Once Fred, George, and I were loaded down with plates of food, we took places at the four large tables in the middle of the kitchen. Pinky sat directly across from me, waiting to hear all about my adventure outside. She looked so cute, chin resting in her palms, elbows on the table, with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"What happened in Diagon Alley," Pinky asked first. "No, Carrie must tell how she got to Diagon Alley first. Pinky must hear the story in order, if you please."

I chuckled inwardly. "Well, Dumbledore sent me to Diagon Alley by way of a pocketwatch Portkey," I began.

Fred smiled. "Best kind of Portkey, those pocketwatches."

Pinky shushed him, and I continued. "When I arrived in Diagon Alley, I just about fell over. Portkey travel is very… Rough the first time, I suppose you'd say." I paused for a moment to see if Fred had anything to add. When he didn't, I started back on my story.

"It took a good ten minutes to even find Mr. Ollivander's shop. And when I did, there didn't seem to be anyone in the store at all," I said. "When I called out to ask if anyone was there, Ollivander came whooshing around the corner on a rolling ladder. I was surprised that none of the wand boxes came tumbling off the shelves, to be honest."

The story continued through the two wands that just didn't seem to work, and the missed Portkey back to Hogwarts.

"And, when my wand was finished, I thanked Mr. Ollivander, payed him for his work, and walked out the doors," I said. "That's when these two showed up."

"Dumbledore sent the Wheezies to get Carrie from the shop," Pinky asked.

I giggled at her pronunciation of their last name. Why was it that none of the house-elves could pronounce "Weasley"?

George smiled as well. "It's a good thing he did too," he said. "If we hadn't come along, Carrie would've had to have walked all the way back to the castle on her own."

"If she could've even found her way, that is," Fred finished.

"I am very grateful for the help that they've given me so far," I said, smiling at the twins. "They helped me back to Hogwarts, showed me the way to get into Gryffindor Tower and the kitchens, and tried to assist me in finding my dormitory." Looking back at Pinky, I could see her eyes twinkling with barely visible tears. "What's wrong, Pinky?"

The house-elf wiped away the tears. "Carrie is a witch now," she said softly. "She won't be visiting us lowly house-elves anymore."

"Nonsense," I said. As we were sitting at the center of what appeared to be Gryffindor's counterpart table, I had to climb over it, promising to clean the entire thing later. I put my arms around my dear house-elf friend. "I'll be coming to visit all the time," I said. "And the Weasleys will as well, won't you, boys?"

"Of course we will," George said.

"As long as you keep up the good cooking, that is," Fred said, kiddingly.

Pinky nodded wildly. "Of course," she said. "House-elves have to keep up good work. They'd find themselves being freed all over the place if they didn't."

I looked at Pinky curiously. "Don't you work here because you want to, Pinky?"

"Of course Pinky does," she said. "But some house-elves is here because their families had belonged to the founders." She sighed. "They refuse the wage Dumbledore offers, and will not be freed."

"So, essentially, Hogwarts is using slave labor in their kitchens," Fred asked, incredulous. "That's ridiculous."

"No, no, no!" Pinky shook her head. "Dumbledore has no slaves," she said. "The house-elves call themselves slaves, but Dumbledore keeps track of their wage for when they decide to be freed." She smiled. "He is a kind master. But doesn't like to be called master."

I laughed. "I remember one time, Zinger called Dumbledore 'master' when he visited the kitchen," I said. "He said he'd rather be called a 'right old git' before 'master' any day."

"That sounds just like the old man," George said. "Always making jokes of things."

"Pinky should be helping to clean up." Pinky cleared away the plates of food that Fred and George had finished off. "Should Pinky put Carrie's things in a bag for her?"

I smiled at my dear friend. "Don't worry about that," I said. "I know where they are."

"No," she said, holding a hand up. "Carrie is a guest tonight. She will not be doing things for herself today." Pinky picked up my plate and arranged its contents nicely in a paper bag for me. After folding the top down neatly, she placed it on the table in front of me. "Now, Carrie needs to head to bed," she said. "If she has classes tomorrow, she won't want to be tired during them."

"Pinky's right," Fred said. "And you haven't even gotten your dormitory assignment yet."

"Merlin's beard," George exclaimed. "McGonagall's gonna have a fit if we don't get you back soon." He grabbed my bag and pushed me toward the door. "Thanks for the snack, Pinky. It was great."

We rushed all the way back to the Gryffindor common room, where McGonagall was waiting for us.

"Well, I didn't expect you to take so long," she said, not entirely upset. "Carrie, you'll be bunking with Alicia Spinnet and her roommates for the time being. Since we are so near to the end of the year, I mean." She gave a sort of half-smile. "Next year, though, we'll have a dormitory prepared for you." Turning to the twins, she waved her hands, shooing them toward the boys dormitories. "Go on to bed now, you two. Carrie and I have things to discuss."

The boys waved goodnight as I walked away with Professor McGonagall toward her office.