Precognition

1st year Chapter 2: A niffler and an earring

It had been a few weeks and Ava was finding adjusting to Hogwarts life easier than she'd imagined, albeit she hadn't made many friends yet.

Although Emma Rose - her dorm mate- was seemingly nice, although a little aloof.
Emma was very prepared, it was as though she could see the future and predicted everything correctly. It was a stupid assumption but maybe she was secretly a 100 year old who was cursed to see the future?

Oh, and she supposed Alice and her still spoke when they were in close quarters but not as often as she would have liked.

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Most of her lessons were fascinating, potions she was particularly fond of but no where near as much as care of magical creatures.

Kettleburn knew how deeply Ava cared for the creatures, in fact he coined her the nickname "Scammander" as a nod to the man responsible for the book on fantastic beasts where to find them.

She had a knack for knowing exactly what every creature needed, it was like she could speak to them.
Which is precisely why they came to her.

She first began to realise animals flocked to her when she was outside in the courtyard, ironically studying Scammanders text books.
She felt a sudden tug upon her left earring - a golden piece her aunt had gifted her upon her acceptance into Ravenclaw- it startled her and she gasped lightly.
Upon further investigation the tug on her earring was caused by a small niffler, presumably a baby. It was small and navy blue with the cutest eyes she had ever seen. Yes maybe it tried to rob her but she knew she had to keep him.

Pepper - the name she had given to her niffler after he inhaled pepper corn and went on a sneezing spree-
Went everywhere with her, he would climb into her pocket with a gold coin and sit rather quietly... unless he sensed valuables.

Well, one particular day Pepper was feeling rather restless. He'd been stuffed inside her pocket and whilst he had both snacks and gold he wanted to wander.
He caught a scent and before Ava could even notice the movement he hopped from her pocket and began to crawl on the floor.

He practically hovered towards the scent of gold, and unfortunately for Ava, the loudest most obnoxious person in the room.

"Eww what the bloody hell is that thing?!" James potter practically howled whilst jumping up from his seat.
"Mate it's a rat be careful don't squish it!"
"Ewww why's there a rat in here?"

Ava shot up from her seat towards Potter and spotted the 'rat' in question. Tears welled up in her eyes as Potter held him by his scruff whilst he squeaked in pain.
"Put him down you're hurting him!"
He began laughing at her.
"This rats yours? Here- catch it then"
Before she could even register his words , Pepper was soaring through the air and - by the grace of god- into her open palms.

"You insufferable cunt!" Ava cried out, her voice breaking with sobs as she looked down at her horrified pet.

"miss Weasley, five points from Ravenclaw for foul language!"
Potter burst out laughing at her, mocking her cries and performing a stupid dance on his desk, much to the amusement of his desk mate -a boy with long black hair- and to the dismay of the two boys on the desk next to his -a blonde and the same brunette from the train-.

"And mr potter, twenty points from griffindor for your heinous actions against that poor creature."

His face fell and he began muttering something about a stupid mouse and he slumped down in his seat.

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As soon as class had ended Ava disappeared.
She hurriedly walked through the hallways, satchel almost completely off her shoulder as she comforted her traumatised pet.

She was making her way to the library as she wanted to study with Emma when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Umm, I'm really sorry about my friend- he's a bit... well- you know."
Ava raised her gaze to see the brunette. The one from the train again.
"Oh, it's alright- you didn't do anything wrong but thanks ."

They stood in silence for a minute before he started again.
"Oh, I'm Remus- Lupin. Remus Lupin." The brunette offered her a soft smile and held out his hand.

"I'm Ava, Ava Weasley."
They shook hands briefly before they parted ways, she to the library and him to the courtyard.

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"What chapter are you on?" Emma inquired, pausing her page skimming briefly.

The red head raised her gaze, hair falling over her shoulders as she did so.
"Chapter 17, page 11. Just read the section about poly juice"
Emma nodded before simply returning back to her book.

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"Hey Emma, how long have we been here?"
"About three hours- I'm going to head off now, potions quiz tomorrow remember?"
Ava nodded, waved her friend off and slid her textbook into her satchel.

"Let's just leave now, we can study in the room can't we."
"That's fine."
Both girls walked back to their dorms in comfortable silence, one with a bag full of potions and the other with a niffler in her pocket.

By the time they had reached their shared dorm, both girls were exhausted from their research and not to mention the walk from the library to their dorms... well the actual route they had to take.

Whilst the room was cosy, it was cold.
It felt like she was missing something, Emma was a deep sleeper although she went to bed late.
Emma was an owl and Ava was a rooster.
Emma would stay awake until one and sleep until seven, whilst Ava would sleep like clockwork at 10. That was unless she was distracted.

Which she often was.

Her brother had taken a temporary teaching job at the school to watch over her. She knew he wanted to watch her flourish as a griffindor and that he was disappointed in her desire for isolation if you will.
She was also distracted by a looming fear. A fear that she would never be good enough for hogwarts.