Chapter 12. Priori Incantatem
Midway through Charms class, after Professor Ingerson began making rounds to grade everyone's mastery of the charm, Elnath leaned into Willa to whisper in Parseltongue, "What did you do to Bagshot?"
He and Arlo were essentially right next to them, close enough to understand them if they were to speak in English.
"We had a fight." Willa said, also in Parseltongue.
"Let me guess, he saw your ring and finally realized you are entirely out of his league?" Elnath asked.
"Something like that." Willa said, knowing when she reminded Braxton of Rigel's superior class compared to Clement's, he likely took it as her reminding him of her own superior class compared to his. Still, she should not have mentioned his sister's death and mother's imprisonment the way she had.
She snuck a glance at Braxton to gauge how angry he remained. His focus lied with his charm work, his blue eyes intense but his wand movements sloppy. Willa realized he was about to cause an explosion before he did, so she issued a counter-spell to dampen it. Braxton turned to her sharply.
"I do not need your help." He practically spat at her.
"No one should be helping anyone else. We are mastering the charm, not doing the work for others." Professor Ingerson said in a loud, stern voice.
"If you are not careful, you will get yourself disqualified from going to Beauxbatons for cheating in class." Braxton continued in a hushed, haughty voice once the professor went back to grading a Hufflepuff student. His eyes darted pointedly to Elnath then back to Willa as he added, "Or were you quite certain the rules did not apply to you, Miss Gamp?"
Willa stared at him in muted shock. He had directly quoted Grogan's comment to Elnath outside Hog's Head, even though he knew Elnath had no idea that he was there to hear it.
"What did he just say?" Elnath asked in Parseltongue. Clearly she had noticed the similarity of his statement.
"Something he is going to regret." Willa replied to her cousin in Parseltongue before turning back to Braxton.
"Is this your goal then, to prevent me from entering the Triwizard Tournament?" she asked.
"Achieve by any means. Is that not the Slytherin way?" he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
A patronizing smile crossed Willa's lips while she used her right hand to play with the clasp on her robe, so he would be forced to look at her emerald ring when she said, "Perhaps I will write my family about this."
Braxton stiffened. Arlo now paid full attention, his wand no longer performing the charm work, but turning on her. She could feel Elnath's presence behind her, presumably acting as her second against Arlo. Willa did not stop, determined to show Braxton how 'the Slytherin way' really looked. She put her right hand on Braxton's wrist, coaxing it lightly, the way a disappointed parent would. He could not help but stare at the emerald a moment before angrily meeting her eyes.
"Or maybe instead," she whispered through a false smile and blazing eyes, "I will send an owl to my friend, Mr. Malfoy, as it will arrive sooner than the one to my mother."
Braxton grew red, his skin heating up under her touch. She tightened her grip on him, using his arm for balance as she pushed up on her toes to better match his height. With a pause between each word, she said quite plainly, "Do not threaten me."
Braxton shook with anger underneath her as Professor Ingerson approached them.
"Is there a problem here?" she asked.
Braxton snatched his wrist from Willa's clutch as she turned to the professor with a calm expression, "We had a slight miscommunication, professor, but I believe we understand each other now."
"I am glad to hear it. Let me see both your charms then."
Willa went first, producing hers with ease, followed by Braxton who had no trouble this time. The professor nodded to them both, dotting her parchment with high marks beside their names, and turning next to Arlo for him to produce his charm. Before Arlo could begin though, a loud crash distracted everyone's attention.
"Catherine!" Quintus cried from across the room, dropping his wand to kneel beside her collapsed body.
"It was too much all at once. I could not block it." She said to him, then looked directly at Willa and Braxton.
Apparently, my and Braxton's emotions are too much to handle right now, Willa thought wryly, remembering how Charlotte explained Catherine was an empath.
"I should take you to the Infirmary." Quintus said. "You hit your head when you fell and you are bleeding."
Catherine nodded vaguely as Professor Ingerson approached the couple, "Mr. Malfoy, I have not graded your charm yet. Someone else will need to take Miss Avery to the Infirmary."
"I can do it, professor." Willa said, stepping forward.
Quintus and Catherine looked at each, as if reading one another's minds, before they both nodded.
"Yes, all right." Professor Ingerson said impatiently, beckoning Willa over to them.
Quintus kissed Catherine lightly on the brow and helped her up as Willa approached.
"Thank you," he said to Willa with a kind smile before he looked at Catherine to say, "I will come right after class."
Catherine smiled at him warmly. Willa found their intimacy overbearing in its plethora of subtleties, mostly because it made her pine for Septimus. As she helped support Catherine's weight walking her out of the Charms classroom, she wondered what the emotion of pining felt like to an empath. She laughed in her head as she realized her pining was made more complicated by the fact that it was for the father of the person to whom this empath was attached.
"Elnath is furious. You will need to speak to her afterward." Catherine said once outside the classroom. Her voice sounded strong, as though she was not injured at all.
"Charlotte told me you are an empath." Willa began, shifting her stance to see if Catherine could carry her own weight. She could, mostly, and Willa held out her arm for Catherine to rest on as needed instead. "I fear I caused you to collapse."
"You did. Well, you and Braxton." Catherine said. She said nothing for a stretch of hallway then added, "You are both very emotional. Painful emotions, too. I wish you could just come together."
"What do you mean?"
"You both had started to change. To subside. It is difficult to explain my experience of it, but what I can explain is the more time you spent together, the less in pain you both became."
Willa nodded, and despite not knowing or trusting Catherine at all, she admitted, "We had a fight today. I said something I should not have, and he stormed off."
"Ah," was all Catherine said.
The infirmary was not far from the Charms classroom and they soon arrived. As Catherine got checked in by the healer, Madame Leigheas, Willa turned to leave.
"Wait," Catherine called to her. Willa turned and she said, "Stay a moment. There is no rush to return to class. You wanted to leave anyway."
Willa smiled briefly, she had wanted to leave, but only to go to her dormitory to finish Septimus' letter and put away the ivory box he gave her the ring in. And to get away from Braxton.
"I know we never talk because of Elnath, but I do think we should get to know one another." Catherine said with frankness. Before Willa could ask why, the Ravenclaw answered, "We are both going to Beauxbatons after all."
Willa agreed to stay and Madame Leigheas began to treat Catherine's wound.
"Feel any better?" Willa asked once the healer had finished and retreated to her office.
"Now there is more pain." Catherine said with a light laugh. "All part of the healing process though."
"Yes," Willa agreed. There was a long silence before she asked, "What more do you wish to know about me?"
"Oh," Catherine began. She looked around to confirm they remained alone before saying, "Your emotions always change dramatically around Quintus. I wondered if you… if you are attracted to him?"
"To Quintus?" Willa exclaimed, so shocked she was unable to mask the disgust she felt on the matter. She composed herself to say resolutely, "No."
Catherine let out a sigh of relief and said, "He assured me you were not, but I had to hear it for myself."
"No, please be assured that I am not, never was, and never shall be attracted to Quintus." Willa said. Her thoughts naturally migrated to Septimus, and she felt herself warm.
"Whoever you are thinking of right now certainly makes you very happy." Catherine remarked.
"Yes, he does." Willa smiled and looked down at the ring he gave her. "Percival he is called. We are attached."
"He must be a good man, you trust him. I can sense it." Catherine said, pausing before she added, "You do not trust many people, like me, for example."
"No, I do not trust you. I hardly know you." Willa replied. "I am not easily trusting of people in general."
"Why not?"
The image of her father burst into her mind. He was telling her how magic was superior and anyone who said differently was a traitor to their kind. The memory formed more clearly and she realized she had blocked it from her mind. It was a month before they moved to America, and they were in their Dublin home. He had begun to yell out, "Traitor! A traitor!" as he swayed and stumbled in drunkenness. Willa had never seen him drunk before.
He began to murmur out, "Lila recognizes this. She understands this truth. I think I will miss her the most. And one day," he spun around and looked an eight-year old Willa in the eye, "One day you will understand, too." He knelt in front of her with a loose smile and warm eyes, and said, "I see it in your eyes, you know. The righteousness. Your mother and brother do not have it, no, but you. Oh, you and I, Willa, we are special. We are pure." He embraced her tight to his chest and kissed the top of her head. In the memory Willa had never felt happier, but now the mere thought of her father's embrace sent chills down her spine.
"Stop, please stop." Catherine was gasping for air, her hand clenched painfully tight around Willa's arm. The dark emotions about her father, about her past, had been too much for Catherine.
"I must go." Willa whispered, standing quickly. "Forgive me."
She was almost at a run by the time she reached the stairwell. Her legs carried her downwards, directly to Salazar's Study, and she slammed the door shut and put down all of her things on the floor. She tore off her robes and undid her stay so she could breathe without restriction. Without it tightened, Septimus' letter fell through her dress to the floor. Ignoring the letter, she collapsed to her knees as she let out an angry scream.
"I am not evil." She growled out into the empty chamber. She said it again, louder. Finally, she screamed it. She breathed unsteadily for a few moments, staring into nothing, before she whispered into the air, "But that is a lie." She was evil. Someone who killed their own brother for loving a No-Maj was evil. Her father had been right about her all along.
She closed her eyes and pushed all these thoughts from her mind, banishing the memory back to wherever it had been stored before. When she reopened her eyes, the mask she wore for everyone was back on. She picked Septimus' letter off the stone floor, recounting how Catherine could feel her happiness when she thought of him, and sat in her ancestor's heavy desk chair to read.
My perfect Wilhelmina,
Again, I wish you many happy returns. Before I share more about my gift to you, I had to remark on how much more interesting your daily life at Hogwarts is than mine ever was. I recall revising far more than anything like your adventure in Hogsmeade. Still, I know your Uncle Corvinus and he is not the same man he was at Hogwarts. He is unbalanced now, and I hope for all your sakes he heeds Professor Stump's command and does not return to Hogsmeade. Not that you will be there much longer, for as I hear it, you have qualified for the trip to Beauxbatons. I congratulate you on that, not that I held any doubts you would qualify.
As for the gift, the ivory box is old. A souvenir picked up for me from my grandfather's time at Uagadou. I have always found it beautiful. The ring is of my own design. I find it amusing how items seem to wait for the right moment, and it is exactly the case with the emerald. It came into my possession nearly a decade ago and it never felt right to sell it. I wanted it for myself, but no setting made sense for both me and the stone.
I found myself content to stare at it for hours, marveling at its complex perfection. It always brought me a very specific dual sense of peace and excitement. When I first saw you, I felt these same emotions. Only when packing for Paris and seeing the emerald for the first time in years, did I realize why what I felt upon seeing you was so familiar to me. I knew then it would be yours, should things progress to an appropriate point to give you such a gift. Perhaps you disagree we have arrived at that point, hopefully not.
The design is personal as well as political. You may have been away from Ireland for too long to realize yet, but the tensions between our two birth countries continue to mount, especially between the Muggles with Theobald Wolfe Tone radicalizing a militia from Belfast.
Willa knew all about Wolfe Tone's United Irishmen, as reports of their activities were used as propaganda in the Muggle pamphlets of Dublin she had collected in July during her clandestine excursions to the Muggle shopping centres while her parents attended to business in town. She continued Septimus' letter, more curious about his choice of the Celtic love knot than Irish politics.
I chose the love knot design for two reasons. First, to show I hold no ill will towards Ireland nor wish your identity to become less Irish. My foremost desire is that you remain true to yourself, whatever that means for you. Second, to symbolize the depth of my affection for you. That when you wear it, you will know my heart links to yours.
I hope you had a wonderful day full of celebration, for you are something to celebrate. I leave in a fortnight for Paris, so my owl will have less distance to travel as you will be in Beauxbatons by a week's time. My intention is to continue on as the Ministry's representative for the tournament, which should permit my attendance at all three tasks and perhaps some of the activities if I am persuasive enough. I do not want to make any promises though, as the tournament this year has become rather political in nature with Delphine Lestrange, Beauxbatons' headmistress, refusing to discuss ceding hosting duties to Hogwarts or Durmstrang despite the violent unrest in France. Either way, I shall press to see you again as soon as possible. That I can promise.
With all my heart,
Septimus
Willa let out a breath as she ran her thumb over his name. His real name. She was not sure what to make of it, perhaps he intended her to keep this letter in particular as reference. As if she would ever forget anything he said in it. Even with time, she would be regaling the tale of the ring to their children often enough that she would not need to reference the letter.
Willa caught herself before that thought could manifest any further. Fantasies about a future with Septimus were too dangerous to indulge in, even if it felt safe to do so from his letters. Perhaps especially because it felt safe to do so. The last time she fantasized about a future with someone, it was running away with Ciaran back to Europe once he came of age. After they moved to Ohio and he fell in love with Opala, however, those plans no longer mattered to him.
Saturday arrived quickly and with it the final duels of the qualification round. Quintus and Braxton were to go first, then Willa and Catherine. Losers dueled next to determine third and fourth and winners dueled for the final. Willa was determined to win the whole thing and clearly so was Braxton. The two remained in their fight from Tuesday, despite that Willa had apologized the next day in Divination class.
Luckily Elnath was quick to forgive Willa for escorting Catherine to the Infirmary. At least after Willa explained she needed to get to know Catherine better so she could determine how to beat her in today's duel. That method was to overwhelm Catherine with emotion and then strike while she was incapacitated. Elnath and Rigel both agreed this was within the rules, so Willa had been preparing.
That preparation appeared to be in vain however, as both Quintus and Catherine forfeited their duels stating they were content to enter the tournament itself and felt the order of entry did not matter.
"Quintus would never have forfeited last year." Elnath remarked to Willa after this was announced.
"And?" Willa shrugged. "He is attached to Catherine now and clearly no longer the same person."
"Do you defend him?" Elnath nearly snarled.
"No. I merely wish to help you see the forest for the trees." Willa said and subtly turned Elnath towards the approaching Professor Stump.
"Fair choice of words." Elnath mused quietly.
"Anticlimactic start to the day, is it not?" Professor Stump said with a warm smile as he reached them.
Elnath said nothing, nodding with a smile, so Willa replied, "Indeed. Excuse me, I need to speak with Professor Llewellyn about my final duel with Mr. Bagshot."
Professor Stump gave her a polite nod and Willa floated away in the direction of Professor Llewellyn. Once a safe distance away, she turned to check on her cousin. Elnath had recovered and Grogan was laughing at whatever joke she had made. Willa smiled and wondered if it was fair to take Elnath away from him. She knew, though, Elnath cared far more about the potential of Nicholas Flamel's personal instruction in alchemy than Grogan's attentions.
"Ah, good that you are here, Miss Gamp." Professor Llewellyn said as she approached. He stood with Braxton and motioned to him as he spoke. "I was just telling Mr. Bagshot that we hoped to move up your duel to now, if possible?"
Willa looked to Braxton, whose expression gave no emotion away. She smiled at Professor Llewellyn and said, "Yes, that is fine by me."
"Splendid!" he said, then turned to corral the spectators.
Willa and Braxton took their places on the dueling platform wordlessly. She looked up to meet his eyes and cast legilimency at precisely the same time he cast it on her. She gave him a smirk and he thought to her, "Good luck."
"I will not need luck." Willa said softly as she reinforced her occlumency so Braxton could only access her foremost thoughts.
Professor Llewelyn joined them on the platform to go over the rules one last time and the crowd of students and staff pressed forward, eager for the two best duelers to show off. After everything was officially set, they began their ten paces and turned, wands meeting in equal yet opposing attacks. A strange sensation overcame Willa and she could read that Braxton was experiencing the same feeling.
"Priori incantantem!" they both thought at the same time.
The power of their wands' twin cores battling the other's attacking nature soon manifested in a show of light. A golden cage flooded upwards and outwards around them, encasing the pair in a locked battle of wills. Both determined to succeed over the other and both inside the other's mind.
Willa took advantage first, pressing the memory of Clement and Rigel together in Salazar's Study to the forefront of her mind. Braxton almost laughed but countered instead with a far more naked memory of the couple inside what Willa assumed to be the Gryffindor dormitories. The intimacy of it made Willa quickly realize this path had been a mistake as she fought to keep every thought of Septimus at bay. As she struggled to bury Septimus, she pondered on what would work against Braxton. She knew how to set off Catherine, perhaps that same flood of emotional pain would be what it took in this instance as well?
Before she could pursue the idea further, Braxton's mind let forth a memory. She could not surmise if it was an intentional attack or if he could not control its release. Regardless, his wand did not relent its hold on hers, and Willa could now see Septimus' face fill the frame of Braxton's mind in the memory. It nearly rendered fruitless her prior efforts to bury him, but as she focused on Septimus' face, she found him more exhausted than she had ever seen him. He appeared to search for something. Finally, his eyes locked onto Braxton's, the subject of his search.
"My name is Mr. Septimus Malfoy, and I am with the Ministry of Magic. Can you tell me what happened here, son?" he asked while approaching Braxton, who cowered on the ground, face stained with dried tears. Braxton looked no younger than he did now and Willa realized this memory must be from the spring when Bethany died.
"She…my mother cursed us all." Braxton whispered.
Willa could see he sat beside Bethany's body. Septimus knelt to feel the girl's cheek with the back of his hand before sliding his fingertips to check her pulse. He let out a sigh and Willa knew she was dead. It was the first time Willa had seen Bethany, and she bore a striking resemblance to Ciaran. Willa understood fully now why Braxton was reminded of Bethany when he looked at her.
"Where is your mother now?" Septimus asked gently.
"In the garden." Braxton said and added, "Please do not hurt her. She is not herself."
Willa could read the relief on Septimus' face that Braxton's mother was not dead, followed quickly thereafter by dark concern at Braxton's explanation that was not herself. He then smiled warmly at Braxton and said, "I promise no harm will come to your mother. I am here to help her and your family."
Willa could read clearly Braxton's present emotional reaction to this comment: Betrayal. Septimus had not kept his promise.
A noise from the crowd in the Great Hall distracted both Braxton and Willa, allowing him to regain control of his mind and force away the sad memory. The noise was Catherine wailing, overwhelmed by Braxton's emotions. Despite the distraction, the energy from their wands continued to surge. Willa pieced together a plan quickly and opened herself up to some of her worst memories. She had noticed in the last few weeks, all memories of her father were more accessible to her than when she lived in America. Things she had buried deep in order to protect the family name would now emerge at the slightest pressing, like what had happened with Catherine in the Infirmary.
Willa settled on one from two years prior and pulled it forward in all its despicableness. It took place in their Baltimore home's parlor, her mother's favorite room of what was the only house she could stand in America. The memory occurred at the time of Dorcus Twelvetrees' hearing on the day in which Ciaran had to give testimony and Willa would be his character witness the following day.
Their participation in these hearings went rather against their father's wishes, as he felt President Emily Rappaport should take harsher measures the presumed mixed-blood Twelvetrees family and leave such a prestigious name as Gamp out of it. As no one in MACUSA—or the Ministry of Magic, for that matter—knew Ardan Gamp was a devout purist, his distaste for the situation remained privy only to his family. And now, to Braxton Bagshot.
Ciaran's testimony had not gone well, and the memory began when Ardan threw a sculpture of a Wampus against the wall beside their mother's head and spun his attention to Ciaran as the porcelain shattered into a million pieces.
"You incompetent boy. Now we will need to move again." Their father growled.
"Sorry," Ciaran mumbled from his spot beside Willa on the loveseat.
"Do you hate your mother so much you sought to force her to move away from the only house she cared for in this pathetic excuse for a country?" Their father continued.
"Ardan, please, he is only a boy. He wanted to help." Their mother interjected.
"Only a boy? He is nearly seventeen. You should be pleased he is not yet, as his prison sentence would be far longer."
"Prison sentence?" Ciaran looked up, his eyes wide.
"Yes, the way you testified, it sounded like collusion with that wretched Twelvetrees girl." Ardan sneered. His face softened as he looked to Willa, "Your sister will have much repair work to do in court tomorrow."
He gave Willa an adoring smile and beckoned, "Come."
Willa stood from the loveseat, rubbing Ciaran's midsection subtly enough their father could not see. The siblings already knew what would happen next given how common it had become in their household.
Braxton, however, did not know yet. Willa hoped it would be enough to shock him into releasing his end of their wands' connection.
"Ardan, not today, please." Their mother begged.
Ardan cast a Silencing spell on his wife without even looking at her. His eyes remained on Willa. Once she stood beside him, he asked if she had her wand.
"Of course not, father." She replied.
It was a test, as wands were only permitted on Ilvermorny grounds for underage students, and MACUSA tracked underage use of magic through wands, not wizards. It was a semi-flawed model that enabled an underage witch to borrow or steal a wand from an of-age witch without the magic use being traced. That is, if they could wield said wand.
"You can use mine." Ardan gave her it as he always did. The wand only worked for him and her. Ciaran could not wield it; its power was too dark.
Willa took her father's wand, its dark magic flowing painfully into her arm. He hooked his finger under her chin to make her meet his eyes. They burned into her with flat black intensity. She strengthened her occlumency in the memory as her father grinned in the maniacal way he only did when alone with his family.
"Today Ciaran proved he is a lost cause." Ardan turned Willa to face her mother. "Your mother, however, seems to have forgotten she is a pureblood witch. She has forgotten who her ancestors are and what they sacrificed to protect our kind."
Willa stood frozen in place in the formal room. He had never made her torture her mother before.
"Prove to me you are pure." Her father said, sensing her hesitation.
Willa thought quickly and aimed the wand at her mother saying, "Crucio." Nothing happened and so she tried again, this time with a little more flourish for show. Still nothing. She looked to her father, "The wand will not let me."
Ardan gave her a cruel smile, one he typically reserved for Ciaran, and Willa braced herself for punishment. Instead he leaned close enough to whisper in her ear, "If you do not do this, I will kill her right here." He stepped back and continued in a normal volume, "I will blame it on something, Dragon Pox, and no one will question me."
Willa looked into his eyes. He was not lying. She wanted to kill him, both now and in the memory. If she could redo this moment in time, she would have. He had already taught her to use the Killing Curse by then. In the memory however, Willa turned the wand on her mother, who gave her a reassuring nod as a tear cascaded down her cheek. Willa let out a ragged breath, then cast the Cruciatus Curse. Her mother's screams made no sound under Ardan's Silencing spell.
It went against nature to harm her own mother, and the pain of this blasphemy reverberated into Willa through the wand. She allowed herself to feel it all again now, which she knew Braxton could feel through their mental connection. Catherine too could feel it, and her sobs filled the otherwise muted Great Hall.
Willa read into Braxton's mind to determine if her plan was working. His thoughts were a mangled mess of shock, anger, and the one she was looking for: compassion. She played up the pain, collapsing to the dueling platform and letting out a scream. Braxton broke their wand's connection and ran towards her. She could read that he planned to hold her and comfort her.
As the lights from priori incantantem distinguished, she looked up from the platform floor and found Quintus staring at her. His arms embraced a sobbing Catherine fully, but his pale blue eyes locked with hers. The moment before she turned towards Braxton, he gave her a small, knowing smile. She smiled back and then spun her body, wand out, and cast forcefully at Braxton, "Stupefy!"
Braxton flew backwards and Willa stood up. She cast, "Expelliarmus," and then looked at Professor Llewelyn. The professor blinked in shock a few times, processing what he had seen. Never in his life had he witnessed priori incanantem from dual wand cores, and in his thirty-two years teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, he never encountered a more powerful, more cunning witch. Finally, he climbed onto the dueling platform to declare Willa the winner.
Willa smiled for the crowd's cheers then went over to help Braxton to his feet. When she was leaned over, closest to him, he asked her quietly, "Was your memory real?"
"Why would I invent something that horrible?" Willa countered, gripping his hand and yanking it towards her.
"Was that common for you?"
"Usually it was on Ciaran, not my mother." She admitted as Braxton got back on his feet.
"I do not know what to say. I feel terrible how I was angry at you all week when you have endured so much." He said and looked her in the eye, "Can you forgive me?"
"I already have." Willa shrugged. Braxton relaxed and she smirked to add, "Besides, now you believe that we have twin wand cores."
Braxton laughed.
Headmaster Hayward climbed onto the platform and called Quintus and Catherine to join them after he shook Willa's hand in congratulations. Quintus had to physically support Catherine, who was still recovering from the emotions of Willa and Braxton alike. Once all four were onstage, he held up his hands and the crowd fell silent.
"It has been a fine tournament with strong talent this year. I want to thank everyone who participated, and especially Professor Llewelyn for managing the duels with such grace and leadership." Headmaster Hayward paused to applaud Professor Llewelyn's efforts, joined quickly by the Hall's polite ovation. After the noises died down he continued, "Now, we have our four delegates to Beauxbatons. Will you all join me in congratulating them and wishing them luck as they seek eternal glory in the Triwizard Tournament."
The Great Hall erupted into cheers, even from those participants who failed miserably in their own duels. Willa beamed as she looked out on the crowd and took in the grandness of the vast hall. This moment proved the first time she felt truly connected to Hogwarts, and she wondered how Beauxbatons would compare. She found Elnath in the crowd, still between Rigel and Professor Stump, and met her proud blue eyes with her own.