Paint the Sky with Stars
--by Egon Starcollector
Disclaimer: Last I checked, I wasn't J.K. Rowling.... And Gordon Lightfoot owns the lyrics to "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"
Saturday arrived before Hermione was really ready for it. Less than a week ago, she'd learned that her father's long-lost sister was alive and living in Upper Michigan. Her daughter Stacy was the same age as Hermione and was transferring to Hogwarts. Today, they'd be in London.
Hermione swallowed hard. She wasn't so sure about this...in--she checked her watch--roughly five minutes she'd be face-to-face with a cousin she hadn't known she had. What next? *Wait, nevermind,* she prayed quickly to cancel the question out. When your boyfriend was Harry Potter, "What next?" was a dangerous question.
"Tad? Is that you?" a woman's voice called. The Grangers spun around as a unit. A blonde woman with brown eyes was hurrying towards them.
"Becky!" Hermione had never before seen her father run, let alone grab someone into a bear hug like that. "My goodness...Becky, you haven't changed."
"Liar." She smiled. "And--well, she *was* right there...ah, over there is my daughter, Stacy McIvers. Stacy *Theodora* McIvers."
"You named her after me?"
"Yes."
"Well, my daughter's middle name is Rebecca." The long-separated siblings grinned at each other, and suddenly Hermione could see the resemblance. Brother and sister had identical smiles. "Hermione, come over here and meet your aunt."
"Mom, have you seen my acoustic?" came a broad Michigan accent behind Becky--*No, AUNT Becky,* Hermione corrected herself.
"I got it already, dear. My daughter is an avid guitarist. I hope you don't mind...."
"Not at all!"
"Stacy, come meet your relatives."
"Let me just get untangled...okay, hi," said the voice, and Hermione turned to see a girl...oh. My. God.
Bushy brown hair. Brown eyes. Large front teeth. The nose and chin were different, but if you didn't look closely...Hermione Rebecca Granger and Stacy Theodora McIvers could have been twins.
"Whoa," was all either girl could manage.
Twenty minutes later, the five of them sat in a small restaurant eating sandwiches and drinking soda. The three adults sat at one table, while Hermione and Stacy sat at one nearby.
"No offense, but this is definitely weird. I feel like I'm in the 'Patty Duke Show,'" Stacy said with a chuckle.
"So do I. What are the odds? Our parents aren't even twins!" Hermione was somewhat familiar with the old Muggle television show about lookalike cousins, so she knew what Stacy meant.
"So...tell me a bit about yourself."
Hermione blinked slightly. "Well...I received top marks at my Muggle school. I was fascinated by magic, so I was thrilled when I was accepted to Hogwarts. I'm in the top of my class and made Prefect last year. My best friends are Ron Weasely and my boyfriend Harry Potter, and I'm also friends with most of Ron's siblings. I like to read, I sing once in a while, and I have a small garden in back of my parents' house. Your turn," she said with a smile.
"Harry Potter eh? Is he good to you?"
"Yes, he's a perfect gentleman and quite romantic. We were best friends for years before we started dating, so...."
Stacy nodded approvingly. "Good. I'd have had to hex him otherwise," she said, her eyes twinkling. "Okay, my turn. I did well in my Muggle school. I was more than relieved to be accepted to the Great Lakes Institute of Magic; I never fit in at my old school, and I was too glad to say goodbye. I probably would have been Prefect, but I had been offered the chance to transfer here. I love to travel, so I turned down the Prefect position. Good thing, since my life fell apart right before I left." She snorted. "Anyway, I read a lot too, but mostly I'm a musician. I play guitar--acoustic and electric--and sing, and I used to be in a band. Think Hogwarts will let me bring my acoustic guitar?"
"Certainly! A boy in my house brings his all the time."
"Great. I go crazy if I don't have one of them with me."
"What does your shirt say?" Hermione asked. Stacy had an oversized shirt on with her jeans, but she had the top buttons of the shirt open to reveal a t-shirt that read "W.W.F.C."
Stacy looked down. "Ah...I'll explain when we get to your place. It's a group I was in at school."
"All right. So...you were in a band?"
"Yep. Past tense."
"You left?"
Stacy grimaced. "Kind of a long story, related to my life falling apart." She jabbed the ice in her glass fiercely with her straw. "We called ourselves 'Kaleidoscope Superior;' got it from an album by a group we all liked. There were five of us: myself, lead guitar and sometimes vocals; my best friend Sunrise Eagle on keyboards; my boyfriend Randy LaFollette on bass guitar; and Randy's brothers Simon and Paul on rhythm guitar and drums. We played mostly folk and Christian rock. Well, one day I was working in the library when I realized I'd forgotten one of my textbooks. I went back to my dorm to get it--and found Sunrise in bed with my boyfriend!" Hermione let out a horrified gasp. "He said it was just a fling...Sunrise was notoriously 'easy,' and I don't believe in sleeping with someone unless you're married to them. I said I never wanted to speak to either one of them again, and I haven't unless it's been absolutely necessary. Needless to say, the band broke up."
"I'm not surprised...the nerve!"
"The best part was how Sunrise's brother reacted. Lightning and I don't talk too much--we have drastically different opinions on stuff--but he yelled at Sunrise for an hour for screwing up our friendship and got into a fight with Randy for losing 'the kind of gal you don't see every day.'" She chuckled rather smugly.
"I think he maybe fancied you a bit himself."
"Ha! Only if I used Polyjuice potion and turned into Tom Cruise!"
"Oh."
"He's okay, though. Just don't get him started on Muggle politics. So how's your life at Hogwarts been?"
And as quickly as she could, Hermione summarized many of her adventures with Harry and Ron. Stacy was wide-eyed by the time she finished. "Okay, you've got me beat."
"Care to trade?"
"Pass, thanks. Besides, if I'm Harry Potter's girlfriend's cousin, sounds like my life could get interesting enough!" They both laughed and started talking about their school houses. Stacy's house had been named Wenbozho after a sacred Native American trickster; from the sounds of the house, Hermione guessed Stacy would end up in Gryffindor with her. "All right if I hope so?" Stacy grinned.
"Absolutely! I hope so too."
Stacy would be sharing Hermione's room, so the two girls started carrying up suitcases and getting Stacy settled in almost before the car stopped. Rebecca McIvers had had to take a late-afternoon flight back to the States to tend to "pressing matters;" Hermione noticed Stacy rolling her eyes, but said nothing.
Stacy sat the last of her packages on the floor next to the spare bed, while Hermione put Stacy's owl Andromeda out of Crookshanks' reach. Both cousins flopped onto their beds, exhausted. They lay there for a few minutes before Stacy broke the silence. "That you and your friends?" she said, pointing to the picture on Hermione's nightstand.
"Oh, yes. Ron's the redhead, and the other one is Harry."
Stacy studied the picture intently. "Good thing he's your boyfriend; I'd have had to set you up if you weren't. You make a cute couple." Hermione blushed. Stacy rolled over and reached down to the floor. "All right if I play?"
"I'd love to hear you!"
Stacy flipped open the latches on her acoustic guitar case, pulled out the guitar, and sat up. She tuned it quickly and expertly, then thought for a moment. "Hm...what to play? Oh yes...." She strummed for a moment, then began to sing:
The legend lives on
From the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee.
Superior it is said
Never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.
The song was an eerie, mournful tale about an ironboat named the "Edmund Fitzgerald" which sunk during a storm in 1975. "And every word Gordon Lightfoot wrote is true," Stacy said. "Nobody sane willingly goes out on Lake Superior during mid-November; the wind can send a ship to the bottom in no time."
"You're really very good," Hermione said admiringly.
Stacy blushed and shrugged. "Thanks. I feel I've got a ways to go, but hey...."
"Girls! Supper!" Liz called from downstairs.
"Time to go," Hermione said as she stood up.
"Sounds like it. Hey, I never did show you what my t-shirt said."
"Oh, no you didn't."
Stacy turned and pulled down her outer shirt. The back of her t- shirt read "Wizards and Witches For Christ." "I was treasurer last year. Is there a branch at Hogwarts?"
"I don't think so; if I'd heard of it, I'd join."
"Huh. May have to start one, though. How many chapels are there?"
"I don't believe there are any."
Stacy stared at her. "You're kidding."
"No, I'm not."
"Sheesh; what's the world coming to? We had three...hm, that's going to cause some culture shock," she said with a grin as they headed into the dining room.
--by Egon Starcollector
Disclaimer: Last I checked, I wasn't J.K. Rowling.... And Gordon Lightfoot owns the lyrics to "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"
Saturday arrived before Hermione was really ready for it. Less than a week ago, she'd learned that her father's long-lost sister was alive and living in Upper Michigan. Her daughter Stacy was the same age as Hermione and was transferring to Hogwarts. Today, they'd be in London.
Hermione swallowed hard. She wasn't so sure about this...in--she checked her watch--roughly five minutes she'd be face-to-face with a cousin she hadn't known she had. What next? *Wait, nevermind,* she prayed quickly to cancel the question out. When your boyfriend was Harry Potter, "What next?" was a dangerous question.
"Tad? Is that you?" a woman's voice called. The Grangers spun around as a unit. A blonde woman with brown eyes was hurrying towards them.
"Becky!" Hermione had never before seen her father run, let alone grab someone into a bear hug like that. "My goodness...Becky, you haven't changed."
"Liar." She smiled. "And--well, she *was* right there...ah, over there is my daughter, Stacy McIvers. Stacy *Theodora* McIvers."
"You named her after me?"
"Yes."
"Well, my daughter's middle name is Rebecca." The long-separated siblings grinned at each other, and suddenly Hermione could see the resemblance. Brother and sister had identical smiles. "Hermione, come over here and meet your aunt."
"Mom, have you seen my acoustic?" came a broad Michigan accent behind Becky--*No, AUNT Becky,* Hermione corrected herself.
"I got it already, dear. My daughter is an avid guitarist. I hope you don't mind...."
"Not at all!"
"Stacy, come meet your relatives."
"Let me just get untangled...okay, hi," said the voice, and Hermione turned to see a girl...oh. My. God.
Bushy brown hair. Brown eyes. Large front teeth. The nose and chin were different, but if you didn't look closely...Hermione Rebecca Granger and Stacy Theodora McIvers could have been twins.
"Whoa," was all either girl could manage.
Twenty minutes later, the five of them sat in a small restaurant eating sandwiches and drinking soda. The three adults sat at one table, while Hermione and Stacy sat at one nearby.
"No offense, but this is definitely weird. I feel like I'm in the 'Patty Duke Show,'" Stacy said with a chuckle.
"So do I. What are the odds? Our parents aren't even twins!" Hermione was somewhat familiar with the old Muggle television show about lookalike cousins, so she knew what Stacy meant.
"So...tell me a bit about yourself."
Hermione blinked slightly. "Well...I received top marks at my Muggle school. I was fascinated by magic, so I was thrilled when I was accepted to Hogwarts. I'm in the top of my class and made Prefect last year. My best friends are Ron Weasely and my boyfriend Harry Potter, and I'm also friends with most of Ron's siblings. I like to read, I sing once in a while, and I have a small garden in back of my parents' house. Your turn," she said with a smile.
"Harry Potter eh? Is he good to you?"
"Yes, he's a perfect gentleman and quite romantic. We were best friends for years before we started dating, so...."
Stacy nodded approvingly. "Good. I'd have had to hex him otherwise," she said, her eyes twinkling. "Okay, my turn. I did well in my Muggle school. I was more than relieved to be accepted to the Great Lakes Institute of Magic; I never fit in at my old school, and I was too glad to say goodbye. I probably would have been Prefect, but I had been offered the chance to transfer here. I love to travel, so I turned down the Prefect position. Good thing, since my life fell apart right before I left." She snorted. "Anyway, I read a lot too, but mostly I'm a musician. I play guitar--acoustic and electric--and sing, and I used to be in a band. Think Hogwarts will let me bring my acoustic guitar?"
"Certainly! A boy in my house brings his all the time."
"Great. I go crazy if I don't have one of them with me."
"What does your shirt say?" Hermione asked. Stacy had an oversized shirt on with her jeans, but she had the top buttons of the shirt open to reveal a t-shirt that read "W.W.F.C."
Stacy looked down. "Ah...I'll explain when we get to your place. It's a group I was in at school."
"All right. So...you were in a band?"
"Yep. Past tense."
"You left?"
Stacy grimaced. "Kind of a long story, related to my life falling apart." She jabbed the ice in her glass fiercely with her straw. "We called ourselves 'Kaleidoscope Superior;' got it from an album by a group we all liked. There were five of us: myself, lead guitar and sometimes vocals; my best friend Sunrise Eagle on keyboards; my boyfriend Randy LaFollette on bass guitar; and Randy's brothers Simon and Paul on rhythm guitar and drums. We played mostly folk and Christian rock. Well, one day I was working in the library when I realized I'd forgotten one of my textbooks. I went back to my dorm to get it--and found Sunrise in bed with my boyfriend!" Hermione let out a horrified gasp. "He said it was just a fling...Sunrise was notoriously 'easy,' and I don't believe in sleeping with someone unless you're married to them. I said I never wanted to speak to either one of them again, and I haven't unless it's been absolutely necessary. Needless to say, the band broke up."
"I'm not surprised...the nerve!"
"The best part was how Sunrise's brother reacted. Lightning and I don't talk too much--we have drastically different opinions on stuff--but he yelled at Sunrise for an hour for screwing up our friendship and got into a fight with Randy for losing 'the kind of gal you don't see every day.'" She chuckled rather smugly.
"I think he maybe fancied you a bit himself."
"Ha! Only if I used Polyjuice potion and turned into Tom Cruise!"
"Oh."
"He's okay, though. Just don't get him started on Muggle politics. So how's your life at Hogwarts been?"
And as quickly as she could, Hermione summarized many of her adventures with Harry and Ron. Stacy was wide-eyed by the time she finished. "Okay, you've got me beat."
"Care to trade?"
"Pass, thanks. Besides, if I'm Harry Potter's girlfriend's cousin, sounds like my life could get interesting enough!" They both laughed and started talking about their school houses. Stacy's house had been named Wenbozho after a sacred Native American trickster; from the sounds of the house, Hermione guessed Stacy would end up in Gryffindor with her. "All right if I hope so?" Stacy grinned.
"Absolutely! I hope so too."
Stacy would be sharing Hermione's room, so the two girls started carrying up suitcases and getting Stacy settled in almost before the car stopped. Rebecca McIvers had had to take a late-afternoon flight back to the States to tend to "pressing matters;" Hermione noticed Stacy rolling her eyes, but said nothing.
Stacy sat the last of her packages on the floor next to the spare bed, while Hermione put Stacy's owl Andromeda out of Crookshanks' reach. Both cousins flopped onto their beds, exhausted. They lay there for a few minutes before Stacy broke the silence. "That you and your friends?" she said, pointing to the picture on Hermione's nightstand.
"Oh, yes. Ron's the redhead, and the other one is Harry."
Stacy studied the picture intently. "Good thing he's your boyfriend; I'd have had to set you up if you weren't. You make a cute couple." Hermione blushed. Stacy rolled over and reached down to the floor. "All right if I play?"
"I'd love to hear you!"
Stacy flipped open the latches on her acoustic guitar case, pulled out the guitar, and sat up. She tuned it quickly and expertly, then thought for a moment. "Hm...what to play? Oh yes...." She strummed for a moment, then began to sing:
The legend lives on
From the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee.
Superior it is said
Never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.
The song was an eerie, mournful tale about an ironboat named the "Edmund Fitzgerald" which sunk during a storm in 1975. "And every word Gordon Lightfoot wrote is true," Stacy said. "Nobody sane willingly goes out on Lake Superior during mid-November; the wind can send a ship to the bottom in no time."
"You're really very good," Hermione said admiringly.
Stacy blushed and shrugged. "Thanks. I feel I've got a ways to go, but hey...."
"Girls! Supper!" Liz called from downstairs.
"Time to go," Hermione said as she stood up.
"Sounds like it. Hey, I never did show you what my t-shirt said."
"Oh, no you didn't."
Stacy turned and pulled down her outer shirt. The back of her t- shirt read "Wizards and Witches For Christ." "I was treasurer last year. Is there a branch at Hogwarts?"
"I don't think so; if I'd heard of it, I'd join."
"Huh. May have to start one, though. How many chapels are there?"
"I don't believe there are any."
Stacy stared at her. "You're kidding."
"No, I'm not."
"Sheesh; what's the world coming to? We had three...hm, that's going to cause some culture shock," she said with a grin as they headed into the dining room.