"Oh, Brie!" Euphemia Potter exclaimed in surprise, the sound of tinkling china soon following as she dropped her cup of tea in shock, darting forwards as Brie somersaulted out of the fireplace, landing in a crumpled heap upon the cream carpet of the Potter's living room. The resulting plume of dust that followed caused all those in the room to splutter. Fleamont Potter, James' father, raised his eyebrows over the brim of the Daily Prophet he was reading in his usual green armchair, looking faintly amused at the destruction before him. "Are you alright, dear?"

Lysander gave a shriek of displeasure at their painful, abrupt landing, stretching his golden wings before hastily flapping around the room, landing on the top of the bookcase with a hiss of reproach as he ruffled his feathers in a vain attempt to dislodge the black smut clinging to them. Brie glanced up at him briefly as she scrambled to her feet, mortified, gaping down at the black smudges of coal she has caused upon the carpet. She clapped a hand to her mouth in horror before wheezing on the ash that she inhaled. "Merlin, I'm so sorry, Euphemia-"

The witch shook her head, reaching into the pocket of her robes to retrieve her wand before giving Brie a delicate pat on the shoulder. "Don't be silly, now. It's no bother." Her mousy brown hair was liberally streaked with silver as she looked down at the mess in exasperation, pointing her wand directly at the distinct outline of Brie's splattered figure as she muttered, "Scourgify."

The carpet began to foam, soapy bubbles coating the stain before they began to slowly dissolve, removing the remnants of Brie's mishap in a bat of an eyelid. Euphemia smiled warmly at Brie, her hazel eyes glittering before she gestured towards the stairs, saying kindly, "You may use the bathroom if you wish to – I know how hard it is to dust that pesky ash off completely. And, while you're at it, could you please try and rouse the boys," at this, she rolled her eyes, pursing her lips. "I've been trying to wake them for an hour now, and they still aren't up."

"Thank you," Brie returned her smile gratefully, turning to glance guiltily at Fleamont, who had risen from his chair to rescue her belongings from the soot. "I'm so sorry, Fleamont-"

He chortled, blue eyes crinkling as he waved away her concern, levitating her things up onto the sofa. "Don't you worry about it, Brie. You've visited enough times that I should've known the inevitable."

Apologising to James' parents again, she darted out of the room, cursing herself for her carelessness as she took the steps two at a time in her haste to see what damage had been done to her appearance, yanking open the bathroom door and latching it firmly shut before she turned to the elaborate mirror propped behind the sink.

Brie groaned in horror at her reflection – no wonder why Euphemia had so strongly suggested she should go to the bathroom. She bore a remarkable resemblance to a chimney sweep, a grey handprint plastered around her mouth as she ran the tap hastily. The plug gurgled loudly as she reached for the soap, lathering it in her palms to scrape away the dirt rimming her fingernails before splashing her face with water, scrubbing away the layers of ash and grime. Even though she looked rather flushed in the face and her curls now clung irritatingly to her damp skin, she felt far less dirty. The same, however, could not be said for her grimy clothes – she looked down at the smears of soot in despair, rummaging through her pocket to retrieve her ash wand before reciting the cleaning spell, watching in satisfaction as the majority of the smudges disappeared.

Brie exited the bathroom and glanced between the two doors situated across from one another, musing who she should try and wake first, before deciding on James. She crossed the landing, banging loudly on the door before barging it open, wrinkling her nose at the state of his bedroom. There was a peculiar stale smell clinging to the air as though the windows hadn't been opened in quite some time whilst she took in the mountain of dishes stacked up beside his bed and the crumpled heaps of unwashed clothing littering the floor. In fact, Brie would have been surprised to even catch a glimpse of any floorboards that had not covered in James' mess.

The brown-haired boy jerked abruptly awake, raising his head blearily to find the source of his waking before his hazel eyes fell upon Brie with a groan, rubbing a hand across his face before he fell back onto his pillows. "Bloody hell, Brie. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Good morning to you too, James," she replied dryly, hurling one of the long-sleeved tops slung on the back of his chair at her friend's head, and grinned as it made contact, judging by his muttered breath of annoyance. "And funnily enough, no. Your mum told me to get you up."

James reached blindly for his glasses before grudgingly sighing, running a hand through his peculiarly angled hair. "What time is it?"

"Just after seven, I think. Come on, James," Brie said, exasperated, as she flicked his light switch, flooding the room with light whilst he gave a yelp of indignation, wincing. "The quicker you get ready, the quicker you'll be able to begin your psychotic infatuation with Lily once again."

He narrowed his eyes at the comment, although his expression considerably brightened at the mention of the red-heads name. James struggled upright in bed, throwing her a smirk as Brie continued to hover in his doorway. "Unless you fancy watching me get changed, Starling, I suggest you go and wake up Sirius. I'm sure he'd be delighted."

Pulling a disgusted face, she shut his bedroom door, turning instead to the spare room that Sirius now occupied. The door, however, was already open and she started in surprise to find Sirius stood behind her, looking amused. He had already changed, dressed in a black t shirt and blue denim jeans as he regarded her with glittering grey eyes, yawning loudly with a toothbrush in one hand. "Sorry to disappoint you, love, but it appears I'm already awake. Apparently, these walls aren't sound proof, and I tend to hear when someone is yelling in the room across from me."

Brie grinned as Sirius engulfed her in a one-armed hug, careful not to get toothpaste on her already dirty jumper, his citrus shower gel wafting up her nose as they embraced. "I'll have to bare that in mind next time."

His lips quirked as he parted his mouth to speak, stepping backwards, before his grey eyes flickered to the black smears staining her top, looking highly entertained as she flushed under his knowing gaze. "Blimey, Brie. How on Earth do you manage to be so bloody clumsy?"

"Purely for the pleasure of those around me," Brie rolled her chocolate irises good naturedly, folding her arms as she nodded in the direction of the bathroom. "Haven't you got to go and preen your hair?"

"Cheeky," Sirius grinned, flicking her on the nose before stepping past her to do just that. "Do you fancy being helpful by perhaps stuffing my books in my suitcase? I haven't completely finished packing, and my hair does take some time."

She sighed loudly as though he had just asked her to collect a bucketful of Bubotuber pus, turning towards his ajar bedroom door as she said, "I suppose, although you'd better buy me a cauldron cake when we get on the train."

A couple hours later, the three friends were crammed into the backseats of Fleamont's clapped out silver car, Brie squished into the middle seat between the two boys due to her small size as they bickered over leg room. The wizard had been granted a permit for the muggle vehicle by the Ministry so long as it was only used under circumstances where no other method of travel was available, such as this. Their luggage, along with Lysander and James' owl, Fergus, had been lodged into the boot of the car as Mr Potter dramatically span the steering wheel, causing Brie to become permanently wedged into Sirius' side. The tyres bumped over the potholes covering the streets of London, jolting the car as both birds let out dreadful shrieks of resentment, deafening the passengers and leaving them all with ringing ears by the time they finally reached Kings Cross.

"I thought we might've been a bit pushed for time," Fleamont remarked as they screeched to a halt in the car park of Kings Cross station, cutting across Brie and James' raised voices due to him knocking her bag of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum out of her grasp, sending the sweets flying throughout the vehicle. "Twenty minutes should be plenty. Do you need a hand with anything?"

"No, thank you, Fleamont. We'll be fine," Sirius shook his head, reaching for the handle of the door in relief as he stepped out, stretching his legs with a weary sigh before he peered back into the car. "I'll go and get a trolley."

"Good, good," the wizard said, raising his periwinkle irises to the rear-view mirror to peer back at Brie and James, who were now clambering around on the floor in an attempt to retrieve the dropped treats. "Are you alright, you two? What in the name of Merlin are you doing?"

Brie smiled up at him weakly, holding up the brightly coloured wrapper of the gum as Sirius grumbled from outside of the car, telling them to hurry up. "Sorry, I dropped my sweets. Thank you for the lift, Mr Potter."

"Anytime, dear, anytime," Fleamont beamed, drumming his hands on the steering wheel as James climbed out of the car after Brie, slamming the door shut. "Behave yourself, James. I'll see you at Christmas."

"Yes, Dad," James grinned, raising his hand in farewell as his father pulled away from the curb, wheels screeching on the tarmac painfully before he turned back to his two friends, looking distinctly green. "I swear, that is the last time I go in that car. He drives like a maniac."

Brie and Sirius sniggered as they hauled the three trunks and two bird cages up onto the cart, Sirius jumping back with an indignant yelp as Lysander nipped at his poorly placed fingers whilst lifting the cage up. He scowled at the bird, shaking his hand. "Bloody git."

"He only bites the people he loves," she said, stroking the bird's feathers whilst poking her tongue out at Sirius childishly as he inspected his bleeding finger with a sour expression.

He glanced sideways at her with a dark smirk. "I hope he is bloody infatuated with Regulus, then."

Brie frowned at the comment, parting her lips to speak before James tactfully pushed the trolley in between them before an argument could ensue, flourishing a hand towards the metal handlebar with a pointed glance at Brie. "Personally, I'd rather like to see you push the cart. I'm sure that would bring a bit of delight to all of the miserable buggers around here."

She hushed him quickly, narrowing her eyes at his obnoxiously loud voice before looking around the station to find herself silently agreeing with James. They did look rather miserable, expressions sombre as the muggles elbowed their way through the crowds, muttering snide remarks as they rushed around in their monotone clothes. Brie had always found muggles rather peculiar – they forever seemed to rush through their lives, so oblivious to the wonderful world around them as the years slowly ticked by until, inevitably, time would capture them in a steely iron hand.

"Dream on, Potter," Brie said after a moment, watching in amusement as he reluctantly curled his hands around the handle, Sirius at his side. "Now, come on. Let's go."

Platform 9 ¾ was crammed with families bidding farewell to their children, teary eyed mothers smothering them in kisses as their sons and daughters would yelp and duck away, beet red with embarrassment. Large streams of students were lined in disorderly queues as they attempted to board the gleaming red Hogwarts Express, arms straining as they lugged large suitcases at their feet.

Brie let out a dismal sigh of irritation at the faces pressed against almost every compartment window she could see, wondering how they would be able to find seats for the journey as she whipped her head around impatiently, bobbing up on her toes as though a few centimetres difference in height would aid her in seeing above the sea of heads as she searched for the familiar faces of her friends. "I wonder where Remus and Lily are – and Peter," she added hastily before James could chastise her for forgetting the short plump boy.

"They're probably already on the train, although I think you might be a tad too short to look for them anyway," Sirius grinned crookedly, grey eyes pointedly glancing downwards at her bent toes before nodding to the train door they were nearest to whilst James pulled the trolley to a stop. "Go and find a compartment, Brie – me and James will sort out our stuff. And take your bloody bird with you."

Casting one more fleeting glance around before boarding the train, Brie's chocolate eyes widened in surprise as she saw Regulus stood watching her, trying to catch her eye. He was already dressed in his robes, leant against a marble pillar further along the platform, his grey irises flickering over Brie as his lips curled into a small smile of greeting before he turned back to the Slytherin boys stood beside him, glancing down at the watch bound around his wrist before gesturing to the train. Taking this as her cue to jump on the train before she became stuck upon the platform, Brie hastily scooped up Lysander's bird cage and hopped up into the carriage, the doors sealing shut with a crackle of magic behind her as the train gave a groan of life, wheels slowly churning along the tracks as it departed.