Charms... Could have gone better, she supposed. She had sat in the middle row, against the wall, and had pulled her rucksack across her lap, patiently waiting for the class to start, when she felt something hit her head. It was a paper bird, that had been enchanted to fly over her. She looked around, and saw a few fifth-years from her house hanging by the door, smirks upon their coniving faces.
She opened the note, and she looked at it, confused.
"How does it feel to look like the biggest blood-traitors in Wizarding history, the Weasleys? No one will ever like you when you look like that."
It was in curving penmanship, and she must say that the last part hurt a bit, but the first part had no effect.
She scribbled down a neat reply, and she turned to them, placing the bird on her hand, and blowing it to them as if it were a kiss. They snatched it quickly and opened it, expecting some tear stains, or something.
"How does it feel knowing no one will ever like you, because you're insufferable twats?" Was all it said, and she could hear outraged gasps coming from the doorway, when Professor Flitwick came in, shooing them, and they shot her murderous glances, that were met with innocent batting eyelashes and a smile.
Other than that incident though, the class was an absolute delight. Professor Flitwick told them about himself, and she found the man perfectly nice. At the end of the class, she stopped by to ask him about something he had talked about.
"Excuse me, Professor?" She said politely as he was putting things away.
"Ah, Miss Glas. How may I help you?" He wasn't looking at her, and she felt slightly put-off.
"I-I was wondering if you'd be having try-outs for Choir anytime soon? I-I'd love to try out, at least." She mumbled, feeling slightly put-out.
He looked at her and his face broke into a large grin.
"Ah, my dear! You have no idea how happy you've made me! No one has asked me that for years! I will get flyers ready right now! Goodness, goodness!" The small old man ran off, laughing delightedly, and she smiled, walking out of the classroom, and to the next.
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Professor Liken was a young lad, possibly in his mid-to-late twenties. He had been teaching DADA for five years, the longest anyone has for a long time, and he made sure to make it interesting for the students.
It also helped that almost all of the girls were mooning after him, possibly including Athena. He had a strong jaw that they were all sure was forged by Merlin himself, and eyes were like pieces of the sky. (The girl's sitting next to her words, not hers.) His blonde hair was usually in some type of dissaray, due to his hands always running through it when he was flustered. It happened a lot, apparently.
He came running in, five minutes late, and sitting at his desk, panting and with his tie crooked. He grinned at them, and they all laughed, Athena rolling her eyes at this disorganized teacher.
The class passed by without any other hitches, and before she knew it, she was free for the next hour and a half. She walked to the common room, about to say the password, when someone barreled out, knocking into her and causing her things to fly everywhere. She could hear a couple of people shouting and laughing, and the boy on top of her seemed to be very out of breath. She coughed lightly, and he sat up, causing her voice to catch in her throat. The boy had an unruly mop of black hair on his head, and he smiled at her. If she were standing, her knees would have gone weak. He had two dimples on both of his cheeks, and his cheekbones could surely cut glass. She cleared her throat, and he got up, scrambling to pick up her things for her.
She stood up, as dignified as she could, and took her things from him, her cheeks red and her eyes flashing in embarrassment.
It was that moment Sierra and Company decided to pop their heads out of the hole in the wall that led to the Slytherin common-room.
"Oh, Jeth, we thought we chased you away." Sierra said boredly, walking over and wrapping an arm around Athena's waist carefully.
"That is the second time in just as many days I've been knocked on my bum." Athena said sternly, glaring at the, for lack of better words, pretty boy.
"I'm sorry, they were throwing Jinxes my way and I needed to get out of there quick." He said, grinning and holding out a hand.
"Jethro Morgan, second-year at your service."
She shook his hand, giving him a curious glance, before nodding and giving him a cool smile.
"Athena Glas-" She was cut off by Sierra holding her tighter.
"First year, at your service." Jennifer said this, crossing her arms and glaring at Jethro. He took the hint, "Don't even think about this fiery haired girl, unless you want your wand up your rear."
He said his goodbyes and walked down the hall, smiling and sending them winks.
Athena shrugged, and walked into the common room, tossing her things onto a couch and sitting down, stretching her arms above herself, and causing Yolandi to poke her bellybutton when it peeked out. She giggled suddenly, dropping her arms and mock-glaring at them.
After a silent moment, they all started chuckling. Athena felt comfortable, so she went to their room and grabbed Delilah, strapping her into a little harness.
When she came out, she leaned towards Yolandi, whispering something in her ear, and the girl smiled, nodding. The older girl pointed her wand at the harness, and it turned into a deep emerald, with the Slytherin patch sewn onto the sides.
They all grinned at eachother, and Athena picked Delilah up, kissing her head.
"Welcome to Slytherin, Lil Delilah." Said Jennifer, and they all chuckled. They decided to catch a few rays of sunshine before lunch. They headed out to the courtyard, when they spotted James with his mates. Thankfully, Albus and Rose weren't with him, so when he caught sight of Athena, all she did was give him a cool look, and continue on her way. She didn't glare at him, but she didn't smile, either.
When they reached the courtyard, Rose and Albus were sitting in the grass with a few other Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Athena hesitated, wondering if she and her friends were welcome, when Rose caught her eye and waved her forwards. She nodded, and her friends followed her, plopping on the ground and joining the circle.
She let Delilah go, keeping hold of her leash, and she wandered around the circle, seeming to greet every person individually. They all gave her reverent pats on the head, and she even hopped into one boy's lap, putting her head on his chest and grinding her teeth, making a small squeaking noise. The boy looked shocked, but she nudged her nose against his chin, and he gave her a kiss, his face breaking out into a grin.
Athena took note that Delilah only did that when someone was feeling scared, or sad, or anxious. She should know, Delilah almost did it continuously to herself. She promised that she'd talk to that boy later.
Delilah was checking these big things that had the same shape as her Mother, sniffing them and paying attention to each one. One had a particularly muddy blue smoke around him, and she didn't like it. It made her sad, and she didn't like sad. Mommy always likes it when I kiss her, maybe he will? Delilah felt very satisfied when she got her kiss returned, and she saw the muddy smoke surrounding the person recede, and turn into a light yellow. After making a round, Delilah flopped down in the middle of the circle, laying her head on the ground and letting out a sigh, falling asleep almost immediately.
They all laughed, and Athena watched the entire thing very closely. She squinted slightly, and saw faint colors swirling around each person. It was a trick she'd had for a very long time, probably her first sign of magic, and it always told her what her parents had planned for her every day.
It wasn't usually something nice.
The Gryffindor boy was now a nice shade of yellow, and she saw him take a deep breath.
"Hey, guys?" He sounded confident, with just a hint of fear. He suddenly caught her eye, and she gave him an encouraging nod. She didn't know what he was going to say, but she supported him.
"Yeah?"
"What's up?"
"Yo."
"What's going on?"
They all said, all eyes on him. He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, and he whispered something they couldn't quite catch.
"What was that, love? We couldn't quite hear you." Athena said this, her mostly-always-hidden Scottish brogue revealing itself just then.
"I... I don't know how to say this without making it weird..." He looked specifically at the males of the group, and something clicked in her mind.
"Well, spit it out!" Said one of his friends, smacking his back casually.
"I-...I'm gay." The end was practically a squeak, and he ducked his head. His yellow shine slowly but steadily turning grey. In an instant, Delilah was up and hopping into his lap, laying down and rubbing her chin on him.
Athena looked at Yolandi and Jennifer, silently begging them to do something.
"Well, I'm Bi." Said Jennifer, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Well, we all knew that." Said a Gryffindor girl across from them, wiggling her brows and winking. Everyone let out a nervous laugh. Sierra and Yolandi looked at eachother and shrugged.
"So are we. But I tend to lean towards girls." The first part was said in unison between the two girls, but the last bit was from Sierra alone.
Another boy, a Hufflepuff, raised his head, his cheeks flushed slightly.
"I-...I'm Bi too."
It was then that everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Well, all I know is that I like everyone." Athena said finally, looking up at them and smiling.
"Me too." Said Rose, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Athena's cheek, causing her to blush and laugh furiously.
"So, you're bi?" Said a Gryffindor boy, and she shook her head.
"There's other names for it, too. And there are also more than two genders..."
That entire free period, and half of lunch was spent with Athena teaching them about sexualities, and genders, and how sexual and romantic orientations were all different. She did grow up in the Muggle world, with a computer.
