Chapter Fourteen

Christmas Break

"Alright, last call," Genale said to the Hufflepuffs.

"Anyone getting on the train, do so now," Lucas explained further. "If you don't, it will leave without you."

"And then you'll have to spend the break here at school, with us," Genale finished.

Courtney stood in line between Elijah and Chloe. Lynne and Albus were also going back home for the break, and they had already planned to share a compartment. But for right now, she was with the other Hufflepuffs. She guessed that Lynne was with the Ravenclaws and Albus with the other Gryffindors.

Courtney looked at Elijah and remembered the marks on his arm. "Hey, Elijah?" He looked at her.

"Yeah?"

"I had a question about the Light Magic Movement," she said. She wasn't quite sure how to word this question. "Um, do you guys know… er, back before the Statute of Secrecy, Muggles had been… hunting witches and wizards?"

"I suppose not all of us know," Elijah admitted. "But most do. I'm pretty sure they cover it in History of Magic in second year."

Courtney had a little trouble imagining anyone learning anything in that class with the dreadfully boring ghost teacher.

"But, yeah, back before Muggles got enlightened, they persecuted us," Elijah continued. "One of the Light Magic Movement's core beliefs is that Muggles have come a long way since then and will be able to accept us when we come out of hiding."

That really did sound nice. "But aren't you worried about the chance that they won't accept us? That they might start killing us again?"

"Courtney," Elijah said seriously. "The way things are now… do you know what wizards regularly do to Muggles?"

"You mean, like, Obliviating them to maintain the secret?"

Elijah nodded. "That's one thing. Our memories define us and all, but that's actually not the biggest thing. Wizards put spells on Muggle objects, as pranks, stuff like putting a Shrinking Charm on people's keys so the Muggles can never find them when they need them. The Ministry tries to punish this, but it's really hard since the Muggles never report it, because they don't believe in magic and just think their keys are disappearing."

Courtney was starting to see the bigger picture. "So, without the Statute, Muggles might get scared and start killing us off again. But the way things are now, wizards take advantage of Muggle ignorance and hurt them for the sake of a laugh."

"Among… other things," Elijah said. "At least, that's what my parents said. They said they can't tell me what those 'other things' are until I'm older."

Courtney was stunned. She thought the Room of Knowledge had shown her a valid counterargument to the Light Magic Movement, but Elijah was doing a far more effective job of giving her a sense of perspective on the issue.

They got onto the train and Courtney went looking for Lynne and Albus.

Courtney and Albus sat in a six-seat compartment with a redheaded Gryffindor girl named Rose Weasley. When Lynne found them and opened the door, she raised a hand in greeting.

"Hey Courtney. Albus. Athena. And…?"

"My cousin, Rose," Albus said.

"Hi," Rose said. "I guess you're Al and Courtney's friend? Lynne?"

Lynne nodded.

"Oh, good," someone outside said. "This one still has seats."

The door opened again, and Scorpius Malfoy stepped inside, followed by a Slytherin girl that Courtney didn't recognize. Then Scorpius got a look at the occupants. "Ah. Albus and Rose. And those two girls from Vector's office after the first Quidditch match… Er… I'm sorry, but I honestly don't remember your names." After Courtney and Lynne gave their names (and Athena's), Scorpius and the Slytherin girl sat beside them.

"I'm Natalya," the girl introduced.

"So was this the only compartment with available seats?" Albus asked.

"No," Natalya said. "There was one compartment that had five free seats."

"The sixth seat, though," Scorpius shuddered. "Trust me, you wouldn't want to sit next to her either."

When they were all seated, Courtney opened a small bag and revealed a container of Bertie Bott's. The beans were split five ways (Scorpius had declined, but Natalya had simply shrugged and accepted them) and they enjoyed for the next few minutes.

After they were gone, Albus looked down. "So, Scorpius. Sorry about before, for not trusting you. About the bet you made with James. I'm not saying you were right and he was wrong, but… I'm sorry for assuming that you were lying to us."

Rose smiled. "Why couldn't a Prefect be here to give Gryffindor points for that?"

They laughed a bit, and continued conversing until the train returned to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

There were a few familiar faces among the parents waiting at the platform. Obviously, Courtney recognized her own Mum, and she was sure she saw Harry Potter's face in the crowd at one point. But there was also one wizard who looked exactly like an older, male version of Polaris, and Courtney could easily see the family resemblance between Sun and the adults that she was now talking to.

They were stopped by a pair of adults with a boy who looked about eight. "Lynne! So everything went safely?"

"Yeah," Lynne said with a smile. So these were Lynne's parents. Her mother was a short woman whose dark brown hair matched Lynne's in color, but was far less curly. Her father was taller and slightly balding. "This is Courtney, and Albus, and Rose… Guys, these are my parents, and this is my brother, Bradley."

"It's nice to meet you," Courtney said.

"Oh, there you are, Courtney," Mum said as she ambled to the group. "Your father's at the station still. I figured it would be five minutes before he got worried, and it's been… six minutes. Come, let's get back through the barrier."

Courtney waved goodbye to her friends and Lynne's family, then followed her Mum through the barrier to King's Cross Station. Da was there, watching the regular Muggles walk by. He turned to see Mum and Courtney had already arrived.

"Did I seriously miss it again?" Da sighed. He steeled himself. "Next time one of you walks through that barrier, I will see it, I promise that."

Mum laughed. Then they went back home.

Christmas break lasted a couple weeks, during which Courtney talked a lot with her parents. Mum was still surprised by the fact that Professor Longbottom was teaching, and Da was interested in what they were covering in her classes.

"In Torrindale's class, we're learning the Levitation Charm," Courtney said, thinking about how Gryffindor had used that same spell to defeat the troll. "In Lochram's, we're learning the basic dueling spells. In Asmius's class, we're turning matches into needles, and needles into matches. In Longbottom's, we're learning about asphodel, sopophorous beans, and wormwood, and in Carroway's class we're learning the Draught of Living Death. Binns… I honestly don't know what we're learning there…"

"He hasn't changed," Mum said. "He was always that boring."

Courtney nodded. "Right. Personally, though, my friends and I have been studying about the four Founders of Hogwarts. In Sinistra's class, we're learning about the basic layout of the solar system. And now I can fly a broomstick without any trouble."

"That's another thing I don't get," Da said. "Why broomsticks? A straight line has to be just about the most uncomfortable thing to sit and fly on. I know flying carpets exist, so why can't those be used instead?"

"Broomsticks come with Cushioning Charms," Mum explained. "And they can defy Muggle laws of physics when they fly."

"Well if carpets can do that too, then why are brooms necessary?"

"It's a cultural thing. In this country carpets have fallen..."

Courtney let Mum and Da discuss this as she and Athena went back to her room.

For now, she was back home.