After leaving Lily's room, Rachel made her way to Samantha's room and gently knocked on her door.
"Who is it?" asked Samantha's voice from the other side of the door.
"Rachel Robins'" answered Rachel clearly, May I please come in? I wish to have a confidential conversation with you."
"Yes," replied Samantha a nanosecond later, "I'll let you in."
Samantha went over to her door and opened it carefully to ensure that she would not hit Rachel with the door. When the door was opened, Rachel entered, and Samantha shut the door again.
Samantha then retrieved her wand from her right hand pocket with her right hand and performed Privacy Charms on her room.
"NO sound or sight can now leave this room, " piped up Samantha in a boastful voice, "My Privacy Charms are among the best in the world and that's a fact!"
It was precisely this sort of self-praise and self-complimenting that had previously caused Rachel to dislike Samantha.
However, her perspective on Samantha had significantly changed after Samantha had been the one whose idea it had been to give Rachel that tip money.
"So," Rachel told Samantha in a warmly serious voice that oozed gratitude and appreciation, "Yesterday I succeed in securing a wonderful opportunity for myself."
"What is that opportunity?" asked Samantha warmly.
"After New Year's when the new semester begins," said Rachel glowingly, "I will be leaving my current job as waitress of The Three Broomsticks and will be starting a new job as a Potions Maker for the Ultimate University of Wizarding Healing!"
"Congratulations, Rachel," replied Samantha cheerfully, and there was a warmth in her voice that Rachel could never remember having heard from her before.
"Samantha," said Rachel seriously, "I am indebted to Devon, James, Hugo, Ainsley, Stephanie, and Lily to a large extent for this opportunity. But I am most indebted to you for this opportunity."
Samantha's brain went to work for a minute and a nanosecond, and she finally concluded, "The only way Devon, James, Hugo, Ainsley, Stephanie, Lily, and I could possibly deserve any credit for you obtaining this new job would be if our tip money played a role in getting it for you."
"Well," smiled Rachel, "You can think critically. Yes, you see, I saw an ad in this past Sunday's Daily Prophet promoting an available job as Potions Maker for the Ultimate University of Wizarding Healing. My job interview was yesterday. Here's the thing, in the days leading up to my job interview, I practiced my Potion Making skills. "
"That's just common sense," said Samantha matter of factly, "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."
"So true," agreed Rachel, "And that's why your tip money was so important. I used much of that tip money to purchase potion making supplies, including a strong brass cauldron, brass scales, vials, bottles, and potions ingredients. I practiced potion making on my own time and by the time my job interview rolled around I was in a good rhythm. While I was an O student in Potions at Hogwarts, without the self-practice, I would have been rusty. Practicing on my own allowed me to sharpen my potion making skills prior to my job interview. Part of the interview was demonstrating how well I could make certain potions. The staff at The Ultimate University of Wizarding Healing was ecstatic at how good I was, and I got a job that I will much prefer to waiting that will also pay far better."
"Rachel," said Samantha kindly, "I never expected something like this to happen. I simply sensed that you were struggling and needed some assistance. My intent was simply to offer you a helping hand and encourage my friends to do the same."
"I am very thankful for that," said Rachel sincerely, "I was just in Lily's room telling her what lies ahead for me. When we were talking about how you were the one who suggested that your group provide me with tip money, Lily said that it wasn't just an act of kindness but a show of compassion. She reminded me that while you were asking your friends to pitch in and give me some tip money while stating that you would also give me some tip money, you said that waitresses have a thankless job that rewards them with low pay into the bargain. You clearly empathized with me and my position and made it a point to try to help me."
"Devon's reply when I first asked if we needed to tip you was that tipping was a muggle thing," remembered Samantha coldly, "And to that I say: it's a very poor reflection on Wizarding World culture that tipping service employees who work their asses for low pay isn't a thing in the Wizarding World. Probably some pureblood fanatic somewhere along the line decided that witches and wizards shouldn't tip each other because tipping was invented as a muggle custom."
"I don't disagree with a syllable of that, " declared Rachel, "The Wizarding World definitely needs to become more willing to incorporate muggle inventions, ideas, and customs into its own culture. But, Samantha, it's a very positive reflection on you that you went out of your way to make sure I got some help when I needed it. I had no idea that it would lead to what it led to. Potions was always my best and favorite subject. If I may ask, what did you think of me last year when I was at Hogwarts? I don't mean as a Chaser. I mean as a person."
"I know this is a boring answer," acknowledged Samantha, "But I didn't care about you one way or the other. To me, you were just a seventh year Hogwarts student who happened to be on the same Quidditch team as me. To me, you weren't a friend, an enemy, an ally, or a rival. To me you were just kind of "there." Simply put, I had no reason to care enough about you one way or the other to be able to have an opinion of you one way or the other."
"That further exemplifies just how caring and compassionate you were being to me to make sure I got that tip money," nodded Rachel respectfully, "You didn't even feel personally connected to me, yet you still made a point to be there for me and help me."
"Rachel," said Samantha fiercely, "If you ever feel like you need something from me, don't hesitate to ask. If you require financial assistance, life advice, a place to stay, academic information, or even just a tip on what would be a good place to eat, don't hesitate to ask me and I will readily help you out."
"You've already proven that, Samantha," said Rachel warmly, "I'd like to be honest with you about my progression of how I feel about you."
"Fire away, Rachel," said Samantha encouragingly.
"Last year when I was a seventh year at Hogwarts and you were a first year, I fully admit that I was not fond of you. You always came across to me as conceited, stuck up, heartless, uncaring, and full of yourself. I saw you as a younger version of Gilderoy Lockhart without the published books."
"So," explained Samantha patiently, "I am a very proud person. I do like to praise myself, compliment myself, and pat myself on the back. On some level, I am a person who doesn't need an excuse to be in love with myself. But there are two major differences between me and Gilderoy Lockhart."
"What do you perceive as those differences?" inquired Rachel.
"First," said Samantha in a crystal clear voice, "Everything I praise myself for and love myself for is something I have actually accomplished. Whether it be winning the silver medal in the Hogwarts Writing Competition, casting a successful charm, having a good idea, or being the best Keeper that Hogwarts has ever known. The things I compliment myself on are things I've actually done. I don't make things up about myself that simply aren't true. Second, and very importantly, I'm NEVER a plagiarist or a credit thief. On the contrary, I despise credit thieves with every fiber of my guts. My distain for credit thieves is why I strongly feel that Gilderoy Lockhart is far worse than Rita Skeeter."
"That's a tough one," said Rachel thoughtfully, "Being a credit thief for self-promotion vs making up false stories about other people. But, Samantha, to the point at hand, actions speak louder than words. You have proven through your actions, whether it was getting your parents to take Stephanie and Courtney into your family so that they wouldn't have to live in an orphanage or whether it was making sure I got tip money when you knew times were tough for me and you knew how much it would help me, you have proven through your actions that you have a caring heart. I would like to apologize to you for having compared you to Gilderoy Lockart during your Hogsmeade visit to The Three Broomsticks. After you arranged for me to receive that tip money, including providing me with some yourself, I felt terrible about comparing you to Lockhart. I know now that I clearly misjudged you and I would like to apologize to you."
"I accept your apology, Rachel. " said Samantha genuinely, "I'm not going to change who I am. Humility is not a character trait of mine. I'm not wired that way and I'm not going to feed you some disingenuous bullshit about how I'm trying to change because I'm certainly not."
"I'm still not a fan of your propensity to praise yourself," Rachel told Samantha, "But you've proven through your actions what kind of person you really are and how truly caring and supportive you are."
"Rachel?" inquired Samantha, "Did Lily tell you that Ainsley will be transferring to The Ultimate University of Wizarding Healing starting in the fall 2021 semester?"
"She did," beamed Rachel, "I might run into Ainsley there. I really respect her ambition to become a Healer like her mom."
"We are very proud of her and very happy for her to have the chance to become a student at the Ultimate University of Wizarding Healing," said Samantha radiantly, "And I'm very happy for your chance to become a Potions Maker for the Ultimate University of Wizarding Healing. I am sure you won't miss the rude and impatient customers at The Three Broomsticks."
"No, I won't," admitted Rachel, "Being a waitress at The Three Broomsticks wasn't a bad starting job for me all things considered, but I'm grateful to be moving on from it into a higher paying job that I will enjoy far more."
Next nanosecond, Samantha looked down at her watch and told Rachel, "I'm sorry, Rachel, but we're going to have to end this conversation here. Stephanie will be expecting me in the common room as we are planning to take some sister time before breakfast."
"No problem, Samantha, " said Rachel kindly, "I just wanted to thank you privately for what you did for me."
Fittingly, as Samantha went over to the door and held it open for Rachel before trailing out herself, each of them said one last word to each other.
"Congratulations," piped up Samantha while Rachel simultaneously piped up, "Thanks."
There will be a Christmas themed chapter or two in December and then more content of more substance will be added to this thread after New Year's.
As this will be the last update to Lily Luna Potter and the New Era of Hogwarts before Thanksgiving, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Happy Thanksgiving. Be safe everyone!
Much love from Arizona for all the support. Love you all-Michael. :) ❤️