"Skills we have mastered so far" the first year heard Professor Foxwood say to the class. Was that a joke, she mused as everyone else began pairing off into the little friendship groups and cliques. Margaret didn't have friends here, but her little "family emergency" break from school on Hogsmeade day had given her a little strength to carry on, it had been good to see her cousin and to see her friend Charley.

The others all went running off, or they gathered to think first. Margaret dawdled around, not making much effort to try and latch on to any of the witches or wizards that surrounded her and instead wandered off alone towards the place where all the flags were kept. The professors had told them that they would be hidden and that there would be obstacles to get past to retrieve them. Maggie had a few ideas, but none of them involved the wand that remained squarely in her pocket, she hated even having it on her but had been told off twice now for forgetting to bring it to class so just left it inside her robe at all time, maybe the moths would eat it and she could just go back to being a normal muggle.

Margaret walked along with her arms crossed and her hands holding her elbows. There was one group casting spells at a small stone wall, another seemed to be casting the levi.. levosa? spell to lift foliage on the ground to see what was underneath. This carried on for a little while and Margaret explored almost invisibly amongst the others until she saw her opening. A trio of wizards were sitting on a log chatting, with one of them eating something and there was her prize, stuck out of the back pocket of one of the Gryffindor boys was a small piece of coloured rag that looked very much like a flag.

Now, Margaret was no pickpocket, but she was not shy of a little mischief and poor girls like her had to make do with the opportunities that presented themselves. She moved up a little closer, placing a bush between her and the boys. This would be like taking ice cream from a charlatan and hopefully Charley Goode would be quite proud of her. Silently the most delicate hand reached through the holly busy, she bit her tongue as the spikes scratched her until her fingers found themselves on the soft silken flag. With a smooth gesture, she removed it from the pocket of her mark and quickly placed it inside her cloak.

With that achieved she was away again and walking back over towards the professors, she would ensure not to be first to hand in the flag, she was a muggle, and it would be too suspicious if she somehow beat her witch classmates, but she would proudly hand into the flag having used the skills she had mastered, just as instructed. The boys would be fuming if they found out, but everyone hated her anyway so what was the loss. Her heart raced as she approached the professors, walking up to Basil Foxwood ... or was it Gus Lissington all old men looked the same to her. "I got the flag" she said shyly, waiting for the moment they saw right through her scheme with their magical eyes and turned her into a toad for her troubles.