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Dear Miss Mason,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
Emma's parents are thrilled. Such a good school, so well respected, and those alumni- just look at the battle against the Dark Lord! All that talent!- they're beyond proud. Emma's pleased on their behalf, of course. She wants to make her parents proud. She doesn't ask how badly the school was damaged in the war; she doesn't inquire how many teachers are missing or dead; she doesn't mention wishing she could stay home for a year. Maybe until things are just a little more rebuilt.
(She thinks it, though.)
She smiles and hugs her parents and agrees yes, of course it's wonderful, helping to rebuild the wizarding world is important. She'll start school in the fall, become a better witch.
And, as her mother points out excitedly- now they need to go shopping.
Emma's hardly unfamiliar with Diagon Alley. It's the place to be seen, as far as her parents are concerned, so that's where they've always shopped. But it feels different, somehow, to be shopping for Hogwarts. Her mother is showing every shopkeeper the list, fingers underlining the Hogwarts letterhead. Her father is stopping every friend he sees, talking loudly about "here to shop for Emma's first year, at Hogwarts you know".
Emma wants to scrunch up and hide from the attention, but her parents are so happy. It's only just the once she starts school, she supposes. She plasters on a smile and follows after her mother. Almost done now; all she needs is a wand.
And as everyone knows, there's only one place to get those.
parental_guidance
metamorphmaga
"Eeeeee," Jenny squeals softly, hovering over Miranda's shoulder and bouncing on her toes in excitement. After a couple seconds staring at the picture- the actual text is definitely optional- she sighs happily. "I will never ever get tired of these pictures," she declares. "Best thing ever. Er, besides unicorns. Unicorns are actually the best."
In deference to the new best thing ever picture, her hair has been lightened to a whiter shade of silver, and her horn is now a silvery blue. The sparkliness remains, however, because why not? Sparkles!
In deference to the new best thing ever picture, her hair has been lightened to a whiter shade of silver, and her horn is now a silvery blue. The sparkliness remains, however, because why not? Sparkles!
chanuphis
"Wizard photographs are pretty good," agrees Miranda. "Well, for this kind of thing. My mum thinks Muggle photographs are better for artistic shots because you can line things up just one way."
metamorphmaga
"Is it just photographs?" Jenny asks curiously. "Do drawings move too?"
Nothing she's ever drawn has moved (and with four younger siblings, she has been the doom of a rather impressive number of crayons) but she does have a wand now...
Nothing she's ever drawn has moved (and with four younger siblings, she has been the doom of a rather impressive number of crayons) but she does have a wand now...
chanuphis
"You can make paintings do it," says Miranda. "But it doesn't happen by itself, you have to make the painting special. The photographs have to be developed in a potion, too, to do it right."
parental_guidance
"Uh, hey guys?" Emma breaks in nervously. "I think the train's about to leave, you should probably say goodbye to your parents?" She looks enviously at Jenny's glittering hair. "We could sit together on the train though. Um, if you want to."
chanuphis
"Oh, yeah, let's all get a compartment," agrees Miranda, and she walks back to her mum, and hugs her, and gets kissed on the forehead, and goes onto the train.
metamorphmaga
"I'm in!" Jenny agrees immediately. "My parents are at work, so I'll get us seats I guess? Nice to meet you all!" She fetches her stuff, calling an extra thank you back to Miranda's mother in the process. (Imagine if she'd run into Emma's parents first? Emma was nice, but her parents were... well, Jenny's now extra glad she met the Swans first.) And onto the train she goes to find a free compartment.
parental_guidance
"Bye, Mother," Emma says with a hug for her mom. "Bye, father," with same.
Her mother just sniffles and tells her to be good and study hard and make them proud. Her father tells her the same, but adds, "And remember, you'll be there for seven years! You have plenty of time to make friends! Lots of students there with good connections. Good opportunity, that."
"Don't worry, Father, I'll remember," Emma agrees neutrally, mentally translating to and try to find some friends we like better. Since historically, the overlap between children her parents consider Valuable Connections and people Emma can even begin to tolerate doesn't actually exist, she's not going to promise anything.
"That's my good girl," her father says fondly, and hugs her again. "You'll be a wonderful witch, just you wait and see."
Emma smiles weakly in response. Gathering her stuff, she follows the other two girls onto the train just as they're yelling the last call. She finds Jenny in a cabin near the back, conveniently close to where they all got on. "Oh, bliss, I can sit now, thank Merlin. Mother wanted to be extra, extra careful so we arrived hours ago."
Two hours is in fact hours, even if it is the minimum number of hours to qualify as plural. It is still much, much longer than Emma wanted to be standing.
Her mother just sniffles and tells her to be good and study hard and make them proud. Her father tells her the same, but adds, "And remember, you'll be there for seven years! You have plenty of time to make friends! Lots of students there with good connections. Good opportunity, that."
"Don't worry, Father, I'll remember," Emma agrees neutrally, mentally translating to and try to find some friends we like better. Since historically, the overlap between children her parents consider Valuable Connections and people Emma can even begin to tolerate doesn't actually exist, she's not going to promise anything.
"That's my good girl," her father says fondly, and hugs her again. "You'll be a wonderful witch, just you wait and see."
Emma smiles weakly in response. Gathering her stuff, she follows the other two girls onto the train just as they're yelling the last call. She finds Jenny in a cabin near the back, conveniently close to where they all got on. "Oh, bliss, I can sit now, thank Merlin. Mother wanted to be extra, extra careful so we arrived hours ago."
Two hours is in fact hours, even if it is the minimum number of hours to qualify as plural. It is still much, much longer than Emma wanted to be standing.
chanuphis
"We ran late because Mum wanted to walk as it's a nice day, and it wasn't making us late enough that I could argue her into taking the Underground." Most of the compartments are occupied; they have to duck around the snack cart to get past lots of full ones. Eventually there is an empty one. Miranda ducks in to claim it.
parental_guidance
"The Underground?" Emma asks curiously. "Oh, uh, that's that Muggle train, right?"
chanuphis
"Yes. Renée - that's my mum - doesn't like the Floo. She has a broom but I don't fit on it so even if she Disillusions us it doesn't mean we can fly around in the middle of London."
parental_guidance
"I haven't taken the Floo much," Emma admits, "but I kinda see her point? It's, um, not the most comfortable thing in the world. Mother found us a Portkey to the station; that's kinda why we were so early."
metamorphmaga
"Okay, is there, like, a cheat sheet or something?" Jenny asks plaintively. "Magic to Muggle dictionaries? Wizarding Gobbledigook 101? Help, someone, take pity on the confused Muggle please!"
chanuphis
"Sorry," says Miranda. "The Floo is a way to go from one fireplace to another by magic, but it makes my mum dizzy and it's also very hard to land on your feet. A Portkey is a thing that is enchanted so if you touch it, it puts you somewhere else. Brooms fly. And there's this train, which is somewhat magical but mostly only a train, and in other countries there are are magic carpets but not so much here, and apart from, like, things like sitting on magical animals and special-purpose-built things that aren't any of them very common, that's most of the wizard methods of getting around."
metamorphmaga
"Thanks," Jenny says, smiling at her gratefully. "I mean, I don't really care much, you don't have to, like, randomly interject details every third word or whatever- it's going to happen all the time anyway. But I will totally make sad faces at you two if I get too confused. Sad faces will totally happen."
She makes an exaggeratedly sad face, and switches her hair to a rather dismal shade of blue-grey just for emphasis. "See? So very sad."
She makes an exaggeratedly sad face, and switches her hair to a rather dismal shade of blue-grey just for emphasis. "See? So very sad."
parental_guidance
Emma giggles helplessly. "How do you do that? I've never met a Metamorphmagus before. What can you do besides the unicorn one?"
And, after a second's thought- "...is there a female form of that? Metamorphmaga? I mean, um, it's kind of Latin. I've never heard it, though."
And, after a second's thought- "...is there a female form of that? Metamorphmaga? I mean, um, it's kind of Latin. I've never heard it, though."
metamorphmaga
"Ooh, ooh, I was going to try to braid it, right Miranda? I should try that!" She turns her hair back to its usual shade, then focuses her attention on this braiding activity.
It's not particularly efficient- it's noticeably slower than even the unicorn horn- but her hair does start to move into a braid-like form.
It's not particularly efficient- it's noticeably slower than even the unicorn horn- but her hair does start to move into a braid-like form.
chanuphis
"I think it's just Metamorphmagus for boys or girls. But if you want to say 'witch or wizard' without it taking all day you can say 'wix', and like - at least the sort of person Renée hangs around with will know what you mean." She supervises the braiding process with fascination.
metamorphmaga
"Heh, wix, I feel like a candle now," Jenny says. "Ooh, look, it worked!"
Her hair has made it successfully into a braid. It's not elaborate, nothing she couldn't have done with her hands- not even a French braid- but it's definitely a braid now. She beams.
"I did it! Eeeeee! Gimme something else to try?"
Her hair has made it successfully into a braid. It's not elaborate, nothing she couldn't have done with her hands- not even a French braid- but it's definitely a braid now. She beams.
"I did it! Eeeeee! Gimme something else to try?"
metamorphmaga
"Oh yeah," Jenny says blithely, and her face converts slowly. It's clearly a swan bill, and she's clearly done this before.
"Mm cn-" she starts, then decides not to try talking around the beak and turns her face back before she continues. "I can do feathers too! Couldn't get actual wings, but these worked-"
And swan feathers sprout from her head, trailing down alongside her hair decoratively. When she has them arranged to her liking, she turns them purple. "Free hairclips! But, er, don't pull them out please. Thaaaat hurts." She sighs. "Brothers."
"Mm cn-" she starts, then decides not to try talking around the beak and turns her face back before she continues. "I can do feathers too! Couldn't get actual wings, but these worked-"
And swan feathers sprout from her head, trailing down alongside her hair decoratively. When she has them arranged to her liking, she turns them purple. "Free hairclips! But, er, don't pull them out please. Thaaaat hurts." She sighs. "Brothers."
chanuphis
"How many siblings do you have? ...I'm not going to pull them but if you make feathers and someone pulls them out do they stay feathers after?"
metamorphmaga
"Only four! It's not that bad. One of my friends from church has eight, I don't know how she sleeps. And no, see-"
She can pull them out herself, she knows how. Careful about how she dislodges them, she removes the closest feather. It promptly turns back to a small cluster of hair. "Errrrr, whoops. Did not think that through, did I?" Failing to spot a trash can, she ties the hapless lock back around her hairtie.
She can pull them out herself, she knows how. Careful about how she dislodges them, she removes the closest feather. It promptly turns back to a small cluster of hair. "Errrrr, whoops. Did not think that through, did I?" Failing to spot a trash can, she ties the hapless lock back around her hairtie.
parental_guidance
"It must be nice having siblings," Emma says somewhat wistfully. "Even that many."
chanuphis
"I don't have any. I don't know if I would like them but I don't think I particularly want them. Jenny, do you want me to see if I can Vanish the extra hair? I don't know if I can, but we're allowed to do magic once we're on the train so I can try."