Chapter 5

As a rule Fred and George don't feel guilty. They prank people, their victims get mad ,they laugh and move on. That was their routine. Pranking Hannah Abbott was one of the few times things didn't go to plan, the way the desperate cries of her parents filled the burrow as their tears left a visible spot on the carpet, when they assumed the worst. The twins had never felt more guilty.

It looked like they'd have to revise some of their prank ideas for the little firsties.

—-

She looked so frail , perched on the stool with a hat too big for her head covering her eyes. Her sorting was incredibly long, 10 minutes of tense silence passed before hushed whispers broke out in the hall. It looked like the hat was talking to her near the end before putting her in Hufflepuff house , whose reaction was very nervous clapping at the would be Hufflepuff.

After that the sorting ceremony went rather smoothly, though there was considerable excitement when Harry potter's name was called out, causing the noise levels to spike before McGonagall levelled the students with a heavy glare.

Once that was finally over ,Dumbledore opened his mouth and made everyone question his sanity before beginning the feast and summoning the food with a flick of his wrist. Hannah should have been amazed by the grand display of magic but she was more focused on the fact that Quirrell was a few meters away from her and laughing at something one of the teachers said and that if he tried to kill Harry or anyone else right now, she would be able to do diddly squat in terms of stopping him.

She sighed , resigning herself to the fact that the library is going to be her home for a while. No matter how bleak her situation was , she couldn't craft morbid trains of thought forever, at least the girl next to her that was introducing herself thought so.

HANNAH's POV

"Nice to meet you , name is Susan bones. And you are?" a Petite strawberry blonde asked ,her voice trailing off as she waited for my answer. The girl's patient expression quickly morphed into an amused grin as I stared at her hand dumbfounded.

Alrighty then. I should probably shake her hand.

But seriously we're eleven not business men

…actually who am I to judge , plus she seems really nice. After a few awkward seconds where my thoughts went full speed but my body didn't catch up, I shook her outstretched hand and kinda/maybe/definitely winced at her strong grip.

I knew who Susan Bones was of course. Hufflepuff and relative of Amelia Bones , Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Apart from that though ,I knew nada. She had dirty blond hair , a crooked grin plastered on her face and bright eyes that were brimming with what I could only describe as mischievous elation. Although I don't know how.

"Nice to meet you Susan, my name's Hannah , Hannah Abbott "

—-

Out of all things that Hannah expected Susan to say next, it was definitely not that.

-2 minutes earlier-

"Well Hannah, how do you feel about a little adventure?" asks Susan, her eyes doing everything short of glowing as she waits for the other blonde's answer. Hannah just answers the question with a question, trying to ignore the unsettling feeling that whatever Susan is about to suggest is going to be a reoccurring theme.

"An adventure?"

"Ya know, the forbidden forest? , it's supposed to be filled with awesome shit."

"Umm… Didn't the headmaster say , it's well, um forbidden?" While her ability to speak has deserted her ,that's not what she's worried about, 'because of course my housemate wants to go somewhere that Voldemort will probably show and no puedo decirle nada!' she thinks bitterly , debating how to make sure that no one dies this year. Well everyone except for Quirrelmort that is.

It doesn't help that she's pretty sure Susan would go with or without her company.

Now , Hannah doesn't see herself as creative but after how she replies to Susan's offer of adventure. She's pretty sure she deserves some tea ,cinnamon rolls and a damn medal right about now for her brilliance.

"So what about it Abbott?" Susan asks , the haphazard smile still stuck to her face.

"Okay, I'm in but , we have to go during the day"

(Even mass murderers have a schedule)

"Sure, whatever floats your boat dude"

After that the girls had little time to plan dramatic escapades and settled for listening to their growling stomachs and indulged in the feast of mash potatoes and chicken drumsticks. Hannah didn't know how to feel about the pumpkin juice, it was somehow too watery and sickeningly sweet at the same time, leaving an icky feel in her mouth. Most of the food on the table is unsurprisingly British. She couldn't help but miss her dad's paella and tapas.

'Not to mention churros' Hannah thought wistfully. She liked to think that she's gotten good at forgetting, that she's got it down to an art but it doesn't take much to show her that it's not forgetting just repression. It's almost like phantom pain, invisible to others but in the back of her mind . It's always the little things that bring her down this path.

The short cackle her abuela made when she heard a pun, how her sister smelt like cinnamon and roses, her mother's obsession with zombies and her father's with horses. Introspective moments like these are reserved for people under one of two conditions. Loneliness and extreme stress.

Unable to share her pain with anyone and tasked with protecting a boy with no sense of self preservation, Hannah met both of them.

If anyone noticed the damp ends of her sleeves that she used to dry her face, they didn't comment. The events of the feast passed quickly and Hannah's melancholy expression discouraged any attempts at conversation from her house mates .Underneath her mourning however ,there was an unmistakable edge. A spark that grew into a flame because when you lose your family, when your reality is torn away from you and loneliness promises to be a faithful companion, there should be little you have to lose.

But Hannah's seen the other kids who will face this war. Fred Weasley is killed, Lavender Brown is mauled to death, Harry is tortured and both him and Hermione as well as countless others are scarred. She can't just be a passive bystander, she's done that before and she never wants to do it again.

—

"This way first years, rest of you head up to your dorms now! No dawdling!" Called out a short brunette prefect with an air of haughtiness as she led the gaggle of new students up the temperamental stairs case. Hannah couldn't help but gawk at the impossibly large fall that missing a moving staircase could lead to. 'I guess it's not just the teachers that can kill you in this place, you also have to look out for the infrastructure' she thought, gulping audibly before following the gaggle of Hufflepuffs down the stairs, towards the common room entrance. The moving portraits didn't really seem all that special, Hannah reckoned they were like the video ad boards that populated London's Underground.

While She could admit that magic was amazing , fascinating and completely brilliant . It wasn't earned.

Muggles had to fight for years to acquire the knowledge they had. Some even dedicated their lives to the study of their world, they tested and retested theories until they could survive the most intense scrutiny. They were creative in a way wizards never could be. Every scrap of information was fought for and the battle passed on to the next generation, who built on their ancestors' work , an endless journey to a better age. Hannah found it comforting to know that she didn't have to forget her magic free upbringing. That she shouldn't.

As she walked through the halls of her home for the next few years , she came to the startling but inevitable realization that while she could be a part of the wizarding world , she would never respect it. It was too late for that.

By the time they reached the common room, Hannah just felt tired. She missed her mum.

"Now remember the password for this term is—

—-

The Hufflepuff common room was a warm place, with a focus on comfort as well as style. Wooden coffee tables punctuated the floor surrounded by sofas and large bean bags in tones of amber and yellow. Large tapestries of geometric patterns in copper and gold adorned the ceilings and blooming vines grew along the walls. And that was only the first floor , large wooden staircases led to a second floor that overlooked the first, filled with similar furnishings , the only difference being the indoor greenhouse that Professor Sprout put in upon becoming head of house. It was beautiful.

No. Not just beautiful but inviting, for the forlorn and homesick Hannah it was perfect. After a sufficient period of awed gasps from the other first years and small talk made by the other Hufflepuffs, the prefect went about directing students to their dorms. The doors leading to the dorms were on the opposite side of the entrance , girls on the right and boys on the left.

However, before the first years could enter their dorms, they were stopped by a tall boy with dark brown skin , a head of curly hair and a prefect badge pinned to his chest.

"Before you go , it's my job to give you the induction this year. My name is Nolan Redmond, feel free to come to me or any other prefect for that matter if you need help with anything. Our house gets a lot of muggle-borns so if any of you get any flack from any other student because of your blood status, tell me or Amanda Grant , the other Hufflepuff prefect and we'll sort it out for you. Remember house mates are like family so stick together.

With that being said I'll start by telling you the ground rules.

Firstly, the dorm entrances are enchanted, so if the girls try to enter the boy dormitory or vice versa then you won't be able to enter, the other house's dorms have similar enchantments.

Secondly there is the issue of curfew. You are allowed to leave earliest at 6am and be back by 9pm. There are exceptions for when you have Astrology class or a detention.

Lastly but not least , if you get hurt or feel sick or queasy then make sure to go to the hospital wing to get checked out by Madam Pomfrey, the resident healer".

Without missing a beat , he turned on his heel and simply walked off, the first years were given little time to comment on the odd behavior before they were dragged to their dorm entrances by a very sleepy , very grumpy Amanda Grant.

—

Hannah tried to sleep , honestly She did but her thoughts were screaming at her every time she closed her eyes. Resigning herself to another sleepless night , she threw off the duvet that she was buried under, exposing her feet to the cold air. The room was nice although Hannah didn't have much time to examine it , having given a hurried good night to Susan before jumping into the four poster bed and pretended to doze off.

There was just so much to think about, Hannah always knew her plan was an uphill battle, an endless list of plots to stop and people to save, and somehow the list just got longer. Because Harry was skinny and flinched at loud noises or whenever someone touched him and Hannah didn't have to be a physiatrist to figure out what that meant, of course she knew that the Dursleys were horrid but it was something else to see their handiwork.

The solution that her mind conjured was… morally divisive at best but she wasn't skilled enough to help Harry with this on her own.

—

Sadly it was already late so it took a while for Hannah to find her wand and hold it the right way up. Like any reincarnated child with a healthy dose of paranoia, she hid it in her pillow case.

Wand in hand , she closed her eyes and imagined energy flowing out of her body and into her wand like water in a slow steady stream.

"Lumos"

A warm shiver ran up her spine as soft white light fell from the tip of her wand in steady waves. Against the black night it looked like a small star within her reach. She couldn't help but gape at the twinkling light inches from her face. Knowing magic exists and doing it yourself are very different things.

Confident that her roommate was asleep, Hannah let out an unruly giggle. She had just cast her first spell , but definitely not her last.

—