Summary: Rebecca Curd, Penelope Trimble, and many others are returning to Hogwarts. But what's this? A new school for witches and wizards has sprung up in Britain? Yes. Boarwilds aims to absorb Hogwarts, and already students are transferring. But proud students like Rebecca and Penelope aren't letting Hogwarts die so easily. With a new headmaster – sorry, headmistress, as well as a batch of new professors that range from awfully strict to seriously deluded, they're ready to do battle. Raging hormones and reawakened prejudices only add to the madness!

I do not own any part of Hogwarts/Harry Potter – that's all thanks to J.K. Rowling, of course. Lucky woman! I also do not own anything regarding the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson. That belongs to Louise Rennison.

Chapter 4

A Piggish Proposal

The newcomer shut the door to the headmistress's office, casting several muffling spells as well as building an eavesdropper snare. When this was finished, he turned to the austere woman and bowed. "Minerva," he breathed.

The headmistress leaned forward, setting down the letter she'd been reading. "Ah. What brings you to our humble abode, Everley?" She hoped he could detect the sarcasm in her voice. The headmaster of Boarwilds, Everley Allcock, certainly did think of Hogwarts as a humble institution, far inferior to his new school.

Whether or not he registered her tone was unclear. He simply smiled and settled into a chair without invitation. "I see you are hosting the Triwizard this year."

"That is correct," Minerva agreed, glancing at her letter.

Everley frowned. "Well, I have a proposal to make."

"Have you?"

"Yes," he continued. "We shall change its name to the 'Quadrawizard Tournament' and Boarwilds will join you in the compet-"

"Absolutely out of the question!" Minerva snapped, rising out of her seat. "The Triwizard Tournament has included only the three schools in its entire history! To go against tradition would be like a slap in the faces of our forefathers! Do you realise what you are suggesting, you ignorant pig? I will not stand back while you trample our past! You really are like a boar! You simply plow your way to your piggish desires!"

Everley threw back his head and laughed. "My word, Minerva! You really do have a temper on you. But listen here, sweetie, I already have the approval of one of the schools!"

"Durmstrang..." the headmistress hissed. Sweetie? Who does he think he is?

The headmaster nodded. "He likes a challenge, that Boris does." Boris Topanov was the competitive headmaster of the Bulgarian school.

Minerva slid away from her desk and approached the window. "Well, you'll never get Olympe to agree," she replied firmly. "She lives for tradition, as you well know. Also, you will never have my consent." Her fiery gaze oriented on the younger man. "You have been warned."

Before Everley could argue, the chair he sat in launched him onto the floor. The muffling spells died away, and the snare vanished. "This won't be the last you'll hear from me, McGonagall!" he spat. He raised his wand, intentions unknown.

Minerva's heart leapt into her throat. Merlin - oh, Merlin! Is this how I will die? By the hand of this complete imbecile? Or does he simply mean to humiliate me?

She never knew, for at this point, a house elf leapt out of a small door. "Stupefy!" she hollered, stumbling over her dress but completing the spell. As the man dropped, the elf looked up at her mistress with her enormous eyes. "Did Doily do well? Did Doily do as her mistress wanted?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Minerva said hastily. Ensuring there weren't any blunt objects within Doily's reach for her to punish herself with, she insisted the elf go back into her room.

Standing next to Allcock's limp form, she smiled. "You have been warned," she repeated.

*****

"Oh, dear," Becky moaned. "I've completely forgotten the password."

Penny groaned. "Really, Becks! The prefects told it to you, and when they were about to tell us, you just had to say, 'Oh, no, I'll tell it to them on the way - we've got unpacking to do!' What in the name of Merlin's partially moth-eaten stockings were you thinking?"

Becky blushed. "Well, my mother set this timer on my trunk, and, well... I really ought to get to it quickly."

Patsy stared at the portrait. "Hello, Fat Lady!" she said brightly. "I'm new here. So, like, how do we enter you?"

A snort of laughter to their right announced the arrival of a familiar face. "I'm not sure you're the right person to be asking her that question, Ginger," drawled the strawberry blonde Slytherin.

While Becky and Penny laughed, Patsy stared at him with confusion. "Huh?"

"Hello, Gilbert," Penny said brightly. "What brings you up to the Gryffindor common room? Aren't you supposed to be heading down to the dungeons?"

He laughed again. "Oi, Penelope. You make me sound like a criminal." He looked over Penny's shoulder, where Becky stood with Patsy. "You must be Rebecca, then, but I didn't quite catch Ginger's name at the Sorting."

Becky seemed alarmed that he knew her name, and Patsy blushed furiously.

"This is Patsy," Penny informed him, coming to her blushing friend's rescue. "She came all the way from Canada. The poor thing was terrified by the rash Bulgarians."

Gilbert grinned. "The bulging Bulgarians," he murmured. Then, seeing Penny's horrified expression, he added quickly, "Disregard that! I came up here to ask you lovely ladies a question! My dearest friends, Mude and Rean, shall be along any minute now... Ah!"

Two boys with dark hair strolled into view. Becky immediately brightened. "Dimitar! I didn't see you in the Durmstrang crowd! And why are you wearing a Slytherin uniform?"

"Transfer," the boy said gruffly, while the other two Slytherins snickered.

Becky blinked. "Oh! I remember seeing you with, uh, Gilbert and this other friend of yours earlier! On the Hogwarts Express. I... I'm surprised I didn't recognise you...."

"Hair... new?" the boy suggested.

Becky knows a boy who attended Durmstrang? I wonder when they met... Penny thought to herself. And wait a second... Didn't Becky say she ran into a strawberry blonde Slytherin who was rude to her? I thought she didn't mean Gilbert, but... She swallowed. This seems like a big coincidence.

"What's your question, anyway?" Patsy piped up.

Gilbert glanced at Penny and cleared his throat. "Our housemaster, Armsby, told us something today. Something that happened yesterday to McGonagall."

Penny felt her eyes grow large. "Oh! Nothing serious, I hope?"

"You saw her today. She's fine," Gilbert pointed out. "But the headmaster of Boarwilds threatened her with his wand. If it hadn't been for her house elf, who knows what would have happened? Anyway, the Boarwilds bloke wanted to turn the Triwizard into a Quadrawizard. He's already got the Durmstrang bloke's permission!" He glanced at his fellow Slytherins. "As much as we despise Gryffindor, we can't let bloody Boarwilds take over. What do you say to joining forces?"

Becky's jaw nearly plummeted to the ground. "What? Join forces... with you? Have you gone mad?"

"You... like... Boarwilds?" Dimitar struggled to ask.

"N- no," Becky replied hastily. "It's just... You've never been very polite to me, Rean, and as for you, G- Gilbert, you weren't very polite to me today. It makes one wonder why you'd want us for your little rebellion."

Penny watched as Gilbert turned an interesting shade of red, one that was probably yet to be named. "I suppose 'the three of you are pretty' isn't a good enough answer?" he hissed. "Very well. I'll think of one - for now, just continue hating Boarwilds. I mean, honestly! They stole our idea of winged boars on the gates!" With that, he turned and spun on his heel, marching down the staircase. "Come on, Rean and Mu- I mean, Dimitar... Quick, before the stairs change places."

The two boys scurried after him, leaving the girls alone. "Merlin's loafers," Becky breathed. "That was bizarre." Then her eyes widened. "My trunk!"

*****

Another Gryffindor had appeared and mumbled the password ("Mango Cake!"), and the girls rushed in after him. Becky sped to the girls' dormitory, leaving Penny and Patsy far behind her. Oh, oh, oh... If it explodes, I shall be dreadfully embarrassed... What time is it, exactly? Mum set it for nine sharp...

She wrenched the door open and strode quickly to where she could see her trunk sitting on a bed. When she was about five paces away, however, a loud ka-bloom! stopped her in her tracks. Something lacy and no doubt scandalous flew into her face. "No!" she cried.

Peeling the brassiere off of her forehead, she realised things were not as they seemed. For one, her trunk was still shut. For another, the bra in her hands was at least one cup size too small.

"Oh, dear," Penny sighed, approaching her trunk. "Why did I get Mum to set it for eight fifty?"

Becky burst into startled laughter. "You had your belongings shrunk, too?" she asked, quickly opening her trunk and removing the tiny books. "I packed way too many books to fit in this old thing."

Patsy stared at the mess. "Why are there so many books? You're gonna be, like, way too busy with homework to read all of that!"

"Try me," Becky and Penny said in unison, turning to each other and giggling.

Looking at the books cluttering the bed beside hers - Yay! I'm sleeping next to Penny! - Becky gave a start. "What's this? You packed the entire Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series as well?"

Penny looked up, amazed. "Golly gee. Are we... Are we twin souls or something?"

None of my old friends read this series... Ha! And Mum said it was a waste to bring these books! I told her they'd help me find a bosom friend! "I don't know... What is your patronus?"

Patsy frowned. "Patronus?"

"Ah, you never learned it. Hogwarts is always in danger of Dementors, so we learn it in our third year at the latest. I'll show you." Penny stood and brandished her wand. "Expecto patro-!"

"All students to bed! It is now nine o'clock, and we want you to get an early rest tonight." McGonagall's voice was heard all over the school, but it sounded as though she was in the room.

The lanterns immediately blew out.

"Rotten luck," said Penny mischievously. "Guess I'll have to show you another day."

Becky and Patsy pummelled the brunette with pillows, and then the three of them beamed at each other. "Guess we'd better be in bed, then," Becky sighed. She dug out her pyjamas and changed into them, luxuriating in the soft flannel.

Together they wriggled under their covers. Patsy's bed was across from Penny's. "Your dormitory is, like, certainly larger than the one at Mapleward," she murmured.

"It's not only our dormitory." Penny's voice seemed to come from all around in the dark. "It's your dormitory now, too."

"Hey, you're right! I'm officially your schoolmate! Like, wow."

Silence descended on the girls, leaving Becky to her thoughts. I love these girls. I really do.

A/N: (I had so much difficulty typing that… I kept typing "A/G" instead. Author's Goat?) Anyways, to anyone who has not read the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series, I promise I won't fill my fanfic with references. Only one here and there. I simply cannot resist. Tee hee, silly Mude. How long will he keep up his Dimitar routine? Becky is sometimes quite thick… It may take her a while to figure it out.