HPM Darias Testing Aftermath
DISCLAIMER: Daria and its characters are the creations of Glen Eichler and are the property of MTV Viacom. Harry Potter is the creation of JK Rowling and is the property of JK Rowling, Warner Brothers, and Wizarding World. I own neither franchise. Also, I neither expect nor deserve financial compensation for this work of fiction. I am writing for my own amusement and ego gratification.
WARNING: Rated "T" for language. Someone is very upset.
Harry Potter Morgendorffer*Harry Potter Morgendorffer*Harry Potter Morgendorffer
"This is not what I had in mind for my life," she said. "I don't want to be a witch."
"Sweetie, I love you no matter what you are," said Helen. She did the only thing she could think of doing and gave her daughter a hug.
-(((O-O)))-
Helen had scheduled Daria's appointment with Healer Hellier for the late morning. Daria's session had proved surprisingly brief, at least compared to some of the appointments she and her daughters had had with No-Maj physicians. Still, it was around noon, and Helen thought it was time to do something about lunch. She did make a short phone call to Jake, telling him that she and Daria were all right, that they'd have lunch down in San Antonio, then set back for Ruskin.
A Greek restaurant along Broadway caught her attention while she was counting down the blocks before she had to turn right on Nacodoches. "This looks good," she said. She turned right just after it, circled a couple of blocks, then pulled into the restaurant's modest-sized parking lot. Despite it being lunch hour, their wait wasn't that long and they were seated at a booth along the far wall.
The Greek restaurant had Greek food and murals depicting scenes in the real Greece but lacked a certain authenticity. The waiters were Anglo-Americans and the girl at the cash register was Latina. Helen had a salad with Feta cheese, olives, and anchovies while Daria had a child-sized Moussaka. Helen briefly thought of how her Goblin bosses would react to her meal. Her carnivorous employers would probably call it rabbit food.
She turned her attention back to her daughter. Daria looked down at the table with a scowl.
"I'm sorry that the tests didn't go the way you hoped it would, Sweetie," said Helen.
Both of them looked around the restaurant. The people behind them had just left and the bus boy had just finished wiping down the table after clearing the glasses, plates, and silverware, so they had a moment of privacy.
"So am I," said Daria. "I don't want to be a witch."
"I know you're disappointed, Sweetie, but sometimes life takes us in unexpected directions," said Helen.
"Tell me about it," Daria replied sarcastically.
"I don't think I need to," said Helen. "I think you know already."
"I know you don't like this, but things aren't all bleak," said Helen. "Even with that boarding school in Massachusetts, you still have a good shot at going to college and nothing should stop you from becoming a writer like you want to be."
"I want to become a script writer," said Daria.
"That possibility might still be open, said Helen. "I don't know for sure. Being a writer doesn't attract the media attention that a movie actress or a pop star gets."
Daria thought about disagreeing, then thought about the sorts of trouble a movie star could get into if some nosy reporter found out about her magical education.
"There is that," she conceded.
Helen didn't drive straight home to Ruskin but drove to her office at Gringotts Southwest to pick up paperwork. She warned Daria that a couple of her magical co-workers might guess her new status. Daria wanted to keep quiet, but Helen warned her that that approach wouldn't work.
"You might have to tell them, Sweetie," she said.
"Oh, Goody," Daria said sarcastically.
"Also, the lobby's closed for a holiday, so we'll have to come back here to open up an account."
"Hmmm," Daria said irritably.
HJ was the next resident of Schloss Morgendorffer to learn about Daria's new status; Quinn having gone over to play at a neighbor's.
"How did the testing go?" he asked.
Daria shot him a glare and walked past him without saying anything. She opened the back door and sat down on one of the wooden chairs out on the patio, something she did when she wanted to be alone.
"Mom, how did it go with Daria?" said HJ. "Is she all right?"
"She's fine," said Helen. She sighed. "She didn't like the test results."
"I can see that," said HJ. "Is she or isn't she?"
"She is," said Helen. "And her life has just gotten more complicated. You might have company when you go off to Hogwarts."
That would be cool, thought HJ. He already knew some stuff about Hogwarts. Helen and Jake had already taken him to a couple of mixers and he'd met a couple of expat Hogwarts students. They'd warned him not to get his hopes up about him getting into the same house with Daria if she was a witch. Brothers and sisters could have different mind-sets, and even if he and Daria went to Hogwarts, they could be sorted into different houses.
He decided to give Daria some time to simmer down, then he opened the back door and went out to the patio. Daria was glowering at the flower bed over by the back fence.
He pulled up a chair and sat down not next to her, but near her. Once in a while Daria could be in a real pissy mood. This looked like one of those times.
"What do you want?" she said.
"Mom said you got tested," said HJ.
"I thought you'd be celebrating or something," said Daria.
"I thought you'd be happy," said HJ. "I mean look at the cool things you can do with magic."
"I'm not," said Daria. "I want to be a famous writer and this is a big pain in the neck."
"There is such a thing as a pen-name," said HJ. "I mean Samuel Clements wrote as Mark Twain."
"Smart-Ass," Daria replied.
"And we've got better-than-even chances of living to become grown-ups," said HJ.
"Hmm," said Daria.
They sat companionably in silence, Daria thinking her own thoughts, HJ doing what he hoped was showing moral support. After a while, Daria got up and went back inside.
Quinn came back from the Kittricks' a short time later. Mom didn't spring the news right then and there, but told Quinn that there'd be a family discussion at dinner.
Quinn went up to her room. Jake came home about fifteen minutes later and was intercepted by Helen. They then went out to the patio. HJ had already gone back inside.
"Jake, I took Daria down to San Antonio for her tests," said Helen. "There's something important I have to tell you."
-(((O-O)))-
"Oh my God!" said Jake. "My little girl is a witch! How could this happen?"
"I don't know, Jakey," said Helen, temporarily at a loss for words. "I thought that my family had put the wands away over a hundred years ago. The last thing I expected was for it to come back to my part of the family even with HJ living under our roof."
"Did HJ do something to her?" said Jake. He immediately regretted saying it; Mrs. Kettler and other MACUSA social workers had told him over and over again that while magic might run in families, it wasn't something given from one person to another, it was something that was there probably before Daria was even born.
"No," Helen said firmly, "it must have been something that Daria must have had all along, and neither we nor she knew about it. It's probably only now becoming apparent." Or we saw it and either overlooked it or weren't paying attention, she thought to herself.
"You're right," said Jake. "Sometimes I feel things and my mouth runs away with me and I say things I'm sorry for. But my little girl, I love her so much and I'm so scared for her!"
"But that world is so dangerous!" said Jake. "Suppose some kid points his wand at her and tries to turn her into a frog!"
"That kid's going to only have one shot and have to be really good," said Helen. "Otherwise he'll have to start pricing out his own lily pads."
"I love our little girl and I'm worried for her too," said Helen. "But I'm not frightened: Daria is thoughtful and careful. I think she's got at least as good a chance of making to adulthood as most kids around here. Her chances might even be better."
"Speaking of which, sometimes I wish that HJ would follow her example."
"HJ's a guy," said Jake.
"Who could stand to learn to be a little more careful," said Helen. "Daria will be fine."
Jake trusted his wife's judgment about his daughter. Despite his worry and his lingering fear, he suspected that she'd be right.
"Well, it'll be dinnertime soon and we'll have to talk to the children," said Helen. She opened the freezer and started pulling out lasagna dinners.
-(((O-O)))-
Daria saw that Dad had the television remote and started worrying. It looked like there'd be a family discussion at the dinner table. This one would be a bit grim: neither Jake nor Helen had prepared a dinner. It looked like the family fireworks would explode over microwaved lasagna.
Helen began it while the last of the entrees was on their plates and cooling.
"Girls, HJ," she said. "As you know, Daria and I went down to San Antonio to consult with Healer Hillier."
HJ said nothing. He already knew the results.
"So is Daria gonna be a witch, or is she going to be a normie?" said Quinn.
Uh, oh, thought HJ.
Despite the fact that Daria was three years older than Quinn, the two girls treated each other like rivals. But despite the fact that Daria and Quinn had different interests and coveted different things, sometimes Quinn would want what Daria had, not because Quinn really wanted it, but because it was something Daria had.
"The tests were positive," said Helen. "Your sister is a witch."
"NO!" shouted Quinn. "SHE CAN'T BE A WITCH! I WANT TO BE A WITCH! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"
"Fair has nothing to do with it," said Daria, glaring at her little sister. "You either have it or you don't."
"IT CAN'T BE!" said Quinn. 'I'M THE ONE WHO'S SPECIAL! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE WITCH!"
"No," said Helen "Magic doesn't appear just because you want it. You either get it or you don't get it."
"WELL SHE GOT IT AND SHE DIDN'T WANT IT!" said Quinn. "I WANT IT! MOM, MAKE HER GIVE IT OVER!"
"No," said Helen, glaring at her younger daughter. "That's not in my power. But I want you to calm down and behave!"
"NO!" said Quinn. "DARIA, GIVE IT OVER!"
Daria had had enough. "No," she said nastily.
"DARIA, YOU BITCH!" yelled Quinn.
"Quinn," said HJ. "Calm down."
"HJ, YOU JERK! YOU GAVE IT TO HER ON PURPOSE!" shouted Quinn.
"QUINN RENATA MORGENDORFFER, ENOUGH!" shouted Helen. "CORNER, NOW!"
"DAD?" said Quinn.
"You heard her," Jake said sternly. "Corner!"
Quinn looked daggers at Helen, then at HJ and Daria.
If looks could kill, thought HJ. Mrs. Kettler and some of the social workers that occasionally substituted for her told HJ had not only repeatedly warned HJ and the other Morgendorffers that wizards and witches could release accidental magic in times of extreme agitation or emotion. HJ listened to Quinn's tantrum and tapped Daria's foot. He caught Daria's eye, then looked across the table at Quinn, where Quinn was carrying on about how life was unfair and that she ought to be a witch. HJ gestured at his water glass, shook his head and snickered.
Daria caught what her cousin was saying. If Quinn was a witch, this tantrum should release enough magic to level the neighborhood. She started giggling.
"MOM!" yelled Quinn. "THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT ME! MAKE THEM STOP!"
HJ heard Quinn's latest, and started chortling.
"STOP IT!" shouted Quinn.
"HJ, Daria, behave," said Jake.
The telephone rang a couple of minutes later. Helen got up to answer it. Silence temporarily ruled at the Morgendorffer dinner table.
"Jake," said Helen. "It's for you."
Jake got up to answer the telephone. Both parents distracted, Daria leaned over to whisper "Welcome to the Enchanted Corner Hour!" in HJ's ear.
It was too much. HJ started chortling
"SHUT UP!" said Quinn.
-((O-O)))-
After the kids had been sent to bed, Helen and Jake decided to resume discussing the consequences of Daria's testing.
"We'll have to send her to school with HJ!" said Jake. "That's going to cost like hell! The combined fees and tuition for both of them will eat us alive!"
"Jake, we don't have to worry about paying HJ's tuition and fees," said Helen. "He's already covered. That money will come out of HJ's trust fund, which is more than adequate to pay for his expenses."
"We'd just have to worry about Daria's tuition, board, and fees," said Jake.
And textbooks, and supplies, and uniforms, she added to herself.
"It'll be a stretch, but I think we can afford it," said Helen. "Maybe she can go to Hogwarts with HJ." she said.
-(((O-O)))—
They sent a letter off to Hogwarts, using the hybrid courier service developed in recent decades to speed communications without magic mirrors or floos. The reply came back a little over a week later.
"Dear Madam Morgendorffer,
"I must regretfully inform you that your request for your daughter's admission to Hogwarts has been declined. While we acknowledge ties of kinship as well as some of our applicants possessing dual nationalities, it is the policy of the school's Board of Governors to restrict to those children of British or Irish citizenship."
"While we must decline your daughter's admittance, we do acknowledge that there are schools in North and Central America where young witches and wizards can obtain a superior magical education. Our loss, their gain.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"
There was an addenda at the bottom of the page.
"I'm sorry, Helen, but those are the rules as handed down from above. I regret that I won't see your daughter in the halls of Hogwarts. Your daughter would have been a superior student here and I wish her the best of luck at Ilvermorny or whatever school of magic she chooses to attend.
-MMG."
Hellfire and damnation, thought Helen.
Well, nothing for it, she thought, resentful at the Hogwarts Board of Governors' arrogance. Her daughter would go to Ilvermorny.