Chapter Text
Book One, Chapter Three: Clowns and Charms
September 27th, 1990
Moira would consider herself a smart girl. She would even consider herself to be the top of her potions class.
After all, she was the only one to master the cure for boils on the first try in record time.
Someone who disagreed, however, was her professor.
Professor Snape was a tall man with a hooked nose, pale complexion, and shoulder length, greasy black hair. He also happened to be the target of a rather mean looking glare Moira was aiming in his direction.
“Just breathe, Mo.” Evelyn whispered, placing a soothing hand on Moira’s shoulder. “Don’t let him get to you.” She was, of course, referring to the snide remark Snape had made when examining their potion, calling it ‘Mediocre at best and an embarrassment to his teaching skills at worst.’ And as a result, Moira was fuming—because her potion was perfect. The perfect color, consistency, and outcome. She had made a perfect Forgetfulness Potion, and it was once again dismissed by her professor, who was now meekly complimenting Eustacy’s potion.
Moira stared at her potion in defiance. “He’s wrong.” She muttered, slamming her wand on the table.
“Of course he is, Mo, but-” Evelyn was cut off by Moira standing up sharply from her stool. “Mo? Mo- Moira!” Evelyn grabbed Moira’s sleeve to yank her down into her stool. It was too late.
“You’re wrong.” Moira repeated louder, standing back up. A few of the students glanced over– one chuckled to himself. Snape, however, ignored her, so Moira cleared her throat and stood up taller. “Excuse me for saying this, Professor,” Moira continued. “But you are, in fact, wrong.”
Snape turned, bemused, and stared back at her. “Am I, Miss Seeley?”
“Yes.”
Snape nodded and walked over, looking back in her potion and raising an eyebrow. “You are correct.”
“But-” Moira stopped her would-be-ramble. “I am?” She asked, leaning backwards slightly with a confused frown forming on her face.
“You are.” Snape agreed. “It isn’t mediocre. It’s a complete failure.” He walked away. “5 points from Gryffindor.”
“What?” Moira protested, walking around Evelyn, who desperately tried grabbing the sleeve of her robe again. “My potion is good! Maybe it isn’t perfect, but it’s good!”
“‘Perfection’ Miss Seeley, isn’t optional in my class.” Snape retorted dryly. “If you dislike my feedback–” He walked forward to meet her in the center of the class. “Do better.” With his last word he turned and walked back over to examine the other potions. Moira scoffed and shook her head, storming back to her seat and sitting down.
Evelyn sighed loudly and shook her head at Moira, who glanced at her briefly. “What?” She snapped. Evelyn raised her eyebrow and pursed her lips. “You look like my mother, Ev, leave me alone.”
“Well, at least someone in your family has common sense.” She muttered, rolling up her parchment. “Honestly, Moira, stop losing points for your house.”
Moira grumbled to herself and mimicked Evelyn’s actions, grabbing her ink and quill and shoving it into her bag. “It’s not my fault all my professors are bumbling fools.” She sent a pointed look towards the potions professor.
Evelyn sighed even louder `````````````````````` and didn’t reply, instead only smiling softly in Moira’s direction. “Let’s get going. I’m ready for lunch.”
October 3rd, 1990
Moira woke up to screaming. Loud, drawn out, ever lasting screaming. It started with one, then another joined in, soon Moira was the only girl left in her dorm not screaming.
“It’s touching me!”
“Get it off! Get it off!” That loud wail was unmistakably Eloise, who Moira could barely make out the shape of, standing on her bed and backed against her frame. “Help! Help!”
Moira flung her covers off and realised something slimy was slithering on her legs, suppressing a chill, Moira took a shuddering breath and grabbed her lantern from her bedside table, flicking it on. Alas.
Her legs were covered in snakes.
The light from her lantern illuminated the dorm space and she saw Zari grabbing snakes from her bed and flinging them off, screaming like a madwoman. Next to her Eloise was frantically trying to climb up the wall throwing all her limbs around. Larisa was simply sobbing on top of her pillows, letting the snakes creep closer to her while she watched, petrified, occasionally screaming when one got close, but not doing anything besides that. Moira groaned loudly and tossed the last snake off her bed, throwing her legs to the side and standing up. She tiptoed around the snakes and flung the light on.
“I am going to kill those boys.” She growled through clenched teeth. She threw her bedroom door open and stormed down the hall. Around her the girls were screaming from their dorms, a few snakes littered the halls. As she walked by, more doors flung open with high pitched screams echoing behind them as girls tumbled out of their rooms.
Moira stomped down the stairs, at the bottom stood two redheaded boys in their 2nd year. “Stupid Weasleys!” She yelled, storming past them. They laughed—delighted—as a stream of girls pushed past them into the common room. Moira huffed loudly and stood angrily in front of the fireplace. A few of the girls ran out of the common room, screeching for McGonagall.
“Don’t hate us ‘cause you ain’t us!” The twins yelled in unison, bowing dramatically. A 3rd year girl grabbed a vase and chucked it at their heads. One of them—Moira couldn't tell them apart—shouted in defiance before they turned tail and ran back up to the boy dormitory.
Moira let her head fall back against the headrest of the couch. This had become a recurring event. Every couple of weeks the Weasley twins would put on prank after prank. Usually targeting the Gryffindor girls or the Slytherins. Last week they woke up to find that all of their shoes had been magically filled with porridge. Thankfully some of the older girls knew counteractive spells. They were all late to class.
***
October 4th, 1990
Moira blinked sleep out of her eyes when she collapsed next to Leon in Charms class. The Hufflepuff boy blew his hair out of his eyes and glanced at her, raising an eyebrow.
“What’s with you?”
Moira shook her head. “Stupid boys in 2nd year. They keep doing pranks on all the Gryffindor girls.” She ignored Leon’s snort of amusement to pull out her parchment paper and quill. Moira would consider herself a smart girl.
Except she was drowning in her work.
She understood Potions. Charms. Transfiguration. DADA. She understood magic and she was getting top marks on her papers– they weren’t the problem.
The problem comes when it’s time for Moira to pull out her wand in front of the class and turn a cup into a frog. To charm a feather to fly. To actually do magic.
Moira’s brother was a squib. This wasn’t a secret. The Seeley’s had 5 children. Only 4 of them ever made it to Hogwarts.
Sometimes Moira thought she might be a squib. Then, of course, she would make a feather float slightly above a table, or the cup would grow a frog leg. She knew she had magic, which made it that much more embarrassing that she’s the most behind in using it.
Potions she did fine in. Occasionally there was a spell to be done, and she had Evelyn do it. Charms she could pass in. It helped that Leon wasn’t very good either, so he never really caught on that she was a complete mess. Transfiguration she struggled the most with. Inaya had noticed. She hadn’t said anything though, which Moira appreciated. She was sure she’d get the hang of it, she just wasn’t quite sure when.
She really hoped it would be soon.
“Today, we’ll be learning the wand illumination charm.” Professor Flitwick said once he was standing atop his books. “Lumos!” He flicked his wand and the class oohed as it shone brightly. Professor Flitwick chuckled and bowed.
Moira listened with intent while he explained it. She watched his every movement and followed along. She muttered the incantation under her breath. She heard Leon doing the same next to her.
By the end of the class Leon had cast the spell.
Moira hadn’t. Not unless you counted the light flickering that sparked at the tip of her wand.
***
Later that night Moira laid in the silence of her bedroom. In the bed next to hers she could hear Zari breathing in a soft and slow rhythm. Occasionally she heard Larisa toss in her sleep or mumble something incoherent. Moira turned to her side and stared at the light of the moon reflecting from the window. It lit up the dorm room just enough for Moira to see her wand resting—uselessly—on her bedside table.
Taking a deep breath Moira sat up and reached her hand out to grasp the cold wood. She pulled the wand toward herself and stared at it resting on her lap. Zari stayed asleep, as did Eloise and Larisa. Moira felt herself grow impatient for morning time and slowly tossed her legs over the side of her bed, letting her bare feet hit the floor softly. Behind her Hattie made a soft noise of discontent before going silent again.
Moira glanced around briefly before quickly walking to the door and opening it softly. She crept down the staircase and once she was sure the common room was empty—she pulled out her wand and started chanting an incantation.
Lumos.
Lumos.
Lumos.
She stayed down there, repeating the words, until the sun started creeping through the windows and only when she started hearing people moving in the dormitories up the stairs did she stop.
She had managed the spell.
***
October 27th, 1990
“Can you believe how much work I have?” Leon asked, collapsing next to her. They were sitting in the library, at their table. It was decently far into the library, and settled with one edge along a bookshelf and the other sticking out to the aisle. There was only really room for them, and maybe a couple more, but it would be crowded, and Moira hated crowds.
“Maybe if you did your work right away, it wouldn’t pile up,” Inaya chimed in. She was leaning close to her book but she glanced up to give Leon a pointed look. “This is my last paper to do, and it’s not due until Monday.”
“I think it’s stupid we agreed to all be here on a Saturday anyway.” Evelyn muttered from her seat next to Moira. Moira glanced over at her and rolled her eyes.
“Well maybe if you two,” She pointed between Leon and Evelyn. “Did your work on time so we wouldn't have to be here on a Saturday, we’d all be happier."
Inaya nodded in agreement, then looked back at her book, occasionally scribbling something down on her paper.
Moira looked around the library and then leaned in. “So, I had an idea.” She said quietly, mainly speaking to Leon. Who took the excuse to shove his papers out of the way and lean in as well. “I’ve been thinking that I have to find a way to stop those stupid 2nd years from pranking us. It’s not funny.”
“I think it’s pretty funny.” Evelyn commented from her corner, she’d turned her body to rest against the bookshelves and propped her feet up on her chair. Moira shot her a glare and she held her hands up in surrender, her smile never faltering. Moira rolled her eyes and turned back to Leon.
“We need to do something about it,” she said to Leon, who instantly agreed.
“Yes, yes we do.” He paused. “Um, what can I do though? I’m a Hufflepuff.”
Moira rolled her eyes again. She’d done it so much in the past two months sometimes she was worried they’d get stuck up there. “Obviously I haven’t figured that out yet, Caverly. I think we need to brainstorm.”
“We?” Inaya asked, finally looking up from her book again. “They haven’t touched the Ravenclaws, I don’t want to be a target.”
Leon shoved her shoulder. “Get over yourself, Inaya, they don’t care about you. Besides this is what friends are for.”
“They won’t discover you or any of us, Inaya, because they won’t figure us out,” Evelyn added, unfolding her legs to lean forward with them. Moira turned to her and raised an eyebrow, Evelyn simply smirked and shrugged in return.
“You are such a Slytherin.” Leon said, laughing loudly. All three girls shushed him in return. “Okay so, how do we get payback for Moira?”
And that’s how, nearing the end of October, 1990, Moira, Evelyn, Inaya, and Leon pulled their very first prank on a couple of 2nd year twins.
And got away with it.
***
October 31st, 1990
Moira snickered softly as she sat down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, she had to pass by the Weasley twins, who had multicolored hair fluffed up in a hairdo Inaya told them ‘clowns’ wore. Moira didn’t know what a clown was, but the fluffy ball of curls sitting on top of the boys’ heads made her wish she did.
“Nice hair, boys.” Evelyn said when they passed. Both of them turned around and stood up.
“Oi! Say that to our faces!”
“I just did!” Evelyn called back. Moira hid her smile by looking down, when she reached her housemates they sat. “Are you sure it’s okay to sit with you guys?”
“No one really cares.” Zari answered from across them. “Besides, I trust we have you two to thank for that.” She inclined her head in the direction of the twins, who’d started yelling at each other.
Moira made a face of surprise. “Us? We have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“None at all.” Evelyn agreed solemnly.
Zari hummed lightly. “Well, be sure to thank anyone else not involved. You know, any Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs.”
Evelyn flashed her a smile and Moira shook her head. So much for not getting caught. They made a good team though. Inaya had thought of the whole idea, mentioning how muggles would dress up for Halloween. Leon thought of dressing them up in something. Moira had researched the spell. Inaya and Evelyn had performed it. It was oddly fairly easy for them to do, catching them in the halls on the way to class.
Later that day Inaya would invite them to the Ravenclaw common room, where they would share the candy her mother had sent her, and Moira would scold Leon for not doing his work for the day. It was the first Halloween of many they’d share together.
***
November 9th, 1990
“She doesn’t like it.” Eloise whined, plucking Hattie from Larisa's arm. Larisa jumped up to grab the cat back.
“She does too!”
Moira looked up from her spot on her bed, her cat, Hattie, was being pampered by Larisa, who was currently brushing her fur. Eloise stuck her tongue out at Larisa and then giggled wildly when Larisa whined and started chasing her.
“Don’t kill my cat.” Moira spoke dryly, flicking the page of her book. Eloise stopped running to gently toss Hattie onto Moira’s bed, in the process getting tackled by Larisa.
The door to their room opened and Zari strolled in. “Hey, Moira, there’s a Slytherin here to see you.”
“Evelyn?” Moira asked, confused why Zari wouldn’t just say that. But the girl shook her head, curls flying.
“Some boy.” She walked over to her bed to collapse on it. Moira rolled off her bed and grabbed her shoes, tugging them on.
“Who is it?” Eloise asked, disentangling herself from Larisa.
Moira shrugged. “Probably my brother.”
Larisa jumped up instantly. “Anthony?”
“No, my other brother in Slytherin.” Moira replied, rolling her eyes when Larisa paused to think.
“You’re pulling my leg.” She said finally. Moira didn’t reply and Larisa rushed after her when Moira left the dorm.
Anthony was sitting on the arm of a chair, talking to a couple of 4th year girls who were giggling at him.
“Anthony!”
Her brother looked up with raised eyebrows, grinned, and said. “Ah! My dearest sister.”
“Your only sister.” Moira corrected, walking forward. Larisa was behind her, and Moira could feel how giddy she was. “Done flirting with girls?”
Anthony gasped loudly, looking around. “Who, me? No, I’m not flirting. I simply state what I see, like the fact that Gryffindor has the prettiest girls around.” He winked at the girls who giggled and looked at each other. Moira rolled her eyes so hard she was surprised they came back around. Anthony rolled his eyes right back and hopped off the armchair, waving at the girls who blushed a deep shade. “I came to see you, actually.”
“I’m aware, actually.”
Anthony smirked and his eyes slid to Larisa. “Who’s your friend?”
Moira stepped in front of her. “No one.”
“I’m someone!” Larisa darted forward and shook his hand. “Larisa, Larisa Launce.”
“Nice to know Moira’s been making friends in her own house.” Anthony shook her hand and Moira was relieved to see there was no coy look behind his smile. “It’s like she thinks she needs to start a collection from every house.”
“Anthony.” Moira snapped her fingers to bring his attention back. “Let’s get back to the problem at hand.”
“What problem?”
“You being here in my common room while I’m trying to relax.”
Anthony frowned deeply. “I just came to remind you that it’s my birthday next week—”
“I know.”
Anthony held his hand up. “Let me finish. It’s my birthday next week, and every year since I’ve started here, me and my friends have had a little get together, now we said we’d only invite people up to one year below us, but we thought we’d make an exception for you.”
Moira scowled. “Why?”
“Um,” Anthony looked around. “Because you're my sister?”
Moira scowled more. “Why would I want to hang out with you and your friends?”
“Because it’s my birthday, M, you have to.”
“I do not,” Moira pointed out. “I could just send you a gift.”
“Please, M, I’ve been waiting for you to get here, we never get to celebrate our birthdays together anymore.”
Moira sighed, nodded, and said. “Fine. How many people are going?”
Anthony’s face lit up. “Not a lot, I promise. Just me and some of the guys.”
Moira cringed. “Well I hope ‘the guys’, She threw up air quotes. “Aren’t all gross like you, otherwise I’m leaving.”
Anthony’s hand flew to his chest. “I’m hurt, M—seriously.” Despite his words, though, he was grinning.
Moira acknowledged him with a light hum. “Was there any reason you couldn’t catch me in the hall?” She gestured around the common room. “It seems like work to get here.”
Anthony smirked. “I wasn’t lying when I said Gryffindor had the cutest girls.” He looked around and smiled at the girls from earlier. Moira’s face was riddled with disgust.
“Ew, Anthony, leave.”
Moira turned and pulled Larisa away, who kept looking back at her brother. The minute they got into the dorm Larisa flew to her bed.
“Oh my! Did you see him shake my hand! He talked to me, Moira! He likes me!”
“He does not, Larisa,” Moira replied, walking to her own bed. “He wouldn’t flirt with you, anyway, you’re too young for him.”
Larisa gasped. “Am not!”
“Are too.” Eloise called from her bed. “Besides, isn’t he like, a massive flirt.”
Larisa frowned. “He’s not.”
“Yes he is.” Moira muttered. “He’s had like three girlfriends and we’ve been in school for three months.”
“One a month!” Larisa protested. “That’s not bad! Besides, if we were together time would fly by, and before he knew it, we’d be together years and years and years!” Larisa sighed and fell back into her bed. Moira’s face twisted and she tugged her shoes off, climbing in bed.
***
November 12th, 1990
Moira couldn’t sleep.
Hattie was curled in a perfect circle at the edge of her bed, purring softly, her tail flicking in her dreams.
She had been reviewing Charms with Leon and they started practicing Lumos. Moira had thought she could do it, only to say it with full confidence and get nothing in return. She’d snapped at Leon when he tried to help.
Moira stared up at the ceiling, arms crossed. Her mind wouldn’t stop replaying it, over and over again. She’d spent a whole night practicing, and she’d gotten it. Why wasn’t it working anymore?
She sat up sharply, pushing her blankets aside. Her wand was sitting on the nightstand, bare—wood on wood.
Moira grabbed her wand and padded across the dorm floor, wincing when the floorboard creaked under her heel. She slipped out the door and crept down the stairs, the faint glow of the common room fire guiding her way.
When she reached the bottom, she stopped in front of the hearth. The flames were dying—just embers now, glowing faintly orange.
Moira held up her wand. “Lumos.”
Nothing.
Her jaw clenched. “Lumos.” Still nothing.
She huffed, flicking her wrist again. “Lumos!”
The tip sparked faintly—a single, pathetic flicker—then, without warning, burst.
Light exploded from her wand like a star igniting. The whole room flashed white, so bright she had to throw an arm over her eyes. The fire in the hearth roared to life, taller than her head, casting wild shadows that danced across the stone walls. Books on a nearby shelf tumbled to the ground with a loud thud.
Moira gasped and stumbled backward, almost tripping over a stool.
Then, just as suddenly, it was gone.
Darkness fell over the room. The fire died completely. Smoke curled from her wand tip. The silence that followed was thick and heavy, pressing at her ears.
She blinked, her heart racing. “What was that?” she whispered. She wasn’t sure who she was talking to, but it felt like she had to break the silence.
Moira let out a shaky breath and looked down at her wand. It was still faintly warm in her hand. When she tried again, a cautious whisper of “Lumos,” nothing happened. Not a flicker.
“Of course,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. “Figures.”
She slipped back up the stairs before anyone could come down, her pulse still pounding in her throat. When she reached her bed, she set the wand back on her nightstand and stared at it for a long time.
What is wrong with me?
She pulled her blankets over her head and closed her eyes, but it took a long time before she slept.