AUTHORS NOTE: Same as always, all characters, except the obvious, are the property of J. K. Rowling. This is not Hogwarts as we know it, but Hogwarts during sixth year in an alternate universe. You should all know how to pronounce Penny's last name by now, so I'll leave it be!

Thanx to Wanda, Dinah and Sheryll for keeping me sane…somewhat. Now, read on!


Penny Dredfule Chapter Ten
Temples and Drag Queens

Penny stood at the threshold of the great temple for a while, taking in the whole scene. The Living Goddess, Dinah, approached her with graceful steps.

"Welcome Sister, at last we meet. Your journey has brought you far, father than I think you would have imagined, yes?" Dinah asked.

"It would appear to be that way." Penny replied. "Why am I here?"

"It is you who should answer that question, Sister, for you have found it on your own."

"But what am I doing here? How could I find this place if I didn't know it existed?"

"I see you are full of questions. Questions are good. They lead you on the right path, the path to Feline grace and the beauty of understanding the mysteries. Do you now know what you are, Sister?"
"I'm an Enchantress."

"Do you not know which kind? Surely you must know which kind of Enchantress you are?"

"I didn't know there was more than one kind." Penny said meekly.

Dinah laughed. "I see you have much to learn. Come, Sister, we will sit and talk. I see it is necessary to cleanse your soul, young one."

Dinah led Penny to the altar where a couple bean bag chairs and pillows awaited. Sitting down, Penny was at last able to study her hostess.

The Living Goddess was a beautiful woman. Light radiated from her, producing a soft glow of amber and purple. She smiled again and her eyes shone with magic and power. But there was still that Feline grace that implied a beauty of the soul. Penny was awestruck.

"I am the Living Goddess," Dinah began, "The Living Isis. I am holder of her power, and servant to her beauty. And you are one of my Sisters."

"You keep saying that. What does that mean?"

"I am getting ahead of myself." She smiled again. "Isis is Goddess of Cats, and I am the Patron of Cats. Just as you are an Enchantress of Isis."

"But I don't know anything about Isis!"

"Ah, but she knows about you. Do you have a star somewhere on your body?"

Penny showed Dinah the five-pointed star on her left hand.

"A powerful mark, Sister. Make no mistake about that. Each Enchantress of Isis has a star somewhere on their body. Their fate is decided for them at birth, I'm afraid. But fate has a way of playing out events in The Goddess's favour. There are two of you here."

"You mean..?"

"I believe you call her Sheryll? Yes, she is the high Enchantress, the Ki-Sheh-Soon. She is the guardian of all Enchantresses."

"So, all Enchantresses have an affinity with cats?"

Dinah smiled. "Not necessarily, Sister. Each Enchanter or Enchantress has an affinity with a specific animal. It just so happens that you and Sheryll have an affinity with animals of the Feline species. "

Penny sat and relaxed for a bit. This place seemed to soothe the stress right out of her. She pondered on all that she had heard so far and it all seemed to make sense to her. It was as if she had already known the answers, but just needed them repeated to her for clarification.

"I still have one more question. Why is this Temple here? Surely it doesn't belong to Hogwarts?"

"There are many mysteries at Hogwarts that even I, The Living Goddess, cannot comprehend." She smiled. "But the answer to your question is simple. The temple goes where Sheryll goes."

"Isn't that a little too simple? What does Sheryll need with her own temple?"

"Sheryll is the Ki-Sheh-Soon, the High Enchantress. She needs a place to pray, Sister."

"Oh!" Penny said, wondering if she could have her own temple someday. She fantasized about taking her friends home and saying something like: 'I just got my new Temple put in! It has wall to wall carpeting to die for!' Penny sighed. The chances of that happening were pretty slim.

"What about the different colours? Purple and Amber? Do those mean anything?" she asked.

"In fact they do." Dinah replied. "Isis is the Goddess of Protection, Magic, Cats and Children. Whereas Amber is known for protection, so is Amethyst. They are both protective stones and will warn you of danger. For while you are a Sister of Isis, she will always protect you." She smiled again, filling the room with warmth.

"Now, Sister," Dinah said, "I suggest that you go and meditate for a while in the comfort of your own rooms. This might still be a shock to you, finding the Temple and all that you have learned."

"It's better than a kick in the head." Said Penny.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, no worries. Thank you, Dinah."

"Your welcome, Sister. Now, go in peace and may Isis be with you."

* * *

When Penny reached her rooms, there was a note pinned to her door. It read:

Please come see me in my quarters. Albus.

Penny sighed out loud. "It just doesn't stop around here, does it?" she said, and headed to Dumbledore's rooms.

* * *

When Penny entered Albus's rooms, she found Albus and Sheryll enjoying a cup of tea and a plate of cookies.

"Ah, Penny!" Sheryll said, "You're here, good."

"Sit down Penny." Albus said, "I have much to tell you."

A high back chair much like the other two appeared, and Penny took a seat gratefully. "What is all this about? I must warn you, my brain is still a little riled up about the Temple of Isis thing. Both of you knew about it, am I right?"

Both Sheryll and Albus nodded. "We thought it best if you found it on your own." Sheryll said.

"Fine." Penny replied, "Now, what's this about?"

Albus put down his cup of tea, his face grim. "I have found out some information that may be privy to what is happening here. You need to hear it because you are involved."

The serious tone that Albus was using riveted Penny to the spot. She had no choice but to listen. His voice commanded her to.

"Through my sources," Albus began, "I have determined that Keef Quirrell is actually a relative of our late professor here. Turns out the Quirrell family is quite large and prone to practising dark Magic."

"What kind of a relative is Keef?" Penny asked.

"Keef is our late Professor's brother." Albus replied. There was stunned silence. Dumbledore continued. "Keef was an Enchanter for the Ministry of Magic. He is no longer an Enchanter, as he was stripped of his powers."

"What happened? Aren't you born an Enchanter or Enchantress?"

"Yes," replied Albus, "which implies he must have done something pretty dire to have his powers stripped. He still retains his origiinal magic, but none quite so powerful than the magic of an Enchanter."

"Can you find out how he lost his powers?" Sheryll asked.

"I can't." He replied, "But Penny can." Sheryll and Dumbledore looked at her.

"What?" Penny said, "How can I find out how he lost his powers? I don't know the first thing about being an Enchantress!"

"You seem to be doing very will thus far." Dumbledore chuckled, "But no matter. I believe you received his Memory Book as a little Christmas present?"

Penny blanched. "Yes. I did."

"Then the answer lies in that book. You must read it to find the answers, as I am unable to help you."

"But I can't read it!" Penny burst out.

"And why not?" Sheryll asked.

"Because," Penny paused, "because, I can't bare the evil that seems to ooze out of it. It hurts to even touch it. I can't read that book. You can't ask me to read that book, Albus. I'll do anything else, anything but read that book."

There was silence in the air for a while after that. Albus seemed to be weighing what Penny had said with what he thought was the right course of action. At last he spoke:

"No one can force you to read it, Penny. I want you to understand that. But you must read it. Not now, when you are ready, of course. It holds answers that only you can give us."

"Why can't you read it?"

"It is a magical book. It can only be read to the person it was gifted to. I ask you to think well on this Penny. You must read it, but only when you are ready."

With that, Albus dismissed her.

* * *

The weeks rolled by at a fast pace. Penny did the best she could to keep her thoughts grounded, especially during classes, but her mind was always thinking on the book.

At last, Valentine's Day arrived. Penny woke on that morning and almost died in her bed. She couldn't believe her eyes. She rubbed them and looked again. Oh my goodness, thought Penny.

Her room was decorated in red and white flowers, pink and white sparkles fell from the ceiling and hundreds of candles glowed a rosy colour.

Standing in the centre of it all was Snape. He was wearing a large wig, with the hair shaped to form a beehive style. It had been dyed purple and clashed horribly with the rest of his outfit.

He was wearing a set of large red and orange robes, and a green hat on top of the beehive hairdo. He was wearing enough make-up for twenty women. His eyes were painted in red and purple, which clashed with his pink blush and his blue lipstick. He had put on fake nails, several inches long, painted with stars and moons in bright florescent colours. Penny couldn't be sure, but she was positive he had breasts too, one slightly lower than the other.

"Happy Valentine's Day Penny!!" Snape crooned in a high falsetto voice.

Penny thought her spleen had ruptured.

"I have something for you," Snape continued. He presented her with the box. Penny thought her stomach was going to shut down any minute. She also thought her eyes would go blind from holding in the tears.

Snape opened the box which began to play its song and Penny couldn't hold it in anymore.

She laughed so hard and with so much force, Snape backed up and tripped over her chair. He landed on his back with his dress up around his knees, and Penny laughed harder. Snape tried to get up, tripped over his robes, and his left breast fell out and rolled across the floor.

Penny was now laughing so hard that she couldn't breathe. Snape, who was not laughing, gathered up his breast and left the room with haste.

* * *

When Penny had calmed down, she put the box on the desk and chuckled to herself. When she touched the desk, her left hand glowed amber and purple. "The Book", thought Penny.

Sighing with resolution, she opened the desk drawer, pulled out Keef's Memory Book and began to read.