First chapter is up! We're still planning and changing and tinkering things, so be aware that some things might be different the next time you see it. We appreciate any constructive criticism! ~Rynn
**NOTE** Just to let you know, this story is not all about Morgan and Lynette. They are two of the main characters but they are NOT, I repeat NOT, going to be in the spotlight all the time. There are many more characters, and many interesting pairings in this story, and they still won't be in the spotlight! I just wanted to clarify that! ~Mo
Enjoy :)
Chapter 1: The Announcement
"I don't think Muggle Studies is all that hard," said Lynette, pushing a stray hair behind her ear. "Herbology is what gets me."
"It is too!" argued her best friend, Morgan. "And Herbology is just the study of plants! I mean really, it's not that hard. Muggle Studies is really just...boring."
Lynette was in Ravenclaw and Morgan was in Slytherin. They continued their conversation as they walked along the corridors, eager to get to the Great Hall for dinner. These two girls had been best friends since they had started Hogwarts, even though they were in different years; Lynette being in seventh and Morgan in sixth.
They took their usual spots at the Slytherin table (for Morgan had refused to sit at any other table, being very proud of her own house), still arguing about which class was harder. Fights and little arguments were common between the two friends; they were both stubborn, opinionated and had sharp tongues, but they also seemed to forgive and forget with incredible ease. They waved briefly at The Golden Trio, who were their friends, surprisingly, and began lashing out at each other again. It was considered an argument to Morgan, but she didn't know what Lynette called it. She didn't care much of it.
"I still don't think Herbology is harder," muttered Morgan. Lynette sighed loudly and rolled her eyes.
Harry was looking at them. The same way he looked at people whenever he knew something they didn't. Lynette noticed this, and pointed this out to Morgan while Harry had turned his attention to Dumbledore, a thoughtful look on his face. Harry turned back to them, and when Lynette gave him a questioning look with a subtle frown, he just shook his head.
Dumbledore stood, his white beard partially dipping into his bowl of soup, and cleared his throat. "We are gathered here, on another day at Hogwarts..."
Morgan rolled her eyes as Dumbledore rambled on about another day. She was surprised his teeth hadn't fell out from all that talking. She could just imagine. Everyday. For several decades at a time. She sighed and looked around. Hogwarts still amazed her, for some odd reason. She glanced at Lynette, who was listening intently. Ravenclaws were such nerds. She then looked at her fellow house-mates, who were staring at Lynette, as always. No one knew whether or not you could sit at other tables, but Lynette did it anyway. She really didn't care what others thought, but she still had her flaws. Morgan shook her head and turned her attention back to Dumbledore, who said something that vaguely caught her interest.
"...and also before we all turn in for the night, I would like to speak with all the sixth and seventh years here in the Great Hall. That is all." He ended his speech with a kindly smile as food appeared on the tables and conversation erupted from all directions.
"Lynette, what do you think Dumbledore's gonna tell us?"
Lynette shrugged nonchalantly, and placed some jacket potatoes on her plate.
Morgan stared at the old man up at the head table, who was in what seemed to be a very jovial conversation with Professor McGonagall. She despised Lynette for breaking her thoughts. Lynette did that often, and Morgan thought it was just another quirk of being a Ravenclaw.
"I'm actually wondering what that was all about, with Harry and everything. I mean most times...when he looks like that...something weird happens."
Soon the feast was over (after dessert of course, which angered Morgan. Everyone ate up all the fudge cake before she managed to get any) and she was about to leave to find Harry until Lynette grabbed her arm.
"What?" Morgan snapped. It got seriously annoying when Lynette interrupted her.
Even though Lynette was used to it, she still felt slightly offended. But she chose to remain silent, as all wise Ravenclaws would do. "Dumbledore wants to see us, remember?"
"Oh. Right." Morgan sat back down as the tables emptied out of the last few younger students. Everyone looked at Dumbledore curiously.
"Good evening, my senior students." The sixth and seventh years in the Great Hall were already quiet, waiting for his next words. "I have gathered you here today to inform you about an assignment set specially for your years; the sixth and the seventh. You may call it 'The Parent Project', for lack of better words. And yes...it is what it sounds like."
The Headmaster paused, waiting for a response. When he received none - mostly because he was Dumbledore, and nobody really dared mess with Dumbedore - he clasped his hands behind his back and continued. "This assignment is to test you on how responsible you are and how you will respond to the stage of life that is parenthood. We will be conducting the necessary magical spells on each girl in the sixth and seventh years so that a baby will grow inside of them - a fake, magically created and monitored baby, of course - and the girls will 'give birth'. She, and her male partner, will then take care of this baby. It is meant to imitate real parenthood as close as possible, but be aware, we will modify things so it will not be as overwhelming as the real thing. This is the major assessment task for most of the year. We have yet to confirm the details on how long the girls will be pregnant for and how fast the baby will grow."
He nodded his head and stood there, just looking out over the students' heads. Then he seemed to remember something. "Oh! And you may also pick out your partners. Let me remind you that you will be together for most of the year and you will be 'parents' to the same child. You have three days to find a partner, and when the three days are up, those who are without a partner will be matched with others who also do not have partners. In that situation, you will be matched with the most compatible person available."
Everyone looked around nervously when Dumbledore said they can pick their own partners. Subconsciously, Morgan looked at Lynette and every eye that locked on her. Morgan was jealous...many boys liked Lynette. She was a very pretty girl and was kind-hearted. She was also smart. Morgan was quite the opposite...she had an attitude, was sarcastic, hot-tempered, and blurted out whatever was on her mind, sometimes failing to see the consequences. Morgan was terribly insecure, and she had always been jealous of Lynette...but she didn't see the one pair of eyes that were staring at her.
"With a new generation comes a new culture. The young people of my days are obviously different to the young people of these current times. Back then, men went to work, and women stayed at home, doing the housework and taking care of the children. However, we are evolving into a society where everyone is becoming more individualistic, more independent. And so - " Dumbledore clapped his hands together " - I think this project will be of great help to you when you are all older, and are busy with your own lives. You will be able to combine your busy life with family life in an easier way because you will already know some of the responsibilities of being a parent."
Dumbledore ended it with a smile as he dismissed the students and the few staff members that remained. However, everyone was still sitting down. Slowly, a Ravenclaw boy stood, and everyone followed. A few boys still looked at Lynette and Morgan frowned. Lynette noticed.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"No."
"Are you sure? You make that face when you're angry."
"No."
"Positive?" Lynette smiled. She was teasing.
"No!" Okay, now Morgan was angry. "Fine! It just makes me so angry how everyone always falls for you and I'm just standing here like a potato!"
Lynette laughed. "Potato? And there are plenty of people who like you, but you just turn them down."
Before Morgan could respond, a dark-haired boy confronted her. Great. A Hufflepuff.
"Um...did you want to - " he started.
"NO!" shouted Morgan, making him scurry off, frightened by her.
Lynette raised her eyebrows.
"Okay, maybe I do. But you actually get hot boys to like you. I get the ugly ones."
"Not all the boys are hot, Morgan. That boy you just turned down was pretty cute."
Morgan turned to the direction the boy had went. He was fairly handsome. Tall. Nice backside. She turned back to Lynette.
"You always do that!"
"Do what?"
"You make me see how cute the guy is, after I've turned him down."
"I do not."
"Yes you do!"
"I don't."
"Yes, you do."
"Don't."
"Do!"
"Don't."
"Do."
"Hey!"
The girls stopped fighting. It was Harry, with Ron and Hermione by his sides.
"What's going on?"
"Nothing," replied Lynette, before Morgan could respond. "So. What do you think about the...assignment?"
"I dunno. I'm just wondering who I'm gonna pick."
"By the time breakfast comes, half of the girls will have already asked you," Morgan joked.
Harry sighed. "Right. Who are you gonna pick?"
Morgan frowned. "Anybody who asks me." She noticed Ron's expression. "Well, I might pretend I'm a fifth year, so I won't have to do this stupid assignment. No one really looks at me. They all have the eyes for Lynette." Morgan rolled her eyes.
"Stop thinking less of yourself, Morgan." Lynette looked angrily at her. "You should stop being so shy, and go ask someone yourself."
"I think we should turn in," interrupted Hermione, stopping whatever possible storm from brewing. "After all, tomorrow is going to be crazy wild."
They all nodded in agreement as they walked to their common room. Morgan said goodnight and walked towards the dungeons. Lynette walked with the other three, since her common room was their way.
"You're right Hermione," said Harry, yawning. "Tomorrow is going to be wild."
Morgan was in a happy mood the next day. Every time she moved, her feelings left the essence. In short, her happiness was contagious. Lynette noticed this at breakfast.
"What's got you over the bridge?" Lynette couldn't help but smiling. She really hadn't seen Morgan ever so happy before.
"I got asked." Morgan said smiling dreamily.
"By who?"
Morgan looked quickly at the other end of the table. Lynette followed her gaze to a tall, chocolate-skinned boy. She gasped.
"Blaise Zabini!?"
Morgan grinned sheepishly and blushed.
"That's great! See? I told you someone would ask you!"
"Yeah..." Morgan's smile disappeared for a split second. "What about you?"
Lynette cocked her head to one side and gave a neutral smile. "It's only morning. I have until tonight."
Morgan's smiled was back again, and bigger. The two looked over to the Gryffindor table. Harry was blushing madly and looking at someone. They couldn't see because some boy was in their way.
"Lennox, want to be my partner?" It was Draco.
"No thanks...Malfoy. I'm actually waiting to be asked by someone else." Lynette looked at him apologetically. Draco wasn't a bad catch, but she was waiting for someone else.
Draco smirked. "Well, don't come crying back to me if this guy doesn't ask you." He turned to Morgan, who was still looking dreamily at Blaise. "What about you, Barren?"
Lynette nudged Morgan. "Huh? What?"
"Did you want to be Draco's partner?"
Morgan took her eyes off Blaise for once. She looked Draco up and down. "I've already been asked." Slytherins weren't usually nice, so Morgan didn't add a sorry. She wasn't even guilty. "But, I know who would be perfect for you." She grinned, and Draco couldn't help but do it too.
"Who?"
"Well, I'll come back to you. If you don't have one by dinner time tonight, someone you like, I'll make sure you get one." Morgan smiled bigger, and Draco knew he needed to get away from her so his mouth wouldn't be hurting. He walked off.
Morgan turned back to Blaise, who finally looked at her. He smiled back also. Morgan didn't have a perfect smile, in fact, it wasn't even pretty. She had a overbite, so it made it a bit disturbing to look at her. But her mood and her teeth mixed together just made it pure adorableness. She didn't even look like she was 16 years old. More like 12. Or 7.
"Hey, Mo."
Morgan turned her attention to the speaker. Only two people called her that. Of course, one was Lynette. The other one was...
"Hi Matthew!" Morgan smiled and he smiled back. Matthew was Morgan's older brother. Half-brother; they had different fathers. He was in Gryffindor, and in the seventh year, and was tall and had curly hair. Matthew was mixed, white and black. He was very handsome, but he tended to be awfully absent-minded. Morgan envied his beauty, although she really couldn't because he was a boy.
"Did anyone ask you?" Matthew also wasn't the 'protective brother' type. I mean, he could be, sometimes, but not really.
"Yep. What about you?"
"Sort of. By some people. Not by who I really want though. Who was it who asked you?"
"Blaise Zabini." She grinned.
"Ahh, Zabini. Makes sense. But I would've thought you a Malfoy person."
"Meh. Malfoy's cute, but...no. Who was it that you wanted to be asked by?"
"Well, it is obvious the boys do the asking here. That is, unless you're Harry." He gestured over his shoulder to all the desperate girls surrounding Harry. "I really don't know who I'll ask. Probably Cho Chang...maybe...it's not certain."
"Ooooo! You should ask Cho."
"Maybe, maybe not." Matthew walked off, looking thoughtful.
When Lynette and Morgan finished breakfast they walked down to sit by the lake. Morgan was eating a apple she snuck from the kitchens, and Lynette reading a book. They both had their feet in the water.
"I'm so glad we don't have classes on the weekends," exclaimed Morgan, small bits of apple flying out of her mouth. "I would kill myself."
"Why the hell would you do that?" Lynette still had her eyes on the book. That was a talent with Ravenclaws; multitasking.
"Rynn, everyone can't be a Ravenclaw. Not everyone loves school."
"Not all Ravenclaws love school." Lynette turned a page of her book.
"Sure about that? In order to have good marks you must love what you learn. I mean, have you ever seen anyone who hated school make awesome grades?"
"Yes, in fact-"
"No. You haven't. Shut your face."
Before Lynette could respond, Harry, Ron and Hermione were in their presence.
"Hi guys," greeted Hermione as they sat on the ground next to them.
"Hello," Lynette responded, continuing to read.
"I swear, you guys are always following us," said Morgan, eyeing them.
"Morgan, they are our friends, you know."
"I find it very odd, that I, a Slytherin, would even like them. I am supposed to hate Gryffindors after all."
"But you don't."
"Says who?"
"What are you reading?" asked Hermione, stopping the argument happily.
"Beastly."
"Reason Number One," stated Morgan, holding a finger in the air. "Hermione is ever so rude. She seems to love interrupting people."
"Shut up, Morgan," said Lynette, turning back to Hermione. "Have you read it before?"
"I absolutely love that book. It teaches you to see a person from the inside not the out. Love it's message. You really understand the author's concept; its beautiful! Beastly was an excellent teenage book that teaches you to not be full of yourself." Hermione eyed Ron, who was brushing his hair back thoughtfully.
"You only act like this around Hermione.." muttered Morgan. Lynette ignored her.
"Hm...I'm still reading it. I'll be finished by lunch if I'm not interrupted."
"Bookworm," muttered Morgan, who earned glares from Hermione and Lynette.
"Well, I'll leave you in peace, then." Hermione smiled.
"No need, you can still talk to me, Ravenclaws are good at multitasking. But no spoilers."
"Naturally? I had to build it up as a skill!"
"Well, it's certainly not easy!"
"Right!"
The two girls continued talking about books for a while, while Harry and Ron relaxed on the ground, enjoying the free time. Morgan, however, had gone skinny dipping in the lake. Hermione and Lynette soon noticed.
"Morgan! Get out of the water!" screamed Lynette.
"No. Come in! It feels awesome!"
"The Grindylows are gonna get you!"
"No they - " Morgan was suddenly pulled under the water and Hermione and Lynette screamed in horror. By this time Harry and Ron noticed the noise and once they realized what was happening, they were shouting too.
Suddenly, as if nothing had happened, Morgan popped back up and grinned. "Gotcha!"
Lynette was angry. "Morgan! How could you do that! We thought they had you!"
"It was a prank, Lynette." Morgan had gotten out of the water, and was fanning herself off. "Besides, I see them everyday at the common room. They know me. If they wanted me they would've already gotten me."
Lynette cooled down after that, but gave Morgan the silent treatment for a while.
Morgan eventually put back on her clothes, and sat ignoring Lynette as well. She shouldn't be so uptight.
It was lunchtime and Lynette finished her book. She was discussing it with Hermione as they walked back to the Castle, towards the Great Hall. That was when Morgan spoke. "Hey Lynette, you know you have to be asked by dinnertime, right? Or, they are going to pick one for you."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot."
"And you too Hermione."
"How did you know that I haven't been asked?" snapped Hermione.
"Meh. Well..."
"Are you trying to say that I'm not attractive?"
"No. Hermione, I never-"
"You sound like Ronald. How could you be so tactless?"
"Would you let me finish! I never said anything. In fact I find you pretty good-looking. I was about to say that you probably attract the attention of popular boys. Bad boys."
Hermione looked curiously at Morgan, who wiggled her eyebrows and shrugged.
"Anyway, what about you guys?" asked Morgan, turning to Harry and Ron.
"I dunno, I thought about asking Ginny."
"Good choice," muttered Morgan. "Ron?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"Out of all people I would've thought you had your eyes on someone."
"Well..." His eyes shifted to the ground. "I though about asking...Pansy."
"Hm." It was just so - expected, yet unexpected.
"What?"
"Oh...nothing."