Upon receiving the school list a couple of days earlier, all of the members of the Tonks household noted that, while Dora's required texbooks were far longer than the previous year (which had required only the second book in "The Standard Book of Spells" series), it was still shorter than her first year.
Dora needed, of course, the third "Standard Book of Spells" book, as well as "An Intermediate Guide to Transfigured." Then, there were her books for her electives. Divination required only "Unfogging the Future," but Muggle Studies required the purchase of four textbooks and the recommendation of two supplementary books.
Still, from what Dora had heard about Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, she rather thought she was getting off easy.
Polly was also taking Divination, but had chosen "Care of Magical Creatures" as her second elective. That lesson required a far shorter reading list.
"Sure you don't want to switch?" Polly asked, glancing at Dora's full basket.
"I'll be fine," Dora replied, with just a bit more confidence than she felt.
Polly gave her a dubious look, but Dora just smiled.
It would be a lot of reading, and probably a lot of essays to write. Still, she knew that she would have an easier time than most of the students in her year, except maybe the ones who had been raised in muggle households. Her family had a TV and a telephone-not to mention they visited their muggle relatives a couple of times a year. Besides, for Merlin's sake, she'd passed as a muggle for an entire stressful afternoon of bra shopping! Anyway, she would start reading the required textbooks as soon as they got home-or the next day, if Polly did end up spending the night.
Once their books were paid for and put away, Andromeda asked Dora if she needed more supplies for Potions. Once there, both girls noticed that-compared to the ones on display-their pewter cauldrons had become quite worn, so with their parents' approval, they selected another one apiece.
"Think you'll continue with that lesson after third year?" Polly asked in a low voice.
Dora shrugged. "Rumor has it he only lets the top students into his NEWT class. I expect he's not the one marking the OWLs, as he'd fail everyone except his snakes, but I don't reckon I'm nearly at the top."
"Might be worth the extra effort just to see his face when you decide to take his lesson," Polly encouraged.
Dora snorted. "And spend two more years with him as my teacher? Swarmed by Slytherins, most likely?"
Polly giggled
"I much preferred Professor Slughorn, myself," Andromeda noted, and Dora realized that her mother's hearing was really quite good.
Or they hadn't been as quiet as they thought.
"What was he like, Mrs. Tonks?" Polly asked, politely, setting a package of unicorn hair back on the shelf.
"Excellent in his craft, and a very good teacher," she remembered. "He was always happy to give students extra help, and never made anyone to believe that they were unintelligent simply for not understanding how to brew on their first attempt. Mind, he was not as carefree as Professor Flitwick-you were in class to learn, not to chat with your friends and all that. But he certainly made opportunities for students to get to know each other, and if I had decided to into the field of Potions or Healing after school, I know he would have helped me."
Dora knew that her mother was exceptional at both brewing Potions and healing. She hadn't been terribly sickly as a child, but on the occasion that she caught illnesses that (as she later found) would send most parents with their kids to St. Mungos, her mum simply brewed the necessary potions and Dora was better within a few days. She never really envied her mum for her powerful magic, but she did think that she'd never live up to her abilities, even if she did continue to receive high grades.
"That's pretty much the opposite of Snape," Polly noted. "He favors Slytherin, and loathes the rest of the school."
"He fancies Ravenclaw a bit more than us," Dora reminded her, "but that's like saying a python's bite is only slightly less painful than a viper's."
Andromeda tried very hard not to laugh. "I'd bring back Professor Slughorn for you if I could, but I gather he's very happy in his retirement."
They continued to peruse the apothecary for ingredients and other items that they would never purchase in their third year, but were still amusing to examine.
Andromeda, of course, was rather the ringleader of the group. She added numerous ingredients to her personal store.
"Well, I do suppose that's everything, then," Andromeda said at last, with a glance back at the apothecary. "Schoolbooks, robes, Potions supplies..."
"What about quills and parchment? Do you girls have enough of those?" Ted wondered.
"I don't know how much we will need in the coming year," Polly said, glancing at her mother. "I expect I still have enough, but..."
"Better safe than sorry," Mrs. Roberts answered, with determination. "Besides, there's a shop on the corner that looks promising."
Andromeda nodded her agreement, and when it was all said and done, they ended up with enough quills, ink, and parchment that ought to last them thru their OWL exams.
Well, at least that stuff doesn't go bad, like food, Dora thought.
She was glad when the families decided to stop for lunch. Stopping at a nearby restaurant with an outdoor seating area, they selected their options by pressing their wands to the item on the menu. The item appeared immediately, but was released from the Hover charm once paid for. Both adults paid for their own families, of course, and Dora dug in with her newly cautious enthusiasm. After eating a few bites, she saw that the corseted women-or every woman and girl there-were doing the same.
Dora's mum and Mrs. Harper discussed how quickly their daughters were growing up, and reminisced about their time at school. Never mind that Polly's mum had been a Gryffindor and Dora's a Slytherin, making them rivals (at best) had they been at school together. Like Dora, they had the same teachers each year, with the exception of a new Defense instructor at the start of each year.
"My mother and father also had a new teacher for that lesson each year," Andromeda recalled, between small bites of her vanilla pudding. "At least half were quite elderly upon accepting the position, and they passed shortly after the year concluded."
"It's a cursed position," Ted put in. "No instructor has lasted more than a year for nearly forty years. That's hardly a coincidence."
"But who would have cursed it?" Mrs. Harper asked.
They shrugged. Polly spoke up.
"Perhaps it was someone who applied and wasn't hired?" Then, her eyes brightened. "Do we know who the last person who had the position was? Perhaps he cursed it."
"Or she," Dora remarked. "Women are perfectly capable of teaching Defense."
"Or she," Polly agreed.
Andromeda laughed. "I'm more inclined to go with the notion that it was a rejected applicant. If they're still alive, I hope that the headmaster has a change of heart and hires them."
The conversation went to a more cheerful topic-school dances. Andromeda had been to several during her time at school, but the process of "preparing," as she delicately put it, was quite arduous.
"Oh, but it was worth all the effort in the end!" Mrs. Roberts enthused. "We all looked so pretty, even those who didn't train their figures, and for many, it was the first time that the boys in our year actually saw us as girls."
"I had a crush on Dromeda since my fourth year," Ted recalled, "but I didn't have the nerve to ask her out until our fifth year dance. That was after I'd danced-how many was it, hon?"
"Five dances," Andromeda answered, smiling. "Not all at once, mind. But I certainly remember each one."
They said goodbye shortly afterwards. Polly was unable to spend the night, as her grandparents would be over for dinner, and Dora was only a bit disappointed. It would mean that she could get started on her reading, after all.
After a round of final hugs, the Tonks and the Roberts departed from Diagon Alley and into their respective homes.
Author's note:
Thanks for the positive feedback!
Up next: A...fashion show...of sorts.
