The summer passed by like it was no time at all.

Before she knew it, Gaia was back in Diagon Alley with her father as they bought what she needed for her 2nd year. Would dad let me buy a broom? Gaia wondered. As they weaved through the crowd, she spotted two familiar redheads barreling towards her. Yellow seeped into her hair as she broke into a run to meet them halfway.

She squealed as the three of them met in a hug, her father following her worriedly.

"Hey Gaia! How've you been?" George asked, letting go of her first.

"Just perfect. How about you two? Not causing too much trouble, I hope?" Gaia teased.

"Of course not, our dear sweet Gaia. What even gives you the idea that we'd cause trouble?" Fred said, grinning madly.

"Yes, how very rude of me to assume you two would be causing mischief" Gaia said, matching the Weasley twin's wild grin.

"Ah, trouble is one thing. Mischief, is another," Fred replied.

"We turned Ron's hair a very bright purple," George continued.

"Ron? Who's that?" Gaia asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion as the twins both put an arm around her shoulders.

"We'll tell you on the way. C'mon-, let's introduce you to mum," George said.

Gaia slipped out of their hold and shook her head. She grabbed both of them by the hands and lead them back.

"Gaia! Don't just run off like that!" Mr. Eruditus scolded as she stopped in front of him.

"Dad, these are my friends from school, the ones I've been owling – the Weasley twins, Fred," Gaia pointed at Fred, who waved, "and George." George gave grin to Mr. Eruditus as he waved as well.

"Ah, pleasure to meet you lads," Mr. Eruditus greeted.

"You too, Mr. Eruditus," the twins said in chorus.

"Not creepy at all," Gaia mumbled to herself, though the growing grin on Fred's face told her that he heard her.

"You two are Arthur Weasley's children, right?" Mr. Eruditus asked.

"Yes sir!" Fred answered.

"Married Molly, did he? Give them a hi from me."

"Will do, Mr. Eruditus." George grinned.

"Dad, is it alright if we roam around for a while?" Gaia asked.

"Sure, sweetheart. I'll come meet you at the ice cream parlor in about an hour, alright? I've got something to take care of."

"Sure, dad."

Almost immediately, the twins dragged her away by her hands, leading her through the thick crowd.

"Hey, tell me about your family. I never asked you guys," Gaia said.

"Well there's mum and dad. They met at Hogwarts," Fred started,

"Then there's Bill, the eldest. He just graduated from Hogwarts last year. After him's Charlie, he's a 7th year – 'bout to graduate!" George continued.

"Percy's the 3rd. He's a 4th year. After him's us. Of course, you already know us" Fred said as the trio ducked under a flying owl.

"2nd youngest is Ron. He'll be going to Hogwarts next year. Last is Ginny, our only sister. She's a year younger than Ron" George finished.

"That's a lot of siblings. I only have one, a younger sister – Lele," Gaia said.

The three of them entered a bookshop that, surprisingly, Gaia had never been in before.

"Lucky you," George quipped.

They lead Gaia to a woman at the counter. She was plump and short, her hair the same shade of red as the twins. Must be their mum, Gaia thought.

"Hi mum," the twins both greeted, making the woman jump slightly before turning around.

"I have been looking everywhere for you two! Don't tell me you've been in that blasted joke shop again," the woman fussed. She looked over to Gaia and gave her a warm smile, "Oh, you must be Gaia. Hello, dear." The woman enveloped her in a warm hug that prompted Gaia to do the same.

"Yes, I am. Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Gaia greeted.

"It's Molly, dear. You're William's daughter, right? How's he doing? And your mother? I've only ever seen her during their wedding." Mrs. Weasley rambled on and on, making Gaia a tad bit confused as she lost track of what the woman was saying.

"Uh, dad's doing great, Mrs. Weasley." Gaia struggled to recall her other questions. Luckily, Fred saved her from answering the rest.

"You're confusing her, mum," Fred said.

"Yeah, you're rambling again," George added.

"Oh sorry, dear." Mrs. Weasley gave her an apologetic look, "I do tend to go on sometimes."

"We're gonna roam around with Gaia for a while," Fred told her.

"We won't take too long!" George continued.

"Oh, alright. Careful not to get lost, and don't go wandering into Knockturn Alley!"

✧✧✧

"I'll be fine, mum. It's not like it's my first year at Hogwarts," Gaia said as her mother fussed over her. The train's about to leave, Gaia thought.

"I know, sweetheart. But you can never be too safe." Mrs. Eruditus held her at an arm's length before embracing her, "Try not to get detention, hm?"

"Darling, it's impossible. She's friends with the Weasley twins," Mr. Eruditus said as he pulled the two into a hug.

"Tell Lele bye for me?" Gaia asked as she pulled away from the hug.

"Of course, dear. Best get on now!"

Lele Eruditus was at home sick from a nasty flu. She'd put up a small fight when their parents told her that she wouldn't be able to see her older sister goodbye for her 2nd year at Hogwarts.

Gaia slid into an empty compartment and sat down near the window. Not even a minute later, the door slid open once again as two familiar redheads entered.

"Hey Gaia!" they chorused.

"I've missed you two!" Gaia said, jumping out of her seat and enveloping them in a hug.

"You saw us a week ago," Fred teased, but returned the hug nonetheless.

"It was a week too long." Gaia grinned.

"You need help with your trunk, Gaia?" George asked as he pointed to the trunk beside her on the seat.

"Still too short to reach the rack?" Fred teased.

"You're a bully. D'you know that Freddie? None of you are even taller than me," Gaia huffed. A few seconds of silence later, Gaia muttered that yes, she did indeed need help to put her trunk up the rack.

Problem was, the three were all the same height, the boys still not hitting their growth spurt.

"Why Gaia, what makes you say that to your dear old friend? I'm nothing but nice to you!" Fred helped Gaia onto the seat and raised her slightly so she could slide her trunk into the racks, "See?"

They settled back into the seats before the compartment door slid open once again to reveal Lee.

"Hey guys!" Lee greeted as he took a seat beside Gaia.

The small group of four spent majority of the train ride sharing stories about what they did during the summer, one of which was the Weasley twins' story of playing quidditch with their brothers.

"Speaking of Quidditch, are you trying out?" Fred asked, directing his question to Gaia.

"Am I a Ravenclaw?" she asked back with a grin.

"Uhm, yeah?" Lee answered. The look of confusion on his face made Gaia laugh as she shook her head at his cluelessness.

George hit him in the back of his head and laughed, "She means yes, she is trying for Quidditch." Lee only nodded in enlightenment before his face was covered in a light blush.

"It's alright Lee," Gaia comforted, though there was still a grin on her face, "Are you trying out?"

Lee shook his head, "I enjoy watching Quidditch more than playing it."

Fred and George grinned at each other before nodding.

"We're trying out as beaters," George said.

"I pity your teammates if ever you do make the team," Gaia teased.

She was only joking, of course. She believed that the two were probably great players, despite their nature.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Fred asked, genuinely offended.

"You two would probably goof off in the Quidditch pitch!" Gaia snickered.

"No we wouldn't!" George defended. Gaia gave them a deadpan look that made them stammer out a reply.

"Ok, maybe a little. B-but that doesn't mean we won't watch for bludgers!"

✧✧✧

Gaia definitely missed Hogwarts during the summer, no matter how good it felt to be back at home. Compared to last year, she already knew the halls and corridors like the back of her hand.

"Hey Gaia!" Jewel greeted as Gaia sat down on the bench next to her.

"Hey! I didn't see you on the train" Gaia said, propping up her elbow and resting her cheek on her hand.

"Sorry. I was sitting with this Hufflepuff girl named Pei. She's really sweet." Jewel explained.

"Well, how was summer?" Gaia asked.

"It was great! We went to visit my grandmother in France," Jewel replied.

"I didn't know you were French," Gaia said in surprise.

"I would've thought my last name gave it away" Jewel teased.

Just then, the doors of the Great Hall opened and the crowd of 1st years entered the hall, with Professor McGonagall leading the way.

"So, you excited?" Jewel asked.

"Areila, Jasmine!" – "SLYTHERIN!"

Gaia raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"For Quidditch! You've been talking about playing since last year and this year you can actually try out for the team." Jewel grinned.

"You're right!" Gaia gasped, "I totally forgot about that! I'm definitely trying out."

Jewel once again shook her head and laughed, "I'm surprised you forgot about it. It's all you've been talking about in your letters," she teased.

"I was just talking about that with the twins on the train earlier, actually. They're trying out as beaters," Gaia said.

"Oh Merlin," Jewel laughed before shaking her head, "I pity the Gryffindor team if they do make it. They'd probably pull a prank in the middle of the field!"

"That's what I told them!" Gaia laughed, "Joking aside though, I think they'd be great beaters."

The grin that appeared on Jewel's face gave Gaia a bad feeling about what her friend was going to say next.

"Uh oh, I don't like that look. I feel like something's wrong with that look," Gaia said slowly.

"You totally have a crush on one of them," Jewel teased.

Gaia choked on air as Jewel laughed at her hysterically, luckily doing so while the Ravenclaw table was up in cheers for a new Ravenclaw student.

"A crush!? On the twins!? That's absurdly ridiculous! Not to mention it'd be weird!" Gaia ranted, her words becoming incomprehensive towards the end.

"Maybe now. But I bet you, you'll end up with one of them one day." Jewel smirked.

"Oh please, we're 12. I'm not really thinking of those kind of things right now." Gaia rolled her eyes, though she could feel her hair starting to change at the roots. She was honestly afraid of finding out what color was seeping out.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Gaia. Just know that if you do end up with one of them one day, I'll be the first to say I told you so." Jewel grinned.

Gaia shook her head and turned her head towards her food. Of course she didn't like any of the twins, it'd be ridiculous.

✧✧✧

The current captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team was Charles Hilton, a 7th year Ravenclaw who had been part of the team since he was in 2nd year. He was devoted to the game, constantly getting the team to practice, but not so much that a player would complain. He was a friendly face, even to those outside of the team. He was usually seen with younger students as he assisted them with assignments. In fact, Gaia herself had a few interactions with the older student. But at the moment, Gaia felt like the boy standing in front of them was someone she didn't know – someone who intimidated her.

"Alright, those trying out for chasers, line up here. Beaters, here. Keeper, here. Seeker, here. I'll be choosing two chasers, a beater, a substitute keeper, and a substitute seeker," Charles said as he pointed out to different areas, "Beaters, come up. The rest of you stay here and feel free to watch. Or practice, if you want to." He then mounted his broom and zoomed up into the air, three other Ravenclaw students following him up – the pre-existing Quidditch team.

About 7 students trying out for Beater followed them up to the air. As they started the try-outs, Gaia grabbed a spare quaffle and mounted her broom before flying off, a distance away from the beaters.

"Mind if I join?"

Gaia turned to see Kaleb hovering behind her on his own broom.

"Kaleb! Of course" Gaia smiled and flew higher.

Kaleb followed suit and stopped in front of her. Gaia threw the quaffle as far as she could and Kaleb flew to catch it.

"So, what happened to 'staying on the ground where you won't have to worry about your arse falling from the sky'?" she asked teasingly and Kaleb laughed before throwing the quaffle back to her.

"Cole convinced me. He's trying out for Gryffindor's team" he answered as Gaia caught the quaffle.

"Chasers!" Charles called out from their spot in the air as the students trying out for beater flew down.

"Good luck." Gaia grinned.

"To both of us," Kaleb said with a wink as they flew to the captain.

"Alright, you'll be splitting into two teams of two. One 2nd year and one 6th year each team. You'll only be aiming at one goal and I'll be keeper. Let's go!" he said before flying towards one end of the pitch.

Gaia took her position next to Kaleb as the two 3rd years settled in front of them, all their faces reflecting determination.

"No bad blood to whoever wins?" the 3rd year girl asked.

"None at all" Gaia grinned as she shook her head.

And then, the quaffle was released.

✧✧✧

Edited 06/12/2021