A List of Names.
All rights for the Harry Potter Characters and story belong to JK Rowling. These are just sandcastles built along her beach that will disappear when the tide changes. Thanks for the great story she brought to the world.
In the year of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, several young women at Hogwarts are driven to despair by the machinations of meddling men. In an act of desperation, they take steps to remove the meddlesome and cantankerous wizards. No major ships, bashing DD, Snape, and MG. Several OC's are the primary characters in the story. Harry and his friends as observers mostly.
CHANGE SCENE – Betrothed? No!Edwina Rosier was a desperate witch in the autumn of 1994. In August, while she prepared for her seventh year at Hogwarts, her world cracked open and collapsed during a quiet family dinner. Without a moment's consideration for the feelings of his daughters, her father announced that he had negotiated betrothal agreements for Edwina and Evangeline, her fraternal twin sister.
"We are most fortunate to ally our house with Octavius Rookwood and Dyson Avery. You'll both marry a week after graduation from Hogwarts next summer."
Desperate to hear someone deny this end to her dreams of becoming a charms mistress, Edwina looked at her mother, but the witch simply smiled like always and nodded across the length of the table in acceptance of her husband's directives and decisions.
"Which one am I stuck with?" asked Evangeline. "Rookwood or Avery?"
Frowning her father replied, "Avery is for you Evangeline, Rookwood is for Edwina."
"Dyson is a very nice wizard," Evangeline said.
"And he has a very sharp mind," their mother remarked. "Runs his father's business already and has his own home where Edwina will be mistress. I believe he has an elf for all the housework."
"Father, Rookwood is an idiot and he'll beat me," Edwina declared. "His father is in Azkaban for being a Death Eater."
Her father waved away her complaint saying, "If you're a good wife, he won't have reason to beat you."
CHANGE SCENE – More Bad NewsOn the Hogwarts Express on 1 September, Edwina listened to her sister talking about her betrothal in glowing terms while she spent the journey avoiding Octavius. He didn't seem to be particularly interested in speaking to her and she counted that a blessing.
The sorting took place as usual and then the headmaster stood to make his announcements. Edwina paid little attention to the old wizard; her mind remained focused on Rookwood. She paid no attention to the groan of disappointment from the Quidditch fans and the lacklustre applause that followed Dumbledore's announcement that the Tri-Wizard Tournament would be held at Hogwarts, with three champions facing deadly tasks to win the cup.
A moment later, with some general discussion going on around her, Eddie glanced at the head table where the headmaster frowned.
'Apparently, no one is as excited as he thought they would be,' she decided. 'And what was it he said about deadly tasks? Maybe Rookwood will be chosen and die. Could I be that lucky?'
CHANGE SCENE – A Big Stink ExplainedIn her first class, Runes, Edwina was once again paired with Jessica Howell, a muggle-born from Gryffindor House. They'd worked together since the third year and were well matched. Eddie and Jessica were working on a joint seventh-year project to integrate runes with the charms used to clean clothing. They intended to create a box where the clothing would be tossed and with the press of a wand tip of a wand, the items would be cleaned, dried, pressed, and folded properly in an instant using charms and runes. Jessica assured Edwina that muggles had machines that washed clothing and then a second machine that dried them, but you still had to fold or hang the clothes. The muggles had enough magic to remove almost all the wrinkles in clothing now.
When they spoke about their summer vacation, Eddie avoided mentioning her unfortunate betrothal, and Jessica spoke about a lovely trip to France with her parents and siblings. There were four younger Howells still at home, though none were magical and in the muggle education system.
"There was a big stink in the Common Room last night," Jessica said and laughed when Eddie's face scrunched up. "No, I don't mean a bad smell. It's an expression that means someone has a terrible problem that can't be resolved."
Smiling, Eddie shook her head to dismiss the expression, but said, "What is the problem?"
"Angelina Johnson can't take sixth-year Potions. Snape decided that he had too many people in his class and denied admission to Angelina from Gryffindor and Francesca Bagnold from Ravenclaw."
"Bagnold's grandmother and Albus Dumbledore hate each other," Eddie replied. "He probably wanted to punish Bagnold and ordered Snape to deny Francesca a place in class."
"But why Angelina?" asked the Gryffindor witch.
"Probably the Gryffindor getting bumped from the class was the price Snape demanded to deny Francesca a place."
Jessica blinked and said, "Eddie, is everything in this world tit-for-tat?
"Yes," the witch from Ravenclaw replied. "I have seen this back and forth my entire life."
She bowed her head and Jessica reached over her hand to squeeze Edwina's hand quickly but briefly. The purebloods didn't touch each other frequently and never touched a muggle-born.
"Can I help? Whatever the problem is, I'll help you," Jessica assured her friend.
CHANGE SCENE – No Potions Work AroundAngelina Johnson was devastated to be denied a place in the sixth-year potions class. She had spent the last three years preparing for her sixth and seventh years to be focused on the classes she needed to graduate from Hogwarts and then become an apprentice healer. Now, her entire future lay in ruins. She believed that Snape bumped her from the class simply because she was a Gryffindor, and her parents could not afford to pay private tutors.
Francesca Bagnold was equally devastated by the loss of her future, and the two young witches commiserated and shared their blossoming hatred for Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore.
"I can't believe Rosier thinks Dumbledore would bury you and let Snape do it to me too, but it makes sense," Angelina admitted to Francesca.
After a moment of silence, Francesca offered, "We can do independent study. Edwina Rosier from my house offered to help us with each potion from Snape's class. Then we can take the exams at the end of the year."
"Is she willing to help without any expectation of payback?"
Francesca nodded. "Her friend, Jessica Howell, talked her into helping us. Jessica's going to work with us too."
"Where can we do this?"
"There are lots of empty classrooms."
Francesca grimaced and said, "I want to get Professor Flitwick involved. If we have his permission, then Snape can't object."
"Oh, he'll still object but Flitwick doesn't back down against Snape."
"Merlin, I wish McGonagall stood up to Snape once in a while."
CHANGE SCENE – Threat of ExpulsionJust three weeks into the school year, Filius Flitwick was furious.
Sparks fell from the tip of his wand as he stalked into the Great Hall at Hogwarts. He'd just come from the infirmary where four girls were being cared for by Poppy Pomphrey for injuries caused by an exploding cauldron.
The three-time champion of the European Duelling Tournament did something very uncharacteristic for any professor in the castle. He levitated himself from the floor and onto the end of the Ravenclaw table before marching the length of the table toward the staff table where Dumbledore ignored the half-goblin, McGonagall frowned, and Snape couldn't keep the sneer from his face.
"Severus Snape, you are a coward and nothing but a spoiled child!" Flitwick declared at the end of the table. "You intentionally contaminated the potion…"
"Silence!" commanded Dumbledore, waving his wand through the air, like some fairy godmother in the Cinderella story. "No one may speak except for me!"
The headmaster paused even though there was no reason with everyone silenced, before he continued, "There will be no duels in my castle. There will be no duels between staff members."
Staring at Flitwick as if to dare the wizard to question his decision, Dumbledore said, "The unfortunate accident in a deserted classroom was just that – unfortunate. No one caused the explosion except the four girls who were brewing potions without the supervision of our resident potions master. After consideration of the ramifications on their futures, I have decided not to expel them. But there will be no more brewing classes outside of the dungeons and under the direct supervision of Professor Snape."
Around the Great Hall, fourteen other students winced – that meant their private studies and attempts to recover from Snape's lack of teaching would end. Pomona Sprout pursed her lips – the Hufflepuff Mafia would have to take steps to provide tutoring for her Puffs outside of school. They had tried several times to remove Severus Snape from Hogwarts but so far, they'd been thwarted by Albus Dumbledore time and again.
Filius Flitwick always followed the rules required of every wizard in society and duelling, and for each member of the faculty at Hogwarts. His status as half-goblin meant he was required to be above reproach in every matter imaginable. In contrast, Dumbledore applied the rules only as he needed them to keep his minions in line. During the last four years, Flitwick had seen all the rules thrown out the window several times until Dumbledore used them to keep Harry Potter under his control.
This year – with this nasty tournament to occupy everyone's attention – looked like Potter would be left alone. Now, four witches working to get around some political manoeuvring by Dumbledore and Bagnold were injured and penalized by Snape with Dumbledore's complicit approval. And the headmaster excused Snape by hiding behind a threat to expel the witches. Again, Snape's hatred for Gryffindor and all other humans in existence was to blame.
Still standing at the end of the table, Filius came to an unexpected conclusion. Dumbledore must plan to involve Potter in the tournament in some convoluted way. He'd have to think about those possibilities and plan. The half-goblin glanced at McGonagall who remained silent.
'I used to respect that witch – she was formidable until the year before Potter came to school – now she's a lapdog doing her master's bidding.'
CHANGE SCENE – Hogwarts Infirmary"We did everything correctly. Something or someone sabotaged the preserved eye of newt and that's what caused the explosion," Eddie assured her friends. "Madam Pomphrey healed the blisters without any problem."
Francesca was quiet, lost in her thoughts about how to deal with this new problem. Jessica and Angelina supported Edwina and they talked about returning to the classroom to clean up the mess and begin again.
Abruptly, the doors of the infirmary opened, and several people entered. First came Albus Dumbledore followed by Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall. Madam Pomphrey hurried out, throwing up privacy screens around the beds with her patients and attempting to intervene with an unscheduled interview.
"Pomphrey, we're here to talk to the girls about the consequences of their illegal brewing," Dumbledore announced.
"Tomorrow is soon enough! I want them to rest tonight!" the matron insisted.
"Nonsense. If they're conniving enough to brew potions without supervision, they can face the music whenever the adults decide to explain the consequences," declared Snape, his sneer still in place. With a wave of his hand, Dumbledore forced the matron to remain silent.
Then he addressed the four injured witches, "First, I want you to know that I have decided to allow you to remain at Hogwarts and not expel you."
The four witches were shocked to hear such a threat and remained silent. The headmaster motioned for Octavius Rookwood to step forward from the back of the group and then nodded slowly for the young wizard to speak.
"As your betrothed, Edwina Rosier, I order you to stop working with unsanctioned potion brewing. I shall write to your father, and I am certain he will endorse my command," the wizard stated something he'd been told to say. After another moment and prompting from Dumbledore, Rookwood added, "And I order you to stop association with the mudblood Jessica Howell. She is not worthy of your friendship."
Eddie stared at Rookwood and though she dared not say anything, the expression on her face was clear – Octavius would have an unhappy marriage from the first day. Severus Snape decided to provide the wizard with a book that instructed a wizard on the ways to beat his wife that would never disable or cause permanent harm but inflict enough pain to make her compliant to his commands.
Jessica, Francesca, and Angelina said nothing and hoped the visitors would leave them alone. But then, Professor McGonagall stepped forward and said, "Miss Howell, because of this error in judgement – severe error in judgement – the headmaster and I spoke at length about your future. We decided…I decided that tomorrow morning, I shall begin negotiations with the parents of your classmate Thomas Canning to enter a betrothal. Your future as a mother to extend the Canning family's future will be ensured and Thomas will make all decisions regarding your classes."
"What? No! I'm not going to marry that lump! I'm going home after I graduate!" insisted Jessica. "You can't do this! My parents are my guardians!"
"Now, Miss Howell, your legal guardian in Magical Britain is Professor McGonagall. Her signature on the betrothal agreement is all that matters," Dumbledore explained as if that simple sentence ended all of the girl's objections. It did not but with a simple confundus spell from his wand, Dumbledore ended the discussion.
Angelina was shocked that McGonagall would do this to one of her students. She knew her parents were her guardians because they were magical, and they'd never do something like forcing a betrothal on their daughter.
'I need to find out if McGonagall does this to other muggle-born witches and fast!' Angelina decided.
Over the next week, no matter how hard she pleaded with Professor McGonagall, Jessica could not make any argument that would change the professor's mind. Thomas Canning was an amorous teenage boy who anticipated having a young witch at his beck and call once the agreement was signed by his parents and Professor McGonagall. Jessica's dorm mates kept the wizard at bay most of the time, but Thomas proved to have wandering hands even in the common room.
The post owls refused to take any letter addressed to Jessica's parents or siblings, and none of the other professors could help – even Flitwick's disgust and comments to McGonagall made no difference. Just five days after the potion's accident, Francesca Bagnold withdrew from Hogwarts for private tutoring. She spoke to no one about her decision and refused any future communications. Her trunk was packed and she left Hogwarts between breakfast and lunch.
Edwina found herself with constant stinging hexes biting at her hands if she sat beside Jessica in their runes and charms classes. Octavius stayed away from her though he was overheard on several occasions stating he wished he'd been betrothed to the 'other twin'. The first witch to recover from this latest setback was Angelina Johnson. She put aside her own worries to support Jessica, but the muggle-born teenage witch panicked every morning to have to endure another day of Canning's attention and attempts to force kisses in the hallways between classes.
On Wednesday afternoon McGonagall informed Jessica and Thomas that she would sign the betrothal agreement on Friday morning, sending a copy to Thomas's father, Joseph Canning, to sign. The next morning, Jessica refused to go to breakfast or class, stating her stomach hurt and she just wanted to sleep. When the other girls returned to the seventh-year dorm, Jessica was missing, and no one thought much of her absence. At supper that evening, Thomas Canning made a fuss because his betrothed was absent from the Great Hall.
"She'll show up at breakfast," Dumbledore assured the wizard. McGonagall ignored the worries of her students and didn't send the prefects to search for the missing witch. Without asking for permission, the head boy (Hufflepuff) and head girl (Ravenclaw) instructed all the prefects to search for Jessica Howell.
The screams of Elizabeth Westrick, Fifth Year Hufflepuff prefect, summoned Professor Flitwick who was on patrol. Jessica Howell lay on the floor at the bottom of the moving staircase near the deserted classroom where the witches brewed potions. Flitwick sent his Patronus to McGonagall who arrived with Dumbledore, and the two heads of the school discussed hiding the body of the dead girl until too many people had visited the scene and seen the crumpled body.
A form letter was sent to the muggle family informing them that Jessica died in an accident. Nothing was said or referenced about a service or returning her body. Then Professors Flitwick and Sprout forced Dumbledore to return the girl's body to her parents and only because Pomona accompanied the Aurors did the coffin get delivered to the funeral home in Jessica's hometown.
Edwina was shocked and silent for the whole of the next day though her Head of House or dorm mates stayed with her the entire day in the Ravenclaw common room or the Great Hall. Octavius's comments about Evangeline being the more desirable witch increased.
Thomas Canning was angry that his bird had escaped before he could sample the goods – four different witches in Gryffindor earned detention with McGonagall for the hexes they kept throwing at the gormless wizard. But after each detention, the witches returned to the Gryffindor tower and sat in the Common Room waiting for Canning to appear again.
CHANGE SCENE – A GhostDuring breakfast on 30 September 1994, while Dumbledore was absent, the ghost of Jessica Howell floated into the Great Hall with the other ghosts who haunted Hogwarts. Eddie had tears in her eyes and Angelina sobbed seeing her friend returned as a ghost. But Jessica was grinning as she floated down from the ceiling with Peeves. The poltergeist introduced the new ghost to the many ways to move around the castle – stone walls and distance meant nothing any longer.
Without much coaching from Peeves, Jessica made Thomas Canning's breakfast leap from his plate and smear itself across his face. Two strips of bacon migrated up the wizard's nostrils and a cup of hot tea was dumped on his head. After another minute, Canning fled from the Great Hall.
Professor McGonagall sighed but didn't rise from her seat to console the young wizard or fuss with the new ghost. Her morning grew difficult when she reached for her cup of tea but discovered that it had moved to the other side of her plate. When the witch brought it to her lips, she found the tea to be cold and sour as if mixed with vinegar. Banishing the cup and calling for a new cup, Minerva was surprised when a bedpan appeared instead of a teacup.
Scowling, the deputy headmistress began a battle with the newest ghost – teacups, bedpans, empty bottles that might have held scotch at some time in the past, and silver teapots that transformed into kittens, pumpkins, and piles of dirt, all appeared at the deputy headmistress's place at the table while she tried to eat her breakfast.
"Miss Howell, stop this nonsense this instance!" demanded Professor McGonagall after five minutes. The students and other professors watched every move of the new spirit and older witch in their contest. The ghost appeared in front of the witch suddenly, sending the students at the end of the Hufflepuff table scrambling to move away.
"Stop what, Professor Kitty?" asked the ghost.
"This!" McGonagall said motioning as the latest pot of tea dissolved, allowing the hot tea to splash across the tablecloth and the seated witch seated there.
Moving closer – Jessica was standing inside the table and cut off at the waist – the ghost leaned in and loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear her words, said, "Make me!"
There were shouts or screams from almost every throat in the hall when the ghost leapt into McGonagall, throwing her backwards and knocking her chair over. Then the ghost appeared behind the table and laughed before flying into the wall and vanishing. Hagrid helped Minerva stand and though she wanted to take points from someone, everyone remained silent.
At that point, Headmaster Dumbledore arrived, chided everyone at the head table for making a mess, and called for his breakfast. Everyone waited to see what Jessica would do to the headmaster, but nothing happened. Later, they all heard that Thomas Canning was attacked by a thousand hornets while in the infirmary while Madam Pomphrey attempted to remove the bacon from his nostrils.
When Dumbledore learned of the new ghost, he attempted to reason with her, but whenever he began speaking about forgiveness and 'passing on', the ghost continually fell through the floor or the nearest wall. Peeves and the other ghosts refused to allow the headmaster to push any of the castle's magic into any restrictions for Jessica Howell. In fact, Jessica freed Moaning Myrtle from the girl's bathroom on the second floor. The two ghosts wandered around the castle and played tricks on wizards and professors at all times of the day and night.
Thomas Canning was the favourite target for the two ghosts until he withdrew from Hogwarts for private tutoring on 3 October.
By 14 October, the school began to settle down.
CHANGE SCENE - Hermione GrangerWhen Harry Potter noticed the change in Hermione, he also kept the observation to himself. Ron talked about Quidditch, chess, which witch had the best shape, chess, and Quidditch in an endless loop between gargantuan meals. So, Harry waited to talk to his best friend in the Common Room while Ron was involved with three simultaneous chess games against his brothers and Lee Jordon.
'How can Ron not understand transfiguration theory but can manage three chess games at once?' wondered Harry before he slipped into a chair next to Hermione.
Clearing his throat, Harry asked, "How are you, Hermione?"
The muggle-born witch smiled as she looked up from the book she was reading – Hogwarts, A History. With a brittle smile and mechanical voice, she replied, "I'm fine, Harry. Thank you. How are you?"
Glancing toward Ron who was absorbed in his trio of chess games, Harry said, "He can't hear us."
"But his sister can," Hermione said, as she smiled pleasantly at Ginny seated nearby and pretending to read her charms book. Harry smiled and smiled at his least favourite fangirl, and she blushed before closing the book and running up the stairs.
"Head toward the library and I'll meet you there," Harry whispered. There were three hours before curfew and Hermione going back to the library was a regular occurrence. Harry disappeared underneath his cloak and followed her.
In a deserted hallway, with alarms set on other hallways as decoys but not on the hallway where they hid, Hermione confided, "I'm terrified. McGonagall and Dumbledore forced Jessica Howell into a betrothal with Canning. The older girls say he is a terrible person and Jessica didn't have a choice! And now she's a ghost haunting Hogwarts. Her parents must feel terrible!"
"Why are you scared?" asked Harry, confused and concerned. For his best friend to drop the honorifics from the names of professors, she had to be greatly affected by this fear.
Hermione looked around and sighed with relief to see Ghost Myrtle chasing away a prefect who might have stumbled upon them in the hallway. Ghost Jessica was nearby and moving in the other direction. Even the professors on patrol were leery of the new ghost.
"Harry, I'm scared that someday before I graduate, McGonagall would betroth me to a pureblood wizard. I'd become his property as soon as the ink was dry on the parchment."
"But your parents wouldn't let her do that."
Shaking her head, Hermione said, "Angelina explained it to me. McGonagall's my magical guardian and she can sign my life away anytime she wants until I am married or receive my exam results for my NEWTS. I don't have any say in the matter! And I don't even have to be here!"
She hugged herself tightly and confessed, "I had a nightmare that she betrothed me to Ron."
Harry sat on the floor beside his best friend and was silent as he considered Hermione's nightmare. Finally, he admitted, "Ron's not any different than Draco except he's poor and hates every second of his life because he's poor. He thinks I should – we should – just give him our homework to copy because he's a pureblood, and we're only a half-blood and a muggle-born."
Hermione sat still and remained silent, so Harry asked, "What are you thinking about doing?"
"I'm going home at Christmas and really talk to my mum and dad." She hesitated for a minute but then said, "I'm sorry but I'm scared, and I don't have as much Gryffindor courage as I thought I did."
"What will you do? Or ask your parents to do?"
"I want to transfer to Beauxbatons or another school," Hermione whispered. "The French wizards live in the 20th Century."
"Miss Granger, the 1600s remain a fine century," Harry said mimicking Dumbledore's voice.
The ghost of Myrtle floated through the wall and said, "Move toward the library. Snape is headed this way. Jessica and I are going to ambush him."
The pair scrambled to leave the hall with a minimum of noise and once they were in the library, Harry asked, "Have you found anything about this tournie-thing that's starting here at the end of October?"
"The Tri-Wizard Tournament," Hermione gently reminded her best friend.
Harry grinned and replied, "Yeah, that one."
"I looked once but then got distracted. Come on, we'll look in the index."
After fifteen minutes of looking in the card catalogue, Hermione went to the desk and queued to speak with Madam Pince. The smartest witch of her generation returned after another five minutes with her face paler than before and said, "Come on."
In the hallway, about halfway back to the dormitory, Hermione slowed down and explained. "Madam Pince was not happy about it, but Dumbledore removed every textbook and reference that discussed the Tri-Wizard Tournament on 31 August."
Harry growled and his eyes almost glowed. He hissed in parseltongue for almost thirty seconds and Hermione didn't fuss. They continued back toward the Gryffindor Tower at a normal pace, discussing their charms assignment and nodded pleasantly to McGonagall who was on patrol now. Something had happened to Severus, and he had limped away to the infirmary.
Back in the common room, Ron triumphed in the trio of chess matches. And he'd decided it was time for Hermione and Harry to write the paper that was due in charms the next day. Harry sighed and prepared to defend Hermione from Ron's tantrum, but the muggle-born witch said, "Sure Ron. Harry and I can write it together."
Waving his hand to dismiss his minions, Ron turned his attention to another chess match – Angelina Johnson thought she could challenge the Gryffindor chess master.
"Why do you want to do Ron's homework?" asked Harry, still whispering.
Pulling out a fresh sheet of parchment and her quill, Hermione said, "Let's divide and conquer. You write the first paragraph and then I'll write the second paragraph. Then, you can write the third paragraph and I'll do the fourth. You tell me when to stop, and Ron's got his essay for Charms class."
Harry frowned but wrote an opening paragraph that left out two key parts of the assignment. Then he handed the parchment to Hermione and watched her slowly write a paragraph with her left hand rather than her right. The three sentences mentioned one theory from transfiguration and two requirements for creating a charm. The pair wrote two feet of half-baked ideas that would satisfy Ron when he glanced at the paper.
When they were finished, Harry said, "Make a duplicate. With a few changes, we can use it as his transfiguration essay tomorrow night."
While Hermione made a copy of the essay, with some brightness in his tone for the first time that night, Harry said, "I thought of something important."
"What?" asked Hermione ignoring her friend's voice.
"Beauxbatons is coming here this month. You can talk to the headmistress and maybe find out if they take transfers after the Autumn Term."
Realizing she'd not thought of that and not certain what to say, Hermione stared at the wall opposite the sofa for a moment. Then in a quiet voice, she said, "Harry Potter, you're brilliant."
CHANGE SCENE NamesEdwina Rosier Ravenclaw Octavius Rookwood Slytherin
Jessica Howell Gryffindor Thomas Canning Gryffindor
Angelina Johnson Gryffindor Severus Snape – potions
Francesca Bagnold Ravenclaw Severus Snape – potions
Evangeline Rosier Slytherin Dyson Avery Hufflepuff