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Chapter 13

September 18, 2030

I wake up to Anica shaking me crazily.

"Yo, you slept in, hurry up!" Anica screams into my ear.

I check my watch and see that it's 7 o'clock.

"What kind of sleep-in do you call that?" I snap. "Go away."

"We need to give you a makeover," Anica reminds me.

I groan, closing my eyes.

"Why do you need over an hour to do that?"

"Come on!"

This comes from a different voice.

"I had to walk the whole passage at five o'clock in the morning," the voice continues. "Hurry up!"

I bolt upright, having recognised the voice.

"Xinia? What are you doing here?"

I glance around the room and frown. I'm not in my dormitory. Instead, I'm in a small room with several lounges and a few tables. I'm currently situated on the floor next to a couch.

"Actually, where is here?"

"Here is called the Liability Lounge, it's a secret room. I found it last night on my walk back to my dorm."

"How did I get here?"

"That was me," Anica says. "Xin and I made plans last night to wake you up early to do the makeover. I got up, used the levitation spell to get you out of your bed, then met Xinia in the Community Hall at about 6:30. She brought us here."

"How come you needed to get up at five o'clock?" I ask Xinia groggily, still waking up.

"Cause I needed to bring all this junk here and then meet Anica to help bring you here."

I then turn to find a bunch of makeup and clothing beside me.

"What on earth is all that for?"

"For your makeover."

"Can't I just morph everything?"

"It's more fun doing it this way. Although there will be some things we'll get you to change."

"Alright, close your eyes," Anica directs.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, now hurry up. We only have an hour."

"Is that all?" I mutter sarcastically.

I feel someone yank on my hair and hear someone cluttering through the items next to me.

"Do I have to wear the clothes? We have classes today; I can't not wear my robes."

"Xinia's found some loopholes. Don't worry, you won't be breaking any rules," Anica 'reassure's' me.

I feel one of them pulling at my hair while the other is trying to put some makeup on my face. Every now and then I hear them mutter something to one another and then swap positions.

They continue to move around, and at one point, I swear that I hear one of them say that I look too good.

As the minute's pass, I get multiple instructions to sit up, change this and to turn around, but my most repeated instruction is to keep my eyes closed.

"One sec, stay there," I suddenly hear Anica say as they move away from me.

I hear her whisper something to Xinia before I feel myself being lifted off the floor.

"What the..." I say as I open my eyes.

"Close your eyes!" they yell in unison

As it gets closer to the end, I feel myself sink back into the chair.

"Any chance you can get changed with your eyes closed?" Xinia asks.

"Not a problem," I sarcastically say.

"Brillant!" Anica laughs, not caring about my sarcasm.

I stumble out of the chair and get guided to a corner of the room. One of them hands me something, and I struggle to change while keeping my eyes closed.

"I could always just look at the clothes then morph into them," I roll my eyes, even though they're still closed.

"That would be too easy," Anica laughs.

"Just tell us if you need help," Xinia informs

"Could you tell me what I'm putting on, so I'm not just feeling fabric?"

"Its robes," Xinia allows.

"That makes much more sense," I mutter, having felt the clothes beforehand.

I feel around the material, looking for the holes to put my limbs through. I find them, putting my arms through then placing them correctly over my body. I feel around for any more items and find a few accessories.

I step out from some curtains which they had put up, and I hear Xinia and Anica holding back laughter.

"Okay, you can open your eyes," Anica says, and I hear the smirk in her voice.

I look down to see myself in the black school robes. Except, a few changes had been made to it. It was now fluffy with sequins and glitter scattered across it, and I had on silver high heels decorated with black bows.

"Now could you just morph yourself a little shorter?" Xinia asks.

"So you give me high heels, only to want me shorter?!" I complain but morph anyway.

"Hey, I don't want to be the shortest today," she says.

I groan before moving over to a mirror they had kindly laid out for me. I take a deep breath before looking at my reflection, preparing myself for the worst.

It wasn't enough.

I let out a shriek as I spot my beautiful red hair now a bright, neon green, standing up as if I was upside down.

"How did you even get it to stand up like that?" I ask absentmindedly, moving my eyes down to my face.

I stifle a gasp as I notice my makeup. My eyes are ringed with black and dotted with silver rhinestones. Mixed with the silver pupils I had been asked to changed earlier; it made my eyes look twice as big as usual.

Bright green lipstick had been applied to my lips, and I noticed a shine to them. A subtle blush stood out on my now angular cheekbones, and I saw my nose; also changed, completed the look.

Dangly earrings had been placed in my ears, and several other studs adorned the rest of my ears.

The robes had been adjusted to allow a green pendant to be visible on my neck.

I take a few seconds to adjust to the changes in my appearance before turning back to my friends.

"I have to admire your handiwork," I admit. "What'd you go for, the whole Slytherin look?"

Anica nods, a smile on her face. Xinia just laughs.

"The hair and decorations were my ideas."

I roll my eyes.

"Of course they were."

I look back at the mirror again, shaking my head. I have to admit, it doesn't look half-bad, except for the hair. It's just extremely bold.

"You're lucky I have next to no shame," I say. "But I'm going to lose any credit I have after this."

"We can always change the dare," Xinia challenges.

"And accept defeat?" I scoff. "No way. But the question is, are you guys ready for your stunts?"

They pale, the laughter gone. I smirk, then walk up and wrap my arms around them.

"Let's do this, shall we?"

We exit the room, and I see that we are a few doors down from the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower. I spot two identical pictures hanging on the wall that we came out of.

"How do you get in?" I ask.

"Spot four differences between the two pictures," Xinia answers.

"How did you just find this on your way?"

"I might have detoured and made a few stops," Xinia shrugs.

I roll my eyes as we make our way down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Along the way, I get many, many strange looks. A few people outright laugh while others just stop and stare in shock. I ignore them, continuing to talk with the girls.

At some point, we came across Wyrene and her friends. They all double over with laughter, and I spot tears on Wyrene's face. I punch her shoulder, none too gently.

"You really went all out, didn't you?" she speaks to Anica and Xinia.

They grin, nodding their heads.

"We couldn't let her get away easy," Xinia shrugs.

Wyrene laughs, before moving away with her friends. Before she's out of sight; however, she turns around.

"By the way, I'm looking forward to your stunts today, you two."

They groan as she walks off. I laugh as we continue down.

Finally, we reach the doors to the Great Hall. Anica and I turn to Xinia, who buries her head in her hands.

"This is going to be so embarrassing," she mutters.

I raise my eyebrows, gesturing to my outfit.

"This will be for five minutes. Me? I have to keep this in for at least half the day."

"You're right," Xinia nods. "This is nothing. You will never live yours down."

I slap her as she walks up to the doors. She starts pacing back and forth past them, stopping anyone trying to get through.

"No, they're automatic," she insists. "They won't open unless they sense you!"

Anica and I laugh as a crowd gathers to watch the spectacle. No one seems to notice us as their eyes land on Xinia, pacing back and forth.

I keep an eye on my watch, timing her. When it's been five minutes, I nod at Anica. We walk over to Xinia, pushing past the crowd, and inform her that the doors are in fact, not automatic. Anica reaches for the door, and I don't notice Xinia doing the same.

Then suddenly, they bang the doors open, leaving me in the middle of them, where everyone's eyes land on me. I stand there in shock for a minute, unable to process what happened. Then I turn on the girls.

"You two absolutely suck! I hate you so much!" my voice carries through the silent Hall.

They pay no mind to me though, both of them laughing their asses off. I turn my glare back to the Hall, unwilling to back down. I scan my eyes over the crowd, death staring everyone.

Slowly but surely, they return to their meals, albeit quieter than before. I walk up the Slytherin table, keeping my glare on anyway who looks my way. I punch Wyrene again as I walk past her laughing, and flip the bird to Bailey, Xander and Xandler from across the Hall, amusement on all of their faces.

My eyes are drawn to the teacher's table, where I spot Lupin sitting with Longbottom, Potter and Malfoy, smiles on all their faces. Many of the other teachers look equally amused, and I spot even McGonagall with the tiniest of smiles on her face.

I smirk, knowing if I hadn't made an impression before, I had now.

Anica's groan brings me back to the table where I spot Xinia laughing at her.

"Your go," she says.

Anica groans again before getting up from the table. Several eyes fall on her as people watch in anticipation. By now, they've probably noticed something's going on. I laugh with Xinia as Anica approaches the teacher's table.

She stands in front of Professor Potter, where Longbottom, Lupin and Malfoy look on in amusement from either side of him.

Xinia and I had made sure to position ourselves as close to the table as possible, so I could just hear her from here.

"Hi Professor Potter," she begins, and I spot her finger twirling a loose strand of her red hair. "How are you?"

Potter looks slightly uncomfortable at her flirtatious tone but somehow keeps a straight face.

"Fairly good, Miss Wore. And you?"

"Oh, I feel spectacular," Anica replies, and I stifle a laugh behind my hand.

Somehow Anica manages to keep the facade up, and she continues the conversation.

"I was wondering how you got so good at Defence Against the Dark Arts? I just can't seem to get a handle on it, and I was hoping you could give me some pointers."

I give up all pretences of not laughing and outright snort. Lupin's eyes flick to me, and his grin grows, an exasperated look on his face. I grin back before turning my attention once again to Anica.

By now, Potter looks extremely uncomfortable while Malfoy hides a grin beneath his hand. Longbottom just looks annoyed but amused.

"I understand completely if you can't," there's a girly trill to Anica's voice. "But as an alternative...would you come to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

I double over with laughter, tears on my face. Beside me, Xinia laughs, unable to hear the conversation, but getting the gist of it.

Up at the table, Lupin is laughing as well, and Malfoy is still fighting off a grin.

"Miss Wore," Potter clears his throat. "You know that the first years are not permitted in Hogsmeade. Your question is also highly inappropriate. Please return to your breakfast."

Anica nods sadly, before turning away and walking back to us. Xinia and I are still laughing our asses off, and there's only so long Anica can hold out before laughing as well.

I high five Xinia before complementing Anica.

"Nice flirting. Your skills could be improved, but you've got potential."

She slaps me before sinking into the chair, an embarrassed look on her face.

"He's never going to think I'm normal again. And now Malfoy probably hates me for hitting on his husband. Ugh!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Xinia laughs, "Your flirting would never be good enough for anyone to worry about losing their partner!"

Suddenly I hear a screech coming from the Gryffindor table.

"What the hells going on now!" an older boy asks, sounding annoyed.

"XANDLER BRODIE MUPLY! WHY ON EARTH DID YOU SEND ME THAT LETTER?" the howler screams. "YOU KNOW DAMN WELL THAT YOUR BROTHER DID NOT GET ONTO THE QUIDDITCH TEAM! And for that, I am sorry, Fred. WHEN I RECEIVED HIS LETTER, I WAS EXTREMELY CONFUSED! DON'T YOU DARE TRY AND PUT THIS ON HARRY BECAUSE I KNOW IT WAS YOU! I EXPECT YOU TO BEHAVE FROM NOW ON!"

I spot Xandler next to Bailey and Xander, who are on the floor laughing. I can't help but laugh too.

"What is happening today?" Professor Longbottom questions.

"Quidditch celebrations must have been interesting," Professor Lupin replies, his eyes darting to me and the others.

I can't help a small smirk as I look away. Just then, I notice Star fly over my head before dropping a letter in front of me. My stomach sinks as I recognise the writing as my mothers. I hadn't spoken to my parents since I'd found out I was adopted despite their many attempts to talk to me.

Anica and Xinia watch me as I pick the letter up. I sigh as I break the opening, deciding to give them a chance.

Dear Genie,

We hope you read this letter, but we understand if you don't. As we've said in our previous letters, we love you so, so much, and can't stand you hating us.

Your brother sent us a letter last night telling us you got onto the Quidditch team, and we couldn't be prouder! He told us you had made up with him and your sister, so we were hoping you might give us a chance. We understand you're upset and angry, but we want to talk to you, to explain what happened, properly.

If you don't want to talk, we understand completely. Just remember that we love you, and nothing will ever change that.

Love from Mum and Dad

I re-read the letter before tucking it away in my 'glamorous' robes.

"What was that about?" Xinia asks gently.

"Congratulated me for getting on the team. Said they want to talk."

"Are you going to?" Anica inquires.

I shrug.

"Haven't decided."

They nod, then we fall into a small silence. The words in the letter swirl in my head before Xinia breaks the quiet.

"Hey! No ruining our makeover!"

I blink, looking at her in confusion.

"Your hair's blue," Anica explains.

"Oh, I didn't notice," I mutter, changing it back to neon green.

Xinia smiles in satisfaction, eyeing my hair.

"We're going to have to watch that," she tells Anica. "If it starts falling down we have to fix it."

"Or we could leave it and make her look even more like an idiot," Anica suggests.

Xinia taps her chin in thought.

"That's a good idea," she contemplates.

I glare at them with no real malice.

Breakfast continues with no more interruptions, and all too soon, it's time for classes.

"What do we have?" Anica asks as we exit the Great Hall.

Xinia rolls her eyes.

"One day, you two will learn your own timetables."

"I know some of it. We have a double of Transfiguration right now," I add to prove my point.

Xinia fakes enormous surprise.

"It's a miracle!" she shouts, scaring a few students around us. "Gena, is everything okay?"

She lays her hand on my forehead, but I bat it away, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Don't get your hopes up; I only know when we have Transfiguration."

"Why?"

"Cause it's my favourite subject," I shrug. "Anyway, see you later."

We had arrived at the Transfiguration classroom, but Xinia had to continue to wherever her class was.

"Why is Transfiguration your favourite?" Anica asks me as we wait for Lupin.

I shrug again.

"Dunno. I guess because I'm good at it. Plus, Lupin's an awesome teacher, and it reminds me of morphing."

Anica nods, opening her mouth to say something, but just then, Lupin appears around the corner.

"Good morning, class," he greets cheerily.

He startles a little as if just remembering my makeover, but quickly recovers.

"Interesting wardrobe choice today Miss Dinnick," he comments.

"Yeah, I was getting bored. Decided to mix things up."

Beside me, Anica snorts.

"That's not what you were saying this morning," she mutters.

I grin before walking into the now open classroom. I take the seat closest to Lupin's desk; as always, and Anica sits beside me. Timothy and Kyle sit on either side of us.

Lupin begins the lesson, reviewing what we did the last lesson. When he's finished, he tells us to continue working on the spell, as a few hadn't got it yet. Timothy was one of them, but the other two and I had gotten it last lesson.

As Lupin walks around the classroom observing everyone, we strike up a conversation.

"You know Nifflers live in burrows up to 20 feet below the ground?" Anica says. "Goblins have used them to burrow underground in search of treasure before."

"How do you just have all this random knowledge?" Kyle asks in amusement. "Just the other day, you were telling us that bees sometimes sting other bees."

"And the day before that you told us redheads aren't actually going extinct," I recall.

"Hey, I have a good reason for knowing that one," Anica defends. "You should always know whether your kind is going to go extinct or not."

"Your kind?" Kyle laughs. "Are you telling us redheads are a whole other kind?"

"Yeah, one ten times more superior than any other," I joke.

"If that's the case," I suddenly hear. "Why don't you show us the Avifors Spell?" Lupin asks.

He had come up behind us, and none of us had noticed. It wasn't a problem for us, though, because we had already mastered it. I picked up my wand and pointed it at the empty inkwell in front of me.

"Avifors," I recite, waving my wand.

The inkwell immediately transfigured into a small bird with a flash of blue, which then flew around the room. Anica and Kyle copied me; both of them successful. Timothy was less successful and only managed to produce wings and a beak on his inkwell.

"That's okay," Lupin reassures him. "If I recall correctly, your family often takes a little bit to get the hang of spells. But once you've got it, you'll be an expert. Keep trying.

As for you three, good job. However, I would appreciate it if you reined in your chatter. It's a little distracting."

He then moves away to inspect Ursula and Nicole.

The rest of the class passes quite quickly and before I know it we're heading off to lunch. Just as I reach the door, however, Lupin calls me back.

"This isn't going to become a regular thing, is it?" I joke, walking up to the Professor.

He smiles, shaking his head.

"No, that isn't my plan."

I give a relieved sigh.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about your progress with this subject."

As he speaks, I notice his eyes darting between my face and my hair and my robes. I shift a little uncomfortably, wondering if he'll give me a punishment for breaking dress code.

"I've noticed that you're doing quite well and - I'm sorry, your look is just a little distracting."

I blink at his change of topic, then let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, sorry about," I fiddle with one of the sequins on my robe. "It was a dare…" I trail off.

He chuckles.

"I thought so. And although I'm tempted to, there's technically nothing I can do about it. You're not actually breaking any rules."

"Xinia really did do her research then," I comment. "I can morph if it's distracting."

"Would you mind?"

I laugh.

"No, it's fine. It's getting a little annoying anyway."

I take a second to morph back to my regular look. Lupin gives me a grateful smile.

"As I was saying, I've noticed you're making excellent progress with the tasks I've been setting.

I was thinking I should start giving you extra work to enhance your full abilities. The time in class I'm giving everyone else to learn the spells is just being wasted on you, so I thought why not? If it gets to be too much work, I can reduce your workload, but for now, I want you working on these," he hands me a textbook with several pages marked.

I take it, flicking through, glancing at the titles. They look much more advanced than the work we're doing in class. I smile broadly as I look back up at Lupin.

"Thank you! I'm sure I'll get through these quickly!"

Lupin looks surprised.

"That's not the reaction I thought you would have, although I'm not complaining. I thought there might have been a little reluctance on your behalf."

"Normally there would be," I agree. "But I actually enjoy Transfiguration, so I don't mind doing extra work."

"Well, that's good to hear," Lupin smiles. "Now, unless you have any questions, you're free to go."

"Thanks, Sir," I call as I exit the classroom.

I morph back into my makeover costume before dashing back to my dormitory to store the textbooks. I race outside to the school grounds, looking for the courtyard the four of us had recently been using.

The same one I had used to escape the school last week, we had discovered that almost no one frequented the courtyard. Ciena, Xinia, Anica and I would often go there during breaks or after classes to study, relax or get away from people.

Sure enough, when I arrived, they were in there. But the sight that greeted me made me stop for a minute.

The girls were laying in the middle of the courtyard on their backs in a small circle with their heads in the centre. Anica had let her hair down, and the others had theirs sprawled out so that the three different shades mixed together, creating a sea of red.

Each of them was doing their own thing; Ciena was reading; Anica looked lost in a world of her own; Xinia was playing with one of her cats and a few birds.

I doubt they'd noticed how peaceful the scene looked, but I couldn't help but admire how close they were. The three of them fought all the time and were so different that the times they were this relaxed were special.

I dug around in my bag, looking for the muggle camera Xinia had given me for my birthday last year, and took a few photos of them. I then put the camera away and dropped my bag next to the girls'.

The noise startled them, although I'd placed it gently, and they sat up, ready to socialise again.

"What did Lupin want?" Anica asks.

"He gave me some extra work to do because he noticed I was ahead of everyone else," I say, trying not to sound like I was boasting.

"Isn't Anica at the same level as you?" Xinia asks in confusion.

"Not really," Anica shrugs. "I'm better than some of the others yeah, but Gena's way better."

"I wish I got extra work," Ciena comments.

"I can show you guys some of it, it's not like it's a secret," I say quickly. "But I'd make sure you can do everything we're doing in class first."

"How are you so good, anyway?" Ciena asks.

"It's just natural for me, I guess," I shrug. "It's a bit like morphing, which I've had a lot of practice with, so I find it easier. Transfiguration is the only class I'm naturally good at though. I have to work just as hard as you guys in every other class."

"Stop being jealous and take it as an opportunity for you guys to get extra practice," Anica rolls her eyes.

"Yay!" I comment dryly.

The other two laugh and we continue with lighter topics. I end up next to Xinia, playing with the various animals surrounding her.

Xinia lived on a farm and therefore had many animals at home. She had brought one of her cats; Ollie to Hogwarts and Xander had their other one; Roxie, although she mostly stayed with Xinia and Ollie.

Despite only having one animal of her own here, she always seemed to gravitate towards more whenever she was in the mood. Right now, Roxie was present, along with a few birds and a variety of magical creatures I couldn't name.

I pet one of the smaller creatures while talking to Anica, who was practising some spells we learnt in various classes recently.

Xinia helps Ciena with some of her homework, pointing out errors and facts she can use.

Eventually, the time for our next class comes, and we trudge back up to the castle.

We continue with the day, catching up with the rest of the group during lunch in the Great Hall, and completing homework in the Community Hall after classes finish.

Once everyone's caught up with their work, we chat about little things and play a few harmless games before dinner.

After dinner, Anica and I choose to retire to the Slytherin Common room where a bunch of us from all the years played a game of Exploding Snap. Once a fifth-year girl - Erin - had won, the two of us went down to our dormitory. No one else was in there yet, so we had the room to ourselves. I climbed onto Anica's bed, and we chatted for a bit before Nicole entered the room. By then, it was rather late, so I went for a quick shower before heading for bed.

Before I did though, I spotted Studs on the window, which had a view of the Great Lake. I went over to pet her, smoothing her ruffled feathers. As I did, I was reminded of the note I had received from my parents this morning.

With a sigh, I got up and grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill. I sat down next to Studs, spreading the parchment open and began to write.

Mum and Dad,

I got your letter this morning. I don't have much to say, but I will tell you I don't hate you. I'm angry and upset and therefore need some time. I hope you understand that when I'm ready, I will write to you.

Love,

Gena

I roll the parchment up before giving it to Studs to send home. Once she's gone, I put my stuff away before climbing into bed and eventually drifting off to sleep.

So I know this was a little bit of a filler, but I hope it got a few laughs:) I promise I'll update soon!

Also as a side note, I have updated this chapter, but the only difference is I picked up a mistake between Xander and Xandler so I corrected it. Sorry for any confusion if you picked up on it before.