Devon, James, Albus, and Lily all came to an agreement over the next few days that they would start reading the books together in January after the new term started.
They got an idea of what the letters warning of sensitive and uncomfortable content meant when they had opened the books to the table of contents and discovered that the first chapter was titled The Estrangement of Lily and Petunia Evans.
They figured it would probably take several months to get through the books and they wanted to be able enjoy all the major holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's with clear heads.
They would start reading the books on Sundays during the 2 p.m. hour in the Room of Requirement starting with the first Sunday of January after term started.
Life at Hogwarts went on normally.
As September faded into October, Care of Magical Creatures classes began.
There had been a delay in the start of this subject because of the process of Hagrid having to get the creatures for class approved.
On the second Tuesday of October, Hugo, Devon, Ainsley, Samantha, Stephanie, and Lily had their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson with Hagrid.
"Alright, Lily?" called Hagrid as they approached the grass.
"Hi Hagrid," replied Lily.
Just then, the first year Slytherins arrived. Care of Magical Creatures was the first class the first year Gryffindors would be sharing with Slytherin. They shared Transfiguration and History of Magic with Ravenclaw and they shared Potions and Herbology with Hufflepuff. Charms, Flying, and Defense Against the Dark Arts were now single house courses.
"Damn!" swore Hugo loudly, "It sucks that we are with the damn Slytherins."
"You're as bad as Albus," Lily told Hugo, "Let's not judge an entire house of people before we get to know any of them."
"Never forget, "said Hugo clearly, "That Slytherin was the house of Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldemort."
" It's not fair to judge people of today on things that happened two decades ago," said Devon fiercely. "Lily is right. We should get to know some of the Slytherins of our time before we go badmouthing the whole house. Albus and Hugo both need to be more open minded."
Argument was averted as Hagrid came into view.
"Alright," said Hagrid welcome to yer first Care o Magical Creatures class. Today's lesson should be easy to understand but I don't how many of yeh will be able ter actually do it. I'm going ter go retrieve the magical creatures."
Hagrid came back with a collection of brightly colored birds with vivid plunge. They came in 4 colors: pink, yellow, orange, and lime green. Beautiful song was emanating from these birds.
"Who can tell me what these birds are?" asked Hagrid.
"Fwoopers," pipped up Ainsley, who had the strongest interest in animals of any first year.
"Correct, Ainsley, ten points ter Gryffindor. Now who can tell me why Fwooper song must be enjoyed in moderation?" asked Hagrid.
"Because too much Fwooper song will drive a listener to insanity," said Lily.
"Correct, Lily another ten points ter Gryffindor. Now yeh will each come and take one Fwooper. Yer task fer today is to silence the Fwooper using Silencing Charms. I know you've covered Silencing Charms in Charms class. Whoever does the best job of quieting down his or her fwooper will receive a slab of Honeydukes chocolate and a bottle of Budweiser as a reward. "
Hugo, Devon, and Samantha opted for orange fwoopers. Lily picked a pink fwooper. Ainsley and Stephanie chose yellow fwoopers. All the Slytherins went for green fwoopers.
They didn't get much of a chance to talk to the Slytherins during this class because the Fwooper task required their full attention.
Various voices cried out "Silenco!" at once as they all pointed their wands at their fwoopers.
As it transpired, Lily and Samantha tied for the best Silencing Charm as both were able to shut their fwoopers up completely,
As it turned out, Hagrid had anticipated the possibility of a tie and both Lily and Samantha were awarded a slab of Honeydukes chocolates and a bottle of Budweiser.
Samantha eagerly munched on her chocolate and sipped her Budweiser.
Lily, however, offered hers to Devon rather than consuming it herself.
"Thanks, Lily," said Devon as he accepted the chocolate and Budweiser from Lily and started eating and drinking.
"According to Professor Flitwick," said Samantha between bites, "I have a gift for Silencing Charms because I have a beechwood wand. Apparently, beechwood is a wand wood that is highly compatible with both Silencing Charms and nonverbal spells. I'll be interested to see how my nonverbal spells are when we're old enough to try those."
"Samantha actually has the first wand dad ever tried," Lily explained to Hagrid, "Beechwood and dragon heartstring. nine inches. Nice and Flexible."
"That was a good first lesson," said Ainsley happily, "Fwoopers are so beautiful."
"My family has always been friendly with Hagrid," said Lily, "But I am glad he had to get the creatures approved."
"Yes," agreed Hugo, "A nice age appropriate lesson about a normal everyday magical creature and not a monster."
The next night, Lily, Samantha, and Ainsley had Quidditch practice. As they had done since practices had begun, James, Hugo, Devon, and Stephanie tagged along to support their family and friends on the team, a fact greatly appreciated by Lily, Samantha, and Ainsley.
As they sat down in the stands, they were surprisingly approached by Wesley.
"Baylac," called Wesley, "Can I have a word?"
"Yes," replied Stephanie simply.
"Well," said Wesley in a businesslike voice, "Ever since trails ended it has been clear to me that the two best Beaters in the entire school are Fred Weasley and yourself. I've been doing some thinking about that. Now, there is no requirement that a captain be an actual player and in fact I've read in more detailed editions of Quidditch Through the Ages of some who have not been. Now my job as captain is to give Gryffindor the best possible chance of winning the Quidditch Cup. As it's obvious to me that you are a better Beater than me, I would like to offer you a shot at earning my Beater spot."
"Seriously?" said Stephanie weakly.
"Baylac," said Wesley clearly, "I am NOT offering you this opportunity out of sensitivity or generosity I'm offering you this opportunity in the interests of the team because my job is to consider the best interests of the team."
"How can I win the position?" asked Stephanie eagerly.
'You will be taking my place in practice as a Beater tonight. If you perform the way I expect you to, I will give you my Beater spot. I would then stay on as captain, scheduling practices and looking after the performance of the team. But I would be a non-playing captain."
Wesley handed Stephanie a Nimbus 2000 and explained the situation to his team.
When the practice began, Hugo, James. and Devon focused their eyes on Stephanie, really hoping this second chance would work out for her.
Even Ainsley, Samantha, and Lily would take an occasional one second break from their tasks to try to see how Stephanie was doing.
It couldn't be clearer that Stephanie would indeed win the job. She worked exceptionally well with Fred as a Beater tandem and in her own performance, she hit every bludger that came her way with great force and perfect timing, succeeding completely in keeping the bludgers away from her teammates.
At the end of the practice, after blowing his whistle to call the team down, he said, "It's a no brainer, Stephanie Baylac, welcome to the Gryffindor Quidditch team and congratulations."
"I've just become the first girl to ever make a Hogwarts Quidditch team at the Beater position," said Stephanie proudly as tears of joy and emotion came down her face. I want to thank Wesley for giving me this opportunity. "
"Stephanie! Stephanie! Stephanie!" chanted James, Hugo, Devon, Ainsley Samantha and Lily in unison. Fred, Roxanne, and Rachel also joined in the cheering.
After a minute of cheering, Hugo, Devon, James, Ainsley, Samantha and Lily all ran up to Stephanie.
"Stephanie, I'm so proud of you," said Samantha as she patted Stephanie on the back, "You just made Hogwarts history."
"And became teammates with Samantha, Lily, and me." said Ainsley happily, "Hi five, Steph?"
Ainsley held out her right hand and Stephanie high fived it with her right hand.
"I couldn't be happier for Stephanie for what she has just accomplished," said Hugo warmly, "She flat out earned this place in the annuals of Quidditch at Hogwarts. Stephanie, I want to shake your hand."
Hugo stuck out his right hand and Stephanie shook it with her right hand.
"Earned is the key word," said Devon radiantly, "Hopefully the stereotype about girls not being cut out to play Beater will now be a thing of the past. I couldn't be prouder of Stephanie for breaking that barrier."
Devon messed up Stephanie's hair with his left hand and they all enjoyed a giggle.
"Stephanie," said James excitedly, "This means that I got to call your matches. To be to call matches where Hogwarts history will be made is a special privilege."
James stuck his left hand down the back of Stephanie's shirt and tickled her back.
"Thanks, everyone," said Stephanie warmly.
It was the support of James, Hugo and Devon that meant the most to her. That the three boys in her group of friends were just as proud of her and just as happy for her as her three female friends told her a lot about them.
"Stephanie, you deserve this moment," said Lily meaningfully. "You absolutely belong on this team and I'm delighted you now will be."
Lily gave Stephanie a pat on the back and Wesley called, "Next practice is next Wednesday at 7 p.m."
"Wesley," said Stephanie gratefully, "I want to thank you- "
"Don't thank me, thank yourself," responded Wesley, "I didn't give you this second shot out of sympathy or kindness. This really was about what was best for the team."
Stephanie nodded and walked back up to Gryffindor Tower with James, Devon, Hugo, Ainsley, Samantha, and Lily.
Four of the seven were now on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and a fifth was Hogwarts Quidditch commentator.
Stephanie lay in bed that night just soaking in the fact that she had become the first girl to ever qualify for the Beater position at Hogwarts. She was so pleased to break through that barrier and she was glad Wesley had made it clear why she got this chance. She made Hogwarts history and had done so legitimately.
In her room, Lily was taking in what had happened that night.
She was so happy that Stephanie had been given the opportunity that she had, and she was delighted that Stephanie was able to make Hogwarts history with that opportunity.
And the Quidditch lover in Lily thought about the team Gryffindor now had.
"We've got a great shot at winning the Quidditch Cup this year," thought Lily to herself as she fell asleep.
