Sparrow stood at the great floor-length bay
window that formed one side of the tea nook beneath the balcony.
It was a majestic morning, as she could see.
Sunlight breaking in beams through the rolling clouds, above the
windswept mountains. There were few lovely mornings up here in the
Highlands, but plenty of majestic ones at this time
of year, when the hard rains of winter were abating, and the wild
winds of spring had not yet arrived as heralds of the hard sun of
summer.
When the world was brightening, but did not yet
bake –
When it was still too cold for Lethifolds.
Sparrow shivered, though it was well warm
enough in Hufflepuff house. There were some things in this world
that had no warmth at all. Sparrow had met one, long ago.
She did not have either of her girls beside her
to warm her up, in this moment. She had been out the door and down
the stairs before either of them had left the bed, so eager was she
to start this day of rest – a day she would figure out how to fill
with anything useful she could think
of. She was free to avoid academic work for the day, so of course
she could work on her myriad other priorities without worry.
Practicing the MSL, practicing the Patronus – she’d thought about
getting the ghosts to carry messages, hadn’t she? That was another
task. She could make a list. She put "making a list" on her
mental to-do list.
There was a cough behind her, and her thoughts
of the day’s activities came to an abrupt halt. She turned. There
over her loomed the lanky form of a girl she’d only occasionally
interacted with – Cleo Sassoon. A witch
of tawny skin and dark ringlets, one whose eyes seemed ever at ease
with the world. And yet today, her face was apologetic – nervous,
even.
Sparrow raised her eyebrows, as to invite Cleo
to speak. Cleo cleared her throat. "I was just wondering if we
might take tea together this morning? If you’re not busy."
"Well now," said Sparrow, standing
tall and proud. "Too busy for tea? My dear Miss Sassoon, are we
not British? Mayhap the Royal Government is a rump state, mayhap mere
anarchy is loosed upon the world, and all the King’s majesty lays
in ruin, yet still Britain endures, still we are patriotic, for at
the last, there is one thing we never shall eschew, and that is tea!"
She gave a snappy salute.
Cleo tittered behind her hand. "Teatime is
more important than the King, is that right?"
"Well," said Sparrow, "tea is
here and the King isn’t. So."
"I’ll just put the kettle on then,"
said Cleo. She stepped through a door into one of the two
kitchenettes that framed the nook to either side.
Getting the kettle on could take about five
seconds with magic, but then, this was Tea, and there was a ritual to
these things. Which was why the kitchenettes with their stovetops
even existed, really; if it was possible to boil water with magic
then who even needed a stove? It was for the feeling, and taking Tea
was so much about the feeling. It was for slowing down. Hufflepuff
house understood that, well enough, better than the other houses.
This was the only common room with kitchenettes.
So Sparrow sat herself down at the table and
waited, until Cleo came out and sat at the little table, across from
her. Sparrow coughed. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance with
time on our hands, Madame Sassoon. Or, I should say mademoiselle."
Cleo sighed. "Oh, yes. It may be Madame
someday, but first Herbert will actually have to gather up his
courage and actually ask me for my
hand. You know, Miss Jones, I very much wish I had what you and your
girls had. You three have no trouble expressing your affections."
As if on cue, there was a small thump of
air, and then Jocasta’s arms were over Sparrow’s shoulders, and
Jocasta was kissing Sparrow all over her cheek. Sparrow giggled,
finding herself able to breathe easier now that Jo was here with her.
When Jocasta finally let up, Sparrow turned to
meet her mirthful gaze. "Were you waiting in the wings for
that?"
Jocasta laughed. "You might say my wings
are always waiting. Ah, but you, my little lovely, you did not wait
for me this morning! You, you early bird, you did not even wish to
come back to bed and snuggle your dear ones! Which meant I didn’t
have a chance to do your diagnostic. Hold still."
Sparrow rolled her eyes as Jocasta turned her
chair around – with her wand, which was already in her hand it
seemed – and cast the cone of green light over Sparrow’s sternum.
Once again, that faint tingling, just a little unpleasant. As Jocasta
dismissed the spell, Sparrow asked, "Well? Anything looking
unsettling?"
"Nothing more than what I’ve already
seen," said Jocasta, frowning. "Who knows what the future
will hold though."
"Professor Clearwater," said Sparrow.
"Where she’s gone though, I don’t know. We should have heard
from her."
"And where shall I go?" said
Jocasta. "Well, as I said, my wings are always waiting.
Farewell, my lovely!" There was a small
thump of air, and then a faint buzzing as Jocasta vanished,
leaving Sparrow with her arm outstretched, just missing the chance to
kiss her girl back.
Disappointed, she sighed and scooted her chair
back around to the table. "Alright. Where were we?"
"The tea," said Cleo. There was a
faint whistling from the kitchenette. "Ah, excuse me." She
sprang to her feet and vanished through the door.
She was in there for a fair bit longer than one
might expect. Sparrow was wondering what might be taking her, when
Cleo came out with a tray of a full tea service – even jam and
biscuits and clotted cream – and set it upon the table. "I
wasn’t sure what you liked," said Cleo, "so I got
everything."
"Full tea service for the morning!"
said Sparrow. "Good heavens, that’s an afternoon
thing. But thank you." She poured herself a steaming cup, and
sipped it gently. "Ah, good stuff. You know your tea, I see."
"You...take your tea with nothing?"
said Cleo, looking confused, and, if anything, annoyed.
"I like my tea black," said Sparrow.
"The way my girls like me." She grinned.
"They do indeed," said Cleo, a little
wistful. "They do indeed."
Sparrow sipped her tea again. Cleo hadn’t
poured herself a cup yet. "I must say, mademoiselle, this is
most unexpected. We haven’t ever spoken much, and yet, here you
are, up as early as me, taking tea with me! What brings you to seek
my company?"
"It’s easier these days," said
Cleo, "isn’t it? You seem to have come down off your high
horse lately."
"My loved ones helped me climb down,"
said Sparrow.
"Yes," said Cleo. "About
that…I...Sparrow, I need your reassurance, and perhaps your
advice."
"Yes? Step into my office."
Cleo’s eyes were downcast. "It’s
just…" She looked up at Sparrow, her expression pleading. "I’m
scared."
Sparrow set her teacup and saucer down on the
table with an audible clink. "What scares you? Who is
threatening you? Where are they?"
Cleo suddenly looked nervous. "I…"
her breath seemed to catch for a
second, then she composed herself. "I honestly don’t
know. That’s the entire problem. All those howlers, I’ve never seen so many at
once, no one ever has, and it’s – it’s all because of what you
and your loved ones are getting into."
Sparrow winced. "I did ask if everyone
else wanted to be involved."
"And you of course gained everyone else’s
assent," said Cleo, "because you’re adorable –"
"Oh, stop."
" – and you had just saved everyone’s
skin," continued Cleo, "with a spell effect that was beyond
anything anyone had yet seen of you, and this was after you’d gone
and danced with everyone and told them they were loved – which I
still don’t fully understand – and that particular event was
after you just threw your personal time to the wind and started
helping anyone who asked, and that was after a
dance where you went around and asked literally everyone’s name
and apologized to them for some reason, I certainly don’t
understand that, and – Sparrow, of course they were going to say
yes, everyone at this school adores you."
"Um." Sparrow felt her face growing
hot. "Even you?"
Cleo took a deep breath. "Your charm, dear
little girl, is difficult to resist."
"Sorry."
Cleo raised an eyebrow. "Sorry for
charming people?"
"I’m not – I’m not trying to. I didn’t even know that was
what I was doing."
"Do you indeed know what you’re doing,
at all?" Cleo looked stern. "Do you know what you’re
getting people into?"
"Uh…" Sparrow wilted under Cleo’s
stern gaze. "I mean, I’ve got some idea from Percival about
the political
crap, and I know it’s going to be a delicate operation to bring
the Statute of Secrecy doen gently...and I knew there was going to be
some kind of violent response, I tried to get the adults to
understand, they did listen to me, and yet, I just. Got caught
flat-footed like everyone else. Even when I was on my toes."
"Exactly," said Cleo, folding her
arms. She hadn’t taken a sip of tea, nor even poured herself a cup.
"But I’ll do my level best to protect
everyone –"
"I know," said Cleo. "I know,
you always do, that’s your whole thing. But clearly it’s not
enough if you can’t think of every angle. You couldn’t
possibly think of every angle, you’re fourteen years old, you
know how to do all kinds of crazy things but you don’t know
how truly ruthless other people can be...you think you can guess at
it? You’re a sheltered child. You’re running with a bunch of
sheltered children with more skill than sense, and I just –"
"How do you know how ruthless
people can be?"
Cleo was brought up short. "What?"
"Cleo." Sparrow leaned forward,
fixing her gaze on Cleo. "How exactly do you know how ruthless
others can be? How were you taught? What have
you seen?"
Cleo looked cagey. "Nothing! Nothing
outside of books, I’ve just read enough, alright? And then I got to
witness all of those howlers."
Sparrow settled back in her chair. Clearly
there was more that Cleo wasn’t telling her, but she decided not to
press the issue. "You asked me for reassurance and advice. What
kind of advice did you need?"
"I just wanted," said Cleo, "to
ask you how you cast that special shield spell of yours."
"Oh!" Sparrow shook her wand out of
her sleeve and pointed it at the window, casting forth a disc of
glowing translucent gold that hung in the air. "Like this? Let
me tell you, I’ve had a metric ton of practice."
"So we have all seen," said Cleo.
"But, how? What’s the mental state? What’s your
energy flow? Is there a specific wand movement?"
Sparrow thought back to her revelations in the
Room of Requirement. "It’s...uh. This is going to sound super
sappy."
"Spill."
"The secret ingredient is love."
Cleo raised an eyebrow. "Your shield is a
home-cooked meal, is that what you’re saying?"
"No," said Sparrow, "no, I mean,
the whole idea is that you’re protecting someone else indefinitely,
instead of yourself momentarily. It’s like, you’re standing in
defense of someone else, not using the shield spell as a momentary
tactic in a personal duel."
"And the love part…"
"If you want the shield to be strong you
have to really care about what you’re protecting. Or who."
"I see," said Cleo, settling back in
her chair, eyes not on the shield but on Sparrow. "And you,
whose shield is proof against anything, anywhere, for seemingly
anyone’s sake...you did say you loved us all, The Duel Of Love|back
at that huge duel]."
"Um."
"And then at the Valentine’s Day Ball
you went around saying we were loved. But it was you, wasn’t it?
It’s you who love us."
"I, uh – I didn’t want to put myself
front and center there –"
"And then with the whole sign language
thing you willingly handed a powerful and unknown form of magic to
everyone, sight unseen, no strings attached. Bloody hell, Sparrow.
Anyone else would think of keeping all that power for themselves."
"I’ve got too much already,"
mumbled Sparrow. She picked up her cup again and sipped her tea.
"I should ask how that came about –"
"You shouldn’t," whispered
Sparrow. As all the world gained a golden tint. As Sparrow’s tea
vibrated in its cup. And as Cleo, eyes wide, scooted her chair back
an inch. Sparrow let out a long breath, and the golden tint faded, to
be replaced by a lingering blue tint. ⋄⋄SORRY.⋄⋄
"Sparrow, what…" Cleo leaned
forward, eyes locked on Sparrow’s, her face written all over with
disturbed concern. "What happened to you? What is
happening to you?"
⋄⋄ STORIES THAT ARE NOT SAFE TO TELL. I AM
SORRY. ALL I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT...WHILE YOU CALL ME A CHILD, I
THINK MY CHILDHOOD ENDED WHEN I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD. I DON’T REALLY
KNOW WHAT I AM NOW. ⋄⋄
Cleo continued to stare at Sparrow. "I saw
Violet Brown with eyes like that the other day...is this happening to
all of your crew? Are you all alright?"
Sparrow chuckled. "Are we? In a weird and
ruined world like this, is
anyone?"
Cleo reached out and put her hand over
Sparrow’s. "Please, Sparrow, if you ever feel the need to talk
about anything –"
"Don’t worry about me," said
Sparrow, knowing her expression of confidence was a mask. "I’ve
got real good people to talk to."
"I should hope so," said Cleo. She
rose from her chair, taking up the tea service without taking
Sparrow’s cup back. "I should certainly hope so. Good morning
to you, dear Sparrow, and good luck." She bustled back into the
kitchenette, shutting the door with a clack.
There was a small thump of air, and
Jocasta appeared next to Sparrow. She grabbed Sparrow’s cup and
took a swig. "Mm, good stuff." She disappeared again.
⋄⋄ HEY,
LET ME GIVE YOU A DIRECT KISS INSTEAD OF LEAVING WITH AN INDIRECT
ONE. ⋄⋄
Jocasta appeared again, giving Sparrow a kiss
on the temple. Before she could disappear, Sparrow grabbed
her hand. She looked up into Jocasta’s eyes. "Stay?"
"Oh, I hardly need convincing."
Jocasta swung the other chair around beside Sparrow’s, and sat
down. "But you certainly look like you need all the company you
can get this morning. Was teatime with Cleo not enough?"
As if in response, the kitchenette door swung
open again, and Cleo bustled out of it, not even pausing as she gave
Sparrow a wave before heading for the stairs.
"Oh," said Sparrow, "I mean,
really, could I possibly get enough of you?"
"Sparrow."
"Alright, alright." Sparrow sighed.
"Cleo’s real concerned, is all. She feels scared. Like she and
the rest of the school got dragged into this entire risky business of
ours, and now we’ve got terrorism thrown at us...I don’t
know. I wonder if we’ve been arrogant."
Jocasta did not immediately reply, but sat back
in her chair, fingers striking her chin, contemplating. Eventually
she met Sparrow’s eyes again. "You know we’ve been trying to
be cautious and discreet about this entire matter. McGonagall did
give us grudging praise for trying to ‘put the brakes’ on our
business. It’s true that our ultimate goals are out there – but
you did set up the entire animagus business specifically to be able
to let the whole thing go if you knew it wasn’t popular. I don’t
think you’ve been too arrogant."
"Even at the end of the Valentine’s Day
ball where I asked everyone if they wanted all this?"
"That was after the terrorist
attack," said Jocasta. "And the consensus seemed to be
yes."
Sparrow sighed. "I don’t know. If
Hogsmeade hadn’t just been neutralized, if it wasn’t
clear we were under siege, I’d agree with you. But...maybe more
people will get scared, once the stakes get higher. Maybe they’ll
start running away."
"It would be their right," said
Jocasta. "We’re all minors. You certainly cannot browbeat them
into standing fast, and I would certainly not accept authority from
anyone who tried." She had a fierce gleam in her eyes. But her
expression softened. "We don’t have to figure this out all at
once today, though. We can just relax. Would you like to retire to
the couch?"
And so the two of them found themselves on a
couch by the empty fireplace, with Sparrow laying her head in
Jocasta’s lap, and now and then Jocasta bending down to give
Sparrow a little kiss on the lips, the two of them otherwise saying
nothing – for in such a moment, there was little to be said.
Until Jill at last appeared at the top of the
stairs, descending them slowly, as if relishing the chance to enjoy
them at her own pace. She kept the same pace as she made her way to
her girlfriends, and for each of them she bent over slowly, leaving a
gentle, but slow, lingering kiss on each of their lips.
Sparrow had been a little sleepy – tea tended
to do that to her, and Jocasta’s lap was certainly a perfect place
to fall asleep. But with Jill’s kiss, now she was wide awake. She
sat up, causing Jocasta to pout, and throw her arms around Sparrow.
"Come now, love, don’t rush off."
"We certainly don’t have to rush
anywhere today," said Jill. "But it looks like Sparrow has
a few ideas of what to do."
"Oh I’ve got so many ideas," said
Sparrow, rising to her feet. "Practice the Patronus spell,
practice making potions, ask the castle portraits and ghosts about
Wizarding history –"
Jill rose in turn, and put a
hand on Sparrow’s shoulder. "Sparrow. For Heaven’s sake,
this is a day of rest."
"Right," said Sparrow. "So I
thought we could do fun stuff to develop our skills, instead of just
cramming like we do most days."
"She means actual
rest," said Jocasta.
"But –"
"Which I agree is boring," said
Jocasta. "But, if it is to loaf with you two, well, we do need
our rest for once, do we not?"
"Loafing the whole day," said Jill.
"I’m game."
"Or," said Jocasta, "we
could wander the way I do."
"How’s that then?" said Sparrow.
…
"You call this relaxing?" shouted
Sparrow in the high wind.
Granted, standing with one’s feet stuck to
the steep slope of the roof of the
Great Tower wasn’t necessarily a relaxing situation, but it wasn’t
the least bit boring. ≠≠≠≠ IT’S
A FINE WAY TO SPEND A DAY, I DARESAY. ≠≠≠≠
• AND
IT’S A COMPROMISE. WE’RE LEARNING SOMETHING BUT IT’S FUN. •
Jocasta scampered up past Iphis with her feet alone, where Iphis was
still using his hands and feet together. She’d suggested this modified wall-crawling spell. Clearly
she’d had a decent amount of practice with it.
††††† YOU’RE
JUST LUCKY WE ALL MANAGED TO LEARN THIS ONE QUICKLY, OTHERWISE WE’D
HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CATCHING SOMEONE. ††††† Jill
was standing with her feet perched near the gutter – not that such
a thin lip of stone would be certain to hold her weight, but it would
definitely stop her long enough for someone to think of something.
⋄⋄ COULD
BE ME, EVEN IF I’VE GOT THIS SPELL RIGHT. ⋄⋄
∫∫∫∫∫∫ OH,
I’M SURE YOU’LL TAKE
WING
AND FLY SOMEDAY. ∫∫∫∫∫∫
There below the rest of them was a figure
coming rapidly into view as they climbed – a figure of long,
braided orange hair, ears bedecked in earrings, fingers glittering
with rings, and draped in a school uniform cloak that had been so
thoroughly embroidered with swirling patterns and
flowers that Sparrow could barely see its original outer color. Not
entirely practical for climbing, but then, it contributed to an
appearance that seemed to be approaching territory that would
astonish even a Wizard. ⋄⋄ YOU
REALLY HAVE BUILT YOURSELF, MY FRIEND. ⋄⋄
∫∫∫∫∫∫ WELL
NOW, ABOUT THAT, LET’S GET TO THAT MATTER SHALL WE?
∫∫∫∫∫∫ Wren scampered up past Jill, up past
Sparrow, past Iphis, past Jocasta even, heading right to the flagpole
at the top, and everyone else was left to scramble after, even Jill.
Up this high, as Sparrow looked out over the
roofs, Sparrow could see just how labyrinthine the entire complex
was. Halls of roofs extending this way and that, courtyards by the
score, more towers than you could shake a stick at – even if the
interior hadn’t magically swapped rooms daily, it would have been
an utterly daunting place for any intruder to navigate. How on earth
had old Argus managed to clean it all without magic, back in the day?
Did he even manage it? Now that Sparrow thought about it, she
wondered if his job was ultimately a sinecure. Maybe old Dumbledore
wanted to be really nice to Argus and keep him safe. Although, based
on what Sparrow had read of the Wizarding War, it was more likely he
wanted to keep Argus close for some kind of espionage reason. It
certainly hadn’t been a nice thing to stick a squib in a
castle full of a way of life that he couldn’t access.
Such as, for example, riding a broom. There was
the Gryffindor quidditch team out above the pitch, far away,
getting ready for the spring matches. She waved to them, really just
as a joke, they were so tiny in the distance – but Sparrow saw one
of those tiny people pause in midair, as if watching her.
Goodness knew the distinct Visibility of her
friends wouldn’t do them any favors if they wanted to be hiding up
here. Sparrow was about to suggest they all shimmy around to the far
side of the tower – but Wren had reached the peak already, so there
was nothing for it. ⋄⋄RIGHT
THEN, WHAT’S THE MATTER AT HAND?⋄⋄As if she didn’t
know. But it was Wren’s to reveal, and clearly the moment was now.
Wren’s long orange braid floating in the
wind, cloak billowing, rings gleaming, earrings shimmering – it was
a pose and perch from which to proclaim anything to all the world.
∫∫∫∫∫∫ HERE I TAKE
WING, MY FRIENDS. THUS FORTH SHALL MY NAME BE WREN.
∫∫∫∫∫∫
Wild cheering and whooping from all her
friends, and a beatific smile on the face of Iphis.
Save Jocasta, who, while also grinning, had one
objection. • YOU’RE
STEALING MY GIRLFRIEND’S BIT, BIRDY BOY. •
Wren grinned down at Jocasta, wild-eyed. ∫∫∫∫∫∫
BOY NOTHING!
∫∫∫∫∫∫
• BIRDY
GIRL? •
∫∫∫∫∫∫ GIRL
NOTHING! ∫∫∫∫∫∫
• BIRD
NERD. •
∫∫∫∫∫∫
BY GOLLY, YOU’VE GOT
IT! ∫∫∫∫∫∫
⋄⋄ SO
BE IT, ABLE SEAFARER WREN MCKINNON. FELLOW
BIRD NERD. ⋄⋄ Sparrow
shook her wand out of her sleeve, and pointed it at the open air,
casting a great translucent shield about the tower. This was clearly
giving their position away, but given the magical state of her
friends, it was hard not to be given away already, and she wanted to
be able to speak using her
voice. She let out a deep
breath. "And we’ll
just keep you in the crow’s
nest
then. You’re acting like you’d rather be there anyway."
"Caw caw," said Wren.
Jocasta ran
up to Wren and shook their hand. "All my friends are impressing
me even more these days. And
you, you’re really beginning to spread your wings. How long did it
take you to make all those rings?"
Wren laughed. "About an hour? But nothing I make is just for looks, you know.
Here, cast a stunning spell at me. Go on."
Jocasta raised an eyebrow. But she shook her
wand out of her sleeve and pointed it at Wren anyhow. A jet of red
light shot out at them –
And ricocheted off, striking the interior of
Sparrow’s shield spell, nearly hitting Sparrow’s head if she
hadn’t ducked, and taking a chunk out of the roof, spraying her
with bits of slate. She reared backward, prevented from falling off
the roof only by the charm sticking her shoes to the slates – but
those slates themselves were
loose, and as they came loose she began to slide downward.
Jill scrambled up and caught her before she
could accelerate. "Dammit, it’s not like I don’t have to
protect both of my girls from themselves but it’s trouble when I’m
reminded. Can we just get down?"
"A capital idea," quavered Sparrow.
She pointed her wand at the great translucent shield. She directed it
to take the form of a great disk, tilting it to lay flat. "I
think this trick will work if we – hang on a moment." She
re-cast her wall-crawling spell on her feet, and stepped onto the
disk, twirling her wand to flip it upside-down, so that she was dangling from it, only saved by her feet sticking to the
surface.
Or more accurately her shoes, from which her feet felt like
they were slipping. She hastily flipped the disk right-side up,
causing a great lurch in her stomach.
Suddenly
Jocasta was there on the disk, wrapping her arms about Sparrow,
immediately followed by Jill embracing them both. "Do not
scare us like that again," whispered Jocasta.
"I’m probably going to scare you in a
different way," said Sparrow.
"Nice work as ever," said Wren,
sitting down beside the three and keeping their hands laid flat on
the disk. "Where do you want to set us down, though?"
"I was thinking...we could visit Hagrid’s
hut? If he’s in?"
"Goodness knows we haven’t been to see
him in a while," said Iphis, sitting down and throwing his arm
over Wren. "Let’s be off then."
Thus the students of Hogwarts, those inclined
to look upward, would have been treated to the sight of a wide,
translucent golden glowing disk, as it floated towards the Forbidden
Forest, high above the grounds.