Chapter 4: Of Birthdays and Secrets
May 24, 2003
Summary: It's Trinia's eleventh birthday, and things at Hogwarts are getting a little strange. What will Trinia do when her secret is discovered?
Author's Notes: Um, not much to say. I'm really hoping for more reviews, cuz two is a dismal number. I'd like to know whether y'all like it or hate it. Not that it'll make a difference, but you know.
Disclaimer: Still not mine. 28 more days!!!
Trinia awoke with a start very early one Friday morning in early November. She was excited, but couldn't figure out why. Then she remembered: it was her birthday. Today she was eleven.
Quietly, she got out of bed and dressed. By the time she exited the bathroom, her midnight blue hair was twisted up in her own version of the special hairdo her mother liked to do on her birthday. It had taken some doing, since she had to be careful to keep her ears covered. If anyone had seen her that morning, they would have surely thought she had gone crazy, as she danced down the stairs, emerging into the common room with a bright smile on her face. A handful of older students were already there, about to leave for breakfast. They regarded the cheerful little girl quizzically, as most of Hogwarts had never seen her smile, much less beam the way she was now.
The older students just shrugged and left, leaving Trinia alone in the common room. Her smile dampened slightly and she sighed, wondering if she'd ever fit in with the other students. I sure hope Mom and Dad make a big deal out of this day as they usually do, she thought a bit sadly. I know there won't be a big party like usual, but at least there are owls to bring presents.
Even being ignored by everyone wasn't enough to completely dampen her excitement though, and she soon returned to full spirits. On her way to breakfast, she practically bounded down the halls, bounced down flights of stairs, and chattered enthusiastically with the portraits on the walls. Of course, she was the only person in the halls at this time, since most everyone else was still asleep.
There were a few early risers in the great hall already, feasting on something Trinia had come to learn was known as porridge. As is typical with people, everyone turned when the doors opened, but the change in Hogwarts' youngest student left everyone present gaping at her. She skipped past the professors' table, cheerfully calling, "Good morning, Professor Snape, Professor Dumbledore," as she skipped past. The two professors exchanged a curious glance; then Dumbledore smiled and leaned over to whisper something in Snape's ear. Snape nodded and the two men turned back to their food.
Trinia lingered over her breakfast, trying to make it last until mail time. By the time the air was filled with owls, most of the school was there, eating breakfast. The little elf gazed up hopefully at the owls swarming in the window. She was not disappointed. Not one, but five owls swooped down and landed around her, a few setting down on the table, the others perching on her chair. Delighted that her special day had been remembered, Trinia barely noticed the stares from the other students; it was rare for a student to receive that much mail in one day.
All five of the owls carried packages, and Trinia hastily untied them, leaving the owls free to retreat to the owlery for some rest before they embarked on the long trip back to the States. The first package was from her parents. Trinia tore open the package to find two pads of drawing paper and two new sets of drawing pencils, one colored, the other charcoal. A small note was included.
"Happy birthday, Nia! We miss you very much and can't wait for the holidays to come so we can see you. Have a wonderful birthday, baby! We love you! Love, Mama and Daddy."
The next package was from her older sister, Karital. It contained a beautiful set of handmade panpipes, engraved with old runic designs. Trinia blew gentle on them and was delighted at the soft tone they made. Karital was a skilled pan piper, and Trinia was frequently scolded for playing her sister's prized set.
Loben had sent his littlest sister a package filled with her favorite kinds of candy. Several of her classmates stared at the assortment, leading Trinia to explain a bit about American Muggle candy. Luckily, Loben had sent enough to share, which Trinia promised to do that evening in the Gryffindor common room.
The fourth package Trinia opened was from her best friend back home, Aria. Aria had sent a stuffed toy; what kind of stuffed toy, Trinia wasn't entirely certain. It had a round body with a round little head, bright purple cheeks, two arms, and two legs. The whole thing was striped green and blue, and it had large flat orange and yellow striped ears and three colorful antennae. Its tail consisted of a long string with a puffball on the end and there was a large pouch on its back with the word "Popples" emblazoned on the back. Trinia stared at it in bewilderment before noticing a small piece of paper sticking out of the pouch.
"Dear Nia, happy birthday! Isn't this cool? Mother took me into town and I got it at a Muggle toy store. It's called a Popple, and the whole thing rolls into the pouch. Your brother, Loben, told me these were popular amongst Muggles when he was a little kid. I hope you like it. I miss you! Love, Aria."
Trinia grinned at the silly looking toy, then turned to the last package. It was from Getaro, and was definitely book-shaped. She tore the paper open, eyes growing wide as she took in what her oldest brother had sent her. A note lay on top of the stack of three paperback books.
"Happy birthday baby sis, I hope you like these. I was able to pick up nearly thirty of them, and they all match the ones you had on your wish list. Here are the first three; I'll send you the rest one or two a week, that way you always have something new to look forward to. I can't wait for the holidays to come; no one else is as fun to pick on. Keep yourself out of trouble. Love, Getaro."
"What are those?" a voice asked. It was Hermione, who was seated across the table and a few seats down.
"The Hardy Boys!" Trinia all but squealed. Hermione just gave her a blank look. "Mystery stories, written by an American Muggle named Franklin W. Dixon," Trinia elaborated. "I collect them, and I'm missing a lot of the ones from this series, and my big brother managed to find a bunch of them!"
"Neat," was all Hermione said, before turning back to her breakfast and her friends. Trinia looked at her for a moment, then picked up the top book and eagerly began flipping through it. She couldn't wait until she had the chance to read them.
Everyone was finally finishing up, and Trinia gathered up her new things. Her class had Potions with Professor Snape in just a little while, along with the Slytherins. As she walked, a foot stretched out and Trinia tripped. Books and candy went flying, as Draco Malfoy stood and laughed. Luckily, Hermione, Harry, and Ron had been right behind her and helped her collect her things. Trinia glared at the rude Slytherin.
"Dal'der'al," she muttered angrily as she swept past. Trinia was fluent in Elvin, despite the fact that few elves actually used it. Her brothers had been kind enough to teach her some of the meaner words; in this case she had pretty much called Draco an idiot.
Behind her, Hermione had caught the muttered word. Her eyes grew wide with a sudden revelation. Turning to Harry and Ron, she hissed, "After potions, I need to talk to you." The two boys looked at their friend a bit oddly but shrugged compliantly.
Potions class that day was rather strange. It had started out usual enough, with Snape in a stern mood and the Slytherins poking fun at the Gryffindors. First they took notes on the potion they were to be brewing that day, a fairly simple hair growth potion. Then they got out their equipment and ingredients and began the process of actually brewing the potion. That was when the trouble started.
Draco Malfoy was chopping an odd looking green plant when his cauldron, without any provocation, tipped. He squealed in surprise and leaped out of the way as the bubbling purple liquid spilled across the tabletop and onto the floor.
"I didn't touch it, Professor, honest," he whined, staring wide-eyes at the mess before him.
"Clean it up and start over," Snape growled, looking rather annoyed. Draco meekly did as he was told. However, as soon as he began adding ingredients to the cauldron again, it tipped once more. This time, Professor Snape stormed over to Draco's desk. Before he could say anything though, surprised shrieks filled the room. Snape turned to see an astounding sight.
"Every single cauldron manned by a Slytherin had tipped over," Snape recounted with a sigh. "By the time we got it all cleaned up and half the students had been sent to Madam Pomfrey with hair growing from every possible location…" He trailed off unhappily.
Professor Dumbledore smiled sympathetically. "Sounds like a pretty bad day. What do you suppose caused the cauldrons to tip?"
Snape shook his head. "No idea. The odd thing wasn't even so much the cauldrons tipping on their own, but which cauldrons tipped."
"Only the Slytherin cauldrons? Not a single Gryffindor?"
Snape shook his head again. "No, not one."
Meanwhile, the Gryffindor common room was abuzz with gossip about the incident that had occurred in Potions. As promised, Trinia had brought down the Muggle candy she had received and shared it with everyone. Most of the students were wary at first about the Warheads and Poprocks, and many of the Pureblood children had never encountered gummy worms before; there was some minor concern over the truth in the name. The Squeeze Pop, a liquid lollipop, was a big hit, as were the Hershey's kisses.
Most of the group had dispersed to pursue their own interests after a while, and Trinia was just settling down with one of her new books when a shadow fell over her. She looked up to see Hermione standing over her, hands on hips. Ron and Harry stood to her sides, looking determined, but also a bit confused, as if they weren't quite sure what Hermione had in mind.
"C'mon," Hermione said, pulling the elf from her chair. "We're going for a walk." The four Gryffindors exited the room and made their way outside. They ambled in silence for a bit, Trinia quite confused the whole while. Finally Hermione stopped near the Forbidden Forest. "Sit," she commanded. Everyone sat. She turned to face Trinia.
"We figured out your secret," Hermione said pointedly. No response. "You're an elf." The accusation hung thick in the air. Trinia looked down at her lap and played with the hem of her robe. "Well?" Hermione prompted. Trinia sighed and looked up at the others.
"You're right," she admitted, pushing back her hair to expose the pointed ears she'd managed to keep hidden since September.
"I knew it!" Hermione crowed gleefully. The two boys exchanged a look, then Harry asked, "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"It's hard being different," Trinia responded quietly. Then she looked at him with a wry grin. "But I guess you know what that's like. Besides, humans don't like elves."
"Since when?" Ron asked, sounding slightly indignant. Luckily, Trina didn't have to answer, as Hermione instantly jumped into textbook mode.
"Humans have always been wary of elves, just like they are of any other magical creature," Hermione said knowingly. "The books say it's because elves are so antiso…uh, they keep to themselves. And have different powers. Anyway, it's really rare for an elf to have wizard magic; the last time that happened was in –"
"1535," Trinia finished. "And that one would have been the last. Vol- I mean, You-Know-Who very nearly killed us all."
"So you, more than anyone else here, owe Harry," Hermione observed. Harry and Trinia glanced at each other, then both looked away, embarrassed. An awkward silence followed. Ron cleared his throat.
"So, what kind of powers do you have?"
"Well, remember when I, um, bit Draco?" The three humans nodded, smiling slightly at the memory of Draco getting what he deserved. "Professor Dumbledore made me heal his arm." Their eyes bulged at the confession.
"You mean he was telling the truth?" Ron squeaked. "Everyone figured he was lying to get attention, I mean, you know how Malfoy is…" Trinia just smiled with shy pride.
"Come to think of it, he would have been gone longer if he'd gone to Madam Pomfrey," Harry said thoughtfully. "Healing takes some powerful magics." Trinia just shrugged.
"All elves can do it. We're especially good at healing the injuries we inflict ourselves." Seeing the quizzical expressions on her new friends' faces, she elaborated. "If you fall off your broomstick, it takes a lot more work and concentration to heal you than if I pushed you out a window," she explained cheerfully. The other kids stared at her. "Not that I would do something like that," she quickly added.
Trinia turned to Hermione. "My turn for a question. How'd you figure out that I'm an elf?" Hermione blushed slightly.
"When Draco tripped you, you called him something, 'Dal drawl,' or something like that, and I knew that wasn't an English word, and then, I just had a hunch. You've said stuff other times too, usually when you think no one's around, and you sing to yourself sometimes," Hermione answered.
"'Dal'der'al,'" Trinia corrected, grinning. "It's pretty much the same thing as 'idiot.'" Ron, Harry, and Hermione giggled as they got to their feet.
"So, Trinia," Harry started, as they walked back to the castle.
"Nia," she interrupted, blushing. "My friends all call me Nia."
Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk, scratching his head. Pieces of parchment covered his desk, notes from the other professors documenting the strange occurrences that had begun about two weeks earlier. They were minor incidents: a spilled cauldron here, a cupboard door flying open there. Although he couldn't quite pinpoint when they started, it was clear the incidents were centered around the Gryffindor first years. The problem was perplexing, to say the least.
A nagging feeling of something half remembered tugged at the back of the old wizard's mind. If only he could put his finger on it, he was sure he would be able to solve the mystery.