Characters introduced in this chapter: Internet friends: Lady Lee - Lee Hughes, Unloved-for-Sale - Perin Peachbough
Glowing Paper
"Come on Ava! We don't want to be left behind!"
"Oh, they couldn't leave us, could they?" asked Ava in a huff, stuffing things willy-nilly into her trunk.
"Filch said they would." Alice shifted from one foot to the other. "Oooo! Let me help you!" She stormed across the room and began straightening out the items in Ava's trunk so that Ava could fit everything else in.
"Watch your hands Alice!" Ava shut her trunk with a snap. "Now, to put our schooling to use!" Ava raised her wand, pointed it at her trunk, and said, "Wingardium leviosa!" Her trunk shuddered for a second and then rose into the air.
"Good one!" said Alice, moving off to her own trunk.
"Ummm…"
Alice turned around to see what the problem was.
"This … isn't going to work," said Ava, squinting at her trunk. "This spell wasn't made to transport things. It just makes stuff go straight up."
"Well, then we'll just have to drag them. And hurry!" Alice leaned down and took a hold of her own trunk. The next moment, they were each crashing their way down the stairs.
"What's all that racket?" asked James as they arrived in the common room. "Wait, are you two going home for the holidays?"
"Yes!" said Ava frantically. "But we'll never get these trunks up the stairs!"
The prefect jumped up, whipping out his wand. "Locomotor trunks!" The two trunks rose into the air and preceded him out the door. He glanced over his shoulder. "Aren't you coming? You're stretching the time already as it is!"
The two first years ran after the prefect and kept running. Even with their trunks to maneuver, the sixth year was making great headway. As they sprinted out of the front doors, Alice stumbled and nearly fell, but Ava reached out a hand to steady her.
"Aah! My side!" called out Alice, clutching her stomach. "I've got a stitch in my side."
"Can't worry about that now!" yelled James, almost to the lake.
Alice closed her eyes for a second, took a deep breath, and renewed her sprint, trying hard to not think of the searing pain in her side which seemed to increase with each new stride. Ava was quickly pulling away from her.
"Smoke!" yelled Ava, pointing up at the sky. "The train's going to leave without us!"
"No!" said Alice.
James rounded the corner and was out of sight as the two girls exploded out of the front gates. They could hear the train's whistle screaming.
"Not gonna make it," Alice said raggedly.
"Have to," was all Ava responded.
And then they could see the train.
"Honestly!" barked a familiar voice, tugging on the girls' robes to jerk them to a painful halt. They each looked up into Professor McGonagall's stern face, their mouths agape as they tried to pull air into their lungs. "Tardiness is not permissible; I'm sure you know that girls."
"I'm sorry, McGonagall," said James. "I thought everyone had left. I know that I got all the boys out."
"That's alright Wright. You may go back to the school. Now, Bint! Borboa!" McGonagall shoved a paper at each girl. "On the train with you!"
They each boarded and turned to see the old professor closing the door. "And Happy Christmas!" McGonagall smiled and the door snapped shut. Immediately, the train began to move and Ava fell into Alice at the sudden movement, knocking her over so that they were sprawled on the floor.
They lay there until they got their breathing under control and then Ava sat up and smoothed out her paper. "Aww!" she said. "We can't use magic over the break!"
"I don't care what we can and can't do over the break," said Alice, sitting up and massaging her side, "just so long as we get to go home. I can't believe we almost didn't make it!"
"Sorry," said Ava, and she really sounded sorry.
Alice sighed. "That's ok. Let's find a compartment."
The two girls began to troop down the hallway, glancing into each compartment in search of a place to sit. With nearly every Hogwarts student going home for the holidays, the train was packed.
"I found Blaine!" said Ava happily, coming to a stop outside one of the compartments. By the time Alice caught up to her though, her smile was gone. "Only one empty seat," said Ava, looking with concern at Alice.
Alice felt like something was stuck in her throat. "It's ok. I'll find somewhere else to sit."
"We both will," said Ava with feeling, walking on down the hallway. Alice couldn't help but smile as she followed the short girl.
Not long after, they found their roommates, but there wasn't room for them there either. Just when they had nearly resolved themselves to passing the trip in the hall, they reached the second to last compartment on the train and saw that there was room for them. Ava opened the door.
"Can we sit in here?"
The three girls inside looked up and one of them smiled hugely. "Look! It's Bint!"
Alice met the girl's eyes and blushed. "Hello Wambly," she said. She slid into the spot right next to the Gryffindor second year. "It's been a while since I saw you in the library."
Susie nodded. "Are you still reading that book from the Restricted Section?"
"Yeah," said Alice, thinking of Studying Theory. Just the thought of the book made her stomach churn, but she didn't know why. She had been getting much better at spell casting, but the huge book that had helped her to such an end was beginning to make her uneasy. Shrugging the feeling off, she went into introductory mode.
"Susie, this is my friend, Ava. Ava, this is Susie Wambly."
The two girls shook hands.
"Nice to meet you," said Susie, her eyes appearing extra big behind her glasses. "And these are my friends. This is Perin, from my own glorious house of Gryffindor!" Perin nodded her head in acknowledgement. "And Lee," Susie eyed Ava's yellow collar, "from your own house, it looks like."
Lee's black eyes met those of the two first years. "Me and Susie are childhood friends," she said. "Our mothers went to school together." She made a face at her friend, "And they were both Hufflepuffs. Too bad Susie had to go off and be weird."
"You know I take that as a compliment," said Susie.
"Yeah, I know," said Lee.
Alice and Perin giggled, looked at one another startled, and then laughed even more. Before long, all five girls were engaged in an animated conversation about how mean Snape was and how cute they all found Flitwick to be and how much they looked forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts every week.
Alice gave her father a big hug once she saw him on the platform, coming off the train. She almost forgot to shout good bye to her friends and wish everyone a Happy Christmas, she was that happy to see her father again.
Mr. Bint kissed the top of Alice's head, chuckling at her. "It's good to see you too, girl! Did you have a good time at Hogwarts?" He grabbed the end of her trunk and lifted it up onto a trolley.
"Uh-huh!" said Alice, grinning widely.
"Excited about Christmas?"
"Yep!"
Mr. Bint began laughing again. "Well I'm glad you're doing so well. I'm sorry your mother isn't here. Richard had a little accident and she had to rush him to St. Mungo's."
They emerged into the muggle train station without attracting any attention.
"Oh no," said Alice. "What happened? Is Richy alright?"
"Of course he's alright," said Mr. Bint. "You know your brother. He just tried lighting the back of his broomstick to make smoke trails and the fire caught up with him."
Alice cringed.
It was the oddest feeling, walking into her room that evening. She'd only been away for a few months, but it felt like a lifetime. Probably oddest of all though, she realized with a pang in her gut that she wasn't coming home. Sure, this was the house she had grown up in and the room that she had gone to bed in for the first eleven years of her life, but it was no longer her home. Hogwarts was her home now.
"Alice!" she was attacked from behind, two arms engulfing her.
"Ahh! Richy!" Alice struggled out of her little brother's grasp and spun around to face him. She gasped immediately and fell backward onto her bed.
Richard's face creased with concern. "What? I'll be alright. It was just a little burn, and anyways, it's on my backside. Why're you looking at me like that?"
"You're…" Alice mouthed silently, gulped, and tried again. "When'd you get so tall?"
Richard's eyes lit up and he ran up to Alice's full length mirror. "Have I really gotten that much taller?" he asked with enthusiasm.
"Yes, dear," replied the mirror.
"Richy," said Alice, coming up beside him, "you're taller than me."
Richard looked at the two of them, side-by-side in the mirror, and his face brightened even more. "So I am," he said. He grinned at his older sister. "You're short."
Alice scoffed. "I am not," she mumbled, glancing at herself sidelong in her mirror.
"You haven't grown at all since you left, dear," said her mirror.
Alice stuck out her tongue at it.
Richard took a hold of Alice's hand and dragged her away from her reflection. "Come on, sis! You've got to show me something you learned at school! You rarely ever wrote home and I've been waiting to see you do magic for ages!"
Alice stuck her hand into her pocket and fished out her wand, but even as she raised it in front of her, a piece of paper fluttered to the floor. Alice looked down at it, realizing that it must have been in her pocket with her wand, but she didn't remember putting it there. Richard picked the paper up and smoothed it out to read. As he read, his face fell.
"Aww! You're not allowed to do magic outside of school?" he whined.
His words triggered a memory of Ava saying the same thing. Alice had never taken the time to read her own note though. She snatched it out of her brother's hand.
Dear Parents,
In order to insure the safety and well-being of all of our students during the holidays, we have the strict policy of forbidding underage witches and wizards from performing magic outside of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Keep an eye on your child to make sure that they do not perform magic, as two such offences will result in expulsion.
This is in accordance with policies set down by the Improper Use of Magic Office in the Ministry of Magic. Thank you for your consideration!
Signed, Deputy Headmistress,
Minerva McGonagall
Alice sighed, set the paper down on her pillow, and stuffed her wand back into her pocket. "Sorry Richy," she said.
"Naw, don't be sorry," he said, "Christmas is coming!"
Richard's optimism refused to fizzle out over the following week leading up to Christmas day, and his mood was contagious throughout the household. Their house elf, Razzy, took up singing Christmas carols practically non-stop. While for many house elves, such behavior proved annoying beyond words, Razzy's sweet voice did the songs justice and no one even considered telling her to be quiet. Alice even spotted Razzy dancing with Richard once in his room. The dancing, unlike Razzy's singing, was a complete and utter failure, and after a few moments of peeking through Richard's half-open door, Alice couldn't figure out who was trying to teach the dance to whom and she left them to their vain efforts.
Christmas Eve dawned clear and cold. A new layer of snow had fallen during the night and Razzy's efforts indoors were also evident. A fine mist of golden dust covered all of their already-in-place Christmas decorations. Once, when they were younger, Alice and Richard had stayed up late to watch Razzy go to work. It was a trick taught to her by her mother, passed down through the generations. Razzy would walk silently into each room, turn in a full circle, and then snap her fingers. Magic dust would then spring out of nowhere and fall onto everything. Once in place, the dust was immobile and it would stay in place for two whole days, disappearing Christmas night.
Alice found Richard pulling on warm clothing next to the back door. "Snow!" he said excitedly!
Alice laughed. "You say that like it wasn't there yesterday."
"You're coming too, right?" asked Richard.
At once, Alice felt the difference between herself and Richard, the difference in their ages. "I can't," she replied. "I have packages to send out to my friends."
By the look on Richard's face, Alice could tell that he felt the difference too. In years past, their parents sent out presents to their cousins and even their few friends, but now Alice was a Hogwarts student and her parents didn't have tabs on all of her friend. Only she knew what to send and to whom. Finally, Richard shrugged. "Your loss," he said, sprinting out the door, letting the cold in for a moment to rush past Alice. She grinned and hurried to the task of writing addresses on all of the packages she had, setting them where Barky, the family owl, would see them when he returned from his current route.
"Happy Christmas!" A heavy object landed on Alice, painfully waking her up. "Happy Christmas!" Richard repeated.
Alice pushed her younger brother off of her, sat up, and massaged her aching ribs. "Richy! Why'd you jump on me? That hurt!"
"Some of your presents are glowing," said Richard, ignoring his sister's words.
With the thought of presents, all annoyance toward her brother disappeared. Alice sprang out of bed and was about to run downstairs when she saw the glowing presents her brother had mentioned. A bundle of packages lay at the end of her bed.
"I have presents in my room!" announced Alice with delight, dropping to the floor in front of her gifts. "Why aren't they under the tree?" she asked, picking up the nearest one.
Richard grabbed another package and looked at its glowing wrapping paper with interest. "Mom said this would happen. She said the owls from your friends would drop off your gifts at the end of your bed and that I shouldn't get jealous." He looked up. "Didn't you know that?" When Alice didn't respond, Richard asked, "Who's Steven?"
Alice snatched the package out of Richard's hand. He grinned. "Oooo! You like him, don't you?"
"I do not!" Alice snapped. She pointed at the door. "Get out of my room!" Jumping up, she tugged on the neck of Richards pajamas, forcing him to leave and slammed the door on him. Returning to her stack of presents, she began to sort through them. With surprise, she realized that she had received more presents than she had sent out and guilt temporarily filled her.
She let the feeling leave as she began to tear the paper off of the boxes and parcels though, letting the glowing wrapping paper fall where it may till her floor was glowing and twinkling and blinking up at her.
Bella and Daphne had each sent her a history book, one on the history of Asian Wizards and the other claiming to chronicle everything known about giants. Keri and Steven had also sent her books. Keri's gift turned out to be filled with maps of some of the biggest wizarding towns on the globe, but Alice soon found the book extremely annoying since every page vocally advertised the best shops in a high-pitched voice which grew scratchy the longer she stayed on the same page. Steven had sent her a book on Defense Against the Dark Arts. At first, Alice thought it was an average spell book, but as she focused in on a spell that was supposed to ward off pixies, she was delighted to see pictures form on the page of a witch performing the spell. Alice truly hoped the book would prove useful.
Joseph had sent her a chocolate frog and a deck of self-shuffling playing cards; Alyson had sent her a box of muggle chocolates and a journal with a cat on the front. Michael, Josef, Elizabeth, and Eve had also sent candy, some wizard and some muggle.
By far, the greatest gift of all though, came jointly from Ava and Blaine. Alice could barely believe her eyes. Excitedly, she scooped up as many shreds of wrapping paper as she could reach, piling them around the gift so that their glow would illuminate the bottle and convince her that it was real.
"Personality and Speaking Ink," Alice read aloud from the label, "Use with caution. Directions: Apply ink to drawings and paintings to make them talk and act with an original personality. Ink dries clear. The amount of ink applied to the mouth of drawn characters controls how talkative they will be. In order to instill personality, apply ink to the face (especially the eyes) of the characters and perform an appropriate spell which can be found in some spell books. Disclaimer: This product does not make drawings move! Warning: Do not touch ink with your bare skin or get any in your eyes. Do not consume. In case of emergency, contact your family healer immediately."
Alice's eyes darted to the book next to her bottle. Give Your Portraits Personality by Ellis Nouget. "I must be the luckiest girl in the world," Alice whispered.
"Of course you are, dear," said her mirror.
Alice walked onto the platform, her trunk heavier than ever with her Christmas presents in addition to all of her school things. While packing her trunk earlier that morning, she had seriously wondered why she packed half the things to take home that she did.
Just as her father was helping her to load her trunk onto the train, a body rammed into her back, nearly tipping her over. "Thank you for the spying mirror!" said Ava. "Now I can see through walls! It's the coolest thing ever!"
Alice began laughing. "I thought you'd find it interesting and that you wouldn't have anything like it."
"Nope," said Ava, shaking her head so that her hair swished about. "Never even heard of them, actually. Are they new?"
Alice and Ava boarded the train, waving to their families. "Yeah. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes just started selling them this year," said Alice. "Though the man who sold it to me said it might not work too well at Hogwarts. Too much magic in the place. Interference, he said."
"Oh, I don't mind," said Ava. A grin lit up her face. "For the first time ever, I got to look into my father's study when he was working in there! Too bad he was mostly reading or making potions the whole time. It would have been so hilarious if he took that time to do funny stuff like stand on his head."
Alice giggled. "Where do you come up with this stuff? You're something else Ava."
"Yeah, I know," said Ava, sliding into an empty compartment. She took out her wand and began to twirl it in one hand. "But one of these days, I'll be something else and a witch! Gosh, it's so good to be going back to school!"