk. His eyes narrowed at the girl. "You're the muggleborn." He sneered.
Draco winced as Pansy's manicured nails dug into his hand. She glared at him. "Not in public, Draco. She's half blood out here."
He nodded, his face going blank once again. "I suppose you took her under your wing."
Pansy narrowed her eyes. "Professor Snape's orders. Slytherin House remains united outside of the common room. Despite her blood," Pansy sneered at the girl, who had meekly sat beside them. "She is Slytherin. We protect our own."
Draco let a subtle smirk grace his lips as he exchanged a look with Blaise. So Pansy did in fact have some Slytherin traits. He gave a bored sigh. "I'm leaving, Blaise, Theo." He stood up, nodding to Crabbe and Goyle who were both waiting for his orders. The goons never had a thought of their own.
He gave Blaise's amused smirk one last sneer before stalking out of the Great hall.
/
"Nev, you'll be fine. It's just flying." Harry told him, exasperated as they sat at breakfast that morning.
Neville was even more worried that usual. Mara smiled at him reassuringly. "We'll all be there, Nev. There's nothing to worry about. Hermione's been up studying all morning for it."
True to her word, they looked at the frazzled Hermione who was reading Quidditch through the ages in one hand and spooning porridge into her mouth in the other. She didn't even seem to notice them staring.
"I hope she doesn't drip porridge onto the book." Neville said with a deadpanned look. Harry grinned as Neville's shoulders relaxed a little.
Mara smiled at him. "I told you, we'll be right there with you. I'm good on a broom and Harry's even better, which reminds me," She grinned as she turned to Harry, who sighed already knowing what she was going to say. "You need to try out for the team, Harry."
Harry frowned. "Mara, you know I just like flying, Quidditch is a hassle."
Two loud gasps had Harry wincing, rethinking his wording.
As Ron started sputtering, Mara gave him a glare as she started "Harry James Potter, How dare you!"
Harry rolled his eyes, shoving a bite of a crepe in his mouth to keep from responding.
"Hey, it's the mail!" A Gryffindor down the railing interrupted Mara's rant.
Thankful for the distraction, harry finished up his breakfast as he watched an owl land on the table next to Neville. Neville nervously grabbed the letter and small package from the bird and it took off. He opened it cautiously and frowned as he took out a small clear orb.
"A rememberall?" Neville questioned. He frowned even harder when it began to emit a bright red smoke inside the ball.
"What's a rememberall?" The four friends nearly jumped as Hermione interjected into the conversation, her eyes shining with curiosity and interest.
Ron recovered first before responding "It lets you know when you've forgotten something, that's why it turns red. Only problem is, it doesn't tell you what you've forgotten."
Hermione frowned as Neville pondered what he could have forgotten. "That's not very efficient."
Harry and Mara both nodded in agreement before Harry turned to her with an amused smile. "Learn anything about flying from your books?"
Hermione pouted, slouching back into her seat. "Not really, it's all theoretical and not practical." She bit her lip as she worried. "It's not very helpful at all. What if I fall? Aren't brooms super uncomfortable anyway?"
Ron looked at her in surprise. "Of course not! Why would they be?"
Mara rolled her eyes. "In the muggle world, Ron, they don't have magic to create invisible seats and straps to keep you in."
Hermione jumped up. "What?" her eyes flittered from Ron and Mara who both grinned.
"Its chapter sixteen, I think." Harry told her, giving her an amused smile as she immediately jumped back into her book. "It won't teach you the spells but It'll give you enough of an idea. It's perfectly safe."
"Oh, Hey Ron, Hermione when is your birthday?" Mara grinned, her excitement showing on her face. "I figured out the perfect presents and I never miss a birthday so when are they so I can plan for it?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "She's not kidding. She knows all of our house elves birthdays and bakes them a cake every year without fail. Even though she ends up burning it every year."
Mara shot him a dirty look before shooting her friends a hopeful look.
Ron luckily swallowed his food before answering, his ears now pink. "You don't have to get me anything."
Harry shook his head. "Don't bother, mate. Either you tell her or she'll write your mother."
Ron paled a bit but looking at the scarily happy face on Mara and the look of defeat on Harry's face, he reluctantly answered "March 1st."
"Perfect." Mara hissed out, her eyes gleaming brightly. Harry and Ron both grimaced at her scary face. "Hermione?" she asked the frizzy haired girl.
Hermione didn't look up as she told them "September 19th."
Mara froze. "Wait, that's next week. I only have a week!" She panicked turning to Harry. Harry sighed. "We have mail order, Mara."
She relaxed before nodding.
"I can't remember!" Neville shouted, his face falling into the hardwood of the table as he gave up. "Nev, you okay mate?" Harry asked slightly concerned.
He muttered something but it was muffled from the table. Harry and Mara glanced at one another before shrugging.
"Well, we need to get to class, we've got Charms first." Harry grumbled. Mara grinned, affectionately patting her brother on the head before taking off laughing as he growled at her.
"Come on, Nev." He said, trying to pull Neville out of his seat. Neville whined. "But Harry, I don't know what I forgot."
Harry rolled his eyes, Ron and Hermione following them as well, though Hermione was still reading her book, not taking her eyes off of it and Ron had clearly stuffed some leftover food in his mouth before following.
Harry sighed. His friends were a lot of work.
/
"Everyone hurry up and stand by a broom!" Madam Hooch was a fierce woman with short grey hair and yellow eyes that she narrowed on each of the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years as they passed to stand by one of the twenty brooms laid out.
Harry stood opposite of Draco Malfoy with Ron and Neville beside him. Mara and Hermione were beside Neville and he recognized a few other Gryffindor, his roommates, Dean and Seamus and a few of the Gryffindor girls, Lavender and Parvarti and the quiet brown haired girl he thought was named Sophie. The stunning aloof girl from Gryffindor that Mara told him about was the farthest down the line, her eyes focused and straight ahead.
On the Slytherin side, he recognized Malfoy's goons, Crabbe and Goyle, a foreign looking boy who was the last in the sorting ceremony, a dark haired boy with a sinister look on his face, and another boy. He spotted Daphne Greengrass, a girl who had quickly earned her title as Ice Queen of the first years. Looking at her perfect posture and ice cold gaze, he was positive it was a perfect fit. There was another girl beside Daphne with brown hair and a pleased look.
The Girl named Pansy who often teased other students in the hallways, surrounded by a large beefy girl and a small meek girl with glasses.
Harry looked distastefully at the broom at his feet, it was not taken care of and it looked like it would fall apart any second. His dad was right, school brooms are terrible.
"Now stick out your right hand over your broom!" Madam Hooch narrowed her eyes at them. "And say "Up!"
Harry had no trouble as he stuck his right hand out and called out "Up!" the broom shot into his hand, as did a few others. Mara, of course had a proud smile as she stood with her broom in her hand. Hermione's rolled on the ground, much to her frustration but Neville's hadn't moved at all.
Neville's anxiety about this lesson was getting the better of him as Neville seemed to shrink in on himself. He noticed out of the girls, only two got it on the first try, Mara and a brown haired girl.
As the others tried again, Harry snorted when Ron's broom when flying into his face and then back down. Laughter burst from the kids and Harry eyed Draco Malfoy who looked like he wanted to say something, a sneer on his face but caught Harry's eye and looked away.
Once all the brooms were in hands, Madam Hooch showed them how to properly mount the broom. The spells on the broom kicked in and Harry could feel his imaginary seat. Harry noticed Madam Hooch correct Malfoy's stance but didn't' say anything.
"Now when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard." She told them. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle- three-"
Harry prepared himself to launch into the air but quickly noticed Neville's pale face. He frowned. "two-"
"Neville, no!" He barely had time to shout before Neville's broom shot into the air before the whistle went off. Neville went straight into the sky and Harry dropped his broom, worry for his friend overwhelming his want to fly.
He was twenty feet in the air when he saw Neville look down and could see as if in slow motion, Neville falling sideways off the broom.
"Harry, Don't!" He heard a girl yell, only later did Mara tell him it was Hermione.
It was instinct as Harry grabbed his broom and shot off into the air as Neville began to fall. He wouldn't have reached him in time but he heard a loud shout of "Wingardium Leviosa!" and Neville's descent didn't stop but it slowed.
It was slow enough that Harry was able to grab onto Neville's arm but the spell stopped at that moment and Neville's body weight went crashing onto Harry's shoulder. He heard a loud pop but didn't let go as he pulled Neville up with his arm. They slowly fell to the ground and once they were only five feet, he let go.
Neville fell softly to the ground, landing on his butt while Harry grabbed a hold of his shoulder, grimacing as he let go of the broom.
He looked up and saw that Mara had her wand out and was breathing heavily. Panic and Exhaustion were plastered on her face. He gave her a reassuring smile as she headed towards the two of them but Madam Hooch reached them first.
"That was foolish! What were you thinking?" He knew she was speaking to both of them but Harry couldn't focus on anything but the pain on his shoulder.
"Potter is injured; He needs to go the hospital wing." He heard Draco Malfoy say and he shot him a grateful look at Madam Hooch immediately agreed. He saw Mara and Hermione's pale faces as Madam Hooch led him and Neville away to the hospital wing.
/
Despite Mara's worry for Harry and Neville, she patiently waited for Madam Hooch to come back to dismiss them. As she passed, Madam Hooch quietly pulled her aside and told her "I've assigned 20 points to Gryffindor for you and your brothers combined effort to save a classmate."
Mara quietly thanked her as she tried to join Hermione and Ron but quickly saw they had both disappeared. Giving a heavy sigh, she was surprised when a she noticed a black and white kitten sitting at the edge of the field. It had already become commonplace to find Breena waiting for her after classes.
A warm feeling filled her chest and she couldn't help but smile at her familiar. She quickly noticed however that Breena wasn't alone. A larger sleek, black cat was sitting not far away, staring at her with its bright yellow eyes. Interestingly, she saw its right ear had a gold earring and as she came closer, she spotted that its tail had several gold rings around its tail. She wondered how they stayed on briefly.
She paused, unsure what to do as she approached the two cats. The larger cat was patient and its eyes held the same intelligence that Breena had if not more. She didn't have long to ponder as a white-blond girl with icy blue eyes approached them.
Mara couldn't remember her name but from her crest on her robes, she was a Slytherin first year. Mara was hesitant until she saw the black cat finally moved from its position, wounding its way around the girl's ankles.
"Um, is that your cat?" Mara asked with a hesitant smile. The girl's icy eyes met her own and Mara felt a chill run down her spine from the pure cold on her face.
"Yes."
Mara immediately felt as if the conversation was over but her curiosity over the cat won her over. "Um, she's really unique. I've never seen a cat quite like that before."
The girl's eyes turned towards her in a glare and Mara couldn't stop from shrinking in on herself. The girl only stared at her for a second before she turned and stalked into the castle.
Mara watched as the black cat stared at her for a moment before following the girl.
'That couldn't have possibly ended worse.' Mara thought to herself.
'She didn't kill you.' Breena helpfully replied, giving a soft purr. Mara shot her a glare and sighed as she headed into the castle.
As she headed to the common room, she spotted another face she remembered from the sorting ceremony. The red headed girl with rainbow colored socks was coming out of the charms classroom and Mara noticed she still had her purple colored messenger bag on her side.
Mara hesitated to approach her until she saw the bright yellow and black colored scarf around her neck. Her eyes lit up as an idea came across her mind. She approached the girl and quickly tapped on her back with a finger.
The girl turned around with surprise on her face. She had pale skin and red hair like Mara except this girl was darker like fine wine while Mara's was like fire. The girl quickly smiled and turned to face her, and Mara noticed she shifted her bag around her arms so she was holding onto it with one arm.
She heard a growl from below her and sent Breena a harsh look. Breena sniffed indignantly before stalking away. Mara finally turned to the girl, giving her a bright smile. "Hi, I'm Mara."
The girl smiled. "I'm Lily."
Mara's eyes lit up. "That's my mom's name too! That's so cool!"
Lily giggled before asking. "Is there something I can do for you, Mara?"
Mara blushed and nodded, rubbing her hands together. "Yeah, um, do you know how to get to the kitchens?"
Lily blinked in surprise then slowly nodded. "Yeah, I do. Why?"
Mara grinned at her.
/
Harry rubbed his arm as it still ached from being pulled out of the socket. Madam Pomfrey was not pleased to have a dislocated shoulder to deal with on the second week of school but she was nice enough, if strict.
Giving a yawn, he found his feet already heading to the library. Hermione had already gotten the group to study together there a few times but between Ron and Mara's arguing and Ron and Hermione's arguing, it was hard to get things done.
As he entered, he quickly spotted his new bushy haired friend at a table, her nose in a book with a pile more beside her.
He scooted into the seat across from her and cleared his throat.
Hermione jumped, her eyes searching for the noise and spotting Harry, she blushed and smiled. "Sorry, Harry. I was just reading."
"I noticed." He grinned as she shot him an annoyed look.
He was probably going to regret this later but his curiosity got the better of him. "So why are you reading a second year charms book?"
Hermione blushed and avoided his gaze. "I thought it was interesting and wanted to read up on it."
Harry raised an eyebrow, disbelieving her excuses. "Is that because Mara is better than you at it?"
She flinched and he knew he got it. It was true. They had three charms classes and each time, Mara was just naturally good at it. She found it easier than anyone else, it was weird.
He had noticed the tension between Hermione and Mara but had hoped it had gone down.
Hermione gave a large sigh before looking at her fidgeting hands, nervously. "Schools always been something I've been good at, I have an eidetic memory so it's always been the one thing I'm good at."
He understood. He gave her a smile. "You're still doing incredibly well on the other subjects and it's not like you're bad at charms, you just aren't as naturally inclined as Mara is. I don't think anyone is. Flitwick is extremely impressed; I think he's been telling the teachers she's going to be a charms master. We're all good at some subjects and bad at others. Just means Mara is good at charms and you're good at everything else."
Hermione smiled at him gratefully. "If it means that much, why don't I help you study and you can feel better at how much better you are at the theoretical lessons?" He offered with a grin.
Hermione laughed before giving him a teasing look. "Only if you help me with the practical aspects."
"Deal."
/
Hermione woke up on her birthday feeling relatively normal. It was a Thursday and they had defense early this morning.
She dressed for the day and went through her normal routine until it was time to wake up Mara. Confused, she noticed the empty bed next to hers except for the small black and white kitten.
Surprised and confused, she headed down the common room and quickly spotted three boys and a girl with bright red hair. They were huddled together by the fire until Harry's green eyes spotted her and he elbowed the two boys beside him.
At once, all four of her friends stood up and faced her with excited grins. Confused, she approached them cautiously. She hadn't seen her new friends act like this before and she was a bit worried.
Mara grinned at her, her hands behind her back and Hermione noticed the common room was relatively empty; mostly everyone was probably in the great hall.
"So, with a little help from everyone and my new friend in Hufflepuff, We officially bring you to your birthday party!"
Mara and the others stepped aside and Hermione saw that the table was set up with five chairs around it. On the table was breakfast, each filled to order and in the middle was a blueberry muffin with a birthday candle. A smile broke across her face as emotions filled her chest.
Mara continued to grin at her though. "That's not all. Before we dig in, I hoped you would open your presents." Mara bit her lip in worry and excitement as she studied Hermione's face.
As Mara handed her a brightly colored present, Hermione couldn't stop her hands from shaking. She had only ever received presents from her family.
Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she stared down at the present. She briefly heard Mara and Ron arguing in the background, panic in their voices. She jumped when a hand landed on top of hers. She looked into Harry's eyes and he smiled at her.
In that brief exchange, she knew he understood.
She grinned at Mara, who was anxiously wringing her wrists. "Thank you so much for putting this together. It means a lot to me, Mara."
When Mara's face lit up, Hermione knew this was the best birthday she had ever had, regardless of what was in the presents.