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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
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."
metamorphmaga
"Sure! I haven't actually seen anyone use a wand- well, except the whole 'my wand turned into a sparkler when I picked it up' thing- so I am totally on board. Also, y'know, thanks."
chanuphis
"You're welcome! This is supposed to be complicated, though, so I might not be able to."
She points her Ollivander wand at the extra hair and says firmly, "Evanesco," just like her mum cleaning up a spill.
Nothing.
"I'm probably missing something. I don't think it's in the first year textbooks or I'd look it up."
She points her Ollivander wand at the extra hair and says firmly, "Evanesco," just like her mum cleaning up a spill.
Nothing.
"I'm probably missing something. I don't think it's in the first year textbooks or I'd look it up."
metamorphmaga
So does Jenny!
Since the spell is not in fact "Evesco", unsurprisingly, nothing happens.
Since the spell is not in fact "Evesco", unsurprisingly, nothing happens.
metamorphmaga
"It was about half a joke? I mean, I've seen my wand go all sparkler, it seemed like maybe a thing."
parental_guidance
"The neighbor's kids blew up a tree one time," Emma volunteers. "It knocked a branch onto the house. My mother made them come help her with the repair spells."
chanuphis
"When Renée was substitute teaching in Australia one of the kids in her class blew up the time-out corner when she was about to get sent to it."
metamorphmaga
"Patrick would absolutely do that," Jenny says fondly. "Probably Michael and Thomas too, if they thought of it, but- Patrick would so do that. Your mum's a teacher?"