Flora woke up to the sound of Molly yelling. Molly was always yelling.

"Absolutely not!" she said forcefully. "I won't have it!"

"Molly, dear, the ministry has very kindly offered us the cars to ensure Flora's safety," she heard Arthur say. She looked over at Ginny's bed but it was empty.

"It will only attract attention, Arthur, and attention is the last thing she needs," Molly said. She couldn't hear any more because the twins came bursting into the room.

"Good morning, Flora," they said together.

"Are you-"

"Ready for-"

"The best day-"

"Of your life?"

Their way of speaking always made Flora laugh. She nodded enthusiastically and jumped off the cot she'd been sleeping on for the past month. She had changed into her muggle clothes, and everything else was packed, so she was ready to go.

"We can-"

"Take that trunk-"

"For you." Flora nodded again, and left them in Ginny's room while she headed downstairs, accidentally running into Ron on the way, but he didn't seem upset about it.

"Come on, Flora! We're gonna be late," and then he rushed down the stairs. Star and Cassie were running circles around her ankles, which is quite annoying on a staircase.

Everyone else was already at the table, even Remus. Flora smiled when she saw him, and quickly took the open seat next to him. She liked being near someone calm during the chaos that was every meal with the Weasley's. She usually sat with Bill, but she liked sitting with Remus whenever he was there.

When breakfast was done and bags were all packed, the whole family, plus Remus, was hurried into the Ministry cars by Arthur, and they headed to the station. The barrier was nerve wracking for Flora, she didn't like seeing people disappear into, seemingly, nothing. She went through the barrier with Remus, who held onto her trolly with her. The train was beautiful, and the station was packed. She held on tightly to the sleeve of Remus's coat to avoid being lost. He and the twins got her safely into a compartment without being mobbed by the other passengers, and Remus bent down to her eye level.

"There's an owlery at Hogwarts," he told her, and Flora nodded. "If you ever need anything, or if you just want to chat, one of the school owls will be able to find me wherever I am." He gave her a smile, and headed back out to where the rest of the Weasley's were. She gave Ginny a big smile and a wave from the train, before the compartment door was opened.

"D'you mind if I join you?" said a plump child holding a toad. Flora shook her head and the twins weren't paying attention. The boy sat next to her and put his toad between them.

"I'm Neville, by the way. Neville Longbottom," he said. Flora searched her pocket for the notecards she had prepared with Bill and Remus's help. She found the one she was looking for.

I'm Flora Potter, it said on the front. She turned it over, It is very nice to meet you, it said on the back. Neville's eyes widened.

"Are you really?" he asked, mouth agape.

Flora nodded and grabbed a blank sheet of paper.

What is your toad's name?

"This is Trevor," he replied after recovering. "My gran got him for me."

"Look at that, Flora, you've already made a new friend!" George said, peaking into their compartment.

"We'll be taking our leave now, gotta cause some chaos before the sendoff," Fred added before they took off.

"Are they always like that?" Neville asked. Flora and Ron nodded in response. She was glad to have made a new friend, and even more glad that he didn't seem bothered by her lack of speech. A few moments later there was a loud explosion right before the train took off, the new friends shared a knowing glance and burst into giggles at the news that the twins had indeed been successful on their quest for chaos.

Their compartment gained a fourth member soon after this, a girl who called herself Hermione Granger. She also did not seem bothered by Flora's lack of speech, and even complimented her on her notecards.

"That's a great idea!" she stated, "I didn't know I was a witch until I got my letter. It was a great surprise, Mum and Dad were so proud of me."

Flora took a moment to find the card she was looking for.

Me too.

"You didn't know you were a witch?! But you're Flora Potter! How did you not know?" Hermione was gaping at her like she'd just kicked a puppy.

The muggles that raised me never told me, she wrote on her parchment.

"My family was worried that I would be a squib," Neville said sadly. "They kept trying to force that magic out of me, my uncle dropped me out of a window last year, but I bounced all the way to the garden." His sadness had been replaced with a smile now.

"What's a squib?" Hermione asked, and Flora nodded in agreement.

"A squib is a person born into a magical family but doesn't have any magic themself," Ron told them. "I've got an uncle that's an accountant, but we don't really talk about him."

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"No one talks about their squibs," Ron said, turning pink. "Some families even send them off to muggle orphanages, but they used to just kill them."

"That's horrible!" Hermione gasped. Ron only shrugged, and Neville looked a little embarrassed. "What would've happened if you were a squib?" she asked Neville.

"I don't really know," he admitted. "They'd probably replace me as the heir, at least."

An awkward silence filled the compartment; Ron knew that Neville was being kind, he probably would've been turned out, and Hermione was still trying to wrap her head around the reality of disowning your child just because they don't have magic.

The next couple hours passed quickly, Hermione and Flora were testing out some spells from their charms textbook, while Neville was reading a book about plants. Flora had some trouble with the spells, since she didn't say the incantation, but Hermione got all of them.

"I've read about silent casting, it's supposed to be pretty difficult. I think meditation is supposed to help, have you tried that yet?"

Flora shook her head in response just as the compartment door opened. It was Draco.

"Hi, Flora," he said with a large smile on his face. "Can I, um, can I join you guys?"

Flora nodded excitedly and Draco sat down next to her.

"I'm Hermione Granger. How do you know Flora?"

"We met in Diagon Ally," Draco told her as Star jumped into his lap. "You must be a Weasley," he said, jerking his chin in Ron's direction. "What about you?" he asked Neville.

Ron sneered at the comment, but said nothing.

"Neville Longbottom," he replied.

Ron didn't like Draco, which made sense since the blonde boy didn't even ask for Ron's name, but the others got into an interesting discussion about the houses they thought they would be in. Ron avoided voicing his own opinion, which Flora thought was weird, but Draco was set on Ravenclaw, as was Hermione. Draco said that his whole family had been in Slytherin but his parents had told him that it might not be safe for him there, and had encouraged him to join the smart house. Neville was convinced that he would be in Hufflepuff, and he was quite upset about it, but Flora couldn't figure out why. Other than people's biases, Hufflepuff sounded like it would be the best house. Loyalty. Friendship. Compassion. That's where she wanted to go, and Neville admitted that it wouldn't be so bad if they were together. Plus, Bill had told her that it was close to the kitchens, which made it strategically the best place to be. Neville perked up a bit at the revelation.

Draco had surprised Flora. There was obviously some history between his family and Professor Snape, so she hadn't been sure if he would be warned to stay away from her or not. Of course, she didn't know if the history was bad, but their meeting in Diagon Alley was weird. Weird enough for her to mentally prepare herself for the possibility of him ignoring her.

Soon enough, they were pulling into Hogsmeade station. They changed into their robes and exited the train as quickly as they could, heading over to the large man calling for first years. He looked at Flora and recognized her immediately.

"Hullo there, Flora! I'm Hagrid, Keeper of Keys. I knew your parents," he said as he directed them towards a boat. "You got the Potter hair al'right! Everything else is pure Lily though," he added before returning to the other first years. The castle looked a lot bigger from this angle, and had been decorated for the start of term. When they entered the castle, they were greeted by a woman that Flora recognized as Professor McGonagall. She had stood up for Flora along with Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey. The sight of her made Flora smile. They were led into the great hall, and stood in the front, waiting for their turn with the sorting hat.

"Granger, Hermione!" McGonagall called out. Hermione looked back at Flora and Neville nervously before walking up to the stage.

"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat almost immediately.

"Longbottom, Neville!'

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Neville looked happy just to be sorted, and bounded over to the Hufflepuff table after giving Flora a look that said 'you'd better be a Hufflepuff too.' In his haste, Neville forgot that he was still wearing the hat, and had to run back up to Professor McGonagall to give it back. Flora was trying to get Snape's attention, hoping to gage his reaction to Hufflepuff house, but was unsuccessful.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted after about a minute. Draco looked relieved at this; Flora knew that he'd said he wanted Ravenclaw, but all the other boys he'd said hello to were sorted into Slytherin.

"Potter, Flora!" There was a lot of excitement after her name was called, and Professor McGonagall had to quiet the students down before placing the hat on Flora's head. After they settled down, the Great Hall was deathly silent. Everyone was trying to get a look at Flora, craning their necks in a very Petunia-like fashion and the students farther away from the stage were standing up to look over their friends' heads.

"Well, well, well," the hat said to her. "I have waited a long time to see what's in your brain. Let's see, you've got plenty of ambition, which would normally make you a candidate for Slytherin, but I fear your particular ambitions would not be appreciated in that house. You've got a thirst for knowledge too, and plenty of bravery. Honestly, you'd do well in any house other than Slytherin, but I know just where to put you. Before I announce your placement, I have three pieces of advice for you. Number one, do not trust the headmaster. Stay as far away as you can, never be alone with him, and do not make eye contact until you've learned occlumency. He actually tried to force me to put you in Gryffindor! The nerve of that man. Number two, there is a book in the restricted section that I think you will find most interesting. You'll have to get a teacher's approval to check it out, but that shouldn't be a problem for you. The book is called Magical Sensors Through the Ages. Now for number three. Your wand may help you now, but do not rely on it; there will come a day when your ability to use wandless magic will either save you or doom you. Now for your placement, better be… HUFFLEPUFF!"

The last word echoed through the hall and was met with stunned silence. Flora took off the hat, and shot a glance at Professor Snape. Their eyes met and he nodded in approval before quickly turning away.

Flora ran down to join Neville, and was given sparse applause before the Hufflepuff table absolutely exploded. The twins joined in soon after, but the rest of Gryffindor looked like they had been personally offended, and the Slytherins were snickering and whispering to each other.

The hat had given Flora a lot to think about, so she couldn't really get upset that the whole school was disappointed with her placement. She'd already had a negative opinion of Dumbledore, since he would have sent her right back to the Dursley's if the teachers hadn't threatened to quit, but now that she knew he had attempted to manipulate her placement Flora was extra weary of the man. Why did it matter? Wouldn't being in a house she wasn't suited for make her miserable? Why did he care so much? She was so lost in thought that she had completely tuned out the rest of the sorting until Ron's name was called.

Ron got a hat-stall, just like her. His lips were moving ever so slightly, and he seemed to be in a heated debate. At the end of said debate, a small smile creeped over his lips just before the hat called out his house.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Just like Flora's placement, the great hall was silent. Ron's face went as red as his hair before he shuffled down to the Slytherin table, and Flora was the first to clap. After she started, the rest of the Weasley's got the message and also began clapping, Fred and George even got up on the table and Percy had to pull them down by their robes. Hufflepuff had taken Flora's example and clapped the loudest for him.

After a kid named Zabini went to Slytherin, Dumbledore said something about avoiding the third floor corridor, but Flora wasn't listening, she was starving. She dug into the food as soon as it arrived, and even managed to sneak some of it into her pockets without anyone noticing.

The twins came up to the Hufflepuff table in the middle of dinner.

"Hey, Flora,"

"Thanks for clapping,"

"For Ron, we were just,"

"So shocked,"

"Took us a minute,"

"To compose ourselves."

Then they headed to the Slytherin table and bent down next to Ron. Flora couldn't hear what they said, but they'd each wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and he had a smile on his face when they left.

The journey down to the common room was incredibly exciting. All the paintings were talking over each other, shouting advice and well wishes to the returning students. The common room itself was beautiful. Flora and Neville were at the front of the line of first years being led by a boy named Tom and a girl name Evelyn. They called themselves 'prefects,' but Flora didn't really know what that meant. They gave a brief introduction about their house before letting them run free.

The common room was warm, that was the best way to describe it. There was moonlight coming in from the high windows, and multiple fireplaces. There were couches and armchairs and blankets and pillows everywhere. Flora was just getting comfortable when Tom came over with a younger boy.

"Hi Flora," Tom greeted her. "Professor Snape wants to see you. I've got to stay here to help the other first years, but this is Cedric Diggory," he motioned to the golden haired boy, "and he'll make sure you get there safely."

Flora nodded and they took off. Cedric was a good deal taller than Flora, but he didn't intimidate her at all. He was warm, and his magic felt… safe. On the way to Snape's office Cedric told her all about the castle and the classes, but mostly about quidditch. He showed her where the kitchen was too, and told her how to go in. She didn't have anything to write with, so Flora just nodded along and smiled whenever it seemed appropriate. When they reached Snape's office, Cedric knocked and told her he would wait outside.

"Enter," she heard Snape say. She walked in and waved when he looked up. He said nothing, but handed her a few potions.

"You will need to come back to my office every night, after dinner, for your potions. Do you have any questions?" Snape asked coldly. Flora nodded, and Snape grabbed a piece of paper for her.

There's a book in the library I want to check out. Magical Sensors through the Ages. The hat told me about it.

"The… hat told you?" He questioned. Flora nodded. His eyebrows furrowed in suspicion, but he gave her a permission slip anyway. "Did the hat tell you anything else?"

Flora nodded again and wrote, It told me not to rely on my wand.

Snape's brow furrowed, but he made no additional comment, so Flora went back to the common room with Cedric. On their way, Cedric surprised her.

"Do you know any sign language?" he asked.

Flora shook her head.

"I've got an aunt that's deaf, so I know a little, but we don't see her very often. I could teach you, if you want," he offered. "I think there's a spell for it now too."

Flora nodded and let a smile creep up to her lips.