"Multicorfors."
My wand swished lazily through the air. There was a hardly audible popping
noise, and several strands of Lily's red hair turned a dirty yellow. Like
an overripe banana.
"Who needs to be a Metamorphmagus?" I joked, and Lily shook her head in
mock disdain.
"Honestly, Remus. What colour did you turn it?"
I stifled a laugh. "Yellow."
She raised her eyebrows. "Yellow? I thought you'd be a bit more classy.
What's wrong with a nice dark blue? I've always wondered what it'd be like
to have blue hair."
"You'd look like a freak show!" I gave a derisive snort. "Auburn and blue
hair, auburn eyebrows, emerald eyes - you'd be the laughing stock of our
year."
Lily sniffed. "Actually, you'd find that highlights are getting more and
more fashionable in the Muggle world. Not that you'd know."
"I may be gay, Lils, but I'm not exactly a fashion icon, am I?"
Gay. It was the first time I had consciously said the world out loud. I
finally admitted it to myself: Sirius wasn't an exception to the normal
biological rules, that I wasn't straight. I was the complete opposite.
"Well, I think you'd look cool with blue streaks in your hair," Lily mused.
"Not Gothic, but... Edgy."
I was about to formulate a smart reply when McGonagall's voice rang out
across the classroom.
"Sixth-years, we have twenty minutes left of the lesson. Please reverse
your transfigurations and listen. I have something to say."
I shot a side glance at Lily. This must be important, it said.
Once everyone's hair was back to normal, McGonagall continued.
"In the weeks leading up to the Christmas break, Professor Dumbledore will
put into action a plan which, with my help, he has devised to promote house
unity in these dark times." Here she paused, took a deep breath and carried
on.
"Today, each of you will be drawing a number from this bowl." She flicked
her wand, and a huge glass bowl, filled with hundreds of slips of
parchment, appeared on the desk. "You will not tell your number to anyone
else. Whoever chooses the same number as you will become your... ahem...
pen-pal."
Murmurs filled the room. McGonagall raised her voice.
"You will not reveal your name to your correspondent, so there will be no
prejudice. This bowl is only for the sixth-years, so you need not worry
about having a pen-pal who is five years younger than you. I will be
holding this draw for every house.
"You may write to your correspondent as much as you like. Once you write a
letter, place it in a red envelope and ink your number on the front. Hand
your letter to me, and I will ensure it is delivered." McGonagall produced
a roll of parchment and a quill and was poised to write.
"Now. When I call your name, pull out a slip of parchment, remember the
number on it, and hand it to me." She cleared her throat. "Lois Abbot."
"What do you think?" I whispered to Lily.
"I guess it seems harmless enough. Just as long as you don't get Sirius,
eh?"
"Yeah."
Name after name after name after name. Lily. Name, name, name. Until-
"Remus Lupin."
I left my desk and made my way to the top of the classroom. I inserted my
hand into the bowl, rummaged around for a bit, and pulled out a slip of
parchment. On it, on a spidery hand a recognised as Dumbledore's, was the
number 19.
19. 19 19 19.
I handed the parchment over to McGonagall, who recorded the number and
discarded the parchment.
Once everyone had picked a number, McGonagall gave us ten minutes to write
our first letter.
I frowned, my quill at the ready. What do you write to someone you don't
even know anything about? I decided to not think about what I was writing,
and edit it afterwards.
...~loOol~...
Uh, hi. I guess you're number nineteen, too, huh? Well, that's one thing I
know about you. One thing we have in common.
I don't even know if you're a boy or a girl. So what do you write to
someone you have never met?
Although, we may have met. We just don't know.
So. Nineteen. A nice number. Odd. Prime. Not too big. I guess these
Arithmancy lessons must really be teaching me stuff. I know that nineteen
isn't big. Wow! I deserve an Oscar.
I guess I should ask you some stuff. Do you like Quidditch? Books?
Potions? Muggles? Chess?*
I used to play Quidditch, but I kind of stopped when I came here.
Everyone was better than me, so I gave it up. Seems a bit weedy now, to be
honest.
I love books. I especially love smelling books. I know that must sound
strange, but that's what I do. Amortentia even smells like books to me.
Books and chocolate.
I hate Potions. I'm going to get a P in my NEWTs. I got an E in my OWLs,
but still. NEWTs are harder, anyway.
This is getting kind of long now, so I'd better stop.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
No# Nineteen.