The Ravenclaw common room is everything Ana had dreamed and more.

When the hat had - after less deliberation than she had expected - sent her to her hoped-for house, she had become a bit worried that she would end up disappointed once the Feast was over and school really began.

But from the riddle-giving doorknob to the star-covered ceiling and the dozens of bookshelves lining the circular common room, Ana already feels at home.

The prefects had let them in and, after a quick warning about not forgetting anything in their rooms since the riddles can be pretty tough, showed them to their dorms.

There are only three of them in the room and they've been giving plenty of space between their beds, which Ana is grateful for. She's absolutely exhausted and is looking forward to falling asleep.

"So I'm Evie! What about you guys?"

One of the other girls, however, seems to have a very different idea. Ana glances at the third girl in the room, hoping she'll ignore Evie so they can just go to bed.

The girl is looking back at her with uncertainty and Ana realizes she's going to be no help whatsoever as Evie begins talking again, apparently unbothered by the fact neither of her roommates have responded to her initial question.

"Aren't you so excited to start school tomorrow! I'm a - what did Frannie call it? Oh yeah, a Muggleborn! So this is all really new to me. What about you guys?"

Ana's lacking response this time is pointed, in hopes that Evie will quiet down and let them all sleep. The other girl has ducked her head down and is rummaging around in her trunk, presumably for her nightclothes.

"Thought they haven't given us schedules yet, have they? I guess we'll get them at breakfast? When did those other guys say that was?"

"Prefects. They're called prefects and it's at seven thirty in the morning so if you don't mind we'd like to get some sleep before then." Ana finally decides that the only way to get through to this girl is extreme bluntness.

Evie frowns. "Wow, okay then. You don't have to be a jerk about it."

Apparently I do. But Ana bites her tongue and instead begins changing clothes. The third girl has scampered off to the showers to change and Evie shrugs and begins rifling around to find her own nightgown. Ana, not caring about modesty, changes right there in front of her bed and then passes out almost as soon as her head touches the pillow

She awakens to the sun angling in through the window beside her bed, and she's not sure if she's annoyed or pleased that she has some time to shower and dress before her dorm mates get up. She settles for neither and instead focuses on getting ready quickly so she can organize her books in her satchel before going down to the common room.

There are already a few students there, some of whom are reading, while others edit their summer essays. She spots a familiar face near one of the windows and makes her way over.

"Excuse me?"

The prefect looks up from his book in surprise. "Oh, um, hello. Can I help you with something?"

She nods. "I hope so. I was wondering which books I should bring with me to breakfast this morning? We haven't received our schedules yet but I thought you might know what classes the first years will have today."

He quickly nods. "Oh, of course! Yeah, let me just-" He's a bit awkward as he pulls a stack of parchments out of his bag. "Here, first year Ravenclaws have Transfiguration with McGonagall this morning, followed by Charms with Flitwick, and then double Herbology out in greenhouse this afternoon." He smiles, still distinctly awkward. "I hope that helps?"

She nods. "It does, thanks."

"I, um, I'm Eric Hobbes. If you needed anything else you can always ask." He offers, and she nods again. Hopefully she won't need anything else but it's never bad to know the names of your prefects. Much easier to get their attention that way.

She returns to the dorms to find that Evie is in the showers and their other dormmate is just about packed.

"Our classes today are Transfiguration, Charms, and Herbology." Ana announces, and the other girl looks over, surprised.

"Oh, thanks. I'm Amelia by the way." She's not looking at Ana as she speaks, and her hair has dropped in front of her face so her introduction is a bit muffled.

"Ana. And no problem. No one wants to lug all their textbooks to class." She replies. "Want to walk down together?"

Normally she wouldn't offer, but some small, vindictive part of herself wants Evie to have no idea which books to bring. A bit of revenge for keeping them up last night.

Amelia wavers for a moment before agreeing, and they're joined by a swarm of other Ravenclaws as they head down the stairs leading to the girls' dorms and out the door.

Ana is glad for the older students unwittingly accompanying them as she honesty can't remember the way back to the Great Hall. The one downside to Ravenclaw tower is how far removed it seems to be from the rest of the castle.

Amelia sits next to her at the table, but after filling her plate Ana pulls out her Transfiguration textbook and begins reading the first chapter, curious as to what they'll be studying. She glances up only briefly when Evie appears a good twenty minutes later, looking slightly disheveled but sporting a bright smile and trailed by two boys that Ana recognizes as Shaun and Fitzwilliam, first years whom she'd spoken with at the previous night's Feast.

Around eight thirty a short wizard with a shock of white hair begins ambling down the table, passing parchments to each student.

"Ah Ms. Vulchanova and Ms. Kingsley. Your schedules." He hands Ana and Amelia a parchment each and then bustles on.

"You were right. Transfiguration, Charms, and Herbology today." Amelia smiles. "How did you find out?"

Ana glances around the table so she can indicate Eric to the other girl, but he doesn't seem to be at the table. "I asked one of the prefects, Eric Hobbes. I'll point him out if I see him."

Amelia nods and goes back to her schedule.

Ana follows suit. They have a surprising amount of free time, with at least an hour between most classes, and they only have two classes at all on Tuesdays - if you count midnight Astronomy as occuring on Tuesday at all - which she finds odd. Surely they won't be getting so much homework as to require hours upon hours of study time?

She's disappointed that their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class isn't until Thursday afternoon. But she supposes it's something to look forward to if the other classes turn out dull.

"Oh man, we're going to learn how to fly? Awesome!"

Ana sighs and Evie begins enthusiastically responding to nearly every class on the list. How she's in Ravenclaw when she clearly hadn't cracked open a single one of her textbooks absolutely baffles Ana. Her house is supposed to be filled with intellects, but so far she's been very disappointed.

Maybe classes will help clear things up.

She ends up nearly being late for Transfiguration when a staircase decides to switch directions while she's still standing on it. She's out of breath and red-faced when she finally does arrive, and she drops straight into the first open seat she can find.

"Hey Ana. Congratulations on making Ravenclaw."

She glances over to her seatmate and is pleasantly surprised to find that she already knows him. "Oh, Alasdair! Do we have this class with the Slytherins?"

He shrugs. "I suppose so. I hear most classes have two houses at a time."

She nods idly. "How are your housemates so far?"

He shrugs again. "Quiet mostly. I can't complain."

Ana grins ruefully. "I wish mine were the same. This girl Evie wouldn't be quiet and let us sleep last night, it was awful." She glances around then and realizes that Evie hasn't yet arrived. "Though it looks like she's going to be late so perhaps this class will pass peacefully."

There's the ghost of a smile on Alasdair's face. "Perhaps."

They stay quiet until the lesson begins. McGonagall stands and walks around her desk so she's directly in front of the foremost row of seats.

"Welcome to Transfiguration. Before we begin I must warn you: Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn-"

She's interrupted by a triumphant Evie tripping through the doors and landing on top of one of the Slytherin girls sitting in the back.

"I'm here! Man it is hard to find your way around this place!"

McGonagall frowns. "Ms Jones, please take your seat. And five points from Ravenclaw for the disruptive entrance."

Every Ravenclaw in the room, Ana included, shoots an annoyed look at Evie, but they seem to fly over her head as she plops down in the front row and pulls out her textbook.

McGonagall clears . "As I was saying, this class will teach you some of the most complex and dangerous magic that you will learn during your time here in Hogwarts. As such, anyone messing around in my class will be asked to leave and not come back." She looks pointedly at Evie, who looks back with a wide grin.

McGonagall's eyes sweep over the rest of the class. "You have been warned." With that she's back behind her desk and instructing everyone to open their books to the first chapter.

Ana has already scanned the section on the Transfiguration formula and she's glad when their Professor mentions that they'll be working on understanding the formula for both of their first week's lessons. How mathematics factors into magic is something Ana has never fully understood so the formula is giving her some trouble.

Forty five minutes later the bell signals the end of class, and Ana finds herself walking next to Alasdair.

"So, did you want to go to the library? Get started on the essay?" She's not too surprised that they already have an assignment due - McGonagall is clearly a tough teacher.

Alasdair shakes his head. "I'm going back to the common room actually. I'll see you later."

Ana watches him leave, and then shrugs and heads off to locate the library, which is much more difficult than she'd anticipated. After nearly thirty minutes of searching she finally comes across it, only to realize she ought to start looking for the Charms classroom so she won't be late.

Charms is shared with the Hufflepuffs, but Ana finds herself sitting between Amelia and a Ravenclaw boy she hasn't met yet.

Their Professor is the same short man who'd handed over her schedule that morning - Filius Flitwick, head of Ravenclaw and an accomplished duelist. Ana has read about him in the past and she's looking forward to learning from him.

The boy next to her - she eventually learns that his name is Finnigan - is nearly as involved in the lesson as Ana, asking several questions and rivaling her for number of answers he gives to the teacher's inquiries. He's clearly done his research, and Ana is quite pleased to know that there's some hope for her house.

Of course, for every question they get correct, Jerome "Jerry" Boot gets three wrong.

He's the last of the Ravenclaw first years that she hasn't met, and she's honestly baffled as to how he's ended up in the house of cleverness when he trips over his own answers ninety five percent of the time.

She supposes it's nice that he's trying, but by the end of class Fitzwilliam, who's seated next to him, has taken it upon himself to prevent Jerry from raising his hand in the first place.

Charms ends rather quickly between embarrassment over Jerry's incompetence and Flitwick's enthusiasm, and they pack their bags and head to lunch in the Great Hall.

Ana is one of the first to arrive, having been very carefully mapping out her location in a small journal she'd brought, specifically dedicated to charting the castle. She helps herself to a turkey and rye sandwich and begins reading her Transfiguration textbook in order to prepare for the essay she intends to begin working on that afternoon.

"Hey roomie!"

Ana bites down a groan of annoyance as Evie slides into the seat next to her. "How go classes so far?"

"We have the same schedule Evie, you know how they've been." She responds flatly, not looking up from her textbook.

"Haha, oh, right. You were really good in Charms." She offers, seemingly caught off guard for the first time since Ana has met her.

"Thanks. I read the textbook on the train." She accepts the compliment, but has no desire to return in. Not like there's anything to compliment Evie on, all the girl has done is show up late and accidentally fling her wand across the classroom during Charms.

"Wow, that's really dedicated! Textbooks are so dry, I prefer practical application!" Evie declares.

"You sound like a Gryffindor." Ana mumbles to herself as she hurries to finish her sandwich. Maybe she'll go to the greenhouse early - surely she can find somewhere to study in peace there.

Double Herbology that afternoon is spent with the Hufflepuffs, and Ana finds herself paired up with a thankfully quiet boy, though he's distinctly unenthused by the subject matter. Ana takes what she can get and listens dutifully as the cheerful Professor Sprout explains several of the safety measures they'll be taking during the class, and then for the second half they work practically with dittany plants, learning to care for them properly.

Ana ends up doing most of the work herself, and she decides she wants to keep her current partner for the rest of the year if she can manage. She heard quite a few disagreements break out among the other pairs, but her own partner (really she should learn his name for next time) never said a thing, merely shrugging and agreeing with everything she did.

Once class lets out at two thirty, she heads straight back to the library. She's much quicker in finding it this time, and she locates an empty table near the windows on which to spread out and begin research for Transfiguration.

All in all, it certainly wasn't a horrendous first day, but she can't stop a nagging thought in the back of her mind from whispering questions as to whether Durmstrang might not have been better.

Their schedule seems rather haphazard to Myr, but he supposes there must be some sort of reason to it.

And it's not like he plans to complain that they have a full hour free after breakfast on Tuesdays. It gives him plenty of time to explore the castle and determine where exactly his classrooms are located. The day before had seen him show up late to two out of his three courses (thankfully Professor Binns hadn't noticed and Professor Flitwick was quite understanding) and he hoped to avoid that with Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts when he has them later in the week.

He's joined in his search by Charlie Weasley and Brandon Young. His two dorm mates had been fast friends, and only two days in it was already rare to see one without the other. They had a third friend as well, a Hufflepuff boy named Aidan they'd met on the train, but he was only able to hang out with them in the afternoon once classes had let out.

Myr is glad for it - Charlie and Brandon on their own are already a handful. The addition of their third musketeer would surely only lead to trouble.

"Ooh, prefect bathroom! Remember where this is Charlie!" Brandon grins and Myr holds down a groan. He's starting to get the feeling they only tagged along with him to scout out good prank spots.

"If you two are just going to goof off can you do it somewhere else? I want to find the classrooms and still have time to get to Herbology."

"Why don't you do this in the afternoon? Flying classes don't start until next week anyway so we have two hours after lunch before History class." Charlie points out, clearly curious.

Oh. Myr hadn't known that. "Yes well, what else would I do with this time?" He points out awkwardly.

Charlie grins. "You any good at chess Myr?"

Myr blinks. "I... know how to play, yeah." Where was this line of questioning going?

Charlie proceeds to lead Myr and Brandon back to Gryffindor tower, and he spends the rest of the hour introducing Myr to the wonders of wizard's chess. Myr knows he needs to get a set for Cadi by the end of their second game.

"'Know how to play' indeed." Charlie is still grumbling as they head out to the greenhouses later. Myr had quite soundly beaten him in both of their games, much to Brandon's amusement and Charlie's embarrassment. Myr thinks it was made worse by the fact his older brother Bill had shown up in time to see him lose the second game and had mercilessly about it.

"We can have a rematch later if you like." Myr offers as they find a spot to stand between Nabila - one of the Gryffindor girls - and a Slytherin who Myr doesn't recognize.

"You should go against Bill. See if he's still smug when you beat the pants off of him." Charlie is clearly still pouting over his own loss so Myr lets it go and glances over to Nabila.

"So, partners?" He offers. She shrugs.

"Sure."

She says nothing more and he doesn't press, and the lesson begins shortly afterwards regardless.

Nabila proves to be a very good partner despite her disinclination towards speaking. She stays focused and together they manage to finish their assignment a good ten minutes before the end of class. Professor Sprout happily awards them five points each and lets them leave early.

"Well, we still have some time before lunch, and since next class isn't until fifteen hundred, do you want to drop off our bags in the dorms?" He suggests awkwardly, not totally sure how to talk to Nabila despite having just spent nearly and hour and a half working with her.

She shrugs. "I'm going to the library." She responds, and promptly turns to do just that, leaving Myr alone in the entrance hall. Somewhat disoriented by her abrupt departure, he turns to head to the common rooms anyway. No point in dragging his bag around when he won't need it for nearly four hours.

He drops his bag off on his bed and then settles in the common room to watch a group of fourth years playing what appears to be marbles, though every time someone loses a point they get foul-smelling liquid squirted into their face.

A few other first years file in to deposit their things, and one girl opts to toss herself down next to him when she returns to the common room.

"Hey Myr!" Holly Kiddell grins at him happily, brown hair falling in strings in front of her face as it usually does. "Way to go getting us those points! Laurel says that Gryffindor has won the House Cup for two years in a row now so we have a legacy to keep up!"

Myr blinks. "Is it that big of a deal?" He honestly doesn't quite get the concept of the House Cup or what it's supposed to stand for.

Holly looks affronted by his question. "Of course it is! Whichever house gets the House Cup gets bragging rights as the best house!" She explains as if it's obvious.

Myr frowns. "I suppose."

"You'll see when we win this year! Anyway, you wanna go get lunch?" Holly doesn't give him a chance to respond before she's skipping for the portrait hole and he has nothing else to do but follow her.

"Herbology is alright but I wish we spent some time studying wand woods. You know Hogwarts doesn't have any classes dedicated to it? What do they think will happen when the great Ollivander passes away with no family to take over the shop? Will wands just vanish?"

Myr grimaces slightly. Not a conversation has passed that Holly hasn't found a way to steer towards wands and wand making. Her passion is certainly impressive, but admittedly rather tiring.

"Didn't you say there are more wandmakers than just Ollivander?" He points out, and she immediately launches into a rather familiar lecture that Myr partially tunes out as they arrive in the Great Hall.

Charlie waves to them from the Gryffindor table, and Holly waves back without missing a beat in her rant.

"Hey guys, how was Herbology? Remi managed to kill our dittany plant." Charlie announces. "He's the worst partner can we please stick him with a Slytherin next time?"

Myr glances around nervously, wondering if Remi has overheard, but he realizes the other boy isn't even at the table.

"We can give him my partner." Holly grins. "You and me next time Charlie!"

"Definitely." He grins back and begins heaping food onto his plate.

Myr whiles away the time between lunch and History of Magic that afternoon learning gobstones - the game the fourth years had been playing - from Charlie. He has to run to grab a shower before they head for Binns' classroom as he's rather soundly beaten by the red head, much to Charlie's satisfaction.

As it had been the day before, History of Magic is incredibly boring, and fifteen minutes in at least half the class is either already napping on their desks or well on their way.

Myr is sitting in the front row, so he doesn't see it at first, but giggling starts up behind him and after a couple of minutes he can't resist turning around to see what could possibly be so amusing.

He finds himself face to face with a pig snout and he very nearly falls out of his seat.

As it is he jerks backwards into his desk, causing a rather loud ruckus.

The class goes quiet and looks to the Professor, but he drones on as if nothing of note has occurred. Myr wonders if dying makes people hard of hearing.

The girl's hair flashes red and gold, and she gives Myr an apologetic smile.

The rest of class is spent glancing over his shoulder to see the strange girl changing her appearance to poorly imitate the people Binns is describing. When the bell signaling the end of class sounds, he turns around completely.

"I'm so sorry for startling you! I was just having a touch of fun there!" The girl grins as her hair changes to a vibrant lavender and her nose shrinks down from a miniature elephant's trunk to a normal little girl nose. "I'm Dora."

He smiles and offers a handshake. "Myrddin. I was just surprised, no harm done. How do you do that anyway? We haven't been to Transfiguration yet."

Dora winks conspiratorially. "A girl never reveals her secrets." She giggles.

Myr ends up spending the rest of the afternoon with Dora and the other Hufflepuffs by the lake. They're joined by most of the first year Gryffindors as well, and at some point a water war erupts, making Myr quite glad he'd had the foresight to stow his books back in Gryffindor tower beforehand.

As it is he ends up thoroughly soaked thanks to Dora and her friend Kiera, a curly-haired blonde with a loud voice and an apparent life goal to drag everyone she ever meets into a mud fight.

Brandon, Charlie, and their Hufflepuff friend Aidan had holed up near one of the hollow trees lining the lake, sneak attacking anyone who got too close. This in turn got Evera and Drake, along with their Hufflepuff friend Jemma, into the water war, and from there things spiraled out of control.

By the time the group shuffles back towards the Great Hall, not a single person remains dry.

"Blimey, that was awesome!" Fiona McKay enthuses happily as the Gryffindors sit at their table for dinner. Her curly red hair is plastered to her face and her accent is heavier than normal with the excitement of the afternoon.

"We should definitely hang out with the Hufflepuffs more." Charlie agrees. "That Metamorphagus girl is fun!"

He immediately gets several questioning stares and he grins.

"I'm talking about Dora! Have you guys never heard of Metamorphagi?"

"Don't act smug Charlie, you wouldn't know about them either if we didn't have a super nerd for a brother." A cheeky Bill Weasley states as he walks by them with his friends, lightly mussing Charlie's hair as they pass.

Charlie ducks and fixes his bangs before sticking his tongue out at Bill's retreating back. "Yeah, well, Metamorphagi can change their appearance at will, like Dora." He explains, a bit more put out than he had been when he first announced his knowledge to the group.

"That is so cool. How do you become one?" Drake pipes up. "I want to look like Superman!"

Charlie shrugs. "I think you're just born with it. Honestly I zone out when my brother goes on rants about stuff he's read about so I don't really know."

"Your brother? Bill?" Holly tilts her head curiously as she scoots a bit closer to Charlie.

"Oh, uh, no. I have some younger brothers too." Charlie looks a bit uncomfortable with the question so Myr decides to switch subjects.

"So flying lessons start next week right? What exactly do those entail?"

The rest of the table is more than happy to follow his lead, and the rest of dinner is spent with the kids from magical families enthusiastically explaining broom riding to the ones raised as muggles.

Myr notices towards the end of the meal that Holly has been oddly quiet. He tries to catch her eye but she's maintaining careful eye contact with her plate. As soon as she's finished eating she makes a quick exit - nearly running into her sisters on the way out.

"Woah hey, where's the fire?" Laurel sits in the seat vacated by her youngest sister as the middle one heads off to join the Ravenclaw table. "I've never seen Holly abandon a meal that fast. What are you guys talking about?"

"Flying class!" Charlie grins. Laurel's eyes light up in understanding.

"Ah, got it. So any of you newbies play Quidditch?"

This turns out to be a very touchy subject, as both Charlie and Remi immediately declare themselves Seekers - whatever that means - and then begin arguing over who the better player is.

"You look absolutely riveted." The teasing voice is accompanied by a light prod in the shoulder, and Myr turns to find Evera grinning cheekily at him. "Never heard of Quidditch?"

He shrugs. "I've heard of it but no one has explained anything beyond the fact it's on broomsticks and it's a kind of sport."

Evera looks beyond thrilled to be the one to finally explain the game to him.

"Okay, so you've got seven players on every teams, and four balls. Thre are three Chasers, who carry around the Quaffle - that's one of the balls - and try to throw it through one of the three hoops at the ends of the field to score ten-point goals. The Keeper is in charge of blocking goals. Then there are two Beaters who are in charge of the bludgers. There are two blugders - more balls by the way - and they fly around the field and try to knock people off their brooms. Beaters have bats and try to direct the bludgers towards members of the other team and protect their own teammates."

"That sounds kind of dangerous." Myr points out.

Evera shrugs, a bit more dissmissive of his concerns than Myr is entirely comfortable with. "I guess. There's plenty of protections in place and as far as I know the last Quidditch related death here at Hogwarts was decades ago. Anyway, the last player is the Seeker, who's in charge of finding this tiny golden ball called the snitch which flits around the playing field. Whichever Seeker makes the catch gets their team 150 points and ends the game."

Myr frowns. "Why bother with the rest of the team if the Seeker is the one that matters?" He questions.

Evera looks personally affronted. "The Seeker just ends the game. Plenty of teams have won despite the other Seeker catching the snitch. The Chasers are the most important team members." She puffs up and Myr can't help a wry grin.

"You're a Chaser then?"

"You better believe it! Best Chaser ever." She grins.

Laurel overhears the declaration and glances over. "We'll see about that. You'll need to impress me first little girl."

Myr figures Laurel is probably a Chaser as well. He excuses himself from the table shortly afterward, still not really engaged in the conversation. Quidditch just seems dangerous to him personally.

He makes his way up to the Gryffindor tower, where the painting of the Fat Lady is practicing her opera.

"Um, ma'am?" He shifts nervously as she finally notices him.

"Oh I'm sorry dear. Password?"

"Dittany."

The portrait swings forward to reveal the passage into the common room and he traipses up, mind locked on the idea of a warm shower and soft sheets.

He wonders if he should be prepared for every day to be this eventful. He's not sure he could handle that, if he's honest.

He nods to Holly in the common room, where she's curled up with a book by the fireplace, and then stumbles to his room. One shower later, he's asleep before his head has even touched the pillow.

There are definitely worse classes to start a Wednesday with than Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Rajani still finds the scheduling a bit odd. After all, they'd just had Defense the afternoon before, and no classes in between.

"It's probably due to how many classes they need to schedule." Eugene Slughorn suggests. "Avoiding overlap and all that." The gawky blond boy has proven quiet easy to befriend, though Rajani is a bit wary of him despite his sociable demeanor.

She nods, swallowing a bite of egg before responding. "I suppose that does make sense."

"And I don't know about you, but I know exactly when I'll be working on my Defense homework." Clary adds, grinning around an orange peel.

"Swallow before talking Clary, no one wants to see that." Queenie sighs. She's been trying to instill some manners into Clary, but so far has had very little luck.

Rajani leans back slightly, smiling as she listens to the already-familiar banter that springs up between her roommates. She catches Lenox's eye from across the table and he flashes her a grin which she's happy to return.

Nia and Elspeth arrive a breakfast a bit late, both panting from the rush.

"Why didn't you jerks wake us up?" Nia groans as she falls over next to Eugene.

"You looked so cute sleeping." Clary jokes, grabbing more toast from the platters. "We didn't want to disturb you."

"Well do next time." Elspeth mutters. She's never very talkative, but Rajani has noticed she's worse in the mornings before she's eaten.

Rajani feels a small surge of guilt. "Sorry guys. I woke of early and figured you'd wake up on your own."

"Oh, no one's blaming you Raj." Nia smiles. "We all know Clary is the Lion in the pit."

Clary chokes. "Ew no, take that back!"

And just like that the atmosphere is light again, and stays light as they make their way to the North Tower for their class.

Professor Whits is just arriving as they do, and she flashes them a grin.

"Good morning little neonates! Have a good rest?"

Rajani has no idea what the professor just called them, but she didn't sound like she was trying to be insulting so Rajani opts to smile in response.

"I found the reading quite interesting." Queenie pipes up. Three days in and she's already established herself as something of a teacher's pet, though she has earned about twenty points for Slytherin already so Rajani isn't complaining. "It's fascinating that people can mix up doxies with faries or pixies."

"They are all small flying things that buzz." Finn offers from where he's seemingly materialized behind the girls.

Clary yelps. "Merlin's pants Finn, make some noise when you move, would ya? How long have you been there?"

"Not long" He replies, sliding past the group and taking a seat at the front of the classroom. Queenie joins him, while Clary makes a beeline for the back of the room along with a majority of the other Slytherins.

Rajani hesitates, and then sits at the desk next to Queenie. The rest of the Slytherin class, as well as the Hufflepuffs, appear shortly afterwards.

"This seat taken?" A boy sporting a Hufflepuff tie and a strong case of baby face gestures politely to the seat beside her.

Rajani glances around and realizes that all the people she usually talks with are sitting elsewhere, so she shakes her head. "Apparently not."

He smiles and slides in next to her. "Cool. I hope you don't mind me sitting here, I'm trying to get a friend of mine to talk to other people." He glances at another boy who's standing in the doorway, giving him a very dirty glare.

"Well I don't mind as long as he won't try to pull anything." Rajani says pointedly and the boy laughs.

"Nah, Cian is a pushover and an introvert." The boy pulls out his Defense textbook and begins pointedly ignoring his friend. "I'm Donaghan by the way."

"Rajani." She introduces herself in turn, but they never get past that point as Professor Whits begins the lesson.

They briefly go over the readings, and then Professor Whits goes into details about how to handle each of the three creatures they'd read about. So far Defense class has all been theoretical, but Professor Whits has promised to have quite a bit of practical applications in the second half of the course, when they're "more familiar with spell work" as she puts it. Rajani thinks it's rather silly, but she doesn't complain. Sahana had told her about one Defense teacher they'd had two years prior who hadn't allowed any practical spell work in his classroom.

The lesson ends about five minutes early, so Professor Whits sends them off with a new reading assignment as well as instructions to write a single-scroll essay on how to deal with doxies to be handed in for the next class.

"You . I got stuck next to some mopey Slytherin guy." Donaghan's friend - Cian, Rajani remembers - is at their desk before either she or Donaghan has even started putting their things away.

Donaghan rolls his eyes. "Maybe if you tried actually talking to him he wouldn't have been so mopey."

"If it was Cadfael he probably would." Rajani offers. "He's big on moping."

Donaghan laughs slightly. "Okay well, don't sit next to him next time then."

"I'm sitting next to you next time you git." Cian mutters.

Donaghan glances over at Rajani as he picks up his bag. "It was nice being your seat partner today. Maybe we'll get a chance to talk more next time." He smiles, and she returns the gesture.

Nia corners her in the hallway as they exit.

"What the heck Misra? What was that about?"

Rajani frowns. "What was what about?"

"Baby face! Don't make nice with the enemy!" Nia snaps. "You heard how his friend talked about Cad-"

"You called Cadfael a whiny-baby just last night!" Rajani countes defensively.

"Because he is, but we know that because we live with him! Badger boy didn't even try talking to him. Trust me Raj, don't try making friends with those guys." Nia's eyes are dead serious, and Rajani frowns.

"Donaghan seemed nice though." She protests. "I wouldn't mind sitting with him again. And I believe you guys were the ones who ditched me in the first place."

Nia sighs and shakes her head. "Your call. Don't say I didn't warn you though. Slytherins look out for our own, because no one else would bother. You can't trust the other houses."

Rajani has to admit, it's not the first time she's heard the sentiment. Sahana has never had anything very nice to say about the other houses either, and while Rajani has always thought her sister was just being dramatic, the other Slytherins seem to have similar ideas. And those sorts of convictions surely aren't born from nothing?

So she sighs."Alright, I'll sit with you guys next time. But someone else has to sit with Cadfael - I sat with him yesterday."

They decide to hang out in the common room and work on the essay until it's time to head over to their first potions class of the week. Which, as it turns out, they once again have with the Hufflepuffs.

Rajani can see Donaghan shooting her a curious look as she ducks past him to sit with Queenie, but she ignores it and focuses instead on getting her parchements organized.

When Professor Snape enters, Rajani takes a long moment to study him. She hasn't, until this point, really seen the Head of Slytherin house, but her sister has nothing but good things to say. Rajani isn't so sure.

With long greasy hair and a beak-like nose, Severus Snape looks more like a storybook villain than a teacher, but there's a glint of sharp intellect in his eyes that keeps Rajani from passing judgement too quickly.

After taking several moments to glide to the front of the classroom, Snape finally speaks.

"You are here," He drawls, "To learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through the human veins, bewitching the minds, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Well. Rajani can tell a few people are bristling at his harsh analysis of the group, but perhaps it's his way of preemptively discouraging anyone from mucking about. An incorrectly brewed potion could, after all, be deadly.

"For our first lesson, you will be learning the difference between cauldron and vial types. This may seem pointless but choosing an incorrect cauldron or container can ruin a potion entirely so pay attention."

By the end of the lecture, Rajani's hand is cramping from her desperate attempts to scribble down everything the potions master has said, so it takes her a few minutes to gather her things, by which point most of her friends have vanished to lunch.

She sighs and slings her satchel across her shoulder, only to freeze when she realizes that Donaghan is still in the room. And even worse, he's looking directly at her.

She nods to him politely and makes for the door, and he thankfully seems to get the message as he doesn't follow.

She spends all of lunch with her head down and an odd flutter of regret in the pit of her stomach.

After lunch is History of Magic and then Transfiguration, both with the Ravenclaws, and Rajani makes sure she sits with her friends in both classes. They spend the afternoon in the dungeon, alternately working on their essays and staring out into the lake, trying to catch glimpses of merpeople or the giant squid. Clary swears she sees a grindylow at one point but no one really believes her and a good-natured pillow fight is started over it.

By the time dinner rolls around, Rajani is feeling much better. She even gets a jab in about Clary's horrid table manners that nearly starts a food fight (though one of the prefects scolds them before it can get too rowdy). And by the time she's ready to go to bed, all lingering guilt about the brush off has evaporated.

The day is incredibly productive thanks to their having the entire afternoon off. Next week they'll be starting flying lessons, but for the time being they retire back to the common room to finish homework and discuss which classes are their favorites. Dinner is a casual affair, and Clary and Queenie even sneak food back into the dorm, so they keep snacking as they work.

Then comes double potions on Friday morning.

"Today you will be making a cure for boils. Or rather, you will try. You will be finished by the end of the period."

Snape has assigned them partners, and Rajani find herself sitting opposite to a Hufflepuff with a bad case of baby-face.

"So, um, I guess we better get started then. You want to use your cauldron or mine?" Donaghan thankfully isn't being awkward, so Rajani follows his lead. They each crush three of the six required snake fangs and measure out four scoops. Donaghan heats the potion, and Rajani waves her wand the way Snape had demonstrated before sending them off.

Now they had anywhere from half and hour to forty five minutes to wait until their potion turns orange.

"So, have you started on your Defense paper?" Donaghan asks conversationally as he counts out the porcupine quills they'll need for the second part of the potion.

"Oh, yes. I'm nearly halfway through, though I've hit a bit of a wall. I've explained everything I believe needs explaining, but I need another paragraph to fill the scroll." Rajani responds somewhat hesitantly, but he's being polite so she doesn't see why she should be rude in return. It would be poor manners.

He nods. "Same here. I'm honestly thinking I might just rewrite it with sloppier handwriting."

Rajani can't help but laugh softly, glancing over to Nia to make sure the other girl isn't watching. "Well that's certainly one way to go about it, but it doesn't seem very honest does it?"

He sighs. "I suppose not. Perhaps we can compare sometime - see if one of us has thought of something the other hasn't."

Rajani looks over at her partner, but he's not meeting her eyes, instead checking the potion.

She hesitates. The other houses supposedly aren't very nice. But perhaps individuals within them are decent enough. After all, no one in their year much likes Cadfael, aside from maybe Alasdair - though it's always difficult to tell with him - and he's Slytherin. There must be exceptions.

So she smiles. "Sure. That sounds like a great idea."

Potions goes much smoother after that, and while Snape deems their final product "barely passable" Rajani doesn't mind all that much.

The afternoon passes in a blur - potions is their only class on Fridays - and she does meet with Donaghan after lunch to compare essays. She's vague about what she's up to when Nia questions her departing the common room, and is quite thankful when no one seems suspicious.

By eleven o'clock that evening all her work is done and she is, quite frankly, exhausted.

"I'm glad we have Astronomy on Fridays." A drowsy Clary declares. "I don't know how anyone could stay up all night and have classes the next morning."

Rajani has to agree. As it is she isn't sure she'll be able to stay up long enough to actually get to class.

A group of them had gone out earlier to hunt down where the Astronomy Tower actually was and had asked one of the prefects how long it took to get to the top. So they knew they had thirty minutes before they needed to get going if they didn't want to be late.

The common room is mainly occupied by the first year class, though a few older students are scattered around the tables, quills scratching away as they study into the witching hours.

The trek to the top Astronomy Tower does end up taking exactly half an hour, and the group arrives three minutes late. Professor Sinestra just smiles and mentions perhaps leaving a bit earlier in the future.

They spend the next hour gazing through their telescopes, trying to locate specific stars that the professor is pointing out. Rajani thinks she finds about half, but she's also aware that she might be being a touch optimistic. She's so exhausted by the end of the lesson that everything has developed a layer of fuzziness around it.

They somehow manage to stumble back to their dormitories when class is over, arriving a little after two thirty and immediately dispersing to their dorms. There's none of the usual banter the girls have before going to bed tonight - everyone changes into their night clothes as fast as they can manage before diving under the covers.

Rajani takes enough time to curl up into a ball before thankfully passing out, promising herself that she's not waking up until noon.

Franziska can't believe how much homework they have already. Isn't the first week supposed to be easy?

She makes the mistake of voicing this observation aloud in the common room to Jemma Finnegan just after breakfast on Saturday and causes Hunter Vaugnes, a stocky, blond fifth year prefect, to snort loudly.

"If you think this is bad you're going to be a mess come finals." He observes. "I'd stay well ahead in your lessons if I were you."

"Oh be nice Hunt." One of the third years shoots back airily. "We aren't all half Ravenclaw like you ya know."

The girl gets a pillow thrown at her head for her troubles.

Jemma pats Franziska on the shoulder. "We'll work on it together! I bet it just seems like a lot because we aren't used to it yet."

Franziska smiles thankfully at her, cheeks still a bit warm from the embarrassment of being called out. The two girls are joined shortly after by Aidan Ward, a cheery read head who's already made a name for himself around the common room from his constant questions about seemingly anything he can think of.

"Hullo girls. Is that the Transfiguration paper? I was just going to the library to meet up with Charlie and Brandon to work on that!" He grins. "Did you want to come? Five heads are better than three after all."

Jemma lights up. "Ooh, maybe I can hunt down my Gryffindor friends as well! Then we'll be seven!"

Franziska outwardly smiles in agreement but inwardly hopes that only Brandon and Charlie will be there. They've already spent quite a bit of time with the Gryffindors, and while they're a lot of fun - Franziska would never say no to spending some down time with Holly - she has a hard time believing they'll be very good study partners.

Nonetheless she finds herself tailing Jemma and Aidan as they make their way to the library. Hopefully, even if her suspicions prove correct, she'll still be able to get some work done. It's a big library after all, there's plenty of space for her to find her own study area if need be.

They arrive before Brandon and Charlie and claim a table by the window. This proves incredibly distracting as it faces the Quidditch pitch, where a few scarlet and gold clad figures are tossing a Quaffle around.

"Oh man, do they do pick up games here?" Franziska jumps as a lanky brunet seems to materialize out of thin air behind her. She leans her head back to give Brandon an annoyed glare but he just smiles cheekily back and plops into the chair next to her.

"I think sometimes, but those guys are probably practicing for Monday's tryouts. Rumor has it Laurel is completely overhauling our team's lineup so every position is open." Charlie replies as he takes a seat beside Aidan. "Bill is probably out there somewhere. Laurel has been leaning on him all week and I think he finally cracked and agreed to try out last night."

"I don't get why he'd need convincing at all." Brandon remarks, leaning back in his chair. "Quidditch is the greatest. Really the only part of school worth caring about." He pauses. "Well, potions is useful too I guess."

Charlie shoots him an incredulous look. "Says the guy who added the wrong ingredients to our potion on purpose just to see what would happen!"

Brandon grins. "Hey, it looked really-"

"You melted my cauldron Young."

Franziska is startled by the intensity with which Charlie growls this, but Brandon seems unaffected.

"So we'll use mine for the rest of the year. Can't you ask for a new one for Christmas or something? Or hey, your birthday is before then right? Make it your birthday present!"

Charlie flushes angrily and doesn't acknowledge the suggestions, instead pulling out his Transfiguration textbook. "Let's just start."

Brandon, as expected, is extremely unhelpful over the course of the next few hours, spending more time watching the Quidditch players outside the window than working on his essay. Charlie however proves quite studious, and he and Franziska get into a pretty intense discussion about the exact meaning of wand power in the Transfiguration formula.

"Wow, nerd alert over here." Aidan grins. "We're at a school to learn magic and you're talking math."

"Math is actually very applicable, even with magic. There's a whole branch of it called Arithmancy that's solely about mathematical applications." Jemma pipes up. "My dad talks about it sometimes. It's really important to his work."

"Desk job?" Charlie smirks slightly.

Jemma smirks in return. "Curse breaker for Gringotts actually." She proceeds to stick her tongue out at the Gryffindor. "Anyway, as productive as this has been I'm due to meet with Evera and Drake out on the grounds in a few minutes. We're going exploring!"

"Drake's idea I bet." Charlie guesses, looking interested. "Me, Brandon, and Aidan have looked around already. Did you guys want a guide? I'm just about done anyway."

And just like that Franziska finds herself alone in the library. Sighing she buckles down and finishes her essay, then begins the one assigned for Potions. Surprisingly they so far don't have anything aside from reading for History of Magic, but she wonders if that might be because the teacher can't actually pick up and grade their essays.

She stays in the library, slogging through her assignments, until lunch, after which she agrees to a suggestion by another first year Hufflepuff, Henry Davies, to go swimming in the lake. She'd missed the hangout earlier in the week with the Gryffindors and she's curious to see the lake up close during the daytime. And she's surely more than earned a break.

They end up collecting a decently sized group by the end of lunch, including the ever evasive Cian who's all but dragged down to the lake by Donaghan.

Franziska decides to sit next to her silent housemate and see if she can't get to know him better. Despite only a week having passed, he's honestly the only person she can't consider a friend amongst the first year Hufflepuffs.

"So Cian, Donaghan says you two have been friends since you were kids? That's got to be nice, knowing someone already." She prompts hopefully.

Cian shrugs. "Yeah I guess." His want to be anywhere else is clearly painted over his face, and Franziska issues a hasty retreat to where Leona Poole is giggling loudly with Tyler Abbott. The two glance up as Franziska walks over.

"Um, hey. Could I sit with you guys?"

"Don't want to get wet?" Tyler smiles and gestures to the ground next to him. "Me neither. I've heard there are some freaky things in that lake."

Leona nods eagerly. "He was just telling me! His cousin knows a ton about this place already so he's sharing."

The short-haired brunette girl is already known around the common room as a chatterbox with a knack for knowing things she shouldn't. Franziska wonders how much of her information is gleaned from Tyler, who if she's honest is a bit easy to overlook and probably has no trouble overhearing things.

She shrugs and sits down. "Like what?"

The three of them spend the next hour chatting about monsters, both in and out of the lake. Leona proves surprisingly knowledgeable on the topic of Erumpents and Franziska does her best to remember any details her father has shared about Erklings. Tyler knows little more than what he's heard from his cousin Remi, but he pipes up whenever he has a question. They're joined partway through by a completely soaked Kiera, who proudly announces that something with tentacles definitely grabbed her while she was in the lake and they really should join the rest of them swimming.

The sun is going down by the time the Hufflepuffs decide to head back inside, and despite having only sat on the beach the entire time Franziska is completely exhausted. She'd remained in the same spot throughout the day, cycling through several different people as they came and went from the castle and the lake. Currently she's chatting with Aidan about Quidditch, which the muggleborn wizard still hasn't fully wrapped his head around.

"So if catching the snitch gets one hundred and fifty points," He says slowly, "How come there are Chasers and stuff at all? It seems like one hundred and fifty points probably wins the game to matter what."

Franziska has never been to a professional game herself, but her mother is a big fan of the German national team so she's quite familiar with just how insignificant the Seeker's contribution can be. "In school games that is often the case." She admits. "But professional games can go for days with no one finding the snitch. Average scores are usually well into the hundreds by the time it's caught. The Seeker's job really is to time the catch just right so their team can win. The points are just a bonus."

Aidan tilts his head. "Days? When do they sleep? Or eat? That seems rather dangerous."

Franziska shakes her head. "If games get too long they sub in their reserve players for a few hours. And there are a ton of rules they have to follow to make sure everything and everyone is safe."

Aidan looks relieved. "Oh, well that's good then! When is the first match do you think? I really want to see a game."

Franziska genuinely isn't sure, so they agree to ask one of the prefects after dinner. The entire house was holding an informal party to celebrate surviving the first week so there's sure to be someone who knows the answer.

Dinner is a rushed affair for the Hufflepuffs, and Franziska notes that the prefects never show up to the Great Hall at all. Which naturally only makes Franziska even more curious.

Tyler and a few of the other first years try pestering his older sister Lola Abbott into sharing details, but she only grins.

"It's no fun if you go in knowing what to expect Ty! And anyway, Maisie would kill me if I shared what they have planned."

Maisie Abbott was Tyer and Lola's older sister, as well as the sixth year prefect. Franziska personally liked her best out of their six prefects, and she knew the sentiment was shared by most of the class.

"What's the point of having older siblings in the same house if they don't let you in on cool secrets?" Leona grumbles. "I mean, I have three older siblings but they're all in different houses. But I know they would have told me what to expect!"

Franziska doesn't say anything. She certainly isn't thrilled by the notion of walking into an unknown, but at the same time she does trust their prefects to not do anything horrid or embarrassing. So she's decided to remain neutral on the entire situation until she knows more.

They vote that Kiera crawl through the barrel leading to their common room first, and she's happy to oblige. A moment later she releases a shriek, and no one is quite sure whether it's terror or excitement that prompts the noise.

After a long moment of hesitation, Tyler crawls in next. His cry is much easier to decipher, and the rest of the first year class crawls in with no hesitation.

The entire room is in bloom, and as Franziska emerges from the barrel something pink and fluffy lands in front of her, sprouting into a dozen flowers moments later and covering her in petals.

She can't help releasing a yelp and she ends up tumbling face first into the new blooms.

"Very smooth Reinhardt." She hears Hunter Vaugnes laughing but she can't really get upset when she's too busy being dragged over to the fireplace by Jemma, who's happily insisting on braiding flowers into everybody's hair.

Aidan already has a flower crown and Leona is working on another one for a very resistant Cian.

"Oh go on Ci, it's all good fun." Donaghan smiles over at his pouting friend, weaving his own crown as he does.

Franziska obligingly sits still as Jemma secures several lavender blossoms in her hair, and then she's released and the slight blonde is grabbing for Kiera, who has up to this point avoided getting too many flowers on herself.

"Submit to the floral goddesses!" Leona shrieks as she assists in tackling Kiera to the ground.

"And here I thought this was the nice house." Dora laughs, her multicolored hair very thoroughly decorated with petals.

Franziska finds that she can't stop grinning as the older kids continue pelting the lower grades with the odd flowering plants.

Lola Abbott grabs her arm at one point and drags her behind one of the couches, where several other younger students sit, including Henry Davies and a highly irked Kiera, complete with flower crown.

"Hey, we're going to launch a counter attack! We need you smaller kids to try and grab some of the puffapods away from the Prefects while we stage a distraction."

Franziska assumes the strange plants must be puffapods, and Lola points out a basket of them beside Hunter's feet.

"They flower when they touch the ground so be careful!" One of the other members of their little attack force warns. "I'd take the entire baskets if you're able to."

"Alright squad, you guys ready?" Lola's grin is almost manic, and Franziska feels a pull of uncertainty in her gut, but the command to run is given before she's given a chance to think too hard on it.

She hesitates, wanting to better understand the plan before diving into it, but Henry grabs her hand and drags her back out into the chaos of the basement.

Honestly she can't remember much after that aside from colorful explosions and a whole lot of shouting. Someone throws a puffapod directly into Hunter's face though, and that particular memory she thinks she'll cherish for a while.

Eventually Professor Sprout comes up from her bedroom to tell them to clean up and get to sleep. The first years are excused from the process as they haven't learned about puffapods yet, but the rest of the house busies themselves clearing out the mounds of flowers covering nearly every surface of the common room.

"Well that was exciting." Kiera seems to have gotten over the fact that her head is more petal than hair as she beams happily from where she's sprawled out across her bed.

Franziska is sitting a little more carefully, not wanting to get any flowers on her comforter. It would probably be rather uncomfortable to wake and find a stem poking into her hip.

Leona, Dora, and Jemma are taking their showers first, as all three were more covered in blossoms than she or Kiera.

"It certainly was a fun way to end the week." Franziska agrees. "I think Cian may be scarred for life though." The quiet first year had been caught in one of the bigger explosions of the night, and he had pointedly excused himself from the festivities early.

"You realize we'll have to top that somehow when we're seventh years." Kiera grins suddenly. "We should start planning now! We'll give the best first week party Hufflepuff has ever seen!"

Franziska just laughs. But she admits, thinking about the future with this house is a lot less daunting than it had been before.

"Alright then." She agrees. "What did you have in mind?"

None of them get any sleep that night. And Franziska honestly doesn't mind.