A/N Hullo Greekies! How are you? Did you get enough sleep? Did you drink your water? Are you pumped on so much caffeine that you could kill a herd of cows? But, here's your first chapter! It's more a prologue just to understand how the characters act and such, but I just don't really like prologues, so I've called it the first chapter! Note, I need you guys to make note of every single detail that's wrong about your character! Did I get a hairstyle wrong? Anc accent? Should I use a different phrase? Not sarcastic enough? Tell me! I'll fix it I swear! I just want to make sure I get your character perfect! Oh, and the actual chapter is around 10697 words long! Not including the A/N and question at the bottom.

Make sure to vote and comment on the chapter so that I know you're reading! I love all of you Greekies!!!

𝕳𝖊𝖑'𝖘 𝕻𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖁𝖎𝖊𝖜:

"Father, Step-Mother look, the first years are staring," Hel whispered to Loki and Sigyn, grinning slightly. As Hel pointed discreetly to the ogling first year, the young strawberry-blonde haired girl noticed and blushed, looking back to talk to her family.

It was Hel's seventh and final year at Hogwarts. After this year, she'll be taught on Asgard about Queenship and the political things about the nine realms. She was quite excited about this, as it was the next step in her studies, but she was also quite sad because this would be her last year at her second home, it'd feel like leaving her childhood and entering a new world. Of course, it wasn't like she would never see Hogwarts again. Since she was a goddess she was allowed to visit the school, and she'd still be able to see her friends again, popping by their homes in this Wizarding War and trying to bring good and bright news in times of peril.

The idea of her bringing brightness was a little strange to her though, seeing as she was a Norse goddess of death. Her whole thing was being the darkest dark could imagine and bringing strife to all those who even dare say her name. The bringing of happiness to her very few friends? It was still such a new concept to her.

"They always stare my darling, but I do not think it is at me and Sigyn this year," Loki said smiling, placing a hand on Hel's flesh side and cupping her dead cheek with the other, "You look absolutely stunning without the covering illusions, remember that Hel, alright? You are beautiful as you are, and I am so glad that you've chosen to show your true appearance this year."

Hel smiled gratefully. All of her previous years of schooling she had covered up her dead side until she got to Hogwarts, but this year she hadn't. It was her last year, after all, might as well do something drastic while she still could.

"I know," she said confidently holding her chin up high. Her things had already been put away on the train, so she didn't have to worry about that. Ganglati -- her mischievous raven that served as a messenger -- was in his cage and Hel had put a thin blanket in the cage so that he would actually sleep rather than squawk indignantly, wanting to be set free to fly through the nine realms. Hel wouldn't let him do that until after they got to Hogwarts. Once they arrived on school grounds, he would be free to do as he wished as long as he got Hel's mail to and from destinations on time.

"Take it all in Hel, this is the last time you'll be going here like this," Hel's step-mum, Sigyn, said sweetly. Since it was Hels last year, Sigyn had taken time out of her schedule to be with Hel when she left for Hogwarts, "I remember my last year at school, but this is about you," Sigyn added fondly, her robes swishing around her like green fields she loved to work her magic on. The year that Hel turned five years old -- the year Loki took her away from her abusive mother -- was also the year Sigyn graduated from her pristine healing school on Asgard. Although Loki was technically far older than Sigyn, once you hit 25 in Midgardian years, age didn't really matter in Asgard, so Sigyn and Loki got married practically a year after she graduated (the year Sigyn turned 26).

Hel smiled and breathed in deeply smelling the scent of new robes, owls, soft puffs of smoke coming from the train, the metallic scent of carts, and that sweet scent of newly bought leather floating around in the atmosphere. Hel didn't realize she had turned around to smell the scents until she caught the eye of The Potters a little bit away from them. She winked at Sirius -- who was now an honorary Potter -- and looked back to her own family. She smiled at the familiar and new faces she saw behind her step-mum and father and tried to memorize every inch of this place as a student. Remembering the bustling noises of students saying goodbyes to their families, to the soft cries of younger children wanting to go to Hogwarts, the crashing of carts. Remembering the look of students' bright and cheery eyes as they boarded the train, the happy looks of families, and memorizing how happy everything was there.

"I think I'm ready to go," Hel said finally, smiling at Loki and Sigyn, she set Ganglati's cage down gently and ran up to her parents, engulfing them in a big hug. "I guess this is the last time you'll be saying goodbye to me as a student, isn't it?" Hel asked smiling as she pulled her family closer.

"Yes, when we pick you up, you'll be an adult with knowledge beyond her years," Loki whispered, pulling away, "You are coming home for your birthday, right my dear?"

"Of course I am! My birthday is during their Winter Holiday after all," Hel said brightly, picking up Ganglati with her dead, left arm, "Bye father! Bye, step-mother!" She added as she pressed a kiss to Loki then Sigyn's cheek as she ran onto the Hogwarts Express, but she was stopped by Sigyn.

"Wait, Hel!" Sigyn said and Hel turned around walking back, quite confused, "I forgot to tell you, but I heard from Freyja, you know how much she loves to gossip when she's not sparring or on the battlefield, that there's something new going on at Hogwarts for the sixth and seventh years due to the war on Midgard, so I'd be wary and listen to any speeches or announcements."

Hel nodded in understanding. "Of course, but, honestly, Headmaster Dumbledore can't keep a secret for long, so I'll probably know what it's all about by, at the very latest, the end of this week," she said before saying goodbye again and running off onto the train.

The second she got in her bright smile wiped away and was replaced by a more regal look expected of a leader and a queen, she was only sixteen but acted as if she were twenty-five. By muscle memory, she found the Headgirl compartment and sat down in the seat closest to the window -- the best seat in her opinion. With an impossibly straight posture, she looked out the window and let a small smile creep onto her lips as she saw her father and step-mother waving to her from their spot. Her hand inched up but she thought about it for a second and kept it in her lap. Hel looked back and forth but saw no one coming. She then enthusiastically brought her hand up to open the window, she smiled at her small family and waved goodbye. The couple noticed this and Hel saw the brilliant smiles on their faces as Loki called out, "Heimdal!" To take the two home.

𝕻𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖔𝖗𝖆'𝖘 𝕻𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖁𝖎𝖊𝖜:

"Oooh, Sirius, I think Hel winked at you!" Pandora said teasingly, nudging Sirius with her elbow. It had honestly taken her quite a bit to warm up to her twin brother's best mate, but by the end of their third year, the two were good friends. More than friends actually, siblings.

"Oh shut up Dora, of course, she wasn't," Sirius said, rolling his eyes and running a hand through his shaggy hair. The "discreet" glance he sent at Hel to see if she was seeing what he was doing didn't escape Pandora's eyes and she snickered at Sirius.

It was common knowledge amongst the Potter children that Sirius started to really fancy Hel at the end of the fifth year, (although it was a mild crush from the middle of the fourth year) finally realizing it after the two's trip to Asgard. They all agreed though, that Hel probably didn't share those feelings, seeing how she treated Sirius with just about the same affection as the rest of the Marauders. Of course, Pandora and James had never seen Hel alone with Sirius, so Sirius thought quite differently, but just went along with his best mate's ideas.

"Yeah, she was, even I noticed it Padfoot, and you lot say that I'm observant as a brick wall!" James said, coming up behind the two.

Pandora rolled her eyes at her twin because, yes, he really was observant as a brick wall. Once, while their family was playing quidditch in their backyard, she fell off of her broom and onto a rock, resulting in a scar on her upper lip. Little James didn't even notice his twin sister crying on the ground and went on to score a goal while their mum and dad flew over to help poor Pandora. James apologized profusely afterwards, and that's when Pandora deemed him "as observant as a brick wall" and all the Marauders agreed.

"You know," Sirius said dreamily as he watched Hel in a totally not stalker-ish way, "I think I might be in love."

Pandora refrained from groaning and hitting her palm to her face as James just shook his head. "Well done Sirius," Pandora said dryly, "You are officially the last person to know."

Sirius pouted like a child and muttered, "Rude!"

Pandora sighed and rolled her eyes while James laughed heartily behind them. Their mum noticed this and came over to inspect why her children were acting like adorable goofs.

"Now, did I hear that someone was in love?" Pandora's mother asked.

All three kids shook their heads instantly, "No mum!" Pandora said quickly. Although she loved her mother to no end, she'd prefer that she would stay out of their love lives.

Euphemia Potter sighed and smiled warmly, a smile that Pandora had inherited from her. "Oh my precious children," she said, engulfing all three of them into a hug, "All three of you have grown up so fast! Already in your last year of Hogwarts!"

Pandora smiled into the hug, blushing a bit by her mother's actions. Seven years ago she would've been mortified that her mother was hugging her this tight in front of other students. But now, she wasn't so shy anymore and didn't care as much what others thought.

Euphemia let go and stared at her three little babies. Pandora smiled awkwardly under her mum's gaze as she inched closer to the train, eager to get on and see all of her friends.

"Oh you all, all grown up, I'll miss you, you know," Pandora's mum said. Pandora saw the knowing glint in her mother's eyes when she saw all three of them inch closer and closer to the train, "Well then, it seems you're eager to get on the train, but I and your father love you and don't forget to write!"

"We love you, mum and dad! And we won't forget! Bye!" All three kids yelled as they grabbed their pet's cages and ran to the train at breakneck speed. Pandora knew the writing was a half-lie, for the first few weeks of school they would write practically every week, and then it would stop two months in. Well, she and James would probably stop. Sirius would always write no matter what or when, Pandora contributed this to the fact that he was grateful the Potters took him in. Pandora, James, and Sirius all hopped onto the train where they found their compartment quickly and they were joyful to see that they were the first ones there and plopped down in their regular seats.

If you told past Pandora, the shy little creature, that in a few years she would be racing her twin and his best mate down the hallway of the train to get to their compartment, she would've fainted on the spot. Now, Pandora wasn't as shy and would happily joke around with her friends. In her first year, she and James agreed beforehand that they would sit in different compartments and make new friends on their own. That led to a small Pandora sitting in a compartment alone while she twiddled with her fingers in hopes that someone would sit with her, of course, people did and she made new friends that day on the train. Albeit, it took quite a bit for Pandora to open up, but once she did she was a smiling little girl, always wanting to make others laugh and laugh in return.

"So, when do you think Moony, Wormtail and Coaleye are gonna get here?" Sirius asked, leaning back in his seat. Pandora had claimed the window seat, and so had James, which left Sirius next to James and technically in the middle seat.

"Dunno, but probably soon," Pandora said shrugging, "Oh! Sirius! How much do you want to bet that James is gonna mess up his hair the second Lily gets in here?" Pandora asked Sirius grinning.

Sirius laughed while James pouted and crossed his arms, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a sickle. "I bet one sickle!" Sirius said brightly, "but honestly, I should just pay you now because it's bloody bound to happen."

James let out a noise of disagreement while Pandora just laughed at Sirius and her antics. Honestly, she'll do anything to get a good laugh, but bonus points if it embarrassed James.

"You know, as much as I fancy Lily, I'm sure Remus fancies you quite a lot more," James mumbled under his breath, his arms crossed like a child.

Pandora just rolled her eyes and scooted forward in her seat to slap James lightly on the arm.

"Oh hush James."

𝕰𝖑𝖔𝖗𝖎𝖊'𝖘 𝕻𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖁𝖎𝖊𝖜:

Elorie hopped onto the train, clutching the cage to her lizard, Jayden, is her hand as she ran to go to the Marauder compartment. Her fluffy, curly hair bounced as she ran down the hallway, but before she could get to the compartment she bumped into someone.

"Hey!" she exclaimed after the initial collision, "Jayden! Old chap, you alright?" she added mumbling, looking down to see her lizard in her cage. She had rattled the cage when she bumped into the person so Jayden got quite startled. Her face scrunched up after bumping into another student. "Who did I?" she muttered, looking forward to seeing who she bumped into.

"Oh, are you al- '' the person Elorie bumped into held her hand out, but quickly brought it back when she saw who it was. "Oh, McFellon," the girl said, crossing her arms.

"Evans," Elorie said with as much enthusiasm as Lily showed.

It was honestly unexplainable, ever since first-year Lily and Elorie hated each other. Everyone assumed it was because Elorie didn't like Lily's goodie-two-shoes attitude and the fact that she hung around Snivellus up until the end of the fifth year, and that Lily hated how rebellious Elorie was, and how much Elorie was like James in the sense that she had a YOLO attitude, and was a complete daredevil.

Lily looked Eloire up and down and sighed, uncrossing her arms and passing Eloire, going to her compartment. Elorie, in return, held her head up high and walked away from Lily, showing no signs of ever speaking to her. The second Lily was out of sight, Elorie let her energy run free again as she ran to the Marauder's compartment, she sprung over and ran inside, seeing as nobody had bothered to close the door.

"What the hell's up?!" Elorie yelled out excitedly as she took her spot by Sirius, placing Jayden on the ground as she punched Sirius playfully on the arm.

"Hey, Coaleye!" Sirius said, punching Elorie on the arm playfully, returning the favour.

Elorie and Sirius had been best friends ever since they met each other. Similar in every way, the two were rule-breakers, rebellious, and loved to cause trouble. Every student at Hogwarts knew to keep away from the two whenever they were grinning, huddled up in a corner together with James, scheming for their next great prank.

Elorie noticed Pandora staring at her and Eloire waved a hand in front of her face, "Hello? Earth to Pandora?"

"Oh!" Pandora said, snapping out of it. "It's just, you've got something - " Pandora made a gesture of wiping her chin, telling Eloire that she had something on her face.

Eloire used her sleeve to wipe at her chin, "Gone?"

"Not quite," Pandora said as she pulled a hankie from her pocket and reached over to wipe at Elorie's chin. "Got it," she said, showing Eloire the red mark on the hankie.

"Oh, I blame Evans, she bumped into me."

"What! Lily would never!" James said, gasping loudly and clutching his heart dramatically.

Everyone in the cart sighed and rolled their eyes at James' dramatic show.

"Really mate? And here I thought Pads was dramatic," Elorie said, jabbing her thumb in Sirius' direction. She may or may not have jabbed him in the arm, but it was pure accident.

"But I am dramatic!" Sirius said indignantly.

Pandora sighed at her twins, and friends, little quarrel and looked over to the compartment door, which Elorie didn't bother to close. Pandora was about to stand up and close it when she saw a familiar head walk towards the door.

"Remy!" Pandora exclaimed excitedly as she poked her head out of the compartment.

"Wait, Remus?" Elorie asked as she stood up to join Pandora in poking her head out of the compartment door to look.

Both girls watched as Remus and Peter walked down the hallway, Peter looking significantly shorter then Remus seeing as Remus had had a growth spurt since the last time Elorie had seen him, which was just two months ago. Eloire noted that Remus was no longer the gangly kind of tall, but the hot kind of tall, she looked over to Pandora and saw that she was blushing slightly at how much more mature Remus looked.

"Heeyyy," Elorie said suggestively, nudging Pandora lightly with her shoulder, "Looks like someone's boyfriend just got a tad more attractiiiiiiiiive."

Pandora blushed a bit more, "Oh hush Elorie," she muttered under her breath.

"Not my fault you fancy him so," Elorie said, "Hey, is it just me or did Peter shrink?"

"That's kind of rude Elorie."

"Whaaat? No, it's not, I'm just being blunt about it."

"What are you girls talking about?" Sirius asked from behind Eloire and Pandora.

"Remus got taller, therefore hotter, and I think Peter shrunk," Elorie stated simply, turning around to face the boys. She noticed Pandora facepalming and sighed before turning around as well.

Sirius and James grinned as they both discreetly pointed behind Elorie and Pandora, causing both girls to get confused as to why the two were holding back laughs (horribly mind you, they just looked like two little schoolgirls)

"You two know we can hear you right? Well at least I can, I don't know about Peter," a certain person with a sing-song welsh accent said from behind the girls.

"Remus!" Pandora exclaimed brightly and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss her boyfriend.

Elorie grinned at how adorable the couple was and went to go sit down by Sirius again. Peter awkwardly squeezed past Remus and Pandora into the cart and sat right across from Elorie. Pandora and Remus broke away and awkwardly went back to their seats holding hands.

James pouted and crossed his arms, staring at Remus intently, "How tall are you now?" he asked.

"Er, I think six-foot, two inches," Remus replied, but it sounded more like a question.

Elorie sniggered, Remus may have been one of James' best mates, but he was also dating James' twin, his baby sister. As much as James was his friend, Remus also kind of needed his approval to date his sister, so Remus had always been a bit of a nervous wreck whenever he was showing PDA to Pandora and was in the same room as James, which Elorie happily noted was ninety-nine per cent of the time.

"You're exactly an inch taller than me!" James complained loudly.

"Yeah James, at least you aren't five-one," Elorie said, pointing to herself. She had always been quite short, never getting any taller than she had been in the second year, she had her growth spurt when she was twelve and then she didn't grow any more. Loads of people used to tease her about this, but being short meant you had the advantage of being closer to the bollocks and the kneecaps, which were wonderful targets for kicking.

"Wait James, why are you here? I thought you were Headboy this year?" Pandora asked as she let go of Remus' hand to scoot further in her seat and to face her twin brother.

Elorie saw as James' eyes widen to the size of teacups and his mouth dropped. She refrained from bursting out laughing as she practically saw the alarmed thoughts flow through his brain.

"Shit!" he exclaimed loudly as he practically leapt out of his seat and ran out of the compartment and to the Headboy and girl's compartment.

"Well then, that went fantastically," Eloire said sarcastically grinning as everyone left in the cart laughed.

𝕺𝖑𝖎𝖛𝖎𝖆'𝖘 𝕻𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖁𝖎𝖊𝖜:

Olivia quickly found her way to her compartment and sat down, making sure her owl, Billy, was alright before setting him down and turning to her friends, "Hey Alice! Frank! Marlene!" she said brightly as she sat down in the spot closest to the sliding door.

Alice and Frank greeted Olivia with hugs and Marlene said hello. Olivia was about to ask where Lily was but thought better of it, the two had never really gotten along. Mostly because Olivia was concerned about Lily's ex-best friend Severus and the crew he hung out with. They had gotten into quite a few arguments about it in the past and eventually just had a falling-out. Of course, being the two sweet Grynffondors they were, Olivia tried to be nice to Lily whenever she could, and she thought that Lily did too, but they were a tad bit cold to each other.

"Hey, did you hear about the new thing going on at Hogwarts because of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?" Alice asked.

"What? Oh, no I didn't," Olivia replied, intrigued. She turned her body so that she was facing Alice, who was sitting diagonally across from her at the window seat.

"Yeah, but there's this new thing going on, apparently it's big."

"How did you hear about it?"

"Lokidottir."

Olivia scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion, Hel rarely ever talked to Gryffindors outside of the Marauders -- Olivia being one of the exceptions. Why would she talk to Alice? Of course, it wasn't like Olivia minded, Hel had the right to talk to anyone, but it was just a little strange as to why a popular Slytherin girl such as Hel would talk to a Gryffindor.

"Hel talked to you?" Olivia asked, her voice going a bit high in the end with confusion.

"Well, she didn't outright talk to me specifically, I kind of overheard when she was talking to her family," Alice said sheepishly as Frank wrapped an arm around her.

Olivia nodded in understanding, brushing her slightly wavy, blonde hair out of her face so that it didn't get stuck in her lip gloss. "You know, I should go ask her about it, maybe she knows something more," Olivia said.

"I mean, if you can find her, go right ahead," Alice said shrugging.

"She's probably with Lily in the Headgirl and boy compartment," Marlene supplied for Olivia, "So I'd wait a bit if I were you."

Olivia nodded, she knew that Hel usually stopped by the Marauders compartment after her prefect and Head Girl duties, plus Olivia had heard from some other Grynffindors she was friends with that James was now a Headboy, so Hel would probably have to drop James off at the Marauders compartment as well. Honestly, Olivia was quite surprised when she heard the news about James being Headboy and Lily being Headgirl, she wasn't jealous, oh no! She was just surprised that a bully got Headboy, but Lily was completely understandable, Oliva had only known James as the bully who terrorized others, and she didn't like bullies.

The four waited it out, talking and laughing as the train went on and on to Hogwarts. Olivia then checked the time and decided it was time to go see her friend and figure out what this whole new "big thing" was.

"I'm going to go now, I'll be right back," Olivia said as she stood up, flattening her skirt in the back so that it wasn't flipped up.

"Alright, but don't be long, we should be at Hogwarts soon and you need to change into your robes," Marlene said, pointing out Olivia's khaki skirt paired with cute long white socks and a thin white jumper.

"Oh yeah," Olivia siad, rolling her eyes, "I'll be quick!"

Olivia brushed her hair off of her shoulders as she opened the compartment door, stepping out into the hallway and going down to the noisiest compartment of the entire train; the Marauders compartment. On her way she looked behind her and saw a girl with long dark hair, hazel-green eyes and Slytherin robes on, a Headgirl badge pinned on her breast, and a boy with messy jet-black hair and glasses hot on her tail.

"Oh, hey Hel! I was just looking for you!" Olivia said, waving at Hel.

Hel's posture immediately got even more perfect as she looked from side to side quickly. "Hush peasant, you'll ruin my image," she hissed as she quickly grabbed James and Olivia's arms and tugged them into the Marauder compartment.

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Why do you always call me peasant?" she asked, leaning against the compartment door seeing as every spot in the compartment was filled. James had taken his seat by the window, and Hel just walked over to the window and leaned on it slightly.

"Other than the fact that it's true?" Hel asked, raising an eyebrow, then her gaze softened, "I really don't mean it, you all know that, but my image and reputation is far too good to be ruined now."

Olivia shook her head and sighed, "I guess, but I'm surprised that I didn't hear any laughs or screams from the younger kids, did James not prank anyone or do anything dumb?" she asked genuinely.

Sirius and Eloire gasped in surprise as they wheeled around to face James, Remus and Pandora looked confused and Peter just sat there with a slightly shocked look on his face.

Hel sighed and crossed her arms, "He didn't, surprisingly, he's grown up since last year, I don't know if it was for the girl, or for his friends, but he's grown up." she said.

Jaws dropped at this statement while James just grinned like a fool.

"Yup mates, hear that? I'm grown up! I'm an adult now!" James said, pointing to himself.

Olivia rolled her eyes again, "Fine, Potter's grown up, but I actually came here because I have a question for you Hel," she said, looking forward to facing Hel.

"And that is?"

"The new big thing going on at Hogwarts?"

Hel wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion at first  but then it dawned on her, "So you were the one eavesdropping on my family!"

Olivia brought her hands up in surrender, "No, not me, my friend, Alice."

"Fortescue?"

"Yeah, how did you know she was overhearing you guys?"

Hel laughed, "My father is the god of mischief and trickery, eavesdropping is something he sees over. He can sense these kinds of things you know, he just chooses not to, but when there's a crowd of young children, he can't help but let his powers roam free and give kids ideas, which means he senses it. I noticed he was acting funny so I assumed some child was doing something mischievous that included us."

Olivia nodded in understanding, as much as she hated that Hel loved to remind everyone every second of the day that she was the daughter of Loki, it made sense.

"But the new thing, I haven't an idea what it is, my stepmother only told me that there was new going on, but she did hear it from her friend Freyja if that's any hint to what it is."

Everyone nodded and tried to figure out what it was, just then, the train blew its whistle, signalling that they were almost to Hogwarts. Olivia wobbled on her feet slightly as the train got a bit jerkier, and held the door.

"I have to go change into my robes, see you guys!" Olivia said smiling as she slipped out the door and away. She noticed that Hel stayed behind for a while, but then got out just as Olivia got back into her compartment.

𝕸𝖎𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖆' 𝕻𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖁𝖎𝖊𝖜:

The train whistle blew, signalling that they were almost to Hogwarts. Miranda turned to the rest of the Eagles -- the Ravenclaw rich girls clique -- and held her nose up high as she talked to them the way a teacher would to students.

"So girls, we have a mission this year," Miranda said, brushing her perfectly curled blonde hair off of her shoulder.

"Yeah, what is it Andie?" one of the girls, Aileen Scott, asked.

"We are going to see if James Potter and Lily Evans are compatible if so, it's matchmaking time girls," Miranda said pompously pursing her lips in an elegant smile that held loads of smarts behind them.

One of Miranda's most favourite things to do is to play matchmaker. So far, all the couples that she deemed compatible, and that she got together with, had ended in happiness. Narcissa Black and Lucius Malfoy, Andromeda Black and Edward Tonks, Remus Lupin and Pandora Potter (she had to convince Remus to hire her, the two were very unwilling to hire Miranda, she thinks it's because she comes across as a rich bitch, which she is, but still!), Noah Chang and Aileen Scott, Frank Longbottom and Alice Fortescue, and many more. She was known as Hogwarts' best matchmaker, and she intended to keep that title.

"As much as I doubt they're compatible we'll see," Miranda added, placing her hands in her lap. James had hired her at the very end of last year to get him and Lily together, Miranda snootily replied with something along the lines of: "Fine Potter, but I highly doubt that you and Evans are compatible, forget opposites attract, I just don't feel the magic."

The train shuddered to a stop as they stopped at Kings Cross. Miranda elegantly got up and brushed her robes off, making sure that her perfectly ironed shirt was straight she picked up her snowy owl's, Austin's, cage and got out of the compartment. She walked down the hallway with steps like a model as the rest of the Eagles trickled out, following Miranda like ducklings to a mother duck.

They walked to the carriages like royalty would, Miranda leading like she owned the palace. Miranda had been curious years prior as to how the carriages went to Hogwarts all on their own, but she learned in her fifth year that they were drawn by Thestrals, creatures that could only be seen if you've seen death. This had intrigued her deeply because she couldn't see the Thestrals, and she wondered what magic lay behind that,  she may be a stuck-up rich bitch, but she was a smart stuck-up rich bitch, she had been sorted into Ravenclaw for a reason.

They arrived inside the Great Hall shortly after, the Eagles taking their (practically reserved) seats at the Ravenclaw table, watching as the little first years got sorted.

"Hey Andie, do you think any firsties are going to be part of our crew?" a girl, Alodie, asked Miranda.

Miranda gave Alodie a look that practically meant, 'Speak only when you're spoken to,' but she answered her anyway, "Maybe, I don't know yet, our last year is next year, after all, we need apprentices to carry out the matchmaking business."

Finally, the last first year was sorted and Headmaster Dumbledore got onto the podium and started the announcements.

"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! I have a few start-of-term announcements for you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Miranda heard sniggering coming from the Gryffindor table, and she suspected it was from the infamous Marauders, they were quite annoying, but friend-acquaintances no less. Miranda had fancied James for a bit, but she never told a soul -- not that she fancies him anymore. She knew Remus from when she (almost forcefully) made him recruit her to get him and Pandora together back in his fifth year, her fourth, which was one of her most successful matchmakings (as she's said previously).

"I have also been asked by Mr Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, there is something new at Hogwarts for the sixth and seventh years. We will tell you more details tomorrow after breakfast, therefore first and second period classes will be cancelled for the sixth and seventh years only."

There was much cheering from the sixth and seventh years -- Miranda not included because cheering is for lower folk -- who were excited for an excuse to not have to go to classes.

"Now that the announcements are over, time for the feast! Fill your bellies up and let the feast begin!"

The grand tables suddenly filled with as much food imaginable as students dug in, Dumbledore went to sit down in his Headmaster's chair as he seemed to wink at random students.

"You hear that Andie?" another girl of the Eagles, Callista, said as she put an endearingly small amount of food on her plate, "There's something new for us! I wonder what it is!"

"Well, as long as it doesn't interfere with our popularity, our business, or money, I'm sure it doesn't matter," Miranda said, shrugging as she strategically picked out foods to eat.

There may have been limitless food in the Great Hall, and Miranda may have been graciously blessed with a high metabolism, but she still watched what she put in her body (her "sacred temple") to not become unhealthy.

"You know girls, I have a good feeling about this year," Miranda said smiling as she placed a napkin in her lap and dug in.

𝕳𝖆𝖗𝖑𝖊𝖞𝖘 𝕻𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖁𝖎𝖊𝖜:

"What's up girl," a random boy said, looking at Harley suggestively, "You know, I always had a thing for the emos."

Harley rolled their eyes and sent a cold glare the boy's way, their black lips curling up into a snarl, "Fuck off lad, and don't call me a girl."

The boy pouted and turned back to his food, Harley rolled their eyes and went back to their own food. They honestly hated the fact that they were a little on the thicker side in their thighs and it always made them a target for thirsty boys "looking for a good time."

"I swear to god Severus, these people are so annoying, bloody fuckers, can't even use the right gender or pronouns," they mumbled to Severus, better known to the school as "Snape" or "Snivellus."

Severus had always been the closest thing Harley had to family, other than Bellatrix Black, but she was long gone from Hogwarts. Their mother and father left them at an orphanage when they were seven -- which was where they lived now -- it was a little known fact, and the only people who knew were some of the teachers, Severus, and Bellatrix. From there sprout up severe trust issues, so Harley tended to keep to themself, rarely making friends.

"They are, would you like for me to poison them?" Severus asked, clutching his worn and torn copy of Advanced Potions in his pale fingers. Harley understood that it was something like a security blanket to him, but it was still strange to see him clutching that book everywhere, but Harley didn't judge.

"Nah, karma'll bite them in the ass," Harley said, stuffing their face with food and watching everyone closely like an animal stalking prey.

Severus shrugged, picking at his food and holding his head low as to not be noticed, not that anyone ever paid attention to him. His greasy hair hung around his face and he followed Harley's steely gaze, seeing that they were staring at the Marauders.

"Are you looking at Potter?" Severus asked curiously as he cautiously bit into his food as if it were poisoned, which wasn't that far from the truth most days.

Harley shrugged, "Not specifically, just the whole lot of them." They cocked their head to the side a bit, "I wish we were allowed to kill it with fire," they said.

It was the common rivalry between Gryffindors and Slytherins that fueled Harley's hatred for the Marauders, they hated all of them really. They and Sirius had dated for a bit back in the fifth year, but it didn't work out after they realized they hated his guts, Potter was just a nuisance, and, as they stated before, should be killed with fire (which would have been very amusing to watch for both Harley and Severus), Pettigrew was a coward, they knew he was and nobody was going to change their mind, Lupin was fine, and McFellon, well, their personalities just didn't mix, a lot like ammonia and bleach.

"How about pushing him off a cliff?" Severus suggested.

"Been there, done that, I wasn't successful, unfortunately, you were there," Harley replied simply.

"Turning his hair pink?"

"Happens on the daily."

"Cutting it?"

"Regrowth potion."

"Hexing him?"

"We've tried to already, it was successful for only a few minutes."

"Make him blind?"

"He's already blind."

"Are you guys talking about ways to torture Potter?" a girl asked from beside Severus, the side that wasn't occupied by Harley.

Harley craned their neck slightly to see who was talking. They caught a flash of red-orange hair, coupled with a pretty, pale nose.

"Hello Maelyn, I didn't realize you sat by us," Harley greeted.

Maelyn gave Harley a look, "We literally sat in the same compartment on the train."

Harley relented with a shrug, they and Maelyn were ... acquaintances. Harley thought Maelyn was perfect, just perfect. Her sassy, but mean personality under that quiet exterior was lovely, but Harley got the feeling that Maelyn didn't reciprocate those feelings, but, fuck it.

"Anyway, I overheard you guys talking about ways to torture Potter --" Maelyn continued.

"We never confirmed it," Severus shot back.

"-- I assumed, but yeah, count me in on whatever you're doing, in the words of Lily Evans, 'he's an arrogant toerag'," Maelyn said smiling.

Harley just shrugged again, choosing to eat rather than to talk because food is way better than people, and that was not an opinion, but a fact. Harley had always been a "misfit" choosing to hang around the "emo" crew, like Bellatrix and Severus, coupled with the fact that they were an Agender-Demiromantic-Bisexual, it didn't exactly make them one of the popular kids at Hogwarts, or even in Slytherin. Harley left that sort of thing to the real popular girls, like Slytherin popular girl Hel, not that that lady wanted to be popular, she was just a fucking goddess, that's all.

"Have you tried setting fire to his robes yet?" Maelyn asked, leaning closer to Severus and Harley, which prompted Severus to scoot closer to Harley while Harley stayed put because they were not scooting closer to unknown people.

"We did it when the dick was in the fourth year," Harley said, rolling their eyes. But they smiled at the memory of a screeching Potter, flailing his arms around like a duck while his mates Sirius and Remus tried putting out the fire. Harley also distinctly remembered a cackling Elorie and a sniggering Pandora in the background, not choosing to help until Potter had calmed down a tad.

"We could do it again!" Severus said, a gleam returning to his eyes as he too remembered the day the two set Potter's robes on fire.

"Fine, next week, Monday, third period, hallway, fine?" Harley said.

Maelyn nodded and scooted back to her plate, much to the relief of Severus who scooted away from Harley again. Harley just continued eating because the food was unlimited for a reason.

"What do you think the new thing's going to be?" Severus asked Harley in a hushed voice as if it were some big secret.

"Don't know, don't care," Harley said shrugging.

𝕿𝖍𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖆'𝖘 𝕻𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖁𝖎𝖊𝖜:

"So," a girl beside Thalia, Kaitlyn, said, drawing out the "o" in "so" scooting a bit closer to Thalia.

Thalia broke her glance away from the Slytherin table and turned to Kaitlyn, her brownish-blonde hair swishing slightly as she did so, "Yes?"

"What do you think it is?" Kaitlyn asked rapidly as if they were doing a rapid-fire round of studying in the Ravenclaw common room.

"Whatever do you believe what is?"

"The new big thing of course!"

Thalia shrugged, honestly, considering it was Dumbledore who seemed to have created whatever the new thing was, it was either something really stupid and boring, or it was crazy and life-altering. There was no in-between with the Headmaster of Hogwarts.

"Well, I think we're going to have extra classes, you know, more in-depth and stuff," Kaitlyn said, a bright light in her eyes as she practically swooned at the idea of having more classes.

Thalia refrained from rolling her eyes but don't get her wrong! She absolutely adored learning and new knowledge, she was an avid book-reader herself and she loved hearing about new things. Heck, her owl was named after the Greek goddess of knowledge, Athena. But there was a fine line between learning new things and doing work to satisfy that hunger for knowledge, and just doing too much and ending up doing busywork, which was a trap that Kaitlyn fell into, but Thalia escaped.

"I don't believe so, if it were that simplistic, Headmaster Dumbledore would have merely told us now rather than later," Thalia said shrugging, "I honestly haven't an idea what it is, and you know how the Headmaster is."

Kaitlyn just grinned and went back to her food, Thalia sighed and pulled out a small book from inside her robes, reading it while she ate. She peered just over it to look over at the Slytherin table, and from her viewpoint, she could see all the groups.

There were the "emos" sitting at one end, she really only knew three people there, Severus Snape, Harley Kelly, and Maelyn Winkle, though she wasn't even sure if Maelyn was part of their crew. There were the popular people, Hel Lokidottir, the Blacks, the Malfoys, all the other supremacist purebloods, and Rabastan Lestrange. The smarties, the sneaks, and the other cliques.

Thalia had always been fascinated by Rabastan, but never admitted it. She didn't know what it was, the slight smirk he always had no matter what, his fierce loyalty to his family, the fact that she could still see the pain behind him. She was quite fascinated, of course, she never told anyone because she knew that everyone would judge her for finding him fascinating.

She heard the sound of Dumbledore rising from his chair and she quickly put her book down and put the rest of her food in her mouth as she listened for the speech that followed the feast.

"Well then, now that your tummies are full and satisfied, prefects, Headboys and Headgirls will lead you to your dormitories. Remember sixth and seventh years are to stay in the Great Hall after breakfast, so I would suggest not bringing all of your textbooks," Dumbledore said, chuckling lightly at the end as he waved his hand and the food disappeared, leaving everyone to stand up all jumbled about as the prefects, Headboys and Headgirls led everyone to the dormitories.

"Shall we help the firsties?" Thalia whispered over to Kaitlyn, eyeing the nervous first years as they waddled about, trying to follow the correct crowd.

"Hmm, maybe I should put it this way, the longer it takes for the firsties to get to the dorms, the longer it takes us to reach the dorms, and then we'll lose valuable reading time," Kaitlyn said super quickly, but Thalia was able to decipher her rapid-fire talking.

"We're helping the first years then. We're sixth years, after all, I presume we're supposed to assist them," Thalia said shrugging as she started guiding the first years with Kaitlyn to the dormitories. She gently pushed the waddling ten and eleven-year-olds as they walked up the moving staircase.

When Thalia was younger, she always wondered how the staircases worked, it had intrigued her to no end and she studied it to her heart's content, reading all about it in books like, "Hogwarts: A History." Of course, her needs were never satisfied, but she still learned a lot from her reading. Thalia quickly moved some first years in the right direction, hoping to get to the door of the tower and actually hear the riddle stated.

Thalia knew Kaitlyn was hot on her heels as she pushed forward and saw the Prefect Girl knock on the eagle door knocker, the Eagle "came to life" and spouted out a random riddle.

"You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I'm quick when I'm thin and slow when I'm fat. The wind is my enemy."

Thalia only had to think for two seconds before she knew the answer, it was simple really, a candle.

Luckily, the Prefect Girl thought the same thing, "A candle," she said.

The eagle knocker quickly swung in and the students piled into the common room. Thalia let the tiniest of smirks creep onto her lips as she heard the gasps of the little firsties seeing the Ravenclaw common room for the first time.

The Ravenclaw Common Room was one of the airiest rooms at Hogwarts. It was a wide, circular room with graceful arched windows that punctuated the walls which were hung with blue and bronze silks and a midnight blue carpet covered in stars that were reflected onto the domed ceiling. The walls were lined with bookshelves, some of the walls even were bookshelves and in those shelves held over a thousand books, all the way to the ceiling. It was a tradition for every seventh year to leave behind a book, muggle or wizard, fictional or nonfictional, on one of the shelves, and Thalia made it her sworn duty to read at the very least a fourth of all the books in the common room. But, with every year came new students, and the old ones left, leaving Thalia with a load of new books to read -- not that she minded of course.

"Boys dormitories down on your left, same for girls but on your right," the Prefect Girl said, gesturing to where the dorms were before going to pick out a book from the many shelves and sitting down on the comfy blue couch to read.

The firsties all piled into their dorms, well, they searched for where their things were, and Thalia immediately went over to grab a book. So many choices of novels, biographies, cookbooks, everything right at the tip of her fingers.

"So, let me guess, we're staying up late?" Kaitlyn asked, bouncing up and down.

"No, we're very well going to bed straight away to receive a healthy night's rest and arise bright and early in the morning," Thalia said sarcastically, picking out a book.

"You're being sarcastic."

"Unmistakably."

"Is that a genealogy book?"

"No," Thalia said, then looked at the cover of the book she chose at random, "Yes."

"That wasn't intentional, was it?"

"Of course it was intentional," Thalia said, sarcastically once more.

"Fine, let's go find a good spot before they're all taken," Kaitlyn said, her voice seemingly going faster than the speed of lights she bounced over to the fire, looking for a good spot.

Thalia shrugged and flipped to a random page in the book to see if she would like it or not, and, surprise surprise, she landed on the Lestrange family tree.

𝕸𝖆𝖊𝖑𝖞𝖓'𝖘 𝕻𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖁𝖎𝖊𝖜:

"Should I sneak into the Gryffindor common room?" Maelyn muttered to herself, hanging upside down from a chandelier in the Slytherin common room, occasionally flipping down and scaring the shit out of little first years. It was a lovely hobby really, Maelyn got to be quiet and have a spot all to herself while still scaring the firsties, even better seeing as it was their first night.

"Do you have a death wish?" Rabastan asked from around ten feet away from Maelyn.

Melyn scrunched her nose up, "I wasn't asking you, Lestrange," she said with spite. She absolutely hated Rabstan's guts. When he was a fourth-year and she was a fifth-year, he tried to hit on her for a good three months before she practically hexed him into oblivion. It was a lovely day for her, not so much for Lestrange, who spent quite a few days in the Hospital Wing.

Maelyn herself was an aromatic-asexual, feeling no romantic love for anything other than food and animals (not all animals though), and she felt no sexual love for absolutely anything. No, she wasn't "heartbroken" or "confused", she was sure and positive, and she was quite happy with herself, thank you very much. Even though she told the bat Rabastan this (and practically the entire school knows by now), he still pursued her, flirting and catcalling, but she knew it was just out of spite and not out of love, and it was really just to annoy her. Don't get her wrong it did annoy her, but she didn't let him know it.

"Then who are you asking?" Harley asked, a bottle of black nail polish in their hands as they were painting their nails, letting the smell of chemicals waft around the common room.

Maelyn scrunched her nails at the smell, "Myself," she said, as she practically leapt off of the chandelier to find a new spot to fuck people up -- preferably further away from any other human beings.

She quickly climbed up the chairs and jumped onto the chandelier farthest away from people, and just hung there like a bat waiting for the kill. Miraculously, she never got any headaches or anything of the sort when she hung upside down for long periods of time, she didn't know what it was, but it delighted her. She had done this for a while now, probably since the first year, just waiting around on a chandelier, ready to fuck some kid up by jumping down and whispering, "It's Chucky," in a creepy voice. She had no idea where the Chucky thing came from, but she liked it.

Maelyn herself was relatively a quiet person but with a mean personality. Being quiet came with a load of pent-up emotion, and Maelyn does not express or tell people about her emotions, oh no-no-no. The only person she really tells is herself, sometimes Lily, and sometimes Barney  -- her barn owl.

Lily and Maelyn had been friends since the first year, despite the whole "Slytherin vs Gryffindor" thing. Heck, Maelyn even had a cute nickname for Lily -- Lilsy -- and she didn't do cute nicknames, usually just mean ones like, "Fuckwit", " Pussy", "Bat", "Weirdo", "Snivellus", "Dummy", "Significunt", "Cockwomble", "Twatface", the works.

Maelyn hung upside down, her red-orange hair hanging below her and her arms just dangling. No one ever noticed her, being as quiet as she was, and it was nice. Just her, herself, and-

"Are you becoming a bat?" Snape called out, looking to where Maelyn was hiding in the shadows, dangling off a chandelier.

"Why would I want to be you?" Maelyn shot back, perhaps the smartest thing she said all week.

She honestly didn't give a damn about Snape, but if he talked to her, she would just give an off-hand retort which sent him slithering away back into his little safe spot, which was typically Harley. Being quiet also meant the Maelyn was quite observant. Sure she wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, usually only getting Exceeds Expectations (at best) in most of her classes, other than Potions and Charms. In Charms she miraculously got and Outstanding, in Potions, she barely scraped by with an Acceptable, but she still understood basic concepts like, "people like to go to their hidey-holes when they get embarrassed."

As predicted, Snape scooted closer over to Harley, who was still painting their nails, and Maelyn grinned at her success. She practically flipped off of the chandelier, startling a snogging couple in the process (seriously, did they have no dignity? No snogging in the middle of the common room people! It's gross to watch! You're literally eating each other's mouths off) and went up to her dorm.

Of course, she was still thinking about the announcement, but mostly about the bit where classes were cancelled. Sure the new big thing was probably something cool, or dumb, but the missing classes part was beautifully amazing -- she didn't have to lug around any books!

𝕯𝖊𝖈𝖑𝖆𝖓'𝖘 𝕻𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖁𝖎𝖊𝖜:

Declan quickly snuck out of the Ravenclaw tower a couple of minutes after everyone flooded into their dorms and fell asleep. He placed a disillusionment spell on himself as he silently crept through the Hogwarts halls and to the Gryffindor tower.

First night back at Hogwarts and he was already sneaking about again in the typical Declan fashion. He had always been the kind of person to sneak about after-hours and he was astonishingly good at it, he hadn't been caught yet and it was bloody brilliant.

He soundlessly walked about, finding his way across staircases and to his destination. Lily, being Headgirl, had slipped him the password to the tower on the train just in case he'd like to see her and Remus on the first night, which he did.

Remus and Declan were good friends seeing as Remus had been one of the first people Declan had ever trusted. They met in the library when the two were the only ones there, and when Remus caught Declan sneaking a book out of the restricted section of the library. After Declan told him the things he got up to in the middle of the night, Remus became intrigued and impressed, and a lovely friendship blossomed from there. Their relationship wasn't really that public, since Declan was known for not having very many friends, rather, he was known for being separate from everyone. Plus James and Sirius hated him (the feeling was mutual) so he avoided Remus when all the marauders were together. Remus had been the one to introduce Lily to Declan and the two hit it off immediately, which explained how he got the passwords to the tower from her.

Declan was about one meter away from the common room door (the fat lady portrait) when he felt something fuzzy brush his leg. He looked down to find a black cat with piercing blue eyes staring at him.

"Why hello there Nightfall," Declan whispered to his cat.

Practically no one other than Lily and Remus knew that Declan had a cat, not even his roommates connected the dots. He was rarely seen with Nightfall, before, well, nightfall, so no one knew the cat was his. The only reason Nightfall would be there was to alert Declan that someone was coming, Nightfall hadn't been able to snatch Filch's patrolling schedule just yet, but that didn't mean the old man wouldn't be coming.

"Thanks," Declan whispered as he ran silently to the sleeping Fat Lady portrait, he took the disillusionment spell off of himself and quickly said the password:

"Anura Gypsophila."

The Fat Lady awoke from her slumber and glared at Declan before swinging open and letting him in. Declan climbed through the portrait and was surprised when he saw not two, but three people in the Gryffindor common room.

"Is that Hel Lokidottir?" Declan asked in disbelief when he saw the girl sitting on the couch by Remus and Lily. Declan thought he saw a flash of panic go through Hel's eyes, but he couldn't be sure.

"Yes, it's me, and I don't think we've met, who are you?" Hel asked. Declan detected a faint Norweigan or Icelandic accent from her voice.

"Declan Lacey," Declan said suspiciously. It made sense that Hel was asking him his name considering the two had never actually formally met before. He just knew Hel from what Remus and Lily told him about, and for her reputation as a "goddess."

Hel tilted her head to the side a bit, "Declan, Declan is an Irish given name, an anglicised form of the Irish saint name Declán, also Deaglán or Déaglán. The name is believed to mean 'man of prayer' or 'full of goodness'. Lacey, surname from the ancient De Laci family - meaning of Lassey, Normandy, France," she said then had a perfect posture once more. "What a lovely name," she added with what looked like a horribly fake smile.

This just added to Declan's suspicion, "Did you just tell what my own name meant?" he asked.

"Why yes, I did."

"And why did you do that?"

"Pure habit."

"Why is it a habit?"

"Because the people I visit, gods, goddesses, nymphs, naiads, love when you tell them what their name means, a big stroke to the ego it is. I grew up learning names and their meanings."

"What are you doing here? I don't suppose it's to chat over tea and biscuits," Delcan said sarcastically.

"I could ask you the same."

Declan just eyed Hel and her smirk and sat down by Remus, who sat by Lily, who sat by Hel,

"You two have been awfully quiet," he noted.

Remus shrugged, "We just wanted to see your two's reactions to each other, and, I must say, they're much kinder than we thought they'd be."

Declan rolled his eyes, "Ah yes, you expected us to stand right up and engage in battle. I can feel the trust radiating off of you Remus, you too Lily," he said sarcastically.

Hel just sat there with a practically emotionless expression on her face, staring into the fire as if she were trying to decipher its meaning. Declan sometimes did this, but usually, it was to see if the fire was way too hot for a potion he was trying to make. He would just glare at it until it receded a bit so he could place a cauldron over it. Declan had learned the hard way that you shouldn't put a cauldron over a raging fire, many explosions have happened in the dead of night.

"So what is Lokidottir doing here?" Declan asked, mostly aiming the question at Lily, who he knew had a closer relationship to Hel.

"You could just ask me again, the less sarcastic comments you make, the more likely I'm to answer truthfully -- not that I do that often," Hel said, still looking into the fire.

"Wow, what a pleasant woman," Declan muttered under his breath.

"She's here for the same reason you are, just to talk," Lily said shrugging.

Declan raised an eyebrow.

"Oh don't be so surprised Lacey, everyone needs to get things off their shoulders and to relax every once and a while, even a goddess," Hel said, rolling her eyes, still staring into the fire.

"Why on earth are you still staring into that fire?" Delcan asked, turning his body so that he could face Hel.

Hel brokers her gaze away from the fire as she looked at Declan, "I'm looking for a clue."

"For what? A prophecy?"

"No, for a clue if my father's figured out the new big thing -- lords that sounds cliche -- happening at Hogwarts. He's kind of the god of fire, almost other things, after all. A message through fire wouldn't be as out of the ordinary as most would believe."

"Couldn't you do that in the Slytherin dorm?"

"Perhaps, but it's better here."

Delcan saw Lily and Remus' heads follow who was talking into the conversation, whipping between Hel and himself, which was a little funny to watch because Remus sometimes got a faceful of red hair.

"So, what do you think it is Declan?" Remus asked, "The new big thing," he added as if Declan needed clarification.

"Oh, I thought you meant what do you think is the best fertilizer, dragon dung or muggle fertilizer," Declan said sarcastically, "But I don't know, knowing Headmaster Dumbledore it's either really stupid or really significant."

"My vote is significant," Hel said, Remus and Lily, nodding their heads in agreement.

"And why do you think that?" Declan asked.

"Well, if it were stupid my step-mother wouldn't have warned me about it before I boarded the train," Hel explained, placing her folded hands in her lap.

"And who is your step-mum again?"

"Who's Loki's beloved wife in the myths?"

Declan thought back to the couple of Norse Mythology books he read back in what seemed like the third year. Don't get home wrong, he loved reading about mythology and fictional worlds, but there weren't very many books on Norse mythology in the Hogwarts Library. Declan always assumed it was because the Nordic folk didn't write anything down, rather, they vocally told their stories (unlike the Greeks) so they weren't recorded until much later. Now he just thought the Nordic folk just liked being secretive little shits.

"Sigyn," Declan said as if it was obvious, though he wasn't positive.

"Yes, she's my lovely stepmother, she's truly a dear," Hel said with real love in her voice, not a hint of sarcasm.

Declan nearly mumbled, 'lucky', under his breath. He didn't have the best living situation at home, his parents were high-ranking ministry officials who were extremely rich and pure-blooded. They always forced him to be "the best" and to wear the most expensive clothes and have the most expensive things even though he wished they would just lay off and let him bloody live. Worst of all, they didn't let him love Quidditch, which he considered his one true love. His parents thought that it was a waste of time and that he'd be better off without even paying attention to such a useless sport. They didn't even let him like Quidditch and he was forced to act as if he hated the sport. Despite this, he still snuck onto the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch in the middle of the night to practice, and he thought he was quite good at it, but no one could know lest the word gets to his parents.

"But yeah, since Hel's step-mum wanted her about it, it's gotta be big," Lily said, leaning back and wrapping an arm around both Remus and Hel. She tried to reach over to Declan, but her arms simply weren't long enough. "Hey, Remus, try to extend my arm to include Dec will ya?"

Remus sighed and smiled and he scooted closer to Lily and pulled Declan into the embrace.

"Oh, I forgot to ask, where the bloody hell is Pandora?" Declan asked.

He and Pandora weren't that close, mostly just mutual friends because James wouldn't let his twin sister be friends with such an "aloof" person. He really just knew Pandora through Remus, seeing as the two were made for each other. But Pandora was such a sweet person to him, and it was nice to talk to her.

"Oh, she's in her dorm, I don't think she's very comfortable around Hel, no offence," Remus said, adding the last bit to Hel.

"Oh I know, the stigma around Slytherin is keeping her from really being my friend, I don't mind, I see where she's coming from," Hel said, playing around with nonverbal spells using her wand.

"You know, I see where she's coming from too, I know what you've done to fit in with the Black sisters. Why are you even her friend Lily?" Declan asked, "It's not like she's rainbows and butterflies."

Hel bit her lip and Lily just sighed, "Look, Declan, I know! But Hel's really nice and sweet, and she just did those things to fit in! You know that! She even apologizes right after!"

"What? She just 'apologizes' after terrorizing a muggle-born?"

Hel abruptly stood up, "I've overstayed my visit, I'm going to say good night to the others, and then I'll be off. Bye Remus, Lily, Lacey," she said as shadows started curling around her as she disappeared, the shadows returning to their rightful spots.

Delcan whipped his head to face Lily and Remus, highly confused, "Tell me she didn't bloody apparate within Hogwarts grounds."

"She didn't bloody apparate within Hogwarts grounds," Lily said brightly, smirking as if she won some bet.

Declan shot a confused look to Remus, who just sighed and began to explain, "That wasn't an apparition, that was shadow-travel, something death deities and deities of the dark can do -- their children can do it as well. Hel isn't a full-fledged goddess yet, so she can't go far distances, and usually, her hands, feet, or waist turn to shadow at her destination. It's weird, but I think there are a few books in the library explaining it."

Declan nodded in understanding and the three spent most of the night just chatting and talking.

Question: Do you guys prefer visuals in the beginning, middle, or the end? Or no visuals at all?

OC's used in this chapter:

Hel Lokidottir

Pandora Potter

Elorie McFellon

Olivia Tucker-James

Miranda Clark

Harley Kelly (But with less smile)

Thalia Carmichael

Maelyn Winkle

Declan Lacey