September, 1976
There was something different in the air that evening. It was fresher, cooler, carried promise and new adventures. Winnifred Charm breathed it in, experiencing her first step off of the Hogwarts Express and onto the platform where other students were heading towards the horseless drawn carriages.
"What in Merlin's pants are you doing?" Nova Acantha pushed Winnifred aside, nose upturned and eyeing the other students, arms full of her Ancient Rune scrolls that she'd finished proudly over the summer.
Winnifred fixed her bag, "It's our last time getting off the Express, you would think we'd be sentimental about it."
"I'm fine," Wren MacBeth walked ahead, hand intertwined with her boyfriend, Lane Bones. They exchanged looks that promised marriage and children and settling down. "I'm excited to get out of here."
Elspeth Hardwick looked as disgusted as Winnifred, shouldering her Quidditch gear.
"I put two galleons down that you're the first to cry," Lane chuckled, shouldering Wren as she rolled her eyes. "It's our seventh year!"
"It's going to be perfect," Nova Acantha sighed contentedly, rubbing the brand new Head Girl badge that adorned her Ravenclaw attire. Her eyes narrowed, catching sight of something that wiped the euphoric expression for a more angered, twisted one. "Did you hear that, you brats? This year is going to be perfect!"
A group of fifth year Gryffindors had passed, four boys that had driven all of Hogwarts crazy since their first day. James Potter looked insulted to be called out so publicly, looking for support from his friends. Remus Lupin, who now Winnifred could see had a Prefect badge, was grabbing his shoulder and leading the raggedy boy ahead. Little Peter Pettigrew, the most shocking of the group, was left to tug at Sirius Black's robes.
"Winnie!" The young boy cried dramatically, Pettigrew having some difficulties with trying to pull on Black and not trip over his own two feet. A few onlookers laughed but it drew only eye rolls and scoffs from Winnifred's friends. She couldn't help herself from shaking her head, a puff of acceptance.
"We're all heading to the carriages, you great oaf!" She walked ahead, leading the group towards the horseless carriages. Potter and Lupin had already found one, watching as Black tried to fall in step with her fast steps. Pettigrew looked hopeless, joining his friends.
"You look lovely, summer has really done you well." He said.
She stepped up, Nova and Elspeth flanking her as she sat on the uncomfortable plank. She raised an eyebrow as she stared at him, unimpressed with his compliment. Black did the same thing, every year, and although she put on a tough act, a part of her was enjoying the moment. It was her seventh year, after all. She only had nine more months of Sirius Black following her around before she entered the big bad world.
"And you still look twelve." Winnifred said dryly.
"Sixteen in November," Black gave her a look that a boy who was about to turn sixteen should not know how to master. But there was no denying that he knew how to use his sharp features and piercing blue eyes to his advantage. He'd really grown into himself. "Now you can't say I'm too young."
The girls laughed, the carriage lurching forward. Black stumbled a few feet, having been leaned against it. The carriage containing his friends also began to leave and it was the last one. He was too busy chasing his friends down to hear Winnifred shout, "Still too young!"
Even if Black was thirty and Winnifred was forty, he'd still be too young. Of course she saw what the whole school clearly saw last year; he was a snack. Even the seventh year Ravenclaw girls were guilty of commenting on it in the beginning of term last year, eyes wide as the tall boy was walking with an even taller James Potter. They were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team as well, helping their growing muscles define over the holidays. It had been a real horror show watching the fourth years fight over who got to ask them out for Valentine's Day. There'd even been a ruckus about Remus Lupin in the Greenhouse that left Professor Sprout spluttering and flustered over two third years.
Even with his new looks and groupies, Black was and would forever be the little boy who's been following her around since he was thirteen. A crush that he would grow out of this year, surely.
Nova and Elspeth had better things to talk about instead of Winnifred's fan. Elspeth was trying to get hours on the field for her team already, making very good arguments that even fair Nova couldn't say no to out right. She wouldn't have a problem seeing as Gregory Davies was the Head Boy, and Hufflepuff had more important things to worry about than Quidditch. Lane was intrigued, being pulled into the conversation to the dismay of Wren.
"At least I have Slugclub to look forward too," Wren sighed, easily shoving second years out of their yearly seats. It had been that way for seven years and even if the kids shot sad, almost teary looks at them as they stole their seats, Winnifred couldn't bother to be guilty about it. "Professor Slughorn said there'd be a real prize this year. I wonder what it could be."
Nova broke conversation to lean across the table, "Be careful, I could only imagine what those gremlins have planned for this year. I heard banging and shouting in their compartment but Lupin claimed to have it under control. Why Professor Dumbledore made him a Prefect, of all Gryffindors, I'll never know."
It made the Ravenclaws nervous, all those who had over heard. Professor Dumbledore stood, yellow robes for this occasion, and had nothing different to say then he did the past two years. That these were hard times, that unity should conquer not greed, and such. It brought a heavy sense of dread into the room, the mention of the war that was raging on outside. As if they hadn't been reading the Daily Prophet all summer waiting to see if a friend had died. He finished with a stern look, no doubt having just finished about pranks, and clapped his hands, the golden platters of House-elf cooked food appearing before them.
Except accompanying the food were garden gnomes. And they were angry, unstunned from a long journey, and had nothing nice to say to the bewildered students who stared back at them. They started to fling food, mashed potatoes flying into hair, ribs in eyes, peas all over the floor. Some had raised their wands to stun the gnomes, but there were more coming from further down the table. Winnifred had taken to standing in the aisle, shoved in front of Nova and Wren as three gnomes came running at them with butter knives raised and little shrieks of fury.
It was easy to stun them, their bodies frozen in runs and yells. Nova screeched, spinning to try and pull a gnome out of her hair that had sky fell. By the time Wren and Winnifred had freed Nova ("I will murder them, I swear by Merlin!") the Professors had gathered the gnomes and the tables were shouting over each other, all directed at four boys who were sitting innocently at the Gryffindor table. Their head of house, the most terrifying teacher that Winnifred had experienced, came stomping down the aisle, yelling and wand swishing with sparks of outrage.
""-ruined this feast, in fact you have managed to single handedly ruin every welcoming feast for the past five years-"
"How am I going to eat the lamb now?" Lane pouted, staring at the empty platter.
"I'm sure the elves have more food, they're always cooking, right?" Wren picked corn out of her dark hair, disgruntled.
"-dishonor onto your house, never in my life have I had such misbehaving students like you-"
"This is our seventh year, it's supposed to be perfect and I have mashed potato down my shirt!" Nova shrieked, grabbing River Zabini who was next to her. "Tell me you hate them just as much as me."
"Of course I do. Who actually thinks they're funny?" Zabini rolled his eyes, turning back to his friends.
"The year will be perfect, it's just one night, and one that happens every year." Winnifred tried to calm her.
It only seemed to spur the girl further, "Oh stuff it, Win."
"She's right, what else did we expect?" Elspeth had easily cleaned herself off with a spell. Wren, who was Muggleborn, seemed to realize that she was a witch as well and applied the same spell. "Last year they made it rain frogs and rats."
"No, that was for Halloween. For the Welcoming Feast they made the food impossible to eat, remember it kept jumping from us when we'd try to grab a piece." Lane looked sadder at the memory.
"They can at least stop for a year, they have two more," Nova shot a disgusted look at the boys, who'd been pulled off from the feast by Dumbledore. "Bloody hell, they don't make it easy to be Head Girl."
"Yeah, I was wondering why you wanted it in the first place with those ones in school." Lane looked baffled at the idea of trying to control the Gryffindors. They had rallied such a school spirit that they had even been nicked the Marauders, to which at that point seemed untouchable.
"It looks good on resumes. Especially if I want to become a Rune Breaker." Nova was wistful, daydreaming about the dark caves and unknown Magical parts of the world she wanted to travel.
"You're still stuck on that? I thought I had persuaded you to the finer life of medicine." Wren had found all the food that was edible, passing it out to the friends so that they each had a well portioned plate. It seemed other tables had suffered worse, scowling Gryffindors asking the Slytherins for left overs.
"Oh yuck, blood and people, no thank you." Nova turned her nose, injecting herself into River Zabini's conversation to avoid further explanation. Wren pouted, turning her wide eyes to Lane, who had no more interest in joining her working at St. Mungo's then a Flobberworm.
"What about us? Does anyone care what El and I do?" Winnifred asked, slightly wounded that Wren was itching to keep Nova with her. It was understandable, they all had found their first friend and Elspeth had always been her person and Nova with Wren. A little ball of hope inside her, though, was praying to keep the five of them together after Hogwarts.
"Are you still planning to join the suicide squad?" Wren's tone was clipped, eyes shrewd as she stared at the two girls.
"Obviously."
"Did the war stop?" Elspeth looked at the ceiling, as if Voldemort would miraculously appear waving a white flag.
"They're not a suicide squad-" Lane began but Wren interjected, slapping her hand over his mouth and giving Elspeth and Winnifred a look that clearly indicated they were making the worst decisions of their lives. It had always been clear, since the first article had came out declaring state of emergency, that Wren MacBeth did not like her friends fighting on the front lines and preferred a more passive approach such as hiding until it was all over and letting the trained wizards deal with it.
Such an approach was not one that Elspeth and Winnifred wanted to follow.
The feast was the shortest one yet and left the students still hungry, grumbling and casting dark looks at the Marauders, who were waiting at the doors with buckets and mops to clean up the food. Black caught her eye, not the least bit embarrassed as older Gryffindors began to heckle them (Potter puffed his chest out, pushed his glasses up, and met the tallest one toe-to-toe), and no sooner had she turned her head to walk up the stairs to the Ravenclaw Tower, that red petals flew from above, swirling in their own tornado of wind. They came to rest before Winnifred's eyesight and just in the center of it was a cannoli. Her yearly Welcoming feast dessert.
"Oh hey, Black's treat," Augustus Brax took the steps three at a time to catch up to Winnifred, his blue eyes wide on the cannoli. "Can I have it this time?"
"Oi, it's my turn, wait in line, Brax." Elspeth snapped, slowing down to push him back.
"You got it last year-"
"-and I'll get it every year-"
They shouldered each other behind Winnifred, unaware that she had already began to eat the delicious dessert. Not until the Eagle knocker, or Knox as they fondly referred to her, loudly stated, "If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you don't have me. What am I?"
"Hmm, any ideas? Nova?" Wren rarely answered the riddles. It was a fond pet peeve now.
Nova had her nose pressed against her Runes, "A secret."
"Correct. Have a pulchritudinous evening." The door slid open, revealing the circular blue and bronze common room.
"Pulchritudinous? What does that even mean?" Lane hissed to Wren, the two finding themselves comfortable by a window.
Nova was quick to disappear to the dorm, a door to their right that led to a long hallway with seven other doors for each year. Winnifred was walking to follow when a loud bang drew her attention to the door. Elspeth had successfully shoved Augustus behind, smiling triumphantly at Winnifred, only for her hazel eyes to land on empty hands and a guiltless smile.
"You ate it?" She was upset, frowning
Augustus appeared at her side, panting and fixing the shoulder of his robe, "You did what? Bloody hell, now all of that was for nothing."
"I wouldn't say for nothing. Today we learned that I am stronger than you."
"Rematch."
"Right now? Let's go."
Winnifred left the bickering pair to join Nova, who was delightfully quiet and reading a book. Winnifred took a shower first and by the time she came out, pajama bottoms with swimming turtles, Wren and Elspeth had joined Nova. The three sat on one bed, huddled and giggling as they planned out the school year. They eagerly pulled Winnifred into the circle, scooting to make room.
"I can't wait to see Professor Horns." Elspeth drooled, leaning on Winnifred for support. She will admit that Professor Horns was handsome, with slicked back red hair and tattoos that were dark enough to see out of his white work shirt, but he never brought out the love struck girl that Elspeth became in class.
"I can't wait to see how he avoids you this year," Wren teased, pushing her shoulder so she knew it was friendly. "When you start doing that day dreaming thing he gets really scared."
"Remember last year he just ended class early? Let's do that again." Winnifred urged.
"Oh hush, he did not end class because of me. It was hot that day, or something," She muttered under her breath before speaking up. "And I'm not as bad as you and Lane, snogging in the hallways and stuff."
"Yeah, can we please stop that? I got a complaint." Nova added.
Wren held her chest, "I got a complaint on my snogging? I thought I was doing a public service, honestly. Who wouldn't want to see me make out with the hottest man in school?"
"I disagree with that."
"Second!"
"I'll actually have to say that Professor Horns beats Lane."
The girls fell over each other at Wren's outraged expression. She was quick to grab a pillow and start beating them, leading to a round of flying pillows and one torn that had feathers over the floor. At the end of it, they laid giggling and panting on their beds, one falling asleep after the other. As Nova talked in her sleep - some other language, no doubt from constantly reading the Runes - Winnifred felt the lids of her eyes get heavy.
And was awoken by Elspeth leaping into her bed, landing on Winnifred's side and digging her elbow in the most uncomfortable way. But no matter the rude awakening, nothing could bring down Winnifred's first day as a seventh year. The air had never felt so fresh going through her lungs, a smile wide on her face as she skipped down the stairs, the chatter in the hallways obnoxious. It was the best part about school, and even though a couple students were out of dress code (a skirt shrunken too short, a shirt half buttoned) not even a snarking Nova could bring Winnifred down.
Breakfast was fast, Professor Flitwick hobbling down the aisle with their schedules flying behind him. Winnifred's landed perfectly beside her porridge, just as the owls flew in with mail from home. Her uncles wished her good luck with all her classes, which weren't too stressful as she had only four, and she rolled the letter to keep for later.
"Oh lovely, Charms first thing."
"You guys didn't take Arthimancy with me? You know you need it." Nova scowled at Winnifred and Elspeth, who had Potions instead.
"It's for Auror training, we had no choice, believe me I put up a fight."
"It'll be fine, potions isn't so bad." Winnifred tried to cheer Elspeth up all morning but it wasn't until Potions was over and the two were rushing to Professor Horn's room that she was back to her full energy. It seemed that having Horns after Slughorn made up for it. Merlin, if we have to do this every day I don't know if I'm going to make it.
Pounding foot steps came from behind and then a gust of wind, flying between Elspeth and Winnifred's legs and whipping their skirts up. The girls easily disposed of the wind, Winnifred spinning to shoot a knot hex at Black's shoes. He went crashing to the floor, Potter shouting in horror and running back to rescue him. The girls kept walking, ignoring the shouting happening behind them.
"They have no manners! I wonder if their mothers even know what they do." Elspeth ranted, saving two extra seats when they sat in Defense Against the Dark Arts, no sight of the professor.
Nova and Wren came in last, panting from their long track across the school. Professor Horns strode out of his office above the class, the girls immediately silencing at his arrival. Winnifred noticed the boys giving each other looks of disdain, apparently not as impressed with his looks. Professor Horns was a gentle man, and he was a great professor who used hands-on teaching, something that they all loved. Winnifred's class had gone through four Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers before Horns had stayed, shocking them all. He was the longest standing Professor yet (Elspeth had checked through all the Year Books).
The bell rang for lunch and the room filled with the sound of scrapping chairs and excited chatter and over it all, Professor Horn's deep voice rang out, "Miss Charm and Miss Hardwick, can you stay behind?"
Nova and Wren paused, looking between their friends and the professor like they decided it. When Professor Horns stared hard at them, however, they dashed out the door. It closed with a stern click, and Winnifred turned to look at the older wizard. He stayed by his desk, suddenly looking a bit uneasy, and Winnifred wondered if it was because Elspeth had slowly started to walk closer to him, eyes wide and cheeks flushed.
"I see you have decided to stay with your decisions to become Aurors." Professor Horns stated, moving to sit at his desk.
"Well, yeah?" Elspeth looked confused. "Are you going to try to stop us? Because my mum already tried and-"
"No, Miss Hardwick, I do no wish to stop you from making the right decision. In fact, I wish to help you excel. I have decided that since these are dark times and there are only a few students who are becoming Aurors, I will train you all that I know," There was a gleam in his eyes that surely would put Elspeth out. "Of course, not in the school's curriculum, if you understand."
Winnifred didn't know if she was hearing right, "Sir, are you saying that you want to train us how to fight?"
"Precisely. Shall I expect to see you tomorrow night?"
The girls exchanged looks, the answer clear as day.