Everyone who knows her is sure Roberta Draper will make it out of the scholomance. Nothing’s ever guaranteed, but she’s a quick study, in excellent shape even as a kid, and seems to have inherited her father’s affinity for combat magic. Since her growth spurt at 12, it’s been much less certain that she’ll make it in. At one hundred eighty point four centimeters, she could expect to tower over most of the seniors. At 72.8 kilos, she’s going to have to dehydrate pretty hard just to get herself under the weight limit, to say nothing of clothes or medicine.

In the end, they skip the clothes. Health trumps dignity, and anyways, dignity is in your spirit. She keeps telling herself that, but it doesn’t make it any easier to imagine marching into a room with all the brightest and best-connected wizard kids her age in her birthday suit. Not to mention the older boys. Her gut is so tightly wound with nerves that at first she doesn’t even notice the induction hook.