Even since she had realized the world she was living in, there had been this dream in the back of her mind, of becoming great at everything magic, and where Transfiguration was concerned, becoming an Animagus. But the truth of it was, and it hit Gardenia right in the middle of her first class on that fated first day in Hogwarts, that she was human, and bound to have things she simply wasn't good at.
She had never been great at Physics before, she was okay with the formulas, but the theory behind them? Might as well be speaking Greek. So it wasn't that big of a stretch that Transfiguration, one of the most complex subjects there was, was not turning out to be easy.
Feeling frustrated, Gardenia reasoned with herself that she could improve, get better, and eventually so skilled that becoming an Animagus would be easy as cake.
It took only looking at her textbook and the ridiculous formula in it(what was the point of one if you weren't going to use it?), for her to groan and put her head on her hands.
She took a deep breath, composing herself. Annabel was glancing at her worriedly, so Gardenia smiled at her and went back to trying to turn that damn match into a needle.
Maybe she would've been an animal like a sloth, unable to truly be of use in anything she would have to do in the foreseeable future. Being bad at Transfiguration might've simply been the universe sparing her years of hard work, a whole month of keeping a freaking leaf under her tongue, and possibly maiming herself, just to end up being a goddamn turtle.
Or she just cheated herself out of being able to fly without a broom.
She would never know if the way the match became silver and nothing else by the end of class was any indication.
"Professor McGonagall? May I speak with you for a moment, please?"
Being approached by one of the most lackluster students she had at the moment, McGonagall probably was not too pleased with seeing Gardenia.
"Do you need something, Miss Fawley?"
Gardenia fidgeted a bit, not looking directly at the older witch. "I was wondering if there is any possibility of receiving tutoring for Transfiguration?"
McGonagall stayed silent for a few moments, and Gardenia glanced at her face. It was unreadable, which did not help her nerves.
"I usually have to approach students about tutoring, not the other way around." McGonagall sounded surprised, or at least, that is what it seemed to Gardenia. "Of course there is the possibility, but it's just the first month of class, you needn't rush into getting a tutor yet."
"I know it's still early in the year, but if I'm being frank with you Professor, I'm at a loss when it comes to Transfiguration," Gardenia didn't like admitting it, but it was true. "And it's frustrating because I find the subject fascinating! But I have a hard time getting the theory of it, and when I try to put it into practice," Gardner shrugged. "Well, you've seen what happens, or rather, what doesn't."
McGonagall looked at her with a calculating gaze, almost as if she was wondering if this was a prank Gardenia had been roped into by the Weasley twins. But the woman gave her what could be said to be a smile or at least a ghost of it, and nodded.
"Very well, I will see if any of the accomplished second years in my class are available for tutoring." Gardenia smiled brightly, excitement clear in her face. "I will let you know about possible dates and times."
Gardenia nodded and had to hold herself from hugging her Professor, for she doubted it would be appreciated. Thanking McGonagall profusely, she left the classroom with a bounce in her step.
Hopefully, she would stop sucking at Transfiguration, and who knows, maybe in time, she could be good enough to try and become an Animagus.
Fred and George were up to something. Gardenia didn't even have to look twice at them to know that, and her first indication was that they were being way too quiet.
They were currently attending a History of Magic class, a period after lunch designed to serve as nap time. Heidi sat to her left, head resting on her arms in a way she was sure was cutting off circulation, but the girl was so deeply asleep that nothing short of her hair catching on fire would wake her. Fred who was currently sitting on her left and George who sat by his side, on the other hand, were wide awake, a most unusual thing since they weren't drawing on unsuspecting students' faces either.
"You two are remarkably well behaved today," Gardenia commented suspiciously. "What did you do?"
"We're always well behaved," Fred responded, turning to look at Gardenia.
"Your mother would disagree."
"We haven't done anything yet," George admitted.
"But you're planning to," she added.
The two redheads looked at each other conspiratorially, and then at her, smirking and pulling her closer. She was sure it all looked very suspicious to anyone watching, if anyone other than the ghost teaching them were awake.
"So, this weekend is the first Hogsmead trip of the year," Fred began, stage whispering. "And that means, certain items can be acquired via older students."
The way he was talking made it sound like he meant drugs, but it was actually just things to prank people with.
"We are trying to find an older student to smuggle some goods to us," George continued.
"Have you tried asking one of your brothers?"
The twins shook their heads. "Percy would never aid us in troublemaking—"
"And Charlie is mad at us for cutting his hair while he slept."
Gardenia though for a bit, Charlie would've been their best bet, he was usually amused by the stunts they pulled, but she doubts he'll get over the hair thing without at least getting them back, either with a prank of his own, or getting them into trouble.
"I can ask Dora to bring me something, just tell me what you want."
They both smiled at her, and she got a paper with a long list of items written on it.
Two days later, after Nymphadora had returned with a bag from Zonko's, and Gardenia had delivered them to the boys with one of the Hogwart's owls, she got pulled from the Hufflepuff table to join the twins in whatever they had planned.
"I don't really want to be involved."
"You're already our accomplice," Fred reasoned.
"I'm more of your dealer at the moment, actively joining you in pranking would make me an accomplice."
"Eh, either way, you're guilty."
She shrugged and went along with it. The worse that could happen was detention, and she was curious to see what the twins were up to.
They had a few Dungbombs hidden in their robes, and after handing one to Gardenia, they made their way through the castle, stopping behind two suits of armor located in a corridor on the fifth floor, where they had a clear view of the entrance to the prefect's bathroom.
They waited for a few minutes, and when two boys dressed in Slytherin robes came out of the bathroom, freshly bathed and probably smelling like flowers, Fred muttered a Wingardium Leviosa on one of his Dungbombs, and quietly levitated it high enough to not be seen, toward the two boys, and the dropped the spell.
The screams were heard instantly, and Fred and George each grabbed one of her arms and started to run away from the crime scene, uncontrollable laughter spewing from the three of them as they got further away.
"That was hilarious," Gardenia said after recuperating her breath. "What should we do with the rest of these babies?"
"We were thinking of—"
"Stop right there you troublemakers!" A shrieking voice was heard from the end of the corridor, and quickly turning around gave them the view of Argus Filch trying his best to run.
Not thinking twice, they started to run again, but they still weren't very familiar with the castle's halls and ended up reaching a dead end.
"I've got you miscreants, now," Filch said, pulling George and Gardenia by their robes, a glare making Fred tag along as he led them to his office.
Gardenia was not overly anxious about being caught, by Filch no loss, she had expected this at least once during her Hogwarts years, it was just being sooner rather than later. Neither Fred nor George seemed too worried either, they were probably just wondering what their mother's reaction would be once she heard, which she would, and how bad of a Howler they would get.
She might've been worried if this was their seventh year and they were under Umbridge because then Filch might be allowed to go through with some of the awful punishments he kept muttering under his breath, but at this moment, she knew not to be worried about being tortured by a frustrated old man.
Filch practically shoved them inside his office, making them sit down on the chairs in front of his desk. Gardenia scrunched her nose at the sight of the room, it barely passed as an office, it looked more like an old deposit with a table and few chairs. There were various stacks of papers, a few furballs, and some quilts scattered through the place, and a horrible smell was present. Various filing cabinets stood behind the desk, some of the drawers overflowing with things, and she swore she saw whips and chains in one of them. They were labeled, and that specific one was 'Discipline Tools'.
"Would you mind telling us what we're doing here?" Fred decided to ask.
"The three of us were just minding our business, really, this could be considered abuse of power," George added.
"Quiet!" Filch sneered. "I caught you in the act, throwing Dungbombs around!"
He started looking through the stacks of paper, and Gardenia saw that Fred had also taken notice of the filing cabinets, but his eyes were glued to one labeled 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous'. He had a grin of his face, and when he saw Gardenia had noticed where his attention had been, he wiggled his eyebrows and glanced at it. Gardenia sighed, and poked George on the side, getting his attention. Once George realized what his twin wanted to do, he grinned, getting one of the Dungbombs he still had and aimed it at Mrs. Norris.
The cat screeched like a banshee, jumped on Filch, scratching his face, and then ran out of the office. Gardenia felt a little bad for the cat, but then remembered it was a mean little thing, always snitching on students and being an all-around nightmare. Even then, it still didn't sit well with her to throw a Dungbombs at the feline, but what was done is done.
Filch looked panicked as he yelled and ran after his cat, and as soon as the caretaker left the room, Fred jumped from his chair and opened the drawer, quickly snatching a few things. The three of them wasted no time in leaving the office, which was now even more foul smelling thanks to George, and running as if their life depended on it, not stopping until they reached the seventh floor, where they quickly entered an empty classroom.
Gardenia sat down to recuperate, while Fred put his spoils on one of the tables. Gardenia was surprised to find that it was just one item. George seemed just as impressed with his brother's loot as she was.
"Blank parchment, " he said, with all the excitement of someone watching paint dry. "What a highly dangerous object."
"If Filch put blank parchment together with an assortment of dangerous items, it can't really be blank, can it?" Fred argued.
"Filch could be losing his marbles, and just misplaced it," Gardenia suggested.
"How about we try and see if it's enchanted before we dismiss it?" Fred said, getting his wand out and tapping the object. "Aparecium!"
Much to their pleasure, words did appear on the parchment, but not exactly what they were expecting.
Mr. Moony would like to inform you that such simple spells will not reveal any secrets.
Mr. Prongs expresses his amusement over such a pathetic attempt to discover what this object hides.
Mr. Padfoot concurs with Mr. Prongs and advises that you cease trying to find anything.
Mr. Wormtail requests you put this back where you found it.
Gardenia felt like an idiot, from the moment she saw the black piece of parchment, she should've guessed. Right in front of her was the Marauder's Map in all it's glory.
"It's not just a parchment after all," George smirked, leaning in to inspect it.
"What do you think it's hiding?" Gardenia asked, she knew precisely what that parchment was, and how to reveal its contents, but she was curious to see what Fred and George made of it, and how exactly they would go about it.
"Something that we're going to find out," Fred said grinning. "We know a revealing spell won't work, so let's try something different."
He tapped the parchment again. "I, Fred Weasley, ask that you reveal your secrets."
Mr. Prongs is astonished Mr. Weasley forgot the magic word when asking for something.
Mr. Padfoot is sorely disappointed in Mr. Weasley's lack of good manners.
Mr. Wormtail thinks your mother must have instructed you to be polite.
"Reveal your secrets, please?"
Mr. Moony is incredulous you would fall for such a trick.
Mr. Prongs concurs with Mr. Moony, and is of the opinion you must be lacking in intelligence.
Mr. Padfoot is beside himself with amusement that such a daft individual came across this object.
Gardenia and George laughed, and Fred looked astonished. "You should've seen that coming, Freddie," his fellow twin said, taking the parchment from him and attempting something himself. "I, the more handsome of us two, request you tell us how to unlock your mysteries."
Mr. Moony would like to point out that you look identical and as such, equal in looks.
Mr. Prongs is partial to gingers but admits you are not his type.
Mr. Padfoot would like to add that no one is as handsome as he.
Mr. Wormtail informs that without the password, your efforts will be for naught.
"There's a password! I should've thought about that!" Fred exclaimed.
"How about we brainstorm a little before trying to guess? I doubt it would actually tell us what it is," Gardenia was tempted to steer them in the right direction, but without them knowing about her Divination "skills", there would be no explanation for how she knew.
George had a thoughtful look on his face, and Fred started pacing around the room. After a while, They both sat down on the floor, parchment in being passed between them as they tried to guess, and Gardenia joined them, sitting with her back propped against George's back.
They began with words, all the Hogwarts Houses names, then a truly extensive list of sweets, and by the time they reached random words, Gardenia was full of it and decided that she could give them at least a little nudge.
She took the parchment and tapped it with her wand. "Could you perhaps give us a clue?"
Mr. Moony confesses that the password is not a word, but a phrase.
Mr. Prongs is glad that at least one of you has brains and stopped the torrent of random words.
Mr. Padfoot would like to compliment the holder's appearance and asks if she would be agreeable to having a butterbeer with him.
Mr. Wormtail apologizes for Mr. Padfoot's incorrigible ways and adds that should you aspire to break the rules.
"Why are they nice to you?" Fred pouted, making her laugh.
"So, it's a phrase, and we should aspire to break the rules," George mumbled. "Do you think the part about butterbeer means something too?"
"Other than flirting?" Fred asked. "No."
Feeling bold, George took the parchment and attempted again. "We're going to break the rules."
Nothing appeared, but now that they knew what path to follow, the twins became very creative. Gardenia was impressed with how many variations of breaking the rules they came up with, and she also having added some in. Soon they got the hint that they should be promising something. The Marauders were slightly helpful, nudging them in the right direction.
Almost an hour had passed, and the afternoon was starting to become evening when they made a breakthrough. "How about we try swearing?" Fred suggested. "We're running out of things to say, and that's something we haven't tried before."
George thought for a second, before grinning. "I promise I'm going to fuck shit up."
Mr. Moony inquires as to why Messrs. Weasley thinks such foul language is necessary to accomplish mischief.
Mr. Wormtail would like to inform Messrs. Weasley that they are getting warmer.
Mr. Padfoot would like to high five Messrs. Weasley.
Mr. Prongs would like to have a pint with Messrs. Weasley as they seem like just his kind of people. As long as they solemnly swear it.
"Well, that might've not worked, but at least we also got asked out."
"It gave us loads of clues though," George said. "How about 'I solemnly swear to accomplish mischief?"
Gardenia knew them to be so close, she was half tempted to just say it, but she wanted them to have the satisfaction of figuring it out. When the map still didn't reveal anything, George groaned, running his fingers through his hair in frustration, and passed the parchment to her.
"I solemnly swear to be up to no good," she said, not hitting the exact words, but that was the point. The map responded, ink appearing and disappearing very quickly, but this time, it wasn't the banter of the Marauders.
"I think I've got it," Fred smiled and asked her to pass the parchment to him. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
They all cheered, excited to have finally managed to get it right, even if it did take a whole afternoon of trial and error. Gardenia had a feeling that it might've taken them a bit longer had she not been previously aware of the password, and gently steered them in the right direction, but she could care less about that, she simply saved them time.
"It's a map of Hogwarts!" Fred exclaimed, eyes shining as he took in the view in front of him.
"This is bloody brilliant," George was looking at it with awe. "It has every single corner of the castle, it's our dream come true."
Gardenia, now sitting in between the twins, leaned to take a closer look at the map, and truthfully, it was a work of art. She couldn't begin to imagine how long it took to map the entirety of the castle, and not to mention how advanced the charm to keep track of every single person in Hogwarts was. To think the Marauders managed that before even graduating, she was impressed.
Maybe she could get Sirius and Remus to tell her how they did it, or perhaps how to duplicate it, Harry would need the map in the future, and it would be nice to be able to still have one for herself.
"Are these moving dots what I think they are?" George asked incredulously.
"I think they are Georgie," Fred replied, eyes wide. "It's tracking everyone in the castle."
They looked at where they currently were, an unused classroom on the seventh floor, and saw their names. Gardenia could see Dumbledore in his office, the little footprints going from one end of the room to the other, and McGonagall, unmoving in her office.
"Look, there is Lee!" Fred pointed at the moving name, going from the Gryffindor common room down the stairs. "Where do you think he's going?"
Gardenia shrugged. "Dinner, probably."
"Dinner?" George did a quick Tempus, showing it was indeed time for the evening meal. "Sweet Merlin, we've been here since after lunch!"
"It was worth it though, look what we have now," Fred said, before frowning. "How do we make the map disappear? If anyone sees this, they could take it from us, and we might get in trouble."
The map gave them the answer, the necessary words appearing on the bottom of the parchment. "Mischief managed."
It turned out that even if you run out of Filch's office before he can write a detention slip, his descriptions of the students were enough to get someone detention.
Fred and George were reprimanded by their head of House and would be having detention with her, while Gardenia would do so with her head of House. She didn't envy them at all, Professor Sprout was less harsh when it came to detentions, or at least if you actually liked Herbology.
She supposed to most people, having to weed out plants that sometimes sang or danced, water all of the pots in the greenhouse, and organize them in a way the right ones got more sun, was not enjoyable at all, but to her, having grown up with her mother owning a plant shop, she was quite used to it all. The shop's nursery was in their garden, so Lucy could better take care of all the new buds, and from a young age Gardenia helped her out with it.
Gardenia decided that if she were to get detention again, she must do her best to serve it with Professor Sprout.
"Miss Fawley?"
She stopped turning the flower pot that she was having a hard time placing. Professor Sprout was standing next to her, a warm smile on her face.
"Good job today dear, your prowess in class was testament enough to your talents, but today you've shown me you enjoy it," Gardenia blushed, but smiled appreciatively. "I usually refrain from giving students detentions they might enjoy, but I think I can make an exception for one of my badgers," she winked, Gardenia's smile widening.
"Thank you, Professor," Gardenia was glad to know that she was doing well in at least one of her classes since Transfiguration was a disaster, and Snape would sooner put his hand in boiling water than give an actual compliment to a student that wasn't a Slytherin.
"You're done for today, but Professor McGonagall informed me that you should report to her office about those tutoring lessons after lunch tomorrow."
It seems that McGonagall had found a tutor for her after all, and Gardenia was glad to hear it.
The next day, Gardenia happily made her way to the Transfiguration classroom, where a side door led to McGonagall's office. She knocked on the door, a smile on her face, and opened it after receiving permission. Her smile lasted for only about three seconds after entering the room, because sitting in one of the chairs in front of Professor McGonagall was Sawyer Fawley.
"You've arrived just in time, Miss Fawley," the older witch greeted. "I was just talking with your new tutor, although I don't think introductions are necessary."
Sawyer looked just as pleased as seeing her as she felt, his face was impassive, but she could see the glare in his eyes.
"Mr. Fawley is the most accomplished second year when it comes to Transfiguration, and for extra credits, he has agreed to tutor you in the subject," McGonagall gestured at the other chair in front of her desk, and Gardenia sat down. "Now, let's discuss a suitable time for both of you, either a free period or after classes, I suggest the weekend if you'd be inclined."
"Professor, I'm honored you thought of me for the position, but I'm sure you can find a better person to help her, maybe a fellow Hufflepuff? That would help since they can study in the common room," Sawyer suggested.
McGonagall frowned. "Mere minutes ago you were happy to help a first year improve their Transfiguration skills."
"I was under the impression it'd be a fellow Ravenclaw," Sawyer clearly lied, making Gardenia hold a huff of breath.
"As you can see, it isn't, but I see no problem, not to mention, you're cousins, aren't you?" McGonagall didn't wait for him to answer. "And the library is a perfectly good location for tutoring, the common room has many distractions."
Unless he clearly stated he didn't want to help her because of who she was, and most likely have to suffer though questions about exactly why that was, Sawyer had to accept the cards he was given. He had accepted before knowing who he was tutoring, and now the deal was sealed. Gardenia could protest, saying some rubbish about not wanting to be seen as babied by family, but honestly, she wanted to be taught by the best, and maybe, she could get to the root of her cousin's problem with her though these tutoring sessions.
So she said nothing, just smiled politely and told McGonagall when she was free. Sawyer had already discussed with her about his free time, so they just had to decide a day and time for it. After settling for Wednesday's afternoon, before dinner for ninety minutes, McGonagall gave Gardenia a slip where Sawyer would sing at every session, to be brought to her at the end of the semester.
They were dismissed after that, and both of them left the office, walking for a brief period side by side in silence.
"Did you do that on purpose?" Sawyer broke the silence, his voice angry.
Gardenia was startled. "What? Of course not! Do you think I want to be stuck with a grumpy tutor?" Gardenia did technically refrain from protesting him being her tutor, but he most definitely wouldn't have been her first choice. "I asked Professor McGonagall if I could have tutoring lessons, and she said she would find a second year to tutor me."
Sawyer didn't look convinced, narrowing his eyes at her. "If you think that we're going to be buddies just because I'm tutoring you, think again."
"I just want to get better at Transfiguration, I'm not going to force you into a friendship," Gardenia was baffled by his attitude. She had a secret plan to find out why he seemed to hate her, and if things turned out well, befriend him, but that was not relevant at the moment.
"Don't be late, if you are, I'm leaving and you can tutor yourself."
He didn't bother with a goodbye, simply walked away, leaving Gardenia alone. She wanted to eventually be on good terms with her cousin, but damn it, he was getting on her nerves.
Gardenia would definitely have to prank him at some point.
There was something about Hufflepuff that endeared Gardenia even more to her House, every first-year got what could be described as an emotional support older student.
It was sorta like a mentoring program, after the first month or so of classes, the prefects introduced the new members of the house to their designated buddy, who had been chosen considering what they observed during the first few weeks of classes.
Gardenia was slightly unnerved to know people had been taking notes on her behavior, but it was for a good cause, so she supposed it was okay.
The whole of the House had a policy of helping each other when needed, but apparently, given how much of a life-changing experience your first year was, a few decades back they had begun to match students so the first years would be less like lost puppies. It also helped considering their House suffered the brunt of it when it came to mean spirited pranks by others, being considered weak made for an enticing target. Prefects were supposed to be guides, but given they only had six of them, they were stretched thin when adding patrols and other responsibilities to the table.
The way they introduced the first years to their respective mentors was with a party in the common room(very child friendly, during the day and only butterbeer and pumpkin juice) during the first weekend of October. They told the first years about the program a week before, mostly to curb the nervousness, and ever since she'd heard, Gardenia had been counting down the days.
They also had given them a little form, where they could note down their general likes and dislikes, to better help match them, but Gardenia ha a feeling they wouldn't be putting people who had all the same interests together.
Heidi was another very excited person, while Annabel was presenting the nervousness they had tried to prevent.
"I hope I get a Quidditch player," Heidi commented as they made their way to breakfast on the first Saturday of the tenth month of the year. "Or better yet, the team captain!"
"I don't think he signed up for the program, he's probably very busy with the team trials and practices," Gardenia said.
"Then co-captain!"
Sitting down on the table, Gardenia made sure to fill her cup with the darkest and strongest coffee she could find, before adding four sugar cubes and half a cup of milk. "That's a crime."
Nymphadora had sat beside her and was looking outraged at her mixture. "Coffee tastes vile, but I need the caffeine," Gardenia replied, using a spoon to mix.
"You're too young for coffee anyways, no wonder you're so tiny, it must've stunted your growth."
Gardenia would take being short over not having coffee, once you got used to it, your morning was never the same without it, and unfortunately for her, that habit had been long acquired, and the early years of this life were already enough of caffeine-deprived mornings. Her mother never let her have coffee, so she settled for taking clandestine sips out of her father's mug, which thankfully, were just as sugar-filled as the ones she made.
"Are you participating in the mentorship program, Dora?"
"Yep, it's mostly Fourth and Sixth years that sign up for it, Second years are not senior enough, Third years have to adjust to a new schedule with elective, and Fifth and Seventh are too busy with O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s," she answered, putting a piece of toast in Gardenia's plate after spreading some butter on it.
Gardenia tried to sneakily give the toast to Heidi, but Nymphadora caught her and narrowed her eyes, a silent order for her to eat.
"Do you know who you're mentoring yet?" Gardenia asked, giving in and eating the buttered toast. Her stomach wasn't happy with food so early, but apparently breakfast was the most important meal of the day and she couldn't only have coffee.
Nymphadora smiled, winking at her. "I do, but it's a surprise for you guys."
Heidi perked up at that. "Do you know who my mentor is? It's it the Quidditch captain? He's a Sixth year, so he can sing up."
"I know who your mentor is, but I'm not telling," Heidi pouted, but the older girl was unaffected. "You'll find out this afternoon, think of this as an exercise of patience."
"Patience is overrated," Heidi said, making Gardenia chuckle.
The common room was decorated with even more plants, along with some banners that were enchanted to say encouraging things, and various balloons around the room changed colors and shapes. There was a table set up along one of the walls, filled with a huge variety of foods and drinks. The mismatched chairs along the room were filled with people, who sat and conversed with one another.
The two seventh year prefects gave everyone name tags, similar to those stickers with 'Hello my name is', but magical, so they wrote the names with a spell instead of sharpies and glued it to their clothes with a sticking charm.
"Your buddy will find you, so for the time being, enjoy yourselves," one of the prefects said.
Annabel's mentor wasted no time in snatching the girl and taking her to one of the two-seaters, Nymphadora being very excited about her firstie, as she called it. Their match was interesting because Gardenia couldn't name two people more different than those two. But she supposed that Annabel being under the wing of someone so extroverted might help her get out of her shell a bit more, or at least, become more comfortable with everything magic.
Heidi was matched up with Chiara Lobusca, a Sixth year who had a very calm demeanor, and to the young girl's excitement, was part of the Quidditch tea as a chaser.
Her mentor was Penelope Haywood, or Penny, as she insisted Gardenia call her. She was the older sister of Beatrice, the fifth year prefect that had shown them around during the first day, and while her sister kept her hair short, hers was long, reaching almost her waist.
"So, you want to join the Quidditch team?" Penny asked Heidi, when the six of them, firsties and mentors were sitting in a corner, each of them with a pastry and a cup in their hands.
"Yes! I'm a beater, and a good one if I do say so myself," she chuckled, her tone lighthearted. "I wish I could try out this year instead of waiting for a whole year."
Chiara shrugged. "You don't actually have to wait until Second year to try out, there's no restriction against first years being in the team, it's just rare because they're not usually very good."
Heidi's eyes widened, and she leaned forward in excitement. "Really? When are tryouts? I didn't bring my broom because it's not allowed, but I can use the brooms we use for Flying class, right?"
Chiara chuckled, telling her to take a breath, before answering. "Tryouts are next week, and yes, you can use the school brooms, but as you're probably aware, they're not very good."
"Why aren't first years allowed brooms?" Gardenia asked.
"They allowed first years to bring brooms until the seventies, but rumour has it that two firsties managed to get stuck on the Gryffindor tower after a dare, and they banned it."
"Why does that sound like Uncle Sirius?" Nymphadora whispered to Gardenia, who laughed but nodded. It actually did. She'd have to ask him during Christmas break.
"Do you two also want to try and join the team?" Chiara asked Annabel and Gardenia, the former quickly shaking her head in denial.
"I'm terrible on a broom, Madam Hooch had to take me to the Hospital Wing last week," Annabel had hit the wall rather fast after failing to break the broom in time, resulting in a lot of bruises and what she was terrified might've been a concussion, and thankfully was just a bump.
Nymphadora smiled and patted her firstie's head. "That's alright, I do alright on a broom but I've lost count of how many times I've tripped on the moving stairs, and once I even lost my balance and had to hold on to the last step of one as it began to move," Annabel's eyes widened, but the metamorphmagus reassured her she had been alright. "Not everyone is good on a broom, but look at the bright side, you don't trip on air!"
Gardenia though the anecdote her cousin tried might have just terrified Annabel of the stairs now, instead of the desired reassurance that everyone was bad at something, but the thought was what counted, and at least Heidi seemed amused.
"What about you, Gardenia?" Penny asked.
"Oh, I don't know yet, I really like Quidditch, but I'm not sure I'm good enough to play on the team," Nymphadora looked shocked by such an admission, and quickly intervened.
"Don't undersell yourself, Nia, you're a natural on a broom, with some training you can be a great player," Gardenia smiled at her cousin's compliment, she thought she was just average, but it was nice to know someone had faith in her abilities.
"You should try out with me!" Heidi exclaimed.
Gardenia knew that she was far from good enough to be able to get into the team this year, but looking at Heidi's eager expression and hopeful eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say no.
"Sure, we'll try out together," Heidi pulled her into a side hug, thanking her profusely for agreeing, and Gardenia couldn't help getting a bit excited.
She only hoped that they didn't end up making fools of themselves.
Before anyone comes for me about the map only talking to Snape to insult him, this is a popular head cannon, and I think there is no other way for the twins to have found out if the map didn't give them hints, it is a rather specific password.
The part about the swearing came from a Tumblr post that I found way too amusing not to put in, the credits for it fo to theoneblogicareabout
Also, about the Quidditch thing, first years really weren't banned from trying out, if we just go by the 'Harry is the youngest seeker in a century', that means in the last century there was someone as young as him playing, and in HBP, there were first years trying out for the Gryffindor team.
What position do you think Gardenia is best suited for in Quidditch?
I have a plan to update either weekly or every two weeks, but this one was a challenge, I had pretty much ninety percent of it done but some parts that were needed to finish were just escaping me, so I had a hard time. Hope you all enjoy it either way sz
I still don't have a beta so if anyone has any suggestions please tell me
Thank you Evilhyperpixie13, Minna Kivel, Byakko01 and bored411 for the reviews, and thank you for the favorites and follows, they really make my day.
To Byakko01, she will use the Room of Requirement eventually ;)
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one.
