Disclaimer 1: Draco and most of the teachers belong to JKR. (As if you didn't all know that.)
Disclaimer 2: Severus Snape owning a raven belongs to J.L. Matthews. (Go read her story everybody. It's great.)
Disclaimer 3: The gang name Sharks is borrowed from the musical West Side Story of course. I don't remember where I found the name Rakers, but I know I read it somewhere.
Disclaimer 4: The idea for Snape having a family comes from Al's fic Time of Trial.
Disclaimer 5: The Glizzard family and Gringolf Glizzard belong to my friend PegaPony and so do all of Gringolf's songs. Thanks for letting me borrow them!
Disclaimer 6: My friend Edmund owns himself and his horse Apollo.
Disclaimer 7: Old Joe and Tess' Joe belong to Zebee.
Disclaimer 8: The looks of the five Slytherin girls are taken mostly from a drawing by Iremione.
Disclaimer 9: I first encountered the Ravenslyth-terminology on the Slytherin Rising e-group. I don't remember who invented it, but it's not mine.
A/N: When I originally created the A, B, C and D classes for West Hogsmeade Wizarding school I borrowed that system from the Austrian Hauptschule, though I adapted it a little. Just recently when talking about our school system I mentioned that to my friend Ricky and she told me she'd thought I'd taken it from the real British school system. I swear I had no idea they use the same system, but I'm so happy I decided to pick that one despite never having gone to the Hauptschule myself.
Chapter 20: Merry Christmas
It was the afternoon of December 24th, but somehow Colleen didn't feel the usual excitement of that day. Tomorrow morning they'd celebrate Christmas without Phellippe.
She hadn't even seen her little brother at all and not been allowed to buy him the book she'd planned to either. At least the drawing of her and her classmates outside Hogwarts had passed her parents' inspection and her father had rolled it up neatly and taken it to the hospital.
He'd later reported that the doctors had run a magical check over it and a nurse had finally handed it to Phellippe who'd asked their father to extend his thanks to Colleen and her friends.
"That was enough excitement for your brother for now." her grandmother had explained. "You can give him a book when you return for the Easter holidays."
"But it's just a tiny drawing and not worth anything." Colleen told the closed window through which she'd been staring out onto the snow covered grounds.
"It was a very nice drawing." her grandmother said looking up from the letter she was writing. "Within the family it can be proper enough to give something made by hand rather than something of great value. Your picture tells Phellippe: 'I love you and don't mind sacrificing a lot of time and effort on you.' Buying a book would have been much easier."
"But it would have helped him pass the time." Colleen sighed. "It won't be a real Christmas without him."
"He'll be back soon." her grandmother consoled her. "Maybe already for Easter."
Colleen nodded. "I guess it's just because I haven't seen him for so long. I don't even want to go back to Hogwarts for fear that I won't be here when he finally returns."
A loud ringing sound interrupted them startling Colleen.
"Visitors." her grandmother stated calmly. "Come, let us go down to the drawing room and order some tea."
Colleen suppressed a slight giggle. This was a little trick grandmother had taught her long ago. It was not proper for a lady to race to the door and gawk whenever visitors came, but nobody could forbid her from happening past the entrance hall on the way to the drawing room and coincidentally see who had arrived.
"What a splendid idea, grandmother." she answered seriously. "I'm sure that will distract us from our unhappy thoughts."
They walked down the main stairs in a slow, dignified manner that allowed them as much time as possible in view of the entrance hall.
"I . . . I musts asks Master first, Sir!" they heard a confused house elf squeal. "I cants allows this!"
"Then alert your master, elf." a harsh voice ordered. "We have to talk to him anyway."
"Grandmother?" Colleen looked up at the old witch who'd suddenly stopped in the middle of the stairs. She looked terribly pale all of a sudden. "What's wrong?"
But her grandmother didn't react. She just stood staring at the three wizards and one witch standing in the entrance hall. Aurors, Colleen realised belatedly. The two in the lead were aurors.
"Grandmother?" she tried again sounding slightly hysterical now. "The drawing room? We were going to have tea, remember?"
The aurors had noticed them now.
"We have orders to search the house, Madam." the harsh auror stated.
"Search the house?" Grandmother finally reacted. "Whatever for?"
"That must be the grandmother." the other auror tried to whisper to his superior. "The wife of the one in Azkaban. She's probably had bad experiences . . ."
Colleen suddenly realised that her knees were shaking and she was clinging to the banister.
"There are indications that your grandson's condition might have been caused by dark magic." the third wizard said stepping past the aurors. "We have therefore notified the aurors to help search the house for dark objects."
"Ph . . . Phellippe, no!" Colleen wasn't really sure what exactly was so scary about the thought of her little brother having come into contact with some dark artefact.
"Merlin! Linda, get the child out of here." the wizard, someone from St. Mungo's most likely, snapped at the witch.
"Dark object?" Grandmother had apparently caught herself Colleen noted absently. "Then you should probably start in my husband's former study. We handed in all the dark objects we found after his arrest, but of course we aren't experts. Children are so curious. Phellippe probably dug through the old drawers and found something we overlooked."
The witch was climbing the stairs. "Hi there." she said smiling. "I'm Belinda Herring and you must be Colleen. Your brother has told me a lot about you."
"Are . . . are you a healer?" Colleen guessed trying to pull herself together.
"Not quite." Mrs Herring put a hand on Colleen's shoulder and started to steer her towards the door.
"Where are you taking me?" Colleen shrieked. "I can't leave!"
She turned to look at her grandmother pleading for help.
"It's alright, Colleen." Grandmother stated calmly. "Go with the nice lady from St. Mungo's. I'll come and get you when this business is done."
"The house will be very uncomfortable while the aurors are searching it." Mrs Herring explained. "They have to turn over everything to be sure they don't miss any dangerous objects. It'll be much better, if we go somewhere else for the time. You were just about to have tea?"
Colleen nodded.
"Then, how about we borrow the car and go to this little place I know to have our tea in peace?" Mrs Herring said and transfigured Colleen's robes into an elegant Muggle dress. "There, what a pretty young lady you are!"
Colleen looked down at herself. The colour of the dress was definitely decent, but it barely reached past her knees.
"Are you sure this isn't too short?" she asked Mrs Herring. "My lower legs are showing."
"Oh, don't worry." Mrs Herring smiled at her. "The tights will keep you warm. You aren't used to wearing Muggle clothes, are you?"
"Only for Sports class." Colleen confirmed. "And those are special Sports clothes that wouldn't be proper elsewhere."
Mrs Herring led her to a large, Muggle looking car that had to belong to the aurors.
"What, not used to cars either?" she asked with a slight laugh when she saw how uneasily Colleen sat down on the back seat.
"No, I've only ever travelled by floo or carriage." Colleen admitted. "Well, and train."
"I see." Mrs Herring nodded. "This is a lot like riding a train. Now hold on tight."
The car lurched and then they were in a quiet Muggle town. Colleen stared wide eyed.
"Is this Leeds?" she asked.
Mrs Herring parked the car, then turned to regard her. "No, did you want to go to Leeds?"
"Oh no, this is fine." Colleen confirmed hastily. After all the witch probably liked this place and it would be very impolite not to show it proper respect. "It's just that I've never been to Leeds and I was wondering what it might look like. Is it similar to this place?"
"Not very." Mrs Herring admitted. "Leeds is a big city, while this is just a very small town. Why are you interested in Leeds in particular? Do you have relatives there?"
Colleen shook her head. "Not relatives, no, but I know somebody who lives there. Is this a Muggle shop?"
"Yes, indeed it is." Mrs Herring confirmed. "Do you like Muggle watching?"
Colleen shrugged. To be honest she'd never tried it.
"I don't know any Muggles, but I like Muggle borns." she decided. "At least some Muggle borns."
Mrs Herring sent her a smile that indicated that that answer pleased her. Strange.
"Are you Muggle born?" Colleen guessed.
"My father is." Mrs Herring explained. "I used to stay at my grandparents' quite often when I was a child, though. It's not quite the same, but I do know my way around in the Muggle world."
"Oh." Colleen followed Mrs Herring's example and hung her coat on a rack near the door then sat at the table the older witch chose. Mrs Herring sat and waited quietly while Colleen took in her new surroundings.
"You said you weren't a healer, but you work for St.Mungo's." Colleen finally addressed her after she'd ordered tea and chocolate cake for them both. "Are you a nurse, then?"
"No, not a nurse either." Mrs Herring smiled. "And I don't really work for St. Mungo's, though I work at the hospital most of the time. I'm actually employed by the ministry's social services department."
Colleen frowned at her in puzzlement. "So you're a social worker?"
"In a way." Mrs Herring conceded. "You know what that is?"
"They take care of poor people." Colleen nodded. "But then what do you have to do with Phellippe? He isn't poor."
"Not in a financial sense, no." Mrs Herring nodded. "But your description of a social worker doesn't cover everything we do. We help people with big problems, that we think they can't handle on their own. Very often those problems are of a financial nature, but they can also be health problems or emotional ones."
"So you're there to help Phellippe with his heart." Colleen nodded. "Then you are a sort of healer after all!"
"Close, but not quite." Mrs Herring smiled again. "I'm a child psychologist, actually. That's someone who helps children with emotional problems."
Emotional problems? "Why would Phellippe have emotional problems? He has a weak heart, not . . ." Not what exactly? What were emotional problems?
"Which has completely changed his life." Mrs Herring continued. "He's been separated from his family, isn't allowed to do a lot of things he'd love to and he knows that his life is in danger. That makes one very unhappy and afraid. I'm there to help him cope with those feelings."
"That's terrible." Colleen said. "I never realised he was that unhappy."
"Now, now, no need to get all depressed, Colleen." Mrs Herring looked concerned. "I do think I gave you the wrong impression. Phellippe is feeling a little down sometimes, but he's taking very well to my treatment. He's really a pleasure to work with. My easiest case right now."
"Do you work with a lot of children with sick hearts?" Colleen asked. Maybe this witch could tell her more about Phellippe's medical condition after all. If she spent a lot of time with children having similar problems she must have picked up some healer knowledge over the years.
"Oh no, most of our cases are of a very different nature." Mrs Herring shook her head. "Most of the children I work with have been in accidents, or were attacked and abused. There's a three year old girl who was taken hostage by a dark wizard, for example. She was tortured and won't trust anyone since, not even her own parents who were unable to help her. Then there's a boy who saw his parents die when somebody set fire to their house and my most difficult case right now is a Squib whose parents almost hexed her to death trying to get her to show some magic. And then there's also a small group of children whose parents are in jail. They're mostly easy cases like Phellippe who just need someone to talk to and reassure them that they can cope. But lets not talk about all those sad stories on our afternoon out, okay? We're here to have a good time."
"Then what should we talk about?" Colleen wondered. Right now she couldn't think about anything other than Phellippe.
"How about you?" Mrs Herring suggested. "Phellippe told me you just started wizarding school. Where do you go? London?"
"Hogwarts." Colleen corrected. "London would be much too far away."
"Not if you floo." Mrs Herring returned. "I went there despite growing up in Aberdeen. My mother didn't like the idea of me being in boarding school, you see. Isn't that hard?"
"Well, it was really bad when I learned that Phellippe's sick. Somehow I thought that if only I could go home and see him, it'd be all better, but now that I am home, I still can't see him, so I guess it doesn't really make a difference."
"So being away from your parents so much doesn't bother you?" Mrs Herring asked.
"No, it's nice to be among other children." Colleen declared. It was a trained polite response, but the thought of Anny and Dinah made it feel quite true.
"Hogwarts sorts its students into houses, doesn't it? What house are you in?"
"Slytherin." Colleen beamed. "It's a family tradition."
"Ah yes, the pureblood house."
"It's not." Colleen interrupted before the witch could ask another question. "Most of us aren't purebloods at all."
"Oh? I heard they have no Muggle borns there." Mrs Herring challenged.
"Then you've heard wrong." Colleen declared. "We don't have as many Muggle borns as Hufflepuff, that's true, but neither do Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. My friend Anny, she's the person I know in Leeds, is a Muggle born Slytherin, for example."
"I see." Mrs Herring nodded earnestly. "I suppose the friend who told me that must have been mistaken then. Is Anny a close friend of yours?"
"My favourite friend, actually." Colleen confided. "Though my family don't know. They would probably say she isn't enough of a young lady, you know."
"Because she's Muggle born?"
"I don't know about that for sure." Colleen shrugged. It was probably not a good idea to tell the daughter of a Mudblood that her parents hated Mudbloods. "But my grandmother definitely disapproves of poor people and Anny's family is poor."
"I understand." Mrs Herring said to Colleen's surprise. "Your grandmother grew up in a completely different time. You are probably still too young to imagine it, but the way people think and feel about things changes with time and especially Muggle society moves very fast. The poor Muggles of today are very different from those of your grandmother's childhood, but she will probably always remember them the way she found them when she first came to Hogwarts herself."
Colleen stared at her wide eyed.
"Adult's aren't perfect, you know." Mrs Herring continued. "And I think you're old enough to understand that we all have to accept our friends and family with their flaws. Be tolerant of your grandmother's prejudice, Colleen, but don't let it influence your own opinion of the world as you find it today."
"I won't." Colleen promised proud that Mrs Herring apparently found her worthy of discussing such adult matters.
It was strange how easily this witch managed to explain away a problem that had been bothering her since she'd first gotten to know Anny. So the Muggles of today weren't like the ones her family hated so much anymore. It was okay to be friends with today's Muggle borns then.
"So what about the other children in your class?" Mrs Herring asked. "How do you get along?"
"Well, my other best friend is Dinah. She's pureblood, but from a Hufflepuff family. Then there's Aterus and Tullia, who's part mermaid, and Billy, the son of our head of house. Pank and Rupert are cool, too."
"So there's nobody that you don't like?"
"Gangolf." Colleen stated. "And Danny. But nobody likes Gangolf and Danny's just because she's always mean to me. Then there are the Gryffindors. They are mean as well, but to all of us. It's a Hogwarts tradition for Gryffindor and Slytherin to fight."
"And the other two houses? Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff? Are they mean as well?"
"No, not at all." Colleen laughed. "The Hufflepuffs are really nice. My friend Cam's in that house."
"Cam? That's a strange name."
"It's short for Carmelitta, Carmelitta Weasley. We sit together in our French lessons. She even let me borrow her book, because my parents never got around to sending it."
"Your parents didn't give you all your school books?" Mrs Herring looked surprised.
"Of course they did." Colleen assured her. "Only French is a club and we only got to sign up for those after we arrived. So I had to owl home for the book and with Phellippe's illness they had much more important things on their mind."
"I see. Does it hurt you when more important things keep your parents from you?"
"It's not so bad. I'm used to it. Mother and Father are very busy people and I'm only a girl. Usually Grandmother has time for me, though. I was very worried when she took so long to answer my owls."
They stayed in the small shop for several hours talking and eating wonderful chocolate cake. Colleen had to admit that Muggle cake was quite delicious.
When they finally returned to the car a small barn owl landed on its roof with an exhausted hoot. Mrs Herring untied the little package he was carrying, but held it out to Colleen after only a glance.
"It's for you." she said. "Wrapped in Muggle paper."
"Oh, then it must be from Anny!" Colleen tore the paper open hastily to find two small boxes.
The first one she opened contained colourfully wrapped bonbons and some small pieces of chocolate and the other . . .
"A hair band!" Colleen exclaimed. "With a green and silver ribbon. Look, isn't it beautiful!"
Mrs Herring laughed. "So you like Muggle hair bands, I guess?"
"Oh yes, they look so much better than my normal hairpins. Anny made me one with a green ribbon to wear at Hogwarts and everybody said I looked very pretty with it. But this one is much more beautiful."
"Would you like to try it on?" Mrs Herring suggested. "I could do your hair for you, if you want. There's a comb in my pocket."
"Oh, would you? I'd love that."
So they sat in the back of the car and Mrs Herring combed out Colleen's hair. She was very good at that, Colleen thought. It felt so nice and soothing.
"You have such beautiful long hair." the witch discovered. "I can see why your friends thought you look better with it down. In that bun it's impossible to tell how long it really is."
"It also makes me look nicer, but grandmother prefers the bun. I think it was fashionable when she was my age."
"You're probably right about that." Mrs Herring agreed. "It must remind her of her youth. Would you like me to braid your hair or just tie it together in the back?"
"I'd really love a pony tail, if you don't mind. I love the way it bounces on my head."
"Pony tail it is then. The highest that I can make it." Mrs Herring promised and Colleen soon realised that the adult witch was much better at it than she was.
After inspecting herself in Mrs Herring's mirror she continued to look through Anny's little box and found two very strange items.
"What are these?" They were the same shade of green as the hair band and there was a little silver snake on each.
"Hair clips." Mrs Herring explained. "Muggles use them in place of fixing charms on lose strands of hair they don't want to fall into their faces."
With just a few little changes to her hair the clips fit in very prettily.
Anny's accompanying letter explained that she'd found the clips when she'd gone to buy the hair band and since they were so perfectly Slytherin she'd decided to buy four pairs. After all Danny's hair was much too short for hair clips, but they'd be perfect for the rest of the girls.
"Just like a special Slytherin first year girls uniform." Colleen decided. "Now everybody will see that we're friends."
"Have you sent Anny a gift in return?" Mrs Herring said as she climbed into the front seat and started the car.
"Not yet." Colleen admitted. "I picked one out, but thought I'd give it to her in school."
"You should owl it." Mrs Herring advised. "It's proper to give Christmas gifts on Christmas."
"I'll do that." Colleen agreed. "Right when we get back."
Anny's present was a little toy snake that was enchanted to move and hiss and there was also a book for Dinah, a story about a French witch and her cat. Colleen thought that Dinah would like that one, because her familiar was a small black and white cat and the cat in the book was black as well.
When they got back to the mansion she raced up to her room right away to get the gifts and then back down to the library.
"So, what do you think of the girl?" she heard a voice just as she was about to round the last corner of the stairs before reaching the entrance hall.
Colleen quickly ducked back behind the banister to listen.
"Well, she seems a little stiff for her age and maybe slightly neglected, but I didn't see any signs of abuse." Mrs Herring's voice answered. "She's happy at school, has a normal social life and Muggle born friends. Doesn't look like a dark witch in the making to me."
"Stiff and in Slytherin, though." the other voice pointed out.
"So maybe she is a bit of a snob. These old pureblood families tend to be. She was probably raised into it. She's still a normal, healthy girl."
"We had to arrest the father." the other voice stated in a calm business like tone and Colleen almost dropped her packages in shock. "Kept a whole stash of dark objects in a hidden side room next to his office."
"So the boy probably got into that and accidentally activated something." Mrs Herring argued. "They are both sweet, innocent children. A bit prejudiced against Muggles, but that's normal for pureblood children with little exposure to the Muggle world. The girl actually shows a positive interest in Muggle borns, whom she's met in school. If left alone, she'll probably overcome her prejudice with experience. However tearing her father away like this and right on Christmas on top of it will traumatise her. This was probably her very first experience with aurors. All this is teaching her is that the ministry is her enemy."
"Maybe, but the room was well hidden and safely locked. We're not even sure whether the witches knew about it, certainly won't be able to prove it. It seems unlikely the children could have snuck in unsupervised. I still think the father might have cursed the boy until his heart gave out. You're sure there's no hint of abuse on the girl?"
"As sure as I can be after only one meeting. She isn't even overly afraid of displeasing her parents, Mark."
"Of course some abusers will not physically hurt a girl." Mark returned. "Maybe it was just the boy. He's the heir. Maybe Daddy wanted to 'toughen him up' with some painful curses."
No, Colleen thought frantically clinging to the banister. No, no, no, her father wouldn't do that. He'd wanted an heir for so long. Phellippe was the most precious thing he possessed. He'd never hurt him, never.
"Anyway, we can prove possession of dark objects, maybe even their use. That's more than enough to send him to Azkaban for a good long time." 'Mark' summed up.
"And break up another family." Mrs Herring said bitterly. "Creating two more hurt and angry children that need counselling. It's always the children who suffer most and I can't work miracles. Sweet, innocent children, Mark. I can't erase that kind of pain. All I can do is try to minimise the damage."
"So we shouldn't enforce the law, just because the criminals have children?" 'Mark' snorted. "Where's the justice in that, Linda? This wizard kept dangerous dark objects, most likely turned them against innocent people, maybe even his own family. What kind of example was he setting for those sweet, innocent children? Now they'll know what happens to those who break the law."
"Because the law is cruel and out to get you?" Mrs Herring shot back. "Fear is a bad motivator, Mark. If you'd only destroyed the dark objects, little Colleen would have learned that dark magic almost killed her brother, but the aurors came and saved him from it. Evil dark magic, good aurors. Now instead she'll learn that the aurors came and took her father away. Evil aurors, good father. A father who happens to have owned dark objects. That's the message you're giving here."
There was a loud bang as somebody slammed the front door shut, then a not much less forceful exit, but Colleen didn't pay it any attention. She just sat on the stairs and cried.
"Oh, thank you Aunt Sabrina!" Billy beamed at his brand new eagle feather quill. "It's beautiful."
"But you really shouldn't have." Sarah Snape admonished her sister. "Billy's goose feather quill is still fine and eagle is so expensive."
"Ah, but with all those rich kinds at his school, I thought he should have something a little better." Aunt Sabrina returned with a smile. "We don't want our poor little boy to be teased by all those snobs."
"He has to learn to deal with teasing." Sarah insisted. "We had to, too, remember? And we turned out fine. You spoil the children too much."
"It's Christmas." Severus pointed out. "We can afford to waste a little money once a year and I'm sure Billy appreciates the gift and understand how special it is."
"Yes," Billy nodded hugging his aunt. "But you needn't worry. I don't care about the stupid Gryffindors and my friends don't mind the quality of my quill."
"Do you want to switch to West Hogsmeade?" Severus asked. "Today might be a good day to tell Albus and he can't go back on the school partnership anymore by now either."
Billy stared at his father taken completely by surprise. Did he want to go to West Hogsmeade with Jimmy and Isran? It was what he'd planned at the beginning of the school year, wasn't it? The Rakers were there. Miracle Mely might forget to give him his cap, if she never saw him.
But then again he'd met Mely just this morning and knew that she admired Draco a lot. If she forgot his cap Draco could remind her. Jimmy and Isran were in his Sports and Flying classes and Aterus was at Hogwarts.
Of course he'd still see Aterus in Sports and Flying, if he switched to West Hogsmeade, but he'd only see the girls in Flying class. And what about his spot on the Soccer team? West Hogsmeade had a lot of excellent Soccer players, much more than Hogwarts.
"No," he decided. "I have all my friends at Hogwarts. I want to stay with them."
"Just a few months ago you said exactly the same things about West Hogsmeade." Draco teased him.
"But that was before I'd met Aterus and Pank and Anny." Billy laughed. "Back then I didn't know anybody."
"You're sure Hogwarts is fine?" Severus asked once again. "You're happy there? Despite me being your teacher?"
Billy nodded. "It'd be no different at West Hogsmeade. I don't think they'd tease me any less for being a teacher's brother than for being a teacher's son."
"You could switch to that school in London." Cathy smiled snuggling closer to Draco.
Billy had to smile as well. Cathy and Draco were both wearing the jumpers Aunt Sabrina had given all three of them last Christmas. His mother had said they looked like siblings back then and Billy almost regretted wearing a different jumper today, but then Cathy was part of the family anyway, or soon would be.
Billy slipped over into their couch and snuggled up to Draco's other side.
"I love you." he said. "You're the best family in the world."
"Indeed." Draco confirmed. "We're so lucky to have a family like that."
Sarah snorted. "Nonsense, we're just any average family."
"But you are a family." Cathy said softly. "A real complete family. Do you realise how many people don't have that? Families without a father, without a mother, families who don't get along, . . ."
"We, Cathy." Sarah reminded her. "It's your family, too."
"And that." Cathy stated. "Is the best Christmas gift of all."
"How can that be a Christmas gift?" Billy wondered. "You've been part of the family for years."
"Because that's the only Christmas gift." Draco explained. "Family is what Christmas is all about. All the other gifts are just symbols of our love for each other, just gestures of gratitude for having each other."
"And that," added Sarah. "Is why it's not important what you give. A Christmas gift doesn't have to be expensive or special. It's the love the giver and the receiver have for each other that makes it special."
"Family!" confirmed Hugin happily.
"Caw." commented Munin and continued to groom Hugin with his strong black beak.
Billy smiled at them. "We've got a really big family. They're part of it, too. And the dog and the cat."
Yes, Cathy was right. The family was the best Christmas gift of all and one everybody could afford. It took so little to have a perfect Christmas.
Gangolf sat on the edge of the big double bed he shared with his mother and stared morosely at his open trunk. He should be packing. In only two days he was supposed to return to Hogwarts.
But he didn't want the holidays to end! He didn't want to go back to that terrible school. He hated the place and if he left, his beloved Mummy would be all alone again.
Of course his aunt and cousins would visit her from time to time, and maybe his father would spend a night once in a while when there was a party at the office. He never apparated when he'd drunk alcohol and his flat was too far away to walk.
Still he knew that his Mummy missed having somebody there when she got home from work. Someone she loved, not just a guest.
Gangolf had accepted long ago that his parents no longer loved each other and lived their separate lives. To the outside they pretended that everything was okay, of course, but Gangolf knew they were doing that only for propriety's sake.
And for him, of course. Even though he rarely saw his father Gangolf knew that Dad took an interest in his future. He even paid half of his school money. And he sent him gifts for his birthday and for Christmas every year.
A divorce was bad for a child his father had read somewhere, so he had convinced his Mummy to stay married.
But Gangolf knew that his Mummy was lonely when he was away. She needed somebody to really be there, not just a husband on a piece of parchment. It might have been easier, if she'd had some really close friends, but she didn't quite get along with the people at the office and had given up all her old school friends when she'd married his father. Dad was a jealous man.
Or at least he had been when he'd still loved Mummy. Now he didn't really care where she went or who she went there with, but Mummy still felt that she was cheating on him, every time she went out with another man and well, if she did so too often, it might get out that his parents were no longer together and that was something to be ashamed of.
Gangolf didn't really understand why it was so bad, but he knew that it was. Parents were supposed to love each other. Everything else was wrong, so you mustn't let anyone know.
Gangolf sighed deeply. He should be packing that trunk.
"Is something wrong, Baby?" His mother asked gently from the door. "Why so sad?"
She came over and sat beside him stroking his hair.
"I just don't want to go back to Hogwarts." Gangolf admitted. "I don't want to be away from you."
"I don't want you to be away either." Mummy admitted. "But you have to go to school, Baby. How else are you going to become a big powerful wizard?"
Gangolf sighed again and put his arms around her. He breathed in her beloved perfume and tried to give her a brave smile.
"I know." he told her. "I just wish it wasn't so long until I can come back to you again. If only Hogwarts would let us go home for the weekend, it would be a lot easier. One week I could take, but Easter's so far away."
"It's the best school in the country." his Mummy reminded him. "That's why Dad picked it for you. He wants you to get the very best education and not have to deal with the common rabble that goes to the public schools."
"I know." Gangolf confirmed once again. "But thanks to that stupid school partnership I have to deal with the common rabble anyway."
"School partnership?" Mummy asked. "What school partnership?"
"Oh, that's what they call that weird deal because of which we have to go to West Hogsmeade for Sports and Ballet and their students come over to Hogwarts for Flying class."
"West Hogsmeade!" Mummy gasped. "Those no good, lazy criminals?"
"Their children." Gangolf amended.
"Abusers of the kindness of the ministry." Mummy continued. "Living off the social services department's money . . ."
"How can the ministry tolerate such a dangerous experiment?" she asked a little later. "What if those monsters kill a student? Doesn't the headmaster realise how dangerous that is?"
"Don't worry, Mummy." Gangolf tried to calm her. "They're actually less dangerous than the Gryffindors and you know how well I can handle the Gryffindors."
"Oh, and all this time I thought you were exaggerating in your letters." Mummy shook her head in despair. "My poor Baby. Mrs Andrews, that exchange worker from America, told me that wizarding school had become so terribly violent, but I didn't believe her. I thought it was only those terrible undisciplined spoiled American teenagers. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that it really might be as bad as she described, or that anything like that could happen here in civilised Britain!"
"It's a terrible thing." Gangolf agreed. "But don't worry, Mum. I'm a great fighter and know how to defend myself and I'm staying away from all the bad children."
"Oh, but that you have to share a dorm with such people. What was the name of that aggressive boy again, Bobby?"
"Billy, Mummy. Billy Snape."
"He doesn't sleep in the same room you do, does he?"
"Yes, he does." Gangolf confirmed. "But he isn't as dangerous as the Gryffindors. He just grew up in West Hogsmeade with all those bad children. I guess they were a bad influence."
Mummy frowned. "If he's from West Hogsmeade, how can he be going to Hogwarts? Can he really afford that?"
Gangolf shrugged. "I think he said something about having a scholarship from the headmaster."
"Is he such a good student, then?"
"Well, he's best at Potions. He actually assists with teaching that class sometimes." Gangolf admitted. "And he got on the first Soccer team right away. He's complete rubbish in Transfigurations, though."
"Then maybe his scholarship's for one of those subjects." Mummy decided. "The school might be trying to build up a Soccer team and I heard that they are famous for their excellent Potions classes."
"Yes, those are pretty hard. Billy is the only one that's finding them easy." Well, him and Tullia, but Mummy didn't have to know that.
"A Potions prodigy, then." Mummy decided. "But I do worry about you having to sleep in the same dorm as some lazy unemployed's brat."
"His parents both work." Gangolf felt obliged to point out. "And he hasn't actually hurt me. You don't need to worry."
"But I do." Mummy told him. "You're my Baby and I always worry when you're not with me. Oh, how I wish Hogwarts wasn't a boarding school."
His Mummy then helped Gangolf to pack his trunk and afterwards they went into the kitchen where Gangolf watched her cook dinner. They tried not to talk abut school on one of their last days together, but somehow the topic kept sneaking back into Gangolf's mind and from the sad look she occasionally got he knew that his Mummy was still thinking about it as well.
Oh how he hated to worry her, but what could he do? It was impossible to completely hide his unhappiness from her.
"Baby," Mummy finally made a decision during dinner. "I have an idea, but you have to make up your mind right away."
It wasn't a hard decision when he heard what Mummy had thought up, though. He loved her idea. Now all they had to do was convince Dad and Mummy thought that once Dad heard about the school partnership that wasn't going to be that hard. All they had to do was floo him right away and explain their idea.
ERMonkey Burner of Cookies – Aterus' Mum is mixed from the most annoying habits of my mother and grandmother. They don't mean to get on anyone's nerves . . .
Joou Himeko Dah – And the bad news is that Dinah's family is actually trying not to hurt her. Poor girl indeed.
Kyzara – Thanks!
TA Salmalin – Nah, Sevi wouldn't do that to Draco. After all he liked him from the start. . . . The hedgehogs, or at least Greenie, were in fact vital for writing MNS. You wouldn't believe how easily a completely messed up scene suddenly straightens out, if you add a character saying 'Sniff.'
Pam Briggs – Who says Aterus isn't going crazy with her after him like that? Normally she's a bit better then in the scene we saw, but after not seeing her son for over three months she just can't let go of him for a minute. Aterus is so exasperated by it that all he wants is to get away. That's why he isn't as much of a mama's boy as Gangolf. (Yes, he is a little bit. He's trying to hide it, though.) . . . Dinah's family is trying not to be prejudiced, but unfortunately it's not working.
Brink182 – blinks Okay. It's a bit hard for me to imagine that you'd actually want to be numbered, but if you're happy with it. . . . Dinah's family doesn't mean to hurt her. They were unaware that she overheard the conversation about her and the older children did try not to let her feel it either. They just didn't manage.
A/N: Will her father's arrest really make Colleen go dark? Did Billy make the right decision? And was Gangolf's father really thinking about his son when he convinced his wife not to get a divorce?
In the next chapter: The students return to Hogwarts, Rupert worries about his secret possibly getting out and Billy is handing out invitations.
