Disclaimer: Jo would never do this to characters, but I'm not Jo, and I will.
Chapter 30- Freaky Friday
To the boy standing and gazing at the entrance of Hogwarts, the castle looked dark and gloomy. His pale, bewitchingly handsome face creased as he wondered why people enjoyed living indoors so much. Eyes the color of black pearls narrowed in perplexity. He supposed they must not know how wonderful being one with nature was. Giving the matter a moment's thought, his lips curved into a smile. Maybe it was better the students didn't know- how could they bear to be cooped up inside this pile of stone otherwise?
Shaking his long fringe and strands of longish, black hair out of his face, the teen climbed the steps. Inside, he followed his father's directions and walked through the entry way, along a corridor, down the dungeon stairs, to the passage leading off the main corridor where a painting of a Siren waited. He smiled at the curvaceous mermaid and said, "Gothic god". She gave him a wink and murmured,
"I wouldn't barge in, gorgeous..."
He grinned and ducked into the lounge. Glancing at the shelves, he chuckled. She had always loved books. How many stories had he begged her to read, and she always had. He called, "Ronan". Low voices in the other room were heard before his sister entered the chamber, tying her robe and shutting the door behind her. Smiling delightedly, she hugged him tight,
"Kieran, you've grown, let me look at you!" He returned the affectionate scrutiny. Da had told them all about her Kraken, er, wizard lover. Whatever he was, the man obviously made her happy. The youth kidded, "You would have been swimming with the sea-people by now at home, sleepy-head."
Waving him to a seat, slender hands grasped his and squeezed,
"Severus was right. Girls will fall over themselves when they see you. Promise me right now you won't attempt to make every girl here happy. You won't be here long enough anyway, and it'll make the boys cross. Don't laugh, I'm serious..."
He nodded, but then qualified, "But I can not promise not to help a few. I am a selkie, Ronan."
His sister told him to remember to call her Lorelei, and asked that he go familiarize himself with the castle while she dressed, and come back in half an hour. They'd arrange his housing and classes then. Kieran inclined his head toward the bedroom, "When do I get to meet the Kraken?"
Laughing softly, she said perhaps he'd join them for breakfast and shooed him out after another hug and a kiss on the cheek. Making his way to the main corridor once more, the boy wandered around until he sensed a cluster of students outside, and went to go see who would choose to meet the sunrise while others slept. Silently, he exited the castle and watched an interesting group sing a song while sitting on the steps. They all wore black clothing and sunglasses. He didn't have any glasses, but he was wearing a black jumper and trousers. Kieran asked, "May I join you?"
One of the girls told him to take a seat. Sitting beside the girl whose emotional emptiness had been the true reason he'd been drawn to the group, he couldn't help asking what made her that way. She didn't respond, which was a first. Women of all ages told him anything he wanted to know the moment he asked- he was a selkie, his musical voice was almost irresistible! Following the tall, curly-haired girl back into the entry, he laid his hand on her arm, asked the one who troubled him so much her name, year, and House. She replied indifferently,
"Blaise Zabini, Sixth year, Slytherin House...why...?"
Blaise appeared not to care when he said he would ask to stay in her House, be her friend. The shock was enough to make him doubt his abilities. Watching the girl impervious to his charms walk away without looking back, Kieran frowned. A voice behind him observed dryly,
"If you're trying to make a move on Zabini, I'll give you some friendly advice- don't even think about it. That girl's got problems you can't help."
Swinging around, he asked the girl who seemed content with her life, although she disguised her pretty hair and face with black dye and makeup, "What is your name? Are you her friend?" She stared at him as if entranced for a moment before lips that were painted black parted,
"I'm her roommate, Cassandra Priam. We're not exactly friends- but we will be...and...I get the feeling that something...life altering...will happen to someone close to you today...your sister."
He nodded thoughtfully. Her brown eyes ringed in darkness like those of a night animal widened.
"Why are you agreeing...you don't believe me, that I know what will happen in the future do you? No other mortal does- I'm cursed."
Unease was pouring off the girl in waves he could psychically feel. He smiled. This girl he could make happy. Kieran looked deeply into the eyes he wished he could see in their natural beauty and said sincerely, "I do believe you- you have the sight. That is a blessing, not a curse." She blinked in shock.
The girl was still smiling dazedly at him when he turned to make his way to the dungeons once more. He chuckled and waved, glad that he could please at least one person. Before he could say the password again, the guardian portrait rose. A tall, lean man with shoulder length black hair, piercing black eyes and an impressive nose exited and stared at him impassively.
"You're the brother. Is everyone in your family un-naturally attractive?"
Lips twitching, Kieran replied, "Yes. Are you complaining?"
A flare of amusement lit the eyes that father had been right about...Kraken, uncannily. The man offered his hand.
"No. Severus Snape, Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House..."
"Slytherin...?" The thin lips that twisted in annoyance at being interrupted soon turned upwards when the teen shook his hand enthusiastically and explained, "I want to stay in Slytherin House more than anything...would you be able to arrange that, and for me to attend classes with the sixth years?"
Inclining his head in gracious assent, the man agreed.
"Yes, I'm on my way to meet the Headmaster now. I'll inform you of the details later. Good day."
His voice reminded the boy of the shark-people who seduced swimmers into being their dinner. Kieran smiled, "Blessed be."
A dark brow winged upward, the only reaction to his old-fashioned farewell. Slipping into his sister's quarters, Kieran reflected that the man didn't need to say anything sardonic. That eyebrow said it all for him. Laughing softly, the teen followed his nose to the breakfast tray on the low table and in his hunger forgot all about Cassandra's warning for his sister.
Humming cheerfully after her last class of the day exited the chamber, Lorelei assembled the implements and ingredients needed to do an experiment for her Aunt Nerys. The Siren Pharmaceutical chemist had OWLed over a package containing an experimental potion that the company was developing secretly for Siren Cosmetics.
The Anti-Aging Solution was intended to take ten years off a person's appearance for twelve hours. Anything longer than the temporary time reversal was considered Misuse of Magic and wouldn't be approved by the Ministry Patent Office. The scientists were currently frustrated by their inability to pinpoint what exactly was causing the potion to hold steady at changing appearance for one week regardless of formulaic changes.
The pressure of public demand and competitors who were ruthlessly trying to steal the formula led to Nerys asking her niece to do the family a favor and run a few trials, see what results she came up with. Lorelei was happy to help. She could use the distraction. It seemed that childhood solutions to traumatic incidents weren't as effective when one became an adult. The mental sea chest that she'd shoved the whole Harry-using-Polyjuice episode had not stayed at the bottom of her subconscious ocean, but kept floating up, no matter how many psychic anchors she used to send it down to Davy Jones' Locker.
The boy had stopped blushing whenever he saw her, thank Merlin, but now things were worse. Harry seemed to be going out of his way to run into her. Determinedly, the woman cleared her mind of distressing thoughts and concentrated on her test. A cough tickled the back of her throat. She'd been plagued by it all day. Chastising herself for not keeping a mug in her classroom, Lorelei picked up an empty beaker and filled it with water at the back basin. After drinking a sip, she put it on her worktable, taking care not to place it too close to the beaker of potion she was testing.
"Professor Lorelei?
Drat. She'd forgotten to ward the door, and now the teen whose face she'd begun to dread seeing was standing in the doorway. Bracing herself for the conversation to come, the woman said calmly, "Yes, Harry?"
"Are you...working on an experiment? I...wanted to talk to you, but if you're busy..."
Hoping to avoid an emotional scene, shesaid in her best professorial tone, "I am rather busy..."
"What kind of experiment are you doing?"
Refusing to let nervousness get the best of her, Lorelei took a deep breath astheboy moved across the room and stood looking at her equipment curiously. Affecting a relaxed tone was rather a challenge, but the woman explained simply, "One for an aunt who works for Siren Pharmaceuticals, for an Anti-Aging Potion. It's only supposed to last twelve hours, but instead, it lasts a week. I'm trying to find out why." She nodded to the solution swirling in a spiraled tube. "That test is to rule out contaminants. You'd be surprised what people bring into labs on their clothes and shoes."
"How much age does it take off?"
Encouraged by the boyish interest in something other than her, Lorelei told him, "Ten years" before extinguishing the blue flames. No contaminants. Hmmm... Harry's next words made her stare in shock.
"You said in the kitchen that if you were sixteen, I'd be the boy you'd most like to go with."
"How...how...do you know that?"
A smile crossed his features. Hiseyes were so intensely focused on her face that it was hard to breathe. She so did not want to be listening to this.
"Ron, Hermione and I heard you. We were under my Invisibility Cloak the whole time." He took a step closer, and she had to force herself not to take a step back. "You said if you were sixteen, you'd care about me, make me laugh, think about boy/girl stuff..."
"Harry, I'm sorry that you overheard that. The list wasn't serious. I am not sixteen."
He seemed encouraged by her distress.
"You said you care about me. You always smile and talk to me. Everyone says I'm your favorite student. You're my favorite professor. I started wondering if you thought about me the way I think about you."
A slender hand rose to her throat as she shook her head, "Oh Harry, no. I do care about you, but...not that way..."
"You kissed me, and after you found out it wasn't Snape, you didn't tell him. You even made sure he didn't hear my secret. Why not?"
The cough in her throat was threatening to overcome her. Stars and stones! "I thought you were Severus, Harry...that's why I kissed you..." She couldn't continue. Coughs wracked her body. This was a nightmare. She gasped, "Water."
A beaker was placed in her hands. Lorelei took a large gulp. The moment she swallowed, her head swam and her knees buckled. The beaker fell to the floor and shattered. She fainted. Opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was Harry's face. He was grinning while he held her in his arms. She pushed away from him and accused, "You gave me the formula on purpose!" Black eyebrows rose,
"They were both in beakers, how was I to know one wasn't water?"
"Gobshite!" The sound of her voice alarmed her and made him chuckle. Standing, she scowled at him before running to the mirror in her storeroom. The face reflected made her eyes well with tears. She was now four inches shorter, with a teenager's face and hair that..."
"Why is your hair wavy instead of spirally?"
Her sixteen year old face crumpled, "I wanted to look different back then, so I used straightening spells."
"I like it."
She shoved him out of her way, "You would." Picking up her robes so she wouldn't trip, the professor who now looked like a girl playing dress up rushed toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
Without bothering to glance back, she said, "Dumbledore's Office." and broke into a run. Harry seemed to think this another one of his madcap adventures, jogging after her, smiling at her stormy face and frequent admonitions to go away and leave her alone. Students stared as they passed by in a hurry. One sneered in a drawling voice,
"Look boys, Potty's reduced to chasing girls in the corridors. Don't let him catch you beautiful, he wouldn't know what to do once he caught you."
Pausing for a moment, she snarled, "You're gorgeous until you open your mouth. Why don't you do every girl a favor...shut up and stop ruining the view!" Malfoy was speechless. She nodded, "That's much better!" and took off running once more, Harry snickering behind her.
"Merlin, you're different now. Are you mentally sixteen too?"
"No, I'm just fed up with being nice to bad boys, so zip it, will you?"
Harry pretended to zip his lips. Rolling her eyes, Lorelei hurried into the corridor housing Albus' office. Snapping, "Laffy Taffy", she disregarded the gargoyles grinning impudently and swept into the stairway, stepping on her hem and almost landing on her face. Grabbing her robes to stop her fall, Harry chuckled as she pulled them huffily out of his grasp and banged imperiously on the door once they ascended to the office. The blue eyes peering over half-moon glasses twinkled as he greeted the pair, who entered,
"Good afternoon, Harry...Lorelei...you're looking rather...youthful, my dear... What's happened?"
Taking a deep breath, the now-young professor stated, "There was a...accident...in my classroom. I was doing an experiment for my Aunt...an Anti-Aging Potion...and now I'm going to look sixteen for a week!" So much for cool, calm and collected... Harry seconded her version of the story, after a smug smile. How he could view her not wanting him to be expelled or killed as romantic affection...the boy must be as blind emotionally as he was physically without those glasses.
The Headmaster promptly used the fireplace to contact her Aunt, who sadly confirmed her story, wished her luck, and tried to cheer her niece up by reminding that at least she had lovely skin at sixteen, none of that acne or baby fat to deal with. What a consolation. She wanted to throw something- preferably a blunt object at Harry's head. Severus stalked in, ignored those he perceived as teens and stated,
"Albus, I want you to have the elves search for Lorelei. There's a mess in her classroom that's alarming and she's not in her quarters or the Infirmary. I'm becoming concerned."
"I had an accident with that potion I told you I was testing for Nerys, Severus..."
The Potions Master first glared at the girl who dared call him by his first name and then dropped his jaw when he realized the girl was Lorelei.
"How?"
"That cough you told me to let Poppy take care of this morning...well...I put off going...and accidentally...drank a bit of potion instead of water during an attack."
Closing his eyes to control his temper, Severus gritted,
"Why is Potter here?"
This was the tricky part. Tell the truth but not the whole truth. "He dropped by and caught me when I fainted. He accompanied me here in case I felt dizzy again." The fires burning in stygian-dark eyes weren't the lovely Midnight Fires variety; they were the burn you up and scatter your foolish ashes to the winds kind. Oh Hades. She turned to Dumbledore, "So what do I do, stay in my rooms for a week until this wears off?"
"No, no, that wouldn't be prudent. The elves are bound to gossip, or someone will see and the story will be around the school and in the Intruder before we know it. Instead, I shall say that you have gone to nurse your father, my dear, and your younger brother and his twin sister are exchange students."
Staring at Severus, she shook her head. "Can't I just stay in your rooms instead?"
Shaking his head regretfully, her lover agreed with the Headmaster. Bother. It sounded great to her.
"If you stay in Slytherin House with your brother, you can attend classes like a normal student, until the week ends and then we'll say you were unhappy and decided to return home."
"I'm unhappy now!"
"Do you suppose I'm thrilled?"
"Ahem"
Dumbledore's cough made her and Severus turn from their...conversation...to gaze at the old wizard who assured them that time would pass and one day they would look back upon this and laugh. Uh huh.
"Excuse me"
Harry had a determined look on his face. That expression did not bode well. She cringed when he said,
"Why is Lorelei going to be in Slytherin? She hasn't been sorted. I think the sorting hat should decide."
The daft old codger looked impressed with Harry's reasoning. He agreed.
"You're correct, Harry. If Lorelei...and we can't keep calling you that...shall we call you Ronan as your father does?" At her reluctant nod, he stood and reached up to take a battered old hat from the shelf. "Very well, Ronan, dear, if you will sit here..."
Taking a seat on a stool beside the desk, the woman who looked like a girl protested, "Why do I have to do this? I want to be Slytherin, what does it matter- Kieran's Slytherin and he'd probably be a Hufflepuff if you put the hat on him!" Severus was looking impassive, never a good sign. The hat was placed on her head. The voice grating on her last nerve oozed loud enough for everyone to hear,
The things you've done, the places you've been
Would fit right in at Slytherin
But the girl you once were before
Belongs in the House of Gryffindor!
"No!"
"Yes!"
Ignoring the teen who had exulted, she jumped up and hugged the man who'd protested. "They can't make me go there, can they?"
"I'm afraid so." His hand stroked her face, the waving strands, "What happened to your hair?"
"It was a phase. I was rebelling against spirals." His lips curved, and suddenly she wanted to kiss him until she took his breath away. He stepped back and told her he would send a trunk of clothing to her new House. Dobby appeared in the room's second, unlit fireplace with a uniform and school robes. Her lips trembled as she accepted the clothes and ducked into the Headmaster's loo to change.
The white uniform shirt was some awful blend, so she used her wand to transfigure it into silk. Much better. The tie was a joke; she wouldn't be able to breathe. It was loosened to hang down. The skirt was no better than the shirt. A wave made it cashmere. The blazer, socks and shoes were acceptable. On the whole the outfit was bearable, if just.
Not bothering to close the robes, the 'girl' flipped her wavy tresses back and re-entered the office. Dumbledore coughed, Harry gaped, and Severus pursed his lips to hide a smile. Ignoring everyone but Snape, Lorelei/Ronan whispered, "Later" and exited the room. The pitter patter of not-so-little feet assured her that her fellow Gryffindor was rushing to catch up. He smiled foolishly all the way to 'their' House. Once inside the Common Room, he led her over to his group of friends.
"Ronan, I want you to meet Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and Colin...guys, this is Ronan. She's Professor Lorelei's little sister and a sixth year exchange student. Her brother's in Slytherin, but the Sorting Hat placed her in Gryffindor."
Thanks to him. Her glare was met by a grin. Could nothing discourage him? She smiled at everyone, although they stared rudely back and looked from her to Harry like they'd never seen him drool over a girl before. Ron asked,
"Did you two know each other before ? You act like it."
Harry blurted,
"That's because...we've been...pen friends...for ages, right Ronan?" His smile raised the hairs on the back of her neck- and not in a good way, "You're even more beautiful than your photograph."
The boy she would never call sweet, or nice, or innocent again put his arm around her shoulders- to show how close they were, she supposed. Dryly, she agreed, stepping away, "Absolutely spiffing pen friends...you were much cuter in your picture, though."
Hermione offered to let Ronan stay in her dorm, since one of her roommates had transferred to Beauxbatons over holiday break. Uncaring, since she didn't plan on sleeping there anyway, Lorelei agreed. The group suggested going to the Great Hall for dinner. What excitement.
Inside the Hall, her eyes immediately went to the staff table. Colin, the dear, sweet boy asked if she'd like to meet their Head of House. Her laughter must've sounded hysterical. The boy looked alarmed. She forced a smile and said, "Perhaps another time." The 'girl' tried to sit between Colin and Ginny, but her pen-friend insisted she take the place beside him so they could catch up. If she could use the Irresistible Voice for something other than defense, she'd make him go jump in the lake. Sitting between Harry and Hermione on the bench, she stared at Snape while he deliberately kept his attention focused on his food.
"Merlin, there's a fight!"
It seemed that Malfoy had picked a fight with Boot over something. The boys at every table except Slytherin were climbing up to shout encouragement to Boot. Ginny ran out of the room. Lorelei smiled. She didn't think the red-head was offended by the brawling. Time seemed to stop for a moment and when things returned to normal the fight was over and everyone resumed eating. How odd. Dumbledore at work, she guessed. Sighing as Harry leaned in close to ask that she pass the salt, for the fourth time, the woman who was stuck being a girl named Ronan for a week surreptitiously loosened the lid of the shaker and smiled when Harry dumped a pile of seasoning onto his food.
Pacing the confines of his rooms late that night, Snape wondered how a day that had started so well had ended so badly. He'd awakened with such a feeling of contentment, that not even seeing his lover's preternaturally handsome brother had ruined his mood. After all, the boy did realize that Slytherin was the best House and desired to attend classes with its exceptional students. Only after he'd stopped by Lorelei's classroom in the afternoon and seen the shattered glass and spilled potion had he worried.
In Albus' office, his day had officially gone to Hades. Lorelei was transformed by a potion that she claimed was swallowed by accident into the appearance of a sixteen year old girl- and would remain that way for an entire week. Worst of all, Potter, the blight of his existence and probable cause for the so-called accident had finagled his way into getting the 'girl' sorted into Gryffindor House. The boy probably felt his dreams had all come true. Inarticulate rage filled the man and impulsively, Severus picked up a coffee mug and threw it against the wall. The crashing sound didn't relieve as much tension as he'd hoped it would.
"Reparo...I like that Jack Skellington mug."
Whirling around, the man felt his spirits lift at seeing his beloved's face. The rest of her followed as she took off the Invisibility Cloak. Her smile had looked exactly the same at sixteen. The face was a bit more rounded; the cheekbones not as pronounced, but the large, expressive eyes and pearly white skin were identical. None of the differences mattered when she closed the distance between them and slid her arms around his neck.
"I couldn't sleep without you. Those girls are heavy breathers, and Granger mutters 'Ron' in her sleep. It's awful. I had to come. You wanted me to...that's why you packed my Cloak, isn't it?"
He answered her question by bending his head to hers. She had to stretch on tiptoes and he bent a little more than usual, but her mouth, praise the stars, felt exactly the same. Severus tried to be gentle in understanding of the trauma she'd experienced that day, but she proved with her lips and hands that no matter the unusual circumstances, everything important in their relationship stayed the same.
Staring into the flames in the fireplace, Harry felt the sympathetic gazes from his friends on the sofa beside him. Hermione had crept into his room a half hour ago with the news that she'd awoken early and noticed on the way back from the loo that Ronan wasn't in her bed. The curtains were open on the side that faced 'Mione's and the bed had either been made or not slept in. Ron woke up as she whispered and, thinking it a dream had pulled her onto his bed and kissed her before her protest- after the kiss- brought him fully awake.
Leaving to get dressed, the girl had met her friends downstairs. Now, at 6:30AM on a bloody Saturday morning, they sat waiting. Like parents for a wayward teenager... Running an agitated hand through his tousled hair, Harry knew that he was wrong to sit there, but he did it anyway. Yesterday afternoon, he'd seen that potion as a solution to his problem. If Lorelei was sixteen, she'd spend time with him and choose him over Snape. When the Sorting Hat had said she belonged to Gryffindor, he'd been so happy he'd grinned for hours. Lorelei...no, Ronan, was angry with him, but he'd known that she'd get over it, get to know him better, and...now this.
A slight noise drew his attention to the guardian portrait. It was lifting, but no one visible was there. Of course, she had an Invisibility Cloak too. Pushing himself off the sofa, Harry moved to intercept her path and demanded, "Where have you been?" Sighing heavily, the 'girl' took off the Cloak and became visible. Wearing a nightshirt, she looked way more alluring than a sixteen year old girl should. Ronan rolled her eyes just like a teenager, though, and had the bad attitude down too.
"None of your business, Potter...now if you'll excuse me..."
Taking the Cloak, he tossed it onto a nearby chair and grabbed her arm, "I won't excuse you."
She tried to tug out of his hold, but he tightened his grip. Her eyes flashed angrily.
"You have no right to question anything I do."
He cut in, "I don't care…"
"I know you don't. That's why I'm here right now. You don't get it, Harry."
"Get what?"
His furious tone of voice sparked hers. Their voices were rising, and hedidn't give a toss.
"Love, which isn't the emotion you feel for me, no matter how much you try and convince yourself otherwise!"
"You don't know how I feel!"
"Sure I do! In case you've forgotten, that was me you kissed. You're not in love, you're obsessed!"
Shaking his head, he cried, "No I'm not! I'm not...obsessed!"
Flushed with anger, she yelled back,
"Yes you are! You don't even really know me."
He shouted, "I want to!"
"Harry, please, lower your voice!"
Hermione's urgent words made the teen let go of the girl he'd been fighting with and look around. Housemates were standing in their robes at the top of their respective stairs, watching raptly. Dean and Seamus were two of them. Shite. Now the whole school would know that Harry Potter was obsessed with the new girl. His lips twitched. Maybe losing control wasn't such a bad thing... if it finally lost him the title of 'Saint Potter'. Ronan felt differently. Giving onlookers a mortified glance, she turned back to him and said,
"Look, this whole situation has been really…upsetting…and we're obviously not going to agree on…things…so…let's just not talk about it anymore. I'll go get dressed and meet you in the Hall, okay?"
"Okay"
Retrieving her cloak, the girl marched up the girls' staircase. He watched until she moved out of sight. The trio stood awkwardly trying not to meet each other's gazes for a moment until Ron blurted,
"I don't know what's going on with you and that girl, Harry, but whatever it is, you know you can talk to us about it if you want to...or not, that's fine too. Come on, let's go eat." The teen's face brightened when his friend nodded and followed him out of the room.
Breakfast was only tolerable because Snape wasn't at the staff table and only about half the students even showed up for it on the weekends. Strolling in a quarter hour after they'd started eating, Lorelei...Ronan...sat beside Harry and snagged a piece of melon off his plate, asking before she took a bite,
"So…what are we doing today?"
Everyone stared at the girl in a hot pink jumper and jeans who was acting like the drama in the Common Room hadn't happened. Harry was grateful she wasn't yelling at him anymore. He said honestly, "Dunno."
She conjured a cup of tea, added sugar, and pointed to a muffin on Neville's plate. The boy sitting across the table handed it to her, looking pleased that she'd wanted to take his muffin. Daintily breaking off a bite, 'Ronan' asked,
"What do you guys normally do?"
Colin piped up,
"We go to Hogsmeade, when it's Hogsmeade Weekend...but it's not."
Ron added,
"We play loads of games. Do you fancy Wizard Chess?" At her unblinking stare he looked down and muttered, "Guess not."
Hermione informed,
"Sometimes we catch up on schoolwork, when these two are woefully behind. I've got loads of good books..." The expression on the new girl's face made her words drift off into silence. It was impressive.
"I plan on studying in the library today. Don't suppose you'd like to come too. Didn't think so, oh well, have fun doing...whatever."
Harry stared at Ginny after her flippant statement, wondering if there was someone in the library his friend was meeting, or maybe just hoped to meet. Lorelei/Ronan was smiling at the other girl. She didn't believe that study excuse either. He challenged her, "What do you suggest we do?"
Looking almost embarrassed, the girl admitted,
"I was never able to attend a school like this, but I've heard the stories about some of the students here and….I always wished…I could do what they did." At the blank stares, she explained, "Be a real Gryffindor...use our Invisibility Cloaks to sneak over to Hogsmeade, pull a few pranks, have a picnic in the Shrieking Shack, pull a few pranks, sneak back." The youthful appearing siren's eyes met each of the small group's as she spoke. At the doubtful looks she received, Ronan countered, "What's our password? Carpe Diem...seize the day...I've got loads of prank ideas…I'll get all the stuff from Lorelei's storeroom…" She challenged them like he'd challenged her, "Who's man...or woman...enough to join me?"
"I am…I'll go." She made a face at him when he said it, but she didn't tell him not to come, which was promising. Maybe she wanted to spend some time together, get to know each other, without having to admit it. Ron, a dubious looking Hermione, Colin, and Neville agreed to come. Ginny re-stated her need to go to the Library. Now he knew something was up, but was too pre-occupied with his own life to care. The group bent forward to quietly decide where and when to meet to begin their adventure. Harry looked forward to the day ahead.
A/N: Many thanks to all the writers whose fics I read. Several inspired me in little ways that added up! Special thanks for K8ebug's Changes Made,(which first made me want to have Harry crush on Lorelei for equality's sake-lol) Lots of mischief will be managed next chap, so come back for more, and remember, I cherish your Review!
