Summer 1974

"Where are all our things, Mum?" Gilderoy looked around at the empty parlour of his home in Dandee.

"Oh, you know… I thought we had too many things." She tried to meet his gaze, but couldn't help but avert her eyes. "You know… declutter." Her voice trailed off.

"This is more than decluttering. There's nothing here." He walked through to the dining room. Empty. Then the kitchen. Empty. He ran up the stairs. Each room was empty. All of his things, gone. The last room he entered was his mother's. There was no vanity. No silver hairbrush. All of her things were gone too. Abruptly, he noticed the absence of her lilac perfume.

"I'm so sorry, dear. I didn't know how to tell you," Diana said, coming in the doorway.

Gilderoy turned to look at her, finally noticing the slight lines on her forehead and the strands of grey in her hair. When had she aged?

Diana's eyes were brimming with tears, and she struggled to keep her voice from shaking. "We've… fallen on hard times, Gilderoy."

"So you sold all of our things?!"

"I had no choice!"

Gilderoy clenched and unclenched his fists. Finally he asked quietly, "Where are we to sleep? On the floor?"

The tears were flowing freely down Diana's cheeks now. "No." It was barely more than a whisper. "I've rented a flat for us." She held his disbelieving gaze. "I've had to sell the house as well."

Professor McGonagall pressed the rolled parchment into Diana's hand as they stood in front of Flourish and Blotts. "Hogwarts supports students in need with a financial scholarship," she said, "so you won't have to worry about that, dear. We will provide for Gilderoy's tuition and supplies this year. Just show this letter to each proprietor, and they will supply the items listed at no charge to you."

Each shop they visited was a worse experience than the last. Gilderoy soon discovered that the scholarship did not cover new items. He soon had a worn-out cauldron filled with smelly, tatty robes and used textbooks.

When they arrived at their flat, Gilderoy sat, defeated. "I can't do this, Mum. I can't go to Hogwarts in second-hand robes. I haven't had a decent shampoo or facial all summer. My hair… it's getting... frizzy." He covered his face in shame, and suddenly the image of Narcissa's frizzy hair 5 years ago came unbidden to the forefront of his mind. The tears fell.

"You CAN do this, Gilderoy! You're stronger than you think." She wrapped him in her arms, which was quite difficult to do since he was now much taller than she. "You're my dear, sweet, brave boy."

Year 6

Classes were a blur. He hardly was aware of the day-to-day life he was required to participate in. His world was grey and monotonous. In a couple years, he would be free from the confines of the castle. He just had to get through the present, and to accomplish that, he found himself daydreaming quite a bit.

He would be a handsome, fearless knight who saved the princess from a fiery dragon. Or maybe he was a healer who saved the inhabitants of a village from a nasty plague. Or sometimes he was a great duelist who bested He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He didn't dwell on that fantasy very often though, because deep down, he was really afraid of You-Know-Who and his Death-eaters.

He began writing down his adventures. He spent all his free time reading, writing, and editing his own fiction that began blurring the lines of his reality.

Year 7

"So what are you going to do after graduation?" asked Quirinus

"No idea," said Gilderoy, "you?"

"Well, I'm hoping to become a teacher."

"Really? I had no idea you had an interest in teaching."

"Yeah, actually Professor Bebbington has decided to only stay on one more year. I'm going to see if I can work with him next year and start taking over his classes.

"Muggle Studies, you say? Where's the challenge in that?"

"You only say that because you were raised as a Muggle." Quirinus laughed. "I've been conferencing with both Dumbledore and Bebbington all year. I submit my application in a couple weeks, and then it will just depend on my NEWT scores."

Gilderoy suddenly realized that Quirinus didn't stutter anymore. When had that stopped? He wasn't a small, shy boy anymore. He was a competent Wizard. "Wow, you've got it all planned out already, huh?"

"Well, yes of course. You don't?"

"Not really."

"You like writing. Have you thought about writing for the Prophet? I'm sure Rita could give you a good recommendation."

It sounded so underwhelming, a boring desk job of writing mundane facts in a cubicle for a weekly printing. Where was the zest? Where was the passion, enthusiasm, literary freedom? He was better than that, wasn't he? He was destined to live a life greater than that. "I think I'd like to see the world a bit. You know, I've never really travelled."

"That's an excellent idea, Gilderoy. I'd love to see the world too... someday anyway. Maybe we could go on holiday somewhere after graduation," Quirinus said wistfully.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"I'll do some research and see what I can find." Quirinus paused, then continued. "You know, sometimes I wish I could just take life as it comes at me like you do. Never be afraid or intimidated by anything."

Gilderoy's eyes brightened. "What do you say you don't plan our trip?"

"What?"

"Yeah," said Gilderoy, his eyes gleaming. "What do you say after graduating we just… go somewhere random. We'll choose it that day."