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October, 1991

The morning of October 7th rings like a clear bell the moment Yvonne opens her eyes.

She's burrowed deep into her duvet and Copernicus is curled beneath the sheets, snuggled up against her side. It's comforting and grounding, but there's nothing more Yvonne wants to do than spring from her bed and hurry to the Great Hall.

Yvonne wiggles her toes and pulls the duvet over her head as uncontrollable giggles pour out.

It's Monday morning and she has a full class schedule ahead of her. She has to turn in that gruelling History of Magic essay, and today is Double Potions except none of that matters because, as of today, she's finally twelve years old!

She nearly skips to the showers once she's finally out of bed, humming and dancing through her morning routine. Today is a day for her special soap that smells like honeysuckle. Today is a day for her mother's special blend of oils for her curls.

Once she's done, Yvonne perfectly primps her hair into a ponytail that makes a halo of springy curls that fwip to and from as she turns her head.

Yesterday, her mother's gift arrived and Yvonne wears it now, carefully wrapping her hair in the baby blue scrunchie. It's decorated with little white daisies that softly emit the scent of the Spring flower.

It makes her feel bubbly and she smiles as puts on the matching dangly, daisy earrings.

They chime softly as she continues to fluff her curls.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Yvonne stretches on her toes and leans forward, trying to spot anything different. Now that she's twelve, she should look older, right?

She certainly looks the same as she did last year though. Same wide nose, same brown eyes.

Sadly enough, excluding her hair, the only thing that's changed is her height. She has to be at least 160cm now because she's definitely taller than most of the other children in first year.

She wonders briefly who she'll take after more—her father is around 190cm but her mother isn't far behind at 180cm.

Popping her lips, Yvonne flips her ponytail and merrily bounds from the room, accidentally stubbing her toe when she tries to open the door a little too quickly.

As she makes her way to the Great Hall, Yvonne is bouncing with joy with every step. She's bubbling with excitement for the day because, outside of the fact that it's her birthday, her first progress check in Charms is today too and she's eager to take on the challenge.

According to Professor Flitwick, all they have to do is explain magical absorption in their own words and provide some examples in a short essay.

Naturally, she's well prepared for the task—Magical Theory is one of her favourite books after all and she's read it front-to-back about three, different times now. Plus, Professor Flitwick has been lecturing on magical absorption for so long that she's sure she could recite the theory in her sleep.

Yvonne just knows she's going to smash it.

So, while the rest of the first years hurry to breakfast with their books spread out in front of them, Yvonne calmly fills her plate and pours herself some juice. Of course, she's still reading like the rest of her housemates so she takes out her copy of Juju's Eccentric Adventure, a book about the discovery of counter-curses that Willow gifted her.

It's bizarre for sure, yet Yvonne loves reading about Juniper Juneberry and the way she discovered and invented the first counter spell.

All of that is forgotten however, when twenty minutes into breakfast a Spotted owl swoops down and drops off a blue wrapped box topped by a pretty lavender ribbon right in front of her. She looks up into the owl's familiar face and starts.

"Bosley!" she blurts in surprise.

In response, the owl shakes his white freckled wings and hops closer to her on the table.

Smiling softly, she offers her hand so the owl can freely rub himself against her fingers. She pushes her plate towards him, offering her food too.

Bosley, of course, nuzzles against her fingers, scoops up her leftover pieces of bacon, and then flies off, flapping his wings wildly.

Tilting her head, Yvonne slides her book to the side and picks up the wrapped box with both of her hands.

It must be from her father, she reasons excitedly.

She's been gleefully waiting for his present and she grins widely as she tugs the ribbon free, pocketing the slip of silk for later—maybe she can tie it around her wrist for good luck?

As soon as the top is off the box, an explosion of confetti erupts from its depths, the multi-colored pieces floating up in the air before turning to dust and softly raining down on her. They twinkle in the light and gently burst like water drops on her skin before disappearing.

Yvonne tilts her head back and basks in the fanfare of her birthday. The reminder makes her heart twirl inside her chest. Instantly, she thinks of last year and all the needless worrying she did over getting her Hogwarts letter.

And now look at her! Turning twelve and getting her presents via post in the Great Hall.

Taking a moment to laugh over the memory, Yvonne smiles and focuses back on her birthday present. From inside the box, a tiny, origami lynx springs out and lands in her palm. It sniffs at her once before it hops down onto the table and peers up at her with it's scribbled on eyes.

"You're so cute!" she gushes quietly, stroking a finger over its head. It tilts its head from side-to-side and gently flicks its paper ears just as a real lynx would.

Continuing her exploration, inside the box is an envelope, signed with her father's curved writing, a conch shell about the size of her hand, and a silver, seashell locket.

The locket catches her focus first and she beams when she sees the photograph of her family on the inside, laughing and smiling together as they wave towards the camera over and over.

"Special occasion?" asks a voice from Yvonne's left.

When she looks up, she finally registers that the nearby Ravenclaws, and some of the Gryffindors at the next table, are all staring at her. Her smile wilts at the attention and she shifts, feeling an itch take over her body.

The owner of the voice is an older Ravenclaw girl sitting next to her with a curious look on her face.

Yvonne licks her lips and clutches the locket close to her chest. "Yes—uhm, it's my birthday. It's just some gifts from my family." she answers, nearly mumbling.

It's awkward announcing her birthday to the whole table like this. What if they think she's expecting them to do something now? What if they make it a big deal despite not really talking to her any other day?

The older girl is kind and simple though. She doesn't make much fuss outside of politely wishing her a happy day and turning back to her friends.

Now fully aware of the gaze of the Great Hall, Yvonne swiftly tucks everything back in the box and stuffs it into her shoulder bag. She leaves out the small paper lynx though—she doesn't know how long it's charmed to stay animated, but she'll carry it around in her pocket so she can check on it whenever.

"Happy Birthday." Sue offers from a little down the table.

She and Padma are sitting together to her right and they both give an uncomfortable smile when Yvonne turns to them. Across from them, Mandy and Isobel are noticeably looking the other way, while Lisa is focused on the book in her hands.

Since that day back in September, it is nothing short of terribly awkward around her roommates.

There's always an initial silence whenever she enters their dorm and it lingers before anyone resumes their conversation. All the other girls are avoiding her too, whether in class or around the castle.

It's like they've all agreed to silently lock themselves in a painfully uncomfortable tension and Yvonne berates herself over constantly. She shouldn't have left. She should have tried to explain rather than running away like a coward.

Imagine how different things would be if she had just laughed off Lisa's comment and not gotten angry over such a small thing.

She stresses over it constantly, unsettled by the lingering unease. Yet now, she's too afraid to open the situation back up in fear of making it worse.

She figures that maybe, with enough time, the weird air will just slowly disappear.

Because that's how these things work, right?

Given the smile she forces on her face now, it's not looking likely.

"Thank you." Yvonne replies, instantly turning her head away. It feels like there's a stone sinking in her stomach and her fingers desperately want to dance with anxiety.

Sometimes, she has to remind herself that, when the other girls talk to her, they're just doing so to seem polite. Otherwise the anxiety will slowly rise in her and make her body itch. Because more than being afraid of making the situation worse, Yvonne constantly dreads the topic of her family's curse being brought up again.

Imagine it being brought up here and now, in the middle of breakfast.

The thought promptly makes her stomach squeeze tight like a constricting snake. Yvonne hurriedly packs away her books and slips the charmed origami away before making her retreat from the Great Hall.

Her foot catches on the bench as she tries to leave the table and she nearly crashes into the wall, but she recovers just as quickly and, with a few long strides, she's making an early start to her school day.

Despite the uneasy moment, Yvonne's day seems to brighten as it goes on. It's impossible for her to not be shining with joy—it's her birthday after all—but the day also is full of pleasant surprises.

Her words flow easily in Charms so the essay on magic absorption she writes is especially brilliant. Professor Flitwick pulls her aside after class to wish her a happy birthday and let her know she's doing wonderful in his class.

Keep it up, he says as he gives her a wink and five House points before sending her on her way.

In Transfiguration, she earns Ravenclaw even more House points by solving and applying a formula on substance conversion. The nod of approval Professor McGonagall gives her makes her feel like she's floating.

Even in Potions, the class Yvonne dreads the most, she and Leanne avoid Professor's Snape ire and attention.

The Hufflepuff girl, who's been her partner since the first day of class, has steadily become a friend to Yvonne with her bubbly smiles and easy conversation. She's also aware that Yvonne has butter fingers when it comes to vials and such, so she has no issue with slowing down a pace or two so Yvonne can carefully help with their potion brewing. Usually Professor Snape will yell at them to hurry but, none of that happens today, so she and Leanne smile as they chat together and brew their potion with ease.

Leanne even sweetly wishes her a happy birthday before they separate for the day.

Much to her luck, the day continues as such and Yvonne is unconsciously humming to herself as she plays with the small paper lynx in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Quirrell is going over vampires again and the paper toy helps her drown out his thrice-repeated lecture.

After she's done with classes, Yvonne immediately heads to the library, determined to spend the rest of her birthday in her favourite place.

Being in between the stacks gives her a joy like no other. She loves Hogwarts' library.

Since it's the late afternoon, she avoids the main area where all the students typically crowd. All they do is natter endlessly and complain about their classes there. Which doesn't really bother Yvonne—she's read through the worst of Maggy and Tammy's hijinks—but Madam Pince is always shushing over and over. And really, talk about a distraction.

When Yvonne finally settles down, she's at a table by herself, hidden away in the History stacks, and reading the letter from this morning.

Apparently, her father's latest assignment is in Italy and he's sending a parcel of Italian desserts to her. They'll take longer than her present, he warns her, because the charm for preserving the food in the parcel takes a bit more work to make it last the trip. But, either way, in a few days time, Yvonne will be enjoying the desserts nonetheless.

She sighs expectantly and licks her lips—she can almost taste the sugar on her tongue now.

Tiramisu is undoubtedly her favourite Italian dessert and she just knows her father is sending her at least three different flavours of it.

Well, at least, she hopes he's going to send her different flavours. She's so bad at choosing just one whenever she has the option.

In his letter, her father also tells her to share the desserts with her friends and Yvonne giggles, trying to imagine herself approaching Neville in the Great Hall to offer him a treat. He would probably really enjoy tiramisu yet, the thought of going up to the rowdy Gryffindor table seems so absurd to her.

They're so loud and boisterous—Finnigan using spells left and right, Weasley stuffing his face, and the Gryffindor girls chatting over the noise of the Great Hall.

She doesn't know who would freak out more—her or Neville.

Maybe she can save them both the unnecessary attention and approach Neville in Herbology. Then maybe they can meet up on the weekend.

Yvonne shakes her head and focuses back on the letter.

Her father, of course, wishes her a happy birthday and then explains that the conch shell is enchanted to mimic the sounds of Starcliff's beaches. Even when you're not home, Starcliff will always be with you, he writes.

Yvonne gasps in delight and promptly digs in her bag for the shell.

When she pushes the opening of the shell to her ear, something inside her melts. It's perfect. It's absolutely perfect. Yvonne can't get enough of it already! It's like standing on the shore and watching the long, rolling waves stretch up from the sea. The cries and twittering of the birds. The peaceful tide.

She swears she can almost taste salt in the air.

In this corner of the library, it's like she's back home, spending the summer on the beach with her sisters.

Sighing in happiness, Yvonne hugs the shell close to her chest and basks in the wonderful gift. She will listen to it every night before she goes to bed and especially when she's missing her family.

Speaking of her family, Yvonne smiles and fishes out the locket so she can carefully look at the photograph inside. Maggy and Tammy are smiling over her father's shoulders while baby Aveline is waving thanks to her mother's assistance. Willow sits in the middle of it all, waving both hands from her place on the couch.

Yvonne slips it over her neck and the silver chain magically adjusts to a proper size so that the shell hangs right above her heart. She fingers it for a moment while her heart feels like it's about to burst. She loves her family so much. She can't wait to go home for Yuletide!

The smile on Yvonne's face can't be diminished as she packs her parcel away and pulls out her homework.

Just because it's her birthday doesn't mean she's going to slack off! However, even as she works, the joy of the day rises like a song in her and it's not long until she's absent mindlessly humming as she completes an essay for Transfiguration.

Right as she starts to softly sing along with the song playing in her head, the sound of hurried steps clickclickclicks through her peaceful bubble. Yvonne's head snaps up swiftly, afraid that Madam Pince has come flying around the corner and is going to SHUSH her for singing away in the library.

Instead, all she finds are the startled, pecan eyes of Hermione Granger.

"Oh!" the other girl gasps, stopping short in her obvious warpath to the table. "Oh—I didn't realise anyone was here." Hermione shakes back her frazzled, bristling hair and raises her chin.

Yvonne thinks she looks like she's expecting a fight.

The Gryffindor girl certainly looks like she's gone through the mill. Her hair is more unruly than usual and she's panting slightly in exertion, her face flushed and waspish. Her shoulder bag is nearly bursting from the books that have been half stuffed inside.

"Is everything alright?" Yvonne asks.

She knows who Hermione is of course. It's impossible not to, given the fact that her hand is always flying up in class. She seems to know the answer to everything about magic in spite of being Muggleborn.

The other Ravenclaws don't necessarily dislike her, but her name has come up once or twice since it's clear Hermione is one of the smartest first years.

She should be in Ravenclaw, her housemates regularly groan once Hermione has out-marked them once again.

"Yes, yes, of course. It's just…" Hermione stalls, shifting on her feet and looking over her shoulder. "The area I was sitting in has been taken over by some of my housemates and—well, nevermind." When she finishes, her lips purse for a moment before she simply shakes her head.

"Would you mind terribly if I sat with you? I just need to study for History of Magic tomorrow and I can't think when they're all hanging about. I mean, why bother coming to the library of all places to have a chinwag? I expect there's better places to waste time." Hermione huffs out, sounding more cross as she goes.

Yvonne blinks slowly as the rant slowly processes. Hermione is giving her half-expectant eyes and Yvonne finds herself nodding even if she only partially absorbs Hermione's rant.

"Right, yes—uhm—please, sit." she agrees, reaching forward to slide her books closer to her, slightly afraid of having Hermione cross with her for taking up too much space.

"Thank you." Hermione says, smiling thinly. She heaves her overflowing bag onto the table and takes the seat next to Yvonne, shifting until she's comfortable in the chair and unpacking her books.

Yvonne takes the moment to observe the other girl. Her cream cheeks are flushed from lingering indignation and her ever-present furrowed eyebrow is on. It sits between her brows like a monument to her racing mind.

"What are you working on?" Hermione asks, leaning over to look down at Yvonne's parchment. She hmphs, "Transfiguration, then?"

Yvonne, who leans back when Hermione all of a sudden veers into her space, shyly nods from her position.

Her mind races with things she could say but none of them feel right. Yvonne isn't used to the feeling of being unable to find the words she wants. She knows she's always been a little shy in front of strangers, but she's never felt so anxious over saying the wrong thing before.

While she's caught up in her fear, Hermione eyes her as if waiting for more.

Yvonne ducks her eyes away because it feels like her tongue is stuck at the back of her throat.

After a moment, Hermione's polite smile ticks down into a slight frown and she says stiffly, "Well, I suppose I should get back to my work then."

The other girl promptly opens her copy of A History of Magic and focuses her gaze quite intensely on the words, nearly hiding her face behind the width of the book as she holds it up.

Still somewhat caught up in the whirlwind of her feelings, Yvonne hesitates a moment before she re-dips her quill and starts back on her essay again.

While the rest of Ravenclaw is confused by Hermione's House placement, Yvonne can clearly see why she's been sorted into Gryffindor. She's bold and upfront, charging through conversation like a bull in a china shop. Still, even though she tries to give her essay the proper attention, her mind keeps drifting back to the minute interaction that just happened like her mind is slowly catching up.

Sure, Hermione is somewhat unexpected, but wasn't that rude of her—barely answering like that. She's treating Hermione like her housemates treat her and the thought twists her mouth with something sour.

Frowning, Yvonne wonders if maybe Hermione was trying to make conversation with her. She did say she isn't one for a chinwag in the library but perhaps she is trying to get to know Yvonne so they could sit together again?

Now biting her lip, Yvonne feels the guilt eat at her stomach like quicksand. She shifts in her seat and slightly starts twirling her quill, thinking on what to do.

She doesn't want to make a mess of another situation like she did with her roommates. Except, Hermione is nothing like them so maybe it will go differently? She's forward and honest, as far as Yvonne has seen. Plus, she's clearly sharp and she must be kind since she helped Neville back on the Hogwarts Express.

Yvonne makes up her mind quickly after that thought and so, with a slight hesitation, she clears her throat to grab Hermione's attention.

"C-can I ask you something? If it isn't a bother?" Yvonne asks.

Hermione peeks at her from over the edge of the book.

"Yes, go ahead." she replies.

"You see," Yvonne starts, licking her lips. "I've heard that for Muggles, schooling starts at age five. And—well, you're one of the brightest witches in our year, but I was wondering if it was very different, Muggle and Magical education." Yvonne finishes, nervously fiddling with her quill.

Is that too much? Maybe Hermione doesn't want to talk about the Muggle World? Will Yvonne sound ignorant for not knowing about Muggle things?

Hermione immediately lowers her book at the question and purses her lips in thought.

"It is very different." she finally declares after a moment. "In fact, I find it quite maddening that we're all just expected to know certain things without being properly told about them. I find it all quite dangerous."

Yvonne's head tilts in curiosity. "Dangerous?" she asks, timidness gone in the face of her interest.

"Yes, like in Potions, for example. We're given our first potion to brew in the first week! Poor Neville melted Seamus' cauldron and was covered in the half-finished potion. He had to be taken to the Hospital Wing since his skin started to boil!" Hermione exclaims, shaking her head of hair in anger.

She continues, letting out a huge sigh. "He's alright, of course, but a tad more supervision and some suggestions from Professor Snape could have saved him the trip. And, speaking of Seamus, his magic—or wand really—seems to have a particular knack for exploding in his face. He always has soot on him. It's not very safe, is it?—learning magic, I mean."

"I…I never thought of it like that, actually. I suppose you do have a bit of a point." Yvonne replies, frowning as she thinks. "I nearly lost a tooth in Flying class when the broom lifted itself into my face."

Hermione shakes her head immediately. "Ugh—Flying class! Don't even get me started—I think that class should be restricted to second year and above, it's far too dangerous! I could barely get my broom off the ground before Neville was crashing into the side of the castle. And then, Madam Hooch left us all alone there. Unsupervised." she emphasises, mouth set in a prim line.

"Oh yes," Yvonne says. "I heard about what happened to Neville. It was very nice of Potter to get his Remembrall back for him." She drums her fingers lightly before continuing.

"Is it different though, in the Muggle World? Do you all learn to drive cars instead?"

Hermione blinks at her before laughing suddenly. Yvonne feels heat gather in her cheeks. Great—she must have said something ignorant. Now, she's gone and embarrassed herself.

She ducks her head, trying to hide behind her hanging curls as Hermione continues to laugh.

"No, that's illegal!" Hermione smiles and leans closer to Yvonne. "Most people don't start learning until they're at least fifteen."

"Oh," Yvonne replies, still looking down. "S-sorry, that was probably a foolish question."

Hermione blinks again and tilts her head at Yvonne. "It wasn't foolish. It's nice to know that as much as I don't know about the Magical world, you all are in the same boat when it comes to the Muggle world." she says it simply, a friendly smile on her face.

Yvonne peeks up at her, trying to see if she means her words.

When Hermione just stares back at her, Yvonne's anxiety rolls back and she timidly jokes. "If you're ignorant about the Magical world, getting the best marks in class is a funny way to show it."

The other girl laughs brightly and Yvonne smiles shyly in return.

"Well, there's books on those things so of course I can learn them. There's tons of things I still don't understand though." Hermione responds matter-of-factly.

She pauses for a second, her brows furrowing again as she thinks. "For example—why is everyone so concerned about House placements?"

"House placements?"

"Yes," Hermione groans, rolling her eyes slowly. "My housemates are always complaining about Slytherins, insisting that I should be in Ravenclaw, and looking down on Hufflepuffs. It's as if whichever House you are sorted into is something to be judged on! And they seem to think that being selected for Slytherin is some kind of confirmation on who is good and bad amongst wizards and witches."

Yvonne purses her lips. "Honestly, I don't quite understand it all either." she replies, shaking her head. "My father was sorted into Slytherin and he definitely isn't a Dark Wizard. Plus, that's simply a rumour. Leta Lestrange was a Slytherin and she stood against Grindelwald!"

"Precisely!" Hermione agrees, huffing. "But, given the way the rest of the school treats House placements, you would think that people's personalities only fit into four categories. It's completely ridiculous!"

Yvonne nods in agreement. "It doesn't make sense, really. Except…there is Malfoy and Parkinson…and…" Yvonne trails off, wincing as she thinks of the two Slytherin students with foul attitudes.

The two girls make eye contact.

Hermione sighs and her shoulders slump. "They are a bit awful, aren't they?" she concedes.

They're both silent until a tiny giggle slips and soon, they are both slowly descending into laughter.

It really is hard to try to argue for Slytherin with Malfoy and Parkinson carrying on the way they do. And it feels nice, Yvonne decides, to laugh over it with someone.

Yvonne smiles shyly at Hermione once her laughter has subsided. "I think you make a good fit for Gryffindor. Ravenclaw is much too…" Her face screws up as she thinks about her roommates. "Cliquey."

Hermione scoffs and shakes her head. "I don't think that's just Ravenclaw since the girls in my House hardly speak to me." she replies casually.

There's a second of silence before Hermione's eyes abruptly widen.

It seems like she didn't mean to say the last bit, Yvonne realises, because Hermione promptly clears her throat and straightens her back, looking away from Yvonne.

She's lifting her chin and her face gets that pinched look again.

Yvonne bites her lip, feeling her chest squeeze at the stiffness on the other girl's face.

Maybe she does that whenever she thinks she's going to be made fun of, Yvonne guesses.

Shrugging her shoulders slightly and fiddling with her fingers, Yvonne offers Hermione an embarrassed smile. "My roommates don't really talk to me either."

The confession seems to surprise Hermione, who turns back to her with lifted eyebrows. "But you're a Shacklebolt! And you're so nice!"

Yvonne's hands slide to her face as her cheeks fill with warmth and she ducks her head to hide the strength of her sudden smile.

She giggles breathlessly before looking back up at Hermione with a tongue in cheek smile. "Thank you, I think you're nice too."

Now it's Hermione's turn to get flustered. Her face turns rosy as she smiles shyly at the compliment.

Both girls look away from each other, laughing in embarrassment.

"You can call me Yvonne, if you want." Yvonne offers.

Without realising, she all of a sudden remembers when Neville said similar words to her a month ago on the Hogwarts Express. She made a friend then and she's making a friend now.

The thought makes Yvonne smile wider.

Hermione's smile is sweet and small as she extends her hand. "Nice to meet you, Yvonne. I'm Hermione."

They shake hands, giggling. It feels like there's a bubbling brook in Yvonne's chest as the happiness flows through her.

"Oh!" Hermione gasps. "Happy Birthday, by the way."

Yvonne's smile lifts with pleasant surprise and she blinks. "How'd you know?"

Hermione simply shrugs. "Saw you this morning in the Great Hall."

"Of course, right." Yvonne nods her head in understanding. "Well, thank you."

Hermione smiles and plays with the edge of her book, while Yvonne leans back and picks her quill back up, twirling the feather in wonder. The smile won't leave her face, even as the silence stretches between her and Hermione.

She's made another friend. Whatever new anxiety she experienced today is easily forgotten now.

Maybe she doesn't have to be so afraid of saying the wrong thing anymore.

"Did you mean to spend your birthday in the library?" Hermione asks suddenly, peering over at Yvonne.

Yvonne thinks her new friend sounds almost hopeful and the thought makes her giggle.

"Yes, yes I did," she answers simply.

Looking back now, Yvonne reckons she made a good decision.

Her twelfth birthday has been fantastic.


A.N: Whew. It has been a week ya'll let me tell you. I got my booster on Monday...that joint kicked my ass LOL I was down and out the whole week. But, I made it through so I am officially boosted whoohoo! Also I start my new job on Monday so fingers crossed for bigger checks and better business practises! I might not be updating twice a week as I have done in the past (new schedule and all) but I'm learning time management skills again so I will be definitely setting time aside for Yvonne and her journey :D

Anyway, enough ramble, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter :)