Crown of Mandrakes

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fanfiction based on J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Apart from several characters, and the odd creative liberty of my own creation, I have tried to stay as true to the magical laws and history of Rowling's world as possible for the reader's enjoyment. However, this is not canon.

The patched old hat came down over a straw coloured mass of hair. 'Hmmm…potential, I see… A bit of everything here.' Growly, the voice filled the darkness. Her heart beat in a flurry. Focus. She had to focus. With a jolt, she pictured her new, red, leather-bound book, ‘A Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1.’ It still smelt of Flourish and Blott’s; fresh paper and the herbal tea the shop manager always had sitting in an ornate violet and gold teapot on the front desk. The book would be waiting for her after the feast, no matter what house she was put in.

'Ha!' She sat bolt upright when the voice seemed to reverberate around her head.

‘RAVENCLAW!!!!’ the sorting hat bellowed. All feeling seemed to drain from her legs as she stood up, nearly tripping, and the murmurs of confusion started. The Ravenclaw table clapped as she made her way over, stomach churning nervously. The Slytherin table, however, remained deathly silent. ‘Malfoy, Evelyn,’ had already made quite the impression, even before sitting down with her Hogwarts house for the first time.

After dinner, Draco attempted to corner her. If it hadn’t been for the Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater, he would have succeeded. “Sorry, got to go to my common room,” she withheld a sheepish grin as she trotted off after her prefect, Draco was swept off with the crowd somewhere behind her. During dinner, Evelyn had met Riley, dark haired, dark eyed, and bright of mind. He was a muggle born, which made Evelyn somewhat uneasy, but she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Riley had been nice, so far.

“What do you suppose the common room will be like?” Evelyn murmured to her new friend.

“Somewhere high up, maybe?” The crest was an eagle.

“That would make sense, but Gryffindor common room is found somewhere on the seventh floor and has its own tower,” Evelyn murmured. “As far as I know, all the common rooms are in their own unique places. You have to give a password to get into Slytherin common room. It’s actually under the Great Lake….” She trailed off. Most of her knowledge of Hogwarts was about Slytherin. Having been sorted into Ravenclaw, she felt woefully unprepared. She also wondered if she should mention her family’s house so much. She was aware there could be tensions between houses.

“That’s really cool,” Riley said, distractedly looking every which way, taking in the moving portraits that they passed. Riley, it seemed, was safe to talk to. Perhaps having a muggle born friend wasn’t so terrible.

“One of my brother’s… friends,” she said, thinking ‘followers’ would be inappropriate for polite conversation, “Spilled a whole box of Berty Bott’s when the Giant Squid decided to lean on the glass. Priceless, I think. Crabbe’s quite a thug. He came to my family’s house last summer.”

“What are Berty Bott’s?” Riley asked, bewildered.

“Berty Bott’s Every Flavour Beans,” Evelyn recited. “They sincerely mean every flavour.”

The entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room appeared to be a large oak door with a brass knocker. Penelope Clearwater stepped forward and brusquely knocked on the door. The knocker, in the shape of an eagle, sprung to life.

‘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,’ it said, in musical tones.

As Evelyn was mulling it over, Penelope stated clearly, ‘A candle.” Frowning, Evelyn joined the throng entering the common room as the Prefect explained that to gain entry to the tower, you had to answer the riddle and it would be different each time.

“What if you forget something and you really need to get it but you’re late for class?” said Riley, aghast. “I don’t think I’ll get every riddle…”

“I just suppose you make sure you don’t forget,” said a dreamy voice. A girl Evelyn had seen sorted, named Luna Lovegood, stood a little way away from them. “Wrackspurts are the leading cause of forgetfulness.”

“Can it be remedied?” Evelyn asked. She had never heard of Wrackspurts before. They sounded alarming.

“Oh yes,” replied Luna. “All you have to do is dance under the light of a half-moon wearing a crown of singing mandrakes. It is a little risky. You need to make sure you have suitable ear protection. Which, of course, means the Wrackspurts have to come out of your nose. We have Wrackspurt siphons now, though. They're a much safer alternative.”

“Right…” Evelyn stated.

The Ravenclaw common room was the material of dreams. Like the Great Hall, the ceiling was enchanted, but this one had the constellations marked out in fine threads of silver. On the far end of the room upon a dais and surrounded by bookshelves was a marble statue of an elegant, yet ominous woman. Upon her head, a diadem was perched, bearing the unmistakeable symbol of Ravenclaw. The common room largely consisted of comfortable study nooks and bookshelves that lined the outside of the room. The seats were lined in a myriad of blues and bronze thread.

“We’re the only house that has its own extensive library,” Evelyn heard someone who seemed old enough to be a second year say to one of the other first years. “But don’t go telling everyone. There doesn't seem to really be anything here that isn't in the main library, but it can save a lot of time in exam periods.”

Saying goodnight to Riley, Evelyn followed Penelope, who led the way to the girls’ dormitories. The room was circular, with five four poster beds, each with an ornate writing desk standing beside them. Each desk also had a window, the room being a turret attached to the main Ravenclaw tower.

The curtains on the beds were a deep blue silk with silver embroidered stars that seemed to gently move about. Evelyn found her bed easily, her camphor trunk sitting at its foot. Pulling back the curtains, the bed was donned with a royal blue quilt, embroidered in bronze thread with an eagle and more stars. Looking about at the other girl’s beds, it seemed all the quilts were slightly different. Penelope Clearwater stood by the door, a purse-lipped smile discernible.

“I suggest lights out in an hour,” she said in a way that had more authority than a mere suggestion. “You’ll need your sleep for tomorrow.” And with that, she was gone.

Evelyn and the other girls focussed on their trunks and finding their pyjamas. Evelyn pulled out her silvery nightgown but threw it onto her bed. Her trunk was engraved with some ancient battle. Flying horses, serpents and warriors tangled together. Her parents had let her pick it out. It was magically reinforced, scratch proof, had extended space and was enchanted so that it was not nearly as heavy as it ought to have been. Getting to pick it out had been nearly as exciting as buying her school books. Fishing out some parchment, a white goose feather quill and some ink, Evelyn settled herself at her desk. It was a lovely oak piece, with a leather lined writing space. Conscious of time, she set about writing her letter.

Dear Mother and Father,

If Draco hasn’t beaten me to writing to you, please do not be too shocked when I say that I was sorted into Ravenclaw. I don’t know how it happened, it just did. But the more I think about it, the more it doesn’t bother me.

You’re always telling me to make my mark in the world. What better way to start than by being the first Ravenclaw in the Malfoy family? I hope you are not disappointed? I am not upset, I am actually rather excited.

I will send this as soon as I find the owlery.

With love, Evelyn.

She went back to her trunk to find the self-melting sealing wax and the stamp with the Malfoy crest. Sealing the letter, she stowed it inside the desk next to an egg-shaped paperweight, along with her Hogwarts acceptance letter, the Hogwarts crest stamped on the envelope. With that, she fell into bed and drew the curtains across. That night, the first year Ravenclaw girls fell asleep to the song of the wind buffeting the tower.

***

Evelyn met Riley in the common room the next morning and headed down to breakfast. Her letter in hand, she explained her plan to him.

“I don’t know where to find the owlery but I intend on sending my letter before classes start,” she said. “How do you suppose we’ll know where to go?”

“I heard we get given our timetables at breakfast,” Riley supplied. “But aside from that, I have no idea.”

Finding the Great Hall with relative ease—they followed some second years—Evelyn left Riley at the Ravenclaw table and headed for the far side of the room. As she neared the Slytherin table, she started getting odd looks. A few people hissed. Draco stood out like a fancy hippogriff, with his head of pale blond hair.

“Draco,” she called. He looked up with a grimace.

“Don’t talk to me, blood traitor.” That stopped her up short. His words hit her like a slap in the face by a giant squid. He had been perfectly civil on the train, even shared his carriage with her. Was he really going to turn his back on her because she hadn’t been sorted into Slytherin?

“How do you think Mother or Father would react? Hearing you speak like that?”

“What do you want?” he sneered.

“Where’s the owlery?” After she’d said it, she had the sneaking feeling that perhaps she should have gone and asked someone else, but she was obstinate to a fault.

“Oh?” Draco smirked. “So you’re going to tell them the news?”

“Yes,” she responded drily.

“Fine, I’ll tell you.” He gave her a list of instructions which seemed easy enough to follow and Evelyn headed back to the Ravenclaw table for breakfast.

“I know where to go,” she told Riley, setting down her orange juice. It shouldn’t take long.

“Good thing we brought our books with us,” Riley said between mouthfuls of egg.

“You don’t have to come,” Evelyn said quickly.

“That’s okay. I want to. It’s not like I have anyone else to find my way to class with,” he said, a little dejectedly.

“What?” Evelyn stopped chewing her toast.

“One of the other boys, Scott, said something about you being a Malfoy.” Evelyn forced herself to swallow. “Is it true your brother is a bully?”

“Well, I don't know...” Evelyn said, suddenly unsure. She wouldn't put it past Draco, but she wouldn't have thought he'd have a schoolwide reputation by second year. And their father had bought Draco a broom that year, and would almost certainly be accepted onto the Slytherin Quidditch team. If father had known about any bullying, she didn't think that would have happened...

“Scott reckoned you wouldn’t be much better than your brother.”

“Oh.” Suddenly, her toast didn't seem to taste so good.

“I think they’re stupid to go around making assumptions about people they have never met,” Riley added. “And I told them. So now I’m not exactly on speaking terms, I think. Didn’t really hang around to find out.” He glanced down the table to where some of the other first years congregated.

“Thank you for standing up for me,” Evelyn said hesitantly.

“That’s okay,” he straightened a little on the bench. “I think you’re okay. So far...” He tilted his head a little, making her laugh.

“I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to any of the other girls in my dormitory,” she said thoughtfully. Suddenly sceptical if they would be very friendly.

“What’s the worst that can happen?”

“I get hexed?” she muttered. Although considering her own limited abilities, she doubted the other first years could do much either.

“Then they would be the bullies.”

Before leaving the Great Hall, Evelyn and Riley collected their timetables from Professor Flitwick, their head of house and charms teacher. Piles of papers hovered about him in mid-air, single sheets flying off the tops and into the hands of their respective Ravenclaw students. Professor Flitwick, meanwhile, was left free to greet the students.

“Welcome back, Mr Davies, keen for another Quidditch season?” Flitwick turned to Riley and Evelyn. “Welcome, first years! I will see you in charms this afternoon.” They thanked the professor before making a swift exit. There was still time to reach the owlery and be back in time for Defence Against the Dark Arts if what Draco had told her was accurate.

The crowd of students was beginning to thin out as Evelyn and Riley alighted upon the stairs. At the suit of armour with the stag on its shield, they turned right. At least Draco’s instructions had been clear, Evelyn thought, when they rounded a corner and were met with a tapestry depicting the disembowelment of what looked to be a mountain troll.

“Behind here,” she said. “Then a hallway and some more stairs.”

“There’s got to be a less convoluted way of getting to the owlery,” Riley said, sneezing through the dust they had disturbed while pulling the heavy tapestry out enough to reveal the doorway. The door clicked open easily and Evelyn squeezed through the space between it and the tapestry. She held the door open for Riley to follow.

“We don’t know how to get to class,” Riley added. “What if we get lost on our way back?”

We’ll have to ask someone for directions on our way back, I suppose,” Evelyn responded evenly, striding determinedly down the hallway. She supposed the door with the tapestry was a shortcut. Riley hurried to keep up with her. They started pounding up the steps, a doorway visible at the top of the landing. Draco had said it was just beyond there.

The ground gave out beneath her feet. At the same time, Riley grabbed her shoulders. She squealed, while Riley let out a shriek. Their fall stopped just as abruptly as it had started. A step in the stairs had vanished, leaving them both wedged in the space that it had previously been.

“What happened?!” exclaimed Riley. Evelyn tried to move, but couldn’t, not even an inch. Her arms were stuck awkwardly at her sides.

“The step’s gone, Genius,” she snapped. Then reprimanded herself. “Sorry,” she amended.

“No one has ever called me a genius, before,” Riley grinned lopsidedly in spite of the situation. “Not even intended as an insult.”

“What are we going to do?” Evelyn moaned.

“Not panic,” Riley said simply. “That’s a start. Although I can only move my arms.”

“That’s better than me,” she said. See if you can pull yourself out, maybe?”

Riley put up a valiant fight, but no matter how much he pressed up against the steps or how much he waved his arms about, he only seemed to get more firmly lodged.

“Living at Hogwarts won’t ever be dull, will it?” Evelyn mused.

“Should we call for help?” Riley asked.

“Might as well.” Evelyn took a deep breath. “Someone HELP PLEASE!”

“HELP US!” cried Riley. “WE’RE STUCK IN AN INVISIBLE STEP!!!”

Hysterical laughter filtered down to them from somewhere, presumably beyond the doorway at the top of the stairs.

“Students stuck in the stairs,” it cried. “Students stuck in the stairs. ‘Help!’ they cried, but Peevsy sighs, ‘They look like two fat pears!’”

A colourful shaped bowled into the room, flying through the air.

“Oh no, I’ve heard about him,” Evelyn said incredulously. “He’s the school poltergeist.”

“HE, is Peeves,” said the poltergeist, zooming around above them and firing down pieces of chalk.

“Ow!” exclaimed Riley. “Please stop that!”

“Please, he says!” cried Peeves. “Please will I stop! No, I say, I’m having too much fun!”

Evelyn groaned and Riley slumped onto the staircase, thoroughly miserable.

“Students stuck in the stairs,” Peeves began again. “Students stuck in the stairs. ‘Stop!’ they cried, but Peevsy replies, ‘I’ll skin you like two fat hares.’”

“Wait, does he mean that?” Riley looked up, alarmed.

“I don’t think so,” Evelyn said uneasily. “I haven’t heard that he’s actually dangerous.”

“Not dangerous?!” cried Peeves, showering them with another round of chalk. “I’ll tan your hides!”

“Peeves! Stop this at once.” An austere looking woman came marching down the stairs towards them. The poltergeist went cackling from the stairwell. Professor McGonagall turned to them. “What are you two doing here at this late hour? You should be well on your way to class.”

“Well… as you can see, Professor,” Riley started, face paler than parchment. “We got a bit stuck on our way to the owlery.

“The owlery?” she stated, apparently incredulous. “That’s on the other side of the castle. How you thought you would get there before class, I do not know, but for now it’s best if you get a move on.” She produced a wand from the folds of her robes and with a deft flick, they were both freed from the gap in the stairs.

“Thank you, Professor,” Evelyn said breathlessly.

“Now, come along, defence against the dark arts, is it?” They both nodded and hurried off after Professor McGonagall as she led the way back down the stairs and up another torch lined corridor. “There are many such stairs as the one you just encountered. As you progress here at Hogwarts, you will become well aware of where each one resides. It is a touch unwise that you both chose your first day at Hogwarts to run late to class. Gilderoy Lockhart is a notable Ravenclaw alumni.” When they finally came to the door of the classroom, McGonagall turned to give them an imperious stare. “In future, please refrain from running so late for class. Some teachers are not so lenient on first years and will not hesitate to deduct house points. That will be all, Miss Malfoy, Mr Mathews.”

Upon entering the classroom, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart beamed at them. “Well, I see we have a couple of stragglers.” He wore spectacular turquoise robes and a pristinely white smile. The rest of the class turned to look at them.

“Sorry we’re late, Professor,” Evelyn said cautiously. Riley looked at the ground uncomfortably.

“No matter,” he said, still beaming that smile. “No one recalls the fire of youth like I do. Take a seat.”

After Defence Against the Dark Arts, the Ravenclaws headed to herbology with the Gryffindors. They seemed reasonably nice. Evelyn got to meet a fiery haired girl named Ginny, whom Evelyn immediately picked to be a Weasley (Evelyn’s father thought it important to know who the notable wizarding families were, even if they were presumably blood traitors). Ginny seemed nice enough, even though she seemed unsure of Evelyn at first. Perhaps it was to do with the incident at Flourish and Blotts between their respective fathers. Evelyn had been with her mother at Madam Malkins at the time, but Draco had told her all about it later that day over ice-cream. The whole thing sounded rather silly. The herbology teacher, Professor Sprout gave the class a cursory introduction on the fundamental herbs and even some fungi on their first day. Their job was to identify certain plants given to them using a series of complex dichotomous keys in their copies of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore (an apt name).

As enjoyable as herbology was, it was a relief to be able to head to lunch. Evelyn’s head felt positively heavy from the influx of new information of that morning’s lessons, at least from herbology. Defence Against the Dark Arts had been largely disappointing in terms of applicable knowledge. Lockhart had spent a great deal of time listing the creatures he’d encountered in his travels. Riley had been distinctly disturbed to find out zombies were in fact real.

“Draco knew. He knew we’d get stuck,” Evelyn said heatedly, as Riley and she made their way to the Great Hall. “Thank goodness Professor Lockhart had gotten in late too, or we’d surely have been in more trouble.” Apparently Lockhart had decided to make a fashionably late entrance into his first class of the year, sweeping in with his over-bright robes. He’d been in a good mood throughout the lesson thankfully, and even gave them a ‘sneak peak’ at what was in store for the second years and what they had to ‘look forward to,’ in the coming year. Lockhart had promptly ripped the tasselled cover off a tall birdcage full of ghastly looking little blue creatures with soulless black eyes. Apparently they were Cornish Pixies. Evelyn fervently hoped they learned something in their first year that was applicable to those pixies, because they looked like trouble.

“That wasn’t particularly nice,” Riley agreed, getting an irritated look from a ghost he had stared at for too long. The ghost, who wore a rather magnificent ruff, disappeared into the nearest wall with a mutter of something akin to ‘rude to stare’. “But he is your brother. My older brother used to give me a hard time for years. Until he moved out.”

“You have a brother?” Evelyn asked.

“Yes,” he answered simply. “Not a wizard, though.”

“Is that why he gives you a hard time?”

“No,” Riley laughed. “I don’t know, it’s just that we’re related, and we clash sometimes.”

“Well,” Evelyn started. “Draco is generally quite civil. It’s awfully tiresome that he should suddenly turn around and betray me like that. We could have gotten into serious trouble.”

“Yes, I’m happy Professor McGonagall came by when she did.”

“I wonder what’s for lunch,” Evelyn murmured distractedly. As they crossed the threshold of the Great Hall, she spotted that familiar pale hair. Her hair wasn’t that pale. Something she envied. She stuck out like a sore thumb in her family with her dirty looking ash blonde hair.

Pushing through the throng towards Draco, she suddenly stopped. As much as she would like to confront him and demand why he had done what he did, she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. Suddenly, a much more amusing alternative came to her.

She ducked through the people separating her from her brother. She grabbed him by the arm. “Hey!”

“Hi Draco,” she said brightly.

“Back again, are you?” he sneered.

“I most certainly am,” she responded smoothly. “I just wanted to thank you for your directions this morning. Cepheus sends his regards.” Cepheus was Draco’s eagle owl. She had an owl too. A masked owl named Stolas. Draco’s eyes narrowed, but Evelyn new she’d won when Blaise guffawed. “My first day has been great so far, thanks for asking,” she added, before heading back to the Ravenclaw table to meet Riley.

“What did Draco say?” he asked.

“Nothing much,” she said, then explained what she had done. Riley tittered.

“He must be so confused.”

“That was the idea.” Riley and Evelyn ended up going for the delicious smelling shepherds pie and a glass of juice for lunch.

“What do we have now?” Riley asked as Evelyn regarded the timetable given to them by Professor Flitwick. “Double charms this afternoon,” she replied happily. “Professor Flitwick teaches it.”

“He’s our head of house, right?” Riley asked.

“He is indeed,” a second year boy interjected. “I’m Michael Corner.” He held out a hand for Evelyn and Riley to shake. They introduced themselves a little hesitantly before Michael went on. “Rumour has it Flitwick used to be a duelling champion sometime before he became a professor here.”

“Cool!” Riley exclaimed and Evelyn felt even more excited for that afternoon’s class. Michael promptly left for transfiguration, leaving Evelyn and Riley to emotionally prepare to find the charms classroom.

“After class, would you like to help me find the proper way to the owlery?” Evelyn asked, eager to have a friend come along.

“Yeah, sure,” Riley shrugged. “I really ought to send a letter to my parents. Do you suppose there’d be an owl I could, um, borrow?” He frowned at the apparently odd idea. “That’s how letters are sent here, right? Or are there other ways?”

“Oh, there’s school owls,” Evelyn said. “Mother and Father made sure I knew about them in case I needed to send a letter and my brother’s or my owl aren’t able to.”

“You’ve got an owl?” Riley asked in awe. Evelyn felt her cheeks warm. “My parents wouldn’t let me get one, seeing as they’re birds and Dad’s terrified of anything bigger than a sparrow—” He cut himself off, clearly embarrassed about having let slip his father’s fear of birds.

“Do you have a pet?” Evelyn asked quickly, desperately trying to divert the conversation onto more neutral ground.

“Yeah, a cat,” Riley said proudly.

“Way better than a toad,” Evelyn assured. “I might have gotten a cat too, if Draco wasn’t always sending Cepheus for sweets. I could always use school owls of course, but Father doesn’t approve of using them unless its absolutely necessary.” She hesitated, not wanting to give Riley the wrong idea, seeing as he planned to use one. “I’m sure the school owls are reliable, it’s just my Father’s opinion, I suppose. And there’s heaps of students who wouldn’t have an owl and people from families who don’t have owls… So I guess it’s best to save them for people who really need them…” Evelyn took a deep breath as they reached the third floor, courtesy of a moving staircase. “Anyway, what’s your cat’s name?”

“I named him Uric, after Uric the Oddball, a guy I read about in A History of Magic. Apparently he was in Ravenclaw too. I only named him last night. I like the idea of naming pets after historical figures and wanted to find one I liked.” Light flooded into the corridor in golden shards.

“Isn’t that the guy who put a jellyfish on his head?” Evelyn asked incredulously, having read the first few chapters of the text Riley was referring to.

“Sure is, and the name suits my cat perfectly,” Riley responded, grinning, and she couldn’t help but laugh. The door to the charms classroom stood open. They were early—a pleasant change to that morning—but their teacher beckoned them in all the same. It was a well-lit classroom with high glass windows. Professor Flitwick was a rather small but striking man who beamed and greeted them when they entered from his large, highbacked armchair, perched behind his desk. The rest of the Ravenclaw first years arrived shortly behind them even though it was still some time before class was due to start, apparently just as eager to begin as Evelyn and Riley. Flitwick chatted to some of the students while they waited for the class to begin. Evelyn and Riley shared a table close to the front of the class so were one of the first to speak to the professor.

When Flitwick greeted her as Miss Malfoy, she felt a little sheepish. The Malfoys were a well-known wizarding family who were a long line of Slytherins which was something her family held quite dear. Professor Flitwick didn’t give any sign of surprise though, which was a sincere relief, and instead asked them if they were enjoying their first day so far. When the bell tolled, Flitwick made his way back to the front of the classroom where everyone waited in rapt attention.

“Welcome, first years! From what I’ve heard, it’s been a good start to the year so far.” A couple of students shifted a little nervously at the use of ‘so far,’ but from what Evelyn could tell, it wasn’t meant to be foreboding in any way. “I usually like to have the first year Ravenclaws in the afternoon on the first day of the school year to make sure everything is running smoothly and to answer any burning questions that you may have, so we’ll get started with our class and we should have sufficient time for any matters that don’t pertain directly to charms afterwards!” Great, Evelyn could ask for directions to the owlery.

Professor Flitwick went on to introduce Charms. It sounded exciting. Evelyn had always liked the idea of spell casting far more than the other disciplines taught at Hogwarts—which was saying something, seeing as it all held much appeal. Draco had always described charms as a lightweight transfiguration class, but it quickly became apparent that would not be so. The class would offer a plethora of practical spells and enchantments for any number of uses.

“This year we will be learning the Levitation charm, locking spell, unlocking spell, mending charm, severing charm, softening charm and the fire-making spell.” Evelyn hurriedly scribbled each of the names down on a separate piece of parchment, intending to have the notes for each spell organised under each heading. “This afternoon, we will be practicing proper wand technique and wrist movements which are just as important for spell casting as saying the incantation properly!”

He had everyone clear their desks and wriggle their fingers, flapping their hands about to warm up their wrists. Someone giggled from behind Evelyn, apparently enjoying the exercise.

“Alright, wands out everyone,” called Flitwick, who then proceeded to go over some commonly acceptable ways of holding wands—although apart from not pointing it at your own face, the technique was something deemed largely unique to the individual and Flitwick encouraged them to hold their wands in whatever way was most comfortable. They later covered some of the basic wrist movements until they finally settled on a ‘swish and flick’ exercise that would be the basis for the levitation charm. Evelyn had read about the charm in her copy of the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1,’ and was well aware of the spell, but still a little uncertain on the exact pronunciation (she could argue for it being one of five possible ways). She was just working up the courage to ask Professor Flitwick about the pronunciation when he asked them to put their wands away and set their homework (to read through and summarise the key points of chapter one of their textbooks, and practicing their wrist movement for the levitation charm). Flitwick finally introduced how they would be assessed throughout the year. After the bell tolled again, the Ravenclaw students filed out and Evelyn took her chance.

“Excuse me, Professor Flitwick,” Evelyn asked, with Riley standing behind her, watching on eagerly. Flitwick magically piled up a series of aged looking books with interesting titles.

“How can I help you, Miss Malfoy?” He promptly flicked his wand and the books flew into the air smoothly.

“I was wondering if we could perhaps get directions for the owlery?”

“The owlery is in the West Tower,” he said in his squeaky voice. “And quite close to my office. I’ll lead the way.” Riley and Evelyn happily followed the charms professor out into the corridor. Flitwick’s office resided on the seventh floor.

“If either of you, or any of your Ravenclaw peers have a problem, my door is always open,” Flitwick said warmly, once they reached his office. “You’ll find the owlery at the top of the staircase at the end of the hall.”

“Thank you, Professor Flitwick,” Evelyn said. Riley also thanked him, and they were on their way. They headed up the spiral staircase of the West Tower with its worn stone steps and finally came up to the owlery. The floor of the owlery was littered with droppings and small bones—presumably owl prey.

“Stolas!” Evelyn called happily to see the beautiful, sooty looking masked owl as he swooped down to come to rest on the railing that surrounded the entrance to the staircase. He was a species of owl native to Australia and looked pretty much like a barn owl, except considerably larger. Being a non-native species of owl, particular attention had been paid to the anti-muggle detection charms placed on him—at least that’s what the wizard had said at Eeylops Owl Emporium. Evelyn wondered if such charms were generally placed on all owls that belonged to wizards and witches, seeing as it could hardly be easily explainable if owls carrying letters were to fly through a muggle populated area. Perhaps she could find something about it in the school library. That was if she ever found the library.

“How do I tell which one is a school owl?” Riley asked incredulously, overwhelmed by the sheer number of owls.

“There’s got to be a way to find out…” Evelyn said slowly. She rifled through her satchel to find the letter to her parents and after whispering some sweet nothings to Stolas, let him take up the letter in his beak. She put out her arm, the owl alighted, and she walked carefully to one of the glassless windows of the tower. She watched as Stolas took to the wind before turning back to Riley.

“Maybe there’s something that says…” she murmured, eying several owls. “Either that or we can see which one lets you give it a letter.”

Riley looked up from where he was trying to balance a bottle of ink on the railing that Stolas had been perched and attempting to write on a small piece of parchment. He was trying to use his textbook as a flat surface to write on, but it wasn’t going too well.

“Um, here let me help.” She picked up the ink bottle from its precarious perch and helped Riley support the textbook as he scrawled out a few brief sentences to his parents.

“Thanks,” he said appreciatively as he finished, relieving her of her hold on the textbook. Evelyn screwed the ink bottle’s lid back on and smiled.

“No problem,” she responded. “Now we’ve just got to find an owl.”

“If only they could talk.”

“That would be helpful.” They weren’t really sure what the protocol was in the end but managed to force a letter upon a disgruntled looking speckled owl after it came from somewhere above and landed on the railing. It was perhaps the most grumpy looking owl Evelyn had ever seen.

“Please take that to my mum and dad,” Riley pleaded, as the owl ruffled his feathers and launched itself out the window. “How do you suppose they know where to go?” Riley had written the address on the envelope and recited the location several times while the bird looked around listlessly. There was no telling that the message had gotten through.

“Magic, I guess,” Evelyn replied, running her hand over her unruly hair that had managed to escape the confines of its braid. That was another thing she was envious of Draco about. Hair that stayed put.

The day was finally starting to weigh on them as they descended the west tower and started thinking about how they might find the Ravenclaw tower. A girl almost bumped into them as they rounded the corner onto the seventh-floor corridor.

“Watch out!” Evelyn gasped as she dodged to the side to narrowly avoid colliding with Ginny Weasley. "Um... sorry?"

“Oh, -it’s alright,” Ginny said breathlessly, clutching a letter at her side and frowning slightly, before nodding briefly at them and continuing on her way up to the owlery. Evelyn felt a little bit disgruntled but quickly forgot as Riley started musing about Uric and how great it was that he was able to bring a pet to school. In spite of its chaotic beginning, Evelyn and Riley's first day at Hogwarts had turned out for the best.