Hoggy Hoggy Hogwarts
Quinn had gotten used to the Burrow.
She liked hearing Molly cook breakfast at the crack of dawn. She liked being awoken by the twins, and she liked being included in their pranks. She liked sitting with Ginny and Hermione gossiping until all hours of the night, sipping tea in Ginny’s room. She liked how Arthur always gave Molly a kiss before he left for work. She liked how Harry would talk to her when she was woken up by nightmares. She even liked when Ron would ask her questions about if the girls at Illvermorny talked about him too.
Quinn finally felt comfortable, perhaps for the first time in her life. She tried to pry more information out of Molly about her mom and aunt but she never got anywhere. All she knew was that Ana and Molly grew up next to each other and remained close even though they were in different houses at Hogwarts.
She also learned about her father. A muggle from London who ran into Ana at a pub. They got married and had one child: Quinn.
Then Voldemort came. He made it a goal to kill any witches or wizards in relationships with muggles. A death eater named Bellatrix Lestrange killed them in their sleep. She had gone to school with Ana, and had made it her mission to terrorize her. She knew Ana had married a muggle, but she didn't know about Quinn. Molly had found Quinn crying in her crib when she went to visit Ana the next day. Her parents had died sleeping in bed together, their limbs intertwined, soft smiles on their faces.
What Molly hadn’t made clear is why Kendra was in America. Or why Quinn was sent to live with her. Whenever Quinn asked her, she quickly changed the subject.
As August came to a close, Quinn tried to enjoy the rest of her summer at the Burrow. She pulled pranks with Fred and George, chatted with Harry about Quidditch and got the low- down of all the “fittest wizards at Hogwarts,” according to Ginny, causing Hermione to blush.
On the last night before term started. The Weasleys, Harry, Hermione and Quinn were playing a pickup game of Quidditch. Quinn was on a team with Ginny, Harry and George. They were destroying the others. Ron kept trying to get the Quaffle from Quinn, but she flew circles around him, always making it past Hermione at the hoops, who kept getting distracted by staring at a certain redhead.
One thing Quinn prided herself on was being able to see when two people were crushing on each other. She knew from the moment she sat down back at the Leaky Cauldron that Lyra and Harry were more than friends. And she could tell Hermione was harboring an all-consuming crush on Fred Weasley. And he felt the same.
Quinn noticed it a couple weeks ago when she caught Hermione staring at Fred over the guise of a thick Potions book. Then she saw Fred tickling Hermione at the breakfast table when no one else had come down yet. She had brought it up with Hermione once, who simply blushed and told Quinn to “shut it,” when Ginny walked in.
George flew next to Quinn to hand her the Quaffle, whispering, “It’s a wonder only you and I noticed those two lovebirds.”
Quinn whipped her head around so fast that she nearly fell off her broom, “What do you know!?” she exclaimed. George only winked and tossed her the Quaffle.
“We’ll debrief later!” he yelled across the makeshift pitch. Quinn huffed, dove underneath Ron again and made another goal.
***
That night, after Molly and Arthur retired to their room, the rest of the group had a small celebration. George had informed her that it was a new tradition that they each take a shot of firewhiskey before the new term. They all had their shots and had been playing a friendly game of Wizard Cards which had quickly turned very unfriendly when Ron and Harry began to argue over one of Harry’s moves. They had all started to trickle off after that, leaving just George, Ginny and Quinn.
“Goodnight guys,” Ginny yawned and made it up to her room.
“Night Gin,” Quinn called. She waited until she heard Ginny’s door close and then she whipped around to George. “Tell me everything.”
George grinned and scooted closer to Quinn. “Okay, it’s been happening since the Yule Ball last year.”
“A whole year?” Quinn asked shocked, “why haven’t they told anyone?”
George shrugged, “They’re worried about what Ron would do. He’s always been a bit protective over ‘Mione and Fred thinks he likes her.”
Quinn shook her head. “That’s a shame. They should be able to be open about their relationship.”
“Yeah and I only found out ‘cause I found them kissing at the Three Broomsticks,” George cringed, “it was disgusting.” George stood and pulled a hand out to help Quinn stand. She took it and they began to walk up the stairs. “By the way Quinn,” George said, suddenly uncomfortable, “I just want you to know, Fred and I will always look out for you at school, no matter what house you get sorted into. We know this whole thing is… hard. But we both think of you like a sister.” George scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, as if waiting for a response like ‘No thanks.’
Quinn tackled him into a hug and he reciprocated. A few months at the Burrow, and Quinn was a hugging mess like the rest of them.
They let go of one another and George turned to open his door, only to reveal Fred and Hermione under the sheets of the lower bunk. Quinn’s hand went straight to her mouth and George covered his eyes. “NOT AGAIN, BLIMEY, PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!” George screamed and slammed the door.
George took his hand away from his eyes and looked at Quinn, who was already laughing. Suddenly the door opened to a disheveled Fred with a sheet wrapped around his torso and Hermione in a Gryffindor quidditch jersey- her brown curly hair sticking up in a thousand directions. George pointed in Fred’s face, “I told you not to do that in our room!”
Fred just grinned. “Where would you rather us do it? Ginny’s room?” Hermione, mortified, hit Fred on the chest. George hit Fred on the head and pushed him inside.
“Unbelievable,” George mumbled, shutting the door, “on my bed too!”
Hermione, now in the hallway, stared at Quinn. Before she was able to speak, Quinn put her arm around her and led her to her room. She closed the door and put on a Muffialto spell before turning to Hermione. “I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.”
Hermione smiled. “Thank you.” She looked almost feral, sitting with messy hair and in a slight post-coitus daze. Quinn rolled her eyes.
“You can talk about it if you want, you look positively desperate to get it off your chest,” Quinn plopped on her bed. Hermione nearly shrieked and jumped onto the bed with her.
“Thank GOD,” Hermione started rambling, “I’ve been dying to talk about it but only George knows and I don’t think he wants to hear about that kind of thing from me.”
Quinn smiled. She liked Hermione. She thought she might be her first real friend. They read together in silence but it was comfortable. They often gave each other book recommendations and discussed potions, which made the rest of them roll their eyes. She even felt comfortable enough to let Hermione crawl into the sheets with her, the candle making her freckles stand out even more on her nose. Even though there was a silencing charm on the room, they found themselves whispering and giggling about Hermione’s relationship.
“It started at the Yule Ball. I went with Viktor Krum and-”
“YOU WENT TO THE YULE BALL WITH VIKTOR KRUM?!” Quinn screamed to which Hermione rolled her eyes.
“Yes, and he is extremely dull. Which caused me to ditch him and leave the ball early. I was walking back to the common room when I saw Fred and some Hufflepuff’s smoking some muggle weed…and normally I would never do drugs, but I was in such a bad mood after Ron tried to ruin my night so I smoked a little.” Hermione rambled as Quinn giggled at the idea of Hermione Granger stoned. “I got way too high and Fred offered to help me back to the dormitory and we just… connected. I guess we had never really been alone together before. I just saw him as Ron’s brother and he just saw me as Ron’s friend.” Hermione smiled, recalling the memory. “Then…I just felt this overwhelming warm feeling in my chest when I looked at him and…well… I just snogged him right in front of the Fat Lady portrait!”
They both burst into laughter as Hermione explained how she had to blackmail the portrait not to tell anyone about the kiss, or the fact they were high as dragons.
After they settled down a bit, Hermione rested her head on her palm. “Have you ever been in a relationship, Quinn?”
Quinn thought for a moment. “Not really. I didn’t really have a lot of friends at Ilvermorny, I guess I was just used to looking out for myself,” she whispered, “but there was this boy I met. A muggle. Micheal.”
Hermione just listened, watching Quinn as a tear fell from her cheek. “I didn’t really know him or anything. But whenever I went to visit Kendra at the place in Nevada, he was there. We shared a cigarette on New Year’s and then kissed at midnight.” Quinn looked down as another tear came. “He was sweet, besides being handed a bad hand in life. He took care of his sister all by himself. He wore leather jackets and had a neck tattoo but he also sang her lullabies. I used to be able to hear them through my window in the summer. We didn’t really keep in contact or anything… but he was my first kiss. He was gentle. The last time I saw him, he was dead, still holding his sister’s hand.”
A tear left Hermione as she wrapped her arms around Quinn, who cried softly into her new friend’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry Quinn.”
“It’s my fault,” Quinn whispered. “If I hadn’t-if Kendra and I hadn’t lived there… he would be alive. His sister would still be alive.”
Hermione looked at Quinn and shook her head. “It’s not your fault, Quinn. None of it is.”
Hermione hugged Quinn while she cried until they both fell asleep.
***
The anxiety of starting at a new school didn’t start until Quinn had to run head-first into a wall at King’s Cross Station.
She never thought she would miss a portkey so much, but running into a wall was not her favorite way to start her morning. Quinn was starting to feel queasy and she had momentarily lost sight of the Weasley’s while they talked to Lupin and Tonks. Phoebe and Lyra had already gone to get a booth with Harry and Ron. Ginny had left to find some of her friends and Leo was nowhere to be found. And Quinn was pretty sure Hermione and Fred had snuck off somewhere, pulling poor George along to act as their cover.
Quinn read her Hogwarts letter and supply list for the twentieth time, making sure she had everything she needed. She felt a shadow come across her paper and looked up to see the last person she was expecting to come across in her first five minutes on Platform 9 ¾.
The blonde boy stood so close to her that she could smell his expensive cologne burning her nostrils and the smell of what she assumed was apple shampoo. He glared down at her like she was a parasite. He twirled one of the rings on his index finger and examined her face, as if he was looking for the perfect flaw to coordinate his attack with.
“You.” Draco Malfoy stated matter-of-factly, he leaned over to take a peek at her trunk. “You don’t look like a Weasley.”
Quinn glanced down to her trunk, which read Weasley on the wood. “Well, I might as well be,” Quinn snapped back, hoping this strange boy would leave her alone.
He took another step closer, which Quinn didn’t think was possible, and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I’ll find out your name soon enough,” he whispered. She could feel her heart working overtime, and prayed to Merlin the blonde couldn’t hear it.
“Malfoy, leave her alone.” Quinn whipped around to see Leo standing behind her with a hand on her shoulder. Leo expertly moved Quinn to stand behind him and took her place staring down the Malfoy boy.
Malfoy grimaced at the sight, “Black. Fancy seeing you here. Thought for sure Dumbledore would have expelled you by now.”
Leo didn’t flinch. “Could say the same about you, figuring that you’re a Death Eater in training and all.”
Malfoy’s face turned red and he took a step forward, shoving Leo. “It’s unwise to discuss things you know nothing about, Black. Especially when your father is the most wanted man in the wizarding world.” Leo’s jaw clenched at the mention of his father, but tried not showing his anger. But it was no use; Malfoy caught on, his lip twitching into a smirk, “Or is he too busy with Potter to pay you a visit?”
Leo pulled his fist back to punch Malfoy but Quinn grabbed his arm. “Leo, please, let’s go.” She tugged his arm until he finally put his fist down. Leo grabbed Quinn’s hand and pushed past Malfoy. Quinn glanced back at Malfoy to see him staring at their intertwined hands. He scoffed and walked onto the train. As soon as Malfoy tore his eyes away from her, she felt her breath return to normal.
Leo pulled Quinn back towards the entrance where Arthur, Molly, Lupin, Tonks and Snuffles were waiting. Leo stopped, looked down at their hands and quickly let go. He cleared his throat, “Molly wanted to say goodbye.” Leo nodded to the group, sending a glare at his father and hopped on the train.
Molly tackled Quinn into a hug. “Oh, Quinn, it has been so wonderful to have you this summer. Please please write to us and let us know what house you are sorted into and how you’re adjusting to Hogwarts.”
Quinn laughed, hugging her back. “Okay, Mrs. Weasley, thank you for everything.”
Molly pinched her cheek, “How many times do I need to tell you to call me Molly?”
Quinn smiled and gave her another quick hug. She shook hands with Arthur and Lupin and Tonks sent her a wink.
Quinn walked up to the train and waved back at Molly. She closed the door and turned around, just to see Leo standing at the entrance with his arms crossed. He looked her up and down, “You know, you should be more careful with what guys you flirt with.”
“Excuse me?” Quinn asked.
“Draco is not the best guy to have a friends with benefits situation with,” Leo mused, pushing off the wall and heading down the train, Quinn trailing behind.
“We were not flirting.”
“Good,” Leo replied, glancing back at her.
Quinn rolled her eyes, “You don’t need to protect me. I do fine by myself.” She tried to push past him, annoyed that he would pry so much into her life.
“I wasn’t trying to protect you,” Leo laughed. Quinn halted in her tracks and turned back around. Leo smirked and winked at her as he made his way into an empty compartment pulling Quinn in by the wrist.
“You have got to stop doing that,” Quinn exclaimed, yanking her hand back.
Leo just smiled and sat down, putting his feet up on the seat across from him, causing Quinn to have to step over his legs to sit down by the window. Quinn put her bag down and pulled out a book. She started to open it when Leo snatched it from her. “Hey!” Quinn yelled as Leo looked at the cover and rolled his eyes.
“Hogwarts: A History? Really? You’re as bad as Hermione,” Leo said, tossing the book back at Quinn. Quinn grabbed it and dusted off the cover before flipping off Leo, who just winked back at her.
Before Quinn could reply with a retort of her own, a blonde girl about their age opened the compartment door. Quinn noticed that, like her, she didn’t have a house emblem on her robe. The blonde blushed, “Sorry, do you know where I could find Theodore Nott?” the girl asked in a French accent.
“You’ll probably find the Slytherins in the last compartment,” Leo replied standing up, “but Nott is probably not the best guy to show you around Hogwarts. May I offer up my services?”
“Theodore is my cousin,” the blonde replied, as Quinn rolled her eyes at Leo’s shameless flirting. “I’m Lucy Nott, I just transferred from Beauxbatons.” Lucy reached her hand out to Quinn who shook it.
“I’m Quinn Calloway, I’m a transfer from Illvermorny.” Lucy nodded and turned to Leo, who grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles.
“Leo Black,” he replied.
“Don’t get your hopes up, Mr. Black, I’m promised to someone else,” Lucy smiled politely. Behind her a girl with green robes and a short black bob appeared behind Lucy.
“There you are, the boys are waiting,” the girl looked into her compartment and saw Leo, immediately rolling her eyes, “Leo, do you make it your mission to appear everywhere and ruin my day.”
Leo bowed, “Anything for you Pansy.”
Pansy rolled her eyes and looked at Quinn and back at Leo. “Already found someone to replace me, didn’t you, Black,” Pansy replied dryly.
Leo smirked, “Here’s to hoping.”
Pansy glared at him and grabbed Lucy’s elbow, “Let’s go, Draco, Theo and Blaise are waiting for us.”
Lucy waved politely and Pansy shut the door closed.
Quinn watched as Leo laid down on the seats. “What in Merlin’s name was that about?”
Leo turned calmly back to Quinn, “Oh me and Pans? We used to hook up last year but she got very fed up with my antics.”
Quinn scoffed and crossed her arms, “Phoebe and Lyra were right, you are a sleaze.”
Leo smiled, “Whenever you need me, I’ll be there. That’s my motto.” Leo then closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.
Quinn shook her head, grabbed her book and her bag and left the compartment. She didn’t want to spend the long train ride with a sleeping flirt.
She made her way down the train, peaking into each compartment to see if she recognized someone. She paused in front of one, recognizing Phoebe and Lyra sitting in a compartment with three other girls.
Quinn slowly opened the compartment door and peered in. “Hey, can I sit with you guys?”
Phoebe smiled and moved over so Quinn could sit in between her and Lyra. Lyra looked at her and laughed, “Were you with Leo?”
“How’d you know?”
“You look exhausted,” Lyra replied, shaking her head. “Quinn, these are my roommates, Padma, Luna and Andrea.” She gestured to the girls across from her who waved in return.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Quinn! Lyra told me all about you,” Padma said. She glanced down at Quinn’s combat boots. “I love those boots!”
The girl sitting by the window, glanced at the shoes while she flipped the pages of her book. “Those aren’t regulation. McGonagall will give you detention if you wear those,” Andrea said matter-of-factly, turning her attention back to her large textbook.
Padma rolled her eyes. The blonde in between them just smiled dreamily at Quinn’s shoes, “I think they would look cute with the Hogwarts uniform,” Luna said, smiling whole-heartedly at Quinn.
Andrea sighed and closed her book. “It doesn’t matter how ‘cute’ it is, Luna, they aren’t part of the mandated uniform.”
“I have other shoes for school,” Quinn interjected, feeling embarrassed she even brought the damn boots, “so you guys are in Ravenclaw?”
Andrea rolled her eyes behind her book, “What gave us away?”
Padma glared at Andrea, “Excuse her, Quinn, she’s one of the more book-wormy Ravenclaw’s. We don’t all fit the stereotype.”
Andrea rolled her eyes again and flipped the page. Luna dreamily looked out the compartment door.
“Where do you think Cho is?” Luna asked innocently. Lyra sighed, “She’s probably in the bathroom crying. She’s been a wreck since Cedric died.”
Quinn’s brain started to work again, “Cedric, he was the one who died in the Triwizard Tournament, right?”
The Ravenclaw girls shared a look and nodded uncomfortably.
“He and Cho were dating when it happened,” Phoebe whispered to Quinn, who felt a flush of red sweep her face from embarrassment. As soon as she said it, a girl with long black hair and blue robes tentatively opened the compartment door. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she had just indeed been crying in the bathroom.
Phoebe smiled at the girl and stood, making her way out, “Perfect timing Cho, I was just about to meet up with the Hufflepuff girls.” Phoebe turned back to the girls and waved goodbye. Cho gave her a sad smile and took her seat.
The compartment was completely silent, Padma and Lyra kept looking at each other nervously while Adrea continued flipping pages of her book. Luna finally gave Cho a big smile, “Cho I brought you some herbs from my garden that are supposed to help with grief and loss,” Cho’s face went red but she gladly accepted the small parcel from Luna, who tilted her head at Quinn, “I’ll have to write my father to send some more for you, Quinn. Your head is full of nargles-”
Padma patted Luna’s knee as if telling her to be quiet. Quinn just gave her a smile. She appreciated Luna already. Quinn cleared her throat and turned to Cho.
“Hi, I’m Quinn Calloway, I just transferred from Illvermorny,” Cho smiled and reached out her hand to shake it. “I’m Cho,” she said quietly.
“What house are you hoping to be in?” Cho asked while Padma said “Are American boys hotter than the English?” at the same time.
Quinn couldn’t help but giggle at their very different questions. “Well, so far the Hogwarts boys are a lot more mysterious than the Illvermorny boys. At Ilvermorny, their idea of flirting is pulling your pigtails. As for the house… I think I’d be happy in any of them.”
Padma made a disgusted face, “Except Slytherin, of course.”
Luna shrugged, “The Slytherins aren’t too bad. I think a lot of them just follow what their parents believe.”
Padma shook her head, “Every Slytherin I’ve had the unfortunate luck to meet is just vile.”
“What about Blaise Zabini?” Luna asked, dreamily looking out of the compartment, “He has always been kind to me.”
“That’s because Draco’s gang has a bet for who can sleep with a Ravenclaw first,” Andrea mumbled under her breath.
Lyra’s jaw dropped, “Are you serious?”
Andrea nodded, “I heard them talking about it last year when I sat behind Theo and Draco in Charms.”
Padma giggled, “Maybe I’ll put my Slytherin hatred aside if it means I can sleep with Theodore Nott.”
Lyra burst out laughing, which made Quinn and Cho giggle. Even Andrea had to hide a smirk of laughter from behind her book.
***
Quinn couldn’t be sure of when she fell asleep, but she woke up to Lyra shaking her shoulders in an empty train compartment.
“Bloody hell, you are a deep sleeper,” Lyra laughed when Quinn finally opened one eye. “Come on, you’re going to be late to your own sorting ceremony.”
Quinn grabbed her bag off the seat and followed Lyra as she climbed into a carriage with a few students she didn’t recognize. Quinn almost screamed when she saw what was pulling the carriage. An ugly horse-looking creature was pulling the carriage, but no one seemed to even notice it. Thestrals, Quinn thought. She had only ever read about them, but seeing one pulling the carriage made her picture her Aunt’s face as she took her last breath and the black skull cloud that haunted her nightmares.
“Quinn? Are you okay?” Lyra whispered. Quinn turned her head to see her friend looking like Quinn had grown a horn.
“Yeah, I’m just nervous.” Quinn lied, giving her a small smile.
Soon enough, a looming castle came into focus and Quinn felt her jaw dropping at the beauty of Hogwarts. Illvermorny was beautiful, but nothing compared to the castle that towered over them now. She swallowed hard. She had underestimated how nerve racking it would be to really start over. Even though she and her Aunt had moved around her whole life, for the past four years she knew that Illvermorny would be there for her. But now, every single recognizable thing was across an ocean. And she had to really start over.
Quinn let Lyra drag her through the halls while she was stuck in her head. She couldn’t even take a moment to process the expansive hallways filled with ghosts and moving portraits. She should have felt awe, but instead it felt wrong. Wrong to be here while Kendra and her mother were dead.
Quinn tried to shake the thoughts away as Lyra approached an older witch carrying a stack of parchment. Lyra cleared her throat to get the witches attention.
“Professor McGonagold, this is Quinn Calloway. Professor Flitwick asked me to bring her to you for the sorting ceremony.” The witch smiled at Lyra.
“Lyra, it is so good to see you again, I look forward to having you in class again,” Professor McGonalgold turned to Quinn, “Hello, Quinn.”
Quinn felt extremely overwhelmed. As soon as McGonagold gave her her instructions for the sorting ceremony, Quinn’s eyes began to glaze over. She barely remembered the first-years being sorted, only registering the cheers that came from different parts of the room she was standing outside of. She barely registered the blonde Nott girl tapping her on the shoulder, slowly pushing her into the large double doors.
Before she could grasp that it was time, Quinn was finally shoved by Lucy into the Great Hall. She nearly tripped upon entrance as she took in the large room. Candles floated in the air and the ceiling seemed to mimic the weather outside. As she walked, she finally noticed the four house tables filled to the brim with students-who were all staring at her. Quinn felt her cheeks turn red as she realized just how many eyes were on her.
She was about to book it out of the doors when she saw Harry, Hermione, Leo and the Weasley’s giving her reassuring smiles from the Gryffindor table. Fred and George were making absurd faces as she passed and Quinn felt relieved. As she finally made it to the stool she saw Lyra and her Ravenclaw friends giving her a smile from their table and Phoebe clapping enthusiastically with the Hufflepuffs.
Then, Quinn made the mistake of looking at the Slytherin table where she saw the strange blonde boy staring at her. She paused on him as McGonagold placed the sorting hat on her head. She heard the hat speaking to her but her senses were overwhelmed with the blonde’s undivided attention- his eyes seemed to bore into her, her heart began racing and she finally had to close her eyes in order to escape it.
Hmmmm… a Horned Serpent at Hogwarts. Now where should I put you…. You could make it anywhere, thrive anywhere. Gryffindor…the bravery is there but so is the dedication of a Hufflepuff…not to mention the cunning of a Slytherin or the brains of a Ravenclaw. I’m not like those silly statues at Ilvermorny, Quinn Calloway… you won’t get to choose this time. It better be… RAVENCLAW!
Quinn felt a rush of excitement that forced her to open her eyes again.
The blonde boy seemed disappointed but Quinn forced herself to tear her eyes away from him to her friends at the Gryffindor table. All the boys were reluctantly handing a grinning Hermione Granger a galleon each. Quinn giggled as she made her way to the Ravenclaw table and felt, just for a moment, that she might finally be home.