Maya pulled her blazer down to smooth it and checked how she looked in the full-length mirror on the back of her closet door. Her dark blonde curls, which had been long enough to touch her knees, were now styled with layers and trimmed to a little below her shoulders, and were currently held back from her face by a silver headband. The stylist Maggie had taken her to, was a witch, and she had sold Maya a charmed hairbrush and a shampoo and conditioner duo that promised to tame the wildest curls. Maya was not sure if tamed was the right word for her curls, but they were definitely less troublesome now.

Her hair wasn't the only thing about her that had changed in the last month. The potion and diet plan that Garruk had recommended had helped Maya gain almost a pound in weight. She still looked frail and small, but Maggie told her that she would grow taller once she got to a healthy weight for her age. Maya had to gain at least six pounds extra, or preferably, even more. Maya figured that it would take her about six months to accomplish that if she kept up with the same rate of weight gain. That seemed like a long time to Maya, but Maggie and Damon had reminded her that it was better to be patient and follow the potion and diet plan carefully.

The biggest difference between this year and last year in regard to her appearance though was her clothes. Her Hogwarts uniform had consisted of a full-length black robe which she had worn over her threadbare clothes that had been a combination of Dudley's cast-off and the cheapest items Petunia could find in the charity shop. The Academy uniform she wore had been cleaned and pressed by Amanda, the nice lady Damon paid to do their laundry, was much more modern, and in Maya's opinion looked much smarter.

It consisted of a light silver skirt that fell to just below her knees, paired with a plain white shirt and blue tie. The blazer was a lovely green colour that; complemented the tie and skirt, had the school emblem embroidered on the breast pocket, and fell to just below Maya's hips. Knee length socks in the same green as the blazer and a pair of plain back shoes finished off the look.

Satisfied that she looked okay, Maya checked the schedule that was sitting on her desk, she wanted to make sure she had everything she needed for her first day. It was a packed schedule, with eight electives on top of her compulsory subjects, plus an extracurricular after school every day. But Maya was looking forward to the challenge, and as Damon had pointed out, if after midterms she was struggling to keep up then she had the option of dropping some of her extracurriculars or electives and replacing them with study hall.

She had a busy day ahead with English, Transfiguration, Math, Science, and PE classes. She opened her bag and checked the contents: textbooks, notebooks, pencil case, calculator. She had prepared everything the night before, but it never hurt to be sure. She also inspected her gym bag, which contained her swimming costume and towel for PE and her quidditch uniform for the after-school activity. Her brand-new broom, a Nimbus 2001, was already at the Academy, they had broom lockers for all the students who owned them. The last thing Maya checked was her wand, secure in a case and tucked into the front pocket of her backpack.

Her new wand, eleven inches and fairly supple, was a masterpiece of art, merging cedar and red bamboo into a stunning gradient effect. The base of the wand was a deep reddish-purple, like the colour of ripe plums or dark wine. The colour gradually changed as it moved towards the tip, becoming lighter and softer, until it reached a pale reddish-pink, like the colour of cherry blossoms. The core was made up of a phoenix feather which had been threaded with Wepwawet hair and then soaked in Coatl venom. As soon as Maya had picked it up her entire body had been flooded with warmth, the Holly and phoenix feather wand she'd purchased from Ollivanders had been good, this one was better.

Satisfied that everything she needed was in her bags Maya slid the portkey, a simple wristband made of rubber, that would take her to and from the school onto her wrist, before picking up both of her bags and heading downstairs for breakfast. Damon and Stefan were both there waiting for her, with breakfast, and her daily potions, already on the table. Maya dropped her bags in the corner and slid into what she was quickly coming to think of as her seat, with a small smile aimed at her godfather and his brother.

For the last fortnight, Damon, Stefan, and Maya had found a rhythm in their new life together. Maya was adjusting well to the changes and enjoying her time with them. They would have breakfast and dinner as a group, sometimes with Enzo and Maggie joining them. Lunch was usually just Maya and Damon, since Stefan was working part-time at the same hospital as Maggie and also studying at NYU.

When she was not eating, Maya would spend some hours every day reading her textbooks for her upcoming classes, sketching on the pad that Stefan had given her, which amused Damon, and learning how to operate her new laptop and gaming devices. Damon had also taken her to various attractions in the city on the weekends, such as the Met, the Central Park Zoo, the Rockefeller Center, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, as well as the cinema and a Broadway show.

Stefan, Maggie, and Enzo had accompanied them to Central Park and the Botanical Gardens, but the rest of the outings had been just Maya and Damon. This had helped them bond and made Maya more comfortable with her godfather. She was still cautious of him, and of all of them really, since they were vampires and could easily harm her unintentionally if they lost control like Vernon always did. But Maya was beginning to trust that they would not do that, that Damon would not do that.

Maya grabbed the first of the potions she had to take daily and ripped off the seal, gulping it down in one go and making a face at the awful chalky taste. Garruk had given Maya three potions to help her heal from the effects of having a horcrux in her head and being abused by the Dursleys. The first was a nutrition potion, that would help her body to assimilate all the nutrients from the food she was eating, allowing her to put on weight faster than a muggle could. The second was a mild healing potion that would help mend the long-term damage to her muscles and bones which would enhance her immune system which was severely weak due to the malnutrition she had endured at the Dursleys.

Maggie had explained to Maya that the last potion was like a magical antibiotic. The ritual to remove the Horcrux from her scar had been similar to a muggle having surgery. Even though Garruk had cleared her of any Dark Magic after she had done the second ritual, she was still vulnerable to infection. The last potion was akin to the second, designed to help her fend off any possible infection that could happen if she encountered certain kinds of Dark Magic, until her magical immune system had recovered from the Horcrux removal.

The potions were vile, but Maya had learned to swallow them quickly and then fill her mouth with breakfast. Today, she had a bowl of creamy porridge with juicy berries and crunchy nuts. Her meals, like her potions and her exercises, followed a strict plan that gave her the right mix of energy, protein, vitamins, minerals, and fibre. She could only have junk-food as a rare treat, no more than three times a week, and never on consecutive days, all other snacks had to follow the diet plan. Damon was adamant that she stick to her potions, diet, and exercise, but he was lenient about everything else. His rules were simple, his chores were easy, and he let her choose how to spend her time. Life with Stefan and Damon was nothing like life with the Dursleys. It was a whole new world.

Other than a couple of 'good mornings', breakfast was eaten in silence, each of them left with their own thoughts. Maya was a bundle of nerves and excitement, she was excited about starting at the Academy and all of the classes and extracurriculars she had signed up for, but she was also slightly nervous about being there and about making friends. Her first few weeks at Hogwarts had been awful, with everyone staring and pointing and whispering about her because she was the girl-who-lived. Maya was glad that she wouldn't have to worry about that at the Academy, where her true identity would be hidden. But she was also scared of being alone without her friends, and of making new ones.

Because of people's reactions to her Ron and Hermione were the only friends she'd made in those first few months at Hogwarts's. Which had been slightly difficult, because despite both being her friends, neither of them had really gelled with each other, at least not until the aftermath of the Troll Incident. Ron had been easy to befriend on the train, and they had ended up in the same house, Gryffindor. Hermione had been her roommate, and they had stuck together when Lavender and Parvati became inseparable. It had just happened naturally.

Neville had been a friendly-face in the Gryffindor common room, one of the few who'd never gawked at her, and so there becoming friends had been slow, because they were both relatively withdrawn for different reasons, but also natural. Draco's friendship had occurred as a result of them being partnered up in a lot of their classes, a new initiative to attempt to bridge the divide between Gryffindor and Slytherin, not that it had worked Maya and Draco were the only partnership that had resulted in friendship outside the classroom, and it had taken a long time.

Luna, well Luna had been Luna. They'd met because Luna and Neville had gone down to visit Hagrid whom Maya had been having tea with. Maya still quite shy at that point, hadn't quite known what to do with Luna, but Luna, having known the equally shy Neville all her life, had known exactly what to do. Maya had to admit that their friendship was mostly down to Luna's determination and her inability to see Maya as anything other than 'perfectly ordinary', something no-one else had managed, not even Ron and Hermione. Maya still struggled with the idea of making friends on purpose. All her previous friendships had come about because they just made sense, or because of the other person's determination.

Maya was still contemplating the idea of deliberately trying to make friends when Damon spoke up.

"How are you feeling? Nervous? Excited? Both? Have you got everything? Your wand, your books, your –"

"Damon."

Stefan's cut of Damon's endless inquiries with a stern voice, but he had a smile on his face that matched the giggle that slipped out of Maya's mouth.

"I'm ready. I packed everything last night and I double checked this morning."

"You can always change your mind, start tomorrow, next week, next year, or you know home-schooling is –"

Maya laughed again, she knew Damon was mostly joking with her, but if she really wanted to delay starting at the Academy, he'd make it happen.

"Okay Damon, I think Maya gets the point."

Damon pouted at Stefan who ignored him and tuned to Maya.

"You look very smart in your uniform Maya, doesn't she Damon?"

"Yes. You look great, very smart. You have your portkey?"

Maya nodded and held up her wrist so that Damon could see the wristband she had put on before coming down.

"Good, good." Damon checked the time before turning back to Maya. "Okay, the portkey activates in a few minutes so are you absolutely certain you've got everything you need?"

"Yep, I have triple-checked everything."

"Good, and you remember where you have to go?"

Maya nodded, on Friday she had visited the Academy again where she had been introduced to her Homeroom Advisor Professor Mephisto and had been given another short tour of the school, which had included showing her which classroom she needed to go to for Homeroom. Her schedule had been finalised, she had been assigned a broom locker and a normal locker, and a portkey had been attuned to her, a protective method meant to ensure that no-one else would be able to use it to gain access to the school. Anyone who did would instead be portkeyed to a DMLE holding cell and held for questioning. The Academy took the security of its staff and student's very seriously.

"Yeah."

"Okay,"

Damon's smile was soft as he nodded his head slightly.

"Good luck today and I'm sure you're going to have fun, make friends, and absolutely excel in everything you put your mind to. And we'll all be here to celebrate your first day with you when you get home tonight."

Maya's returned Damon's smile with one of her own before picking up her backpack and pulling it on, her gym bag she slung over her shoulder. She was ready. She gave Stefan and Damon one more sunny smile.

"See you later."

"Bye Maya, have fun at school."

"Bye kiddo, we'll see you later."

The portkey activated whisking Maya away from the dining room of the Brownstone and depositing her in front of the gates of the New York Academy for the gifted. The air around her was filled with hundreds of voices as students greeted their friends after the long summer break, laughing and joking with each other and chattering away as they made their way into the school. Maya felt a surge of loneliness as she remembered the friends, she had left behind. They'd all be on the express heading to Hogwarts now, Maya wondered if they were missing her as much as she was missing them.

Not that it mattered, Maya had made her choice, and the letters she had received from her friends a week ago had all said the same thing. They understood. Maya knew that they wanted her to be safe and they wanted her to be happy, that was what friends did, she might miss them, and they might miss her, but she couldn't let herself dwell on it. Not if she was going to make new friends here. Filled with a new determination Maya began heading towards the school.

She went to her locker first, dropping off her gym bag there so that she wouldn't have to lug it round with her all day, seeing as PE was her last lesson and Quidditch would be after that. With that sorted Maya made her way to the classroom where she would have Homeroom. Professor Mephisto was already inside, sat behind his desk, as were a couple of other girls around the same age as Maya, all three looked up as Maya entered. Professor Mephisto smiled warmly at her.

"Good morning, Miss Nichols, all ready for your first day?"

Maya nodded and smiled back.

"Yes sir."

"Good. Why don't you introduce yourself to those two," he nodded to the girls who were sitting next to each other at the back of the room, "they're both new here this year as well."

Maya tugged at the straps on her backpack, slightly anxious about being the one to introduce herself to the other girls, but she nodded and headed towards them. She might not be a Gryffindor anymore, but she still had the courage of one. She could do this.

"Hi," Maya said as soon as she reached them. "I'm Maya Nichols, I'm new here too."

The girl on the left was the first to respond, offering Maya a cheerful smile and extending her hand towards Maya for her to shake.

"Hi, I'm Kamala Khan."

She spoke with the accent of a native New Yorker, something Maya had become accustomed to hearing since she'd first arrived in the city. Her long black hair was loose, falling down past her shoulders in slight waves, her dark brown eyes sparkled with curiosity and enjoyment, and the wide smile on her face was warm and inviting. She clearly had no problem with Maya coming over to introduce herself.

The second girl offered Maya a small smile and inclined her head slightly rather than offering her hand.

"I am Sora Yoshinaga."

Her accent was slightly more musical than Kamala's and she enunciated each word with care, as if she wasn't used to speaking in English. Her light brown hair was neatly tied back in a tight bun aside from the short fringe that covered her forehead. Her eyes were a very dark brown that looked almost black, and they were regarding Maya in a way that sent a surge of familiarity and longing through her. Neville had often looked at her with that same shy reserve.

"Hi."

The desks in the room had been pushed together so that they formed larger tables, each with four chairs set around them. Kamala and Sora were both sat at the same table and after a momentary hesitation Maya pulled out one of the chairs at their table and sat down as well. She was trying to think how she could start a conversation, when Kamala saved her the trouble.

"So, you're English right? Why did you move to America?"

"My new guardian lives here."

Maya and Damon had discussed the possibility of people asking questions about why she'd moved to America from Britain, Damon's opinion had been that she could tell people as much or as little as she felt comfortable with. Kamala didn't press though, accepting Maya's short answer and turning to Sora.

"How about you Sora? Why did you move here from Japan?"

"My father was promoted, he is the new Ambassador to MACUSA for Japan, our whole family moved here."

"MACUSA? That's the government right for witches and wizards?"

Kamala must have read something in Sora or Maya's expressions because she hurried to explain.

"I'm new to all this. I'm a channeler but I only tapped into my powers a few months ago, before that no one in my family even knew anything about magic, let alone that we might have the ability. It's been kind of a crash course for all of us."

Maya nodded, she remembered from her own experience how strange and overwhelming it could be to suddenly find out about this whole other world that lived alongside the mundane one.

"MACUSA stands for Magical Congress of the United States of America." Sora explained quietly, "They are the government for the wixen world in America."

"Cool. So, like I said I'm a channeler, what about you two?"

"I am a wixen."

"And you Maya?"

"I'm a wixen and a channeler."

Maya left out the other two parts of her nature, having both wixen and channeler magic was rare enough without revealing that her dad was a vampire, and had been one when she was conceived, or that she had inherited the werewolf gene from him. Which had been a shock to both her and Damon when Professor Aradia had revealed it.

The testing that Maya had undergone had revealed that she had both kinds of magic and had inherited the werewolf gene from at least one of her parents. Since Damon had been adamant that it couldn't have come from Jasmine, they had concluded that she had inherited it from Niklaus Mikaelson, her Original vampire father that had no idea she existed. Professor Aradia had told her that it didn't change anything about her timetable except that they would be adding two periods of Magical Studies, which was what they called Channeler magic lessons, to her schedule.

Apparently, the werewolf thing wouldn't matter unless she triggered the curse, which she would need to kill someone to do. The vampire heritage didn't affect her schedule either, despite having a vampire father, Maya hadn't inherited any of their abilities. Nor had she inherited their need to drink blood, which meant she didn't need to be trained in how to handle them. Professor Aradia had mentioned that she might start to display some traits linked to her vampire or werewolf genes, but until she did it really wasn't worth thinking about.

"Awesome, so you can do both types of magic?"

"Yeah, I suppose, I only tapped into my channeler powers a couple of weeks ago though, so I don't really know anything about how to use it."

"Still cool though."

As they'd been chatting, more students had been filling into the classroom, until every desk was filled. The last person to enter was a boy with blue hair, he slid into the empty chair next to Maya, sending a quick smile at the three girls before turning his attention to Professor Mephisto who was now stood in front of his desk, ready to address them.