The middle of this chapter is split between two different simultaneous meetings… I'll try not to confuse my readers ;)

Elvish will be in bold italics. Some times it will be English, and some times it will be actual elvish (I find the occasional phrase that I like and work in… somewhere along the way Emma will tell Malfoy Nostach be Orch gaer and Labo vi Orodruin (Review for translations!)). If the translation isn't written beside, it's a plot item and will be translated later.

Chapter 13: Midichlorians and Ministry Gits

Professor McGonagall, who had been marking papers in her Head of House chamber, surveyed the wreckage before her with frown.

"Professor, I-" stammered Emma. She was still holding Morgan's wand.

"It's my fault, Professor," said Lee in a subdued voice. "I dared Morgan to borrow a Jedi lightsaber and turn it on, and I dared Emma to try spell…"

"She did it right too," put in Fred, "But she did the wrist movement too quickly and-"

"I missed the glass I was aiming at and hit the table instead. I'm terribly sorry Professor… I didn't know it would go so high so fast…"

Professor McGonagall had remained very quiet up till this point. She considered the five of them for a minute, then spoke.

"You are lucky, Mr Jordan, that you only lost your hair, instead of your head. 20 points from Gryffindor, for your inducement of reckless behaviour. Miss Ylime, 10 points from Gryffindor for the borrowing of weapons from guests without permission. Miss…Emma, 15 points from which ever house you end up in for the destruction of property."

All five heads snapped up sharply at this. "15 points from- but that must mean-"

"And 50 points to Mr Jordan, for the discovery of our new student's abilities."

They stared at her for a minute before the reality of what she'd said began to sink in. Morgan and Emma looked at each other, then high-fived, cheering. Fred and George started laughing. Lee stood stunned, almost unable to believe he'd be given house points.

"Yes, yes, I know that it's very exciting, but we must get you to Dumbledore. He shall have the final say in this manner." Her tone and expression suggested, however, that she doubted he would disagree. McGonagall cast Repario over the broken furniture, and in seconds the common room looked as good as new, and they were heading off to see Dumbledore.

As they ascended the revolving staircase, they could hear the sounds of raised voices coming from the office.

"I understand what it is that you are saying, Master Qui-Gon," Dumbledore was saying, "but I think the answer to your problem is about to walk through the door."

They stepped inside.

"Good afternoon Minerva. What brings you here?" He beckoned McGonagall over, and they began to talk in lowered voices. Qui-Gon looked furious. Obi-Wan, whom Morgan hadn't noticed at first, looked embarrassed and scared to death.

"Oh, and Morgan," said Dumbledore, looking up suddenly "there's a Padawan who's about to get his head chopped off for losing his weapon… I rather think you may be able to help…"

Qui-Gon looked ready to spit tacks, then looked confused, as Morgan crossed the office and stood in front of Obi-Wan, withdrawing his lightsaber from her robes. Obi-Wan's eye's widened, as did Qui-Gon's.

"Sir, your Padawan didn't lose his lightsaber. He left it by the fire-"

"To dry-" mumbled Obi-Wan

"And I… snatched it. For a dare. It was silly, and for that I apologize. I also apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused you or your student." Morgan bowed to Obi-Wan, and presented his lightsaber to him. Then, as a quick afterthought, she bowed to Qui-Gon, too. They both stared at her, stunned. She had focused her attention back on McGonagall and Dumbledore. They had finished their discussion and turned back to Emma.

"Emma, we have decided that, if you wish, you shall attend Hogwarts. However," continued Dumbledore, "you must first obtain your brother's permission. In fact, I think I need to talk to him… Now, Messers Weasley, Weasley, and Jordan, if you wouldn't mind, I need to talk to the others in private…"

Fred, George, and Lee left the room, shooting Morgan and Emma quizzical looks.

(We shall now be split between Emma and Legolas's discussions with Dumbledore and Morgan's interview with the Jedi, starting with the former)

"Legolas, it has come to my attention that your sister possesses significant magical talent."

Legolas raised and eyebrow. "How significant?"

"Iblewupthecommonroom," mumbled Emma.

"What?"

"I blew up the Gryffindor common room!"

"Rhaich!" (translation: Curses!) Legolas shook himself, and then turned back to Dumbledore. "What does this mean?"

"Well, naturally we would love for her to train here. However, I feel part of that decision lies with you."

"If she wishes to, she may."

"That is an excellent decision. However, I must ask your agreement and forgiveness on a small matter of importance."

"Yes?"

"First, Emma, it would make things much simpler if you had a surname we could use. For classroom purposes."

"Thranduilion," said Emma quickly. "My surname is Thranduilion."

"Good. Now, Legolas, what I say is not meant as insult, but the ministry has strict laws about… the possession and use of wands… by… non-wizards."

"You mean half-breeds?"

"Certainly not. That is a filthy common term not to be used at this school. However, for legal purposes, I'm going to have to ask you not to reveal the fact that you are an elf to anyone that you do not explicitly trust."

"Of course."

"Our entry into the school records shall read that you are human, 11 years old, and from the South of Wales. It shall read thus until such times as we have deemed it… appropriate that the ministry may be informed."

Legolas again raised his eyebrows, and let out a low growl.

"I wish you to realise one thing before you begin to yell. The ministry is full of xenophobic gits who won't believe anyone is capable of anything unless the proof is thrust in front of them. If you allow your sister to stay and train with us, she can give them that proof."

"You truly believe that she has that much potential?"

Dumbledore handed him a picture of the common room.

"By the gulls!" breathed Legolas, stunned.

"Ya línna ambanna tulinuva nan" said Dumbledore, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"May I?" Legolas indicated the photo.

"Of course," said Dumbledore, handing it over.

(And now to Morgan and the Jedi)

"You actually managed to sneak into our rooms, grab my lightsaber, and get out without us even noticing?"

"Apparently. I really am very sorry."

"Not a problem," said Qui-Gon, coming over. "What's that?" he added, concerned. He was pointing to a shallow cut on her neck.

"Oh, just a scratch. Must have been a piece of flying glass."

Qui-Gon came closer and, laying a hand on the cut, said, "I do believe that it was-"

"Ehck" exclaimed Morgan.

"-a piece of flying wood." He held up a bloody splinter. He then produced a silver thing about the size of an iPod and placed the splinter inside. It beeped twice. Qui-Gon's eyes widened.

"Obi-Wan, set your lightsaber to practise strength and give it to Morgan."

Obi-Wan looked confused, but did as he was told.

"Morgan, I want you to clear your mind and block my blows. Concentrate on nothing else, just the saber."

Morgan closed her eyes for a minute. When she opened them, they contained a look of such fierce intensity that Obi-Wan was actually scared.

"Ready?" asked Qui-Gon. She nodded.

"Begin."

He began his attack so suddenly and furiously that Morgan was caught slightly off guard. She recovered quickly though, and soon they were caught up in a whirling dance of attacks, parries, and counterattacks.

It seemed like ages to Obi-Wan, but it was really only a few minutes later that they stopped, both deactivating the sabers and bowing to each other.

"Well done Morgan! Well done."

"Thank you sir. I enjoyed it!"

"Would you like to try again some time? Tomorrow, perhaps, or Monday evening?"

"Sure. That'd be great! How about tomorrow evening?"

"What about tomorrow evening?" asked Emma, coming out of the inner office.

"Qui-Gon agreed to teach me to duel!"

"As in sword fighting with lightsabers?"

"Something like that…"

"They have a practise room for that?"

"No idea. We could do it in one of the outbuildings if they don't."

"Can we join you? I'm sure Legolas would appreciate a spar…"

"With who?" questioned Obi-Wan.

"Me."

"Of course you can join us," agreed Qui-Gon, as Dumbledore entered.

"Wonderful. So glad to see you're all getting along so well. Emma, tomorrow McGonagall will take you and Morgan to Diagon Alley to get your things. Morgan, I would recommend stopping by-" he scribbled something on a slip of paper, "while you're there. It's near the ice cream shop. Oh, and ask Kirkby to show you the Come and Go Room tomorrow afternoon. I think that will be all for tonight."

There was a chorus of "Thank you Professor"'s and "Goodnight, Albus"'s from the group, then they all excited the office and went their separate ways.

"Meet me in the Great Hall at 7:30 tomorrow, girls," instructed Professor McGonagall, "We're going to have lots to do if we're going to be back on time."

The next day dawned crisp and cool. Morgan, Emma, and Professor McGonagall ate a quick breakfast before Floo-ing over to Diagon Alley.

This was Emma's first real experience with the Wizarding World, and she thoroughly enjoyed herself. They bought her list items quickly (and cheaply, it was school supply discount sale time!) and still had time left to explore. McGonagall left the girls free to roam while she went to look into something at the bank. She said they could enter London to, but had to stay downtown, be back by 3:30, and stick together at all times.

They went out through the pub, and stepped on the nearest bus. Morgan still a fair bit of normal money left, but most of it was Canadian, so they got off at the nearest bank and exchanged it. Morgan was determined to show Emma all the touristy sites, as well as Hamley's, but after noticing the strange looks people kept sending them, they stopped at a clothing store first and bought Emma some less conspicuous-looking clothes.

Now clad in jeans, t-shirts and sweaters, they started out to explore. They saw the Tower, and even took the tour that Morgan thought was a ridiculous rip-off but Emma insisted on paying for. They went past Big Ben, and marvelled at the statue of the man who spent nine months under water propping up Winchester Cathedral so it didn't sink. They went to Hamley's, and came out with three chemistry sets and two iPods. Then they went back to Diagon Alley, and checked out the store that Dumbledore had recommended, Lab Supplies Inc.

Inside was a colossal amount of supplies for both Muggle and magical experiments. Sulphuric acid and potassium hydroxide stood side by side with aconite and wolfsbane. A case in the back held large chopping knives, but also contained small, diamond-tipped precision scalpels. There were measuring cups in every conceivable language and quantity (3/4 of a shekka, anyone?) and 14 different types of Bunsen burners. There were hotplates and cold plates, scales and balances, anything you could want or need. Morgan didn't know where to begin.

She found a store associate and began asking about voltaic cells and power converters. He was at first taken aback at her age, but her enthusiasm was contagious, and the associate soon was pulling things off the shelves and dragging her around the store. Three quarters of an hour later they walked out, laden with supplies and a frequent buyer's card. Even Emma had been drawn into their craze, and had bought a few blocks of jewellery quality metals for some forging Gimli had agreed to teach her.

They had just enough time to make it back to meet Professor McGonagall, who eyed their purchases, somewhat amused, then they Floo-ed back to Hogwarts. They dumped the stuff in the Gryffindor dormitories (an extra bed had just happened to appear sometime over the course of the morning) and headed out to meet the Jedi.

Once they had found Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, and Emma had gone and fetched Legolas, Morgan summoned Kirkby (apologizing profusely to him if he'd been busy) and they headed off to find the Room of Requirement.

"It should be around her Miss," said Kirkby after a bit, "You must ask for it for it to appear."

"Huh?"

"State what you require."

"Okaaaaaaaaay… um, we need a place to duel!"

"And some armour," added Legolas, "We don't have any of ours."

"And some suitable obstacles," threw in Qui-Gon, "And a few dummys and targets."

"And a few more weapons," added Obi-Wan and Emma in unison.

They stood, silently looking around for a moment, and then, suddenly, a door appeared in front of them. They opened it and stepped inside.

The room was, to put it bluntly, perfect. It was split down the middle into two separate areas. On one side the walls were lined with racks of swords and daggers, wrist guards, chain mail, and archery supplies. There was a practise circle chalked out on the floor, and a row of targets set at various heights and distances against one wall. On the others side of the room was a rack of blasters and little round metal things, and a twisted metal structure which, on closer inspection, was not in fact metal but rather some form of polycarbonate. The practise area there was defined by a roped-in square.

They stood there staring for a brief moment, then got right at it. Emma and Legolas moved to what was obviously their area, and started a few rounds of sparring and some target practise with throwing daggers. Qui-Gon set Morgan and Obi-Wan up with a standard team exercise, involving them trying to disable the little round metal things as they flew around their heads and shot at them. He split his attention between Morgan and Obi-Wan, and Emma, who was already extremely adept at archery and was pretty good with a sword. After watching her for a moment, Qui-Gon went over and stopped them.

"Can I borrow her for a moment?" he asked Legolas.

"Alright."

He lead her over near the rack of blasters and once again produced the silver object.

"Is there a needle around here anywhere?" he asked. A sewing kit appeared on the rack.

"I'd like to do a simple blood test on you," he said. "It's to test your midichlorian levels."

"My what levels?"

"Midichlorian levels. If you have high levels you are probably Force-sensitive."

"Force sensitive?"

"Able to sense, and most often control, the Force. I'll explain the Force later," he added, seeing her confused expression, "if you'll let me do the test quickly now."

"Uh, okay?" answered Emma, still confused. Qui-Gon took a needle from the sewing kit, and gently pricked the skin at the back of her neck. A small drop of blood landed on the Not-An-iPod. After a few seconds, it beeped twice and Qui-Gon looked down.

"Well, well, well…"

Yes, another cliffy… We're going to be jumping around a bit now, so hang in there… ;0)