Chapter 18 – Epilogue by Maeryn Lamonte – Copyright © 2021

And here’s the last chapter. Whether or not I write another with Lori, I haven’t decided. As I may already have mentioned, I’ve found it really hard writing in someone else’s world. Besides, I want to get some of my own stuff out there. I have a few of my old stories up on Amazon: Lifeswap Tales of All Hallows Eve With one other, “Flip”, due to go up later this week. Once I’ve worked my way through the intricacies, I’ll make them available as print copies too. I also have an all-new story with the working title of “Glitch” or maybe “Fzzzt” which will be going up on Amazon sometime hopefully before Christmas. In the meantime, thanks to those of you who’ve stayed with me to this point. I hope you’ve enjoyed the story, and please remember to tip your writer (by which I mean comments or private messages. This is a derivative work and is posted free for your pleasure.)

-oOo-
Summer had come and gone. Lori could hardly think where the time had disappeared.

The last weeks of the summer term had been so relaxed. A lot of the school played Quidditch, which didn’t interest her much, but since her brother had succeeded in try outs for the Ravenclaw team and was due to join as a chaser in the new year, she’d resigned herself to going along to support him, and decided she ought to start early. She surprised herself with how much she’d enjoyed the game and drew a few odd looks from Ravenclaw fans wondering why this Hufflepuff girl none of them recognised was cheering for their team.

They’d been allowed to choose a research topic to investigate in those last weeks, and Lori had decided to dig deeper into the history of house elves. Anneka had opted to write up all she’d learned about Randolph the Rash, which might have been a fun thing to share, except Anneka had done most of the work. All Lori had done was find the manuscript then read it first. Anni had deciphered the clues, she had done all the extra research with her Muggle friend to discover Randolph’s descendants and the all-important poem. It was Anni’s success, not hers, and sharing the project would have widened the growing gap between them rather than narrowed it.

They’d continued talking whenever they had a free moment, sharing their respective progress, but they were both aware that something had changed. Lori desperately wanted to do something about it, but there was nothing to be done, so they continued on their separated paths, more or less agreeing to give each other space until they found a new balance.

Lori contacted the ministry and arranged a meeting with the new Minister of Magic. Hermione had apparated to the school and taken Lori to Hogsmeade, a rare and unusual treat for any first year, where they’d chatted over tea and cakes in Madam Puddifoot’s tea shop. Hermione told Lori all about S.P.E.W. and her attempts at improving the lot of the school house elves. She spoke of Dobby, his peculiarities, his love of freedom, his attempts to persuade the other house elves to try it. She spoke of his loyalty and bravery and his ultimate sacrifice.

She asked of Lori’s own interests, so Lori told her of her own encounter with Winky in the kitchens, without going into any details of the visions the elf had shown her. She didn’t need to say much in any case because Hermione took over once she realised it was the same Winky who had worked for the Crouch family and gave Lori a lot of additional background on the derelict creature.

By the last week of term, she’d read everything she could find in the library relating to house elves and she’d written a lot, based largely on what she’d learned from Hermione and what she already knew from her encounters with the elves in the kitchens. When she was done, she headed there with a long roll of parchment in her hand and if not a plan then at least a purpose.

Mani caught sight of her as she entered and walked across to intercept her.

“Er, I’m not sure if you recognise me,” she said, “I’m…”

“You are miss who is wanting to help Winky and Cringe.”

“I’d like to speak with her if I may, but first I have something to ask you.”

“What is Miss wishing of Mani?”

“I’ve written a more in-depth report on the history of house elves. I’m not sure how the agreement works between us, if I’m capable of writing something that’s too revealing, but I want to keep my part of the agreement, so would you read through this and let me know if it contains anything that might concern you?”

“Mani will do this. Winky is over there,” he waved a hand in the general direction of some shelves.

Lori, following his direction, found Winky sitting on a high shelf, her Hogwarts tea towel dress filthy and stained and a bottle of butterbeer in her hand.

“Little Miss,” Winky called. “You was mistress who tried to help Winky and now you is Little Miss. It is good to be seeing you looking more like your true self.”

“Hello Winky,” Lori replied. “It’s good to see you.”

“Is Miss come back for more tales of elvish past?”

“Perhaps another time. I actually came to talk to you. Is there somewhere private we could talk?”

Winky snapped her fingers and Lori found herself sitting on the high shelf next to the diminutive creature. It wasn’t as precarious as it might once have been now that she was so much smaller and lighter, but it wasn’t pleasant, especially given the way Winky smelt.

“Well, I suppose this works. Winky, will you tell me how I can help you?”

“Winky doesn’t need any help. Winky is a free elf, and free elves helps thereselves.”

“But you’re not happy.”

“Master is freeing Winky. Winky isn’t wanting to be a free elf, but master isn’t wanting Winky back, so he is giving Winky clothes, and Winky isn’t being happy since.”

“You seemed happy when I gave you that dress.”

“Winy was so happy. Winky though she would become a Hogwarts elf. Winky tried to do what Little Miss asked her to do, but Mani is telling her, ‘Do this’ and ‘Do that’ and Winky is wanting to know why. Mani is not liking to be questioned and he is huffing and saying, “I is not having time to explain. You is just doing what I is saying.’”

“But isn’t that what being a Hogwarts elf means? Mani is in charge. He is told what needs to be done and he passes the instructions to all the elves under his charge.”

“This is working for normal elves. They is having to obey orders and they is knowing that orders from Mani is orders from the teachers. Winky is a free elf. She is not having to do what she is told, so she is wanting to know why.”

“Can’t you just accept having the school as a new master?”

“How is Winky getting a new master? If Winky is free, how is she becoming a servant again?”

One of the school house elves walked past beneath them, recognisable by his tea towel, which was clean, if a little threadbare. “Excuse me,” Lori called out, causing the elf to look up. “Would I be correct in assuming you are in service to the school?”

“Little Miss is correct,” the elf replied.

“Have you always been in service to the school?”

The elf looked uncomfortable for a moment. “Little Miss is better talking to Mani. Mildew is fetching him, Little Miss. Mildew is bringing him here.” He scurried off.

“Mildew?”

“Mildew is liking his name. It is being given by Helga Hufflepuff herself.”

“Really? He’s been here that long?”

Winky laughed immoderately. “Little Miss is funny. House elves is not living so long. Two hundred years is all.”

“Okay, so how does Mildew have a name given by someone who lived and died a thousand years ago?”

“School house elves is proud to be here. They is passing their names to their children and grandchildren.”

“Doesn’t that get confusing if you have more than one house elf with the same name.”

Winky roared with laughter again. “Little Miss is very funny, but she is not understanding. When house elves is dying, their names is being kept so that when other house elves is being born, they is being give a name from before. Not all house elves is having a name from before, so them who has is being proud to have it.”

“Is, er Mani a name from before?”

Again, Winky laughed long enough to choke. “The names from before which is being given by Helga Hufflepuff. They is all names of natural things.”

“Little Miss?” Mani stood at the foot of the shelf, the parchment still held in his hand.

“Hello Mani. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“It is no trouble, Little Miss. How is Mani being able to help you?”

“Er, I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but I was wondering if you could tell me how house elves come to be in the service of the school. I understand a lot of you are descended from the first elves that were brought here by Helga Hufflepuff.”

“You is correct, Little Miss. But there is sometimes other elves who is coming here. Like Winky, like Cringe.”

“Dobby too, I understand.”

“Yes, Dobby too.” Mani didn’t seem too happy at the mention of that particular name. “Dobby is being a free elf and working for wages!” He spat the last word as though it were the worst of profanities. “Winky is being a free elf, but even she is not doing this.”

“Cringe isn’t a free elf. He served the Maledicta family, but now that Augustus and Septima are probably going to prison, he doesn’t have a place anymore, is that right?”

“Not right,” Mani said. “Raphael is still family and still free, so Cringe is returning to the family home to await Master Raphael’s return.”

“But if Raphael had gone to prison too?”

“Cringe would have no master to serve. Cringe would be offered to transfer to service in the school. This is happening sometimes.”

“But for elves like Winky who were given their freedom against their will, what’s to stop them from committing to the service of a new master?”

“Elves who is made free is not able to become servants again. This is in the magic.”

“Perhaps a free elf might act as though she were a servant?”

“She would be free.”

“And why couldn’t she use her free choice to choose to serve?”

“You is speaking of Winky,” Winky said.

“I am. I know it wouldn’t be the same as serving your old master, but it would be serving a master. And if you were doing it because you chose to rather than because magic made you do it, perhaps that would be as good, or maybe even better.”

“Winky is always having a choice whether or not to do what she is told,” Winky said glumly.

“So, make an agreement with yourself, that you will always do what you are told by Mani here.”

“Winky is already trying this. It isn’t working.”

“So, the reason you spend your days sitting on a shelf drinking butterbeer is because…”

“It is in the magic,” Mani said again. “A free elf is not having to do what she is told by anyone. She is recognising that an elf in service, such as Mani, is doing what he is told, and so when Mani is telling Winky to do a job, she is feeling that it is a telling that is having no power.”

“Winky is not liking to be told what to do, especially by an elf who is a servant,” Winky confirmed.

“But you were excited about becoming a Hogwarts elf. And Dobby made it work.”

“He is being asked by Professor Dumbledore himself. Dobby is thinking it is a great honour.”

“Dobby is still not doing everything he is told,” Mani growled.

“Okay, give me a few minutes.” She looked down at the floor quite a long way below her. “Er, perhaps someone wouldn’t mind helping me down?”

A snap of fingers brought her down beside Mani.

“Thank you. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“Where is Little Miss going?”

“To find someone who I hope can help.”

She ran off towards the Hufflepuff entrance. Professor Sprout was sitting near to the fireplace as usual.

“Professor, I wonder if I could ask a favour.”

“What is it Lori?”

“It’s the house elves. Well one really. You know Winky?”

“Yes, poor thing. She has been miserable since before she came here.”

“I know. I have an idea which might help.”

“Do tell.”

So Lori did.

-oOo-

It wasn’t long after that Lori returned to the kitchens with her head of house close behind. The professor turned to the shelf which was Winky’s usual haunt.

“Winky, would you come down here for a minute please?” Professor Sprout asked.

Somewhat surprisingly, since she had a reputation of never doing anything for anyone, Winky complied.

“Winky, I know you don’t like being a free elf, and I hope you know I’d change that if I could, not for my sake, but for yours. I have no right to expect you to do anything I ask, but I am going to ask nevertheless. I’m hoping that for the sake of Helga Hufflepuff, who made this place into a sanctuary for your kind, that you will choose to do what I ask.

“Winky, I would like to ask you to stop drinking butterbeer. It is bringing you no happiness and I believe it is getting in the way of your finding any.”

Winky looked at the nearly empty bottle in her hand as if saying goodbye to a friend then threw it across the room into one of the kitchen’s many bins.

“I would also like to ask you to do whatever Mani here asks of you. For many years now the Hogwarts staff have chosen one elf to give instructions to the rest on their behalf. At present that is Mani. Whatever he asks you to do, consider it a request from myself.”

“Winky is standing up straight,” Mani said with little effect.

Lori mouthed at him, “ask, don’t tell.”

Winky is standing up straight, please,” Mani tried again. This time Winky did as she was bidden.

“Lastly, Winky. You know where the Hufflepuff common room is, and you know I am in there most of the time these days. It matters to me that you are happy, so please, if this doesn’t make you happier, please come and find me, alright?”

“Winky is doing what Professor Sprout is asking.”

“Winky is making sandwiches, please,” Mani said gently. “When Winky is not drunk from butterbeer anymore, Mani is finding her other things to do.”

Winky headed obediently over to a long table where several house elves were busily slicing, buttering and filling sandwiches. She joined them and started working.

“Well, I… I have to admit, Lori, I had my doubts. How did you know?”

“I don’t think I did professor. Call it a hunch.”

“Well done indeed. I should think fifty points to Hufflepuff for such a good idea.”

No-one had mentioned the house cup for such a long time, Lori had forgotten about it and stood staring at the professor’s retreating back. The winners would be announced later in the week and Lori had no idea who was likely to win. Nor did she much care.

Mani held out Lori’s parchment. “It is a good writing, Little Miss. You is keeping your promise.”

“Thank you, Mani. I trust that you will keep yours.”

“Cringe is returned to his family home and is happier. Winky is being more difficult, but I is thinking less so now.”

“Remember, ask, don’t tell. However much she may wish to be otherwise, she is a free elf.”

“Little Miss is understanding house elves better than most. I is keeping my promise to Little Miss.”

And that was more or less how the term ended. The last day arrived and the final feast of the year. The house point counter had been brought into the Great Hall where it made a backdrop behind the teachers. The red and blue were so near to level it was hard to tell which of the two houses led the other. It was somewhat academic though since the green stood as far above the evenly contested houses as the yellow stood below it.

At sight of the display, Lori found herself minding very much who won the House Cup. She made her way to the Hufflepuff table and sat beside Anneka, whose face was as stormy as her own.

Anneka leaned across. “This is the worst thing about being in Hufflepuff,” she murmured into Lori’s ear. “At least according to my mum.”

Lori was about to respond when Professor McGonagall stood and the quiet mumble of voices died into silence.

“Another year at Hogwarts has ended,” the headmistress began. “An eventful one and a sad one. For the first time in two decades, we lost members of the school. Miss Elizabeth Mitchell who only joined the Hogwarts staff this year, Miss Gertie Warrington of Hufflepuff and Miss Maddy Pentwhistle of Ravenclaw. They will be sadly missed by all of us, and perhaps the best thing we can do for them now is to remember them with fondness.

“Twenty or so years ago, a group of dark wizards, headed by an individual I no longer choose to acknowledge, attempted to bring the wizarding world and the world as a whole into an era of darkness. It took a large group of brave individuals, many of whom came from this school, to stand against the threat and to defeat it. It took bravery and sacrifice and it bought us twenty years of peace. This year a more insidious evil threatened our world, and it took the bravery and sacrifice of one of our own to defeat it.

“How long the peace shall last this time is up to us all. A good friend of mine used to say that the price of peace is constant vigilance, and he spoke the truth. When evil walks about in our world, it is the duty of us all to take note and respond. I fear this time we had all become too complacent and the threat nearly devoured us.

“My friend, Alastor Moody, lived and died according to that one principle. I don’t believe it is necessarily our part to give every moment of our lives to the fight between good and evil as he did, but we do need to be ready to recognise it when it rears its ugly head and to respond. For those in between times, it is good to celebrate our successes, and to that end we have a tradition at Hogwarts by which we may do just that. It is our annual awarding of the house cup to the house that has done most to uphold the traditions and values of our school.

“As you can see, the results seem to lean somewhat overwhelmingly in favour of one particular house, but we also have a tradition in Hogwarts of making a few last-minute adjustments before the final tally is taken.

“This year, a large part of our student body remained indisposed for the best part of a term. In this state, they were unable to contribute to their houses’ success. By no means is it certain that any of these students would have earned any points for their houses, but some most assuredly would have. As a crude measure, I have decided to award one point to each student who spent time in the infirmary or one of the care wards for each day they were out of the picture. I believe this will change the lay of the land a little.”

She turned to the board as the adjustments were made. All houses advanced, but none by so much as Hufflepuff and none by so little as Slytherin. By the end of the adjustment, the colours formed a fairly even line, with Slytherin still holding a narrow lead.

“It is also customary to award points for any student achieving either outstanding or exceeds expectations in their final year exam marks. Ten points for each O and five for each E.”

Both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff surged forward. Slytherin still held the lead but by less than two hundred points.

“And finally, we have points to award for individual achievements. Already on the board are seventy-five points to Lori Scamander of Hufflepuff for being the youngest student at Hogwarts to ever produce a Patronus and an additional two hundred for teaching the spell to eight students, including her brother.” The room applauded much to Lori’s discomfort. “Also on the board are two hundred and fifty point to Lysander Scamander for the ten students to whom he was able to teach the Patronus charm.” Again, the applause, this time Lori joined in, enjoying her brother’s embarrassment.

“As I am quite certain the entire school is aware, Lori also made the reckless move of entering the Forbidden Forest while the mist still surrounded Hogwarts, taking with her the only artefact capable of stopping the mist. The school cannot condone a first year in particular taking such a risk, and so I am compelled to take one hundred points from Hufflepuff as a result.” A collective groan ran around her table. That had to put Hufflepuff out of the running. Anneka gave her a sympathetic look. “She did, however, succeed in her endeavour, bringing an end to the mist and quite probably saving a number of lives. For this, I will award fifty points to Lori and a further twenty to her brother who aided and abetted her in the endeavour.”

Those at the Slytherin table looked like they were getting ready to celebrate, but McGonagall wasn’t finished. “Two students in particular this year are considered responsible for rebuilding the trust between the school and the unicorn herd that lives in the forest. To Lori Scamander and Anneka Peasbottom I award a further sixty points.” That put them within a hundred and twenty points of the lead. “And lastly,” which wouldn’t be enough. No single award had exceeded a hundred points. “Lastly, for a piece of extracurricular research worthy of Rowena Ravenclaw herself, but which was conducted by a member of another house. For one of the most comprehensive historical papers written in recent years which has not only revealed details in a long-hidden chapter of the magical world’s past, but also restored lost magical techniques and in the process provided invaluable aid to a fellow pupil. Anneka Peasbottom, it is my very great delight to award you, with the full support of the teaching staff, an unprecedented one hundred and fifty house points.”

Three tables exploded into cheers along with one or two individuals from the once more defeated Slytherins. The room decorations changed to a rarely seen yellow and Anneka was invited to step up onto the stage to accept the House Cup. She reached out a hand, asking Lori to join her, but she refused. This was Anneka’s victory and hers alone.

And so term ended. Lori looked on as Anneka became the centre of attention on the Hufflepuff table. She was delighted for her friend and her fellow Hufflepuffs for the victory, and all the more because it had been stolen from Slytherin. Part way through the celebrations, Lori slipped quietly out of the hall, though not entirely unnoticed. A few minutes later a silver tabby with unusual markings about its eyes followed her.

McGonagall found Lori sitting on the side of the broken fountain, much as she had done on the first night of term.

“An eventful year,” she said, gazing up at the sky.

“Mmm.” Lori’s responded distractedly.

“Not everything you wanted though?”

Lori looked up.

“As I recall this where you come when you’re unhappy.”

The young girl smiled ruefully. “I don’t really have a right to be unhappy, do I? I mean, I have everything I was looking for when I first came here.”

“And yet?”

“I’m sad about how things are changing between Anneka and me. I’ve never had a friend like her. I thought we were falling in love with each other, but now, the more I turn into a girl, the more she seems to pull back.”

“Give her time. She’s understandably confused at the moment. Let her have enough space to sort out her feelings.”

“I was thinking about that. Professor, could I ask you a question…?”

-oOo-

The summer holiday had passed without much incident. Once she’d returned home, she’d gone out looking for the group of girls she’d talked to before. There wasn’t enough of the old her left for them to recognise her, but they accepted her as a new girl in the neighbourhood.

Rolf had requested permission from the Ministry to use a memory altering charm on their neighbourhood, to the effect that they would recall Lysander and Lori as non-identical twin brother and sister, and this had been approved.

It did mean that when the neighbourhood boys caught up with her, one or two of them started pestering her to go out on a date. She declined as gracefully as she could, but they turned angry and threatening until Lysander came along to defend her, earning himself yet another bloody nose. He’d left the other two in a worse state though and the local boys learned to leave Lori alone.

It then meant that some of the girls in Lori’s new group of friends asked if she could set them up on a date with her brother, which Lye didn’t mind at all.

Lori wrote to Anneka a couple of times during the summer, once to say how things had changed for her at home and once again when the family took a holiday up in the Lake District. Anneka’s replies were polite but short, so Lori let her be.

The Hogwarts Express departure date arrived. They travelled down to King’s Cross together where they made an uneventful transition onto platform nine and three quarters. At the twins’ insistence, they arrived early, whereupon they said their goodbyes and climbed aboard.

Almost all the compartments were empty, so Lori and Lye picked one and settled down to see who might join them. Lori kept hoping Anneka might come, but they ended up being inundated by a gaggle of second year girls from a variety of different houses. Lori didn’t know any of them that well but, such was the price of fame, they all knew her.

They were all half-bloods or Muggle born, so had all experienced the terror of being unable to breath when Express had passed through the mist, then later they’d all succumbed to the mist and spent some weeks unconscious.

They all wanted to express their thanks and ask after her experiences. They’d seen how disfigured she was, so they wanted to know how that happened and how she’d overcome it, and didn’t she look pretty now?

At one point Anneka appeared, looking in to the compartment. Lori gave her an apologetic shrug and she moved on.

She looked for her friend at Hogsmeade station, but it was raining and everyone second year and above was running for a carriage. Lori ran too and, in the rush, she spotted Hortensia Skunk and Morgana Melrose climbing into one together. She joined them and was followed by Hannah Nagron and Maddy Pentwhistle along with a Slytherin boy Lori didn’t know. The journey was mercifully short as the Slytherin contingent did their best to exclude her from their conversation whilst including Hortensia.

Up at the castle, they all filed through to the Great Hall. Lori spotted Anneka sitting at the Hufflepuff table and waved. Her friend waved back and pointed at a nearby seat — not next to her but more or less opposite.

Lori wanted to ask how her summer had been, but she was deep in conversation with the girl beside her. Then Professor McGonagall stepped forward ahead of the line of bedraggled first years. She placed the tatty old sorting hat on the stool ahead of her and lifted her gaze to the room, which fell into silence.

The hat awoke and, speaking from a tear near its brim, sang out in a croaky and dissonant voice.

“And so another year begins
For Hufflepuffs and Slytherins,
Gryffindor and Ravenclaw
Competing as they have before,
For years on end in friendly contest
To see which among them may be best

“And with the new year, here we see
A group of first years eagerly
Awaiting news of where they belong
So let us end this ridiculous song
Cold and wet as you may be
Let us begin the sorting ceremony.”

“You’d think with nothing to do for a whole year it’d be able to come up with something better than that, wouldn’t you?”

Lori glanced to one side to find Hortensia sitting next to her.

“It wasn’t the best, was it? Maybe it’s the emergency short version of the song so the sorting can get done before any of the first years catch pneumonia.”

She stopped talking as McGonagall’s gaze turned towards her. Lori kept her eyes on her former roommate and twitched an eyebrow. Hortensia managed smile and a nod. “You’ve forgiven me worse,” she whispered, risking McGonagall’s ire.

They sat through the sorting ceremony, which was, for the damp and bedraggled first years, mercifully short. Rather than going directly to their tables as per tradition, they hurried over to stand by the large fireplace, where they steamed gently.

Once the last of them had been given a home, all eyes turned back to the headmistress, except the Sorting Hat hadn’t finished.

“I never make an error,
Though I’ll sometimes change my mind,
So here’s a call to second years
Who think that you will find
Greater contentment if sorted differently,
Give your minds to what you desire
I’ll think about it, and we’ll see.”

Lori felt that familiar chill of apprehension. This was what she’d asked McGonagall about at the end of the year. She’d hoped to talk it over with Anneka before making any decisions, but circumstance had conspired to deny them the opportunity.

She couldn’t let the opportunity slide though. She focused her mind and thought of leaving Hufflepuff.

“Lori Scamander,” the sorting hat said quietly but distinctly.

She stood, aware of the shocked faces looking at her, of Anneka’s most of all.

“I thought you needed some space,” she said. “I mean, I don’t know what’s going to come of this, but I’ll still be here at Hogwarts for when you’re ready to talk.”

“Lori Scamander?” the hat repeated.

She walked up to the stool and placed the hat on her head. Incongruously it seemed larger than the last time she’d put it there.

“Hmm,” the voice murmured in her brain. “Well, you don’t have the same need of friendship as you did before, that’s true, but do you want to abandon the friends you’ve made this year? No, I can see that’s not the problem. You could always ask for a dorm shuffle… Except all of your fellow Hufflepuffs would prefer to keep to their current dorms and you wouldn’t want to disrupt that. You do think of others more than yourself, which means you are a good fit in Hufflepuff you know? Having said that, O’s and E’s for your end of year exams last year, that does strongly suggest you belong in Ravenclaw, and the courage you showed as well suggest you wouldn’t go far wrong in Gryffindor. Not Slytherin, not, definitely not Slytherin. Your brother’s in Ravenclaw, so that makes most sense. If you’re absolutely sure?”

“Ravenclaw,” called out the hat.

There was a little polite applause, but most people were too shocked to respond. This was something unprecedented at Hogwarts, or at least so everyone had thought. Lori kept her head down and made her way to her brother’s table, avoiding the shocked looks of her former house.

“Anneka Peasbottom,” the hat said.

Lori jerked upright, as startled as her friends had been a moment ago. Anneka stood and stared across the room at her, her expression unreadable. She made her way to the stool and placed the hat on her head.

It seemed to take ages. Lori wondered if she’d sat there for an equally long time. Eventually the split in the hat’s brim opened and it said, “Ravenclaw.”

Anneka placed the hat on the stool and made her way over to the Ravenclaw table and sat beside Lori.

“I thought…”

“Did you?”

“Anneka, you’ve been so distant, I didn’t know what to do.”

“You could have asked.”

“You could have let me.”

McGonagall stood back up and addressed the school. “Well, if we’re done with that…”

“Hortensia Skunk,” said the Sorting Hat.

McGonagall stood back and nodded to Hortensia to come forward. She did, placing the hat on her head as the others had.

This time it took less than half a minute before the hat declared, “Slytherin,” and a very pleased Hortensia went to join her preferred crowd.

“Oh well, I guess we didn’t do as well with her as we thought,” Anneka said.

“We did amazingly well with her, but just how would she have coped in Hufflepuff without either of us around?”

“If we are done,” McGonagall announced, making it clear that we had better be done, “perhaps we can get on with the feast.”

“Speaking of which,” Lori said as plates of food began to appear around them, “how did you persuade the hat to let you move?”

“Excuse me, but just which of us got the most outstandings in our exams?”

“Who had to take a week out from revision to give testimony at the court case of the year?”

“Who rearranged the revision timetable so you could get back on track?”

“Who was struggling with looking like a troll during all this?”

“And who did something about that? And wrote, what was it McGonagall called it? ‘The most comprehensive historical paper in recent years’ in the process?”

“Fine, so you’re better qualified to be in this house than me but getting the Sorting Hat to change its mind wasn’t just about being academic. It asked me about all the friends I’d be leaving behind!”

“Me too. So, what did you say?”

“I said I didn’t want to leave any of them.”

“And it let you change?”

“I told it that the one person I cared most about needed space, and I couldn’t give it to her as long as we were in the same dormitory or even the same house. I told it I didn’t want to leave, but I wanted to respect your wishes.” Lori had been spooning mashed potato onto her plate in a sort of automatic way and now there wasn’t room for anything else. “I don’t suppose you’d like some of this mash, would you?”

“You idiot!”

“It’s only potato.”

“No. I mean, okay pass some of that over. And you’re not an idiot, at least no more than I am.”

“Oh?” With half the mash disposed of she now had room for sausage, peas and gravy, which she served herself in more reasonable portions.

“I told that hat I couldn’t imagine life at Hogwarts without my best friend.”

“But…”

“But I’ve shut you out for months. I don’t know what I was expecting that potion to do to you, but it really messed with my mind. Before you were someone I was rapidly falling in love with, and I’m sorry, I guess I still saw you as a boy, even if you were a really girly one. When you changed, I was sooo excited for you at first, because you lost that mix and match look you had, and you got to look so pretty. Then it seemed like all of a sudden, I couldn’t look at you the same way. You had suddenly become all girl…”

“Well, not quite.”

“No, I mean all the way. You came out of the bathroom in your skippies, which you have never done before.”

“My what?”

“Skippies. Underwear.”

“Before you’d have seen a bulge.”

“Exactly. I mean you said there was still something down there, but there was nothing I could see. And you weren’t worried about whether or not I’d see anything. That was a big change, Lori.

“It meant I couldn’t see you as a boy who liked to be a girl anymore. It meant I had to decide if I could actually be in love with a girl, all the way in love, and I… there’s something inside me which just can’t.”

“So, you backed off. I could see that. I won’t say it didn’t bother me, but I was ready for it.”

“I know, you said. You’ve been so much more mature over this than me. I couldn’t handle it. I needed space.”

“Which I tried to give you. Do you have any idea how hard it’s been not writing to you this summer? Then you weren’t there on the train…”

“You seemed to have enough friends without me…”

“Or on the coach ride…”

“If you recall, it was hissing it down…”

“Even at the table you seemed to shut me out.”

“Yeah, well…”

“So, I figured you still needed space. I’d already asked Prof M about the possibility of moving houses, and she evidently had a word with the Sorting Hat. It gave me a choice and I took it.”

“Yeah, and the moment you did, I realised how much I still need you in my life. I mean, not in a Hortensia-Morgana way, I can’t do that, but in a best friends kind of way. I realised if we were in different houses, we’d see so much less of each other. Lori, I don’t think I could live with that.”

“You’d be surprised what you can live with if you have to.”

“But we don’t have to. Not this. I told the Sorting Hat that weighing all the friendships I’d lose leaving Hufflepuff against the one I’d lose if I let you go, I’d rather follow you. So, it let me.

“Lori, I’ve been an idiot. Can we, er…”

Lori put a hand on her friend’s arm. Anneka flinched a little, so she withdrew it.

“It’s all I’ve wanted. Friends, nothing more. Nothing more needed.”

A general clearing of throat from behind and slightly below them drew their attention. They turned to see Professor Flitwick standing a short distance away.

“Good evening, ladies. Much as I hate to interrupt — this has, after all, been quite fascinating to watch, a lot like bludger practice the way everyones’ heads have been going back and forth. Firstly, a very warm welcome to Ravenclaw house. I am delighted, though I will say a little astonished, to have you join us. Perhaps we can have a conversation about that sometime this week.

“Secondly, and I must apologise about this, we appear to have all dormitories filled in Ravenclaw at present. It seems the Sorting Hat did not foresee this particular outcome. We thought about putting you up in the common room, though that hardly seemed very welcoming, so instead I have had a conversation with the other heads of house, and it turns out that Hufflepuff have a vacant dormitory. Hardly surprising I suppose as it happens to be the one vacated by the two of you.

“You would still be in Ravenclaw house and have access to all privileges awarded to Ravenclaw students, but we wondered if, at least until we find a more suitable solution, you two wouldn’t mind remaining in your current room in Hufflepuff.”

“Erm,” Anneka started. “We’ve no objection, at least I assume we haven’t?” Lori shook her head. “The problem is we had a sort of incident last year and Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout decided it would be inappropriate for the two of us to share a dormitory on our own. They let us off for most of last term because of what Lori had been through but…”

“Actually,” Lori said a little sheepishly. “I’m not sure that applies anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, when I first took that potion, as we’ve already said, I was still to some degree a boy. My subconscious and the magic in me has been working on that over the summer. I mean don’t you notice anything different about me?”

“Well, I can see you’ve got boobs, but it wouldn’t take a lot of magic to give boobs to any boy.”

“It’s not just the boobs, Anni, and since you’ve made it quite clear that you’re not into girls, I don’t think we’re likely to have the same trouble we had last year.

“Professor Flitwick, if it’ll make things easier for the school, and if our former fellow Hufflepuffs don’t mind, Anni and I would be happy to go back into our old room.”

-oOo-

Anneka knelt on the bed drawing her mother’s brush through Lori’s hair, now largely ash blonde.

“I like the colour your hair is now, but you know you have a darker layer underneath. We could change it to match if you want.”

“That’s my mum’s colour,” Lori replied. “Most of this I get from Raphael; it’s pretty much the same as his mother’s. It’s been like this since that scrap at the Maledicta’s place. I don’t think we really paid much attention to it before because of all the other less pleasant changes.”

“I get that. Hang on, let me try something.” She change the way she brushed for a while. “There.”

“What did you do?”

“Shifted it a bit so it shows through, kind of like low lights.”

“I’ve got a lot to learn.”

“Suits me. I have a lot to teach.”

Following the feast, Lori had been invited to the infirmary where she had endured a somewhat embarrassing examination from Madam Pomfrey, who had pronounced her, while not entirely transformed, certainly on the way and closer to being a girl than a boy.

They’d then returned to the Hufflepuff common room where they’d spent the best part of a half hour explaining to their friends why they had done what they had done and, being Hufflepuffs, they’d found it easy enough to accept and forgive. As one of them had said, it wasn’t as if they were going anywhere, and they were hardly likely to hold onto the House Cup for a second year even if they still had Lori and Anneka’s contributions.

The house elves had altered the lining on their robes so they were now half yellow and half blue. It meant they had free access to the Ravenclaw common room and the additional research material it held — as long as they could solve the door knocker’s riddle — plus they had a choice of which table they sat at during meals. They hadn’t quite worked out how they were going to handle that yet, only that they’d be seated together at the same table.

Lori took over with the brush while Anneka sat back to enjoy the experience.

“So, do you have plans for the weekend?” Anni asked.

“Ravenclaw have a friendly against Gryffindor and Lysander asked me to go along. I don’t really have an excuse not to now. Why d’you ask?”

“Well, it’s just that Ainsley Miggins stopped me in the corridor earlier and asked if we’d be up for doing something with him and a friend. I don’t know if you’re ready for boys yet, but…”

“Who’s the friend?”

“Sheldon Landys.”

Lori stopped brushing. The brush quivered in her hand telling her she wasn’t done. “I thought he was a fifth year.”

“Sixth now. He made prefect last year.”

Lori resumed her brushing. “That’d make him four years older than me.”

“Yeah, well I’ll have him if you don’t want him.”

“Anni!”

“Well, why not? My dad’s five years older than my mum and they get on great.”

“I guess he is kind of…”

“Kind of what? Buff? Cute? Come on, spill.”

“No, it was the way he looked at me last year. Misshapen head, big clunky right hand, limp like, what was that film you told me about?”

“Quasimodo? Oh no, your limp was way worse.”

“Hey, be nice! There’s a few knots in here and I’m not afraid to tug.”

“Is that nice as in silly, or dainty or agreeable?”

“The last. Definitely the last. Anyway, he looked at me like I was normal, or better than normal. He made me feel less of a freak.”

“So, you’ll come?”

“Where? I mean the weather’s not likely to be great, and we have to stay on school grounds. I don’t see the library as being much of a spot for a date.”

“I was actually thinking about the Quidditch match. Let’s see how much we can put Lysander off his game when he spots you in the company of a Gryffindor prefect!”

“You’re scary sometimes, you know that?”

“Like you said, you’ve a lot to learn. If you’re going to be a girl, you have to know what you have in your arsenal.”

Lori finished brushing. She handed the brush across and scooched into her bed. Anni headed for hers and did the same.

“So what do you think this year will bring?” Anneka asked. “Trolls? Giants? Dragons?”

“I hope not. I had my fill of excitement last year. Besides, learning to be a girl sounds like it’s going to be exhausting enough. Nox.”

The lights went out. Lori snuggled into her pillow feeling all that was right in her life flowing through her like a trickle of warm honey. Nothing was going to get in the way of her happiness this year.

A house elf apparated beside her bed with a loud bang and a flash of light, startling her out of her reverie.

“Little Miss. Mani is saying you is to come quick. Is Winky. She is being in biiiig trouble.”