A/N: I wanted to point out something which I perhaps should have mentioned before, though many of you should be aware of it anyway because it is technically true of all or almost all fiction. None of the characters here are omniscient. This means that none of their perspectives qualify as the "whole truth." Some will come closer, of course, but even the best are still limited. This means that Jasmine's complaints about Dumbledore are just her perspective — there's a lot she doesn't know. Same is true about Hermione's opinion of her parents — she was a little kid when everything happened, so as perceptive as she is, she didn't know everything about their motives or behavior. You can generally assume that what you're seeing now may not be the final word on something.

Recommendation: This chapter's recommended fic is "Of Loneliness and Chocolate Frogs" by 16pennies. Short, beautifully written "missing" scene from the beginning of second year, showing how important Ron and Harry are to Hermione.

Chapter 10 - Jasmine's Little Helper

Monday, December 21, 1994, Morning.

For most Hogwarts students, the first day of hols without classes is a time for celebration, or at least quiet relaxation. It's a time to enjoy life. For Jasmine Potter, it was a time to appreciate living because she wasn't sure how much of it she had left. She had forgotten to get a gift for Hermione Granger, her best friend and now also her girlfriend. To be fair, in all the terror surrounding the Triwizard Tournament, she'd forgotten to get any gifts. For anyone.

But it was her failure to get a gift for Hermione that was haunting her.

She wasn't afraid that Hermione would hex or curse her. No, far worse would be the look of profound disappointment she was sure she'd see on Hermione's face. And there was no way she wasn't going to take it personally, or as a statement about the importance of their relationship. After that emotional conversation about her parents, she realized that since Hermione had been denied caring attention for so long, it had become something she craved (though often with negative consequences, such as her habit of trying to show off to teachers by answering every question).

Right now, Jasmine thought that disappointing Hermione would be about the worst thing in the world. Not that the feeling was all that new, of course. It was originally for her sake, after all, that I started studying harder and trying to do better in classes. I didn't want her to be disappointed in my grades. The Dursleys never cared, so I'd never had that before. Ever since their first kiss, though, the feeling had been growing stronger, and this need to make her happy and show her the caring she desired was a lot more powerful than Jasmine ever would have imagined.

So that was that — she needed a gift. What kind of gift do I need, though? I need a gift good enough for my best friend — a best friend who has helped me survive this tournament. Oh, it also needs to be awesome enough for my girlfriend — my first girlfriend on our very first Christmas together. And... it also needs to be amazing enough for a girlfriend that I just had a huge fight with but then made up with, like Neville said.

The more she thought about how spectacular the gift needed to be, the more Jasmine quailed. I'm so buggered!

It was still ridiculously early, but she realized there'd be no going back to sleep at this point. Trying to get dressed as quietly as possible, she realized that the first part of her solution needed to be to get away from Hermione. There was no way she'd be able to get Hermione an amazing gift while the girl was around.

Making her way down to the common room, she didn't notice the house elf cleaning up. Jasmine walked to the large fireplace and incanted "Incendio!" to start a fire and get the common room a bit warmer. She then proceeded to pace back and forth, muttering to herself as she quickly considered then dismissed one plan after another, each more ambitious and convoluted than the next. After considering a plan that required two hippogriffs, a box of nifflers, and a trained kneazle, then rejecting it because there was no way she'd be able to train a kneazle in time, and Crookshanks would never keep the secret, she threw up her hands and half-shouted, "Ugh! What am I going to do now?"

"Missy Jazzy? Is you being alright?"

"What?" Jasmine jumped at the voice, not having seen the house elf come up behind her. A house elf wearing an awful lot hats. Looking more closely, she realized she recognized this elf. "Dobby? Dobby! What are you doing here? I thought you were out and employed somewhere."

"Oh, Missy Jazzy, Dobby is employed! Dobby is employed by Hoggywarts! Dobby be cleaning common room, and finding many wonderful hats!"

Taking a closer look, Jasmine realized that the hats were familiar, too. "Are those Hermione's hats?"

"Yes, Missy Jazzy. Other elves refuse to clean here, say they not want to be tricked by She-Who-Knits, so Dobby be doing it all hisself!" The manic little elf looked to be over the moon with joy at having so much work to do alone.

"Well... great? Glad to hear it." Better not tell Hermione where all of her hats are going... "When did you come to Hogwarts, anyway?"

"Dobby comes to Hoggywarts with Winky at end of November. Dobby starts working right away, but Winky be drinking too much butterbeer. Winky be sad that old master dismissed her, making her a disgraced elf."

Jasmine scowled at that. "Winky? You mean Barty Crouch's old elf? I don't think she's disgraced — Crouch is a nasty old man who didn't deserve her loyalty. I think she's a good elf. If there is anything I can do to help her, you let me know."

Dobby suddenly started wailing and grabbed hold of Jasmine's leg. "Oh, Dobby knew that the Great Mistress Jasmine Potter Ma'am was a great witch, but Dobby didn't know that the Great Mistress Jasmine Potter cared about all house elves! Mistress Jasmine Potter is truly the greatest of all witches!"

The sobbing went on for nearly a minute before she had the heart to detach him from her leg. "Er, yeah. Great. Thanks, Dobby. I don't want to keep you from your job — sorry for interrupting. I've got a huge problem that I need to solve."

"The Great Mistress Jasmine Potter Ma'am has a prob—"

"Dobby!" Jasmine interrupted sharply. "What did I tell you about using so many names and titles with me?"

Looking sheepish, the house elf said, "Uh... not to?"

Hands on her hips and a stern look on her face, Jasmine continued, "Right. What are you allowed to use instead?"

"Missy Jazzy?"

Rolling her eyes because that really hadn't been her first choice, though she knew it was the best she'd be able to get out of her diminutive, one-time stalker, she answered, "Right. So continue..."

Still looking sheepish and obviously trying to rein in his enthusiasm, Dobby started again, "Missy Jazzy has a problem? Maybe Dobby can help? What can Dobby do?"

At first she was going to say no and dismiss the elf, but then Jasmine cocked her head in thought. She remembered how powerful house elves could be, and how determined Dobby in particular could be when in pursuit of a goal — especially a goal that involved his Missy Jazzy. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to dismiss his offer, she considered. What have I got to lose?

Looking down at the elf now quivering in anticipation, she told him, "OK, Dobby, here's the deal. First, this is all secret. No one can know anything I'm about to tell you. You are to say nothing about any of it without my prior say-so, OK?"

Dobby's eyes went wide. "Yes, Dobby keep Missy Jazzy's secrets!" He then snapped his fingers, and Jasmine felt a wave of magical energy wash over her.

"What in the name of Merlin was that?"

"Dobby keeps his mistress's secrets! Dobby put house elf privacy spell around us. Now no one learn Missy Jazzy's secrets!"

"Oh, well, good. Yes, good job." Jasmine was also reminded of how far Dobby would go in order to creatively interpret his orders or goals and was suddenly not so sure that she had nothing to lose by trying this. Not that she had many other options by this point. "Well, first, Hermione and I are a couple. As in, a dating couple."

Dobby's impossibly large eyes got even larger at hearing that. "Yes, Dobby, I know how wizards and witches feel about it when two witches or two wizards become a couple. That's why I need it to stay a secret." Dobby nodded his head vigorously in understanding.

"Second, I forgot to get Hermione a present for Christmas. So I desperately need a gift — but it needs to be a spectacular one. It needs to be a gift for a best friend who has helped me so much, for a new girlfriend on our first Christmas together, and more. It needs to be something she'll like, something she can use, something that will show her how much she means to me..." Jasmine collapsed into a sitting position on the floor in front of Dobby. "I am in so much trouble, Dobby. I don't know what to do. I have no idea what sort of gift would even come close to doing all of that, much less where and how to get it!"

Clasping his hands together, Dobby started thinking hard about what could be done. Then Jasmine noticed that his eyes started darting back and forth. Shifty eyes aren't a good sign on anyone, but on a manic house elf...?

"What is it, Dobby?" she asked. "What did you think of? What aren't you telling me?"

Still looking awfully shifty and suspicious, Dobby finally answered, "Dobby might be knowing of gifts to be had and Dobby be knowing of way to get them, but Dobby not be sure... Dobby not be sure if Missy Jazzy be ready for that."

Getting up on her knees, she leaned forward, grabbed the house elf's head in both hands, and stared into his huge eyes. "Look at me, Dobby. I'm a desperate witch here. There's little that I won't do in order to get a good gift for my Hermione for Christmas. What do I need to do? What do you need? Do you want more socks? You'll get them. Do you want another house elf to have an accident so you get more work? Consider it done. Anything. Name it."

Jasmine had never seen Dobby looking so happy before as he danced around her — and considering how effusive he was when he was happy, that was saying something. "Yes! Dobby can do!" Standing in front of her again, Dobby said, "Dobby be thinking that Missy Jazzy already have gifts. Does Missy Jazzy know about Potter vaults?"

Jasmine blinked a couple of times at this apparent non sequitur. "Uh... yeah, sort of. I recently learned that there might be more vaults waiting for me than just the Trust Vault that I visit. But I don't know for sure if any exist and when I might be allowed to access them if they do."

Dobby started bouncing on his feet now. "Yes, there be more Potter vaults. Potter family be having more than gold, though. Potters be old family with lots of mistresses, and mistresses collect jewelry. Dobby be thinking that Potters keep jewelry in vaults, maybe?"

Jasmine sat back on her haunches, her mind buzzing with the possibilities. Neither she nor Hermione were big into jewelry, but they didn't hate jewelry, either. The more she considered it, the more she realized that jewelry might be just about the best possible gift because it would likely fit all of her requirements. It would certainly be better than a simple book... though, come to think of it, a vault might contain an old book that would be perfect, too. Now I need to get into the vaults, or at least have Dobby get in...

Focusing again on the house elf in front of her, she said, "You're a life saver, Dobby. Can you take me to a vault? Can you go into any vaults for me? What do we do?" Suddenly, the elf started looking shifty again. Leaning back, she continued, "What is it that you aren't telling me? What's the problem?"

Looking for all the world like he expected to get beaten, Dobby slowly started to explain, "Dobby cannot be entering Potter vaults. Only Potter elves can be entering Potter vaults. Dobby... not quite Potter elf."

Jasmine reflected for a moment and decided that it was a good idea that the vaults didn't let just any old elf enter them. She then narrowed her eyes as she considered the last part, "What do you mean, 'not quite' a Potter elf? I thought you were a free elf, employed by Hoggywar... er... Hogwarts."

Starting to sob, Dobby continued, "To be real Potter elf, Dobby must be binding hisself to a Potter, and then a Potter must be accepting the bond, linking Potter magic to Dobby's magic. When Missy Jazzy be freeing Dobby, Dobby become linked to Missy Jazzy — but Missy Jazzy not be accepting bond. So Dobby kept alive by the link, but Dobby not being allowed to be real Potter elf. So Dobby be staying weak and treated like disgraced elf."

Jasmine's head swam with all the information she'd just heard. She needed to be clear on this. "OK, Dobby, first things first: what do you mean that this link kept you alive? Would you have died without it?"

Tugging on his large, bat-like ears in frustration, Dobby said, "House elves needing magic from wizards and witches to live. When elf kicked out of family, they be needing new family or they go insane and die. When magical family be binding house elf, magical family getting servant, and house elf getting magic. Bigger families and more powerful wizards or witches mean more magic for more elves." So, what, Jasmine wondered to herself, they're like magical parasites?

"Oh, no!" Jasmine moaned when some of the implications of this dawned on her. "That means that by trying to free elves with clothes, Hermione is trying to kill house elves!"

Very sadly, Dobby nodded his head in agreement. "Missy Hermy not house elf master, so she can't be freeing any, but she still be scaring elves. That's why Dobby be working here alone."

Jasmine would have to think about this some more, but this new information sounded like it changed everything, and Hermione would have to radically alter her goals with SPEW. She wouldn't like that. "OK, moving on, you have a partial bond with me. How did it form? Do you want it completed? If so, how do we do it?"

Now Dobby started looking excited again. "Dobby create link to Missy Jazzy when Dobby save Missy Jazzy that last time. Dobby was free elf then, so link was created. If Missy Jazzy be wanting Dobby, Missy Jazzy need be saying 'I take Dobby as my elf.'"

"Well, sounds simple enough. Are you sure you want to be my house elf, Dobby? I don't have a house or a family..." Jasmine couldn't say any more because Dobby had flung himself into her, tightly hugging her chest, saying "Yes! Yes! Dobby dream of being house elf for Great Mistress Jasmine Potter Ma'am! That be bestest job in all world! And Dobby be good elf for Mistress Hermy-own-nee Grangey, too!"

Sighing, Jasmine decided not to call him out on his use of extended titles and names again. "OK, we'll do it. Will all these hats be a problem?"

Stepping back, Dobby responded, "If hats be left out as trash or laundry, house elves not seeing them as being given clothes. Magic be based on intent, and so house elf magic not react if intent of wizard or witch not to dismiss."

"Hmmm... that makes sense," Jasmine responded. "You'd never be able to do a family's laundry if you couldn't pick up clothing that was lying around." Frowning for a moment, Jasmine continued, "But why did you get dismissed by Malfoy? He didn't intend to even give you my sock, never mind dismiss you?"

Dobby looked sheepishly down at the floor and said, "Dobby be spending many years with bad old master. Dobby often given contradictory orders, just to get Dobby in trouble. Dobby learning to... be creative in interpreting bad old master's intent. Dobby thinks Dobby's magic changed, be more... flexible."

Jasmine had to smile slyly at hearing that. "I get it. I'd say I like it, but I'm not sure how that's going to work with you and me. You're going to need to be careful in how flexible and creative you are as my house elf. Those are perfect qualities for a friend who gets caught up in the adventures I have to deal with, but you can't let those qualities create conflicts with what I'm doing. Whenever possible, talk to me first before getting too creative."

Dobby nodded his head as he shook in excitement at the prospect of becoming Jasmine's elf.

Thinking hard for a minute, Jasmine continued, "In fact, that's my first rule. If you're going to be my elf, you've got to agree to some rules first. They are for my own peace of mind, and to ensure that Hermione doesn't kill me. OK?"

The house elf looked a bit nervous at what might be coming, but he readily agreed.

"So, first rule is to try to talk to me first before getting creative when doing something for me or anticipating my needs. Second, don't hold back on advice — I know far too little about magical society. Less than most wizards and witches and certainly far less than you. If you know something that might be useful, you're allowed to speak up. I don't consider you to be inferior, so it's not like I won't listen to your advice or don't want to learn what you know. Third, if you ever want to be free for any reason — like to bond with a different family — let me know. I think slavery is abhorrent and I won't feel like you're a slave if we both know that you can leave when you want."

Dobby was looking more optimistic now — these rules were strange compared to the rules in the Malfoy family, but they'd be easy to follow.

"Fourth, you need to take sufficient time off to rest and stay healthy. A tired, sick elf is no good. Try for at least one day each week — if not all at once, then spread out. Fifth, I'm going to be giving you money — call it a salary if you want or an allowance if you prefer. Use it to buy what you want — socks, wool to knit socks, presents for others, whatever. Sixth, in order to keep my secrets, you'll need to keep working like you have been at Hogwarts and you can't tell anyone about the change. Consider it one of my secrets that you have to keep. Seventh, once you leave here officially you'll get a uniform. It's not clothes, it's a uniform to show that you have an important job. You'll have a say in what it looks like, but we'll need to limit the colors."

Jasmine stopped at this point and thought a bit more, but couldn't come up with anything else. "That's it for now. I might think of other rules... or perhaps I should say, Hermione will. Oh, wait! One more! Eighth, you cannot punish yourself! If you think you've done something wrong, tell me. If I agree, we'll work out some sort of punishment. But you're not allowed to punish yourself on your own. That's my job. Now, I think those cover the most important points. Can you accept them? Can you be my house elf with those rules?"

"Oh, yes, Missy Jazzy, Dobby can do!"

"OK, then. Here we go." Deciding to improvise at the last second, because that's just the sort of thing she did, Jasmine suddenly reached her hands out and placed them both flat on the top of Dobby's head. "I take Dobby to be my house elf, to be my friend and to be a part of the Potter family."

Gasping, Dobby's eyes grew wide, and a magical glow surrounded both of the figures on the floor. "Wow," Jasmine said as she leaned back again after the glow dissipated, "Was that supposed to happen?"

Dobby, who was looking a bit taller, shook his head. "No, there rarely be bonding glow when accepting house elf bond. Dobby never see or hear of such large, bright glowing! The Great Mistress Jasmine Potter Ma'am be truly a powerful and wonderful witch!"

Looking at her watch, Jasmine said, "We should talk about that, but we don't have the time. What's next? What can you tell me about Potter vaults?"

Dobby started bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet and said, "Because of link Dobby knowing that vaults existed, but couldn't go there. Now Dobby can. Dobby can't be taking mistress past Goblin wards, but Dobby can go hisself!"

"OK, great. Since I don't know what's in the vaults yet, I can't tell you exactly what to get. So here's where you get to employ your powers of creativity. I'll tell you in general terms what I need, and you fetch items that you think will fit. You may need to travel back and forth a few times until we get it right. Can you do that?"

"Yes, Dobby can do! Dobby can do!"

Pulling the excited house elf closer to her, Jasmine started whispering, explaining what sorts of things she was looking for and why. Dobby just kept nodding his head. Apparently, the house elf bond helped him understand what his mistress wanted, and he was confident that he'd be able to fulfill all her desires, even those she didn't know about yet.

And there were oh so many things going on that Mistress didn't know about yet — but Dobby did. Dobby could see. And Mistress did tell Dobby that he could be creative...

Monday, December 21, 1994, Early Afternoon.

Sitting down at a library table so she could write to her parents, Hermione stacked up some books around her to mask what she was doing and reflected that she was lucky that Jasmine was being so mysterious today. She couldn't immediately find the auburn-haired witch when she got out of bed that morning, and she only ended up seeing her for a few minutes at breakfast. During lunch, she had been completely absent. Hermione was desperate to know what she was up to — any time she was up to something in such a secretive manner, it boded ill for the rest of the castle — but right now, she needed to write home and didn't want Jasmine around, asking questions.

Hermione was a bit ashamed about that, actually. She still hadn't written to her parents to let them know that she was dating. It would have been embarrassing enough to have to admit to such a thing if she were dating a boy, but she wasn't sure how her parents would react to learning that she was dating a girl — even if said girl was her best friend, a girl her parents had already heard lots about and seemed to think well of. Perhaps if she'd had a closer relationship with her parents, she'd find it easier to predict their reactions. It might be easier to trust that they'd do the right thing.

Maybe they would be accepting of Jasmine and me, Hermione mused. Their politics are fairly progressive, but I've never heard them say anything about homosexuality. They never said anything critical about Maggie's Section 28, and it was all over the news for quite a while before I came to Hogwarts. I also don't think they've commented on the Europride festivals that have been in the news the past couple of summers.

Hermione sighed in frustration. Even if I could be sure that they would be accepting, this isn't something that I can announce in a letter. I'm not even sure that a phone call would be good enough! It will have to wait until summer. Until then, she needed to be... creative in what she would say.

After thanking her parents for the money they sent, telling them about the dress she bought, and eating a bit more crow over her earlier insistence that she'd never go to any such event, she went on to tell them generalities about what had been going on in the castle. As usual, she wrote at length about Jasmine and what Jasmine had been doing, though she found that she had some trouble not revealing too much.

Once her letter was completed, she moved on to her personal research project. She had examined all the books on magical marriage that she could find and was ready to move on to the next topic: sex. Although the thought of researching sex made her cheeks grow warm, she reminded herself that it wasn't so much the act that she was trying to learn about, but rather wizarding attitudes towards sex and sexual relationships. Since there weren't any books on sexual orientation, that seemed like the best topic to pursue.

Finding books on sex, though, was going to be tricky. She certainly couldn't ask Madam Pince — not after the suspicious looks she got when she asked about marriage! And there didn't seem to be any sections of the library devoted to it, which was hardly a surprise. Nevertheless, Hermione was convinced that there must be at least a few. She just had to hunt them down.

Tuesday, December 22, 1994, Early Morning.

"Missy Jazzy! Missy Jazzy!"

Bleary-eyed, Jasmine awoke to find two massive eyes staring unblinkingly back at her from about two inches away.

"Gah!" Bolting upright and suddenly breathing heavily, Jasmine recognized the eyes as belonging to her new house elf, who was now looking frightened and worried.

"It's OK, Dobby, I'm not mad. Just startled. Please wake me a bit more gently in the morning." Looking around at how dark was, she added, "And, speaking of morning... is it morning? What the heck time is it, anyway?" Grabbing her watch, she saw that it was 3AM. Slumping back in exhaustion, she groaned, "And please, don't wake me so early if it's not an emergency. If it's an emergency, get me. If it's not, it can wait."

"Dobby be sorry, Missy Jazzy. Dobby go now and come back..." The elf raised his hand to snap his fingers, but Jasmine grabbed his wrist before he could complete the action.

"No, don't. I'm awake now. You might as well tell me, and then I'll go back to sleep. Just remember for next time, OK?"

"Yes, Missy Jazzy." Dobby snapped his fingers, and a medium-sized box appeared on the bed next to her.

Jasmine's eyes widened in excitement. "This is it?" she asked, "You got everything?"

"Yes, Missy Jazzy," Dobby said, just as excited himself. Yesterday the two of them learned that she did indeed have more vaults — two more, in fact. Well, technically they were Potter vaults. One was filled with money, and she wouldn't have access to it until she was of age. The second was for heirlooms and property. She had limited access to this. What she didn't know was that Dobby had had to be creative in his explanations to the Goblins in order to get access for gifts. Jasmine wasn't allowed to take items out to gift them to just any old person, but for the right person, Potter family heirlooms could be made available.

For the rest of Missy Jazzy's friends, Dobby would have to use gold to make purchases in Diagon Alley.

So Dobby searched the vault to see what was available, then went back and forth several times so Jasmine could examine some of her options. Apparently, he had spent a good chunk of the night finalizing the selections.

Quickly sitting back up, she opened the box and pulled out the first item: a copy of Hogwarts: A History. Not the current Revised Edition by Bathilda Bagshot, but a 5th Edition of the original version published in 1208. It was the oldest one in the Potter vault and possibly one of the oldest editions still in existence. It didn't hold much interest for Jasmine personally, but she knew that Hermione would love it. It was her favorite book, after all, and this would provide more pleasure reading than any book on strictly academic topics like Runes or Charms.

Leafing briefly through the book, she took a closer look at the text and frowned. Is this even English? she wondered. Well, Hermione would figure it out. She carefully closed the ancient tome and set it aside.

Next came a medium-sized jewelry box. Inside was a matching necklace and earring set. Made up of dozens of sparkling diamonds and sapphires, Jasmine knew that they would look gorgeous on Hermione with her periwinkle blue dress. Of special note was the presence of a few emeralds for contrast — Jasmine thought that they would serve as a small nod to her own green eyes, but not one which anyone else would recognize.

Finally, at the bottom, was the primary gift: a ring that Jasmine thought would be wonderful as a promise ring. At first she wasn't sure that the two of them were far enough along in their relationship for such a thing and so didn't want to call it a promise ring. Merlin, has it really only been twelve days? However, when she explained the concept to Dobby, he seemed convinced that it was perfect for them. She decided to agree — she wanted to give Hermione this ring, and she wanted to give her a promise to go along with it, so she trusted Dobby's judgment.

Upon opening the box, though, she was confronted with a surprise: two rings. Two identical rings, each a silver Celtic knot encrusted with tiny gemstones. Looking more closely at one of them, she could see delicate peridot and pale blue topaz forming intricate green and blue bands intertwined around a central white diamond. They were exquisite.

"What's this, Dobby? I only need one ring, right?"

Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Dobby said, "Potter vault be having many rings and ring sets. This Potter ring be part of set — one ring for witch and one ring for wizard. But Missy Jazzy not having wizard to give wizard ring to, so Dobby asking goblins to reforge wizard ring into second witch's ring. Now Missy Jazzy be having two rings for two witchy witches: Missy Jazzy and Missy Hermy!"

Jasmine looked down again at the rings and felt a lump in her throat at how thoughtful the house elf had been. Encouraging him to be creative was turning out to be a good idea. "Thank you, Dobby," she said as she wiped away a tear, "you have no idea how much this means to me. There's no way I could have done as well myself — I'd never have thought of matching rings. You're the best, Dobby. You're the best house elf ever."

Reaching out, she pulled Dobby into a tight hug as he started sobbing, too. Both had spent years being abused and unappreciated by their families. They were kindred spirits, and in each other they found some of the love and appreciation they had always longed for.

On the next bed over, completely oblivious to the presence of Dobby or how it would soon impact her, Hermione was also awake. Unlike Jasmine, though, she hadn't woken early; instead, she hadn't even gone to sleep because she had stayed up all night reading the book she received from Minerva McGonagall. Yesterday's effort to search the library for books on sex had been a bust, and while she wasn't ready to give up entirely, she was also too impatient to wait.

So when she got to bed the previous night, she decided to reach for the only resource currently available: Pureheart's The Power of Love. Once she got started, however, she found herself unable to stop. One thing she discovered was that the book must have had some sort of expansion charm on it — she was certain that she had read several hundred pages already, but she seemed to only be a fraction of the way through. Somehow, the book had far more pages in it than should normally be possible.

While some students might become discouraged at such a discovery, it only served to excite the bushy-haired witch. She had never known that putting even more pages into books was possible and was delighted by the idea. Hungrily, she turned yet another page and read on avidly through the night.