Hi All, you're getting 2 today and 2 tomorrow, not because I'm nice [I'm not] but because my system has been hacked and I want to come offline totally for a while and I don't like to do that until I've fulfilled my obligations in posting. Chapter 20 will be the last one of this story, but please don't stop sending me reviews; I'll catch up with them when I come back online though I may be brief to the point of terseness in my replies as emails so are going to back up. Wish me luck! I'm now going to run a full system check. I'm also taking a holiday so I'll be back in a few weeks.
Chapter 18
Heather Burns hated her school; two terms was quite enough for her to see that sooner or later she would end up a nervous wreck from avoiding the bullies, and that however hard she worked, the teaching was too poor for her to ever even shine with work. If she even avoided being beaten up for being a swot and being a prude because at eleven she did not want to kiss boys. She had already been called a lesbian, which she had thought was a fancy name for an actor until she looked it up in a dictionary. Secondary school was NOT like the school stories she loved. Of course, the girls in school stories like the Chalet School series had rich parents and were posh; the daughter of a factory assembly line worker and a scrub-woman were not likely to ever be able to send their daughter to a posh school.
But there was a very odd school – or at least some very odd children who assembled for – one assumed – a school train at Kings' Cross station, not far from the terrace house where she and her parents lived in council house land. The children – as she had noted now for two terms, since their school went back before hers – walked THROUGH a wall at the station. And those who were her own age, first years, had carried some very strange stuff, cauldrons and cages with owls in; and older children had brooms like the old fashioned twig brooms in museums only somehow looking quite high tech.
Armed with her copy of 'Carola Storms the Chalet School' and 'The Wrong Chalet School' to give her ideas, Heather had set about, for the January train, photographing the children with her dad's camera, paying for the developing from her pocket money; and then she was ready to go round jumble sales and charity shops to get clothes as close to those they wore as possible. Fortunately basic grey school uniform was not hard to find; the coloured ties – four different patterns – were harder, but she picked the colour that seemed best to her, and easiest, and managed to find a tie in green and silver stripes and embroidered a green band around her grey sweater with tapestry wool. Some of the children, she noted had academic style gowns like university students; some wore them, some had them draped over one arm, and she had no idea if they were general wear or only worn by class prefects or something. Accordingly she made her own from a slinky black sheet she picked up in the British Heart Foundation shop, murmuring something about 'acting cupboard' at the funny looks she was given, and packed it in her suitcase. Then it was there if she needed it. She had few illusions about being found out and sent home even before her own school term started; but at least she would have experienced the adventure and would have see HOW they got through a wall and why. It might be a hologram, and a school for spies; although the cauldrons and owls in cages hinted more of a school of magic. Which a big girl her age did not ought to believe in; but one could hope….of course, they might turn her into an owl so she couldn't tell, but even that would be an adventure in a way and had to be better than wondering when she was going to be so badly hurt by the bullies that she died, or never walked again or was blinded or – worst of all – brain damaged. So, daily, Heather lurked at the station waiting for the day the others went back, a letter to her parents in her hand to post so they would not worry for too long.
And the day came.
Heather posted her letter; and lurked.
She would wait until a few had gone through and try to go in with a large group, following behind a group of friends or a large family.
The big boy who waited and greeted all the others looked nice; she was sure he wouldn't turn her into a white rabbit or anything if he caught her. He had the red and yellow tie and she half wished she had chosen that; they seemed to be the ones, that and the green one, with the jolliest kids, and she had seen big boys who looked like twins who each had one of those two colours. They were loud and jostled with others, but somehow they weren't like the bullies even though they were so self confident and other kids seemed to do as they said. They arrived this time; and one of them had an arm around the waist of a girl his own age and was trying to kiss her all the way in while she, laughing, fended him off gently. She had one of the other ties, the pale yellow and black one that was too much like a faded wasp for Heather's tastes. Of course, these were probably school Houses, like the Houses in the stories about Primula Mary by Dorita Fairlie Bruce; and to choose a house by aesthetics was a bit silly, but it wasn't just that. This girl was merry enough but some of her housemates seemed a little…boring. Perhaps Heather would have fitted with those ones after all, as she was interested in academic work; but it would be nice to be with fun people.
The big boy – she could see now he had a badge saying 'Head Boy' – was greeting a grown up.
"Professor Dweemer – may I say how sorry I was to hear about your mother, sir, my deepest commiserations."
Professor Dweemer gave a sad smile.
"Thank you Mr Fraser; I appreciate that. I'm planning on throwing myself into work. My temporary replacement was all right?"
"Yes, Sir, Madam Jones isn't of your calibre but she held the fort admirably under the circumstances and she'll be teaching at the companion school from September."
"Good. Professor Dumbledore told me about her; I remember her twin very well. Araminta Jones was a most promising Enchantress, she will be much missed. Murdering swine!"
"Quite so sir" said the Head boy.
The Professor nodded and moved through the wall in a stately manner.
A promising enchantress! It WAS magic!
A rather strange looking woman was talking to the Head Boy now, all dressed in dangly scarves and things and dropping things from her capacious but overstuffed handbag.
"Oh David – it is David, isn't it? I don't suppose you recall me, I'm Jasper's mother, Jasper Crouch- Jones!"
"Ah yes, of course, Madam Crouch-Jones; what's he done now?"
"Oh dear, has he got the same reputation as his father and me? I suppose it's almost inevitable….well we were on our way and he tripped over his broom and he's in St Mungo's with several broken bones."
Heather could see the Head Boy stifling a smile.
"I suppose it was inevitable that JJ would do that one day….don't worry Madam Crouch-Jones, I'll let Professor McGonagall know he'll be a few days late….will you bring him or does he need an escort?"
"Oh he's old enough to send on the Knight Bus I should think; he's had one accident, he can't surely have any more. Anyway, I want to go and visit him, thank you so much!"
The Head Boy turned to a youth standing beside him and remarked,
"If she thinks JJ can avoid having any more accidents it's the triumph of hope over experience, young Dell. There's always one; normally it's a Weasley, but with a friendship like JJ and Colin Weasley, almost anything can happen. JJ's father almost killed Professor Snape when they were juniors together by leaving his cauldron on the step into the carriage."
The boy addressed as Dell grinned.
"I can see Severus Snape going flying and really finding a bag full of vocabulary to land on the unfortunate Crouch-Jones…. Was he as wordy back then, do you know?"
"I think he was born suckling from a dictionary" David Fraser laughed. "Just be aware, if you've decided to volunteer to take over from me as train monitor, almost anything that can go wrong, will. We've had the wrong kids on the train and your friend Mary-Anne Green got halfway to Devon before she realised she was on the wrong train…"
"And St Jodoc's is an all boys school too!" laughed Dell. "Her dad is planning to decorate the house when she's gone, so she's wondering what sort of carnage is going to greet her for the summer hols and how much she's going to have to rescue him from. He won't have a firm of goblins in to do it; insists on doing it without magic because he finds DIY relaxing."
"Some people do….but Mr Green loose with wallpaper and paste….the mind boggles" said Fraser "He's one of the nicest muggles I know but he's as scatty as they come."
Heather wondered what a muggle was.
They seemed to go by surname a lot; more like Jennings than the Chalet School, though she had heard individuals using personal names. Some of the personal names were a bit weird; but if they were witches and wizards they might have different famous wizards they called people after, like there were loads of people she'd come across called Paul after Paul Gascoigne. There was even one boy at school whose surname was Bond and whose parents thought it funny to call him James. He was a pig too; but at least with a name that was a joke he had some excuse.
A girl with mousey hair but beautiful skin and enormous blue eyes came up talking to a blonde lad.
"…and this is the last train journey to school I'm going to enjoy, Victor, because next year my awful cousin starts. The son of Gilderoy Lockhart no less – and doesn't everyone know it!"
"I thought your uncle was unmarried?"
"He had a girlfriend and she claims he planned to wed her before he lost his marbles trying to maim Harry and co with Ron's broken wand and she named her darling golden-curled angel Amadeo. Amadeo! I ask you, I thought I drew a short straw being called Precious, but at least it shortens to Pris, and that's cooler now I've seen 'Bladerunner'; I say, isn't Ruger Hauer GORGEOUS? I reckon you'll look rather like him when you grow up. Why Victor, you're blushing!"
And then they were through the wall.
"No Mary-Anne" Fraser was saying.
"She'll be rescuing her dad from an errant roll of wallpaper; she'll be fine" said Dell. "Oh here are half my crowd… Tuthills and Tamsin and Tim… hi people, I'm going to take over from Fraser when they kick him out of school at the end of next year so I thought I'd practice."
"You are a glutton for punishment, Lionel" laughed a tousled small boy. "Well we'll see you in there!"
Several other children were arriving; now was Heather's chance. She took a big breath and tagged on behind the group of chattering youngsters, as Fraser was distracted explaining to a ginger haired boy called Colin that his friend had a broken leg among other things.
There seemed to be no resistance at all by walking firmly at the wall; and then she was on a train platform with a big, puffing red steam engine and carriages full of children!
She was though; she had seen where they went; and now she was going to get on the train and maybe, just maybe she might even see magic performed!
Heather followed Mr Dell's friends because the two younger ones seemed about her age; they wore the gold and red ties, the other two had the yellow and black; Dell had the silver and green. Membership in a house did not seem to preclude friendships in other houses; and the theory that twins or siblings were split as a matter of course seemed incorrect because the two referred to as 'the Tuthills' seemed to be twins, and had the same ties and the ginger haired Weasleys all seemed to have the same tie.
And then there was a large boy with a green and silver tie giving her a nasty grin, just like the bullies at her own school.
"Well well, a new kid, eh? What's your name new kid? 'cos you can call me 'sir'."
And then he was clutching at his face howling with anguish, as – were they BATS? – were pouring out of his nose attacking his face.
"Take that you bully!" yelled the female Tuthill pointing still with a short stick at the boy "Hey, are you new? Don't heed Baddock, he's a creep; I'll show you how to do the bat-bogey curse later if you don't know it. Are you a Weasley? Most Gingers at Hogwarts are Weasleys, though I've never heard of one in Slytherin House, 'cos you can't count Lynx, she's half Black, and the Black family are traditionally Slytherin. I'm Freya."
"And I have to deduct ten points from Gryffindor for wand work in the corridors" said a tall girl coming up "Honestly Freya can't you duck out of sight or something when you've done bully baiting?"
"I was just trying to help the new girl feel at home, Willow" said Freya.
The dark haired girl regarded Heather thoughtfully, took in the white, peaked face glowing with excitement and not a little fear, her paleness throwing both her big brown eyes and her freckles into sharp relief under her mop of untidy ginger curls.
"Hmmmm" said Willow.
She wore the silver and grey tie too.
"Please, I'm very grateful to er, Tuthill" said Heather. "I- I'm Burns. Heather Burns."
"Well, Miss Burns, you've enough sensitivity for me to sense a wand type for you but I wager you can't show me your wand."
"Er…. I broke it" said Heather quickly, remembering someone called Ron who had a broken wand.
"Quick thinking; but no banana" said Willow. "You're a muggle, my child, and you've got here quite feloniously."
Heather fought not to cry and sniffed hard. She was to be sent home before she even got there. Then the carriage door opened and a small girl in an orange sundress and blue cardigan got in, half thrown by David Fraser who swung onto the train with Lionel Dell as it whistled loudly, whooshed steam and pulled away.
"Mary-Anne Green, where IS your uniform?" demanded Freya.
The child in the sundress grinned ruefully.
"Can you believe, dad forgot he was going to start decorating after I left and managed to drop a whole pot of yellow paint in my school kit?"
"Yes I can believe it; I've met your dad" said Freya.
"Lionel Dell" said Willow.
"I didn't do it, Prince. At least I don't think I did" said Dell.
"What, a guilty conscience this early in the term that you can't be sure?" laughed Willow. "This here child is an interloper; but she's a sensitive and I can see maple with occamy plume core lurking in her. Knowing how well you brought young Ross on I thought I'd dump her in your lap – metaphorically – and leave you finding out all about her for us and actually preparing her for school if we get to keep her."
"Oh please, Willow" said Heather "I won't be allowed to stay even – even if I am sensitive or whatever, because my parents won't be able to afford it. I – I just wanted to see where you all went, so there'd be some good and exciting memories so it wouldn't matter so much when I got beaten up 'cos I'd have seen things they couldn't even imagine."
"Who beats you up, kid?" asked Dell.
"Most people" said Heather drearily "I don't want to kiss boys, or put things on railway lines to make the engines brake or smash windows or daub grafitti or steal things so they say I'm a lesbian and a swotty dweeb and a creep and a cunt and – and I don't like it."
"I should jolly well think not" said Dell indignantly. "We can find a way to keep her, can't we, Prince, Fraser? There are discretionary scholarships and I think having the balls to come and find us DESERVES a scholarship. And – and if not, I'll write to my dad and see if he can help out."
"Our parents can't with several of us, but we'd like to help her stay" said Ross Tuthill, who had followed his sister out. "She's really really game!"
"Oh if she's hatted, we'll find a scholarship from somewhere" said David "There's money in the kitty for exceptional cases…. You see a wand, Willow?"
"Oh yes…. And it's not exactly hard" said Willow "And I'm wondering if there's anything blocked her like it blocked Krait."
"Do you belong to any fairly extreme church or anything?" asked David. Heather shook her head. "I don't even think there are any churches near us" she said.
"Curious" said David "Maybe she lives in a neighbourhood that's magic dead from deatheater action or something; well, we can investigate that another time. Your parents, young Burns; do they have any idea that you're gallivanting off to Scotland?"
"We're going to Scotland? I didn't know. I – I wrote them a letter; it'll get there tomorrow, I put a first class stamp on it, to say I was running away to school with some kids who looked nicer than the ones from the estate and I expected I'd get returned soon when the school authorities found out."
"Sounds more like a Gryffindor than a Slytherin" said David "Honest to a fault."
"No, ambition like that, cleverness in working out the uniform and how to come through, definitely a Slytherin" said Willow.
"Gryffindor – we saw her first!" said Ross and Freya in unison.
"Poor kid hasn't a clue what you're all talking about" said Dell.
"Yes I have" said Heather "You have four houses and those are two of them, the ones with most of the most interesting people in. The yellow and black ones seem a little stuffy, some of them, and the indigo and yacky brown are stuck up."
"Well she really HAS worked it out" grinned Dell "That's a Slytherin's Slytherin for you; brains and sheer gall. We have the most bullies but the best juniors at fighting back" he added.
"Yeah, Baddock had started on her" said Freya "Ross and I came out to hex him but he's such a dirty boy his nose was full of snot and I got EIGHT bat bogeys out of him."
"EYYEW!" said Willow "You'd think he'd at least blow his nose when he knows cousin Jade is on the train and more than adept at the bat-bogey hex! Here, young Burns, there's a school wand that's maple with boomslang skin core which'll do you pro tem; it should be good for transfigurations. You'll need a school cauldron, Dell, can you see about that?"
"Sure thing, Prince" said Dell cheerfully. "I've got some spare scales too, and I know where there's a spare knife too, Baddock lost it, kinda."
"He threw it at Garjala" said Freya "And it stuck in the wall higher than he could reach and he's too limited to use a hovering charm to reach it down."
"Too high?" demanded David "Well he must – thank goodness – be a really bad shot, Baddock's tall and Garjala – well she's tall for a goblin but….."
"Oh she used protego and deflected it" said Freya "And it narrowly missed Peeves, so he's been after Baddock. What with that and the half dozen swooping cursers Garjala enchanted to follow Baddock around giving him the worst bad language she could come up with, he's not in a good mood. It's why he looked to start the new term by picking on some new kid he could make feel vulnerable so he felt bigger. Snotty little creep."
"And with the evidence of your hex, that even seems to be accurate!" laughed Willow. "I'll withdraw the ten points I was going to take; it's your bounden duty to protect a muggle, and she IS still a muggle really because she hasn't even had the preparation Ross had listening to what Freya was told….you group of reprobates, take her away and fill her in on stuff and then we'll see what the Hat says. I'm going to irritate Baddock a little bit."
"I'M going to contact professor Dumbledore and ask him to warn the Burns child's parents that she's in Scotland" said David. "And then when I get to school I'm going to plot all the muggle born we've ever had from London and see whether the area she comes from shows up as a blank."
Lionel Dell and friends had really taken Heather to their hearts; and she soon met the others of their group, except, as they said, Alice, who lived ten minutes broom flight from the castle so it was hardly worth her while coming to London just for the school train except for the new year when she had to go down for new textbooks.
"You don't have school textbooks then?" asked Heather.
"No, 'cos sometimes Professors set different books – during the curse years when they had a different Defence against the Dark Arts teacher every year every Professor had their own pet book, it's only since Professors Black, Snape and Lupin agreed on the same one when they alternated that it's been standard" said Dell. "Besides, it's your book then and if you make notes in it that's up to you and the mad librarian's gone so you won't even get screeched at for defacing your own property. Madam Ermin is MUCH better, and she lets you use scrap paper and masking tape in your own books to append notes and reminds you to write on the table not leaning on a page if you're taking notes out of a school book rather than throwing a hissy fit and accusing you of having caused everything from the Goblin wars to Dragon Pox. Madam Pince was the limit! Professor Snape is well tough but he's not a frothing loony!"
David meanwhile heard all about Pris Lockhart's repellent cousin, who rejoiced under the name of Amadeo Hero Lockhart.
"And I will not call Neillia Emerson Aunt Neillia, for she's no such thing; and HE ought to be Amadeo Emerson, not Lockhart at all, making me look a fool with his golden curls and cultivated smile, spoilt rotten!" said Pris "I don't believe for one moment that Uncle Gilderoy DID intend to marry her; he thought he was too sexy for a wedding ring, him!"
"But just think, he'll be in the same year as Lydia Snape" soothed David "Who won't take any shit from any spoilt brat… any idea what house he expects to be in?"
"Well Uncle Gilderoy and this Neillia were both Ravenclaw" said Pris.
"There you are then! Just warn Mei Chang and co to keep him well squashed if he's a brat!" said David.
"Fraser, you are a ruddy genius" said Pris "And that's one reason you're head boy!"
"If only all problems were so easy!" grinned David. "Pris, he won't make you look a fool; your friends know what you're like and know you can't help your relatives."
"We stand beside you" said Victor "Though, alas, I must leave school after my OWLs; my mother thinks it is time I learn to be a ruler and spend time in Belsornia; in fact I may have to go back these holidays so I will break my promise to stand by you!"
"You won't either; because you'll stand by me in spirit" said Pris. "Back home so soon? Oh Victor, that's awful, I shall miss you, I'd rather have a thousand awful cousins then be missing you!"
"Alas, it is what my father hints" said Victor "You will stay with me of course?"
Pris nodded fervently.
Somehow David suspected that one day she would be joining Kronprinz Victor Eberhardt und whatever it was permananetly!
At school, Hagrid had the message for David that Miss Burns' parents had been informed that she had been found on the Hogwarts school train, and as she seemed a bright child was being given the chance to try for a scholarship.
"Dumbledore talked very fast at 'em and said how enterprising she was and how we value enterprise, originality and careful planning here – which o' course we do" said Hagrid "But if the kid's a muggle how's she going to get on, however resourceful she is?"
"She's not really a muggle; Willow can see what wand she should have" said David "I've a theory there's something that's out there blocking magical emanations from the book the way the orphanage did. I don't know what; a magic-leaching charm, perhaps, set up to block the muggle born from being discovered, that we never found out about" he went on "I want to do some geomantic – and geographic – studies. We dumped her on Dell and co; they're a decent bunch."
"Little horrors, they involved me in capturing German agents!" said Hagrid, good naturedly. "Small limbs! And likely to lead my Mischa astray too!"
"He's settled in well?"
"Ar, he's happy as a pig in mud" said Hagrid. "He's been knocking around with your Romanian orphans; better than getting into trouble with Lionel Dell and his horrors! Not that Alice Trumball is a horror; but if Harry and co didn't drive me half barmy with the trouble they got into, this lot will! German agents indeed, what are they after?"
"The kid who ran away from them" said David "And I don't know where she is nor do I want to; but I guess if they ask you to help smuggle her anyplace – they being the marauders – I know you'll help."
"Ruddy Durmstrangers" said Hagrid. "Tom Riddle ought to have gone there; more his type. And, all bein' nasty types, he'd not of been so likely ter make them foller him account o' bein' only one schemin' little turd among many."
It had a certain simplistic charm, the concept that Tom Riddle's megalomania might be repressed by being merely a normal expression of ambition amongst his peers.
Somehow, David was glad he had NOT gone to Durmstrang; he might have been even worse.
Heather was nervous of being sent to the Sorting Hat; David Fraser had told her sternly to take her tie off as she might not be Slytherin after all; and she stumbled up to the stool, in front of all the school, wondering if she wanted to be Slytherin or not, or Gryffindor, or whether she would even be given the chance to stay at all, whether this dreadful looking magical hat would even accept her.
The hat was set on her head.
"Well well, rather confused here, aren't you?" said the hat.
"Please, I could hardly be not, could I?" she countered "I'm not sure what I want even if that counts. After all, Tim and Tamsin are nice too and they're in Huff – whatever it was, and I'm a swot too. All I know is I don't want to be a Ravenclaw 'cos the others despise them as snooty."
The hat cogitated.
"You would do equally well I think in Slytherin or Gryffindor; but I think I will choose for you for my own reasons of improving the house stock….it is something that has started but your honour will add well to Slytherin" it added aloud.
The Slytherin cheered – except Baddock and his crony Pritchard – and Dell grinned.
"Jade'll see her all right" said Lionel to Melody Bloom.
"Yeah, Jade's cool" said Melody "And she looks after my kid sister just fine."
Heather found it all rather overwhelming; even without being taken in hand by a rather overwhelming little person like Jade. She found herself in a dormitory with girls named Aurelia and Harmony as well as Jade and told she might ignore a girl called Dympna, which made her look at Dympna in interest to find out why.
Dympna sneered.
"Oh I have NO intention of talking to the mudblood, Snape; I can't think WHY Dumbldore lets in such riff-raff, not just a mudblood but LOOK at her clothes – a positive scarecrow, she's a pauper too!"
"See?" said Jade to Heather "I've stopped even bothering to jinx her for making ill-bred and ill-natured bloodsnob comments, it's a bore and not worth my time. Why should I waste my golden and undoubted talents on an inbred moron who can't even appreciate them?" absently she flicked away the stinging hex Dympna tried to curse her with and flipped a hand to send the other girl's wand flying. It went out of the window into the dry moat that their bedrooms overlooked. "Oh dear, what a shame; you'll have to go look for it tomorrow, Burke; it'll give you time to recall what happens when you try bullying in case you have a go at young Heather here."
Dympna Burke smouldered.
Jade had informed her what she thought of her treatment of the child Cressida Blunt in Obscura Alley; and had twisted a switching spell – that a child Jade's age should not even be able to cast yet – so that in every text and exercise book Dympna owned her surname was suddenly spelt 'berk' complete to un-capitalised first letter. Dympna had been unable to reverse it; trying to go over it in ink to make it 'Burke' just changed back and even a curse-breaker paid by her father had been unable to break it!
Jade had written 'berk' three hundred times in her own blood and used that to switch with, her own will power keeping the enchantment against a curse breaker; because essentially it was a living, ongoing curse and Jade's will was opposed to the curse breaker's.
Jade was very stubborn indeed.
And she loathed those who abused and mistreated those who were not as well off as themselves. It had also been a close relative of Dympna's – her grandfather – who had bought Slytherin's locket from poor Merope Gaunt and had so drastically underpaid her for it when she was desperate enough to sell it. Jade disliked the family intensely on general principles; and so far Dympna had done nothing but reinforce that opinion.
Heather saw what Jade meant.
She knew she was not well off; but she also knew from her school reading that this need not preclude her from being well-bred if she copied the right people.
And Jade seemed much more like the right type of people than Dympna; especially as Lionel had introduced her to Jade!
But what was best was that she was allowed to stay, to learn to be a witch; and best of all NEVER to go back to the secondary modern where she had been so miserable!
Heather fell asleep at once and slept like a log; her only sudden worry on waking that as it had been so wonderful that it must be a dream that she would wake out of!
"Jade" she said next morning, waking to find the other girl up "Do something that'll hurt me."
"Why?" asked Jade "And do you want to join the morning run? 'cos if so you'd better leap up sharpish, we wash after."
Heather leaped out of bed.
"'Cos I'm afraid I'm dreaming" she said.
Jade poked her hard.
"Still think you're dreaming?"
"I don't think so…. I thought you'd er, hex me."
"I save that for duels and rotters" said Jade "Hang on though, if you want me to…levicorpus."
Heather was hoisted in the air by one ankle.
"Liberacorpus" said Jade; and she dropped.
"Okay; I couldn't dream that" said Heather with intense satisfaction.
"Well I don't think I'm a figment of your imagination" said Jade "But that leads to some obscure philosophical discussion over whether I'd believe I was real if I really was only a figment of your imagination; and whether what I know of my history that you don't yet is only because you're waiting to imagine me telling you."
"Shut up Jade" said Aurelia "We can't cope with that much crap at this time of the morning. Never mind her flights of fancy, Heather; she's sometimes so sharp she comes close to cutting herself."
Jade laughed and draped an arm around Aurelia's shoulders.
"Your turn to get at me now, Harmony" she said to her other friend.
"When I'm not awake? Not likely" said Harmony "I never win a contest of words with you when I'm awake Jade."
And, bickering gently they took Heather to meet the MSHG.