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Chapter Text

Prologue

For better or for worse.

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Seven years ago. 

13th March, 1982.

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A brown-haired little girl was crying on the ground in the basement. Her face was red and puffy, covered in small scratch marks. She wailed as another wave of pain hit her. Every month, it hurt. 

The basement door opened, and in walked a familiar face. The woman had short, thin blonde hair and the same blue eyes as the little girl. Her beautiful facial features were overshadowed by her anxiety-filled expression, which etched permanent wrinkles in her skin.

“Mama.” The four-year-old cried as she felt her hands cramp up and distort in shape. “I want it to stop, mama.”

The older woman looked at her daughter with disgust and fear, but her eyes still showed love and determination. “We will make it stop, sunny.”

“Mama. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You know Mama has always been able to protect herself.” The older woman choked out. 

All words were suddenly cut off with another deafening scream. The girl’s skin started to turn red as blood began to ooze out of her peeling skin. Every bone in her body started to crack and break, mending themselves into a new, miniature beast-like structure.

“This time, I’ll make sure we finish this process successfully.” The woman whispered before flicking her wand. 

The girl suddenly felt the familiar bitter taste of the leaf in her mouth. Her mother let out a shaky breath before whispering the words oscausi. The little girl recognised the dark charm all too well. Her lips were gone.

Her entire body and soul felt like it was on fire, and all she wanted to do was scream, but she couldn’t even open her mouth. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, baby.” The woman cried, and tears started to flow out of her eyes. 

As the last bit of her human consciousness slipped away, she heard her baby sister crying from the floor above.

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

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 Early September 1989

1st Year

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In a burgundy-coloured train compartment, Solana Allen sat alone, surrounded by the muffled chatter of fellow students beyond the closed doors—a welcome shield from the cacophony that might otherwise disturb her.

She had found the empty compartment after bidding farewell to her mother, who had left the crowded platform as soon as possible. Althea Allen was a very private person, to the point that she always tried her best never to leave their tiny home. 

Althea Allen was happy for most of her life, having free will to continue her potion work, and she got enough social interaction from her two daughters. But things were different now because Solana was finally starting her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Solana was nervous; she didn’t know anyone who was attending, and sadly, her mother never allowed her to socialise with other kids, understandably so. Solana’s head wandered back to her family, wondering if her younger sister, Aurelia, was crying and missing her or if her mother had finally apparated back home. 

Solana held her newly bought wand thoughtfully, allowing her fingertips to trace the intricate designs and swirls etched onto the magical piece of wood. 

“Oh, sod off! Carry my trunk if you’re going to get in the way!” Solana heard a feminine voice say. “Please, you’re the one in front of me!” A deeper voice responded.

A girl and boy’s faces suddenly appeared through the compartment door as they stepped in absentmindedly. “Oh! Sorry I didn’t see you there.” The girl said, giving a small smile. She had a slight tan complexion, and despite her English accent, she didn’t look English. Her face was framed with long brown waves, and the corners of her eyes drooped down slightly. Solana thought she looked pretty.

“D’you mind if we sit here? All the other compartments were full.” The boy responded. He had a slight wave in his short brown hair and gave Solana a boyish smile.

“You’re just saying that because you’re too lazy to find another compartment.” The girl smirked. The boy glared at her.

Solana forced an awkward smile, allowing herself to take a deep breath. “Of course, go ahead.” The duo sent her more smiles before dragging their trunks underneath the compartment seats. “My name is Solana Allen. Nice to meet you two.”

“Nice to meet you too! My name’s Mirasol Bailey. But you can call me Mira.”

“I’m Vincent Hallsworth. Are you in your first year as well?” The boy, Vincent, nodded with a cheeky smile. 

“Yeah. I’m honestly quite nervous about all this.” Solana smiled sheepishly but felt a lot better after meeting other first-year students.

“Really? What’s there to be worried about? Hogwarts is brilliant!” Vincent asked as he leaned back into his seat with a broad smile. Mira gave him a look before sending Solana a reassuring smile.

“Don’t mind him. I find Hogwarts a little intimidating as well. I mean, learning magic! What if I absolutely suck at it? Knowing my luck, I probably will.” Mira smiled, shaking her head as she laughed. 

“I’m glad I’m not the only one worried.” Solana smiled. 

And Solana wasn’t lying. She was worried about learning magic, but she also had other, more dangerous things to worry about.        

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After the Hogwarts train arrived at the train station, the students scurried out with their uniforms worn and items in tow. A loud booming voice echoed throughout the platform. “First years! First years!” And all the youngest students found themselves inching towards it. 

The voice came from a large man with long, fluffy hair; his beard even matched it. Despite his large stature, Solana found herself trusting the man. His eyes looked tired but still immensely kind. 

After what seemed like all the first years had gathered, the man Hagrid started leading them all towards a path down shore. All the students were met with a beautiful sight of the Hogwarts castle in the night sky. 

It was truly breath taking. The castle illuminated its surroundings naturally, and the slight breeze in the cold evening felt like a welcoming song to the students. “This is even better looking than the views back home.” Solana whispered with a slight smile on her face.

“I agree. Definitely beats the suburbs.” Mira smiled, her eyes complete with the same awe. 

“Everyone hop in a boat! No more than three students in one boat!” Hagrid hollered, and the students followed his instructions. Solana, Mira, and Vincent found themselves seated in a small wooden boat that started to magically float along the lake. 

Floating near their boat were some ginger-headed twin boys. They were making quite a ruckus, jumping around, causing their boat to sway and tilt. Solana looked at them with a smile but was also concerned that they might fall into the lake. 

“Blimey! I can’t wait to explore the grounds.” One of the boys said. 

“Let’s start tonight.” His brother replied. 

“I like the way you think, Fred.”            

The boys continued their antics, splashing their hands in the water and getting into a small water fight.

“Oi! You there! Stop that, you’ll wake ol’ Bessie!” Hagrid hollered.

“Who’s Bessie?” One of the boys, Fred, asked.

“The giant squid that lives in this lake. So you best beh-” Hagrid started.

“Wicked!” Both twins smiled gleefully before making an even bigger ruckus. 

The idea of a giant squid made Solana inch away from the water, well to the best of her ability. She was stuck in a small four-foot boat, and Mira and Vincent took up half of the space. All she wanted was to be back on land, safe and sound.

She didn’t want to spend her first night at Hogwarts, scared and scarred by some giant squid. And now that she thought about it more closely, Solana swore she saw a giant tentacle move in the deep water. 

She let out a little whimper as she eyed the water once more. “Oh, please stop!” She yelled at the twins. The boys merely looked up at her and smiled. “George. You reckon we should stop?” Fred asked.

“I don’t think we should, Fred.” George replied with a wide smile on his face.

The two boys then looked at themselves mischievously before simultaneously plunging their hands into the water and flicking them towards Solana and her new friends’ boats.

Solana let out a little scream, and Vincent and Mira made similar-sounding exasperated groans. “Okay! It was a little funny but still not cool!” Vincent said, wiping his drenched face. 

“Are you okay, Solana?” Mira asked as she tried to take out a handkerchief from her pouch, only to find it soaked with water from the lake. She let out a sigh, but a small little smile escaped from her lips. 

“Yeah. Are you okay, too?” Solana asked, drying her face and patting her clothes down.

Besides them, the twin boys only seemed to laugh and holler, and a couple of students joined them. Solana only rolled her eyes at them and tried not to pay them any more attention. She decided that she didn't like them all that much.  

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

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Early September 1989

1st Year

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Inside the castle, Hagrid left the students outside what he called the Great Hall as he went and grabbed a Professor. Soon a tall woman in green appeared before the students. She had a matching hat on her head, her hair tied into a low bun and a stern expression on her face.

"Good Evening. I'm Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress of Hogwarts. I hope your train ride was relaxing." She stated, after which she proceeded to introduce Hogwarts' house system, explaining the different traits of the houses and whatnot.

After her short speech, she looked behind the Great Hall doors to see if the new students were all allowed to enter. She seemed to be deep in thought before she turned around. "In just a few minutes, you will all be sorted. " She stated.

"I'm so nervous! But excited at the same time! I feel like I'm about to explode. What house do you think you'll be sorted into?" Mira whispered, nudging Solana with a smile.

"I'm really not too sure, but my mum was a Ravenclaw student."

"Vincent's whole family is full of Ravenclaws too. I reckon I'll be in Hufflepuff, though; I've never really been too smart." Mira smiled, nodding over to Vincent.

"Huh? Were you talking about me?" Vincent asked as he suddenly turned his head over to them.

"No. Go back to brushing your hair for the one-thousandth time." Mira retorted, shaking her head at Vincent. Solana giggled at their antics and looked back towards Professor McGonagall.

"Students, form a line and follow me."

The Great Hall was magnificent, the ceiling bewitched to look like the night sky. Candles floating aimlessly, lighting up the giant room. It was truly magical. The hall was large and had four long tables where students sat and a fifth table at the very end where the staff was located.

At the very centre of the table, Solana saw a man with an even longer beard than Hagrid. Even from afar, she could see his spectacled face and twinkling eyes. Headmaster Dumbledore. He stopped his eyes at her before looking at other students.

Soon, the new students were at the end of the hall, where a simple stool sat, a hat placed up on it. After the hat sang a quick song, Professor McGonagall stood beside it, taking out a list. "When I call out your name, please step forward."

"Abbott, Stuart!"

A blond-haired boy stepped forward, and Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his head. After a couple of seconds, the hat yelled out. "Hufflepuff!"

The table with students dressed in yellow erupted into claps, and Professor McGonagall flicked her wand, causing Stuart Abbott's uniform to adorn the same yellow accents as his new housemates.

"Allen, Solana!"

Solana felt her eyes widen slightly, not expecting to be called so quickly. She walked forward after receiving some reassuring smiles from Vincent and Mira.

Just before she sat down, she made eye contact with Headmaster Dumbledore. His eyes seemed to twinkle more.

She sat with her back straight and stiffened when the dusty old hat was placed atop her head.

A brilliant mind... That's the first thing about you... But you're also really resourceful and sly... Very good with your words and quick thinking... You'd do quite well in Slytherin... But that doesn't feel right... Yes... at the end of the day... This is where you'll be best...

"Ravenclaw!"

The other centred table, this time the one in blue, erupted into claps and cheers, and Solana's robes turned into a deep sapphire blue at the flick of Professor McGonagall's wand. Solana nodded and let out a forced smile at her fellow Ravenclaws before looking back at the hat.

She quickly stood up and took a seat at the end, where there was reserved space for the first years and greeted her senior Ravenclaws.

"Welcome to Ravenclaw!" An older boy next to her smiled as he offered his hand.

"Thank you." Solana responded as she awkwardly smiled and shook his hand.

After her sorting, everyone else's sorting seemed to go faster. Mira had gotten called after her, and she walked excitedly towards the stool. The hat seemed to ponder atop her head, just like it did with Solana before it yelled out, "Ravenclaw!"

Solana was pleasantly surprised, but Mira had an even more surprised, confused and even worried expression on her face as she walked towards the Ravenclaw table. "Should I be surprised to see you here?" Solana smiled. "I don't know why it put me in Ravenclaw!" Mira shrugged nervously before taking a seat.

Cedric Diggory got sorted in Hufflepuff next. Then a whole flurry of students sorted respectively to the four houses, including Vincent, who unsurprisingly also sat beside the girls in his new sapphire accented robes. It felt like an entire hour had passed when the final few students got sorted. It was the two red-headed twins.

"Weasley, Fred!"

Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat atop the giggling ginger, but after a mere few seconds, the hat yelled out, "Gryffindor!" causing the boy to flash a toothy grin. His brother George Weasley came next, and although the hat took a bit longer to sort him, he went to Gryffindor along with his brother.

Solana watched as the two boys greet another ginger-haired boy at their table. Must be a family thing like Vincent's.

After sorting, Professor Dumbledore gave a speech, and afterwards, everyone started digging into their supper. Solana felt calm and allowed herself to feel happy as she dug into her delicious dinner, listening to her fellow students' conversations.

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The trio of friends, as well as the other Ravenclaw in their first year, followed along with their Ravenclaw prefect, Arabella, as she guided them to their dormitories. Solana and Mira often giggling at one another as the paintings waved enthusiastically at them.

"Be careful with the staircases, everyone. They have a slight tendency to move." Arabella said as a staircase shifted in front of them.

"This looks like a safety hazard." Solana said out loud.

"No kidding. I'll definitely end up being late to class because of these things." Mira said as she held onto the stone handrails tightly.

After arriving at an extravagant door with a giant golden statue of some sort of bird, the prefect paused. "Now, to enter the common room, you'll have to answer a riddle." Arabella explained. The golden statue started to shift as it suddenly spoke. "I am the beginning of the end and the end of time and space. What am I?"

"Anyone know the answer?" Arabella smiled confidently, Sabrina was sure that she already knew the answer, but she wasn't sure if she was making them answer to brag or because she wanted them to try.

Sabrina processed what the statue said and simply gawked in surprise. She looked over at Mira, who seemed to be extremely confused.

"E." Vincent suddenly spoke, smiling brightly when the door began to open. "Good job. Come on in, everyone."

"Wait! But what happens if you don't know how to solve the riddle?" Mira suddenly asked. "You gotta wait for someone else to come and solve it then." Arabella smiled. "The sorting hat must have definitely put me in the wrong house." Mira muttered. "It's okay, Mira. You can make me look better in front of our parents." Vincent smiled cheekily.

"Oh, shut up." Mira muttered.

Arabella led them through a few more flights of stairs before they arrived in large conjoined circular rooms. The room was bright and decorated with white and blue furniture. Walls were adorned with bookcases and had many dedicated worktables for students. Since the common room was atop the Ravenclaw tower, the rooms had large windows which overlooked the rest of the castle.

Arabella quickly pointed the directions to the girls' and boys' dormitories, mentioning a few other rules about slippery staircases before disappearing.

Solana quite enjoyed the common room. It seemed like a peaceful place to nap amidst the chilly weather in Scotland. Mira and Solana excitedly walked up the stairs to the girl's dormitory after bidding farewell to Vincent, carefully looking at the plaques for their names.

Allen, Bailey, Morgan, Singh

The two girls walked in and saw their trunks and other items placed neatly in the centre of the room. The room was spacious enough and had two sets of bunk beds that had curtains for privacy. It looked elegant and quaint. "I call dibs on this bed." Mira yelled, jumping into one of the bottom bunks.

"I guess I'll take the top bunk then." Solana smiled as she pulled her trunk towards her bed.

Their dormitory door suddenly opened, and two girls walked in. "Oh, hello, guess you must be our dorm mates. I'm Asha Singh." A brown-skinned girl said with a cheeky smile.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Harper Morgan." The blonde-haired girl said.

The four girls quickly introduced themselves and quickly warmed up to each other. As the group of girls chatted around, giggling as they shared stories and jokes, a knock was heard at the door. A very short man opened the door and stood patiently outside, quickly causing the girls to hush their voices.

"Good evening, girls. I'm Professor Flitwick, head of Ravenclaw House. Miss Allen, may I speak to you?" Solana blinked slowly before she stood up, aware of the prying eyes of her new friends. She followed the Ravenclaw head through the tower before arriving at what seemed to be Professor Flitwicks's office.

It was impeccably neat, with bookshelves lining the walls. Indigo curtains and carpets decorated the room. In the middle of the room was a large desk and a witch sitting patiently. She wore a white and grey dress, and her eyes seemed to brighten when Solana and Professor Flitwick walked in.

Solana sat down on the chair next to the witch whilst Professor Flitwick sat in his own special seat. "Miss Allen, we're here to discuss the arrangement for your lycanthropy."

Solana nodded, suddenly feeling her soul sucked in as she stilled in her seat.

"Your mother sent us a letter, as I'm sure you're aware of. Hogwarts doesn't often have students with the condition, but it's something we've faced before, so you can ease any nerves you have."

"For the sake of everyone, we believe it's best to exercise secrecy when it comes to your condition. Of course, if you do choose to, only share your secret with someone you really trust."

"This is Madame Pomfrey. She's the school healer. We have a special location which Madame Pomfrey will bring you to every full moon for your transformation. After dawn, she'll come get you and bring you to the infirmary to heal any injuries you have."

Solana nodded as she stared at Madame Pomfrey. She looked at her with a warm smile, but Solana could sense pity in her eyes. "Nice to meet you, dear."

"Nice to meet you too. Thank you for helping me."

"No worries, child, it's my duty and honour."

"Is it...far... The location?" Solana asked. "It's not too far from the castle. A little beyond Hogsmeade Village, the nearby wizarding town." said Professor Flitwick.

Solana nodded. "You don't have to worry about anyone accidentally stumbling there. There's a false rumour spread about it being haunted, so most students generally avoid it. Either way, it's quite difficult to reach if you don't know the route."

Solana nodded silently once more as she picked at her fingers. After a couple more questions and explanations, she was dismissed and made her back to her dormitory. Solana let out a little sigh, trying to make herself feel better. She had almost forgotten that she wasn't just a normal student.

She walked back into her room and saw her dorm mates still awake but already changed into their pajamas, looking like they were laughing about something. "Hey, welcome back!" Mira smiled. "Hi." Solana replied quickly.

"What did Professor Flitwick want?" Harper asked as she brushed her hair.

"Oh, my mother just sent him a letter about something." Solana swiftly said, saying one of the many random excuses she's prepared. She technically wasn’t lying. The girls looked satisfied with her answer and didn't press any further. But truthfully, Solana wasn't sure if she could pull this off for a whole seven years.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

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Early September 1989

1st Year

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Solana felt her eyes flutter as they adjusted to a sudden burst of light. Asha stood in front of her and Mira's bunk bed, wand in hand, smiling. "Time to wake up, ladies."

Mira groaned from underneath, and Solana assumed she must have covered her face with her pillow because Asha immediately snatched it up.

"Nope. Come on, get up! It's the first day of class, and we got to earn some house points." Asha said.

"Exactly! It's the first day, and we should go back to bed." Mira muttered sleepily.

Solana sighed and begrudgingly got out of bed. She glanced at the enchanted clock hung on the wall. They had an hour before their class. "Okay, Mira, get up, " she said before grabbing the girl's arm and yanking her out of bed with ease.

"Jeez! How did you-" Mira frowned before standing up.

"Sorry." Solana smiled.

Their shared bathroom opened, and Harper came out, hair wet and teeth already brushed. "We'll wait for you." Asha said as she grabbed one of their textbooks, already halfway through it.

Mira and Solana walked into the bathroom and quickly brushed their teeth. Mira opted to take a morning shower to "wake herself up," and Solana decided to braid her hair. She preferred night-time showers.

After twenty minutes, all of the girls were finally ready, and they came out of their dorm. Vincent was waiting for them in the common room, chatting with some other first-year boys. "Oi, you're here earlier than I thought you'd be, " he said.

"Blame her." Mira grumbled at Asha, who was immersed in her book. The group of Ravenclaws walked together, forming their own little sub-groups, with Solana, Mira and Vincent walking together.

"Say, how do you two know each other?" Solana asked.

"Oh, this tiny brat's my neighbour." Vincent gleamed, patting Mira's head like she was a toddler. She was rather short.

"Poor me, right?" Mira made a face, causing Solana to giggle. "That's fun. My place is pretty far from any other houses."

"Sounds boring! How are you surviving?" Vincent said.

"I usually hang out with my sister. She's great. I actually have a letter that I already wrote for her. I was planning on owling it when I find the time today."

"Probably before dinner, right?" Mira suggested, to which Solana nodded.

"Sounds good. I was planning on exploring the castle. I want to get familiar with the layout." Vincent suggested.

"Guess we got a plan." Solana smiled.

The First Year Ravenclaws arrived at the Great Hall, scampering into the seats as they quickly filled their mouths with pancakes, porridge or whatever they could grab. Solana thought the food was quite delicious and definitely a lot more flavourful than what she was used to at home.

As they all peacefully ate and chatted, a loud boom suddenly echoed through the halls, and the trio of friends' eyes darted towards the Gryffindor table, where a student with a freshly burnt haircut was doused in pumpkin juice.

"Weasley! I'm going to kill you." A black-haired boy suddenly screamed as he started chasing after two twins who were running away.

The whole Great Hall laughed as the students chased each other around before they finally exited the hall.

"And with that, I'll head off first." Asha said, clutching her books in her arms. A couple of Ravenclaws stood with her, but Vincent and Solana told them to go ahead first since Mira was still finishing a slice of her pancakes.

"My mother- always- told- me to- finish- my food." She said between bites. "She sounds great." Solana smiled.

"Yeah, you bet she is. She makes amazing Filipino food. You should try it." Vincent replied.

"Who are you?- Speaking for- my- mum!" Mira said.

"She's basically my second mother!" Vincent retorted, Solana's only gleamed as her eyes darted between her two friends.

Finally, after a few more minutes, Mira finally finished every last bit of her food, and the trio of friends found themselves running to their class.

"I call dibs to sit with Solana." Mira started but was quickly cut off by Vincent.

"But you already dorm with her!"

"Yeah, but I'm tired of dealing with your mess!"

"My mess!?

"Why don't you two continue dealing with each other's messes. I ain't sitting with either of you." Solana suddenly said, immediately shutting the two kids up.

"But-"

"Why!"

"Kind of funny," Solana shrugged, her eyes darting between them. Before the two friends could reply, she walked into the History of Magic class. The room was already filled to the brim with blue and red-clad students. The only remaining seats were a few couple at the back.

Solana smiled at her two friends, who shuffled in behind her. She took a seat in the second-to-last row, placing her bag on the seat beside her before she gestured the two towards the empty set of chairs in front of her.

Begrudgingly, the two childhood friends sat together in front of Solana. She quickly picked back her bag and placed it on the ground so that any other student could sit in it.

Soon, class started, and Professor Binns started his class talking about the 1991 Gargoyle Strikes.

Solana's eyes focused, and she quickly scribbled notes in her textbook and on a separate parchment summarising the key parts.

"Bloody amazing prank you two pulled." A voice suddenly muttered behind her.

"I know. I know."

"Why'd you prank Charles Kelly, though?"

"Didn't you hear him? He's one of the current beaters on the team. And he was threatening everyone not to take his position."

"Do you even reckon he's any good?"

"Nah." The voice chuckled.

Solana shook her head and quickly tried to focus back towards the class, but Professor Binns was still on the same topic, just reiterating things with different words.

Solana's eyes drooped, and she could already see Mira sleeping in front of her. The morning shower clearly didn't work. Vincent seemed bored and was mindlessly flipping through the pages of his book.

"Where do you think Fred wounded himself up to?"

"Dunno, all I know is I threw a dungbomb and we ran off in separate directions."

"Damn. Do you think Kelly got him?"

"No way."

The door suddenly swung open, and Solana found herself scrunching her nose as a putrid smell hit her nostrils. No one else around her seemed to have noticed it yet, and Solana was surprised she didn't smell it any sooner.

"Speak of the devil."

Solana turned around and eyed the red-headed boy at the door, briefly catching a glimpse of his brother and a dreaded locked boy sitting behind her.

She watched as the boy walked towards the empty seat beside her, and her face further morphed into disgust as the smell grew stronger.

The boy, Fred, simply walked forward with a sheepish smile on his face. The whole class finally seemed to notice the stench and gave him annoyed stares, but the boy didn't seem too embarrassed and sat down, instead he immediately turned towards his twin sitting behind him.

"You'll be glad to know that Kelly got hit with most of the dungbomb."

His brother smiled. "What took you so long!"

"Had to take the long way round'."

"You smell awful." Solana suddenly said, covering her nose with her hand.

"Yeah! About that. You won't happen to know a counter-spell, would you?" Fred smiled, leaning forward, causing Solana to inch away from him.

"No, no. Oh Merlin! Don't come any closer!" Solana gagged, turning away from him before holding her breath. "Vincent. Please tell me you can fix this." Solana whispered, causing the boy to turn around.

"I only known one cleaning charm. Scourgify." Vincent flicked his wand, and suddenly Fred flinched in surprise.

"Oh, that's a weird feeling. Something's scrubbing me. You can stop now, okay? I said stop!" Fred said as he rubbed his arms. His brother and friend only laughed.

Vincent leaned backwards. "There, you smell fine now."

"Awh, Freddie! Do you still need to be given baths?" His brother laughed. "Oh, sod off, George! You're the reason I stink in the first place."

Professor Binns had miraculously not heard any of this ruckus, let alone the awful stench. Solana assumed it must be a ghost thing, and she wondered if ghosts could taste food. She finally started to breathe but felt herself choke when she realised that she could still smell it.

It was a lot less strong, but it was definitely there.

She let out an annoyed sigh as she stared at the red-headed boy beside her.

"What? What'd I do?" Fred asked, a confused expression on his face.

"Oh, nothing, shh." She whispered before looking back towards her parchment, trying her best not to pay attention to Mr. Smelly.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

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Mid September 1989

1st Year

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A couple weeks had passed by, and Solana was finally starting to settle into a steady rhythm. She would attend her lessons, and spend a majority of her day doing her assignments, before ending the day chatting with her new friends.

It was quite uneventful compared to other students, but Solana thought it was interesting enough. Even though she would often get headaches, she grew to enjoy doing her schoolwork, finding the sensation of challenging her brain nice.

Mira has proven herself to be quite the social butterfly, already befriending a lot of students from other classes. Solana would find herself stuck with Mira and her friends, but she often stayed silent, only speaking whenever spoken to.

Vincent had the most balanced schedule out of the three. He always made sure to hand his assignments on time, he was popular enough already, and he was often playing around his broom during his free time.

Vincent and Solana were currently sitting in the vacant Great Hall, eating breakfast. It was the weekends, and despite being only two weeks into the year, a lot of students were already sleeping in late, Mira included.

"Jenkins was telling me, that the only real trouble is that older Weasley student. I forgot his name. Charles? Christian? Either way, he's apparently a pretty good seeker."

"You mean that guy?" Solana asked, staring at a cute and older guy sitting on the Gryffindor table. Aside from the obnoxious twins in her year, there was no other red head than him in Gryffindor. His hair was shaggy and long, but the guy was obviously very fit.

"Yup. Exactly him. Watch me Solana, I'm gonna be just like him. Heck, I'll be better than him!"

"Sure, Vincent. Go for it." Solana said with an amused smile as Vincent clenched his fork, stabbing into a sausage before eating it.

A flurry of hoots and calls suddenly echoed throughout the Great Hall, as a fleet of owls swooped in from one of the large opened windows. Students beamed as letters started to drop, snatching them up quickly and reading.

Solana watched expectantly, searching the ceiling for the light brown tawny owl she had attached a letter to for her sister. She'd been eagerly waiting for a response, and each day when no owl came, it left her feeling a little lonely.

Today was different however, as she spotted it and smiled at the new rolls of parchment attached to its talons. "My sister’s finally written back."

"Took her long enough." Vincent said after chewing his sausage. Solana smiled and shook her head at him.

The owl swooped past the Ravenclaw table, dropping the letter into Solana's lap before leaving the Great Hall. Solana eagerly tore open the letter, her eyes blanked when she recognised her mother's cursive handwriting.

Dear Solana,

Aurelia told me you got into Ravenclaw. That's good. I hope to hear only good grades from you. Your sister has also written something for you.

From, Mum

Solana felt herself tense, but quickly flipped the parchment over.

To my favourite sister!

I already miss you so much! The day you left, I slept in your room and cried. I don't know when you will get this letter, but I assume it'll be late because of mum.

How are you doing now? Are you still friends with Mira and Vincent? Do you miss me? I miss you.

The house is so empty without you, please come back soon.

From, Aurelia

Aurelia's letter was riddled with misspelled words and messy handwriting, but Solana didn't struggle reading it, knowing exactly what her sister was saying.

"Looks exactly like an eight year old wrote it." Vincent said, peering over Solana's shoulder.

"She's nine." Solana smiled. She neatly folded the letter, and placed it in one of her many robe pockets.

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"You guys picked a really bad day to do more exploring!" Mira cried as she quickly skimmed through her Potions textbook.

"And you, picked a really bad day to start your three page Potions essay." Solana retorted, as she helped carry some of Mira's other textbooks.

"Oh! Don't remind me. Who knew Snape would give two big essays due on the same day? He's crazy!"

"Don't worry too much Mira. Your two genius friends are here to help." Vincent said.

"And plus, we're not even going to explore all that much today. We're just going to find an open area to sit where Vincent can also practice." Solana said.

"Speaking of, this place looks good." Vincent said.

The trio found themselves in an open field, Hagrid's hut was within viewing distance, and although they were close to the Forbidden Forest, they were still kind of far from it.

Mira immediately sat herself down on a large flat rock, and started messily scribbling down the introduction of her essay. "I don't think Snape's going to enjoy reading that." Solana said.

Mira continued scribbling down, muttering potions terms incoherently. Vincent dropped his stuff and got on his broom, before flying around the girls.

"Then again, he knew we wouldn't enjoy this essay, and he still assigned it." Solana added.

"Why did I do this? Merlin, I'm such an idiot. I swear! Next week, I'll do things early just like you guys." Mira frowned as she massaged her hand, which had already started to cramp.

"Hey, hey, don't worry too much about this. We're just teasing you. It's still early into the year, it's going to be just fine Mira." Solana smiled, sitting down beside Mira, and giving her a few reassuring pats.

The two girls proceeded to share and discuss their notes, after two hours or so, Vincent was done flying his loops and landed beside the girls.

After Vincent also started to help, it only seemed a matter of time before Mira's essay was done. "Oh! You're the best! I owe you." Mira smiled as she jumped and wrapped her arms around Solana in a hug.

"No worries, Mira." Solana smiled as she hugged back. She loved hugs, they made her feel warm and safe.

"Okay, I know I only really helped at the end, but do I not get a hug as well?" Vincent said, eyebrows perked.

"Ew, no way stinky." Mira said as she hugged Solana tighter. Vincent feigned a hurt reaction before chuckling.

The trio sat in silence, and stared at their surrounding scenery. It was a perfect day in Solana's eyes to be out and about, although the sun wasn't out, and the sky was quite cloudy. There was a gentle breeze that floated around, causing the grass and leaves to flutter.

"Say, what'd you reckons in the Forbidden Forest?" Vincent suddenly said, his eyes glued towards the dark, looming forest in the distance.

"I dunno. But must be something dangerous since Professor Dumbledore said something about peril and gruesome death." Solana smiled jokingly.

"I heard there's a pack of werewolves in there!" Mira exclaimed, wiping off the smile on Solana's face. "Oh."

"Where'd you hear that from?" Vincent asked, one of his eyebrows quirked.

"Some of my Gryffindor friends, apparently some of them snuck out and explored the forest."

"Let me guess, the Weasley twins?" Vincent said.

"Well yes it was them, but I actually heard about it from Angelina and Alicia."

Solana had kept silent the entire time, and maintained a strict poker face even though her heart was yelling at her to cry and frown. Of course, her friends are scared of werewolves. If they ever found out she was a werewolf. They would leave her. Who would want to be friends with a monster?

"Don't believe em' I say. They're probably just saying that stuff to look brave or cool. They look more like idiots to me." Vincent said, causing the corners of Solana's lips to turn upwards.

"You got that right." Solana muttered quietly. Over the few weeks, she had began to disdain being in the presence of the twins. But only because they were often doused in scents of gunpowder or the usual dungbomb. She could always smell them before she saw them, and dubbed them stinky boys inside her head. 

"I dunno why you two seem to dislike them. They're really funny y'know." Mira said.

"Yeah? Wait till you're on the other side of one of their pranks. Tell you what, their next prank is probably going to be on the Ravenclaws." Solana said.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

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Late September 1989

1st year

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Solana was sitting peacefully in the Ravenclaw common room, flicking through her Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook. She didn't feel like eating dinner today, and opted to skip it since her stomach wasn't feeling well. In fact, her entire body was filled with aches.

Solana knew that it was a sign, that in around one week or so, the full moon would be up and about, taunting her as she transformed into a werewolf. Usually, thanks to her mum's clever thinking, Solana was able to subside the pain, but it has proven to be a lot more difficult at Hogwarts, since there were always a pair of lingering eyes.

A part of her just wished, to leave the castle, and make herself feel better. She had her own free will, she was in pain and she knew how to make herself feel better.

When she was a mere 5-year-old, her mother had miraculously helped her obtain an animagus form. Solana couldn't really remember much of the process anymore, but she knew they had tried countless times, and that the run that had succeeded had been extremely painful.

They had managed to find out, that if Solana transformed into her animagus form before her werewolf transformation, she would somehow be able to not only retain her human consciousness but also be able to withstand and block any feelings of pain during the transformation. It also enhanced Solana’s natural senses, allowing her to hear or see things better, increase her strength and speed, even whilst she wasn’t transformed.

Although it was extremely tedious and difficult, in the long run, Solana's mum always said it was better. Cheaper than concocting a weeks worth of wolfsbane every month. The ingredients were hard to come by, and not to mention, very expensive, especially for her family.

"Hey Sol, you still not feeling better?" Mira said, interrupting any thoughts that Solana had. She sent her a soft smile as she plopped herself into a vacant chair, her brown hair beautifully pleated. "Oh, yeah. I might head to Madame Pomfrey's."

Mira lifted her hand gently and placed in on top of Solana's head. "Geez, girl, you're burning up. You must have a really high fever."

"I guess that explains why I feel so weak." Solana said simply, too tired to mention anything else. 

"C'mon, let's go. I'll drop you off there. You should probably rest for the entire weekend."

"But we have, three essays due in the next few days."

"You're starting to sound like Vincent. Shush, and come."

Solana let herself get lifted and pulled by Mirasol, not bothering to fix her books out of complete exhaustion. They made their way down the circular stairs, with Mira supporting her weight the entire time.

As they got closer to the eagle statue, Solana felt an overwhelming sense of dread as an awful stench hit her nose. "Wait!" Solana said as she quickly stumbled back, but Mira had already made it through the newly opened archway, completely drenched in a substance that Solana didn't know.

Mira let out a screech as she got up from the ground. The moment she walked past the archway, a bucket that Solana assumed was being levitated dropped. Not only did its sticky green substance fall out of it, but the bucket also seemed to have bonked Mira's head. 

Mira was covered head to toe in a green sticky mucus. It looked disgusting. Mira's beautiful pleated hair was now stained green and looked more like a dirty mop. 

The moment Mira got covered, the culprits came out of their hiding spot to gloat. "Haha! I think we got them!" A voice that Solana had grown to despise said.

"Punyeta kayo! My hair! What is this?" Mira cried out, cringing as she held her hair out. Students started to scurry towards the commotion.

"Just some flobberworm mucus we collected." One of the Weasley twins laughed. 

Solana quickly stepped in front of her friend. "It's not funny." Solana said, mustering all her anger and energy to act tough. 

"Everyone else seems to think so." Weasley, twin number two, said, as he gestured at the crowd who'd gathered around them. Solana quickly darted her eyes and felt a pang of anger as she noticed all the smiles on her schoolmates, her housemates faces. 

Mira let out a whimper, and Solana only managed to catch a glimpse of her teary eyes before she darted away into the corridor. Solana let out a deep sigh as she tried to gather herself. "It could have been any one of us, whoever walked out of the common room-." She began to mutter but quickly stopped talking when she realised no one was really paying attention to what she was saying.

She started to walk away when one of the twins called her back. 

"Wait- George- Look- Allen's. Hey Allen!" He said.

"What." Solana said with as much fierceness as she could muster, but it only made the two boys smirk. 

"How did you not get, slimed?" The boy replied. 

Solana let out a scoff. "I bet you don't even feel sorry." She replied, not bothering to reply as she ran after her friend, whose trail was unfortunately quite easy to follow. It led to the closest girl's toilet. When she neared the door, she noticed a group of snickering girls coming out. 

She pushed the toilet door open and her eyes immediately landed on Mira, who was desperately trying to wash her hair in the sink to no avail. Mira had stopped crying, but her face was solemn and frustrated. 

"Hey. I yelled at them." Solana said simply.

The thought of it must have made Mira happy, because a smile quickly appeared on her face. "Of course, you did."

"It won't come out. It's completely stuck to it." Mira said as she continued picking at her hair. 

"I guess we both need to visit Madame Pomfrey's. C'mon." Solana sent her a soft smile. 

"Yeah. Yeah. Let's do that." Mira said as she washed her hands, which still remained sticky. 

"I can totally understand why you guys don't like them now." Mira said as they left the bathroom.

"Took you long enough." Solana smiled. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

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Late September 1989

1st Year

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“Sorry guys, I think I got to go see Madame Pomfrey again.” Solana mumbled as she slowly started getting up from her chair. Asha had planned a study group to look into the months content, and Solana had really wanted to join, but she was really starting to feel awful.

She hadn’t been able to find a single moment alone, and she didn’t feel like breaking any curfew rules, so the week leading up to the full-moon, she didn’t use her animagus form for comfort.

The table of first year students shot her some concerned gazes.

“That’s your fifth visit this week. How aren’t you feeling better?” Asha said as she looked at her from behind her book. “I...” Solana muttered, not having any energy to argue or think of any thing to say.

“It’s honestly fine Solana. It’s not like you need the extra study session, you must have gotten sick from overworking yourself so much.” Mira said with a comforting smile.

“D’you want us to come drop you off?” Vincent asked, getting ready to stand up.

“No, no. It’s okay. I don’t want to bother you guys any more than I already have.” Solana said quickly. “Have a good study session.” She said before leaving the Ravenclaw common room as fast as she could.

Solana started making her way down to Ravenclaw tower and towards the infirmary. She had become rather familiar with the route, since she had practically been going there every day for the past week. But each time, the walk there felt more like a trek.

Hogwarts castle is much, much larger than her small little cottage.

Every now and then, Solana would find herself stopping to take a break, sitting by windowsills to catch her breath and give her sore muscles a break. But each time she would get up after a minute or so, because her head was willing to get some help. It felt like there was a rock inside her skull, and someone was repeatedly smashing it into her head and swirling her brain into mush.

After a long while, Solana found herself faced to faced with a familiar white-windowed door. She gave a quiet knock and waited patiently for Madame Pomfrey to open the door. After a few more seconds of waiting, the door opened and revealed a focused Madame Pomfrey in her familiar white nurse gown.

“Oh Solana! I’m surprised I didn’t see you here sooner. Come.” Madame Pomfrey beckoned her inside. She quickly sat down on the third bed on the left side of the infirmary, it was where she usually laid. “I’ll get you some water.” Madame Pomfrey shot Solana a look, before disappearing into her office.

Solana sat patiently on her infirmary bed, letting her eyes wander around the mostly empty infirmary. The only student in the infirmary was an older ginger haired boy who seemed to be packing his stuff.

Solana noted his bandaged arm and watched as he stuffed a wooden dragon figurine into his robe pocket. Afterwards he grabbed his bag and started making his way out. He shot Solana a small, reassuring smile before leaving.

What a pleasant, pleasant dude. She was pretty sure that boy was the Weasley twins older brother. She’d seen him multiple times around the Great Hall and noticed that he was usually quite quiet. Why couldn’t the twins be more like him?

“Here you go dear.” Madame Pomfrey said as she handed Solana a flask of midnight blue liquid. The colour was a kin to the sapphire blue of Solana’s robes, but it had a slight silvery sheen to it. Solana had become rather familiar with it. Wolfsbane.

It’s familiar strong scent of mandrake leaves and beans had hit Solana’s nose as soon as Madame Pomfrey entered the infirmary. Solana gave Madame Pomfrey a gentle smile before taking the flask, taking a deep breath before chugging the potion as fast as she could.

Each time before she drank it, she thought she would be able to handle it. But each time, the bitter taste hit her tongue, she wanted to spit it out almost immediately.

Solana gagged slightly as she finally downed the potion.

“Thank you Madame Pomfrey. I think I’ll take a nap now.” Solana said dazed. “Of course dear. I’ll be in my office, and I’ll wake you up later before the moon rises.” Madame Pomfrey said.

Solana felt herself frown immediately, realising that this would be her first ever transformation in somewhere that wasn’t home. She thought back to how miserable her week had been. Filled with aches, sores, and pain all throughout her body.

Eventually her eyes started to droop, and Solana found herself drifting to sleep.

──────⊹⊱☽⊰⊹──────

“Miss Allen? Time to wake up.” A familiar gentle voice said.

Solana shifted in the bed and eventually opened her eyes. What time was it? How long had she managed to rest? She looked outside and saw that it was just about time for sundown.

She must have slept for four hours straight. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel a bit better.” Solana muttered honestly. It had been a few days since she managed to sleep properly, often waking up in the middle of the night, gazing up at the moon in anger. Nonetheless, she still felt a burning sensation in her skin and muscles.

“That’s good. Now, we must go.” Madame Pomfrey said as she put on a robe.

Solana got up and put her hood up, following Madame Pomfrey out the infirmary. She managed to get a quick glance at the locked infirmary door, which now had a sign that said ‘Gone to get supplies’.

The sky was turning into a beautiful shade of orange, and Solana knew that Mirasol was somewhere in the castle, probably gazing at it and thinking about how beautiful it was.

Because of the time, there was no one outside. Madame Pomfrey and her walking silently as they walked deeper and deeper into Hogwarts grounds. Eventually, in the distance, Solana started to see a few houses appear.

Solan knew that it must be Hogsmeade Village, which meant this mysterious location was somewhere nearby.

They walked for a few more minutes, and Solana suddenly got sight of a gigantic tree with needle like leaves, swaying slightly in the Autumn wind. “This is the Hogwarts Whomping Willow.” Madame Pomfrey stated, seeing the surprised look on Solana’s face.

“It guards the entrance to the shack. You’ll notice that it does move, and it will attack if you get closer.” Madame Pomfrey.

“How are we supposed to get to the entrance then?” Solana whispered, eyes filling with anxiety.

“You should’ve already learnt this spell in Charms. Watch. Wingardium leviosa.” Madame Pomfrey swished and flicked her wand, causing a random rock on the ground to levitate. She moved her wand towards the tree, and the rock floated towards it.

Solana watched as the rock hovered over a particularly bulbous tree rot before it dropped and pressed into it. Immediately, the tree stilled and remained dormant. “Quickly, come.” Madame Pomfrey said as she sped walk towards the tree.

Solana stared nervously at the tree before running after Madame Pomfrey, letting out a little whimper as she got closer to the tree. The sun was about to start reaching the horizon.

When the pair of witches got closer to the base of the tree, Solana suddenly noticed the small, inconspicuous hole, it was a tunnel. Madame Pomfrey took the lead, walking into the tunnel as if she had already done it a dozen times. Solana followed closely behind her.

“You only have about a minute and a half to get into this tunnel before the tree starts moving again.” Madame Pomfrey suddenly said, holding her hand as a torch in the dark tunnel.

Solana stayed silent, not saying anything, she was starting to get overwhelmed by the situation. That or maybe the effects of the moon were starting to affect her body.

Eventually, after a few minutes of walking in the twisting dark tunnel, they found a wooden hatch on the ceiling of the tunnel. Madame Pomfrey pushed against it, causing a ladder to magically appear. She climbed up the ladder, and Solana followed her lead.

The two witches found themselves in a dusty wooden shack. It was spacious enough, for a werewolf at least. The doors and windows were completely bolted, and there were only a few pockets of glass that she could see the outside environment with.

“Welcome to Shrieking Shack. You’ll be staying here for the duration of your transformation. After I leave, I will lock the wooden hatch, and there should be no way for your werewolf form to leave. Here is some water, and some food for you to take before your transformation.”

Madame Pomfrey stated quickly, looking outside and seeing hints of purple start to streak the sky.

“Okay.” Solana simply said. This was it. Her first ever transformation outside of home. It wasn’t too different. She was essentially locked up in a room, and all she could do was wait there for the full moon to rise.

“I will come and get you in the morning, and we’ll continue on from there. Do you have any questions?” Madame Pomfrey said once more, her eyes started to convey a sense of urgency and concern. Solana was sure that she was probably starting to get worried of being stuck in a room with a werewolf.

“I’m okay Madame Pomfrey. Please, quickly go. The moon is going to rise soon.” Solana said. She sat in the corner of the shack, watching as Madame Pomfrey shoot her a concerned look, and disappeared into the tunnel.

A couple minutes went by, and Solana felt a few tears escape her eyes. She quickly rubbed them away. I have to do this. I have no choice. She thought.

She stood up from the ground, and peeked at the window. She could see the moon start peaking out from the horizon. Solana took a deep breath, chugged the water jug that Madame Pomfrey had left her, and devoured the few biscuits she gave.

Solana let out another breath and sat down. She closed her eyes, and willed herself to change. She envisioned her animagus form, the grey lynx. She imagined the fluffy pointed ears, the short muzzle, the dense fur and the short stubby tail. She imagined all her colourations, from her blue-grey coat to the brown spots along her back.

Solana opened her eyes, and looked down. Noting that her small hands, were now replaced with fluffy paws. It was a transformation that Solana had been looking forward to all week. All the pain that she had, had now disappeared, even the feelings of anxiety and worry, they were all washed away when her she seamlessly shifted into her animagus form.

The grey lynx stared at the window, and silently watched as the moon continued to rise.

The full moon finally rose, and the moment a glimmer of moonlight hit her body. Her body started to shake violently. It was painless since she was in her animagus form, but she felt a strange and foreign feeling. Her body began to stretch and change, morphing into a different type of beast.

After a few more minutes, a new beast had taken residence at the Shrieking Shack. A grey werewolf with feline characteristics.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

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Late October 1989

1st Year

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Solana felt her eyes flutter open. Her eyes adjusted to the light as she stared at the infirmary ceiling. She hadn’t looked around the infirmary, but she just had a feeling that it was empty. It had been exactly the same last month.

She had last closed her eyes in the Shrieking Shack, and opened them in the infirmary.

As if magically sensing her, Madame Pomfrey walked into the infirmary from her office. “Good morning Miss Allen, how are you feeling?” She asked. Solana gave her the same response she told her last month. “A little sore.”

“Drink this. It should relax your muscles.” Madame Pomfrey said as she handed Solana a blue potion.

“Is this a calming draught potion?” Solana asked as she swallowed the potion in one gulp.

“Why yes? How did you know? You’re not supposed to learn about that potion until your fifth year.”

“My mother brews it a lot.”

“Ah... I see. Well dear, I suggest you take some rest now.”

“Actually, I was wondering if I could head to class.”

“Oh. Are you sure?” Madame Pomfrey looked at Solana sceptically.

“Yes. I feel that I’ve been falling behind my classes as of recent.” Solana said, fidgeting with her robes as she sat up on the infirmary bed.

“Oh dearie. You’re just a first year. You shouldn’t be worrying about your grades yet. Are you sure you don’t want to rest?” Madame Pomfrey said, a warm gaze behind her eyes.

“Yes. I’m sure Madame Pomfrey. Thank you.”

“Okay dear. Just come by if you don’t feel well.”

Solana nodded. She shot a quick look at the clock hanging on the wall. 10:14. It should be History of Magic now. Solana got out of the bed and walked out of the infirmary, heading towards Ravenclaw tower to grab her books.

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Solana rushed into the History of Magic classroom. She opened the door, and the sudden noise must have startled everyone as they all swivelled their heads towards her, even the ever so focused Professor Binns casted his gaze upon her.

“Ah. Miss Allen. Welcome. Please take your seat.” He said, not giving her much thought.

Solana nodded and looked down sheepishly. Solana assumed that the class must have been quite boring already, even though she had only missed thirty minutes of it, since everyone’s eyes still seemed to be peeled onto her.

“You look awful.” A voice suddenly said beside her, causing Solana to stiffen slightly. Solana felt herself release an inward sigh, turning her head towards the culprit. “Thanks.” She said monotone, a wild contrast compared to the smiley red-headed boy next to her.

She turned away from him, and started to take out her textbook from her bag, when an impulsive urge hit her. “And you. Smell awful. Again.” She whispered underneath her breath.

“Huh? What was that?” Fred said, completely oblivious to what she said. “Nothing.” Solana replied in the same stiff tone.

Fred taking the hint that Solana wanted to be left alone, swivelled his seat around as he started to Lee Jordan. Solana shook her head at the boys and took out her A History of Magic textbook, as well as some spare parchment.

“Hey Vince.” Solana whispered.

“Hey Sol. I’m surprised to see you here. How are you feeling?” Vincent whispered back.

“I’m feeling a bit better. Did you take any notes from the past thirty minutes?”

Vincent shot Solana a look. “Of course I did. Here.” He flashed her a boyish smile before handing her a parchment. Solana shot him a smile and quickly started copying down notes on the 1378 Soap Blizzard. Riveting content.

Every now and then, Solana would look up from her seat to look at the blackboard, checking if Professor Binns had moved on from explaining how the blizzard occurred in the first place. But it seemed that he still had more stuff to say about it despite the fact that twenty minutes had passed.

Solana handed back Vincent’s parchment and sat quietly as she tried her best to focus on Professor Binn’s lecture. From the corner of her eye, she could see the red-headed boy next to her facing her, but she ignored him as she kept her eyes focused on what was in front of her.

Solana watched as students in front of her slept, Mirasol included, sketched random drawings on their parchment, or absentmindedly flip through pages of their textbook.

History of Magic was known to be dull, but the previous topic on Gargoyle strikes was a lot more interesting then a blizzard of bubbles. It was interesting for a couple of minutes, but Solana was already tired of listening about it for the half hour. It’s honestly amazing how the topic could be dragged on for another two weeks.

After a couple more minutes, Solana let out a breath and finally stared at the Weasley boy who had been staring at her for the past ten minutes. The boy’s face seemed to brighten once the brunette finally paid attention to him.

“Would you stop staring?”

“I’m bored.”

“Go talk to your brother.”

“He fell asleep four minutes into class.”

“What about Lee Jordan?”

“He fell asleep ten minutes ago.”

Solana turned her head around, and sure enough, the two boys were fast asleep and drooling on their desks.

“Maybe you should sleep too then.” Solana said, quirking her eyebrows.

“Good idea. But I don’t feel sleepy.”

“How is your brother snoozing like sleeping beauty then?”

Fred smirked. “For one. Just because we’re twins, does not mean we’re the same person Allen. Two. I decided to take a sip of Charlie’s cuppa this morning, and let’s just say that it wasn’t tea.”

Solana shot Fred a confused look.

“It was coffee. Why, Charlie, was drinking coffee for, I have no idea.”

“Okay. Can you please stop staring at me. It’s... distracting.” Solana said after a few seconds of awkward silence.

“You’re telling me you can actually pay attention to this sort of stuff?” Fred asked, face full of disbelief.

“If you don’t like it, maybe you should just skip class or something.” Solana responded, jotting down a new sentence that Professor Binns wrote on the board.

“Says the girl that came to class thirty minutes late.” Solana whipped her head towards the smirking boy. He got her there. Solana admitted it silently.

“Just stop bothering me Weasley.”

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Days went by and soon it was November, and the first Quidditch match of the school year. Students had finally started to settle comfortably at Hogwarts, and the recent buzz moved from starting classes to the highly anticipated match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.

Solana was seated in the bleachers, Vincent and Mirasol seated either side of her, sandwiching her as students hollered all around them. It was so loud that Solana felt an oncoming headache start to hit her head.

“Merlin, it’s so loud!” Solana said.

“I know! But it’s kind of exciting isn’t it!” Mirasol yelled back, a wide smile on her face.

“I’m excited to see how good this Charlie Weasley everyone keeps talking about!” Vincent said, eyes peeled onto the pitch.

“I’m not all that familiar with Quidditch, you’re going to need to explain some of the rules to me.” Solana said.

“Oh please! Don’t make him start.” Mira said as she shook her head with laughter.

“Welcome students to the first Quidditch match of the year! I’m your host, Pauline Morgan, and Merlin am I excited to watch this match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff! First, let’s welcome the Hufflepuff team!” The female Ravenclaw announcer said, her voice projected loudly by her wand.

“Oi Morgan!” Vincent yelled through the cheering students. A smiling Harper looked at him. She and Asha were seated a few seats in front of the trio. “You never said your sister was the quidditch announcer!” Vincent said.

“You never asked!” Harper smiled, before whipping her head towards the pitch. Solana watched with interest and started to clap alongside all the other students as the Hufflepuff team flew into the pitch on their brooms.

“Why does it matter that Harper’s sister is the announcer?” Solana asked to no one in particular.

“Knowing Vincent- it’s probably so that he can bother someone else with his Quidditch questions.” Mira said.

“You just don’t have the brain to think ahead Mira. As the announcer, Morgan could provide key intel on-” Vincent started.

“You quite literally just proved my point.” Mira smirked, cutting Vincent off.

“Now let’s welcome the Gryffindor team! Chasers, Nick Alas, Eustace Kirke, and Caoimhe Sullivan. Beaters, Diana Walsh and Johnathan Edwards. Keeper, Oliver Wood. And seeker, Charles Weasley!” The trio’s conversation was cut short, as the hollering and clapping grew louder. It was very obvious that the Hogwarts student population had a favourite player.

Solana watched as the Gryffindor players circled around the pitch on their brooms. Even from afar, Solana could easily pinpoint the star seeker. Charles Weasley’s red hair was the only one on the team which matched his scarlet quidditch uniform.

“That Charlie Weasley does look really good.” Mira whispered with a cheeky smile.

Solana felt her cheeks warm slightly. “And it looks like you agree too.” Mira smirked.

“I think he’s in his sixth year Mira. He’s too old for us.” Solana whispered silently.

“Yeah, but that won’t stop me from admiring.” Mira responded.

The match started soon enough, and Solana immediately felt herself getting slightly overwhelmed by all the movement and noises. She simply clapped whenever Mira clapped, and hollered whenever each team scored a goal. Vincent was sitting on the edge of his seat as he craned his neck, following Charles Weasley on the pitch like a hawk.

The score had reached 60-20, in favour of Gryffindor when the Gryffindor seeker suddenly dove downward. Students screamed in excitement as he barely missed the ground, and was now flying around the stands.

“What’s happening! Does he see the snitch?” Solana said, unable to help herself as she stood up to get a better view.

“It could also be a bluff!” Mira yelled in excitement, mirroring Solana’s movements.

“It’s definitely not a bluff! Look!” Vincent yelled, his eyes holding a wild gaze. Solana watched as the handsome quidditch player lean down onto his broom, long hair whipping all over his face with his arm reaching out to grab something.

“And Charlie Weasley has done it! He has caught the snitch, giving Gryffindor 150 points, and ending the match!” Pauline Morgan yelled.

Even though Solana didn’t understand what was going on, the excitement in the air reached her face, as she clapped and hollered alongside her friends.

“What a match.” Mira said.

“That was a landslide. Hufflepuff had no chance.” Solana responded.

“That Charlie Weasley was actually brilliant. I don’t know how he managed to find the snitch so fast- and- the way he rides the broom! He has so much control over it!” Vincent rambled, a star-struck look on his face.

Mira rolled her eyes at Vincent, but Solana noticed the small smile on her lips. Solana shot Vincent an amused smile as he continued to talk with enthusiasm.

“The keeper, Oliver Wood, was also incredibly good! He blocked so many of the Hufflepuff chasers’ balls.”

“Is it safe to assume that you’ll be analyzing all the Quidditch matches from now on?” Solana smiled.

“Definitely. But not next year. Next year, I’m joining the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and I’ll be the one on the pitch against Charlie Weasley and Oliver Wood.”

“Then I wish you good luck on that, and your future matches.” Solana grinned. The trio started to follow the line of students down the Quidditch stands. “I will say though, next time I might consider bringing some earplugs or something. That entire match was way too loud.” Solana said.

“You and your sensitive senses. Just wait until you see a match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. It will be much louder then.” Vincent smiled as he shook his head at Solana.

“Well next time I’m bringing snacks. I’m so hungry! Let’s get some food!” Mira whined as she started skipping the stairs, Solana and Vincent giggling behind her as they hurriedly followed after their short friend.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

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Late November 1989

1st Year

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Solana was lying on her bed, it was late and the only sounds she could hear now were the faint breaths of her dormmates. The four girls had bid each other a good night hours ago, but Solana hadn’t been able to sleep a wink.

She had already stopped by Madame Pomfrey’s office earlier into the day, and asked for a calming draught potion. Thankfully, Madame Pomfrey, knowing that the full moon was coming had already started brewing a brand new batch of the potion, along with wolfsbane.

Solana had took the vials she got into her bag, and discretely took sips of them throughout the day, but now here she was, laying in bed with no potions left, and body on fire.

She had twisted and tossed around the bed, flipping her pillow, sticking one foot out of the blanket, she’d tried every sleeping position possible, but no matter what, she could not get comfortable.

Her body felt like it was on fire. Her bones felt soft, and fragile. Any small amount of tension or pressure on her body, felt like a hundred pounds.

Solana craned her head towards her bedside window. The moonlight streamed into the room, and illuminated her face. The moon floated in the sky, brightly taunting Solana. It was almost full.

The longer she stared at the moon, the more a deep, sinking feeling started to pulsate throughout her chest.

Solana quickly sprang out of her bed, rushing down the ladder of the bunk bed. Her feet made a soft thump against the wood floors, which thankfully didn’t seem to disturb any of the other sleeping girls.

She ran into their shared bathroom, half-closing the bathroom door as she knelt over the toilet and puked her dinner. Solana’s fingers gripped the toilet as she continued to retch.

Her throat was ablaze, and tears streamed down her eyes as her stomach continue to burn. She could feel her muscles tense and contract as more food came out of her mouth.

I hate this. I hate this so much.

After a couple more minutes of vomiting, Solana eventually stood up and stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her brown hair was tangled, and there were evident dark circles in her eyes. She was as pale as snow and her face looked thin and hollowed out. She looked awful and sickly. She felt like it too.

She aggressively scratched at her arms, at her skin when she started to feel a crawling sensation inside of her. She felt like something was underneath her skin, crawling and biting at her muscles and nerves, she wanted it to stop but all she could was scratch herself harder.

And now, her skin was red and bleeding. Sharp nail marks scattered across her skin.

Madame Pomfrey said Hogwarts had gotten other werewolves as students before, and Solana knew that they probably received the exact same treatment as them. Was she just weak? Was the normal batch of potions just not enough? Was she really so weak that she needed more just to feel better?

This was going to be her third transformation, but she already felt like tapping out. A part of her wanted to just go home, forget school, forget all the hiding and forget all the pain. But she knew going back home would only bring a different type of pain.

Solana stared at herself in the mirror again. She was too tired to even think about how much she hated herself. She knew how to make herself feel a little bit better. But all this time, she had naively hoped that she would be able to handle it, to be able to take the pain.

But she was weak. She couldn’t handle it. She was tired of it. And she decided that even though she really hated the idea of it, she was going to break the rules.

She flushed the toilet and washed her hands, giving herself one final solemn look before she walked back into the dormitory. Solana eyed the still figures of Harper, Asha and Mirasol as she grabbed her cloak and put it on. She tied her hair into a messy bun before finally leaving the dormitory.

She walked down the stairs and tiptoed into the common room. As expected, it was completely vacant and empty. She continued down the stairs and eyed the Raven statue as she walked past it, before exiting the Ravenclaw common room.

Rule one, staying out after curfew, broken.

Solana didn’t bother using her wand as a light, knowing that it would only bother the sleeping paintings and attract the caretaker. The last thing she wanted was to get in trouble.

Thankfully, Solana found herself able to see a little bit, especially when she squinted her eyes. As more minutes passed, her eyes only seemed to better adjust to the darkness as she continued to make her way down the castle.

Solana wasn’t sure where she should go. All she needed was to get out of the castle as soon as possible, and transform into her animagus form outside. If her form was something as inconspicuous as a mouse, maybe she could transform inside the castle. But a lynx, in the castle, simply does not make any sense.

The girl continued to silently descend the castle, walking down the stairs and pushing past doors. A slight breeze floated across the corridor, and Solana’s anxiety seemed to dissipate as she realised just how late it must be. There were no prefects patrolling the halls, and even the caretaker must have gone to sleep.

Soon Solana found herself in front of a large wooden door, she pushed it open and found herself in the transfiguration courtyard. It was a good enough spot, and Solana frankly did not have the energy to try and walk to any of the other courtyards.

Solana looked up at the sky, the sky would have been dotted with stars, but now a thick layer of clouds covered the night. Despite the clouds, the moon still managed to find a way to peek out and stare at Solana. She scratched her arms again.

She looked around the courtyard and decided to walk underneath the large tree in the middle. She sat down beneath the tree and relished the feeling of being out of the moonlight.

She willed her tense muscles to relax, and let out a deep breath as she envisioned her animagus form. Immediately, Solana started to feel herself sink lower to the ground and soon all her discomfort was gone.

The grey lynx stretched underneath the tree, wiggling it’s fluffy paws at the grass before it gently pawed at it’s face. It circled the patch of grass right next to the trunk of the tree, and curled itself into a ball.

This is what Solana would do the week before her transformations at home. She would leave her home, transform into her lynx form, and wander around the forest until she found a nice spot to sleep or just sit. She would do something similar for her actual transformation.

Solana could only wonder how many galleons this had saved her mother.

Solana was about to drift into sleep when a holler of laughter made her flinch. The tensed lynx stared at the large wooden door that connected the courtyard into castle.

Without another thought, the lynx pounced from it’s position and clawed at the trunk of the tree. It’s claws gripped the bark as she continued to climb up the tree. Fortunately the tree wasn’t one of those skinny, sparsely leafed trees and instead had a thick trunk that branched into various branches that were covered in a sea of leaves.

The lynx situated itself on the highest possible branch that could support it’s weight. It stilled as the door opened and a pair of identical red-headed boys walked out.

Solana groaned internally. Of course, these two idiots would be awake.

The lynx lied as still as statue, as the boys eyes drifted around the courtyard. She was sure that they didn’t know she was there, she was small enough, and her spots helped her camouflage in the leaves.

“That was a close one!” One of the boys said.

“Stupid cat.” The other boy said, making Solana’s stomach drop. Had they seen her?

“You’d think Filch would lock and keep his cat with him, but no! Of course, she’s free reign!”

“Do you think that the cat’s still round the kitchens?”

“I don’t think so. I think I saw it going up the stairs into Ravenclaw tower.”

“Stupid cat. Why’d she think we were going there?”

“No idea. Must have heard a noise or something.”

Solana made a mental note to be extra careful when she returned to her common room later, that or maybe she could just say she woke up early and took a walk. Either worked.

“Anyway, we gotta finalize this plan of ours. Which house should we prank?”

A silence hung in the air, but was quickly interrupted by the other twins.

“The Ravenclaws.”

“Sure. Why though?”

“Vincent Hallsworth was staring at me weird a couple days ago. I think we should help him and his house mates liven up a bit you know?”

Solana felt herself get angry, they’d already pranked Mira, but now they were going to prank Vincent? It had taken hours to get the flobberworm mucus out of Mira’s hair, even without Madame Pomfrey’s help. What were they going to do now?

“You know what George, that’s a really good idea.” The other twin, Fred responded.

Solana stared and focused at the two, trying to find a difference between the two boys. She couldn’t tell him a apart, and wasn’t able to distinguish between the two boys until Fred namedropped his brother.

“I’ve really been thinking that the Ravenclaws were too uptight and boring anyways. Let’s teach them how to have fun.” The boy on the left, Fred said.

“C’mon then.” George laughed before they exited the courtyard, leaving a quiet Solana sitting in the tree.

This was useful information.

“Can’t wait to see their reactions at breakfast tomorrow.” Fred said.

This was some useful information indeed. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

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Early December 1989

1st Year

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Solana fluttered her eyes open as she stared at the bright sun, rising over the horizon. What time was it? The clouds littered the sky, and birds chirped flew above her.

Solana quickly shifted out of her animagus form and combed her fingers through her hair which had shifted out of her bun. Immediately, the soreness hit her muscles, and the same scalding and itchy feeling crawled all over her skin.

She immediately tried to push the sensations away as she rose from the ground and ran straight for the large wooden doors to Hogwarts castle. She looked around, watching the sunlight enter the castle through it’s many windows, and watched as the paintings started to slowly wake up.

She quickly made her way up the stairs, keeping her head low as she tried to speedily walk to Ravenclaw tower. Ghost started to penetrate through the walls, floating around as they gathered by the windows. Paintings started to talk amongst themselves. Solana quickly grabbed the hood of her cloak and covered her face.

After a gruelling fifteen minutes of speed-walking, slowed down by the fact that Solana’s body felt like it was being burned and consumed, she had finally reached the bottom of Ravenclaw tower. She entered the tower and continued making her way up the spiralling staircases.

Eventually she found herself face to face with the familiar bronze statue of an eagle.

“Ask this question all day long, but always get completely different answers, and yet all the answers will be correct. What is the question?”

“Why is this happening to me.” Solana vocalized as she groaned and rubbed her head in frustration. It was way too early in the morning for a stupid riddle, and she had barely gotten three hours of sleep.

Solana had foolishly hoped that somehow that question would open the entrance, but the bronze statue remained still in it’s place. Solana eyed one of the portraits nearby. “You wouldn’t happen to know how to answer the riddle?” She asked.

The round man in the painting merely chuckled, and shook his head, before pointing at his ears and mouth and shaking his head. He watched in amusement as the girl’s shoulder deflated before leaving his portrait.

Solana let out a groan and slapped her cheeks slightly, a stinging sensation cascading throughout her hands and face. Solana recalled the riddle the eagle spoke to her, and stood silently in the corridor as she craned her brain for answers. Just how long was this going to take?

An idea immediately popped up in Solana’s head. “What time is it?” She whispered hesitantly.

The statue remained still for a couple seconds, before it started to emanate a groaning sound as it started to turn and reveal a flight of stairs. Solana smirked at herself before she started climbing up the stairs.

That had been the first time she’d actually had to answer a riddle completely by herself. Vincent would usually answer for her, if not him, then it would be Asha. And if not them, by that time, an older student would come and solve the riddle.

She entered the common room, and immediately eyed the grandfather clock in the centre of the room. It was just shy of six o’clock.

Solana rubbed her eyes, and continued making her way up the stairs into her dormitory. She silently opened the door, and tiptoed in. Mirasol, Asha and Harper were sleeping. She eyed her bed and wondered if it was worth trying to fit a few more minutes of sleep in, but when she found herself scratching her arms again, she decided that it wasn’t worth it.

Solana walked into their shared bathroom, gave herself a judgemental stare in the mirror and hopped in the shower.

Even inside the castle, Solana could still feel the winter breeze. But she decided to turn the cold water on. Her body felt like it was on fire, and the cold water made her feel a little bit better.

After taking a quick shower, she got out and brushed her hair and teeth. She didn’t bother tying up her hair since it was still wet, and put on her uniform. She walked out of the bathroom and was immediately met with Asha and Morgan. Asha was packing her bag, stuffing her textbooks and parchment in. Morgan looked like she had just woke up, as she still had some sleep evident on her face.

“Solana. Good morning. You’re bright and early today.” Asha said, not taking her eyes of what she was doing.

“Morning Solana.” Morgan said as she stood up and stretched.

“Good morning.” Solana said, forcing a small smile onto her face. She didn’t feel like sharing anything more. “The bathroom’s all yours.” She added.

“Sure. Asha d’you want to go first or?” Morgan asked as she grabbed a towel and her school uniform.

“It’s fine, you can go first.” Asha said, shooting her a smile as she finally finished packing her bag.

Morgan walked into the bathroom, and soon the sound of running water rang in Solana’s ears. Solana eyed Asha, who now had picked one of her many books, reading.

Solana was thankful for the silence, even though it felt slightly awkward and started to pack her bag. After she was done, she grabbed a piece of parchment and started drafting a letter to send to her younger sister, Aurelia.

After an hour, all the girls were ready for the day, including Mirasol who Solana had to drag out of bed again. The group of girls made their way into the common room, met up with Vincent and his friends, before making their way to the Great Hall together.

This was the routine the students had followed from the past few months, and Solana felt glad knowing that every day she knew what to expect.

As the first years walked into the Great Hall and sat at the Ravenclaw table, Solana felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she stared at the delicious looking breakfast food.

She was forgetting something and she knew it.

She grabbed a piece of toast and sniffed it. She did the same with the sausages. They felt normal. She hesitantly placed a couple slices of sausages and toast, along with bacon after she inspected it onto her plate. Solana also poured herself a cuppa of tea, she was about to grab a sugar cube but stopped when she couldn’t get rid of her anxious thoughts.

Solana eyed the other array of food on the table. Pancakes. Waffles. Eggs. Fruit. Muffins. Oatmeal. Cinnamon rolls. None of them seemed out of the ordinary.

Solana eyed the plates of her friends. Mira had grabbed some pancakes, while Vincent opted for some waffles. Asha was taking a bite of her oatmeal, and Morgan had just finished devouring a cinnamon roll.

Solana looked a little further down and watched as their Ravenclaw prefect, Arabella Wood pour some honey and sugar into her tea. Solana’s eyes furrowed and snapped towards the sugar holder and the jar of honey.

A familiar holler of laughter hit her ears, and she snapped her head up to see the Weasley twins covering their smiling faces as they stared at the Ravenclaw table.

She immediately remembered what she heard last night.

She reached for the honey jar and the sugar holder, her stomach dropped when she realised that they did in fact not smell normal.

“Wait guys! Don’t use the honey or sugar.” Solana rushed out.

“What do you mean?” Asha asked confused as she took another bite of oatmeal. Oatmeal that Solana just noticed already had some honey in it. She let out a silent groan as she eyed her friends’ plates more intently, noting the honey on Vincent and Mira’s pancakes and waffles. In fact, she eyed the entire Ravenclaw table, and just knew that all the cups of tea she was seeing were full of sugar.

After a few minutes, Morgan let out a yelp, and Solana’s eyes widened.

Morgan’s usual light complexion, was now literally turning into light. She started to emit a glow as she started to turn into a glowing yellow person.

“Oh my, merlin.” Vincent muttered as he, along side the entire Great Hall stared at Morgan as she glowed brighter and brighter.

“Morgan, are you- lintik-!” Mirasol yelled. She too, was now glowing, but instead of yellow, she was glowing pink.

Vincent immediately started laughing at Mira’s new complexion. “You look like a glowing strawberry!” He laughed.

“Well, you look like a stupid blueberry!” Mira yelled back as she patted at her face. Vincent confused stared at his hands, which had now turned into a glowing blue mess.

The entire Great Hall started to glow, as the entirety of the Ravenclaw table students started to glow in different shades of colour. Students from the other houses started laughing loudly, and Solana immediately found herself glaring at the Gryffindor table, where the Weasley twins seemed to be laughing the hardest.

She watched as the twins clapped their hands.

“Is this a disco party or what!” One of them laughed.

Arabella Wood, the Ravenclaw prefect, who was now glowing a darker shade of pink eyed the twins. Solana knew that she also knew who was the culprit of this prank.

“Weasleys! Thirty points off! Both of you!” She yelled, causing three four red-heads seated at Gryffindor to flinch. Solana watched as two older Weasley brothers glared at their younger twin brothers with a smile.

Arabella Wood, along with the other glowing Ravenclaw prefect, Noah Macready, started to gather all the Ravenclaw out of the hall, and most likely into Madame Pomfrey’s infirmary.

Solana stayed in her seat at the Ravenclaw table, as she was not glowing. She eyed the honey and sugar on the table that she didn’t consume. The Great Hall was so focused on laughing at the glowing Ravenclaws to notice the singular presence of Solana on the table.

Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall had walked towards the Weasley twins and seemed to have been giving them an earful, and hopefully detention for their big prank. But the two boys didn’t seem that fazed.

Solana clenched her fists. She was disappointed in herself. What was the point of listening into their conversation, learning about the prank, if she was just going to forget it?

Now, her entire house, and her friends were glowing fireflies.

She looked up and froze when she realised someone had finally noticed her. One of the Weasley twins. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his forehead creased as an extremely confused expression dawned on his face.

On the other side of the Great Hall, Fred felt himself blank out the stern voice of Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall as he stared at his History of Magic seatmate.

“Why aren’t you glowing Allen?” He frowned.

Fred knew that Allen must have understood what he had just mouthed, as a deep frown etched onto her face. He watched as the brown haired girl stood up from her seat and ran out of the Great Hall.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

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Mid December 1989

1st Year

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Solana was sitting in the Ravenclaw common rook, contemplating where she should move her queenside bishop. It was currently being attacked by three of Vincent’s pieces, but as she stared at the board longer, every single possible square seemed like certain death for her bishop.

“You’re taking so long!” Vincent whined as he leaned into his seat.

“Shush.” Solana responded softly.

She looked at all her pieces one more time, as well as Vincent’s aggressively positioned pieces.

An idea popped in her head. She kept her face monotone as she moved her bishop forward, perfectly facing Vincent’s white queen.

Vincent smirked when Solana finally moved her piece, and immediately captured the bishop with his queen.

“You handed that bishop to me on a platter Solana. Just resign.” Vincent smirked.

“I couldn’t think of anything else.” Solana muttered, lying through her lips.

“Oh come on, you’re better than that.” He said.

Solana didn’t bother responding as they continued moving piece after piece. Vincent’s fingers started to shake ever so slightly as he hovered over his pieces, finally he touched one of his pawns to the fourth rank, protecting his overextended queen that was now being attacked by Solana’s knight.

Solana smiled as she completely ignored his pawn, and his queen, instead opting to move her rook forwards.

Vincent watched eyebrows furrowed. He rubbed his face and stared at the board once more.

“Vincent. I think you should resign now.” Solana sang.

“No. No. I can still get out of this.” Vincent said lowly.

“I think we both know that isn’t true. Next move’s checkmate and you know it.” Solana smirked.

“Oh, whatever. I let you win.” Vincent said, brushing his fingers through his curly hair, trying to act unbothered.

Solana simply smiled at him. “I love me my bishop sacrifices.”

“And I really love it when Mira doesn’t take ten hours to get ready.” Vincent scoffed as he stared at the time.

Solana let out a chuckle as she started to pack up the muggle chess set. Vincent and her had been sitting and waiting down in the common room for a little under an hour.

They had packed their trunks for the holidays last night, and Mira, did not. And so, when they woke up that morning, Mira, who had already woken up late was already scrambling to pack all her stuff. Solana was in the middle of helping Mira when Vincent hollered for her, claiming that he was dying of boredom.

“Speak of the little angel herself.”

The sound of a thumping suitcase on the stairs caught the pair’s attention as their short wasian friend appeared in the staircase, hair messily tied up into a bun. “C’mon you two! We’re going to miss the train.”

“Because of you, gaga.” Vincent said in a exaggerated and horrendous Filipino accent.

“Shut your mouth.” Mira frowned as we started to exit the common room. Once we walked past the bronze eagle statue, Mira started to speed walk, leaving Solana and Vincent behind as she pulled and dragged her trunk.

Vincent let out a little chuckle as he took out his wand. Solana smiled and mirrored his actions. The two Ravenclaw students swished and flicked their wands, confidently saying the incantation “Wingardium leviosa” at their trunks.

Their trunks floated behind them as they started to run after their short friend.

“Hurry up guys! There’s only twenty minutes left!” Mira yelled, not bothering to turn around as she started to run.

Solana watched as Vincent smiled, picking up his space to a brisk jog. Solana ran to keep up with him. The two students ran past their friend who immediately let out a yelp of surprise when she realised that they weren’t dragging their trunks helplessly like she was.

“Wait! Can you guys help charm my trunk!” Mira yelled as she ran after them.

“I’m not sure if it’d work, the only reason why we could levitate our trunks was because we asked Arabella to cast the feather-light charm on them before she left.” Solana smiled, watching as Mira’s face creased in frustration.

“Oh. Why didn’t I think of that!” Mirasol groaned.

“Because you were too busy packing said trunk.” Vincent smiled boyishly, causing Mirasol to frown. “It’s so heavy.”

“I mean we can try-” Solana started.

“Oh hand it over. I’ll carry it, hold my wand.” Vincent said as he took out his wand, placing it in Mirasol’s fingers.

“It’s times like this which remind me why you aren’t an arse. Thank you Vincent.” Mirasol smiled.

Solana smiled at her friends’ exchange. “Okay, c’mon. We really need to start running now.”

The trio hollered in laughter as they ran throughout the castle, skipping through the steps and skidding their boots on the slippery floors.

There were no words exchanged as they ran out of the castle, stepping into the snowy pavement, which slowed them down.

“The snow is so pretty! I wish we could have played in it before we left.” Mira said.

“Remind yourself of this moment next time then!” Vincent hollered.

Luckily the trio had finally made it to the carriages, and there were still four carriages available. They had made it in time. Somehow.

The trio shoved their trunks onto carriage and sat in the seats. Once they were all seated comfortably, the carriage immediately started to move by itself, rolling itself towards Hogsmeade station.

“So what are the plans for Christmas?” Solana asked as she wiped some snow off her face.

“We’re probably spending it together at my family’s Christmas ball.” Vincent said.

“You should come! That way I don’t have to be stuck with this guy the entire time.” Mira smiled, grabbing Solana’s gloved hands.

“I’ll owl you what my mum says about it.” Solana smiled.

The group of friends continued to chat for the duration of their short ride and got off when the carriage finally stopped by Hogsmeade train station. They left their trunks next to the train conductor and hopped inside the scarlet steam train.

It took them awhile to find any empty compartment since even though they had made it in time before the train left, they were still quite late and most compartments were full. Eventually, the trio finally found an empty compartment at the end of the train and seated themselves.

Solana and Mira immediately sat with another, and Vincent sprawled all over his seat since no one was sitting beside him. Mirasol and Vincent started to talk about their upcoming ball as Solana looked outside the window, letting out a soft sigh as the train started to rumble and leave the station.

“A Christmas ball sounds fancy.” Solana said.

“It kind of is. I finally get an excuse to wear my nicest dresses.” Mira smiled.

“Yeah! From when you were five! You’ve barely grown!” Vincent laughed.

Solana laughed at her bickering friends when she looked at their compartment door. Her smile immediately dropped. She stood up and glared at the red-headed boy standing outside.

Solana wasn’t sure which Weasley twin was snooping around and listening in on their conversation, but which ever twin he was, he immediately flinched and ran away when he realised Solana had spotted him.

Solana opened the compartment door and stared down the hallway in the direction the boy ran in, but he was nowhere to be seen. She let out a short and annoyed hum before she closed the compartment door, pulling down the blinds to make sure no one could look into their compartment.

“Who was it?” Mira asked.

“One of the Weasley twins.” Solana muttered as she sat back down.

“Odd. But not that odd coming from them.” Vincent said.

Solana merely hummed in agreement, as the conversation moved onto a different topic.

The train ride felt a lot shorter than the first ride to Hogwarts. Solana knew it was because this time, she was a lot closer with Mirasol and Vincent. They had chatted for hours, took turns napping, and even bought some cauldron cakes and sugar quills when the trolley witch came by their compartment.

Solana savoured herself in the sweet treats that Vincent had bought her, since she normally never got to eat such desserts at home.

Soon enough though, the train rode into platform 9 and 3/4 platform. The trio followed the long line of students scuffling out the train, finding themselves in the middle of the busy platform.

“See you guys after Christmas!” Solana smiled, pulling Vincent and Mira into a quick but warm hug.

“Or maybe at the ball.” Mirasol wiggled her eyebrows causing Solana to chuckle.

“You guys go ahead. My mum and sister should be waiting for me.” Solana smiled. She watched as her two friends disappeared amongst the other students and walked Southside of the platform.

Her mother had owled her a letter that she would be waiting around a bench on the platform.

As she walked past the many students and their families, Solana’s eyes landed on a red headed family. Charlie, Fred, George and the other older Weasley brother whose name she didn’t know were taking turns hugging a smiling red-headed witch.

Solana Allen let out a small scoff as a small bitter smile appeared on her face.

She wandered around the platform, weaving around witches and wizards when her eyes finally landed on her mother.

She was sitting and staring at the ground. She was wearing a navy blue coat. Her blonde hair seemed longer than when Solana had last seen her, and she held her familiar solemn expression.

Solana approached her, pulling her trunk behind her as she found herself standing in front of her mother.

“Hello, mum.” She said.

Her mother didn’t respond. She simply raised her head and stared at her daughter.

“Where’s Aurelia?” Solana asked, craning her head to look around the platform. Maybe she was hiding around somewhere, maybe she would pop out any second and surprise her. Aurelia had said she would be coming to pick Solana up.

“Let’s go.” Althea Allen said as she grasp her daughter’s warm hand, quickly apparating the two witches out of the platform.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

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Mid December 1989

1st Year

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Solana felt her insides flip inside out as her being got sucked into a vacuum. After a couple of seconds, she felt her feet land on the ground, and she found herself stumbling towards the earth.

She would have fallen face flat into the snow if her mother hadn’t roughly pulled her by the arm to ensure she was standing. She immediately felt the bile that risen into her mouth and swallowed it, she didn’t really feel like vomiting.

“Where’s Aurelia?” Solana repeated her question, voice a little hoarse.

“I didn’t let her come.” Althea Allen said, tucking her wand into her coat.

“Why not?” Solana asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“It wouldn’t have made a difference. We were on the platform together for less than ten seconds.” Her mother said, an empty look on her face.

“I think she would have-” Solana began.

“Stop it Solana. What’s done is done.” Althea Allen immediately cutting off her daughter, shooting her a glare as she left her daughter in the snow, walking into their cottage.

Solana felt the corners of her lips dip. She let out a little sigh and a sniffle as she picked up her trunk which had toppled into the snow.

She looked up at her home. A small little cottage hidden away in one of the densest national parks in England. Even though the forest had a few muggles who would come by for hikes and nature walks, no one ever found their home due to the array of protective charms that Solana’s mother had put up. The forest itself was also just extremely dense, acres and acres of wood stretched until the nearest hiking trail.

Althea Allen had picked the most remote spot to live in, and Solana and Aurelia were stuck in this lonely living arrangement.

“You’re here!” A high-pitched screamed echoed into Solana’s ears causing her to drop the frown she had on her face.

“Lia! I missed you!” Solana cried, opening her arms as her younger sister ran out of their cottage, coat hastily put on.

Aurelia Allen jumped into her sister’s arms, causing both girls to fall into the snow. Girly giggles filled the air as the sisters stood themselves up.

Aurelia Allen was a small nine-year-old girl with the biggest heart that Solana has seen. She carried herself gracefully for her age, and always had a large smile plastered on her face. Some days, whenever they’d go out to play, it felt like Aurelia would emit a radiating glow of happiness and joy.

She was so happy to be around her sister, her best friend again.

“I have something to show you!” Aurelia yelled, pulling her Solana into the house. The smell of herbs and plants immediately hit Solana’s nose as she walked into the living room.

The entire cottage wasn’t that big, and it was perfectly built for three witches. The bottom floor consisted of a small couch, a small round table with three chairs, and a tiny two counter kitchen. There was a tiny bathroom, a quarter the size of the bathroom in her Ravenclaw dormitory. The second floor consisted of three tight bedrooms, one for each witch. And finally, a basement with two rooms. Her mother’s potions office and the cellar that Solana used to be locked up in before she became an animagus.

The blonde nine-year old pulled Solana up the stairs, and Solana struggled to keep up with her short but fast sister as she dragged her trunk up the stairs. Solana quickly deposited her trunk outside her bedroom door before running into Aurelia’s bedroom.

Aurelia’s bedroom was painted with pink. Small pieces of paper littered the walls, filled with her drawings of their cottage and family, some pieces of animals that the girls would see outside their windows. Her bedsheets were their typical light yellow colour. She had a small wooden wardrobe and a matching little wooden desk that was filled with plants in pots.

“I made you something!” Aurelia gleamed, taking out something from her wardrobe. “Close your eyes and show me your hands!”

Solana followed her sister’s demands. She smiled when she felt a soft object. She opened her eyes and saw the most adorable yarn plushie, it was a puppy of some sort, with golden fur had a small little white flower attached to it’s left ear. Solana thought that if her sister were an animal, she would have looked exactly like the plushie.

“This is adorable! You made this?” Solana gleamed with happiness.

“Yup! I learnt how to crochet while you were gone. It was so boring without you, you know.”

“Is this my Christmas gift?” Solana asked.

“No, your gift isn’t done yet!”

“I get two gifts? How lucky am I?” Solana said as she tackled her sister into another hug.

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A couple days had passed, and there were only a few more days until Vincent and Mirasol’s Christmas ball. Solana had been trying to gather courage to try and ask for permission to go, but each time she tried to approach her mother, she would chicken out and sulk.

Now Solana was laying on her bed and staring up at the ceiling.

Her bedroom was virtually the exact same as Aurelia’s. The only difference was that her were painted a sage green, and her bedsheets were light blue. Solana had come to love the colour scheme because it reminded her of their forest during the day. It was one of the few places where she could feel at peace, and just relish in the sounds of world.

Solana heard a sound outside her window, causing her head to snap towards it. A warbler bird had landed on the perch. She watched as it cocked it’s head at her, staring at her with it’s eyes before it flew away.

Solana let out a little sigh. Maybe it was a sign. Birds didn’t often perch on her window often, instead usually flying onto one of the apple trees at the front of the cottage.

Solana crept out into the narrow corridor, staring at Aurelia’s locked bedroom door. The blonde girl had barred the brunette from entering since she was busy crocheting her Christmas gift. Solana was happy to respect her sister’s request, but she had already finished all her holiday assignments and read ahead for a few of her textbooks. She was starting to run out of things to do.

Which provides all the more reason for Solana to finally ask her mum for permission to go attend her friends’ Christmas ball.

Solana walked down the stairs, and continued descending towards the basement. Even though it was a well-lit environment with a bright ceiling lamp, Solana still felt her stomach drop as she stared at the metal cellar opposite of her mother’s office.

She tried to gulp down her nervousness as she raised a fist, softly knocking on the wooden door. “Mum, I need to ask you something.”

Solana heard some shuffling noises inside before the door finally opened, revealing her mother. She had sweat dripping down her forehead, no doubt from being too close to her cauldron. She held an unemotional expression on her face as she stared down at Solana. “What is it?” She said.

“Um.” Solana stuttered, struggling to get the words out. She closed her eyes and stared beyond her mother’s figure and into her potions office. It looked like a miniature version of the Hogwarts Potions office. There was a singular table in the middle of the room, with four cauldrons filled with potions that Solana didn’t recognize.

“I really don’t have time for this Solana. Spit it out.” Her mother said, causing Solana’s eyes to meet hers once more.

“I was wondering if. If I could go to my friends’ Christmas ball. It’s in a few days. And I’m not sure if Aurelia’s told you about my friends but I-” Solana started to speak.

“No.” Her mother cut her off.

“Huh? What? But why?” Solana frowned.

“May I remind you that the full moon is coming Solana? You do not, want to cause any potential accidents.”

“But Christmas itself won’t be on the full moon. It’s a couple days after the ball.” Solana argued.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s too risky.” Althea Allen said sternly.

“I’m not going to hurt anyone.” Solana said, frustrated and upset over the idea that she could hurt someone.

She was a werewolf. She knew that. But she was also an animagus. She could keep her consciousness whenever she transformed. Her mother knew that. And none of that even mattered anyway. The full moon wouldn’t be happening on the night of the ball.

“You’re not going. That’s final.” Her mother said, maintaining her emotionless face before closing her office door in Solana’s face.

Solana let out a shaky breath. She started to walk up the stairs as tears welled up in her eyes.

Once she finally walked into her room, she locked the door and her tears immediately started to fall. She wiped her tears with her hands and wrist but they just kept falling.

Deep down, Solana had a feeling that her mother wouldn’t agree. It’s the exact reason why she hadn’t given her friends an upfront response on the platform, and also the precise reason why she didn’t ask her mother about it for so long.

After a few more minutes, she grabbed a parchment and a quill. She tearfully wrote a letter to Mirasol, saying that she would not be attending the ball.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12

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Mid March 1990

1st Year

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Solana let out an exasperated sigh as she started to wolf down her breakfast. “Woah! Easy there Lana, no one’s going to steal your food.” Vincent chuckled.

“I didn’t agree to that. But yeah, sure.” Mirasol cheekily smiled.

“No! Look.” Solana grumbled as she lifted to show her pack, mouth stuffed full of toast. In her hands was her opened brown bag, inside which contained some pots of ink, quills and textbooks for her classes for the morning. Herbology and Transfiguration. Except there was one problem.

“We don’t have Herbology today.” Vincent said, confused.

“Exactly! Snape’s going to kill me.” Solana groaned.

“According to my estimations, you should still have time to run back to the common room if you leave.... right about... now.” Mirasol laughed.

A soft smile settled on Solana’s face as she playfully rolled her eyes. She stuffed one last bite of toast before grabbing her pack.

“Hey! Can I have the rest of your breakfast?” Hollered Harper.

“I called dibs!” Mirasol claimed.

Solana simply shot her friends an amused smile before running out of the Great Hall. The brunette weaved between students in the corridors as she rushed to the grand staircase.

The entire way back to the common room, Solana internally scolded herself for packing the wrong book. She wasn’t even sure how she made such a silly mistake in the first place, since the Herbology and Potions books looked nothing alike.

After longer than Solana hoped, she finally managed to swap her textbooks, triple checking and making sure she brought the correct things. She started to make the tedious journey from the top of Ravenclaw tower to the Potions classroom in the dungeons.

As she walked, the hair on the back of her neck started to raise as she eyed her surroundings uncomfortably. She slowed her footsteps and focused her hearing.

“She’s coming.”

“Shh.”

Solana immediately recognized the voices and grabbed hold of her wand. She knew that the two boys would be just behind the suit of armour, judging from where the whispers came from. She discretely took out her wand from her pocket, and hid it by her sleeve.

“Br-” One of the Weasley twins jumped out suddenly.

“Flipendo!” Solana flicked her wand, causing the boy to get pushed backwards into the suit of armour.

Solana flinched from the loud metallic crash of the armour against the cement floors.

“Fred!” A voice said from underneath the armour. “You weren’t supposed to jump out yet, you idiot!” George said as he started to shift from underneath the armour.

Fred, still desperately fighting the effects of the knockback jinx, shakily stood up. “How- did you- know-” He said, slightly staggered.

“Cast the spell faster than you?” Solana said as she grabbed her bag tightly. She almost instinctively apologized because of his state, but she bit back her tongue because she really could care less about him.

“Yes. No. Wait. What.” Fred stuttered out.

“I’m just better.” Solana muttered as confidently as she could.

“But it’s like you knew I was there!” Fred shouted, causing Solana to jump.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Solana said quickly, before running away towards the other end of the corridor.

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Solana brushed away the strands of hair that messily sat on her face, she walked into the Potions classroom face flushed, and with a hint of a smirk on her lips.

“Miss Allen, I see you look rather pleased to be late to class.” The nasally monotone voice of Professor Snape vocalized.

Solana’s cheeks warmed in embarrassment. “No Professor, I’m not. I’m sorry it won’t happen again.”

“Ten points from Ravenclaw.” Professor Snape shot her a look, one that Solana didn’t understand.

Solana quickly took her usual seat next to Vincent, Mirasol and Asha.

“What happened? You’re never late.” Vincent leaned in, whispering in Solana’s ear with a concerned expression. Solana let out a small annoyed smile. “Smelly boys made me miss one of the staircase rotations.

“Stupid Weasleys.” Vincent grumbled, making Solana’s smile wider.

“As mentioned, today we will be brewing the Pompion potion. A simple but effectively troublesome concoction that will leave users literally and figuratively stuck in a pumpkin. Can anyone remind the class what the key ingredients to brew this potion are?” Professor Snape dragged on monotonously.

A bunch of students in blue-clad uniforms raised their hands, but Solana had raised it first. “Miss Allen?”

“The potion ingredients required would be flitterby moths, bouncing bulbs and foxgloves.”

Professor Snape kept his face blank. “Five points to Ravenclaw.” He grumbled, before levitating the required ingredients towards the students’ tables.

“You have the entire duration of the class to complete your potions. Instructions should be on page one hundred twenty two.” Professor Snape said. “Fifteen minutes before class ends, students will be required to drink their potions.” Professor Snape added joyously, or as joyously as he could.

The entire room of Ravenclaws immediately got to work. Professor Snape sat in his chair idly, he knew that today’s class wouldn’t be too eventful. The class of Ravenclaws were quiet and didn’t need much help, as they simply had to follow the beginner-level potion recipe.

In reality, Mirasol Bailey was having a nightmare in her head as she shakily stirred the acid green mixture in her cauldron. Her head was covered in a thin layer of sweat as she leaned down and took a sniff. It smelled sickly sweet and she anxiously looked back at her textbook for reference.

Across the other end of the small four by four table, Solana was calmly brewing her potion. She had a blissful smile on her face that faltered only slightly as she watched her friend struggle. She eyed Vincent, who somehow looked bored and engaged at the same time. As well as the ever so laser-focused Asha, whose eyes were completely fixated on her cauldron.

She discretely bumped Vincent’s shoulder, causing him to furrow his eyebrows wildly at her.

She shot him a look of disbelief as she gestured to Mira with her eyes. Vincent’s eyes shifted and Solana watched as his expression softened. A small smile appeared on his face. Without a second thought, he showed Mira how to properly crush the bouncing bulbs.

Mira shot them both a pouty yet grateful look as they all quietly worked to help each other.

By the end of class, all the Ravenclaw students were covered in sweat as they were ordered to drink their potions one by one. Solana eyed her bubbling orange potion. She eyed her entire tables’ potions, trying to figure out if anyone’s looked particularly odd, but everyone ultimately had orange potions, but all in slightly different shades.

Solana watched as her housemates took sips of their potions, each one of their heads’ turning into a round orange pumpkin after a couple seconds, leading to a few hushed giggles across the classroom.

Snape finally arrived at their table. “Miss Bailey.”

Mira shot her friends an anxious smile as she slowly lifted her ladle, taking a sip of her work. After a couple minutes, her body started to shake ever so slightly, and soon a round and normal pumpkin sprouted where her head was. “Oof!” She yelped as she struggled to balance herself.

She giggled along with the rest of the class, and Solana could tell even through her pumpkin seed eyes that she was very grateful for her and Vincent’s help.

Asha drank her potion soon after, her pumpkin head being the most perfect so far. Solana drank hers afterwards, and her potion seemed to be brewed quite decently as well.

“Mr Hallsworth.” Professor Snape continued.

Vincent nonchalantly took a sip and his head soon sprouted a pumpkin, the only issue was his pumpkin’s stem didn’t stop growing and growing, slithering and coiling down till it reached his shoulders.

The entire class only seemed to laugh harder. Mira’s smile, which finally returned to normal, gleamed happily as she watched her friend.

“Mr Hallsworth. It seems you added too many flitterby moths into your cauldron.” Professor Snape said with a weird and amused expression.

“Actually Professor, I just wanted to try a different hairstyle for a bit.” Vincent joked, but Professor Snape didn’t seem to care.

“Class dismissed. Five points to Ravenclaw, for Miss Singh’s perfect pompion brew. Your usual weekly essay on this session will be due next Monday.” Professor Snape ended, before dramatically flicking his wand and cleaning all the desks of ingredients and cauldrons. He swiftly walked into his office, his black cape blowing behind him.

“That ended quite well actually.” Solana giggled.

“I agree. I think you should keep the hairstyle Vince, it suits you.” Mirasol smiled as she touched Vincent’s stemy ‘hair’.

“Oh shut up.” Vincent grumbled, the girls knew he was smiling though.

Chapter Text

Chapter 13

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Early April 1990

1st Year

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The trio of Ravenclaws rushed out of the library, thanking Madame Pince as they walked out. They had a Transfiguration assignment due, and all of the tables in the Ravenclaw common room were occupied.

“I’m so done with all this schoolwork!” Cried Mirasol as she shoved her essay into her bag.

“You wouldn’t have survived us.” Vincent smirked.

“The school year’s almost over anyways. I’m pretty sure we’re almost done with all the work.” Solana shot Vincent a look of slight disapproval.

“Yeah, and after that we have exams.” Vincent sassily replied.

“Can we please just stop talking about all of this? I’m exhausted.” Mira frowned.

The group of friends silently nodded as they started to make their way to the staircases. It was incredibly late. They had stayed up all night in the library, and only managed to complete all their essays right in time for the library’s closing hours.

“Do you reckon I have time to stop by the bathroom? I need to pee.” Mira suddenly said.

“I wouldn’t bother. It’s almost curfew.” Vincent replied.

The Hogwarts corridors were sparse of students. By this hour, everyone was surely back in their common rooms.

As they rounded another corner, a terrible stench hit Solana’s nose. “Ugh. What’s that smell?” She said, completely disgusted.

“I don’t smell anything.” Vincent said confused, taking a deep sniff. Mira mimicked his movements, and shook her head. “Me neither.”

Solana groaned and stopped walking, moving backwards. “It smells, so, bad.” She felt like she was about to puke from the intense putrid scent. “I can’t.” She retched, holding onto the wall for support.

Mira and Vincent stopped walking, turning around to look at their friend with concern.

“Hey, are you- Ah!” Mira screamed as a brown puff cloud suddenly hit Vincent’s back.

“Bloody hell!” Vincent groaned as he started to cough.

Whatever smell they couldn’t smell before, they definitely could now.

Solana let out a pained cry, as the rotten, acidic smell intensified. She made another retching noise, as she immediately ran away from Vincent and Mira. The smell was completely emanating from them.

“It’s a stupid dungbomb!” Vincent said, eyes squinting downwards where he saw remnants of the bomb disintegrating.

“You’re completely covered in poop then!” Mira cringed. “I got some on my left hand too.” She whined.

“Did we get her?” A new voice suddenly said, stepping out of the shadows.

Solana raised her head, trying to focus through her blurred vision. The Weasley twins walked out of a nook, hands covered in brown soot and a look of determination on their faces.

“Not even a touch of brown on her, and she’s even out of the blast radius!” One of the twins said, his tone dripping with annoyance.

“Weasley, I am going to kill you.” Vincent barked as he took out his wand.

The boys simply smirked. “Get in line.” The same twin responded.

The other twin stood silently, eyeing Solana with an odd expression on his face.

Solana let out another deep breath as she forced herself to back away once more. Out of the blast radius? She certainly didn’t feel like she was out of it. It was times like this that reminded her of the many reasons why she hated being a werewolf.

Sensitive senses.

Her enhanced hearing has saved her from the Weasleys' pranks so far, but it was always her sense of smell that nerfed her. Solana coughed out some saliva as she barely managed to get up on her feet.

“Meow.” The first years’ heads swivelled towards the new feline sound, flinching as they saw a familiar tabby cat with red eyes.

“Mrs. Norris!” Mira cried.

“C’mon girls. Run!” Vincent said as he bolted away, Mira hot on his tail.

“Wait. Guys.” Solana mumbled softly as her head stopped spinning as much. Her vision clearing up as Vincent and his unfortunate smell wafted further and further away.

“C’mon Fred, let’s go!” George said.

Fred, possibly ignoring his brother or somehow not hearing him at all, walked towards the slightly stunned girl. “Do you know some sort of detection charm or something?” He interrogated.

“What?” Solana responded, stunned and confused.

“You dodged it again!” He said annoyed.

“Fred. Let it go. Come on.” George said desperately.

Solana blinked and backed away from the twins, dirtily eyeing the brown soot on their palms.

“Students out of bed.” A raspy, croaky voice said. A deep frown etched itself onto Solana’s face as reality hit her mind. The caretaker, Mr. Filch stood beside Mrs. Norris the cat, a deeply pleased expression on his face as his gaze bounced between the Weasley boys.

“I’ve been itching to bring you two to detention again.” He grumbled darkly, completely happy with the current situation.

Solana tried to back away slowly. She thought she was small enough, and that the caretaker wasn’t paying attention to her. But of course she was wrong.

“You too lassie.” He grinned evilly.

Solana wanted to slap herself. Detention? That was one of the last things she wanted to happen. She wasn’t the type of student to get into detention. She followed rules, she had good grades, she was nice to her classmates. She didn’t get detention.

“Follow me.” Mr. Filch said. “And don’t even think about running away you two.” He glared at the redheaded boys.

The students followed the caretaker silently through the castle. The twins were bickering and whispering something to each other in front of Solana. The girl followed along unhappily, her nose covered by her hand.

Smelly boys.

Eventually, they finally arrived at the caretaker’s small office. It was tuckered away in a small corner of the castle entrance lobby. Inside was a messy office room, with papers scattered all over the floor. There was another door inside the room that Solana could only assume lead to Mr. Filch’s room.

“Names?” Filch croaked out, as he opened a cabinet filled with forms. He took out three pieces of paper, licking his fingers with his lips as he grabbed a quill. The twins didn’t respond to his question, and Solana muttered her name from underneath her hand.

“Cause of detention: Out after curfew.” Mr. Filch said proudly as he completed his forms.

“You lot, will be cleaning my office. Without magic.” He declared with a deep smirk. The twins groaned and Solana glared at them.

“Argus! Surely you wouldn’t do that to your dear old friends.” George started, attempting a charming tone.

“Shut it, Weasley.” Mr. Filch immediately shut him down. “Wands. Now.” He said, stretching out his hand.

Solana frowned deeply as she took out her beautiful and loved wand out of her pocket, and placed it unhappily in Filch’s hand. She eyed the twins through the corner of her vision, and watched them wordlessly argue with their eyes.

She rolled her eyes at their antics and watched silently as Fred groaned and eventually gave his wand to the devious caretaker.

“You too.” Mr. Filch said to George.

“I don’t have my wand, Mr. Filch.” George shot him a toothy, innocent grin.

Solana furrowed her eyebrows at this.

“You can check!” George added happily, before turning all his pockets inside out.

Mr. Filch grumbled slightly, muttering something incoherently before he walked to the corner of the room.

He grabbed a bucket filled with soapy water, three toothbrushes, and the smallest handheld dustpan and brush in the world. He had an evil grin on his face as he handed the mediocre supplies to the students.

Even George’s toothy grin dropped. “This is insane! You’ve got to be joking.” Fred cried.

Solana agreed with him. But she didn’t say anything, opting to stay silent in the corner of the dusty room.

“Yeah. This isn’t very nice Argus.” George started in the same tone.

“I don’t care.” The caretaker barked before taking a seat in his chair. “Get on with it!” He ordered.

Solana flinched and begrudgingly started to sweep the dusty cabinets with the small brush. She turned away from the twins, refusing to give the boys any more of her time.

After a couple minutes of silent cleaning, and hearing Filch awkwardly cooing at Mrs. Norris, the entire group flinched as a loud crash echoed in the halls. Everyone eyed the door as a loud ghoulish cackle echoed through the castle.

“Argh!” Filch groaned. “Peeves!”

The students stayed silent. “Stay here.” The old caretaker ordered before leaving his office, his feline companion following him. As the door closed with a click of the lock, the twins let out a deep breath.

“Gold! Bless Peeve’s existence.” George laughed as he threw away his toothbrush.

“What are you doing! We need to clean the office, I don’t want to be stuck here all night.” Solana said.

Fred chortled. “Someone’s upset they got themselves into detention.”

“Excuse me!” Solana said, completely annoyed.

“You’re excused.” Fred replied sassily.

Solana let out a huff of frustration. “This is all your fault!”

“Yeah, sure, our fault.” Fred responded.

“Guys relax, your saviour is here.” George suddenly declared, a boasting expression on his face. Solana shot him a look of disbelief, shaking her head as she continued to tediously clean with the brush.

“Seriously, look what I got.” George said, taking off his shoe. Solana grimaced as she watched George take out his wand out of his shoe. “See! Genius!” He smiled.

“Let’s get out of here.” Fred smiled.

“What about his office?” Solana suddenly said.

“I don’t know where you’re going with this.” Fred responded.

“We need to clean it.” Solana simply said.

“Um. No we don’t.” George added, laughing disbelievingly.

“News flash. This is why everyone thinks you Ravenclaws suck.” Fred said, making Solana annoyed once more.

“Look you dimwits. Filch is going to chase after us either way, even if we get out of here tonight.” Solana spat back.

“Whatever. I don’t know the cleaning charm though.” George caved in.

“Just hand it over!” Solana said, her temper starting to run short.

George smiled at her charmingly, completely unfazed. He handed her his wand and put his shoe back on.

Solana couldn’t believe she was here, in Filch’s office, in detention with the Weasley twins. She looked at George’s wand, she liked how the handle fit in her hand, but she would never tell the twins that.

She quickly cleared her thoughts and cast the cleaning charm. “Scourgify.”

The dust quickly disappeared, stains on Filch’s table disappeared, and the ground even started to sparkle a little bit.

“I can’t believe you’re making me clean everything.”

“You’re the one who wanted to do this.” Fred responded, not bothering to look in her direction as he started to snoop in Filch’s cabinets.

“I’m helping! You’re using my wand, remember?” George cheerfully added as he attempted to open the door to Filch’s room. “Bullocks, Filch locked his room.” He said.

“You’re telling me you actually want to go in there?” Solana grumbled, voice full of judgement. George simply shrugged in response.

“Why does Filch have a random empty parchment in his restricted cabinet?” Fred suddenly asked, as he took out a simple piece of paper out of the drawer.

George gave up on his pursuit of entering Filch’s bedroom and walked over to his brother. “Sick! All our Zonko items.” He said, before scooping out a bunch of fake wands and odd-looking teacups.

Solana ignored the boys’ antics as she finished up with cleaning the dirty office.

“I’m done.” She eventually said, but the boys didn’t respond.

“I said I’m done. Here’s your wand.” Solana said. She walked towards the two boys, trying to return George’s wand. Fred, however, rudely snatched it. Solana shot him an annoyed look, but dropped it when she realised that George didn’t care.

“Alohamora.” Fred casted, touching the parchment with the tip of George’s wand.

“Glad to know you know how to cast that spell. Let’s get out of here.” Solana said.

“Woah!” George said.

The marauders aren’t that stupid

Solana furrowed her eyebrows at the sudden appearance of ink on the blank parchment. The letters slowly disappeared, melting away and leaving the paper looking empty once more.

“That’s odd.” She muttered.

Fred suddenly flinched. “Stop looking.”

Solana backed away from the twins, her curiosity quickly dissipating as her attitude started to sour once more. “Whatever.”

“Let’s get out of here. You did quick work of the office.” George quickly said.

Solana quirked her head to the side at George’s words. She let out a soft hum. “Can I have your wand for a second?”

“Sure.” George said, snatching his wand out of Fred’s hands. George smirked at his brother, and the two boys communicated with each other wordlessly. Fred upheld his slight frown as he continued to stare at the parchment in his hands.

George handed his wand to Solana.

Solana quickly looked towards the office door. “Alohamora.” The door opened with a click, and she started to walk towards it, George following behind her.

She opened the door and the students walked out of the caretaker’s office.

One last thing, she thought.

“Scourgify.” Solana casted.

The boys suddenly cringed as they felt a weird scrubbing sensation on their palms.

“Hey! What was that for?” Fred snapped, crouching to pick up the weird parchment that he dropped during the process.

“News flash. You guys always smell like literally poop.” Solana rolled her eyes, before tossing George his wand and walking back to the Ravenclaw common room.

Fred glared at her retreating figure, refusing to look away.