Day 7: Transfiguration

Still sore from yesterday's slumber, Margaret woke up in the wilderness in the company of two thestral foals, thankfully just in time for her morning swim. Looking around, she sighed in relief when she realized everything was fine, secretly dreading having slept through an entire day.
Stretching with a satisfied moan, Margaret basked in the cool morning breeze, she sighed, satisfied, as she watched the beautiful fog covered landscape.
Slowly walking towards the lake, book in hand, she studied diligently, only looking away from her book to ascertain her footing, she didn't have time to keep up with her homework yesterday thanks to a certain someone's constant blabbering but she didn't want to miss her daily workout.

Thinking about what could happen today, Margaret exercised way past breakfast, not suspecting the curious event awaiting her. Today was Transfiguration, a class she was looking forward to, Professor Weasley was a very kind lady who tried her best to deal with a strange girl like her and she wanted to thank her by excelling at her class.
Some parts of her were of course very uncomfortable with the teacher's awkward and inappropriate efforts, the woman didn't suspect her unique condition and treated her like any other student, a fact that made the girl's heart hurt as much as it warmed it, she felt sorry for the lady's awkward attempts at handling her but very grateful at the same time, and strangeley happy she was considered "normal".
Lost in thought, she kept swimming and swimming, not paying attention to the time. Thankfully the castle's bells were there to remind her to go to class.

Dried, stretched and relaxed, she quickly made her way to the classroom, wasting some time avoiding other students, her unusually fast pace allowed her to make it in time, early, in fact, as a group of students waited in front of the class, chatting and laughing loudly.
Settling down on the fountain away from the pack, she picked up her book again, struggling with the loud noises breaking her concentration repeatedly.
She jumped, someone touched her shoulder. "Oh my apologies, Miss." said Professor Weasley "Class will be starting, will you follow me?" she smiled gently. The girl nodded, quickly packing her book and following the woman meekly.

The classroom was large, well lit and well ventilated, something Margaret appreciated greatly, sitting down away from everyone, she sighed in relief as the brouhaha finally quieted down. The class was interesting though uneventful, spells were practiced alone and Professor Weasley didn't ask questions for the most part.
She did think Margaret was shy and needed to get out of her shell, unaware of her issues, she asked the girl in front of the class for a quick introduction and demonstration of today's spell.
Steeling herself, the pale girl stood up, shaking a little, overwhelmed by the earlier noise and the omnipresent gazes of her classmates, she walked towards the professor and the blackboard, looking straight in front of her.
Quickly demonstrating the spell under her proud professor's applause, Margaret bowed, ready to go back to her seat.
"Miss..? Your introduction?" smiled the lady, the girl sighed quietly, walking back in front of the class, trembling slightly.
The class stood silent for a few seconds, waiting for her to speak up, until the silence was interrupted by a firm knock on the door.

A look of surprise on her face, Professor Weasley waved her wand, opening the door "Please, come in." she said.
A tall, handsome man wearing a classy suit entered, bowing gracefully "Good morning Professor." he said, a cocky smirk on his face.
"Leonard! What a surprise, how you've grown!" exclaimed the woman, Margaret turned around, nodding quickly at her father, wondering what he was doing here.
"May I speak with you in private... Professor?" said the man, chuckling a little, as he walked through the classroom, his impressive stature and graceful stride mesmerizing a few girls.
"Please." answered the lady, waving towards her office "You can sit down for now, Miss, but I'll be waiting for you when I come back." she winked at the pale girl.
The auburn haired man quickly kissed his uncomfortable daughter on the cheek, whispering to her "Gryffondor? Quelle honte!" (Gryffindor? How shameful!) he winked at his unshaken daughter as she walked back to her seat, assaulted by the loud whispers of her curious classmates.

Mere seconds after she sat down she was surrounded by girls, she tried hiding her frown as their painfully loud questions relentlessly poured out of their excited mouth "Megamelons! You didn't tell us you had a boyfriend! He's so handsome! Where did you meet? What is he doing here?"
Cocking her head slightly she answered "That's my father."
They gasped, the class went silent for a few seconds until the girl's excitement doubled "Really?! How old is he? What does he do?"
Margaret looked around the class, slightly distressed from all the attention, she could only spot visibly interested loners and doors that couldn't open too soon. Thinking for a few seconds as she struggled with dates she stared at her desk before speaking up "He's...29?" the girls gasped again "He works at? For? The Ministry of Magic." They gasped again, a few of them, good at Arithmancy had turned beet red.
The overwhelmed girl couldn't wait for the door to open again, maybe if she wasn't hiding how awful she was feeling they might leave her alone but she couldn't help it.

The man's loud laugh interrupted the cacophony as the door to the office opened, the two adults smiling widely "Oh Leonard, I still can't believe they made you the Slytherin Head Boy!" said the old lady, giggling like a teenager. The man bowed, grabbed her hand and kissed it "How couldn't I? I had the best Transfiguration teacher." he added.
"Please give a warm hug to miss Elise for me." said the teacher, a warm look on her face "And don't play with Amortentia again..." she half-whispered, looking worriedly at Margaret. Leonard turned around, locking his green eyes on his daughter "Maybe we should do it again...", snapping out of it, he quickly whispered "She's fine, we were very lucky." he said, closing his eyes, hand on his heart with a soft smile on his face, his former teacher smiled in return.
The class was buzzing with gossip, Margaret felt like she was under a billywig's nest. Thankfully, her inexpressive face didn't betray her distress as her father approached once again. "You forgot your broom. I've had it delivered this morning, with more candy from your mother." he smiled at his daughter before looking at the students listening in "Don't snoop." he added with a charming smile. Margaret nodded silently.
Walking towards the door, whistling, he felt the gazes of his daughter's classmates, he chuckled "Teenagers..." and left the room.

Sensing the excitement, Professor Weasley announced "Well, that's enough excitement for Miss Megamelons, let's forget the introductions" she waved her wand at a cup, turning it back into a rat. "Let's have a game instead! Whoever finds the most cups wins!" she added, a large smile on her face, before beckoning Margaret.
Taking her aside in her office she was surprised when the girl pulled out a teacup and a tart and offered them to her "Thank you for always taking care of me." she said quietly. The gentle lady almost teared up, remembering part of her previous conversation she held back her urge to hug her student.
"Your father told me about your... Condition. I'm sorry if I've been...Overbearing." said the woman, Margaret was surprised, shaking her head apologetically she blurted "Oh no, please, really, I knew you didn't know, it's alright, I'm sorry."
The amused professor smiled, taking a quick sip from the cup of tea. "I will try to be more considerate." she said, the girl nodded "But I'm not giving up on you!" she smiled widely.
"Of course, professor." answered Margaret, quietly, nervously pinching her fingers behind her back.
"Seeing as you couldn't take part in our little game you'll be released earlier than the other students, with an assignment of course." she handed her student a piece of parchment. "You still owe the class an introduction." she winked.
Not uttering a word, the pale girl carefully placed the parchment in her field guide before leaving the office, quiet as a mouse.

The classroom was more like the Great Hall, only a few boys were looking for cups, 5th Years were mostly girls, and almost all of them were gossiping about the "hunk" they had just met. Trying to avoid being spotted, Margaret quickly packed her things, grabbing a familiar rat on the way, hoping she wouldn't suddenly be ambushed by a girl poking out of her pocket and asking questions about her father.
Finally out of the loud classroom, she sighed as she sat on the floor, gently dropping the rodent on the floor before massaging her temples.

Quickly running off to her room, Margaret grabbed her broom. She didn't even know she had a broom, how could she even forget to bring it.
It was a beautiful item, elegant, hard and lacquered, with a comfortable saddle and silver trims, next to it, a bag of nougats with a note from her mother. "Good morning, angel, I hope you will read this in time, your father has important business in Hogsmeade and he told me he would pester you today, take care of yourself and don't forget to sleep!"
Slowly caressing the broom she thought about home, about the pets she couldn't bring and the long conversations with her parents...
She jumped off her bed, broom in hand and quickly ran outside. Finally, her own broom! She was excited, she loved flying.
Wooshing around the castle at full speed, taking sharp turns, slipping through tight spaces, no one could tell who she was at this distance and the gazes couldn't break her focus, she was alone with the wind.

Focused on her acrobatics, she didn't pay attention on exactly where she was, which was right in the middle of Flying Class, and Quidditch Training, she didn't pay attention to the teachers and students looking at her, or waving at her.
What she did spot was a small black shape, heading very fast towards first years studying around the fountain, pushing her broom she accelerated towards the would be victim of a stray bludger.
Using her knowledge, she masterfully prevented the worst, both for her and the young child as she swooped in and redirected the little devil's momentum back towards the Pitch with an impressive spinning maneuver.
Slowing down, she circled around the student before landing in front of him, he was completely unaware of what had happened, Professor Kogawa wasn't, the woman sprinted towards the trio, an excited look at her face. "Young Miss!" a worried Margaret quickly turned towards the voice "You just avoided detention! That was wonderful, you saved this child from quite the injury!" the woman was clearly excited, her students quickly followed behind her as Margaret looked increasingly worried at the growing group, she quickly nodded, turning around in an attempt to run away.
"Not so fast!" she handed her a Quidditch pamphlet, strangely glowing green, as she looked straight at her "You have to join."
Margaret grabbed the parchment and ran away, as the excited professor told the first year what just happened.

Cursing her carelessness, she ran off towards the lake, her broom safely stored in her bag. The week was almost over, only one day left, she thought to herself, before the pier reminded her that she still had Herbology on Saturday.
Sighing, she got herself ready to swim her worries away, before jumping in in a loud splash.