Chapter Two
Precisely fifteen minutes later, a crash could be heard, signaling the arrival of one of Kathleen Gray's closest friends: Laurie Morgan. The crash had been her stumbling after a disorienting journey, via Floo powder, as evidenced by the soot on her clothing and in her dark hair. She began brushing herself off, but paused at the rapid footsteps approaching her.
Kathleen had come downstairs the second she heard the crash, her hair still wet from her shower, and wearing only a dressing robe. Her parents had locked themselves in their bedroom to dress in peace, leaving the responsibility of greeting their guest to the one who invited her.
"Why, Miss Morgan, what a pleasure to greet you!" This was accompanied by a grin; both girls had been taught formalities, and delighted in mocking them.
"As it should be. Your house is not even close to the level that mine is, but you are, after all, only a Gray- your hovel is sufficient."
The two exploded into laughter at the idea of using such formal language with each other; Kathleen was a half-blood, and Laurie came from a family of blood traitors that was second only to the Weasley's.
"There's food on the table if you're hungry; feel free to do whatever while you wait."
Laurie went towards the table, fixing herself a plate of eggs, while Kathleen returned to her bedroom to dress.
Ten minutes later she returned, wearing jeans, a long-sleeved thermal shirt, and old sneakers. She was followed by Helen Gray; the only male in the house generally elected to stay out of magical affairs. The three travelled to the Leaky Cauldron, covered in ash by the time they emerged from the fireplace.
"Booklists?" The mother almost always got books and potion supplies, while the girls got new robes, or anything else they might need.
"Actually, since neither of us need new robes, could we get the books while you go to the apothecary? I've been wanting to look for some new books, and this is as good of an opportunity as any..."
This suggestion was quickly agreed to, and they agree to meet outside of Flourish and Blotts, the bookshop. Helen separated from the girls, who decided that they would first buy some quills, ink, and parchment.
Kathleen was selecting a few bottles of ink to add to her already full basket- she didn't believe there was such a thing as too many writing utensils, when she was reminded the Laurie didn't know her news.
"I wonder who the new prefects are…" Kathleen shrugged, deciding not to say anything yet; she wanted to see if her friend could figure it out on their own. "Lupin probably, but who's the other one?"
Kathleen hadn't considered who the male prefect would be, but the other girl was probably correct- Remus was one of the best students in their year, along with herself and Lily Evans. Laurie seemed to be thinking in the same direction.
"I bet it's Lily- McGonagall loves her, and Dumbledore surely asked the Head's for suggestions-"
"Wrong." Laurie looked up.
"What?"
"I said you're wrong."
"But why wouldn't he ask McGonagall?" Kathleen sighed at this.
"I didn't mean that. I meant that Lily isn't a prefect." Laurie's eyes widened at this, the doubt all too easy to read.
"How do you know? Did Dumbledore send you some sort of letter telling who the prefects were?"
"In a sense." Understanding was beginning to dawn on her friends face.
"You're a prefect? Why didn't you tell me?" Kathleen shrugged.
"Why's that so surprising? Did you honestly not even consider that I might be a prefect?" Laurie could hear the slightly offended tone in her voice.
"I would have thought you'd tell me."
"I wanted you to figure it out."
"Remind me again why you're not in Ravenclaw?" In their first year, the Sorting Hat had spent nearly eight minutes deciding between the two before placing her in Gryffindor.
"Do I look like the Sorting Hat?"
They returned to their former state of comfortable silence when Kathleen spoke up again.
"I wonder if Remus really is the other prefect."
"I hope not- if he is then his stupid gang will get away with everything." Laurie lived in a constant state of annoyance at the four Gryffindor boys, who, other than an unfortunate tendency to prank others, really weren't bad. Kathleen had figured out the cause of the dislike years ago- her friend loved pranking at least as much as them.
"All of the things you didn't think up first you mean." This was met with silence.
They quickly bought their things with some galleons given to them by their parents, and hurried into the bookshop, where both had been anxious to visit. Though the Sorting Hat had next to no hesitation when placing the other girl in Gryffindor, she had a passion for reading almost as great as Kathleen's.
They grabbed a basket each, and, after picking up a copy of the new textbooks they would need, hurried off to the separate sections they enjoyed. Laurie went straight to the fiction section, while the other girl continued to browse amongst the textbooks. She searched through the titles, searching for the one topic she was really interested in: Animagi.
Ever since she first saw her Transfiguration teacher turn herself into a cat in their first lesson, she'd wanted to learn how. Every time she had asked, she'd been told to wait a few years- until last year, when McGonagall finally agreed to teach her. Though the essentials had been explained, she still wanted additional information, and the books at Hogwarts didn't go into as much depth as she would have liked.
She'd nearly managed the transformation a few times, to her surprise- it usually took years before anyone could even get close to changing. McGonagall had nearly fainted the first time; according to her, no one had managed the spell that quickly. The professor was confident that her pupil would master the skill by Christmas.
"Animagi?" Kathleen turned around in surprise, almost dropping her basket- which was now loaded with books- to see who had spoken. She relaxed when she saw the identity.
"Remus." He was her closest friend, other than Laurie, and they had spent countless hours in the library together.
"Hello Kathleen." The boy looked at her collection more closely. "Why are you getting so many books on Animagi? I mean, I know you love Transfiguration, but why not just get some books on that?" He looked a bit nervous, as though there was something he didn't want the girl to find out.
"McGonagall's teaching me." Kathleen said this with a bit of smugness; she doubted any other student in the school would be able to learn the spell. "I started last year, and I nearly have it, though we're still not sure what I'll turn into."
"Is anyone else learning?" Kathleen hesitated to answer, but decided to confide in the boy,
"I'm teaching Laurie; she doesn't want to go through the Ministry registration."
"So you're registered, and she won't be?" She nodded. "How close is she?"
"I'm not teaching her until I've perfected it." Remus seemed to find this sensible. "Why?"
"Let's just say that I've researched the legal consequences of being unregistered." Kathleen opened her mouth to speak, but he ignored it. "So, guess who's a new Gryffindor prefect?" She heard the pride in his voice and knew her earlier assumption to be true, but decided to pretend she was ignorant.
"James and Lily?" His face fell ever so slightly. She grinned. "Actually, now that I think about it, I believe they're both in this shop…" It took him a moment to understand what she was saying.
"You're a prefect too?" She nodded. "Brilliant! I was worried I'd have to deal with someone awful who didn't have any interest in it, but I know you'll actually help." She grinned at her friend; Remus was one of the few people who actually took their responsibilities seriously.
They discussed what they knew of prefect duties, and decided to meet up at Kings Cross so they could travel to the prefect compartment together. Kathleen had grabbed a few more Transfiguration textbooks, and they'd wandered to Remus's favorite section: Defense Against the Dark Arts. She skimmed through the titles, grabbing a few. When she reached for one about the Patronus Charm, the boy looked puzzled.
"Can't you do a Patronus?" The girl shook her head.
"I've been meaning to learn, but I've been busy with Animagus studies." Kathleen sighed. "I plan to focus more on Defense this year." She paused. "And Herbology." She hated to admit it, but the latter was her worst subject.
"I may not be helpful with plants, but I could teach you the Patronus- and other spells, if you're interested."
"Could you? I'd really appreciate it- I could teach you some Transfiguration if you want, or maybe Arithmancy?" They shared the class, and she knew that he found it more difficult than herself.
"Deal."
Remus left shortly after that, only to be replaced by Laurie. Kathleen proceeded to get some additional reading for each of her classes, and the girls purchased their books. When Kathleen made to sit down, Laurie spoke up.
"Quality Quidditch?" She asked, naming her favorite shop. She'd been Keeper of the Gryffindor team since third year, and had persuaded her friend to try out this year. Kathleen nodded.
"I might as well get a broom- Mum offered, after all."
They walked down the street, talking about which position the new prefect should try out for, and what broomstick she should buy.