Disclaimer: The usual, they ain't mine, they're the property of someone with much greater talent than mine. Oh, except for Will who is mine.
A/N: I'll try to update more frequently, there are three more chapters to go but I am in the midst of a devastatingly discouraging job search. I'm smart, I'm friendly, I'm qualified, why isn't that enough? In any case, traveling all over the place with resumes does not leave much time for writing. I've just submitted another small one-shot that I hope will tide you over till the seventh installment. And of course, enormous thanks to Zsenya for beta-reading and who got this chapter back to me in record time. Oh, and who can spot the Monty Python joke?
Alicia was gradually beginning to appreciate the extra chores. If anything, it forced her to practice most of her charms and as she would be taking her NEWTs that year, the extra practice would definitely be helpful.
At the moment, however, she had finished her chores and was polishing her broomstick. She couldn't wait to get back into Quidditch. She, Kit, and Angelina had organized their own practice. When she and Angelina had been in second year and Kit had been in her first, they'd made a pact that they would become the best three Chasers that had ever existed. They'd dubbed this pact The Best Chasers Union and they all felt that they were getting close to that ideal. Their moves were nearly seamless and they could almost read each other's thoughts.
Alicia looked critically over her Cleansweep 8. It was a good broom, serviceable and sensible, but sometimes she wished it had a bit more flash like the Nimbus series did. She was saving her Galleons but they hadn't added up yet.
"Alicia," Will called up the stairs, "there's an owl."
"Tell it I authorized you to take the letter" Alicia called back.
"Right."
Alicia shrugged and picked up her clippers to trim the tail twigs when Will let out an excited shout. She heard his rapid footsteps up the stairs and waited. She cringed as her door slammed open so forcefully that it hit the side wall. Will was waving a letter around wildly in one hand.
"Lis! I've got a letter! I'm going to Hogwarts! I'm a wizard!" Will was practically dancing with enthusiasm.
"Let's see." Alicia reached for it. Her brother reluctantly handed it to her.
"I'll give it back." she reassured him. She scanned the contents of the letter and handed it back to him before she flung her arms round him and gave him a hug.
"Hey! Get off!" Will protested. Alicia gave him one last squeeze.
"Well, you'll have to come to Diagon Alley with me. Have you told Mum and Dad?"
"No, they're not home"
"You know, Will, we have this handy Muggle device called a telephone . . ."
Will grinned, "You're right."
And he went downstairs to call his parents.
That evening, conversation around the Spinnet table revolved completely around Hogwarts and Will.
"Now, you know, Di, we ought to go to that meeting that we went to when Alicia was accepted," said Mr. Spinnet.
Mrs. Spinnet nodded, "Yes, I've gotten used to it but best to do it again with Will."
"That's not what you said when I got my letter." Alicia smiled, remembering. "You thought that they'd try and turn you into a newt or something so that I could go."
"We got better," said both Spinnet parents together and laughed.
"Actually, Alicia, nearly seven years of a witch in the family does make one rather more open to the possibility. Of course, I always enjoy a trip to Diagon Alley and now I won't have to give them up for another seven years." Mrs. Spinnet smiled at her daughter.
"What House do you want to be in?" Alicia asked, changing the turn of conversation.
Will looked up from Hogwarts: A History, "I think I'd be a good Slytherin actually."
"Slytherin?!!!" Alicia was incredulous.
"Well, it says Slytherins are ambitious, and I'm ambitious and you know I know how to get what I want."
"Yes, but . . .but . . .all the witches and wizards who went Dark were Slytherins."
"That doesn't mean all Slytherins are Dark. Anyway, fresh blood ought to change a bit of that."
"But, Will, you're not pureblood. Hardly any Slytherins aren't pureblood."
"So I'll start a trend. I'll change the reputation of that House single-handedly if necessary."
Alicia smiled at her brother, "I knew you were a rather exceptional eleven-year-old but I guess I didn't realize how exceptional. Good luck."
Will grinned back, "I'm not really particular about the House. After all, I'll be at Hogwarts. And whichever House I'm in, I'll try to play Quidditch!"
Monday
Dear everybody,
I'm making several copies of this letter to send to all of you. Will's a wizard, too! He got the letter this morning. I was cleaning my broom when Will came banging into my room waving a letter around. I've suspected ever since he found that passageway in Italy but the letter confirms it!
Mum and Dad are thrilled which shows how far Mum has come since I got my letter. I think the various useful things we buy in Diagon Alley helped convince her. Actually, she even admitted that at dinner last night.
Will's an ambitious little sod. He's been reading my copy of Hogwarts: A History and says he thinks Slytherin has been wronged. He wants to be a Slytherin. He's convinced he's going to change the house from DEs to politicians single-handedly. I think it's because his favorite colors are green and silver.
But he also says he doesn't really care all that much which house he's Sorted into because he'll be at Hogwarts. He wants to play Quidditch too.
We'll be going to Diagon Alley next week soon to get our books and supplies. Will can't wait to get his wand. Any of you going to be around then? Want to go together?
Love,
Alicia
Grimmauld Place was not big, exactly, but it was big enough. It also appeared that the Blacks had been incorrigible pack rats. They'd saved everything most of which Sirius wanted to get rid of. It was difficult to throw many of the items away. Some of them homed back on the house, Kreacher absconded with others and some were covered in nasty jinxes. Everyone was grateful for the large book on jinxes and their counters that Hermione had brought with her.
Fred and George had been trying to remove a pair of extremely ugly dragon figurines and had ended up literally joined at the hip. They were dealing with this situation with their normal good humor and currently considered themselves in training for a three- legged race.
Hermione was glaring at them as she flipped through the book to find a possible counter curse. She quite clearly felt that levity was the wrong attitude to take in such a situation.
The large brown owl that swooped in and dropped a rather dusty letter on her head did not improve her mood in the slightest.
"Here," she snapped, "it's for you two!"
The twins maneuvered themselves as best they could to take the letter. Once they'd finished reading, they had a bit of trouble replying so the letter looked a bit smudged in places. Alicia wouldn't mind too much.
Wednesday
Dear Alicia,
Tell Will congratulations from us. You can also tell him that we'll show him all the secret passages the castle has no matter what house he's in although if he's a Slytherin, we might be a bit tempted to lock him in one. We might be around if you want to go to Diagon Alley, but we have to see if we're needed here first.
Fred and George
When Angelina received Alicia's letter, she was tinkering with her Nimbus 2000 to see if there were any modifications she could make on it. Wood had taught her that it was possible to modify a broom to make it go faster and if Angelina was going to be Quidditch Captain as she hoped, it was important for her to have the best broom possible. And of course it was also fun just to play around with her broomstick. Angelina propped the broomstick up against her closet door and pulled out quill and parchment. She searched through the piles of Quidditch Weekly and Which Broomstick to find the notes that she and Alicia had made. Finally, finding them under a special issue of Quidditch Weekly celebrating the glorious years of the Holyhead Harpies, she began her essay for Professor Binns. She was not looking forward to the NEWTs at all. She'd done well enough on her OWLs but she was tiring of school. She wanted to get out and do nothing but play Quidditch. When she'd mentioned this to Alicia, Alicia had nodded sympathetically and agreed.
Speaking of which, Angelina wished that Athena would quit going straight to the highest perches when there were others available. This was because Athena had chosen to land with her grubby claws right on the point of the broom Angelina had just finished polishing. Angelina fixed the owl with her best annoyed stare. Athena ruffled her feathers nervously, dropped the letter into Angelina's hand, and took off again to the accompaniment of Hecate's indignant hoots at being ignored.
Wednesday
Dear Alicia,
Good for Will. He's a trendsetter all right. But there must be some good Slytherins, after all, there have been some awful Gryffindors, remember the Waters sisters? As for Diagon Alley, count me in!
Love,
Angelina
Katie had returned to her job at the teashop after her holiday with Angelina and was not happy about it. Mrs. Alvers was just as awful as she had been before and Kit had tried to explain to her parents that she was disciplined. She'd finished that essay, hadn't she? And she was already making up NEWT study schedules even though she didn't have to take them until the next year. They had acknowledged that this was so, but they thought that, strict as Mrs. Alvers was, the teashop was probably one of the safest places for Kit to be if You-Know-Who had risen again.
Kit knew nothing of these considerations and decided that it was a scheme of her parents to make her miserable once again. Still, the job did have its compensations. Certain aspects of the teahouse required magic and so Kit had gotten special permission from the Ministry to use magic even though she was underage.
As a result, her spells were improving. This was important because Kit's parents had told her that she could not play Quidditch that year if her marks weren't better. She was no longer worried though. The constant practice meant that she gained confidence in her abilities and as she gained confidence, her spells continued to improve which furthered her confidence. She'd planned to ask Alicia and Angelina to help her out, but that no longer seemed necessary.
Almost completely in tune with Kit's thoughts, Alicia's owl swept in through the window, took one look at Mrs. Alvers' steely glare, and carefully let the letter drop into Kit's hands. Kit scanned the letter and began to smile.
"Well, Bell, what is it?" asked Mrs. Alvers severely.
"My friend Alicia, she's Muggle-born, her little brother's a wizard, he just got his letter."
Mrs. Alvers smiled, the first genuine smile Kit had seen from her.
"Well, that's just wonderful. Will they be coming to Diagon Alley?"
"Yes, I think so."
"When they do, why don't you take the time off and show that boy around? I managed well enough without you before, I can certainly do so again."
Kit blinked in surprise, "Thank you, Mrs. Alvers."
"Now go on and reply, you can finish tidying later."
Wednesday
Dear Alicia,
Last time I saw Will, he had the potential to be pretty cute. Does he still have it? Sometimes I think I ought to switch my tendencies to younger males. Oh well, I'll find out at Hogwarts.
Love,
Kit
p.s. Diagon Alley sounds fine. Meet you at Quality Quidditch Supplies.
Friday
Dear Kit,
Hands off my little brother, you harlot. Don't you have a Keeper to be getting on with?
Love,
Alicia
The audition for commenting had actually gone quite well and Lee felt that he could hear himself on the WWN. He'd liked the technology and professional nature of the box which was a far cry from the rickety box and megaphone in the school's Quidditch stands.
"And that looks to win it for the Kestrels! The newest member of the team, Ms. Angelina Johnson is a recent graduate of Hogwarts. This is Lee Jordan for the WWN!"
Betsy turned her back on him and concentrated on the enormous cricket she was eating.
"Well, I'm working on it!" Lee snapped at her. He thought for a moment and added, "And they did ask me to come back."
Betsy looked up from the cricket as if to acknowledge that but she still thought it needed work.
"I can't wait till term starts, then I can really get practice in, it's hard when all you have to commentate is how quickly your tarantula catches her meal."
Betsy looked back at him mournfully or at least as mournfully as it is possible for a tarantula to look.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, "You really did get that cricket faster than the last time. I think you broke a record."
Betsy wiggled her front legs happily.
"Ooops," said Lee, noticing the brown owl tapping at his window. He shut Betsy safely in her cage and opened the window. The owl looked exhausted so he decided that he would send his family owl back with his reply and let this one rest a bit.
He read through the letter with interest. So the Spinnet line would be continuing at Hogwarts and perhaps the Quidditch talent would too. He flipped the letter over and wrote on the back as was their custom.
Wednesday
Dear Alicia,
If Will really wants to learn about Quidditch, I'll brave McGonagall and try and take him up in the commentating box with me. He'll have the best view there not only of Quidditch but the prettiest girls in seventh year.
Lee