Aesher was a large county south of London. It was an hour and a half by train to Waterloo station, making it a superb location to live in, and was filled with far more trees than people.

Aesher was home to Aesher Common, a nature reserve of great scientific interest to the muggle world that discouraged the public from entering less they disturb the research, or so the cover story went. Bagsy Beetlehorn knew Aesher Common as nine hundred acres of wood home to some of the most fearsome creatures in England. Her family lived there, too.

One Asher Common was a large mansion-esque property situated in the middle of the woods and surrounded by dense swaths of trees. The towering, white walls of the building were masked by the countless mammoth windows the property boasted, which reflected the expanse of green grass the large lawn proudly displayed. Its modern appearance was an ugly clash with the small signs of the rickety old house it had been converted from.

Bagsy was in the garden, a new habit she'd picked up since she'd returned from her first year at Hogwarts. Bontie, her elder sister, was either working at the Ministry or locked in her room, Bagsy didn't know which. Her parents, Himble and Florentchia, were similarly locked away, working on their latest inventions with little time for their daughters.

Bagsy had only been back from Hogwarts for a few days and already she missed it with a deep, agonising ache. It didn't help that her birthday was a few days away and she was, for the first time, loathing the idea of spending it alone. Her usual approach to her birthday was to read, invent or doodle blueprints of magical items. Now, she realised she'd rather spend the day with the friends she'd made at Hogwarts.

Greenda would make a big fuss, Bagsy reckoned. She had shown herself to be an energetic, overbearing, but pleasant presence in Bagsy's first year and she could only imagine the whirlwind Greenda would be on the birthday of one of her friends. Mezrielda would perhaps be less sharp tongued than usual. Maybe she'd even give her a few tips on spellcasting.

Bagsy wouldn't know – she wouldn't be seeing either of them on her birthday.

To keep herself busy, and not go mad from loneliness, Bagsy had dedicated her time to work, as she usually did, except she'd taken to working outside as a way of curing the cooped up feeling that had been festering beneath her skin. It also helped put the events of her first year at Hogwarts from her mind. She still had so many questions about the blood eyed beast that she'd encountered, and she still clutched the invisible necklace Professor Fitzsimmons had given her every night. Fitzsimmons had said it would protect her from the beast's ability to spy on her mind and peer into her world. Bagsy hoped they were right.

She didn't have access to anything that would tell her about the blood eyed beast, and she wasn't about to go talking to her family, either. Bagsy decided she'd wait and speak to Mezrielda about it in person.

That day, Bagsy was testing out some broom modifications she was working on. She'd gone to Diagon Alley since her return and had happily purchased even more broom parts than she had last year at Christmas. Her intention was as it had been her previous term; to create the perfect brooms for the Hufflepuff team so they could have the best chance of winning the Quidditch cup.

'Woah!' Bagsy cried in surprise as the broom bucked her off suddenly. Bagsy landed with an oof in the soft grass and sat up, rubbing her left shoulder. The three deep scars the blood eyed beast's claws had left on it were still sore to the touch and didn't seem like they'd ever heal. 'What was that for?' she asked. The broom slowly descended, not answering her. At least the self-lowering modulator was working, she thought ruefully.

She still couldn't muster the ability to cast spells, so she had to craft components to fill the same safety functions charms would normally provide. Comfort was proving to be a difficult one. Usually a well-cast charm could turn a spikey, painful seat into a plush, armchair-like experience. Bagsy's attempt at attaching an actual armchair had been far less successful and she'd had to resign herself to the slight discomfort of her brooms.

Bagsy grabbed the broom and turned it over, pulling a wooden panel out to take a look at the guiding coil she'd made yesterday, if it was too stiff the broom would protest at its orders and throw the rider off. It was an annoying fault she was desperately trying to understand and fix. Chucking parts over her shoulder and mumbling to herself, Bagsy heard a noise coming from the trees that thickly surrounded the house's grounds. She looked up, stilling her assault on the interior of the broom.

Someone was screaming.

Bagsy turned quickly towards the house, running to the glass doors she'd left slid open. 'Mum!' Bagsy called. 'Dad!' She rushed up the wooden stairs, the steps creaking beneath her feet, until she reached her father's workshop and banged on the door.

'Do not disturb,' her dad's voice said. It wasn't her dad speaking, though. Himble and Florentchia liked to cast do-not-disturb charms on their doors so Bagsy and Bontie couldn't bother them while they were working.

Bagsy stamped her foot in frustration and let out an angry growl, then rushed up to the attic to bang on her mother's door.

'Do not disturb,' her mother's voice said neutrally, similarly automated.

With a huff, Bagsy hurried to her sister's room but, of course, her sister wasn't there. She guessed she was at the Ministry. Bontie was working overtime – she said the Ministry was still in disarray after a horde of magical creatures had been stolen from it at the beginning of Bagsy's first year.

She looked out the window, the screaming growing closer, and saw a boy was running through the trees towards the garden. Rushing downstairs and back outside, she pulled her hornbeam wand out of her pocket. Her spare wand, the walnut wand, with its four sides and deceptively sharp end, sat unused in her bedroom, despite the strange pull she felt towards it.

'Hey!' Bagsy called. 'What's wrong?' She came to a stop next to the work bench her sister had levitated into the garden for her a few days ago. She took one of the brooms that lay next to it, her hand trembling, ready to take off and flee should she need to. The boy didn't notice her – he just kept on running. 'You have to stop!' Bagsy told him urgently, walking cautiously towards the edge of the clearing that composed the garden. 'There's a ward, you can't-'

The boy ran flat into the invisible ward that surrounded the house like a dome. Bagsy heard a thud, wincing at the sound, and then the boy was on his back, dazed. Her parents had told Bagsy the ward was to hide their house from muggles who strayed too far into the woods but Bagsy had a suspicion its real use was to keep out the fearsome creatures that haunted the trees surrounding them. Bagsy had never seen anything dangerous but some nights, when it was thundering, she swore the low rumbles that vibrated through the house were more than just the weather. Now, when many pairs of small, yellow eyes peering through the trees, Bagsy realised she might have been right.

The boy smashed his fists against the invisible ward desperately, not understanding why he couldn't pass through. He was small, had dark, tan skin, and shoulder length hair which was just as bushy as Bagsy's.

The yellow eyes moved forwards, twisting up and down and around each other, until a swarm of crows revealed itself as they flew through the trees. Bagsy's stomach dropped. They were indistinguishable from normal crows, but something about the way they were single-mindedly perusing the boy was wrong. These crows were not normal – they were magical – and they were chasing him.

Despite all her parents warning to never pass through the ward, Bagsy uncertainly mounted her broom and flew towards the perimeter. She slowed to a stop and hesitated in front of the boundary. The boy was leaning against the wall of the ward and staring at the crows with undisguised terror as the crows swooped down towards him, beaks sharp and talons outstretched.

Bagsy, hands shaking and frozen with inaction, just about managed to force herself to dismount her broom and grab the back of the boy's shirt. The ward allowed those inside to bring new people in, Bagsy remembered her parents telling her, so she was able to haul him behind the safety of the ward's walls a second before the crows hit the invisible barrier with squawks of surprise.

The boy was breathing heavily and staring at the swarm of birds that were being held back by the protective wall, whilst Bagsy's whole-body trembled at the sight. With frustrated cries to each other, the crows flew back into the trees where they had come from, vanishing between the branches.

The threat gone, the boy turned slowly to look at Bagsy, his eyes wide. 'I can't remember why I'm here,' was the first thing he said, and Bagsy painfully recalled that, even though you could pull someone inside the ward from within, there was an added safety measure – anyone who passed through the barrier would have their memory wiped of why they'd gone there in the first place.

Bagsy had no clue what to say to the boy in response.

The boy had many questions.

'What were those things?' he asked. 'Why am I here? Who are you?' Bagsy stayed completely silent. She'd never met a muggle before which, from his clothes, Bagsy guessed he was, and she felt almost as terrified of him as she had been of the crows. She couldn't very well let a muggle boy leave after what he'd seen, let alone into a dangerous wood he'd only just escaped when he'd still had his memories, so she led him inside to make him a cup of tea whilst they waited for an adult. She looked at the boy, taking a few tentative steps back any time he tried to speak to her, worried what he might do. The boy seemed frustrated – not just with her, but with his lack of memories. 'Who am I?' he hissed in annoyance at her, as if she had the answers. Clearly, the ward had done quite a number on his memories. It was only meant to make someone forget why they'd tried to enter – nothing more. Clearly, the wards needed recasting.

'U-uh…' Bagsy murmured, pushing a mug of tea towards him as if that would fix things. 'Sugar?' she asked. The boy just blinked at her.

When Bagsy's sister finally appeared with a puff of fire in the living room's Floo station, Bagsy could have collapsed with relief. Her elder sister would know what to do.

Bontie's gorgeous green eyes snapped onto the boy instantly and before Bagsy had a chance to explain Bontie had snapped her wand in his direction. 'Obliviate,' she quickly cast, a mist of light swirling towards the boy and sinking into his forehead. Spell cast, Bontie removed a scrap of paper from her pocket and ripped it, and Bagsy wondered what the purpose of ripping the paper was but, for the time being, just watched silently.

Bontie tossed the paper scraps onto the island the boy and Bagsy had been standing next to. Bagsy looked at the paper and, pushing the pieces together, read what was written on them. 'Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes – tear for instant assistance,' she murmured to herself. Almost as soon as Bagsy had finished reading there was a pop and a tall, gaunt man was standing in their living room.

'Miss Beetlehorn,' the man said. It took Bagsy a second to realise he was speaking to her older sister, Bontie, and not herself.

Bontie, who was draped in sleek orange and black robes, indicated the boy. 'A muggle has wandered onto our property again,' she sighed in annoyance. Bagsy did a double take. Had this happened before? 'I thought you said greater protections would be placed around the woods to prevent this from happening?' Bontie added, raising an eyebrow.

The man sniffed and took out a tiny pair of spectacles that he cleaned with an even tinier handkerchief. 'Not to worry, it shall be dealt with,' he said in a nasally voice, despite his all too small nose. The bags below his eyes were larger than his nose, Bagsy realized. He produced a long wand and with a flick the boy froze and rose into the air. Bagsy wondered briefly if the man was going to kill him, before feeling silly for even thinking so. He was probably going to take the boy back to his home and ensure he'd forget the incident, and have his usual memories returned to him.

'I don't want this happening again,' Bontie said firmly. 'If that boy gets in one more time I'm certain he'll be eaten alive by whatever is out there. Make sure you deal with it properly.'

The man raised his brows, a spiteful curl in his lips. 'Watch your tone. I'm being considered for head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, or hadn't you heard?'

Bontie's gaze was dark. 'I'd heard.'

'Need I remind you the DRCM controls the DRMC?'

'Need I remind you there is an intruder still on my property?'

Bagsy looked from the man to Bontie and back again, her head swimming from the acronyms and quick-fire snipes.

'Please, Mr Mortem,' Bontie added through gritted teeth, 'just do as I say.'

Mr Mortem seemed satisfied with the added formalities and, with a turn and a pop, he and the boy disappeared.

'Bontie,' Bagsy began, her voice shaking, 'there were a bunch of crows and it was scary, and I tried to take care of it, but I didn't know what to do so I brought him inside and made him tea but then...' Bontie walked over to Bagsy. For a second Bagsy thought her sister was about to embrace her or offer comfort but instead she fixed her with a hard stare.

'Did you put yourself at risk helping him?' Bontie asked. Bagsy thought for a moment. She'd only reached out and grabbed the boy's shirt. She hadn't been in any real danger, or she'd have been too scared to help.

'No,' Bagsy said honestly.

Bontie pursed her lips and nodded. 'Good. Help others where you can, Bagsy, but remember, your own life is always more important – more important than you could ever imagine.' Bontie held her gaze a few moments longer, Bagsy finding it suddenly very hard to breathe, before her sister turned and moved gracefully up to her room, carrying a heavy bag of Ministry files and paperwork with her. Bagsy watched her go.

Had Bontie meant that muggle lives were worth less than spellcaster's lives? Was it because they couldn't cast magic? Bagsy's stomach sank at the thought. What did that make Bagsy worth in comparison to other magic users who could cast spells? Even after a whole year at Hogwarts, Bagsy was as magicless as ever and she couldn't help wondering, what was the point of a witch without spells?