Ch. 11- First for Everything

Moment of truth, Scorpius warned as he, Nott, and Zambini prepared for their first dreaded History of Magic class of the year.

The first day was the only one you would ever find student's arriving to Professor Binn's classroom early. It was everyone's one chance to claim the seats at the back of the classrooms where snoring would be less embarrassing.

However Zambini, when he heard Nott and Scorpius's plan, started laughing. He just grinned and announced. "Trust me mates, we want seats opposite the windows."

"Why don't you just tell us what this 'amazing' assistant did last year that has you excited to get us to this class?" Nott asked rhetorically, knowing the answer.

Sure enough, Zambini only shook his head and said "Spoil the surprise."

Nott didn't press it in favor of gathering his stuff to run to class and get his usual seat- back left corner, with a bit of sunshine to keep him warm. Last year he'd chased a Hufflepuff away with a stinging hex to get it back.

"That reminds me," Scorpius murmured and pulled out their class schedule. "Who're we sharing the class with this year?"

"Gryffindors." Nott and Zambini chorused with a groan, and Scorpius joined in. An entire year of sitting through the world's most boring class with none other than Thorn Weasley herself.

That really was such a perfect nickname for Rose, he grinned as he walked inside and was shocked to find the room rearranged from last year. While Professor Binns' blackboard was still at the front of the class, the four bookshelves lining the right wall had been shoved separate, with enough room for a fifth to fit in the empty space in the middle. The desks were angled to point at the corner of the room instead of the front, and there was a weird little box with some sort of periscope floating by the windows.

The students already there had their stuff set down and were looking at it eagerly. Mister Orion was fiddling with a small glass orb in his hand, twisting it around with a grin on his face. He smiled more as he saw the three Slytherins enter. "Wonderful! That's everyone. Now find your seats, the Professor will be here momentarily."

Nott immediately started toward his spot, and when he arrived his expression turned murderous. "Why does my desk have a Weasley's name on it?" Scorpius saw Rose look up from her conversation with Albus in surprise.

"That would be because that's her seat, Mister Nott." This Assistant apparently didn't know how strong his student's stinging hex could be, since he pointed toward the front of the class. "I believe your name is over there."

"This is my seat." Nott declared and sat down, staring at the Assistant defiantly.

The room grew quiet as they watched the Slytherin be the first to test the new member of Hogwarts Faculty. Mister Orion didn't look surprised, insulted or upset as he asked "That so?"

Scorpius could practically hear Nott think total pushover as he kicked his feet up, lacing his fingers behind his head. "Yeah it is, Mister. And I think I want to stay in it."

Orion sighed in a disappointed way, handing one of the many girls surrounding him the crystal ball he'd been fingering. "Are you absolutely sure?"

The Slytherins in the room started to laugh. "Of course," Nott sniggered at Orion, his dislike obvious, and as soon as he did Scorpius caught a very Salazar gleam shoot through the man's eyes.

"Well in that case-" Their assistant lifted his hand and snapped his fingers, turning to walk toward the front of his class. "I wouldn't want to separate a student from their favorite seat in their first class with me."

The desk Nott had so proudly claimed started to vibrate, then it lifted into the air. He gaped over the side of it at his friends, only to tip it over to hang upside-down. His butt stayed firmly glued to his seat and his feet that had been atop the desk were dangling down with his arms. While Gryffindors started to laugh, Nott flailed around to try and right himself. "Zambini! Help me out!"

Scorpius looked at their mutual friend only to find him laughing along with the Gryffindors in the room, and found himself holding back a few sniggers as well. It seemed the new Assistant had a sense of humor. Orion seemed unaware of their amusement as he wandered between the rows of desks, murmuring "Nott, Nott… I seem to be having a bit of trouble finding your spot, lad. Here, let me know if you can see it." He waved in the universal 'come' motion and the upside-down desk shot forward, spinning as it went before it jerked to a stop with its occupant hanging at the Assistant's side.

Laughter ensued at the nauseated look on Notts face and the completely nonplussed one Orion gave him as he asked "Do you see it? No? Well, let's check over here next." And he once again sent the boy spinning a few feet above their heads as he moved to another area of the room.

The amusement lasted until Mister Orion finally cried out "Ah, here you are!" And with another snap of his fingers lifted the desk with Nott's name on it to lower the person himself, finally right-side up, in it's place. The empty desk gracefully levitated to the back of the room as Nott swerved in his seat, looking decidedly green.

"Enjoy your favorite chair, Mister Nott. Oh, and keep in mind that we will change seating assignments three more times this year." His voice had remained soft and kind throughout the ordeal, and Scorpius knew that the man would undoubtedly have been a Slytherin. The assistant deftly knocked Nott's feet off the desk, turning toward their audience and crossing his arms. "Well? Has no-one else found their seats yet?"

Slytherin and Gryffindor alike quickly dispersed to find their names, and Scorpius paused to pat his friend on the back. "Glad you kept your seat, mate."

Nott tried to glare, but failed utterly and only made the people watching laugh some more.

Scorpius's own amusement faded when he saw who he was seated next to. "Potter." He sneered at the carbon copy of the Chosen One.

"Scorpius." Albus replied blandly, pulling out his notes.

That done, they both got ready for class. Scorpius saw Albus cast a cushioning charm on top of his desk and wondered why he hadn't thought of that first.

"Thankyou Miss Chang." Orion reclaimed the crystal orb from the asian girl he'd given it to, who practically melted under his praise. The attractive assistant held it up to his lips and whispered "Lumos" as the ghost of Professor Binns floated through the closed classroom door.

The ghost briefly took roll call and turned to the board, starting to explain the Giant Wars in his usual droning voice. Scorpius had just started to fall asleep when a light shone on his right, and he turned to find a large, crude illustration of a giant strolling forward.

Binns continued to say in his monotone voice "...They are notably stupid creatures, with limited capabilities to speak any language. When in confined spaces they have a tendency to fight over meaningless things…"

Suddenly the giant was stuck in the middle of a crowd, and as he tried to walk he accidentally ran into another giant. The class erupted in sniggers as they watched the giants suddenly jump at eachother, pulling hair and poking eyes like toddlers.

Curious as to how this was happening, Scorpius looked around to find the Assistant standing behind the floating box, placing pieces of paper with moving cartoons to match what Binns was droning on about. Each of the tiny images somehow appeared on the right wall, between the moved bookshelves. Almost nobody was looking at the board, though there were notably more quills in motion since everyone was actually awake still.

"A projector," Albus murmured, having followed the gaze to the contraption that Orion was using. "We learned about them in Muggle Studies. Shouldn't work in Hogwarts, though."

"If muggles can do it with their elecksity," Scorpius sneered and was horribly aware he'd said the word wrong when he saw Potter's amused expression, "Then he can do it with magic."

The class passed relatively quickly and Scorpius found that he'd only nodded off once. It was a hard habit to break and even cartoons couldn't make the long list of date's Binns gave them any more tolerable. As they gathered to leave Zambini was beaming. "He's cool, right? And that's not even the best thing he does!"

"Careful mate," Nott grumbled, but even he couldn't deny how much better this History class had been. He still pointed to the Assistant that was surrounded by his fangirls. "Or else you'll be squealing for his autograph next.

Scorpius glanced at them and was annoyed to find Rose among the crowd waiting to get to know Mister Orion better. The man was explaining the pojeckter to them. "It's very simple, really, you just need a few mirrors and concave glass and then a light to voila!" He gestured to the wall. "Easily recreated with a lumos spell. My schools used them all the time."

"Was that Durmstrang?" The Chang girl who had held the orb for him batted her eyes, and Malfoy felt a bit sick.

"Nah, that was back in middle school. Muggle class." He announced casually, and some of the Slytherin girls lost interest and walked away. Rose Weasley, however, didn't move from her spot as she continued to watch.

Scorpius rolled his eyes and looked away, mumbling to himself about stupid, shallow witches as he joined Nott and Zambini. They found a Ravenclaw robe among the sea of red and green, the girl passing out a stack of papers to anyone that took them.

"Quick survey for History class, the Assistant wants to see what you remember. There's a request section at the bottom in case there's anything you want to cover specifically, he tutor's on Friday afternoons."

She grinned when one of the girls taking a flyer groaned. "Fridays?"

"Better than Saturdays." The girl winked a green eye at her. "Leave them on the Head Table anytime, or give them to Jon- Mister Orion directly."

When Zambini took one of the flyers, he did a double-take at the girl. "Wait, aren't you the transfer student?"

"Oh very good." She grinned and ran her fingers through ink-black hair. "Takes most people a bit longer and no, the white hair wasn't natural either."

"And your name was…" Nott prompted, curious as well and interested in keeping the girl talking.

"Zoethia Malam." She smiled and held out her hand. "But everyone calls me Zoey. Nice to meet you."

It took a moment for him to realize what her hand was for, and he hastily took it. "I'm Thomas Nott, and he's Marcellous Zambini."

Malam shook his hand too then looked up at Malfoy, casually asking "And what was your name, again?"

"Just call me Malfoy." Scorpius grinned at her as he shook her hand to introduce himself to her for the second time, once more neglecting to tell her his first name. "And I'm sorry, but I don't really see you as a 'Zoey', Malam." He mouthed 'Wainbata' at her slowly, ignoring his friends' confusion.

Malam used the handshake to claw him a bit with her nails, but there was amusement dancing in her emerald eyes. She handed him a flyer as well and moved on, "So what did you guys think of the Assistant? He's a bit of a character, but he loves keeping class active. What do ya'll think of his doodles? Too much, too little? I think he made the giants heads' too small. They looked more like trolls."

The three boys looked at each other warily the more she spoke. It seemed she either didn't know or didn't care about the prejudice that separated Slytherin House from the rest of the school, since she was still talking to them in front of Gryffindors. Scorpius voted on the first possibility as he answered "It was good. Loads better than usual."

Malam smiled as the crowds cleared out. "Cool! He'll be glad to hear it. Make sure you get those back to him."

Nott groaned as she walked into the classroom they'd just left. "Great, another fangirl."

"How can you tell?" Zambini asked as he scanned the parchment she'd given them.

"She's Ravenclaw. She's not in this class, yet she already knew what he showed us. She must have run after finishing her own class to get here before we let out, and she almost called the bloke by his first name. Yeah, she's a fangirl."

They all looked through the open door to see near every girl in class still gathered around the Assistant. Zoey handed Rose one of the forms, who beamed back at the multi-haired girl, and this time Malfoy voiced his annoyance with a scowl as they walked off.

"Stupid, shallow witches."

"What is this?"

Lysander glanced up from his book for what felt like the millionth time that Friday evening; Zoey had an endless amount of questions and insights to share, and she would pester everyone around her until she got her answers. If she wasn't in Ravenclaw, her peers would have found it annoying rather than intriguing.

As it was, the transfer student had sparked half a dozen new debate topics in the Ravenclaw Tower in her first week here. But just as often, she would ask about the most horribly obvious things, and Lysander hand been unofficially appointed as her walking answerbook. He supposed it was because he had been the first Ravenclaw she knew, since he'd interrupted the Sorting Ceremony to check on Hugo and then thank his savior.

He'd never forget how embarrassed she'd looked when he first met her, as though she really didn't think she'd done anything special. Her protests had been cut off when the albino girl had been enveloped in a crushing hug from Rose, and then she'd met the rest of the clan in rapid succession.

When she joined his house Lysander couldn't have been happier; she was interesting, and now he'd have the chance to get to know her without being in the middle of the entire clan. He had volunteered to show her to House Common Room separate from the first years.

The Ravenclaw Common room was at the top of a tall tower with a winding staircase, and instead of a password like Gryffindor or Slytherin- which Lysander thought was incredibly dull for Hogwarts- the door to the Ravenclaw Tower could only be opened with the answer to a riddle.

After using the eagle knocker and hearing it give a riddle for the first time- "What do the poor have, the rich require, and all contented men desire?"- Zoey had spent a good twenty minutes talking to the knocker itself, asking about where the questions came from and how it learned new ones, if at all?

Lysander had been amused until she promised to find a book of riddles to compare with it, and then promptly asked him where the best book of riddles was in Hogwarts.

The Common Room itself had rendered Zoey speechless for a good five minutes. Over a thousand years of Hogwarts history, the Ravenclaw House had amassed an exclusive library for them to use. Every topic from Excotic Magical Plants and How to Prune Them to Beedle the Bard's Babbitty Wabbitty and her Cackling Stump was shelved around their round tower room, with a roaring fire hearth in the middle. The Tower ceiling was painted with a blue sky and stars, and the rug over the floor was Ravenclaw blue. Tables, chairs, couches, and even the large panoramic windows had bronze finishing.

After she finished taking everything in with wide green eyes, Zoey had yanked her shoes off to feel the soft carpet with a squeal and ran from window to window, pointing and gasping at the views like a little kid in her blue-striped stockings. The entire House had been entertained at her antics, especially when the first years had started to follow her example to do the same. That evening had been spent with barefoot people dashing from place to place and exploring their new home with very little decorum. Now most everybody in the House left their shoes at the door of the Tower. Lysander had started to use charms against the odor they produced, and caught some other higher years doing the same, though nobody complained.

Zoey's child-like exuberance had yet to wane and now after a week the young witch, silver-haired for this hour, was pointing to a sheet of paper on the notice board as she continued her question "And why does it have your name on it?"

Lysander grinned as he saw which notice she was pointing to, and deemed this conversation worthy of more attention as he put his book away. "That's the sign-up sheet for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team tryouts. There's another copy down in the Great Hall. My name's on it because I'm trying to keep my position."

"Which is?"

"Keeper."

"Nice. I can see you being good at that." Zoey looked at the board, noticing the short and long lists of names. "It looks like you only have to beat out a few people for it. Why are so many people signing up for the Seeker position?"

"It's the best player on the team." Lysander answered easily. "And whoever's back-up this year will probably be the Seeker next year when Emmaline graduates." He pointed to the captain name written at the top, and was surprised when Zoey made a frustrated sound at the back of her throat.

"They're willing to bench a year of game-time for a 'probably'?" She looked personally affronted. "What, do they think that'd be better than playing Chaser on the field? Or as a Beater? It's nice they have a goal, but it's stupid not to have a fallback."

Lysander raised an eyebrow in silent agreement. "You're a quidditch fan, then?"

"Kind of hard not to be," She snorted, "I like watching for the plays and strategies, but I don't have a team."

"You do now. Blue and bronze." The Ravenclaw declared with pride, then added as an afterthought "You gonna try out?"

"Probably not," Zoey admitted "I've barely been on a broom. How do you tryout anyways? Just write your name and you're expected to show? It says 'bring your own broom' too; that doesn't seem fair, that'll make some people loads faster from the get-go. Do you have to bring your own for the games as well?"

Lysander easily kept track and answered her rapid-fire questions. "Just write your name and Emmaline expects you to show. If you're not there, you don't join. Every player brings their own broom for all the games and practices, but the school will loan some out to students if they don't have one. The brooms may have different top speeds, but if you're not used to the turns that can be worse than flying a slow one. Why haven't you ridden brooms before?" He finished with a question of his own.

"I grew up around muggles. Only time I got to carry my Thunderbolt out of the house was on Halloween, and even then it was hard to find someplace private." She grinned at a memory. "And I sorta lost privileges to fly it inside pretty quickly."

"You have a Thunderbolt and never got to fly it?"

She laughed at his insulted expression. "It's only a Thunderbolt III, not a VII. Certainly not as often as I'd have liked, no. I used to zip close to the ground when I could, because even though I might get up without being seen, there was no way to check for random stargazers on my way back down. "

'Insulted' was the right description for what Lysander thought of it. The Thunderbolt brand was a close competitor to the Firebolts; even older models were still top quality, especially for a student. They deserved to be used in they way they were meant to, free and fast. "Come watch the Gryffindor tryouts after dinner." he decided.

"Gryffindor? I thought my team was now-"

"Only person we'll cheer for is my brother. Lorcan's actually trying out this year," Lysander quickly explained with a trace of awe at the fact, then refocused on the more pressing issue of an underused Thunderbolt III. "I think you should see how a broom is supposed to be ridden. And who knows, you might get inspired to try out for our team."

"I doubt it," Zoey's face scrunched. "But I'll watch. Should be fun."

Lysander nodded and went back to his book with his usual apathy, but he'd made an important decision. He was going to get her on that broom, or he was going to use it himself.

"TIME!" James Potter's voice boomed over the quidditch pitch, and Rose Weasley finally lowered her arm.

Ten straight minutes of batting a bludger back at Roxanne, and it felt like her hand had fused into the club. Rose's only consolation was that Rox was rolling her shoulders too, grinning and giving a thumbs up.

Easily lowering her broom to the ground, Rose lifted a hand to her hair and was unsurprised to find the thick curls had exploded around her head. Grumbling, she pulled her wand out of her boot and used a spell Dominique had taught her.

Yes, the boy-crazy Dom had actually known something Rose hadn't. That girl knew every possible kind of beauty trick, magical or mundane. When she graduated she was planning to help Uncle George develop more products for the WonderWitch section of the shop. A section Dom decrees 'woefully underdeveloped' in its entirety, and since Dominique was part veela she had an eye for such things. Rose believed Dom's story that Uncle George had already used her advice on the newest Crush Blush. Her uncle was a prankster, not a romantic.

The spell successfully unfrizzed her thick hair enough for Rose to retie it in a ponytail, watching the next contestant as she did so. After he missed three hits in a row Rose knew he wouldn't beat her for the position, and she grabbed the broom that had hovered patiently at her side.

She walked up to the waiting area with the other hopefuls, fans and friends alike gathered in the bleacher stands above them. Rose grinned nervously at Albus, Hugo and Lily, and looked around at the rest of the gathered clan. She wasn't surprised to see Lysander, but the electric-blue Zoey at his side was unexpected, especially since she was sitting by a hard broomcase.

Gathering herself, Rose stepped up to them and asked "What're you two doing here?"

"Seeing how brooms are supposed to be flown?" Zoey's answer was more of a question as she glanced at Lysander, who nodded approvingly even though he didn't look up from his book. "And hopefully I'm gonna fly myself after ya'll finish."

Rose glanced at the enclosed broom, and nodded approvingly. She couldn't tell what model it was yet, but only high quality brooms came with cases like that. "So how are your classes going?"

Zoey sat up at the intensity behind the question, and raised an eyebrow. "It's only been the first week, Rose. Not much to 'go' yet. But homework, if that counts. I have to meet a partner to re-practice first year charms tomorrow."

"With me!" Lily piped in with a smile. "Professor Pavarti paired us up. Everyone was so jealous."

"Speaking of," Zoey leaned back so she could see Lily around Lysander's back. "What's with the twin teachers? Pavarti Patil teaching charms and Padma Patil teaching transfiguration? They look like clones. How do you tell them apart? Do they ever switch places to tease the students? That'd be pretty great."

Rose watched them instead of listening, retreating into her own thoughts once again. That was three classes Zoey was taking below her year. Yet she obviously wasn't an idiot, otherwise she wouldn't be in Ravenclaw, let alone friends with Lysander. The only idiot he could stand to be around was his twin Lorcan, and even that was in limited doses.

The twin in question was the last person to tryout, and Lorcan was grinning from ear to ear as he pulled out his broom.

Lily took a look at the modifications on it and gave a groaning laugh. "He's doing it again."

Lysander looked equally disappointed when he glanced at his brother, then summoned earplugs and casually put them in. Zoey looked between the twins in confusion, and jumped in her seat when Lorcan's voice echoes "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Witches and scamps, cock-eyed mosquitoes and bowlegged ants- are you tired of your old broom?"

The blue haired witch was staring wide eyed, the only person in the stands to have no idea what was going on as Lorcan continued "Ladies, do you want to catch that special fellow's eye with a romantic flight over the grounds? GEN-TLE-MEN, is your broom old and unattractive? So slow and scratched that no proper young witch would come come near it? Never fear, the new VROOM BROOM is here!"

He jumped on his broom and started flying slow circles, showing off the newest version of the favorite Weasley's Wizard Wheezes product that could attach to any broom. The Gryffindor team, with varying levels of aggravation and amusement, started putting away the tryout courses and their brooms. James was the only one that stepped onto the field and started shouting at his friend to come down, his face growing red the more he was ignored.

Eventually the Potter got on his own broom and flew after the troublemaking twin, obviously intending to force him to land. Lorcan grinned. "And it's not just easy on the eyes, oh no. The newest Vroom Broom has additional features!" And colored mist started pouring out of the bristles of his broom as he easily avoided James.

"A wonderful way to write a friend!" he started twirling, leaving curly cues and drawing a flower in the air. Lorcan winked at a cute Hufflepuff in the stands. "Or maybe as a convenient way to gain privacy."

James watched his cousin disappear into the clouds he had created, dive bombing through it in a poor attempt to find him. While the crowd watched with amusement, Roxanne shouted as she left the pitch. "Don't forget the mist is flavored!"

"I was about to say that!" Lorcan scowled as he reappeared, then grinned when Rox stuck her tongue out at him. He cleared his throat and addressed the crowd. "She's right, folks! Forget dry cauldron smoke, the mists of the Vroom Broom comes in chocolate, strawberry, or pumpkin flavoring!"

James came back out of the smoke, looking positively murderous as his glasses hung haphazardly off his ear. Lorcan took this as his cue to leave, making more mist as he said "Check out the Hogsmead shop this year, folks! The Vroom Broom and other top Wheezes products will be on display and available for purchase!"

His last few words were barely audible as he flew off, James hot on his heels until another puff of smoke forced his friend to fall back. Zoey looked around to see most of the crowd dispersing, and shook her head with annoyance. "Didn't know wizards had commercial breaks too."

Hugo and Lily laughed, explaining to her what Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was and how they were related to the owners. By the time they finished the story and swore it was all true- "They made an actual swamp in the middle of the school?"- everyone other than the Potter-Weasley clan had left. Lysander looked at her casually and said "You should give it a try now."

"Oh." Zoey looked around and noticed that the crowd had dwindled to five- Rose, Lysander, Rose, Lily and herself- then perked up. "Oh yeah, that's right! Ya'll can watch."

Her smile was blinding, and as the blue-haired witch fumbled with the clasps holding down her broom Rose leaned toward Lysander and asked what that was supposed to mean. To the general shock of his clanmates, he put his book away as he answered "She grew up with muggles, so she's not used to having an audience."

Zoey put her case on the banister in front of the seats and stepped up after it. "Something Sandy over there thinks is a crime, apparently."

"Sandy?" Everyone looked at Lysander in surprise, who in turn looked uncharacteristically flustered as he said "Never call me that again."

Her eyes sparkled as she held a hand over the broomcase. "Sorry Sandy. Up!"

Rose gasped in surprise when she saw the broom that eagerly met her waiting hand. It was sleek and silver-embossed, expertly cared for. Not a bristle was out of place and it was so well polished it reflected light like a dark glass. The foot-rests were the only proof of it's age, as they held slight dents from being used so much. She barely breathed "Is… is that a Thunderbolt?"

"Uh-huh. It used to be my mom's." Zoey's hair fell around her face as she mounted the broom and hovered easily. She put a hand on her hip as she looked at the Thunderbolt from different angles, as though instructions would suddenly appear. "Now lets see… been a while… I think I need to… this!"

She shot forward and up with ease, zooming through the air with a peal of laughter to disappear inside the vroom broom smoke Lorcan had spread across the pitch. The assorted friends in the stand watched her go, and Rose wondered if she should get on her broom to follow and make sure the girl was okay.

After a little while the broom shot straight up out of the clouds, Zoey's tinkling laugh echoing as she cried "This is amazing!" She kept going higher and higher, and while Lily and Hugo cheered Rose shared a nervous look with Lysander before mounting her broom and circling the bottom of the pitch.

Eventually Zoey started zooming back toward the ground, twisting and spinning in a way that made everyone fear she'd lost control. But Rose saw her face as she approached, and the girl's grin was still a mile wide. The Ravenclaw twisted away from the stands at the last second to smoothly fly alongside the other girl, panting with excitement. "That… was amazing!"

Rose laughed at her expression. "So I heard!" She glanced at her posture. "Straighten your spine! And spread your hands apart!"

Zoey fixed it and looked to the Gryffindor for acknowledgement, grinning. Rose spent the next few minutes revising her flight habits and it wasn't until James returned to the pitch that they finally pulled in.

The oldest Potter was scowling. "Can't believe he did it again. He makes such a fool of himself every time."

"Don't tell me that." Lysander flipped a page. "Despite contrary accounts, we are not the same person."

Rose landed in the bleachers easily, giving James a hug to diffuse the tension. Zoey was having a bit more trouble, pulling up to the stands only to pull back at the last second. Lysander noted the witch was very good at last-second turns.

"Lorcan's just excited to show off, James. Remind you of anyone?" Lily commented in the light manner only a little sister could, and he relaxed and nodded, mumbling something about how he'd taught Lorcan all about flying in the first place. Lysander snorted.

"Got it!" Zoey cried as she pulled over the banister, but she braked to hard and started sending her broom into a backflip. "Um, maybe not."

She seemed to fall off in slow motion as she lost her grip on the upside-down broom to tumble twenty feet toward the ground, and the clan looked at her still form in absolute horror. When they saw her body convulse Hugo darted for the stairs, and everyone followed a few seconds later.

Rose was terrified, imagining all the horrible injuries Quidditch players could get from a fall and began thinking of a healing spell to keep Zoey stable until they got her to Mister Prin.

As they got closer they were surprised to hear a now-familiar laugher as the girl rolled on the floor, her broom hovering in place a few feet away. She kept laughing even when they circled her, with words punctuating between the chuckles "Oh my gosh… never done that before… did you see how high I got, that was so AMAZING!" she shouted and started kicking the air with excitement, starting a new round of giggles.

As they watched in amazement, James focused on her head. "What color is that?" He pointed to her hair.

"Her hair changes colors two or three times a day," Lysander murmured. "This is her third time with blue."

His eyes narrowed. "I've seen that color before…"

After they watched the girl continue her laughing fit for a while Lily eventually asked, with a trace of worry, "Do you think we broke her?" And Rose could only shake her head and stare. It was like watching a spell backfire; she just couldn't look away.

Zoey eventually exhausted herself to lay spread eagle on the ground, obviously uninjured as she innocently looked up at them all. "Anyone else craving chocolate? That smoke made me hungry."

Jonovan Orion pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to keep himself awake, lost in the sea of papers. Whatever had possessed him to pass flyers out to every student in Hogwarts he had no idea, but that demonic inspiration was now about to keep him awake for the third night in a row.

Magical paperwork might be easier, but it wasn't any more fun. Jon had easily separated the stacks by grade and then by house with a bit of magic, but compiling their content could only be done the old fashioned way. Ergo, he had spent his weekend reading until he fell asleep at his desk, and was about to do so again.

A soft scratching at his window woke him up, and he opened it with a wave of his hand. Rasputin shook off the last of the water on his fur before climbing inside, rubbing his head against Jon's arm for attention. The young man sighed and relented, leaning back on his throne-like chair to rub the smooth quills of his pet.

It seemed to smile in the way only an animal could, and took off the pouch draped across it's back. "You got it?" Jon murmured as he reached into the enlarged bag, smiling when his finger was pricked on a small piece of silver. "Good boy, Raz." He leaned back to get the murtlap a special treat, a fresh starfish that was like candy to his unusual pet.

He rested his chin on his palm as he absently looked out the window for just a few minutes, giving himself a mental health break before diving back into his work.

Jon woke up the next morning to sunlight in his face and a blanket draped across his shoulders. As he sat up he realised someone must have cast a cushioning spell on the top of his deck, otherwise his neck would be terribly sore right now.

The wonderful smell of good old-fashioned coffee crossed his nose, and he turned to find a cauldron-shaped mug on his left with a note tied to it. He read Zoey's familiar cursive with a grin, sipping the brew slowly and trying not to think of their limited supply of the muggle brew, letting the caffeine work it's own magic.

Sunlight gleamed over the silver charm on his desk and Jon carefully pulled it away from the sleeping murtlap, making a mental note to send an owl to his contact at Gringotts. Rasputin snored and curled tighter into a spiked ball atop the papers strewn over his deck, and Jon grinned as he reflected that no one would dare try to move him.

Then the new Assistant did a double take at the papers and groaned. He still had so many left to finish reading, as well as categorizing and making further notes… Orion looked between the work and his mug, then downed the rest of the caffeine to go make another batch. He would arrange for more coffee grounds later; this was definitely a double-espresso kind of morning.

"It's levi-oh-sa. Not levi-osah," Lily quoted. "At least, that's what Uncle Ron always says. It makes Aunt Hermione laugh for some reason."

"Right." Zoey smiled a bit nervously, extending her wand toward the book and giving it a swish and flick "Wingardium Leviosa!" It shuddered a bit, but didn't lift off the distant table. Same as the last three times she'd tried to cast the spell.

Lily Potter gave a forced smile, and easily summoned it to their table with a swish of her wand. "You're just out of practice, that's all." The twelve-year-old said as it thumped heavily among their notes.

"Thanks." She answered, but didn't feel much better. Looking down at the list, she picked a different charm. Pointing her wand to the dead fireplace, she easily started it up.

Her partner beamed and checked it off the list before signing. "See! There, you showed me five out of nine. That's all we need."

Zoey glanced at the nine checks Lily had earned on her own list, and smiled a bit sadly. It was obvious the younger girl thought she'd be embarrassed to continue failing at the rest of the assignment. She was right, but it still stung. "Thanks for working with me Lily."

"Oh please." The youngest Potter waved her hand dismissively as she put away her supplies. "It was either this or console Hugo on his terrible tryout this morning."

It was tough not to laugh at the memory of the gangly boy fleeing in terror from the quaffle that had been passed to him, so laugh Zoey did. "Don't make him feel too bad, Lily. He tried."

"He'll be glad to hear it. He only tried out to impress you." Lily turned red and checked around, glad they were alone in their section of the library. "Do not tell him I said that. I was not supposed to say that."

Zoey laughed, pushing a strand of her orange hair behind her ear. "Don't worry; I already knew. Why do you think I made sure to watch him and the other Hufflepuffs?"

"Oh good. Wait, do you…?"

"Lily, Hugo may be a beanstalk but he's still eleven." Zoey rolled her eyes. "No, I do not like him back but yes, I do think he's a fun friend."

The short ginger girl smiled. It wasn't very often that she and Hugo got and kept a friend outside of the clan. "Cool. Want me to help you with your transfiguration essay?"

"Nah, I've done enough work for now." Zoey waved her hand and neglected to mention that though she was doing lower-level wandwork, her essays all covered fourth-year material. "I need to find a book to read to a door."

Lily looked confused, but shrugged away her curiosity as she left her friend to be. To her the 'who' was more important than their 'whys'. It was part of what made Lily a Hufflepuff.

Zoey packed her stuff and pulled out the name of the book Lysander had suggested to her. Wandering through the labyrinthian shelves of the library, she eventually stopped and looked up at the book titled Riddles and Conundrums: Are You Prepared to Meet a Sphinx?

It was only five rows up, but Zoey was so small she couldn't reach it even when she stood on the nearby stool. She frowned and looked at the book, then glanced around before pulling out her wand. She pointed it at the dusty old thing and softly murmured "Accio book."

It didn't budge. She tried again, speaking instead of whispering. "Wingardium Leviosa."

Nothing.

There was one more spell she could think of that might work. "Summarum."

Maybe a twitch.

"Accio riddle book." Perhaps just 'book' had been too generic in a library.

Nothing.

"WINGARDIUM! LEVIOSA!" this cry seemed to echo down the shelves with the strength she put behind her demand.

Still absolutely nothing happened. Zoey lifted the wand in her left hand in anger and barely stopped herself from slamming it into the bookshelf in front of her. She forced herself to lower it slowly with a relaxed grip, putting it carefully away into its velvet-lined box with tender motions.

She sighed and pressed the heel of her fist to to her forehead. Taking a rattling breath, the young witch firmly reminded herself It's just a stupid stick. It does not matter if it does not work for me. They're useless anyways, I don't need one.

A rebellious voice in her head whispered back But you still want one.

Sometimes- okay, a lot of the time- Zoey hated that little voice. It tended to get her in trouble. Speaking of trouble… The Malam rolled a lazy eye up at the troublesome book that had been ignoring her and silently crooked a finger at it, watching the old tome easily leave its place to gently land in her hand like a well-trained owl.

Zoethia Malam determinedly left the library with deft steps. She had Sphinx riddles to read for an eagle knocker.

Wow, my longest chapter yet, and that's saying something. (7,000+ words). Thank you for reading, I really hope you like it half as much as I love reading it!
If you have the time please please, please-please-please leave a review? Tell me what's right, what you like, what you hate and I should therefore fix- I love constructive criticism! Happy Halloween!

~E