Fred hadn't meant to cause so much trouble with a little prank. George had come up with the idea, anyway. They just wanted to cause a little chaos, and there was no reason to think someone would have been hurt. Yes, the bookshelves would explode, but in an organized manner, and there had been plenty of time to get out of the way. And it would be in an order, clockwise, and one at a time. People weren't stupid, they'd figure out the pattern pretty fast. But something had gone wrong, and that girl had used accidental magic to freeze it and put it back together. That had slowed down the process, and all the bookshelves exploded at once. Fred wasn't completely sure how that had happened. And then the girl had frozen it again, and stupid him, he had pushed past her to do something. He didn't know what, but he felt responsible since he had caused it. And that made her lose control, and everything unfroze and chaos broke loose. She had somehow shielded herself without a wand, and managed to shield him too, and then she lost control again. Not that he could blame her.

They had been pelted with books and shards of wood, and that was the end to a nice day. Fred was sure that he still had a few splinters in his hair. He felt sorry for the owner of the bookshop, but at least he had accomplished his goal to cause chaos.

Thank Merlin his mother hadn't been there.

Fred noticed the girl was wiping the blood of her cheek where a sharp piece of wood had scratched it. "Here," he handed her a rag.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks."

Her voice was soft, so faint that Fred didn't know how it carried in the room. Barely a whisper, yet he could hear it clearly. "What's your name?"

"Selene."

"I'm Fred."

"I know. I heard."

She was definitely a strange girl. "Sorry about breaking your concentration."

"It's all right."

They stood in silence for a moment. Then she left, probably to find her parents.

George walked over. "Who's she?"

"Selene, apparently."

"You seem to like her."

"She's nice."

He rolled his eyes.

"What?"

He shook his head. "Come on, Mum's waiting."

•*•

Selene found her parents and explained what had happened to them. They were worried, but understood that she still wanted to go to Hogwarts. They gave her a cat as a gift from the pet store. Diagon Alley truly had everything. She named the cat Midnight. Midnight was a small black cat with blue eyes, and a mischievous personality. Perfect for a cat named Midnight.

Before Selene knew it, she was about to board the train to Hogwarts. Summer had passed quickly, and the days before September first passed like a blur.

"You're sure you'll be all right?" Her mother fretted.

"I'll be fine. And I'll write to you as often as I can."

"Make sure you do."

"See you at Christmas!" Selene waved, relieved her mother was finally leaving. All she had managed to do was stress Selene out even more.

Selene sighed. Now she just had to find a seat.

"Hello."

Selene turned to see a girl with chocolate brown hair and periwinkle eyes. "Hi."

"Could I sit with you?"

Selene smiled. "Sure."

"My name's Emma."

"I'm Selene."

"I'm assuming you're a first year, too?"

"Yes."

"What's your cat's name?"

"Midnight. What's your owl's name?"

Emma beamed. "His name's Soren. Because he's, you know, soaring. And also because my sister insisted."

Selene laughed. "You have a sister?"

"Yeah. Her name's Callie."

"Is she a witch, too?"

"Probably. She's three years younger than me, and we're half-bloods, so we won't know for sure until she gets her letter. Or doesn't, I suppose."

"So...what's a half-blood?"

"You're a muggle-born, right? Non-magical parents?"

"Yes."

"Half-bloods are people who have magical parents, or just one parent, but aren't pure-blooded, which are people that aren't related to muggles at all. For me, my mom's a muggle, while my dad's a wizard."

"So... if your sister isn't magical, would she be a muggle?"

"She'd be considered a Squib, which is someone with magical ancestry, but without magic. And there are some witches and wizards hat are magic, but aren't magical enough to go to Hogwarts. I think Callie will, though. She's done many things over the years that I think are magic, but have never been proved."

Selene nodded. "Tell me everything you know about Hogwarts."

Emma's smile grew wider. "Okay. So, do you know about the houses?"

Selene nodded again. "Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. But I don't know the attributes associated with each house. Which one do you like the most?"

"Well, Gryffindor is supposedly brave. Then there's Slytherin, who's ambitious and cunning, Ravenclaw, who's creative and wise, and Hufflepuff, who's hard working and kind. I like all of them, but I really think Gryffindor's the best."

"I like Ravenclaw," Selene said thoughtfully, "but I also like Gryffindor. I'm not the bravest, but I like the idea of it."

"Maybe we'll be in Gryffindor together. I hear you're sorted based on what you value more, so hopefully we will."

"I'd like that."

•*•

Selene was sorted into Gryffindor in the end, after a long debate over whether she should go to Ravenclaw or Slytherin or even Hufflepuff, but the Sorting Hat finally decided on Gryffindor. Emma went to Gryffindor, no surprise there.

Selene quickly settled into a daily routine, with high scores in most classes, (though not potions or flying). For the most part, she liked all her classes, but Astrology was by far her favorite and best.

Selene was not a prankster, or a rebel, like a certain pair of red-heads, but she did not follow the rules all the time. She was often out after curfew, for night was when she felt the most awake. No one knew, or at least she thought so. Emma always noticed, waking up in the middle of the night to realize Selene's bed was empty. She always wanted to go with, but unlike Selene, she most certainly did not feel awake in the dead of night. So Emma stayed in her bed, watching the moonlight through the crack in the curtains. Professor Sinistra knew too, but didn't stop her. For she knew where Selene went each night, and it was not to the kitchen for a snack or to the library to look in the restricted section, though many others did that and would do it in the future. No, she went out to the Astronomy Tower to gaze at the stars. And those same stars must have watched her, too, for she was never caught by Filch, or anyone else, for that matter. But in couple years, the world was tilting too fast for her to catch up, and things would change.