First off, Happy New Year, guys! Sorry for not posting anything last week, I didn't have the time to write a chapter so I decided to save it for this year. It's gonna take some time to get used to saying 2019 considering how long it took me to get used to 2018, lol. I'm kind of considering changing the name of the story cause I'm not really sold on Mysteries of Hogwarts. My other options include Hogwarts: A Mystery or Confessions of a Misjudged Slytherin. Let me know what you guys think about that in the reviews and I'll see what I can come up with.

Challenges to Overcome

Going into Flying Class, Abby was hoping that things would turn out better than how they did with Potions. When Abby saw that Merula was also in this class, Abby couldn't help but groan internally. Because if Merula was really out to get her, then she was probably going to take any chance that she had to sabotage her like she did in Potions. And Abby was more worried about Merula sabotaging her in Flying Class than in Potions, especially when she could potentially fall to her death.

Flying was never really something that excited Abby, since the idea of being suspended in the air while only being supported by a wooden broom wasn't a good one to her. Especially after she fell off her broom when she was eight and ended up breaking her arm. Sure, Abby had got her arm fixed with magic but she had never liked flying since. Jacob had always been a great flyer, he had even been Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team before his expulsion. Abby hoped to be as good of a flyer like he was.

"Welcome to your first Flying Class. I am your Flying Instructor, Madam Hooch," their professor introduced themselves. "If you demonstrate the ability to raise your brooms, you will be allowed to move on to Basic Hovering."

"Be careful, Selwyn. It would be awful if you were to fall to your death," Merula smirked.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone, step up to the left side of your broomstick," Madam Hooch ordered.

"I've been dreading this class all summer…" Abby heard someone beside her murmur.

Looking to see where the voice had come from, Abby saw the Gryffindor boy, Ben Cooper, from Charms class standing beside her. Word had spread that Ben Cooper was a bit of a coward, but Abby liked to think there was more to him than that.

"You're afraid of heights?" Abby asked.

"Falling from heights, mostly. I told you I come from a muggle family. The idea of flying through the sky on a broom terrifies me," Ben replied.

"Believe it or not Ben, I share the same fear. Though probably not as crippling as yours," Abby said.

"Really?" Ben's eyes widened.

Abby nodded, "When I was eight I fell off my broom while my brother was trying to teach me how to fly. I broke my arm because of it and I've never tried since."

"Now I'm even more nervous," Ben murmured.

"You can do this, Ben. Just hold tight and concentrate about not falling off," Abby suggested.

"Do you promise to catch me if I fall?" Ben asked.

"I'll try my best," Abby replied.

"That's not very reassuring, but I guess I might as well get it done and over with," Ben said.

"Even you don't have to warry about falling to your death, Mr Cooper. We will only be picking up our brooms today," Madam Hooch declared.

That seemed to settle Ben's nerves and they spent the rest of Flying Class learning how to summon their brooms. To Abby's surprise, she managed to get a hang of it pretty quickly compared to some of the other students. It was quite funny every time Abby watched Merula try to summon her broom, only for her to get whacked in the face with it. Served her right.

Among those who seemed to excel in their class was a Ravenclaw boy who wore a scarf with his uniform as well as a red-haired Gryffindor boy, who Abby assumed was Charlie Weasley. Abby was quite familiar with the other families listed in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, especially the most famous families such as the Malfoys, the Lestranges, and the Blacks. Of course, Abby knew that her own prefect, Felix Rosier came from this list as well.

But Abby knew that the Weasleys were seen as 'blood traitors' due to the fact that they hardly acted like any other pompous pure-bloods. She'd certainly heard her father bash their family long enough to know his thoughts on them. Unlike most pure-blood children, Abby had a mind of her own to form her own opinions and actually liked the fact that the Weasleys didn't care that they came from a line of pure-bloods. Abby certainly didn't care.

"I guess I don't have to worry about falling if I never have to fly…" Ben trailed off once their lesson was over. "Thanks for giving me courage again, Abby. I hope I can be a great flyer and not have to worry about plummeting to my death one day."

"I think you've chosen a fine tutor, Mr Cooper," Madam Hooch stated as she approached them. "Although you do not have the natural talent like your brother did when he first touched a broom, I do see potential for you to become a great flyer one day, Miss Selwyn. Much like him, you've shown yourself to have a knack for helping your classmates overcome their fears. Ten points to Slytherin."

Madam Hooch's statement was met with earnest eyes from Abby, who found it nice to hear at least some positive words about her brother. Abby had known from Jacob's stories that Charms and Flying Class were Jacob's favourite subjects. Of all his subjects, Jacob had always shown the least interest in Potions, which Abby assumed was also why Professor Snape had taken a distinct disliking to her.

"You just need to get used to the idea of flying, Ben. I'm sure if we came up with a plan we could help you get over your fear sooner rather than later. We could look up some books on flying with Rowan if that would help," Abby suggested.

"Sooner sounds good and so does reading. Hardly anyone falls to their death while reading," Ben agreed.

"Unless they're sitting up real high," Abby remarked before noticing the look of fear that appeared on Ben's face. "But we won't be sitting high. We'll be sitting nice and low."

"That sounds nice," Ben agreed.

"I'll see you later, Ben," Abby waved him goodbye.

Much to Abby's relief, Flying Class had turned out far better than Potions had. At least Merula hadn't tried to sabotage her here as well. The only classes that Abby was free from Merula were Charms, Transfiguration and Herbology. That was better than having to put up with Merula in every class.

As much as Abby didn't want to let Merula ruin her time at Hogwarts, Merula seemed determined to do exactly that until Abby was long gone. But Abby wasn't going to take this lying down. If Merula was going to give her trouble, then Abby was going to fight back. If there was one of her fathers principles that she agreed with it was that when challenged by somebody else, you should never let them get the best of you.

~*•°•*~

Later that day, Abby went to meet with Rowan in the Clock Tower Courtyard. They'd had a long day of classes, and between putting up with Merula and everything else, Abby figured that they could've used a break together.

"Thanks for meeting me here, Rowan. Between putting up with Merula and Snape, I could certainly use a break. And it looks like you could too," Abby said as she greeted her newfound friend.

"I've already planned my study schedule for the rest of the term so this falls right into my break time," Rowan smiled.

Abby narrowed her eyes, "You've planned your study schedule already?"

"Of course! It pays to be prepared. If I want to get top marks, I've got to be diligent with my studying," Rowan replied.

"There's your inner Slytherin," Abby smirked. "This certainly isn't how I expected my first few days at Hogwarts to go. Hogwarts shouldn't be about bullies and trying to escape death. It should be about magic and having fun. But Merula is ruining all of that."

"You wanna know what isn't fun? History of Magic," Rowan cringed.

"I know!" Abby exclaimed. "I was actually looking forward to that subject, but Professor Binns is the most boring professor ever. Why do we even have a ghost teaching us that class anyways?"

Rowan shrugged, "Who knows? But at least that class gives me practice for when I will eventually become the youngest professor at Hogwarts."

"That class just gives me time to sleep and play Exploding Snap. But we can't really play Gobstones in History of Magic, so I guess here will do," Abby said.

"I love Gobstones!" Rowan exclaimed. "I play it all the time, mostly because I can't really do any of the farming work. Though I can never play it with anyone, so I'm looking forward to actually playing with someone else for once."

"Be prepared to lose," Abby smirked.

Gobstones had been the first game that Jacob had taught Abby, and they played it all of the time whenever their father wasn't around. He never liked them mucking around and making a mess of their house so Abby and Jacob hardly ever got the chance to actually play and be like normal kids. Those times when their father went off to do his other business were Abby's favourite moments. Playing Gobstones had resulted in a victory for Abby, but Rowan seemed perfectly fine with losing.

"Some people think that Gobstones isn't cool, but I've always considered it to be the thinking witch's Qudditch," Rowan remarked once they were finished.

Abby grimaced, "Ugh, Quidditch. Definitely not my sport. The only reason why I went to any Quidditch match was because of Jacob. He loved it."

"Thanks for playing Gobstones with me, Abby. I've never really been good at making friends. Most people usually think that I'm a useless weakling or an awkward nerd. You're weird like me," Rowan said before pausing. "No offence."

"None taken. We did become friends pretty quickly. You're my first real friend, Rowan," Abby admitted.

Rowan looked surprised, "Really? I would've thought that being a pure-blood you would've constantly been around other pure-blood kids your age."

"My father never really liked bringing me along to his pure-blood occasions. Most of the time I was always locked up in my room but I was forced to come down whenever they were at our house. I hated every moment of it, being dressed up and pretending to be someone I wasn't," Abby replied.

"For someone who was raised in a pure-blood family, you're not like any pure-blood that I've ever heard of. Though, I guess the Weasleys break that mould too," Rowan noted.

"I never saw the advantages that being a pure-blood gave someone. Mostly because those advantages never seemed to come to me. People treated my father like he was a noble patriarch, while I was just his brat daughter," Abby said.

"That's because you are a brat, Selwyn."

Turning around, Abby saw Merula approaching them. Abby groaned at this, since she was just having a nice conversation with Rowan and of course, Merula had to come over and ruin the moment.

"Isn't this precious?" Merula smirked as she approached them. "You're looking unfortunately well after dealing with the Devil's Snare, Selwyn. While you've been off playing with plants, I've been doing a little research about your brother."

Abby crossed her arms, "Why? I thought you didn't care about him."

"Because he was a danger to Hogwarts, just like you are," Merula sneered. "None of us will be safe until you're gone."

"What are you talking about, Merula?" Rowan asked.

"Selwyn's brother didn't just get expelled for endangering the school in search of some imaginary vaults… He immediately went missing and the next time that he was seen, he was working for Lord Voldemort," Merula answered with a smirk.

Rowan gasped, "You can't say that! You have to call him He Who must Not Be Named!"

"I say what I want and I do what I want," Merula said.

"You're lying about my brother having anything to do with the Dark Lord!" Abby yelled. "Jacob hated anything to do with him. He hated people who preached blood superiority. He hated the use of Dark Magic. He'd never work for him."

"No wonder the professors were talking about you during the feast. They're wondering if you work for the Dark Lord too," Merula stated.

"You're not one to talk about people working for the Dark Lord like that considering your family's history with him," Abby smirked. "I might not know much, but I do know for a fact that your family is trouble. More trouble than mine."

"Says the one who's father was imprisoned for being an avid supporter of Voldemort!" Merula yelled back.

"I do not share my father's beliefs," Abby proclaimed.

"Why don't you just do everyone a favour and drop out of Hogwarts? Save Slytherin and your friend the embarrassment of being associated with you," Merula taunted.

"I'd rather be associated with Abby than the likes of you," Rowan spoke up.

"You're just afraid that I'm going to be better than you," Abby said.

"Ha! Like I'd be afraid of a blood traitor like you. Let's see how you can hold yourself in a duel against me," Merula raised her wand.

"I don't want to waste my time on you, Merula. Besides, duelling is prohibited on school grounds," Abby replied.

"Now who's scared," Merula remarked. "Flipendo!"

Before Abby even had time to react, Merula had cast the knockback jinx against her which saw her fall onto the ground. As Abby got up, she saw that satisfied look on Merula's face that she just wanted to knock off.

"Learn a few more spells, Selwyn. Maybe next time you'll put up a fight," Merula taunted before strutting off.

"Man, I hate that girl," Abby growled.

"She's never going to leave us alone," Rowan sighed.

"Not unless I can learn more spells and find someone who can teach me how to duel," Abby stated.

"But I thought you didn't want to get in trouble?" Rowan asked.

"I don't, but I don't want Merula to humiliate me like this. She's obviously going to be trouble, and I'd much rather be able to hold my ground against her," Abby replied.

"Why did Merula call you a blood traitor?" Rowan questioned.

"Because I don't share the typical pure-blood beliefs. I don't care about any of that nonsense. Blood shouldn't matter when it comes to magic and people who think like that are fools," Abby answered.

"Merula seems to think otherwise," Rowan said.

"I don't care what that snob thinks. I'd much rather not waste my time on her, but I'm going to have to learn how to protect myself," Abby proclaimed.

"I'll help you find a master dueller who can teach you, Abby. If anyone should be the one to put Merula in her place, it should be you," Rowan smiled.

"Maybe then she'll finally leave us alone," Abby grumbled.

Dealing with a school bully was certainly not something that Abby had wanted to deal with at Hogwarts, but considering who her family is Abby really shouldn't have been surprised that there was someone out to get her. But Abby was not going to let someone like Merula Snyde walk all over her. If Merula thought that she had the upper hand over Abby, she was about to be proven wrong.

~*•°•*~

Not long after her confrontation with Merula at the Clock Tower Courtyard, word had spread about it. Of course it had come from Merula, who gleefully told anybody that would listen about how she had bested the supposed 'brightest first-year' at Hogwarts. That had only earned Abby more ridicule, something that she was unfortunately already used to. Their Prefect, Felix Rosier, had also caught wind of the confrontation and had called for both Abby and Rowan to meet him on the training grounds.

"What do you think our Prefect wants to talk to us about?" Rowan wondered.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Merula somehow got us kicked out of Slytherin. Or if our Prefect is going to give us a lecture about duelling on school grounds," Abby replied.

"It wasn't much of a duel. It was more like a cheap shot from Merula," Rowan remarked.

"Either way, I wouldn't have been able to stand much of a chance against her. I doubt that casting Lumos would do much damage. If only there was a way for me to level up with Merula…" Abby trailed off.

"That's exactly what I'm here to help you with," Felix said as he approached them.

"I'm guessing you heard about how Merula 'humiliated' me earlier?" Abby asked.

"World travels fast at Hogwarts," Felix replied. "I wouldn't be doing my job as Prefect if I didn't teach you to defend yourself. Even if you insist on fighting with someone from our own house. I'm going to teach you how to duel."

"But we don't know any duelling spells…" Abby trailed off.

"Slytherin keeps a secret duelling book in the Artefact Room. It will teach you various spells, potions, and techniques" Felix explained. "Meet me again after you've learned a duelling spell, and I'll teach you everything else you need to know."

With that, Felix turned on his heel and left the two girls standing there somewhat shocked at his offer. Not only was he encouraging them to break the rules, but he was going to help them do just that. As a Prefect, Abby certainly hadn't expected that to come from Felix.

"Well, that was surprising," Abby stated.

"I know! I can't wait until you learn how to duel so you can shove it in Merula's face," Rowan grinned.

"First, we need to find that duelling book," Abby said.

"Let's go after Charms. We've got Potions now and we can't afford to get on Snape's bad side anymore than what we are," Rowan suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Abby nodded.

Thanks to Felix, Abby was going to learn how to defend herself against Merula. She almost wished that Jacob had been the one to help her through this, since Abby knew that Jacob would've done anything to help her against Merula. But Jacob wasn't here, and she wasn't going to let Merula drag his name through the mud anymore than it already had been, that was for sure.

That wasn't the original ending that I had planned for this chapter, but I decided change it because the other one that I had planned didn't really add much to the chapter. Abby's thoughts on Quidditch and flying are basically mine since I don't really get the excitement that comes with Quidditch, lol. As always, let me know what you guys think in the reviews and I'll see you guys next chapter.