A/N I've spent a long time working on this story and rewriting things until it felt right. The 'books' will get longer as the story progresses and I'll split them up in 'chapters' when this happens. For now, the first couple of books will be one chapter each to move the story along. It's not going to be consistent in terms of length, but I'm already on Order of The Phenix now! I adore Fred Weasley and wanted to add another OC character for him.

*** Any quotes from the books will be in bold. If I've missed any please let me know and I'll correct it!

*I do not own anything to do with Harry Potter. All the credit goes to the amazing JK Rowling.

"...and for the last time, stop looking at your feet boy before your back is permanently hunched over!"

I placed my hand over my face in annoyance. My grandmother had been rambling on for the past fifteen minutes while we waited for the train. It had just pulled in to be loaded and I'd hoped she would be on her way. But alas, she had went on another tirade while my brother tried very hard not to show his fear. My heart broke for him. I wanted to speak up, but I knew it would only embarrass him where she was concerned. He hated when I did that.

Instead, I placed a fake smile on my face, "Gran, I think it's time for us to board now. The compartments will start filling up soon."

Her lips pursed at this, "So eager to be rid of me, aren't you?" When I didn't reply, she straightened her back, "Very well. Good luck to the both of you "

Taking this as a dismissal, I placed my arm over Neville's shoulder and quickly steered him away from her. The farther we walked, the more he seemed to relax.

"Don't worry," I murmured. "Once we get to school everything will be fine. You're going to love Hogwarts."

Neville's face twisted, "What if we're in different houses? I'll never see you."

I ruffled his blonde hair, "Don't even think about it."

We boarded the train with our trunks and I quickly pushed through the students. I stopped outside of a compartment when I saw familiar faces. Inside I could see Oliver Wood sitting with a few more fifth year students and he glanced up just in time to see me. He flashed me a smile and gave a slight wave. Feeling my face redden, I waved back in greeting.

"Oi, are you mooning over Wood already?" A voice asked.

My head shot up and my mouth twisted immediately, "I was not mooning over anyone, Fred Weasley."

Fred and his twin brother George stood off to the side of the hallway, both sporting a similar grin on their lips. They were both stocky, contributing to their knack for playing the Beaters position on the Quidditch team. They'd both changed into their school robes already and hadn't bothered with properly tying their tie. Their hair was a perfect ginger shade of red and their matching blue eyes stood out. They were identical in every way of course, but I could always spot Fred Weasley in a room full of a hundred duplicates.

I pushed Neville ahead of me and then scowled when the Weasley's blocked my path, "Shove off."

"Who is this?" George asked with a bounce in his step.

"Looks awfully familiar," piped up Fred.

My eyes rolled at this, "I can't imagine why my brother would look familiar."

"Ah, you must be Neville!" Fred clapped his hand on Neville's shoulder.

George did the same to the opposite shoulder, "Heard all about you from Aggie!"

"Aggie?" Neville's lips twisted at this and he looked at me for an explanation.

I huffed in annoyance, "Fred found out my middle name was Agatha and they've never forgotten it. Neville, this is Fred and George Weasley." I gestured behind them, "May we pass now?"

"Of course!" George saluted us.

"It's nonsense to stand here for no reason," Fred added cheekily before stepping out of our way. "Besides, Lee said he's got a giant spider to show us."

I rolled my eyes at him and pushed past, ushering Neville along, "Hope it takes a bite out of your fat head."

"Oh Aggie, I knew you loved me!" He called out behind me.

I finally found a compartment that looked acceptable. It was empty aside from two boys inside. Both obviously first years.

I slid open the compartment and greeted them cheerfully, "Hello. First year on the Hogwarts Express?"

Both boys looked shy as they nodded. I noticed with annoyance that one of them had a familiar shade of hair color.

I gestured to Neville, "It's my brother's first year as well. I thought it'd be good for him to sit with others like him. Do you mind?"

Neville looked slightly embarrassed and looked at his feet. I place a hand on his back to remind him to straighten his posture.

"Sure," the dark haired boy said. "Have a seat..." he trailed off.

Neville brightened up slightly, "I'm Neville Longbottom. This is my older sister, Edith." He quickly walked inside and sat down with his small trunk.

I grinned at the two boys, "I'm a third year Gryffindor."

"My brothers are in Gryffindor," the red haired boy stated with excitement. "I'm Ron Weasley."

"I thought I recognized the resemblance," I teased him. "Fred and George are in my year." I glanced at the dark haired boy, "And who are you?"

His cheeks colored slightly, "I'm Harry Potter."

Next to me, Neville's eyes had widened slightly. I wasn't sure if my own had done the same, but I quickly schooled my expression. The poor boy had to be scared enough coming here and there was no reason to make him feel more nervous.

"Welcome to Hogwarts you two." I gestured ahead, "I'll be in another compartment if you need me, Neville. Remember to keep tight hold on Trevor. Good luck!"

He gave me a small smile in return.

...

"Would you stop looking at the doors every five seconds?" Angelina asked me. "Your brother will be fine."

I huffed a little and slouched in my seat, "I know, but I can't help but worry. He's never really been far from home, you know."

Alicia chuckled, "We know. You've only mentioned it four times since you've sat down. Why didn't you bring him with you if you were so worried?"

"I didn't want to smother him," I admitted with a groan. "I'm being a mother hen, aren't I?"

"Only a lot," she said with a quirked brow. "You've been so focused on Neville that you haven't even mentioned how good Oliver's hair looks."

I swooned, "It does look quite nice, doesn't it? He waved at me when I walked by his compartment."

Angelina grinned, "When are you going to give that a rest? He's two years older than you, or have you forgotten?"

"What does two years have to do with anything?" Alicia demanded. "Flint is in his sixth year and he's been galivanting about with girls younger."

"Eh, don't place Wood and Flint in the same category," I said, wrinkling my nose. "Besides, I don't fool myself into thinking he'll look my way, but a girl can dream."

And boy did I. Oliver Wood was by far the hottest boy at Hogwarts and he was only a fifth year. With his dashing good looks and Scottish accent, he was a catch. Not to mention the boy was nice to almost everyone.

Angelina suddenly laughed, "Doesn't matter how much you dream. If a certain twin has his way, you'll be married to a Weasley once you graduate."

I felt my blood boil at the statement, but all I managed to do was glare at her.

"That's right," Alicia agreed. "Wasn't it first year when he declared you were the prettiest girl he'd ever seen?"

"That's not what he said," I muttered, feeling my face burn with embarrassment. "He said I had the prettiest smile he'd ever seen."

She giggled, "Right. Who needs Oliver Wood when you have Fred Weasley following you around like a puppy."

"He does not follow me around like a puppy!" I protested. "All he wants to do is aggravate me to death. He doesn't fancy me."

If he spiked my pumpkin juice at all this year with some stupid prank, I was going to blow him up on the spot.

I huffed, "Enough about that, how was your summers?"

...

I sat at the table with the other Gryffindors and waited while the first years approached the front of the room. I was sitting in between the girls with Lee Jordan seated across from us who kept pointing out that I had ants in my pants. I couldn't help but be excited. I'd been waiting to see my brother since I'd left him in the compartment on the train. He still looked nervous, but not as pale as before. I hoped that was a good sign.

One by one, Professor McGonagall placed the hat upon the new students. I watched as a few came to Gryffindor, including a bushy haired girl who the hat took a few moments longer to sort. I'd assumed she'd been a Muggleborn judging by her last name, but I'd been surprised that she'd seemed pleased with her choice of house. Perhaps she'd been a half blood instead.

"Longbottom, Neville!" Professor McGonagall's voice called out strongly.

I clasped my hands in front of me with anticipation and watched him approach the hat slowly. He'd started looking pale again and sat on the stool. I watched him squeeze his eyes shut in concentration and I bit my lip.

"Gryffindor!" The hat bellowed out.

I broke out into cheers, hearing my friends do the same. Neville jumped off the seat with surprise and hurried to our table, forgetting the sorting hat was still on top of his hat. While some let out laughs at the movement, I quickly turned him around to take the hat back. Once he was back at my side, I drew him up in a tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Nev!" I gestured for him to sit beside me and quickly introduced my friends to him.

Alicia doted on him sweetly and I kicked Lee under the table when he'd started to make a crack about the sorting hat.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

My lips curled at the name called and I hadn't been surprised by the site of the platinum blonde haired boy walking to the sorting hat. I'd had the displeasure of meeting his father before and I hadn't been particularly impressed. And I wasn't surprised when the hat shouted 'Slytherin' loudly.

"Watch out for him," I told my brother quietly. "He says anything to you and I want you to come to me. Understand?"

Neville ducked his head a little, "Edith, you can't protect me all the time."

"I can try," I promised him.

"Potter, Harry!"

The name echoed around the room and I heard several whispers as the boy from earlier walked to the hat. Beside me, Neville perked up a little. I'd hoped that meant the boys had gotten along during the trip here.

"I didn't realize he'd be attending here this year," Lee whispered.

I shrugged, "I saw him on the train. He seemed like a nice boy."

"He is," Neville insisted. "He bought lots of snacks to share on the Hogwarts Express."

I smiled at this.

The hat took a long time to respond. I'd never seen it take it's time like this before. And poor Harry looked as if he were having a silent conversation with it. His lips began to move quickly as if muttering underneath his breath.

Finally the hat roared, "Gryffindor!"

Our table erupted into loud cheers again and I clapped among them. From a few seats down, I could hear the Weasley twins shouting a chant.

"We got Potter! We got Potter!"

I wasn't sure what kind of accomplishment this was, but a few others joined in with them. Harry looked slightly embarrassed when he took his seat, but he couldn't stop smiling when everyone began introducing themselves at once.

There was no surprise to us when Ron Weasley was sorted to Gryffindor, but the twins cheered for him regardless. I'd heard them say before that they'd enjoyed pranking him at home, but I could tell there was a lot of love in their family. I'd briefly been in school with Charlie Weasley just before he graduated and I'd watched how the boys treated each other. The only oddball there was Percy, which I hadn't quite understood yet. He'd always been perfectly polite towards me, but I hadn't met another Weasley like him yet. I hadn't met the eldest, Bill, so I wondered if they were alike.

Fred mentioned once that Percy was adopted and they'd transfigured his hair color so that no one would suspect.

As if knowing I'd thought of him, Fred leaned across the table and gave me a grin. I immediately stuck my tongue out at him and looked away.

"Ron said that his brothers talk about you at home," Neville suddenly told me. He had a hint of a smile on his lips, "Apparently you're going to be his sister in law one day."

My hands balled into fists at this, "That's rubbish. Don't listen to anything the twins tell you."

He laughed, "So you don't fancy one of them? Your face is quite pink."

"Shush it," I ruffled his hair. "I told you we wouldn't be separated, didn't I?"

"I wouldn't have minded being in Hufflepuff," he admitted shyly. "But Gran would've hated it."

I softened at this and smiled, "Mum and dad are proud no matter where you go. You know that, don't you?"

Neville paled a little, but said nothing.

It broke my heart a little. He didn't like talking of them in the present tense and I could understand why. They might've still been alive, but they'd forever be stuck in their own minds where none of us could reach them. I'd always enjoyed visiting them when I was younger, because I could pretend that we were playing games. Now it made me sad. Neville more so, because he'd had no memories of them from before. While I'd only been four when they were attacked, I still had vague memories. Sometimes I wasn't sure if they were real, but it made me happy to think about them.

I wished Neville had the same.

The chatter began as the first years began telling their stories of how they'd ended up here at Hogwarts. I listened with mild curiosity, but I'd heard them all before. There was always half-bloods and muggleborns being sorted into our house. It was almost rare these days to have full blooded wizards not end up in Slytherin. Not that I was prejudice or anything, but it was the truth. Most of the wizarding population had some sort of Muggle attached to their line.

"What about you, Neville?" Ron asked.

"Well my gran brought my sister and I up, and she's a witch," Neville piped up. "but my family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off guard and force magic out of me. Nearly drowned me during one of them. But he dropped me out of a window when I was eight and I bounced all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should've seen their faces when I was accepted here. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad." He was beaming at this.

I snorted at him, "Good thing too. I wouldn't have wanted to catch him on fire again."

Ron's eyes widened, "You caught your uncle on fire?"

"No, I caught my grandmother's ridiculous hat on fire. My uncle just happened to be standing too close," I replied.

"That's our Aggie," Fred piped up loudly. "Setting people on fire and stealing hearts."

I threw a piece of bread in his direction, "I'm not stealing anyone's hearts. And stop calling me that!"

Angelina snickered at me, "Maybe if you'd ignore him he'd stop."

"Doubt it. If anything, it would encourage him," I grumbled.

...

"You're taking Muggle Studies?" Alicia asked.

I glanced up from the book and shrugged, "I don't really know anything about the Muggle world except for what classmates have told me. Gran doesn't really take us out in it much. But the things in here are so weird," I mused. "What's this 'electricity'?"

She laughed, "I don't understand it myself and I'm half muggle. It's something we invented hundreds of years ago."

"I'm also taking Ancient Runes," I told her with a frown. "It looks difficult, but Divination was scheduled at the same time as Muggles Studies and I heard it was a farce of a class anyway. What are you taking?"

Her face reddened, "Divination and Care of Magical Creatures."

Oops. I'd originally planned on taking Care of Magical Creatures, but I'd never really been fond of animals and they'd never particularly liked me. Neville had his pet toad that he adored for whatever reason, but I had to settle for an owl that didn't like me. I'd only chosen it because it was always in the owlery so I didn't have to spend much time with it.

"I'm sure you'll do a fine job," I told her awkwardly.

"Hello," a Scottish voice interrupted us. "I trust you both had an alright summer?"

My head snapped up immediately to see Oliver Wood standing there in all his handsome glory. From beside me, Alicia elbowed me discreetly.

"Yeah, it was alright," she told him. "Already setting our Quidditch schedules?"

Oliver straightened at this, "I'm working on it. I've arranged to have tryouts for the Seeker position. I'll need the whole team there of course."

"Of course," I agreed cheerfully. "Let me know if I can do anything to help."

His smile nearly blinded me, "Great. I'll catch the two of you later."

And then he walked away, taking my breath with him.

"You know he's never going to notice you like that," Alicia snorted beside me. "The boy lives and breaths Quidditch. I doubt he knows we're even girls."

I slumped back in my seat, "Shut it."

...

My first week of classes were uneventful for the most part. Ancient Runes, I decided, was much more difficult than I'd imagined. The teacher was quite patient though, which I suspected had a lot to do with the fact the class was small. Not many students had chosen this as an elective. I was the only Gryffindor from third year. By far, my favorite class had been Charms and we were starting off the term learning 'Petrificus Totalus'. I had a feeling I'd be using that one on a couple of Weasleys this year.

"Oi, Aggie!" A voice called down the hallway. "Aggie!"

I turned with my lips pursed, "You couldn't go one week without making a pass at me, Fred?"

He grinned when he caught up to me, "While I find it touching that you automatically assume I'm here to woo you, I should confess that my charming self will have to wait another day."

"Really?" I quirked a brow, "What's with all the yelling about?"

Fred jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "My brother, Ron, he said that Neville was taken to Madam Pomfrey. He fell during his flying lesson."

My eyes widened at this, "Oh, no." I hoisted my bag over my shoulder and rushed past him.

"You're welcome!" He hollered behind me.

I didn't stop until I reached the hospital wing and I quickly burst through the doors, my eyes scanning the room until I saw Neville sitting on the bed hold his arm. Madam Pomfrey was making her way to him with a small vial and gave me a surprised look.

"What do you think you're doing, rushing in as if you're on fire?"

I pointed my finger at my brother, "I heard Neville was hurt. What happened?"

She huffed, "Just a broken wrist, nothing to fret over. There's always one every year."

"I fell off the broom," Neville explained with a red face. "I didn't want to fall behind so I pushed off my broom to early."

"Oh, Nev," I sighed, sitting beside him. "You've got to be more confident in yourself. You know how to mount a broom, you've seen me do it plenty of times."

He rolled his eyes, "That's different. You do everything right all the time. Even gran-"

"Gran sees what she wants to see," I spat with annoyance. "And I don't do everything right. My first lesson with Madam Hooch, I couldn't get up in the air and Adrian Pucey made a crack about our blood line being tainted somewhere. It took me two lessons to get up properly."

Neville's eyes widened slightly, "I didn't know that."

I snorted, "I didn't exactly write home about it. And you shouldn't write home about this either. Understood?"

"Understood," he smiled up at me.

...

I'd barely arrived at the locker rooms when Angelina called me over to a huddle group.

"Oi, Wood has some news for us!"

I took notice that the entire team was there gathered around. Oliver, Alicia, Angelina, and the Weasley twins of course. Both who looked close to strangling our team captain for not getting to the point of our 'meeting'.

Oliver was practically bouncing on his toes in excitement and called us all to order, "I'm calling off the tryouts."

"What?" Angelina squeaked out. "Wood, you can't do that we need a seeker!"

He grinned, "We have one. McGonagall approached me today about a miraculous catch she witnessed outside. Came right to me and pitched the lad to me. He's bloody perfect and no one will see it coming!" He paced around a bit in a circle, "Not to mention his size- doubt anyone will be able to match that speed. Unless it's a girl. But that's not important considering Slytherin's up first and I already know that their seeker-"

"Wood!" Alicia barked at him. "You haven't told us who it is yet."

"Bet you it's all in his head," George muttered under his breath. "Knew he was close to mental, scheduling practice before we even had a full team."

Oliver blinked at us, "Oh, I thought I mentioned. It's Harry Potter."

For a moment we all stood there in surprise. Then both the twins started cheering, repeating their mantra from the sorting ceremony on our first day.

"We got Potter! We got Potter!"

I tuned them out and asked, "Are you sure about him? He's only a first year. They're not supposed to be allowed on the team."

"McGonagall approved it," he reassured me. "And I've already spoken with him. He'll be a quick learner for sure."

I thought back to meeting the scrawny boy on the train and had to admit that he would be a good build. But could he fly a broom properly? I didn't think he even knew what Quidditch was to be honest.

Oliver suddenly lowered his voice, "Just don't let the word out. I don't want anyone to know until our first game. Agreed?"

"Agreed," we all mumbled. Mostly still in shock, I think.

...

"Where do you suppose they're off to?" I mused, watching Fred and George hurry out of the Great Hall as if their robes were on fire.

Angelina shrugged, "Something about Lee needing to show them something. Why so curious?"

"I'm not," I shot back. "Just not like them to skip out on dessert."

"Them or Fred?" Alicia teased back at me.

My eyes rolled and I put my fork down, "Don't be ridiculous. I'm going to get some studying done before bed." I stood up and left the room.

I'd barely walked past the first years when I'd heard a bit of their conversation.

"...Throw it away and punch him in the nose," Ron suggested.

I paused at him and Harry, "Fighting anyone I know?"

Harry's face reddened a bit, "It's nothing."

The exchange between him and Ron said otherwise.

"Right," I grinned. "Just make sure not to use your wand hand, makes spell casting a bit difficult for a few days." I started to walk away, but then paused, "Will you two stop and check on Neville before returning to the common room? He's supposed to be released from the hospital tonight and I don't want him to get lost."

"Sure," Ron agreed.

Harry nodded in agreement, "I need to return his Remembrall to him. He dropped it during the flying lesson."

"Oh he'll be so relieved. Thanks guys." I skipped off with that in mind.

I hadn't gone very far when I came across the twins and Lee whispering together next to a tapestry. They were huddled up with their backs to me. It was all rather suspicious.

Suddenly Fred whirled around and walked to me with a grin, "Hello Aggie. Fancy a stroll down the hall?"

Behind him, George and Lee were fumbling with something. They both turned around at the same time, a look of mock innocence on their faces.

"What are you all doing?" I asked curiously. "What do you have behind your backs?"

"Nothing!" Fred said, trying to grab my arm to steer me away. "How was the pie? Did you eat a piece for me?" Again, George seemed to be messing with something behind his back.

I frowned at him and moved out of his grip, "Stop trying to distract me." I stomped around him, "George, what is that?"

"How does she always know?" Lee asked with surprise.

George shuffled his feet with what looked like concern, "I really don't think you want to see this, Edith. Run along now."

Using my name made me even more suspicious, so I reached out to grab his arm.

Only he was already pulling his hand out from behind his back. And before I could react, he was tossing an object to me. On reflex, I tried to catch it. I realized, too late, my mistake.

The dungbomb went off in my face and I screamed at the awful odor that erupted around me. I could hear them laughing now.

"Sorry, Aggie dear, but we've gotta run!" I heard Fred say before their laughter disappeared in the distance.

...

The first time Harry entered the locker room for practice, I could tell he was excited but extremely nervous. Oliver mentioned that he'd never even heard of Quidditch before McGonagall recruited him, but that he'd been eager to learn.

"Are you excited, Harry?" I sat down beside him while attaching my guards on my arms.

Harry smiled down at the broom he was holding in his hands, "I think so. I've never played sports before. I just don't want to let everyone down."

Angelina snorted at this, "Not possible. It's mine, Alicia, and Edith's job to make sure we get enough points so that doesn't happen. If we fail then so do you."

"It's a team sport," added Oliver cheerfully. "I can't let anyone score points- especially those rotten snakes. Can't believe we got them for our first game again."

"Bet you that was Snape's doing," George grumbled.

Fred nodded in agreement, "Probably wants to embarrass us. But he doesn't know we've got a secret weapon on our side." He nudged Harry before grabbing his broom, "On the fields we go!"

I rolled my eyes, but picked up my own broom.

We all made our way to the pitch and once Oliver gave the signal, we lifted off into the air.

...

The school year was off to a great start. I'd been excelling in my charms class and McGonagall had praised me for my effortless techniques that I'd been practicing all summer. Runes was still by far the most difficult class despite our DADA teacher being a bit of a dud. Fred and George was swearing by the rumors that he was a vampire. As much as I didn't want to agree with them, he did smell bloody awful. Quidditch practices were going well and I was certain that Harry was a perfect choice as seeker. He'd picked up on playing the game and when he wasn't chasing after the snitch, he was cheering us on during practice. Our first match was coming up and I couldn't wait to see the looks on those slime balls' faces.

"Good evening Miss Edith," Fred began while taking a seat next to me.

I eyed him wearily while placing food on my plate, "What do you want?" I'd only been pranked the one time so far, but I was sure there would be another attempt again.

His eyes blinked innocently, "Why do you think I want something? Just wanted to have a nice chat."

"You called me Edith," I reminded him pointedly. "You do want something."

Fred grinned, "Can't get anything past you- too smart and all." When I continued to stare at him, he cleared his throat rather dramatically, "They posted the dates for the first Hogsmeade trip- it's next week. Do you want to go with me?"

I felt the heat spread across my face almost immediately and on the other side of me, I could hear Angelina laughing into her pumpkin juice. It was the last thing I'd expected tonight and while I knew it had to be some sort of prank, I had felt flattered just a tiny bit.

But the moment was broken up with Professor Quirrell had come running into the Great Hall shouting, "Troll! In the dungeons!" Everyone was silent as he stood in front of Headmaster Dumbledore. "Thought you ought to know," he said before fainting in the floor.

For a moment there was chaos. The younger students were screaming with fright and I quickly moved to Neville's side once I noticed he'd gone very white.

"Silence!" Dumbledore boomed. Once we'd all calmed down, he continued, "Prefects, lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately."

I grabbed Neville's hand and quickly pulled him along with me only for him to come to a stop in the hallway.

"Wait, Harry and Ron just walked away from the group," Neville said with shock. "They must've went looking for Hermione."

"Hermione?" I asked. "Why wasn't she at dinner?"

His face reddened a bit, "Ron hurt her feelings earlier. I heard she was crying in the bathrooms."

I blinked at this and then glared, "You didn't think to let anyone know?" I glanced around us and then groaned, "Go on with the group, I'll go fetch them."

"Thank you, Edith!" He hurried along with the other Gryffindors.

I fetched my wand from my robe pockets and quickly went down the hallways towards the bathrooms. I'd just seen Harry and Ron disappear between the doors when there was a chorus of screams.

I quickened my pace an entered the room, my eyes widening on the troll standing there. It was grosser than I had imagined and the smell made me sick to my stomach. Hermione was crouched down inside of a broken stall and the boys were trying to avoid the club of the creature.

I whipped my wand out at it and shouted, "Flipendo!"

The spell hit the troll in his chest and he flew backwards into the wall, his head bouncing onto the stones. I held my breath when he slumped down and his head head dropped to the side.

I relaxed and quickly looked at the three of them, "Are you all okay?"

"What did you do to it?" Ron asked with wide eyes.

"I've only knocked him out," I explained quickly, "It was just dumb luck really. I was only trying to buy time by holding him back until the professors arrived."

No sooner had the words left my mouth then they appeared in the doorway. Professor Quirrell collapsed onto a toilet, clutching his heart in panic. Snape was merely looking over the mess with curious eyes. But the one glaring made my stomach sink.

Professor McGonagall cried, "What on earth were you thinking of? You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in the dormitory?"

I realized she was looking at me, and my wand was still at my side. I felt my hands get sweaty.

"It was my fault," Hermione began quietly. "I went looking-"

I quickly cut her off with a shake of my head, "No, that is not what happened." When her eyes turned sad on me, I felt a stab of sympathy for her. And judging by the looks of Harry and Ron, they already knew what had been coming.

"Well somebody needs to explain themselves," Professor McGonagall spat out.

I took a deep breath and began, "Hermione had excused herself to the bathroom just before Professor Quirrell came running into the Great Hall. She didn't hear what was happening."

"Ron and I only realized it after we'd began the walk back to the dormitory," Harry added carefully. "We were only trying to get her to join our group, Professor."

I nodded at this, "Neville had pointed it out to me and I didn't want them to have to walk back alone, so I came to escort them."

"You realize that you are not a prefect Miss Longbottom," she stated with narrowed eyes.

I felt myself flush, "Yes. They were busy with trying to calm the first year students down and with the troll supposed to be in the dungeon, I thought I could be quick about retrieving them myself. I should've gotten the attention of another prefect and I'm sorry for that."

I felt bloody terrified. I'd never gotten into trouble with the teachers before and with all three of them looking at me, I was fearing the worst.

"While I am glad that you are all unharmed, I'm very disappointed in you two for not alerting the authorities," she told Harry and Ron. "I'm taking five points from each of you. As you aren't hurt, you can go back to your dormitory with Miss Granger. Students are finishing their supper in their Houses."

They all three quickly left the room and I held my breath when she turned to me.

"Miss Longbottom, while I am shocked at what happened here, I can't deny that it was a noble thing of you to do by looking out for your younger housemates." Professor McGonagall stated with a more relaxed look on her face. "Headmaster Dumbledore will be informed of you. I will award you fifteen points for your bravery."

I felt myself blush and I almost smiled until I saw Snape sneering in annoyance. I simply nodded before leaving he room.

When I reached the common room, I was surprised to be greeted with a loud cheer. Neville came running up to me with a grin.

"They said you fought the troll!" He hugged my middle with excitement, "I thought you were just going to fetch them?"

"It was the plan," I replied with a laugh. "Didn't realize the bloody thing had already found them."

...

It was the first Quiddtich match of the season. We're started out at breakfast with a big meal ('Gotta keep our strength up!' Oliver said), and then made out way to the pitch. It didn't take too long to get ready and I could tell the stands were filled with students judging by the sounds. It was a bit of a rush really, hearing them cheer for you. I'd hoped Harry would become less nervous once he was in the air. He'd been looking a little green all morning.

"Okay men," Oliver began his speech.

"And women," said Angelina.

He always forgot that part, and with three women on the team it was quite laughable.

Oliver quickly corrected himself, "And women. This is it."

"The big one," Fred continued.

"The one we've all been waiting for!" George added.

I heard Fred mumble to Harry about the speech and I tried not to laugh.

Oliver groaned, "Shut up, you two. This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it." And he gave us a bit of a glare as if threatening us.

While we walked towards the pitch, Angelina gave me a pointed look as if reminding me how ridiculous he could get with the game. I shrugged innocently. He was excited, that's all.

The stadium got louder upon our exit and I tightened my ponytail once more before walking with Angelina and Alicia. It might seem odd for three girls to be chasers, but we were fast and not weak by any means.

"Good luck out there, darling," Fred nudged me with his elbow playfully.

I rolled my eyes at him, "Just keep the bludgers away and I might say yes to Hogsmeade."

I'd meant it as a joke, but his eyes immediately brightened, "Say no more, my lady!" He jogged away before I could protest.

George chuckled beside me, "Now you've gone and done it."

"Shut up."

Madam Hooch blew her whistle and up into the air we went.

..." A neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's last year, only a reserve- back to Johnson and- no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes- Flint flying like an eagle up there- he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindor's take the Quaffle- that's Edith Longbottom of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off the field and-"

I heard the sound before the pain was felt along the back of my head and I immediately dropped the Quaffle. I groaned and blinked when dark spots hit my vision, but I quickly shook it away in time to see Fred hit the bludger towards Adrian Pucey, giving the Quaffle back to Angelina. He gave me a nice salute and I almost smiled.

I quickly got back into the game and cheered when Angelina scored.

"Slytherin in possession," Lee rambled. "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Longbottom, and speeds towards the- wait a moment- was that the snitch?"

Pucey dropped the Quaffle then and I took advantage or his distraction, scooping it out from under him. I quickly raced towards the goal post while the players were distracted by Harry and threw the Quaffle.

"Score by Longbottom!" Lee boomed. "And ow, Potter takes a bad hit from Flint!"

I whipped my head around to Harry holding onto his broom after being knocked off. Madam Hooch quickly called foul and gave Alicia the ball for a free throw.

"Slytherin in possession- Flint with the Quaffle- passes Spinnet- passes Longbottom- hit hard in the face by a Bludger-" I cheered for George at this one. "And Slytherin scores."

And that was when we noticed Harry's broom going crazy. It was jerking him all around, even Wood had stopped playing to figure out what was going on. The twins flew down to try and help him, by the broom would jerk each time they got closer. It seemed to go on forever until the broom finally came to a stop. He climbed back onto the broom and then began shooting down towards the ground.

In another confusing moment, he was suddenly holding his hand over his mouth and then fell on the ground.

We all watched him raise his hand in the air, "I've got the snitch!"

We all started screaming with excitement and rushing towards the ground. It was chaos with all the hugs and crowd gathering around Harry who was beaming with pride. Wood was wearing the biggest grin and I imagined he was congratulating himself on being right about the boy.

An arm plopped itself over my shoulders, "I fear that I have broken my promise with the bludgers," Fred began rather disappointedly. "Any chance we could have another wager?"

"Nope," I shrugged him off, "You'll have to find another date, Fred." I rubbed the back of my head, "I reckon I'll be nursing a headache on Hogsmeade day."

He looked a little sheepish at that, "I can't help it if I was distracted by how beautifully you fly."

I fought the blush on my face and nudged his shoulder, "Admire my beauty when we're not playing Quidditch, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," he saluted.

...

Christmas break arrived quickly and ended just as fast. Neville and I had went home to spend it with our Gran of course, and she was most pleased with Neville. It warmed my heart to see her so proud of him for joining Gryffindor and making so many friends. While she didn't understand his love for Herbology, she seemed satisfied that Hermione was helping tutor him in Transfiguration. I, however, earned an earful upon learning that I was not passing my Ancient Runes class. I'd already made up my mind that I was going to drop the course at the end of the year, but I still cringed when I remembered Gran's glare.

We'd visited out parents like we did every year and although the visit had saddened Neville, it was refreshing to see him ramble on about his classmates. I wondered if he'd been glad to have something to say this visit instead of mumbling about his governess. Gran had even teared up a bit.

Returning back to school was pretty cheerful. We'd started back the school term and Quidditch practice was in full force. The match against Hufflepuff was coming up quickly and if we won we would pass Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup.

I slung my wet hair out of my eyes again and growled, "Would you two stop playing around? It's hard enough playing out here without you two making a mess of the pitch!"

The twins had been playing around during practice and kept 'falling' off their brooms. It had been raining for days and was finally clear enough for practice, but it was still a depressing day.

"This is exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match!" Oliver agreed with a yell. "Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"

I couldn't even laugh when George actually fell of his broom. We were all stunned by the news.

"Snape's refereeing?" George spluttered, "When's he ever refereed a Quidditch match? He's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin."

Oliver scowled, "It's not my fault. We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."

"That will never happen regardless of how clean we play," I groaned. I laid my broom on the ground with a huff, "So much for our season."

...

The day had finally arrived. the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. The entire stadium was filled with people.

"Look even Dumbledore's come to watch!" Fred cried while looking out the locker room door.

No pressure there, obviously.

The game started and no sooner than we'd circled the pitch, George received a penalty for hitting a Bludger at a Hufflepuff chaser. We were doomed, I thought with aggravation.

And then, the stands erupted into applause. I'd barely turned my head when Fred came zooming up to me.

"He bloody caught it!" He yelled at me. "Fastest I've ever seen!"

I couldn't help but grin at this, "This calls for a celebration!"

He nodded and shot towards George to make plans for a party.

I'd just landed when I realized there was a commotion in the stands and a few of the younger Gryffindors were suddenly carrying my brother who was limp. I pushed past everyone to get to him and pulled Ron to the side.

"What happened?!"

Ron was breathing heavily with wide eyes, "Malfoy and his goons. I punched him and when they tried to attack me, Neville tried to fight Crabbe and Goyle all by himself."

"He did what?!" I screeched, following his retreating form.

...

My brother made a quick recovery thankfully, and I couldn't decide if I was mad or proud of him. It wasn't until I passed the Slytherins in the hallway and saw both of them sporting black eyes that I decided I was proud.

It quickly went away when we walked into the Great Hall one morning. It was close to the end of term and we were finally in the lead for the House Cup. And then we found out that Harry, Hermione, and Neville had lost us one hundred and fifty points for being caught out of bed.

"How could you be so stupid?" I scolded him. "We all worked hard for those points and you went off on some ridiculous adventure while everyone was sleeping?"

He ducked his face, "I was just trying to be a good friend."

I sighed and ruffled his hair, "I hope you learned your lesson."

Exam time was almost brutal now. We all felt the pressure to try and do our best not that our school year was coming to an end. It looked as if Slytherin was going to bring home the House Cup again this year and we were all sore about it. Neville had gone to his detention with the others and weirdly enough, I'd heard that Malfoy would be joining them for whatever reason.

"Oi, are you still up?" I heard a voice call out to me from where I'd been lounging by the fire.

I'd been waiting for Neville to return from detention, just in case he was still upset. Ron had come down too, but he'd long been asleep.

I looked up from the charms paper I was working on and shrugged at Fred, "Just want to make sure Nev gets in alright. He was a bit sad when he left."

He looked down at his sleeping brother and snorted, "Glad my brother could keep you company. Surprised he's not snoring."

"I kicked him with my foot when he tried," I admitted with a laugh. "He started mumbling something about brooms, but he went back to sleep."

He rolled his eyes and sat down beside me on the couch, "Pathetic. What you got there?" He grabbed the parchment from my fingers before I could reply and his eyes quickly scanned it. "Ah, my eyes hurt already. Is this extra credit?"

I snatched the paper back from him, "No, I'm making notes for the exam. I thought it would help keep me awake."

"Why're you so worried about Neville?" Fred asked curiously. "Seems like he can take care of himself."

I looked down at the fire, "I've just always looked out for him. He kind of retreated into a shell when I went to Hogwarts my first year and I just want to make sure he's the best he can be. For himself, though, not for others." Pursing my lips, I added, "Though maybe I should've warned him about being friends with Weasleys. "

He grinned, "Hey, my brother didn't get detention this time."

"No, but I'm sure he was involved somehow," I stated. "Your lot usually is."

"Oh how you wound me," he clutched his heart. "One of these days, you're going to want me by your side constantly, Aggie. Don't worry though- I'll wait for you."

I giggled, "You might be waiting a long time. I might want George, you know."

"Nonsense, I'm clearly the better looking one." Fred suddenly narrowed his eyes, "You know, you've never told us. How do you tell us apart?"

For a moment I didn't answer. I didn't want to have to tell him that each time he entered the room, his eyes immediately sought me out. That there was always a look there that told me how much he found me amusing. George never had that look in his eyes. George never looked for me first in a crowded room. And I never felt warm when I saw him.

I wasn't sure if it was a crush honestly and I wasn't about to admit it. But I liked that Fred Weasley focused his attention on me.

Finally, I shrugged, "Your head is fatter."

...

Professor Quirrell tried to kill Harry Potter. The news was all over school and it was still a bit of a shock. When I'd come downstairs to see Neville frozen with the 'Petrificus Totalus' spell surrounded by the other students, I'd been appalled. I went to Professor McGonagall myself, demanding someone be held responsible for it. But now I was stumped. How could a teacher attack a student that way?

We were all seated in The Great Hall now, glaring at the Slytherin colors that decorated the ceiling. They'd clearly won the House Cup again, and Neville was still sulking. Harry had just arrived and everyone was speaking at once.

Headmaster Dumbledore stood to his feet and started giving his end of the year speech. It was similar to the ones we've heard before and we cringed during the house point's section.

"...however, recent events must be taken into account," he said which had us all listening closely.

"I have a few last minute points to dish out. Let me see...Yes," His eyes crinkled into a smile, "To Ronald Weasley, for the best played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."

My jaw dropped. A chess game? He could give points for that?

"My brother, you know!" I could hear Percy boasting, "My youngest brother got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"

I was reminded again of the events that had just taken place and realized they were being rewarded for it. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Second to Miss Hermione Granger, for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."

There were more cheers at this.

"Third to Mr. Harry Potter," the entire room died down and he continued, "for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House sixty points."

There were shouts of excitement when we realized we had now tied with Slytherin.

Dumbledore raised his hand and said once more, "There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Neville Longbottom."

I burst into tears at the look of shock on my brother's face and swept him up into a tight hug. Everyone was cheering his name and congratulating him. He was practically shaking underneath me from shock.

"I'm so proud of you," I told him through my tears.

The decorations changed to Gryffindor colors and it was perhaps the greatest moment of my life.

I hope you're enjoying the start to this story! Reviews are appreciated, but not necessary. I just wanted to share the love of the Harry Potter fandom. :)