The following morning at the Horned Serpent breakfast table, Hedwig delivered a pair of identical parchments to a groggy Harry and Ana. Harry groaned as he began reading his note, but his jaw dropped by the time he finished:
"Dear Mister Potter,
In lieu of detention for last night's escapades, I am offering you an opportunity of sorts for you and your little friend Miss Harrison. As it turns out, I have need of your assistance this week in concocting a series of very special potions for one of my colleagues. If you hold your tongue and pay keen attention, you may actually learn something from this.
You should know that ordinarily, sneaking off after curfew is grounds for detention by itself, but reading a volume from the restricted section without faculty supervision would only increase the length of detention. However, since you are one of my better pupils (not to mention, Professor Lupin had no business offering you that diary), I've decided to keep things in-house - no demerits, no detentions, no referral to your head of house. I pray you won't do anything that will make me regret this decision.
Meet me downstairs Thursday immediately after dinner. I will elaborate further at that time.
Sincerely,
Madam Gwendolyn Lewandowski
Potions Master"
Ana's letter looked much like Harry's. "We lucked out, Harry," she whispered. Harry responded with an impassive nod.
"What did you get in trouble for?" Othniel asked, waving a fork between Ana and Harry.
Harry sighed, and in a low voice, recounted the story to Othniel and Tallulah. Tallulah's eyes widened when she heard that Ana willingly went along with Harry. She tapped her chin with her index finger. "Wait, if you were under the cover of your invisibility cloak, how did she discover you?"
Harry could only shake his head and shrug, but Ana offered a theory. "There's some non-verbal spells like the Human Presence Revealing spell, but only suffienciently-powerful or experienced practitioners of magic can use it."
"You're crazy-good with magic," Othniel said. "You can do it, right?"
Ana giggled. "Merlin, no. I'm good, but not that good. It'll be a long while before I can even think about casting such a spell. Besides, I guess it shouldn't surprise me that Madam L would use something like that. She's one of the oldest faculty members we have… she's technically old enough to be Professor Goode's great-grandmother."
"You actually know how old they are?" Othniel gasped in disbelief. "I thought it'd be rather rude to ask a teacher their age…"
Ana's giggles intensified. "Goodness, Othniel! I didn't actually ask them – I bought the Ilvermorny course directory for the 1991-92 academic term when I was at Nessel Road. It goes over a brief history of the school, then lists the available courses from first through seventh years, and then abridged biographies for the faculty members."
"So," prodded Othniel, "how old are they exactly?'
Ana gave Othniel a slight eye roll. "You could easily look it up yourself as there's several copies in the library. But as you're probably not going to do that anytime soon… Professor Goode is 27, and Madam L is 84."
"She probably looks closer to 184," murmured Tallulah. "And don't magically-gifted folks tend to have somewhat longer lifespans than regular people?"
"They do tend to live a good couple of decades longer on average," confirmed Ana. "Sometimes even more than that. And Madam L looks like the witch from Hansel and Gretel because she's had a pretty hard life. I mean, I'm sure she could use beautification charms so she can appear to age more gracefully, but I'd wager she probably revels in intimidating both students and faculty alike! She probably feels she wouldn't be taken as seriously if she looked like say, Elizabeth Taylor…"
Othniel arched an eyebrow. "D'you think she might have been pretty at some point?"
"Maybe," replied Ana with a shrug. "She might have been a reasonably attractive witch say, fifty years ago. But I've never seen any photos or portraits of her as a young witch."
"She probably looked exactly the same fifty years ago," half-joked Tallulah. "I don't think the words 'pretty' and 'Madam L' belong in the same sentence, unless the word 'opposite' is thrown in."
"I've never been inside her office, so this Thursday night I'll be on the lookout for old group photos or something," Harry added. "I'll try to be discreet about it."
"Another interesting tidbit about our Potions Master," Ana said with a sly grin on her face, "is that she's not an Ilvermorny graduate. She studied at Beauxbatons if you can believe it!"
Othniel shook his head in disbelief. "I wouldn't have guessed that in a million years."
Ana grinned at her friends. "Her father was a no-maj Quebecois, while her mother was a witch of Irish descent. Her father wanted her to go to a nonmagical school, while her mother wanted her to attend Ilvermorny, so they came up with a compromise – she would study magic, but with French being the language of instruction."
"Cuh-buh-whaaa?" asked Othniel with a most puzzled expression.
"She's the daughter of a French Canadian man," clarified Ana. "Quebecois is what you'd call a person that comes from Quebec. It's a predominantly French-speaking province, sil vous plait."
"Do you speak French?" asked Tallulah, her curiosity piqued.
Ana shrugged. "Je sais un peu."
Tallulah answered Othniel's unasked question. "I think that means she knows a little bit."
"Très bien," said Ana. "Do any of you know any other languages besides English? I also know American Sign Language."
"I know English and redneck," replied Tallulah.
Ana shook her head. "You're about the furthest thing from a redneck, Tallulah."
"Well thanks," murmured Tallulah. "But remember, I come from a one redlight town in Georgia. I can handle an ATV, and I bagged my first deer when I was nine…"
"Just because you're a small town girl doesn't mean you can't also be cultivated or intelligent, both of which you clearly are," countered Ana. "Heck, I'm an Indiana girl, born and raised! I wouldn't doubt a typical Georgian considers an average Hoosier is more of a rube than they are!"
"Hel-looooo," chimed in Othniel. "You're both city slickers compared to me. I've lived in Bend, Oregon since I was three, and that's the middle of nowhere! At least both of you are reasonably close to a good-sized city. The only city within driving distance is Portland, and that's almost four hours away! And Portland is a fraction the size of either Atlanta or Chicago!"
"You win," giggled Tallulah. "So, if you're not an Oregon native, where were you born then?"
"Butte, Montana," replied Othniel. "My father's a cowboy from Superior, Montana. He's been working as a ranch foreman just outside of Bend for the past seven or eight years."
"And your mother's a minister's daughter," recalled Harry. "I'm willing to bet how they met would make for an interesting story…"
Othniel gave Harry a lopsided shrug. "Not really. They met in college in the early 1970s. Montana State in Bozeman. If you can believe it, my mother was the wild one…"
"That doesn't surprise me," said Ana. "A lot of preachers' kids are rebellious and rambunctious."
"Of course, she settled down," chuckled Othniel. "There are times I think Grampa Chuck likes my dad more than any of his actual kids – sometimes he even volunteers on the ranch to spend time with him!"
Ana looked at her enchanted wristwatch. "All right guys, I've got to get going in a few minutes – Quiz Bowl prep time! It was great catching up – perhaps we can meet in the common room or the library tomorrow afternoon? I can proofread your Charms essays if you'd like."
"Sounds good to me," Harry said. "See you!"
The following Monday morning, when Harry returned upstairs from a forty five minute workout, a certain bolded section at the top of the daily bulletin board caught his eye:
"ATTENTION STUDENTS: ALTHOUGH WE ARE LESS THAN A MONTH INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE TERM, WE WANT TO REMIND YOU OF SEVERAL UPCOMING SPRING EVENTS.
JANUARY 24th – PENULTIMATE QUIZ BOWL OF TERM. EVENT IS AT 7 PM IN THE MESS HALL. UNIFORM OF THE DAY IS TO BE WORN BY AUDIENCE.
FEBUARY 15TH – QUIDDITCH MATCH BETWEEN WAMPUS AND THUNDERBIRDS. 11 AM AT QUIDDITCH FIELD.
FEBRUARY 21ST – FINAL QUIZ BOWL OF THE TERM. EVENT IS AT 7 PM IN THE MESS HALL. UNIFORM OF THE DAY IS TO BE WORN BY AUDIENCE. THE HOUSE WITH THE HIGHEST RUNNING POINT TOTAL SHALL REPRESENT ILVERMORNY AT THE INTERSCHOLASTIC QUIZ BOWL IN SCOTLAND ON APRIL 17TH.
MARCH 27TH – QUIDDITCH MATCH BETWEEN HORNED SERPENTS AND PUKWUDGIE. 11 AM AT QUIDDITCH FIELD.
APRIL 19TH – EASTER FEAST. 6 PM. ROBES AND FORMAL UNIFORM MUST BE WORN.
APRIL 24TH – SPRING DANCE (FIRST AND SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS, NO EXCEPTIONS). YOU MAY WEAR EITHER ROBES AND FORMAL UNIFORM, OR APPROPRIATE NO-MAJ STYLE DRESS CLOTHES. EVENT IS AT 8 PM IN THE MESS HALL. CURFEW WILL BE EXTENDED TO MIDNIGHT FOR THOSE IN ATTENDANCE.
MAY 2ND – QUIDDITCH MATCH BETWEEN WAMPUS AND PUKWUDGIE. 11 AM AT QUIDDITCH FIELD.
MAY 8TH – SPRING DANCE (THIRD AND FOURTH-YEAR STUDENTS, NO EXCEPTIONS). YOU MAY WEAR EITHER ROBES AND FORMAL UNIFORM, OR APPROPRIATE NO-MAJ STYLE DRESS CLOTHES. EVENT IS AT 8 PM IN THE MESS HALL. CURFEW WILL BE EXTENDED TO MIDNIGHT FOR THOSE IN ATTENDANCE.
MAY 22ND – SPRING DANCE (FIFTH-YEAR STUDENTS ON UP, NO EXCEPTIONS). DRESS CODE IS WHITE TIE FOR MALE STUDENTS, BALL GOWNS FOR FEMALE STUDENTS. NO EXCEPTIONS. EVENT IS AT 8 PM IN THE MESS HALL. CURFEW WILL BE SUSPENDED FOR THOSE IN ATTENDANCE.
MAY 23RD – QUIDDITCH MATCH BETWEEN HORNED SERPENTS AND THUNDERBIRDS. 11 AM AT QUIDDITCH FIELD.
MAY 28TH AND 29TH – FINAL EXAMS OF THE 1991-92 TERM. EXAM RESULTS WILL BE POSTED TO FIRST THROUGH FOURTH-YEAR STUDENTS BY 7 AM, MAY 30TH. UPPERCLASSMEN WILL RECEIVE THEIR EXAM RESULTS VIA OWL WITHIN TEN DAYS.
MAY 31ST – COMMENCEMENT. 1 PM AT THE QUIDDITCH FIELD.
MAY 31ST – LEAVING FEAST. 6 PM AT GREAT HALL. ROBES AND FORMAL UNIFORM MUST BE WORN."
A few minutes later, as Harry emerged from his shower stall with nothing but a towel covering his midsection, Othniel burst into the bathroom, eyes as big as saucers. "Didja see all the stuff going on this spring, Harry?"
"Yeah," replied Harry. "So there's a few quidditch matches and big feasts to look forward to. Not a big deal."
Othniel arched an eyebrow. "Surely you saw what's happening on April 24th…"
Harry's cheeks turned pink. "Yes, I saw that too."
"Well, if you wanna go with Ana, you'd better ask her soon," suggested Othniel. "Three months seems like a long time from now, but you might not be the only kid who's thinking about asking her."
"All right, man," agreed Harry. "I don't suppose I need to ask who you want to take…"
Othniel chuckled. "I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count."
Once the boys got cleaned up and changed into their daily uniforms, they headed downstairs for some breakfast before heading to Herbology. Neither Ana nor Tallulah had made it downstairs yet, so they tried to find a spot with plenty of room on either side of them. When the girls had finally joined them a few minutes later, they were surprised to see Tallulah in just her white knee socks.
Harry pointed a finger gun at Tallulah. "Let me guess… Gallifrey?"
Tallulah's already-red face went a shade deeper. "The li'l stinker just trotted off with one of my penny loafers… he found himself a nice little hiding spot and I can't get him to come out."
"Don't you put your hats and shoes and stuff up at night so he can't get to them?" asked Othniel. "I mean, this isn't the first time he's messed with your things…"
"No, I don't," sighed Tallulah. "I don't like memorizing combinations, and I'd probably misplace my keys if I had any…"
"You're due to learn the unlocking and locking charms soon, Tallulah," Ana said. "If you have a footlocker or something, I can spend a few minutes with you this evening so you can have a bit of a head start."
Tallulah's face lit up. "For real, Ana?"
Ana giggled. "Yeah! They aren't hard to learn, and knowing you, you'll pick them up very quickly."
Just as Tallulah turned back toward her bowl of oatmeal, she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. To her surprise, it was Missy Ludwig, holding a pair of black penny loafers. "I take it you're looking for these, Miss Slater?"
"How… how'd you find those?" stammered Tallulah, shocked beyond belief. "Thank you so much, Missy…"
Missy giggled. "I heard that your cat was giving you some fits with your shoes again. It wasn't hard to get them back – just a simple summoning spell, but I'm afraid they won't teach that to you for a while." She turned toward Ana. "I've got a little free time tomorrow evening – would you like to go with me to the library and prepare for the Quiz Bowl?"
"That'd be awesome," squeaked Ana.
"That's this Friday, isn't it?" asked Tallulah. "I can't believe we're almost done with the season…"
"Sure is," confirmed Missy. "We've won two of the three Quiz Bowls so far. We're in the driver's seat to compete at Hogwarts, but we can't get complacent. Wampus has a strong team – they won last month, and they could have beaten us back in October if they weren't so conservative with their wagering. They want it just as badly as we do."
"If the Horned Serpents win both, then they're in regardless," said Harry. "If they split the next two, it could get dicey I s'pose – especially if Wampus wins one."
"Exactly," Missy replied. "We could have three wins under our belt and Wampus only has two, but if they have a thousand total points to our nine hundred ninety, then they get the nod."
Harry bit his lip. "I hope we win both so we won't have to worry about that."
Missy nodded. "That makes two of us." She then looked up, and noticed the fluttering of many owls carring letters and packages. "Looks like it's time for mail. I'll see you around, all right?"
"Bye Missy. Thank you so much," chirped Tallulah as she slipped on her shoes.
Ana, meanwhile, had a smile on her face so large it could only mean one thing – a letter from her friend Daphne. When she finished her note, she reached into her bag and began writing her reply. Hedwig cocked her head at Ana and made a rather impatient-sounding creak.
Ana just giggled at the little white owl. "You can go on, Hedwig. This one's going to be a bit on the longer side, so don't wait up on account of me. I'll see you at the owlery later on, all right?" Hedwig let out a soft hoot, which Ana figured was an affirmative response, and began making her way back to the owlery as Ana continued writing her letter.