Chapter 7: History Repeats

Even though Polly had told Hank that she would talk to her Gran about her breakup letter she couldn't find the will to do so; all of Thursday was spent in only three rooms of Forthingsgate. Polly couldn't seem to move from the massive guest bedroom, but when she finally mustered the energy it was only to go to the loo or to the library. She feigned a headache at first, but after a few hours without food the imaginary headache turned into a real one, only abated by the tray of food that Minnie insisted upon bringing her. She spent most of the afternoon in the library spoilt for choice, as the amount of books seemed to dwarf the Pryderi library, but with a more intriguing selection. Of course she found signed copies of Hank's books, but there was a section with much older books that held her interest.

It was late that evening when Minnie knocked softly on the door bearing another tray of food. Polly looked over to the clock on one of the reading desks and realized that supper had ended hours ago; not only that but she was still in her pajamas from the previous night.

Minnie sat the tray of food on the desk and settled into one of the soft, almost threadbare chairs and clasped her hands together in her lap. "Pauline, I'm worried. This isn't like you."

"I'm sorry, Gran." Polly sat up straight and stretched out her legs, noticing that she needed to paint her toenails soon as the paint had become chipped. She felt her breathing become more pronounced and then she turned to her Gran. "The letter you brought me…Phillip chucked me."

Minnie sighed deeply. "Oh sweetie, I am so sorry." She reached out and put her hand on her granddaughter's arm, and that must have been the straw that broke the camel's back because Polly was in her arms. As she cried on her shoulder Minnie stroked her hair. "That's it, dear. Let it out. You've been sitting up here all day, not even coming down to eat…I knew it must be something like this. I'm sorry."

After a time Polly regained some composure and moved out of Minnie's arms. She wiped her nose with the sleeve of her pajamas and took a very deep breath. "He went back to his ex-girlfriend."

"Alyson Touyal? Oh, that won't last long. She's a piece of work." Minnie shook her head. "That girl flirts with everything male, even in my class. I give it two weeks, tops. You're better off without him, dear. Besides, you're going to Hogwarts. Best to make a clean break of it."

"That's what Hank said." Polly noticed her Gran's expression. "I read the letter in front of his portrait. Sorry."

"No, quite all right. Dad knows a thing or two about being dumped. Happened to him often enough, from what Uncle Nate and Grandma Karen told me." She paused for a moment. "Yes. Well. I know exactly what I used to do in these occasions, shame you don't have your friends nearby. Guess you'll have to do with a bunch of old biddies."

"Gran?"

"Yes, that'll have to do." Minnie stood up. "You might want to change pajamas, but then again, fuck it."

"GRAN!" Polly couldn't believe the words that had come out of her grandmother's mouth. "I've never…"

"I'm not Professor Muggle's daughter for nothing, dear. I'll be back in a few minutes."

-ooo-

The clock was nearing almost midnight when Polly thought she was either going to pass out from laughing so much or just fall asleep on the floor. Mione had already fallen asleep ages ago, slumped over in one of the chairs. In a semi-circle around the fireplace was a makeshift collection of chairs, chaise lounges and the sofa from the upstairs lounge. Virginia Weasley sat in one chair with an almost empty carton of ice cream, her Gran sat on one end of the sofa while she sat on the other, and the sole occupant of the chaise lounge was Lily Boyd.

Not twenty minutes after leaving the library they had started arriving, each of them bearing something to add to the 'cheer up or chuck up' party, as Gin had called it; either Polly would cheer up or she'd eat and drink so much that she would vomit. As her Gran had guessed Gin had arrived with a rather large bottle of firewhiskey while Mione had one of the house elves bring up ice cream. Lily had raided Victus, her restaurant, and arrived in her housecoat, a large sampler box of decadent pastries and chocolates under her arm. From there Gin had taken the lead, asking her all about what had happened. Apparently Minnie had told each of them that Polly's boyfriend had broken up with her by letter, but that was it.

At the beginning Polly had been quite reticent to tell the details, but after Gin recounted one of her more devastating breakups (a Ravenclaw boy that had been brilliant but quite tactless in regards to females) things had progressed until it wasn't odd to be telling four elderly women about her breakup. Instead of it being her Gran and her great aunts it was as if she was in the dormitories at Pryderi talking to her friends. Lily told Polly she was lucky she just got a letter and recounted her breakup with Graham Kent. At the name of Kent, Gin, who had been quiet, started swearing loudly and swigging firewhiskey directly from the bottle. Unsurprisingly Gin wanted to give Polly some firewhiskey but Minnie forbade it, saying that she wasn't naïve, that Polly had probably had firewhiskey at some point but she wasn't going to be the responsible party. That caused Gin to get up off of her seat and go over to cover Minnie's eyes while Lily handed her a very small glass.

Mione had been the first to fall asleep, not surprising her sisters in the least, and more stories were told, specifically about Mione. As the night went on Polly couldn't believe how she'd ever thought her Gran was boring; she'd even told Effie Weasley during Melody's birthday party that she hoped she couldn't catch boring from her Gran during her two week visit. Looking back on that statement, as Lily teased Gin about Hugo, Polly knew that it couldn't be further from the truth; there was no way her Gran was boring. It was as she felt herself falling asleep that Polly realized something, a thought that came like a bolt out of the blue; her Gran wasn't boring, her Gran had chosen a quiet life. With the craziness of growing up with Hank as a father, all of the things that had happened to HR, Gin and Mione…her Gran had decided that wasn't what she wanted. She didn't play cards with Grandpa Alan because there was nothing else to do, they played cards ever night because they wanted to.

It was the yawn that did Polly in.

"Well, it looks like someone else is ready to join Mione in slumberland." Lily smiled at Polly. "You didn't sleep well last night, did you?"

Another yawn escaped Polly's mouth. "Sorry. No, I didn't."

"That's what I thought." Lily pulled a vial full of shimmering orange liquid out of her housecoat. "I made this before I left; it's one of Uncle George's recipes. Sleeping draught with a hint of perfect dream potion. You'll have a brilliant dream and wake up completely refreshed."

"Mione?" Scorpius stood at the door in his black dressing gown, bare feet and pale legs sticking out underneath. "Oh bloody hell." Without another word he turned and left, causing everyone to laugh and wake up Mione.

That was the signal for the party to end, and after Polly thanked Lily for the potion and said goodbye and goodnight to people she started to walk out of the room but stopped. She hugged each of the women in turn, but at the end she saw the look in her Gran's eyes. "Thank you so much, Gran. I don't know what I would…"

"Shush, dear. Just get some sleep; we have a big day tomorrow. I'll tell you at breakfast." She kissed Polly on the forehead. "Now take Lily's potion and have sweet dreams."

-ooo-

The weather was warm but windy as Polly walked with Minnie towards Hogwarts. She slowed her gait a bit to make sure that her Gran didn't have to walk very fast, and she looked at the route from Colony House in an entirely new light. It had been a remarkable morning already, starting with the fragments of one of her best dreams ever slipping from her memory, followed by an amazing breakfast and the trip back to Colony House. It had been then, only when they were at Colony House, that her Gran had told her of the plans that day, that they were walking to Hogwarts and she was to have her special transfer sorting ceremony.

"What will it be like, Gran?"

Minnie chuckled. "I'm not sure how it'll be for you, dear, but my sorting was…unique. You see, I was sorted right after Mione, and she'd been so, well, she was herself, which made the Sorting Hat rather cross. I spent most of my time calming him down, and after that it was really almost anti-climactic when he put me in Ravenclaw." She smiled at Polly. "Don't worry, just be yourself and listen and it will all go well."

After a few more meters Polly couldn't help herself. "What was it like being in Ravenclaw?"

A warm smile spread across Minnie's wrinkled face. "It was challenging but oh, so rewarding. Very competitive, mind you. Think of the best students in your year, and then imagine them all being roommates. It was like that. And the tower…I loved the tower. Ravenclaw Tower is in the west of the castle, and the view is staggering. Ravenclaw prepared me quite well to be a professor."

"And the riddle." Polly kicked a stone on the path and sent it careening into the underbrush. "I don't know about that. I'm not very good at riddles."

"Well, if you're sorted there you'll work it out. Poor Alexander Dingling, he was in my year, terribly bright boy but he had such a difficult time applying himself at first. If it wasn't for his roommates I do believe he would have slept outside of the tower that first week. I believe he did sleep outside one night, actually. He got it, though, and once he'd figured things out he didn't give it a second thought. Do you think you'll be sorted there?"

Hogwarts began to loom in the distance, and excitement mingled with apprehension inside Polly's stomach, causing it to feel as if it was turning somersaults inside her body. "I don't know, Gran. Mum didn't go there, and Dad went to Houdini…"

"You'll have a good chance at all four houses, dear. Remember, HR and my sisters were all in different houses."

Polly shrugged. "Hank said I'd probably be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. He said I wasn't a Slytherin and I probably wouldn't have been in Hufflepuff."

"Well, Dad isn't always right, that's for sure. It's not much further; let's pick up the pace, shall we?"

Soon Minnie and Polly stood at the large front gate of Hogwarts. Polly looked over towards the groundskeeper's hut but no smoke rose out of the chimney. She was wondering how the Granian winged-horse foal was doing when the abrupt grinding of the opening doors shook her out of her reverie. There, standing in front of her, was a very large man with dark hair sprinkled liberally with grey and an olive complexion.

"Professor Finnegan, so good to see you again." He held out a massive hand to Minnie, who shook it and then placed her other hand on top of it.

"Phillip, how long has it been? I'm so proud of you and I know your parents would be as well."

"Yes, they would be, especially Da. You know how he was." He let go of Minnie's hand and looked down to Polly. "And you must be Pauline. I'm very happy to hear you'll be attending Hogwarts this year.

Polly looked up at him and wondered if the Dursleys weren't part giant, as she wasn't short by any means but against her new headmaster she only came up towards his chest. "Yes, sir. Very nice to meet you, sir. I am looking forward to it."

"Yes, all in due time. But we have more exciting things planned for today, don't we?" He nodded his head, looked over to Minnie and winked. "If you'll follow me we'll go to the Great Hall and get you properly sorted."

Polly and Minnie followed Headmaster Dursley into the castle and eventually arrived in the Great Hall where a woman in rather rustic clothing sat at one of the tables reading a rather large book. Upon hearing the footsteps the woman, who had her strawberry-blonde hair pulled back loosely, stood up and smiled. "Hello Auntie Min, Phillip said you'd be by today."

Minnie walked forward and embraced the woman. "Kitty…it does my old heart good to see you. How are you, my dear? And the children?"

"Kitty, nobody really calls me that anymore except for Grandpa Hank's portrait. The kids are good, too grown up for their own good." She let out a sigh and gave Minnie a weak smile. "So, a sorting, eh?"

"Kitty." Minnie cocked her head. "Have you heard from Jorg?"

"No." Her face darkened. "But enough of that. A sorting." She looked over to Pauline. "You probably don't remember seeing me at Grandmum Melody's birthday party, do you?"

Polly bit her lip and scrunched up her nose. "No. Sorry."

"I'm Catherine Malfoy; my parents are Mione and Scorpius. Grandpa Hank started calling me Kitty when I was little and it stuck. Cat, kitty…you get the idea. I teach History of Magic."

Polly's stomach fell again. Was it possible to go to a magical school where one of her relatives wasn't teaching History of Magic?

The sound of the headmaster clearing his throat brought everyone to attention. "I hate to interrupt but I do have a schedule to keep today, meeting with the Board of Governors to go over some last minute adjustments. Shall we?" He pointed to the stool that sat in the middle of the floor, the Sorting Hat on top of it, inert.

As Polly sat on the little stool she looked over to her Gran, who sat at what she could only assume was the Ravenclaw table. After a signal from Headmaster Dursley the Sorting Hat was held by Professor Malfoy.

"So sorry to trouble you, but will there be a song?" Professor Malfoy looked at the hat, then at the headmaster, and then back at the hat.

The Sorting Hat opened its mouth wide. "One song per year, that's all you'll get from me. Transfer students will hear when all will see."

When all will see? Polly was confused about what he meant, but before she could think upon it another second everything went black as she felt the weight of the hat upon her head, sinking down over her eyes and almost covering her nose.

Oh, what do we have today, another descendant of Headmaster Boyd? Yes, hmmm…three of the houses, but which one?

"Probably not Slytherin, Hank said I wouldn't fit there."

He's quite right, not the place for you. Already nervous about the Ravenclaw riddles, are we? And at your age…so it's down to Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Your Great-Grandfather's house or your Aunt's…"

Polly couldn't stop her chuckle. "Gran said that Aunt Hermione…"

Was insufferable and tactless, part of the worst traits of the Gryffindors…hmm, yes…it's all there. For you there's only one place…

Polly thought she was the only one to hear the announcement, but as the hat was lifted off of her head she took a look over to her Gran. "Did it say…"

Minnie nodded. "Hufflepuff. Dad would be so proud. This will cheer up Mum to no end."

-ooo-

25 December, 2026

Dear Diary,

It's almost midnight, but I had to let you know about today. For once it wasn't mental, nobody got upset at someone else. We actually had a nice, enjoyable Christmas. HR and Lily came over for breakfast as we opened up presents. (I got good ones this year, mostly books. Surprise!) Gin is in this weird phase where all she wears is black and sighs a lot so we mostly ignored her. Mione had to be blasted out of bed as usual. After presents and eating we all lounged around the house for a while until Dad said it was almost time to go to The Burrow for our second Christmas. It was wonderful as usual, but that's not the real reason I'm writing to you tonight, Diary.

Do you remember when I told you about that conversation Mum had with that witch in Diagon Alley when we were shopping for things for HR and Lily's wedding? Of course you do, but I'll refresh your memory anyways. Mum said that it would be a good long time before Mione and I got married, and it hurt my feelings horribly. I never mentioned it to her, though I wanted to several times. Well, we were over at The Burrow and Mum was talking to Angelina Weasley and she said it again. (I was behind a chair trying to find a missing puzzle piece.) I felt as if I was going to burst into a million pieces, but after Angelina laughed Mum explained why: Mione would have to look long and hard to find someone who could handle her, and as for me? Mum said that it would take the boys a LONG time to grow up, so it would be a while before I got married because I'm too smart to put up with dumb boys who are only interested in my looks.

Mum didn't think I was ugly or boring, Diary, she thinks I'm smart! And she thinks that the boys at Hogwarts are dumb (which most of them are, even the Ravenclaws, when it comes to treating a girl properly) so that's why it's going to take a long time for me to get married. She kept going, though, that wasn't it! She thinks that I'm smart enough to work in the Ministry like Hermione or even maybe be a professor someday. Angelina said that George is always hiring smart people, but Mum said she'd let me work for George when hell freezes over.

So there you have it, Diary. I take back ALL of the nasty things I said about Mum now.

Until next time, Happy Christmas, Diary!

Minerva

Polly sat the diary down as she heard her Gran calling her name. After walking into the living room she saw her Gran speaking to someone by Floo, a woman she didn't recognize who looked about the same age as her grandmother. "Yes, Gran?"

Minnie looked over to her. "We've been invited to lunch. Would you like to speak to someone who was in Hufflepuff house?"

-ooo-

After regaining her feet and trying to settle her stomach after the side-along Apparition with her Gran Polly took a look at her surroundings. She'd been to Muggle locations before, and the evidence was plentiful that she was definitely in a Muggle city; but which one?

"Gran, where are we?"

"London, dear. I think you'll like this." Minnie held out a slip of paper to her. "Read it."

Polly looked at the slip of paper in confusion. "Number 12, Grimmauld Place."

As soon as she said it the building in front of her began to shift and expand. Where there once was no Number 12 a door sat in front of them bearing that number.

Minnie laughed. "I've always loved doing that. Come on then, we don't want to be late."

After knocking on the door and a short wait the door opened to reveal a man with short, white hair wearing reading glasses, but that wasn't what caught Polly's eye. It was the tattoos that covered his arms that made her catch her breath. "Merlin's socks, pants and underwear!"

Albus Potter laughed. "Hank's legacy lives on. Please, come in."

After her Gran hugged Albus and she stammered her way through a hello soon Polly and Minnie were seated in front of the fireplace along with Al's wife Delyth. Polly couldn't help but stare a bit because if her Gran was old and wrinkled, but in a good way, Delyth Potter was even more so. As the usual conversations about health that all old people have played out Polly felt like pinching herself; she was in Albus Potter's house! Albus Potter, the most famous actor and director ever, she was sitting on his sofa! She tried taking it all in, comparing it to the movies about the war when Albus played Sirius Black, and that's when she realized exactly where she was. Not only was it Albus' house, but it had been Sirius Black's house, then Harry Potter's house…and it had been the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix.

"Al, get the girl something to drink before she passes out." Delyth waved at Polly and then looked over to Minnie. "Didn't tell her where you were going tonight, did you?"

Minnie smiled. "No, I said we were dining with a former Hufflepuff." She looked over to Al. "Polly's parents are moving into Colony House; don't know if Lily or HR told you, yet. She's attending Hogwarts for her seventh year, and they did the transfer sorting today and she's been sorted into Hufflepuff."

Al smiled at Polly. "Congratulations. It's a wonderful house, but I may be a bit biased." He stood up and excused himself for a moment, returning momentarily with a glass full of liquid. "I hope pumpkin juice is ok?"

Polly took the glass from him but only nodded as she couldn't speak. After a few timid drinks she couldn't help herself. "I can't believe I'm here. I mean, I've seen all your movies!"

"Thank you." Al nodded at Minnie. "Your Gran sent me an owl…you want to be an actress?"

"Um, I think so." Minnie shrugged slightly. "I mean, I think it would be great, pretending to be someone else."

"Life moves in mysterious ways." Al sat back in his chair and crossed his legs. "Like being sorted into Hufflepuff. I was sure I was going to be sorted into Slytherin thanks to my brother. If not Slytherin then Gryffindor, since both of my parents were in that house, not to mention all of the Weasleys. Hufflepuff was the best place I could have been sorted, to be honest. Forced me to make my own decisions. I think it'll do the same for you. Hufflepuff helps show you what really matters, it's different for everyone, but I think you'll come to love it as I did. Shame you only get a year there, though."

Delyth looked over to Al. "Are you cooking? I forgot to lay out the steaks, love."

"Merlin. I don't know…" Al looked over to Minnie. "Fancy a curry?"

A short while later the four sat at the kitchen table, takeaway containers piled all over the place. Polly found herself looking at everything and couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes?" Minnie looked over her. "Something funny, dear?"

"I…" Polly's eyes went wide. "I don't know if I should say."

Delyth waved her fork in Polly's direction. "Don't worry, out with it. Hufflepuffs are tolerant."

Al elbowed her. "Yes, but you didn't have Hufflepuffs at Pryderi."

"You went to Pryderi? This just gets weirder and weirder." Polly shook her head then looked over to Delyth. "You went to Pryderi, Gran teaches there, I used to go there, and now I'm going to be in Hufflepuff. And I'm eating takeaway curry in Albus Potter's house. This is even weirder than reading Gran's diaries."

"You're what?" Delyth gave Minnie a quizzical look. "Oh, Minnie, you're a brave soul. Brave or daft, can't decide. Did you let her read the parts where you were going to be me?"

"Be you?" Polly looked at her oddly.

"Yes, dear." Delyth smiled, the small gap between her front teeth prominently displayed. "Mrs. Al Potter."

"Oh." Polly glanced at Albus and turned a slight shade of red.

"That would be a yes, then." Delyth chuckled and tapped Al on the arm. "Everybody loves my Albus."

"Oh Merlin." Al rolled his eyes.

Minnie smiled. "Yes, well, I hate to break up Al's fan club meeting, but we must go soon. Wouldn't be proper to be late to the exhibit opening at the museum, now, would it? Delyth, we'll see you and Al there later, won't we?"

-ooo-

After finishing lunch and saying their goodbyes Minnie and Polly left Grimmauld Place and arrived back at Colony House. Instead of the quiet that Polly had begun to associate with the house it was a noisy, crowded place. Her parents had arrived as well as it seemed most of the people that had been at Melody's birthday party. The news that she had been sorted into Hufflepuff caused some celebration amongst the family members, with notable exceptions, but the overall effect of the announcement meant that it took Polly quite some time to make it back to her bedroom. When she got there, though, the room wasn't empty.

"So, moving in to my old room, eh?" Gin Weasley sat on the bed, a magazine in her lap. "Hufflepuff, I should have known. Guess you'll need to redecorate, then."

"I thought it would be Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. That's what Hank thought." Polly stood next to the desk and closed her eyes. After taking a deep breath she couldn't hold it in anymore. "Aunt Gin I had lunch at Albus Potter's house!"

"And how is the old fart?" Gin cocked her head. "Still annoyingly good looking, even with the tattoos and white hair?"

"Um, I guess. But I was in Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black's house an' the Order of the Phoenix's headquarters and…"

"Breathe, girl, you'll pass out. I understand, I took your Grandma over there and she had the same reaction." Gin laughed. "Mary Caroline was a trip that day. So, big event tonight, what are you wearing?"

Polly's heart sank. She hadn't planned on attending anything that would require good clothes, and she'd packed accordingly. If she was truthful with herself, her packing had been in anger. She hadn't wanted to come to Colony House and stay with her Gran at all. The visit had certainly changed her mind. "I don't know. I didn't pack anything…"

"Just what we thought." Gin stood up. "Your Gran owled me earlier this morning and asked for a favor. After the cheer-up or chuck-up I told her that I have just the thing. You're about my size, I think it will work." Gin walked over to the closet, opened the door and pulled out a garment bag. "Besides, this will be in the press. Big event, you know. Lots of pictures. In all the papers. What better way to tell that sorry excuse of an ex-boyfriend of yours that he fucked up by dumping you in a letter? That daft little brat will learn not to mess with a girl whose aunt was in Slytherin."

Polly's eyes grew wide as Gin unzipped the garment bag. There on a hanger was a brilliant blue dress. "Is that…"

"Spot on, got it in one. This was Mum's dress; Dad got it for her after they were married. She gave it to me when I opened my gallery. Can't be altered, so we better hope it fits because I didn't bring anything else. Here, go try it on."

Polly took the dress from Gin and went into the loo. A few minutes later she came out and stood before her Great Aunt.

"Worth every Galleon Dad paid way back when. Shame they don't make these anymore, looks like water when you move. Guaranteed to turn a few heads. Now, what about jewelry?" Gin pulled a box off of the top of the dresser and opened it up. "The hell with your ex-boyfriend, Polly. We're going to make a statement. Those Hogwarts boys won't know what hit them."