Chapter 4:
Ivy was stunned. She had thought she was a shoe-in for Gryffindor, but she'd been prepared for a different result. Her intelligence might have seen her in Ravenclaw, and she was extremely proud of the ambition that might see her sorted into Slytherin. She'd been ready for any of those. Hufflepuff had barely even crossed her mind. Loyalty? She'd thought herself far too rebellious for that to apply to her. However, she had to admit that the hat was correct in its assessment of her. For her few precious people, she didn't think anything was too far. The hat was lifted from her head, and light hit her eyelids. She didn't know when she'd closed them.
When Ivy opened her eyes, she had to hide a wince at the stab of pain in her head. Her headache from earlier wasn't quite gone yet it seemed. She hoped none of her new housemates had noticed and misinterpreted it. Speaking of her new housemates, it was very apparent which table was theirs. If the mass of loudly cheering and clapping students wasn't enough to clue her in, the massive yellow and black badger banners hanging above the left-most table might have clued her in. She stood up from the stool and made her way to the end of the table as McGonagall called out "Hannah Abbott" behind her.
She sat down next to a pretty blonde student who looked to be maybe in her third or fourth year. "Welcome to Hufflepuff Ivy!" The girl exclaimed. "My name is-" She cut herself off to cheer wildly as the hat quickly announced that Hannah Abbott would be joining Hufflepuff house as well.
"Susan Bones." McGonagall summoned. Ivy's eyes widened as her neighbor's hair turned red to match the girl striding confidently up to the hat.
"Cool, huh?" She asked, nudging Ivy with her elbow. "I'm a metamorphmagus, so I can change my appearance at will. Handy when getting into and out of trouble so long as I don't change in front of the teachers." Ivy looked over to study the girls face. Sharp cheekbones accented a slender jaw, covered by smooth, pale skin. Deep blue eyes and a sharp nose combined with the serious expression on her face to give her a refined and noble appearance.
"You look very dignified at the moment." Ivy stated.
"You think so?" The other witch replied, sounding pleased. "I've been working on my formal face for ages, and it never seems to come out looking quite right." A wide grin spread across her face. Unfortunately, the smile seemed at odds with the rest of her appearance, lending her the look of a country bumpkin attempting to seem refined. Her thoughts must have shown on her face because the other girl pouted, completely ruining whatever shred dignity her appearance still held.
"It worked until you tried to smile." Ivy supplied. "Then you looked like-"
"Hufflepuff!" The hat shouted again. Susan Bones walked over to join them as Mcgonagall called the next student up. The other girl momentarily paused their conversation to wildly cheer on the new addition.
"Yeah, I know." She spoke up again when her excitement died down. "Oh! I forgot to introduce myself earlier. I'm Tonks." She turned awkwardly on the bench to face Ivy, holding her hand out. Ivy shook it firmly.
"I'm Ivy, but you already knew that. Pleased to meet you Tonks." She replied politely. "What year are you in?"
"I'm in my second year this year." Ivy's eyebrows rose. Tonks was quite a bit taller, and more mature looking than any twelve-year-old she'd ever seen. Tonks noticed her surprise and grinned at her. "I told you I can control how I look, didn't I?" Tonks questioned rhetorically. Before Ivy's eyes the other girl shrunk two to three inches, her limbs and chest following suit until she appeared her true age. Her face lost some of its sharp features, her cheeks filling out a bit. Her blue eyes darkened as they lost color, settling on a deep gray as her hair did the opposite, turning a bubblegum pink. The beaming grin on her face seemed much more natural now, and it set Ivy at ease.
"Is this your base appearance?" Ivy asked. "Do you even have a base appearance, or do you just kind of hold whatever suits you? Perhaps the change is an illusion rather than physical? It would be rather difficult to maintain the illusion of a different height then. And what are the limitations? Human features only, or are animalistic features okay, perhaps even inorganic matter? If physical, are changes skin-deep? No, that wouldn't be the case if you're able to grow and shrink in height. That would necessitate the growth of extra bone matter, as well as expanding your organs slightly to fit in the new space. If you can change organs, then perhaps you can grow new ones to serve as backups as well?"
"Whoa, slow down Ivy." Tonks laughed. "Maybe the hat should've put you in Ravenclaw." Ivy frowned, wincing as another spike of pain lanced through her head.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me there." She apologized. That hadn't been like her at all.
"No need to apologize, you just caught me off guard a bit." Tonks waved it away. "But if you really want to know, then the changes are physical, my base is sort of a small range of looks that are similar to how I look now, and no I can't make extra organs." She scrunched up her nose a little at the last one.
"Thanks." Ivy said, smiling. "Hold on a moment, it looks like one of my friends is getting sorted." Ivy's attention turned towards the newest wearer of the sorting hat.
Tracey appeared nervous as she walked up to the stool, but Ivy knew that for the lie it was. Her friend was carefully crafting her "innocent girl" façade, and this first impression was important. She settled down awkwardly on the chair, fiddling with her robes nervously. The hat was only on her head for two seconds before it declared the first "Slytherin!" of the night. Ivy clapped politely, a bit disappointed to be separated from her friend, but not at all surprised. Ivy turned back to her neighbor.
"Is there anything I should know about Hufflepuff before the year really starts?" She asked, trying to reset the conversation.
"Oh, yeah!" Tonks said, before she launched into a spiel about the greatest of the four houses. The rest of the sorting ceremony continued in the same manner. Tonks' babble filled most of the silence, occasionally interrupted by a comment from Ivy. Daphne had followed Tracey into Slytherin, and Harry and Rose had both been sorted into Gryffindor. She thought Fay and her sister might have been sorted into Gryffindor as well, but she wasn't entirely certain. When she'd lost physical contact with Fay, the curse had become much more potent again. As soon as Blaise Zabini sat down at the Slytherin table, the Headmaster stood up.
"Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you." On that confusing note, the Headmaster sat down with a pleased smile on his face.
"Yeah, he does that." Tonks said as the feast appeared on the tables. She shrugged. "You kind of get used to it." They both began shoveling food onto their plates, continuing their conversation in between bites.
"I know, I've met him before." Ivy replied.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"What for?" Tonks asked, puzzled. "I mean, he's always really busy, I can't imagine he's got time to go around talking to random eleven-year-olds." Ivy tensed up a little bit. Dumbledore had warned them to keep his study on elementals a secret because of its implications.
"He was just hosting this kind of study thing I attended. He was just as odd then, but he was brilliant." She said entirely truthfully.
"Cool. How'd you get an invite to something like that though?" Ivy took a moment to think about this one. She'd gotten her "invite" because she was an elemental of course, but how could she phrase that innocently?
"I've done a lot of study on elemental magic, and imbuing it into objects." She eventually decided on. "I'm a blacksmith by hobby, so my Aunt and Uncle helped me learn about it as much as they could."
"You know, most people play quidditch or collect chocolate frogs as a hobby." Tonks teased. "What made you decide to be a blacksmith of all things?" Now on much safer territory, Ivy responded with the complete truth.
"Two reasons really." She said. She held up her fist and lit it on fire. "The first is this." Tonks choked on the mashed potatoes in her mouth. Although Dumbledore had told them to keep the results of his study secret, he had never said anything about keeping her elemental nature hidden. With how often Ivy spontaneously combusted, it was going to come out sooner or later anyway.
"No way, you're an elemental!?" She exclaimed when she recovered. "Those are really rare though."
"Yeah." Ivy said, grinning widely. "You've got a really rare talent yourself though."
"Well, yeah, but it's not as awesome as being an elemental." Tonks protested. Her hair and eyes turned the same orange-red color as Ivy's fire. "I mean, I can't even always control how I look, but you can like, uh, set things on fire and stuff." Ivy's grin dimmed a bit.
"That's sort of the reason why I wanted to be a blacksmith." She countered. "Other elements can be really useful for a bunch of different things, but the only thing fire does is burn. I don't want to destroy everything, so I decided to use it to build."
"Are you sure you weren't supposed to be a Ravenclaw?" Tonks questioned skeptically. "That was very philosophical of you."
"Tired of me already?" Ivy asked, injecting a fake tone of hurt into her voice. "That's the second time you've told me I should be in a different house."
"No, no, no, that's not it at all!" Tonks backpedaled frantically. "I was just trying to compliment you on being smart is all, I didn't mean to…" She trailed off. Ivy smirked.
"Didn't mean to what Tonks? Hurt my delicate feelings? To say I don't belong in your house? For shame, trying to kick me out on the first day." Ivy said in an overly dramatic tone, making it clear she was joking.
"You really had me going there." Tonks grinned. "So, what's the second then?"
"You mean the other reason I wanted to be a blacksmith?" Ivy asked. At Tonks' nod, she continued. "It's because my family has a huge collection of ancient weapons and armors and stuff like that, even a few mystic codes and a goblin blade. I grew up feeling like I lived in a museum except I could do whatever I wanted to with all the displays. I decided to make something better than all of them, a new centerpiece that my family would admire and know that I was the one who built it." Ivy said passionately. For obvious reasons, Ivy left out the fact that most of those weapons that inspired her were Noble Phantasms, but the feeling behind her words was the same, if not the work involved to reach her goal. Tonks was taken aback.
"Wow." She said after a pause. "I guess that would make you something like the deadliest interior decorator of all time then?" She joked.
"Nah, that would be boring. My Uncle's a treasure hunter, and he uses a lot of the things I make on the job. In return, he sources the materials I need for me." Ivy grinned predatorily. "Why do you ask, were you looking for a commission from me or something?" Tonks thought about it for a moment.
"That would be really cool," Tonks mused. "But I wouldn't know what to do with a sword, and I haven't got a place to put it in my dorm. Thanks for the offer though."
"Swords might be my main focus, but that's not all I do you know." Ivy pressed. "I've made shields, armors, flails, maces, daggers, spears, sais, you name it, I can make it. I've even made some jewelry like necklaces, or rings." Her headache flared again briefly as she thought over the projects she'd completed. None of them were anything special. She'd only recently started work on magical projects, but she had been working on mundane ones for years before she'd even thought of working with magic.
"Some hand-made jewelry sounds awesome!" Tonks said excitedly. "Have you done earrings before? I just got my ears pierced this summer."
"My Aunt hasn't let me get mine pierced yet, so I haven't done any earrings," Ivy replied with a small frown. "But I can definitely start learning now. You can take a look at my prototypes, give feedback and pick a style that works for you." Ideas began to swirl through Ivy's mind. Her usual style when making jewelry was to tailor it to fit the appearance of its recipient (although she'd only ever made any for herself, her three female friends, and Aunt Petunia). For obvious reasons, this couldn't ever work well for Tonks. It would have to be something simple and understated to synergize well with multiple appearances. Unconsciously, a grin spread across Ivy's lips. Or it could be her most challenging project yet. Tonks was change incarnate. She knew how to forge elements into items. Was there a way to forge a concept into something?
Fire had been ridiculously easy for Ivy. In point of fact, she'd actually messed up non-magical projects by accidentally imbuing them with fire magic. Water was more difficult, but she'd located some quality materials, and her first prototype had turned out good enough that she had even planned to name it. Thanks Dudley. Those were tangible and physical concepts though. She'd have to do more research if she wanted to forge a non-physical concept.
Ivy's current method of blacksmithing was to use materials and techniques physically and magically linked with her current project. All of the materials used to forge Καύμα and Tempestas were old things surrounded by fire and water for a long time. How could she find materials that were so imbued with change? There had to be better methods than hers, or perhaps some actual spells she could cast. If she could find such methods, it would open up many exciting possibilities for her. Perhaps a necklace imbued with presence to help Fay overcome her curse? Unbidden, a new thought rose in her mind. Nineteen rings, each forged of will andpower – Abruptly, a massive spike of pain lanced through her mind, derailing her thought process. Ivy winced, hand coming up to rub her forehead. Belatedly, she realized that her hand was still on fire and extinguished it.
"It doesn't have to be earrings if that would be annoying for you." Tonks said earnestly, picking up on her pain but mistaking it for annoyance. "I'm the one asking you for a favor here, I don't really have the right to be picky."
"Don't worry about that, I'm always excited to try something new. I've just got a bit of a headache right now is all, so I'm trying not to think too hard. Besides, I actually want you to be as picky as you can be." Ivy reassured Tonks. "My work is something I take pride in. Asking me to make something you won't like all that much is an insult to me." Recognizing how serious Ivy was about her craft, Tonks agreed quickly.
"Then I'll leave it up to you to forge me the best pair of earrings I'll ever wear." Tonks grinned at Ivy. "But we can talk about the details when your head feels better, for now let's eat before all of this food is gone."
Tonks' intervention proved to be a timely one. Ivy had only just finished her plate when the food vanished, quickly replaced with deserts. She picked up a chocolate chip cookie, idly nibbling on it just for something to do. A wave of tiredness swept over her, the exhaustion of the day finally hitting her now that her stomach was full. The conversation filling the hall slowly petered out as the same feeling began to spread throughout the rest of the hall. Sensing the changing mood, Dumbledore stood once more to give the real start of term speech.
"To all the new students here today, I bid you a warm welcome to Hogwarts. To our veteran students, welcome back. Now before we head off to bed, I have a few start of term announcements to make. Firstly, please welcome our two newest teachers, Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel. Please, stand up." Dumbledore paused as the hall erupted into wild applause, many recognizing the name of the famous alchemist.
They were much older-looking than Ivy expected for people who had unlocked the secret of eternal youth, appearing to be around sixty to seventy. Perenelle was a moderately short woman, at Ivy's estimate around five five or less. Dark brown hair framed high cheekbones and a sharp jaw. Her brown eyes held an affectionate, but stern gaze. She emitted a Grandmotherly aura that made her appear somewhat imposing, but still approachable.
In contrast, Nicolas did not cut very impressive figure. At five four, he was even shorter than his wife. Thin as a rake, and with twiggy arms to match, he looked like he might keel over at a sudden gust of wind. Shaggy brown hair and a scraggly beard adorned a soft face. If not for the cunning and intelligence clear in his sharp blue eyes, you could be forgiven for dismissing him as unimportant.
"They have been a last-minute addition to our wonderful staff and as such, there is currently no one signed up for our new class." Dumbledore elaborated. "Alchemy will be open to sixth and seventh years with an Exceeds Expectations on their Arithmancy and Potions OWLs. Perenelle will be available in the Great Hall from Twelve to Six tomorrow to accept any students wishing to sign up for her class.
"Nicolas will be taking the post of our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year. I am sure you will also join me in wishing him good luck at his new position. He has also convinced me to allow him to host a one-time seminar tomorrow morning after breakfast from Ten to Twelve in the Great Hall on the nature of magic itself. All first-year students will be required to attend, but it will be open to every student in the school. I strongly recommend our older students also attend. I myself have learned much from Nicolas' insight on the subject. Seeing as these activities take up class time, regular classes will begin two days from now on the Third.
"Secondly, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you once again of the ever-growing list of products no longer allowed on Hogwarts grounds, the full list of which can be found nailed to his office door. As always, the Forbidden Forest is still forbidden to students. No magic may be used in the halls, or on other students without their consent. Lastly, despite the rumors that our new students may have spread, Hogwarts does not cut students for failing a test." Dumbledore chuckled lightly as a wave of relieved sighs echoed from the first-year students.
"Yes students, it was only a joke, but it was a masterfully executed one. Ten points to Hufflepuff and Slytherin for the ingenuity and skill to pull off such a convincing act. On the other hand, there are disciplinary actions besides expulsion that Hogwarts uses to correct malevolent behavior. Jokes are a delightful way to spread laughter and joy, but please take care that they are not at the expense of others. Perhaps a few of our older students ought to remember this as well." Dumbledore paused briefly to cast a stern gaze at the crowd of students. When he was certain his message was received, he brightened up once more. "Now, let us join together to sing the school song. There is no particular tune to be kept to so pick your favorite and sing to your hearts content."
Dumbledore waved his wand, conjuring up several silver ribbons with the school song's lyrics printed on them. All at once the school exploded into a cacophony of noise. Perhaps in other circumstances, Ivy would have enjoyed taking part in the sheer chaos the school song generated. As it was, it only served to set her headache throbbing in time with whatever passed for the "beat" of the song. Thankfully, all but two of the students were finished within a minute. The last two Gryffindors, singing to the tune of a funeral march, had surprisingly pleasant voices that set Ivy's headache at ease. They too finished quickly, leaving a teary-eyed Dumbledore to conclude his speech.
"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here!" Several groans echoed across the hall, in clear disagreement with Dumbledore. The man in question was unbothered.
"Now then, off to bed with you all. Would our new prefects please lead the first years to their new dormitories?" He inquired gently. Nonetheless, it was still a command that all of them readily obeyed.
"I'll talk to you again tomorrow when you're settled in if that's alright." Tonks told her as she stood up from the bench. Ivy gave her a small smile.
"Tomorrow then." She replied. Tonks' answering grin was bright enough to outshine the sun.
"See ya then!" Tonks exclaimed. She turned away with a small wave, joining the other departing upperclassmen. Ivy watched silently as she left, already chattering away at her fellow second years. Soon, there were only two fifth years and a scattered handful of first years left at each table. As soon as the last straggler had left the hall, the Hufflepuff prefects stood in unison.
"First years, gather around me please." Spoke the female one. Her command was met with a flurry of movement as they hastened to comply. Aside from herself, Ivy counted twelve other students had joined Hufflepuff this year, six males and six other females. Unfortunately, she had stopped paying attention to the sorting ceremony very early, and only knew the names of the two girls who had followed after her. She'd try to learn the rest later. "Try to remember the route from the Great Hall to our dorms if you can, but don't worry about it too much. Most of the older students, portraits, and ghosts will be happy to give you directions if you're lost. Once we get to the dorms, Professor Sprout – that's our head of house – will do introductions and answer any questions then we'll all head to bed."
The male prefect stepped past his female counterpart and clasped his hands together. "Please follow me, and don't lag behind. Just last year we lost a first year for a week when she tripped down the wrong passage." He told them. On that alarming note, the older students led them out of the great hall. Ivy was amused to note several of her classmates huddling closely to the prefects. Upon exiting the hall, the group proceeded down the right-hand side of the passage. They had barely walked one-hundred feet before they ran into another right turn, leading to a staircase down a floor. The bottom of the staircase opened up to the middle of a short hallway barely three-hundred feet long after another right turn at the landing. Ivy was immediately struck by a riot of color. Paintings of every kind covered the walls, and a few were even affixed to the ceiling. Dark and light, big and small, there was no theme at all to the mass of colorful canvas. Their guides paused in the middle of this hallway as they filed down the stairs.
"This little hallway right here is one of four that forms a perimeter to the Great Hall directly above us." The man spoke up. He pointed at the wall behind him. "The kitchens are right in the middle here."
"Finding the secret entrance to the kitchens is sort of a rite of passage for each first-year class, so the older students will not help you." The woman elaborated. "You are allowed to look together, and to tell your classmates when you find it, but you don't have to. I can tell you that the entrance is in these four hallways, so you don't need to go searching the whole castle. We've had first-year classes that thought it might be a tricky entrance like that. It's not. The last thing I am allowed to say is that all of the paintings on the wall are charmed in different ways. None of them can speak to anyone who does not already know about the secret passages in these halls." She gestured to the colorful walls.
"There is only one other secret passage in this hallway, and it's the entrance to the Hufflepuff dorms." The man took over. "The entrance is just down the hall here."
They were led down the left side of the hall, towards one of the few places that wasn't covered in paintings. Instead, stacks of barrels filled the recessed corner. "Pay attention to what I do here, because if you get it wrong, the barrels will drench you in vinegar." The woman said cheerfully. She raised her fist to one of the barrels, rapping her knuckles against it in a short rhythm. One, two. One, two, three. Ivy counted. In response, the front of the barrel swung open, revealing an earthen passage behind it. "The barrel you need to tap is the one in the middle column, second from the bottom. The rhythm is 'Hel-ga Huff-le-puff'." She informed them, emphasizing each syllable. She boosted herself up onto the barrel, awkwardly ducking her head to avoid the low ceiling. The barrel entrance was only three feet tall, forcing them to crawl through on their hands and knees. Thankfully, the passage expanded to five feet tall past the tight entrance.
After the female prefect vanished down the tunnel, her counterpart closed it behind her. "If you've got that, it's your turn to open the passage." He said, smiling widely at them. "Don't get it wrong because I really don't want to smell like vinegar tonight."
As one of her classmates stepped forward, Ivy stepped back. "That's easy." The pink-haired boy said. One, two. One, two, three. He knocked. Nothing happened. "Huh?" One, two. One, two, three. He knocked again, harder this time. When nothing happened again, he growled under his breath and clenched his fist tighter. BANG, BANG. BANG, BANG, BANG. He pounded his fist on the barrel.
"You know, the definition of insanity is trying something over and over again and expecting a different result." The prefect said, leaning against another barrel with a shit-eating grin on his face. He reached a finger up to his chest and tapped a small silver badge pinned to his robes twice. A stylized badger was carved into it. "This is the last line of defense for our common room. Anyone not wearing one of these can tap away to their hearts content, and the barrel will never open. I must have forgot to mention that."
"Urk." The boy who'd tapped the barrel grunted. Ivy giggled lightly as his face colored to match his hair.
One, two. One, two, three. The prefect tapped the correct barrel. This time, the passage swung open readily. "You'll get your own when you enter the common room. Don't lose it." The elder student gestured towards the passage. "After you." Ivy hung back for a moment, allowing her classmates to enter first. If the prefect had been willing to prank them with opening the door, she'd let her classmates take the hit for her if there was a second. Fortunately for them, they were unmolested on their way down the passage, although a few of them had to stoop to get through. For once, Ivy was glad she was four feet nothing.
The tunnel was very short, and it quickly opened up into a large round room. Small windows placed high on the walls showed the grounds by the lake. Parts of the view were blocked off by grass growing at the base of the window. "We're underground." One of her classmates muttered.
Inside the room, plants decorated the area. A few lay in pots on tables or the floor, but most of them grew on a two-foot-wide section of wall that protruded out into the room. Most of them clearly displayed some magical effect, such as a pale white flower glowing in the silver moonlight. Ivy suspected the rest were also magical, but with less obvious properties. Comfortable looking furniture was scattered around the edges of the room, most of it already occupied by older students who hadn't wanted to go to bed yet. The center of the room was dominated by a long table, upon which sat a pile of the badges they'd been promised. A middle-aged woman stood behind it, watching them as they entered the room.
"Hello students," She said, spreading her arms wide. "And welcome to Hufflepuff. I am the head of house, Pomona Sprout. I also teach Herbology." A wave of hello's echoed back at her.
"For tonight, all we will be doing is grabbing a Hufflepuff badge and heading off to bed. Girls are down the tunnel to your left, and boys are off on the right. Each of you have one roommate, and your names are already posted on your door. We had on odd number of students last year as well, so I'm sorry to say no-one gets to room alone." Professor Sprout explained. "Tomorrow after Professor Flamel's lecture, we will all gather here and do introductions and take any questions you may have. If you have any questions that cannot wait until tomorrow, I will take them now." The professor waited in silence for a few moments. When it became clear none of them were about to speak up, she clasped her hands together with a small smile and concluded her speech.
"Excellent. Now, off to bed with all of you." She ushered them on. "Ivy, if you would stay behind a moment please? The Headmaster asked me to take you to see him tonight."
"Eh?" Ivy questioned.
"You're not in any trouble dear." She reassured, stopping her classmates' mutterings about exactly that. "It's about your application for a workshop here at Hogwarts."
"A magus?" One of her classmates questioned, the blonde boy suddenly eyeing her warily. Magi had a well-deserved bad reputation amongst wizard-kind for their amorality in pursuit of their goals. The Ministry of Magic and the Clocktower clashed often about what one faction was doing to the other.
"A blacksmith." Ivy mollified her suspicious classmate. "I asked for permission to set up a forge." She was, in fact, a magus, but she was also a third-rate one, and her request had been put in solely to make a forge she could use here. Technically, she wasn't even lying. Satisfied with her answer, the boy nodded to himself and proceeded off to find his bed. Ivy watched him go, not bothering to mention he hadn't picked up a Hufflepuff badge. After he left her sight, she picked up her own and pinned it to her robes.
"If you wouldn't mind, could you show me the way to Headmaster's office?" Ivy asked her head of house. "I'm afraid I've never been."
"Hold on a moment dear." The portly woman commanded, bustling around the room. "You are the odd one out this year, so I thought to give you a chance to get to know your new roommate. Goodness knows she's been to the Headmaster's office often enough to lead you there. Oh, where's she gone. Aha! Meet your new roommate!" She exclaimed, stopping in front of a blonde boy.
"What!?" Ivy questioned in shock. "I'm rooming with a boy?!" A familiar grin spread across the unfamiliar face, a light giggle escaping him.
"Maybe sometimes." The 'boy' laughed, 'his' features shifting into a girl's. "But most of the time I prefer to stick to this gender." Tonks said.
"I saw you two bonding with each other at the feast so I decided to pair the two of you together." The Professor explained. She turned to Tonks. "If you could please guide her to the Headmaster's office Dear? She has an important matter to speak about with him."
"Yeah, I know, I was listening in earlier." Tonks admitted shamelessly.
"I suppose I should have known." Professor Sprout countered, not quite rolling her eyes. "Off you go then. The password is Bertie Bott's."
A/N: Technically, I didn't lie, this chapter did take less than a month. I had family over for a week and a half and went on three weekend lake vacations, during that time though. In reality, I got this chapter done in three weeks!
So, what I said was true…
From a certain point of view.
That's not gonna fly with you guys is it? Anyway, even though I said this chapter was going to explain what's going on with Hogwarts, it ended up running really long, so I decided to cut it in half. I have about a thousand words of the next chapter written, so the next chapter will definitely take less than a month. Also, yes, I'm pretty certain the Hufflepuff Dormitories were inspired by Bag End, but that was JK's decision, not mine. It's on the wiki.
Someone asked in a review if Hogwarts was a Noble Phantasm like the Hanging Gardens, capable of going airborne. I suppose it's possible that if you summoned a heroic spirit that had Hogwarts as it's Noble Phantasm, that it might be capable of summoning a floating castle. As it is, Hogwarts is still a physical location that is like the basis for a Noble Phantasm. I'm pretty certain that the original Hanging Gardens couldn't fly either, and it was just a special effect of it being Semiramis' Noble Phantasm.
Finally, I bet none of you saw Tonks coming right? Wait you did? What do you mean she's one of the characters on the title summary thing? Damn, I was sure I was being sneaky. Also, before anyone says 'But Tonks is in seventh year when Harry is in first!', my reply is going to be: I like Tonks and it's my fanfic so she is now in Second Year. What an amazing coincidence that they are both the odd one out, one year apart and forced to room together too huh? Oh, wait it's not a coincidence. With that,
Ga3_Bolg out.
(Seeya next month… or later)