Franziska had arranged to meet with Rosalinde the day after she gets home - she knows she'll need time, as always, to recover from the Portkey.

"You really don't take well to these trips." Her mother observes as Franziska stumbles blearily on landing and barely catches herself on her trunk so she doesn't faceplant on the floor of the German Ministry offices in Dusseldorf.

"Neip." Franziska mutters, her brain mushing English and German in her mind and producing a non-word out of .

Her mother laughs. "Tell you what, we'll take a plane next year."

Franziska mumbles what she hopes is a happy response - the world is still fuzzy at the edges and her stomach can't quite decide where it's supposed to be sitting.

Her mother helps her to one of the chairs in the room, setting her trunk next to her. "You can wait here for a few minutes, I need to make a quick report to my boss before we head home, alright?"

This time Franziska knows she manages the nod, and her mother smiles and hurries off into the Ministry as Franziska puts her foot on top of her trunk for safekeeping before closing her eyes and willing the world to stop spinning.

"I saw you come in last year." A voice comments. "You really don't get along with Portkeys, huh?"

Franziska drags her eyelids back open to toss a bleary glare in the direction of the voice.

It laughs. "Sorry, headache? Some people get headaches, but you seem more dizzy than anything. You know, I've found that for dizziness you can kind of manage it by keeping your eyes closed and focusing on breathing steadily when you jump."

Franziska finally sits up enough to properly look at whoever is talking to her.

The man - boy, her mind corrects her, he can't be much older than eighteen - is sitting at a desk she up to this point hadn't noticed, a quill in hand and fingers stained with ink from the documents he's working on, blonde hair slightly falling into his face.

"I'll try that next time." She manages to say after taking a few moments to properly formulate the words and ensure none of them come out in English.

"Can't promise it will fix things, but it ought to make it a bit more bearable." The boy declares. "I'm Stephan, I'm part of the Portkey office. Obviously." He adds with a slight grin. "And you're still in school?"

Franziska glances towards where her mother had gone, wary of the attention she's getting from this unknown male. She's not in school anymore, so if he tries anything she can't use her wand. And despite Rosa trying to teach her she can't really throw a decent punch either.

"Just finished fifth year." She replies primly. She notes that he startles slightly and sits back in his seat, no longer leaning towards her.

"Oh, wow, sorry. I thought you might be seventeen or eighteen." He at least sounds apologetic. "I'm almost twenty-one. I promise I'll stop trying to terribly flirt with you now."

Franziska blinks and gives Stephan a more thorough look over. He's being very polite, and she supposes she doesn't know how long her mother will be. It can't hurt to have a conversation. "Well, I'll take it as a compliment. I'm Franziska, my mom works in the Muggle Liason department."

Stephan smiles. "Mrs. Reinhardt right? You look a lot like her. She's down here whenever she needs to organize a Portkey for your school trips, so us full-time employees know her."

Franziska tilts her head, curious. "Are there not many full-time employees?"

She and Stephan end up discussing the intricacies of the funding for the Portkey office (which Franziska, by the end, thinks is utter nonsense and possibly corrupt) for the better part of an hour while she waits for her mother to finish her reports. They've moved on to discussing the OWLs (equivalent to the Durmstrang PLTs) when Pannidda returns.

"So sorry that took so long Lida. Stephan, I hope she wasn't a distraction."

Stephan grins. "Of course not ma'am, your daughter is quite brilliant."

"He was a perfect gentleman." Franziska agrees. "Are your reports done then?"

Pannidda nods. "We'll be going then. I'll see you later Stephan."

"I hope to see you as well." Franziska adds quickly. "I'd love to discuss politics more sometime."

Stephan blinks in surprise and then beams. "That would be great! I'll see you both around then. Good luck waiting for your OWL grades Lida, you'll do great I'm sure."

Pannidda raises an eyebrow, but says nothing until she and Franziska are in a taxi back towards the Dusseldorf suburbs.

"So you and Stephan seemed to be getting along. He's a sweet boy, very hardworking." She comments slyly.

Franziska groans. "Mother, I just got out of a relationship, and he's nearly twenty one. That's four years older than me."

"Closer to three years dear." Pannidda points out. "And I'm just making an observation. I'm glad you weren't bored, I really didn't expect that to take as long as it did."

"Well, I'm completely recovered at least." Franziska points out cheerfully, taking care not to mention the Portkey in front of the Muggle taxi driver. "Maybe I can go visit Rosa before dinner?"

Her mother laughs. "Not tonight Lida, you'll see her tomorrow. I need help with dinner, your father has had a rough week at work and will need both his ladies to cheer him up tonight."

The night ends up being quite fun, and Franziska eagerly shares most of her year, glossing over her breakup with Brandon and insisting they're still friends and just need some time apart. She most focuses on telling them about Evie.

"She's decided she wants to be a Security Troll Trainer." She tells her parents as they're finishing dessert. "Which I think sounds rather dangerous but she's super excited about it. She says it should keep her wand  active and happy too, which is a bonus."

"This whole wand business does confuse me some." Her father admits. "It just sets things on fire whenever?"

"Well every wand is different." Franziska says, mostly just reciting what Evie has told her. She can't claim she completely understands it all either. "The wand chooses the wizard after all, so they do have a sort of personality and cleverness to them. You remember mine wouldn't choose anyone but we bonded instantly? She's pretty calm overall, but Evie's wand is more adventurous, and it was bored. So it would sometimes just... do magic on its own to alleviate that, so far as I understood it."

Pannidda nods. "It makes sense, it's why it's such bad luck to use another person's wand - they usually don't like witches or wizards who aren't their chosen master, so they won't work quite as well."

Heinrich tilts his head in acknowledgement. "They do still usually work, but I have seen wands go limp after their owners pass away. Rather tragic sight, honestly."

Franziska winces and quickly changes the topic - she doesn't want to remember that her dad's job is actually quite dangerous.

The next day she attempts to sleep in, as she'd habitually stayed up late (a habit picked up in the past week of giggling late into the night with her roommates) but her mother peers in around eight AM to wake her up.

"You're meeting with Rosa this morning dear, if you don't get up now you'll be late."

Franziska tries to roll over and escape back into slumber, but guilt at possibly making her friend wait keeps her just enough on the edge of wakefullness that she gives up the attempt and stumbles out of bed.

She's at the table about ten minutes later, dressed but far from alert.

"Goodness Ziska, you look like you barely slept at all." Her father comments.

"Let's just say I'm happy Astronomy is over." She mumbles, dropping her head into her arms. "I am not good at not getting enough sleep."

Her mother laughs. "You got at least seven hours last night, that's plenty even for a growing teen. You're just used to getting more. Now eat up, Rosa already called to ask if she can still come over so she'll be here in a half hour or so."

That gets Franziska moving, and once she's polished off her breakfast she's feeling a lot more awake. She hops up as soon as the doorbell rings.

"Hey Rosa!" She greets eagerly, and nearly falls over when her friend drags her into a hug.

"Belated break-up comfort hug!" Rosa declares once she's released Franziska. "I never liked him much anyway." She adds. "I can say that now, right? Dumb American, you can do way better Frannie."

Franziska just smiles faintly and shakes her head. "I think you didn't know him well enough to make that call." She points out. "He was really sweet, it just wasn't really a fair relationship. I just didn't like him that much. Speaking of dating, how's Jennifer?" She quickly switches the topic, and Rosa turns bright red.

"Fran! Not in public!" She hisses nervously. "Jen isn't out. I mean, I'm not out either but I'm kind of coming around to it? But she's not comfortable at all so please don't say anything."

Franziska mimes zipping shut. "Got it, not a word. There was a cute boy at my mom's workplace I talke to yesterday."

It's absolutely the wrong thing to say, because Rosa immediately gets excited and starts pestering her with questions about Stephan, most of which Franziska can't answer because of the Statute of Secrecy.

"Honestly I regret saying anything." She pouts as the two arrive at their destination: the communal park.

Rosalinde giggles. "Sorry, you know I'm a romantic. Tell me about school then, you said your fancy boarding school had some fancy tests this year?"

Franziska has already planned out how to talk about the OWLs without breaking the Statute, so she goes off on a good hour-long rant about their difficulty and how nerve-wracking it is to wait for her results.

"And if I don't get high enough scores I can't take some classes next year." She finishes with a huff. "And there are some which will really be useful to have if I want my mom's job some day."

"Which you do." Rosalinde laughs. "Man, I never thought I would be happy about going to public school but those tests sound awful. Yay for boring normal exams!"

The two waste the day away in the park, chatting and people watching. Franziska hadn't thought to bring her sketchbook so she instead points out things Rosalinde should draw instead. Her suggestions are mostly ignored, though to be fair she's mostly pointing out the most ridiculous or difficult things she can spot.

They make their way home as the sun is starting to brush close to the horizon, and don't actually get back until it's completely sunk out of sight.

Rosalinde's mother is standing in the doorway of the Treindl household and she doesn't look very amused.

"Ah jeez, broke curfew." Rosalinde mutters, though she doesn't sound very repentant. "See you tomorrow Frannie."

Franziska hesitates to leave her friend alone to the wrath of Mrs. Treindl but when the door closes she has no other option but to continue on to her own house.

"You're home late, you girls have fun today?" Her mother asks.

Franziska hums. "How come you don't get mad when I'm out late?" She asks as she kicks off her shoes and settles at the kitchen counter, watching her mother take her dinner out of the fridge and place it in the new microwave they'd bought while Franziska was at school. Franziska still wonders how her mother managed to convince her father that the appliance wouldn't irradiate them all, but she's not complaining. It's a very useful appliance that she's wanted for as long as she's known that it existed.

Her mother looks thoughtful. "I knew you were with Rosalinde, and that you likely wouldn't be out for long after dark since you're both very safe. I likely would have started to worry after another hour or so. But you're nearly an adult, I have to trust that you're staying safe."

Franziska blinks and smiles faintly. "I guess I never thought of it like that. I'll try to get back earlier in the future though. As cool as the microwave is, dinner is best right out of the pot."

Her mother laughs as she takes the plate out and places it in front of her. "I'll agree with that."

The two are still sitting at the table chatting when Heinrich gets home, and though he grimaces he accepts the microwave-heated meal his wife offers him.

"I still say those things will make you sick. Radiating food can't possibly be healthy." He grumbles. "Sometimes I think Muggles are taking far too many risks in their quest to create artificial magic."

"It's all very safe dear, the Treindls have had one for years and they're all fine." Panidda points out, rolling her eyes slightly at Franziska who suppresses a snort. "And Muggles are not trying to create artificial magic, it's called science and it's really quite brilliant all on its own."

"Still seems unnatural to me." Heinrich grumbles, but he eats nonetheless.

"Wizards, so stuck in their ways." Pannidda jokes to Franziska, who this time allows herself to giggle in response.

Heinrich pretends to be attacked. "You as well Ziska? All the ladies in my life are against me!"

"Sorry daddy, but Muggles really are amazing. I think wizards could learn a lot from them."

Her father leans over to ruffle her hair. "You'll make a wonderful Muggle liason someday." He praises her, even as she yelps and starts trying to brush everything back into place.

"Dad! I'm not five anymore!" She complains, but she knows she smiling.

That night she stares up at the ceiling, determined to fall asleep before midnight but too used to being awake for that task to be very easy.

She's really missed being home. She hasn't had a chance to just sit and reflect on that until now, but once she stopped moving it's all caught up with her at once. She loves joking with Rosalinde, and talking over dinner with her parents. She loves the park, and the city, and speaking German instead of English.

She wishes she could come home more often.

"Only two more years." She reminds herself. "And then I can stay in Germany forever. And next summer I'll even be able to use magic!"

That does cheer her up some, and she occupies her mind with ideas of how she'll be able to cast charms and practice for her NEWTs all summer long next year. She eventually drifts to sleep mulling over the idea of coloring her hair with magic - Rosalinde would absolutely love it.

Holly sends Myr a formal invitation to Laurel's wedding only a week before the actual date. It makes him glad he'd already warned his mother about the offer, so they aren't caught too off guard and there's minimal scrambling to get him ready to travel to London for the event.

"You're sure you don't want your uncle to accompany you there? I'd feel better if someone who can perform magic would confirm when you arrive." His mother worries as they walk over to Uncle Cyril's house so Myr can take the Floo to the address on the invitation.

"Holly said Laurel's fiancé Eric will send you a message when I get there." Myr reminds her. "And Floo travel isn't like taking the train, it's instant. No one can kidnap be between this fireplace and the Kiddell's."

Aster smiles, though it's strained. "I know, I know. I just worry. I am your mother."

Myr hums. "I know. I'll make sure Eric sends the message right away. An owl should only take an hour or so to get here." He promises.

Uncle Cyril greets them at the door. "Go have fun, don't drink too much Butterbeer, and if someone offers you Firewhiskey just say no." He declares loudly, though the wink he directs at Myr tells the brunet that the Firewhiskey comment is mostly for Aster.

Myr still doesn't plan on drinking anything - he won't be of legal age for another two years after all.

"Okay Uncle Cyril. I'll see you in a week." He waves awkwardly, his bag slung over his shoulder, before grabbing a handful of Floo powder and tossing into the fireplace.

He recites the address clearly and steps through the flames, accidentally inhaling a bit of soot in the process.

He comes out the other side coughing heavily, and a broad, warm hand slaps him on the back a few times as he stumbles into a different living room.

"Woah there son, take it easy. Lydia! Dear, could we get some water, Holly's friend got a mouthful of Floo from the looks of it!" The man calls over his shoulder, keeping one hand steadily on Myr's back which is used to steer him into one of the chairs near the fireplace.

A woman appears a few moments after Myr has settled in, glass of water in hand and wand in the other. "There you are dear, new to Flooing I presume? It takes some time to get used to." She observes sympathetically. "There you are, drink slowly, little sips. I'll just get Eric then, he's supposed to tell your folks when you've arrived wasn't he?"

Myr nods mutely, obediently taking careful sips of water to soothe his throat. The woman - Lydia - hurries out of the room humming lightly.

"So you're our Holly's friend!" The man takes the seat next to Myr, smiling almost unnervingly the entire time. "I'm Ash Kiddell, her father, and that was my wife Lydia. We're so pleased to finally meet one of our daughters' school friends. Willow never brought anyone home and we only met Eric after he and Laurel had been dating for a year!"

"In Laurel's defense, that was mostly my fault." A young man announces as he walks in. Myr assumes he must be Eric the fiancé based on his words. "Hello Myrddin, you probably don't remember me but I was one of the Ravenclaw prefects during your first few years of school."

"I mostly remember you from games." Myr admits. "And even then I was more focused on playing."

Eric laughs. "Of course, Laurel wouldn't have put you on the team if you weren't going to put in full focus. Alright, so your Uncle is a wizard right? And your mother will be with him?"

Myr nods, tilting his head uncertainly. "Why does that matter?" He asks curiously.

Eric smiles as he produces his wand. "Patronuses can only be sent to other magic users - it's not completely understood why that is, but people theorize that the patronuses lock onto whatever genes allow us access to magic and-" He cuts himself off sheepishly when he sees Myr's look of pure confusion. "Sorry, I get carried away with this stuff. What's your uncle's name?"

"Cyril Greengrass." Myr replies hesitantly. He has absolutely no idea what a patronus is, but he supposes that as long as it doesn't take much longer than an owl would it will still work as a messenger to his mother.

Eric nods. "Got it. Expecto Patronum!'

Myr nearly drops his glass of water when a silvery Unicorn bursts from the end of Eric's wand and trots around the room, shaking out it's mane and passing through the furniture as it clops a good two feet off of the ground.

"What the heck is that?" He can't help the outburst - the sudden appearance of a mythical beast has caught him very off guard.

Eric blinks, and then laughs again. "I suppose you haven't learned about Patronuses yet, have you?" He observes. "These are pretty tough to create, but if you're taking Defense this year you'll start learning the basics. What's important now is that I can use my patronus to contact your uncle and tell him you arrived safely. It's much faster than owling."

"I certainly can't create a corporeal one." Ash says proudly. "Eric really is quite skilled, could have been an Auror, I always say."

Eric flushes slightly as he gets his patronus to stop parading around so he can give it the message. "I never much fancied that kind of work, I'm very happy at St. Mungo's." He tells Ash before turning to the unicorn. "For Cyril Greengrass, Cardiff, Whales. Message start: Myr has arrived safely at the Kiddell estate. Message end."

The Patronus whinnies and then leaps through the wall, presumably towards Whales.

"They should receive her in ten to fifteen minutes." Eric promises.

Myr nods his thanks and quietly hopes he did well enough on his Defense OWL so he can learn how to make his own unicorn. The patronus spell is definitely on the list of coolest spells he's ever seen.

"Well Holly should be in her room, she can help you get settled in the guest room!" Ash says cheerfully. "I need to get back to helping Lydia and Laurel with decorations!"

Ash points Myr in the directions of the stairs and Myr heads up while Holly's father exits the house.

He can tell immediately which of the rooms is Holly's when he reaches the top of the stairs - there's a framed wand with the words "First Wand Carved" hanging on the front of her door.

He knocks lightly before hesitantly cracking the door open. "Holly? Your dad said you'd be up here."

"Myr! Hey, hello, come in!" Holly greets, sounding a bit out of breath. "I'm carving some kickass decorations for tomorrow so sorry for the mess." She adds as he pushes the door open further and is struck by the overwhelming scent of wood shavings.

"You can carve more than wands I see." He comments, shifting uncertainly in the doorway and hefting his bag a bit higher on his shoulder so that it isn't covered with the sawdust permeating the room.

Holly beams. "I'm pretty handy when I want to be. I'm glad it hasn't been raining the past week though, I've had to keep my window open - I clean out the sawdust every day but I can never really get it all, especially without cleaning spells."

"Why don't you ask your parents? Or your sisters? They can do magic." Myr points out, giving up on finding anywhere to sit and leaning against the doorframe instead.

Holly shakes her head vehemently. "Heck no, no one is allowed to see until it's all done! Except you, obviously." She adds with a grin. "I need a guinea pig to tell me which are best, but it can't be family since they're all going to be surprised!"

Myr laughs. "Well, could I put my stuff down first? Your dad mentioned a guest room?"

Holly perks up. "Oh, yeah! Sorry, I get carried away. Lemme wash up real quick, be out in two minutes!"

Once Myr is settled he ends up spending the rest of the day in Holly's room, giving his opinions on her many creations. If he's honest he doesn't really know much about art but he does his best to be honest.

Holly at least seems pleased, and at dinner she announces that her gifts are ready.

Myr goes to bed rather soon after that - he's rather drained by the day. He falls asleep rather quickly to the sounds of Holly's parents exclaiming over the state of her room.

The wedding is the next day, and the family is holding it right there on their wand farm. They've dolled up a section of the clearing with white, red, and blue (for their Houses, Willow Kiddell informs Myr when he first goes to check out the venue), and several of Holly's carvings now guard the edges of the area. They'd chosen two quidditch players, an eagle, a lion, and a cauldron and the entire area actually looks really nice. Myr wonders if, whenever he gets married, he should do it at home.

Though the Cadwalladers don't have nearly as much land to work with as the Kiddells do, so it probably wouldn't work.

Guests start arriving around ten, and Myr awkwardly keeps close to Holly as he doesn't recognize anyone. At least, not until one of Eric's guests arrive and he recognizes her pale complexion, dark braids, and South American-looking necklace from class.

"Say, isn't that the Ravenclaw at the top of our year? What was her name again?" Holly notices the other girl at the same time that Myr does. "Ava or Ana or something like that?"

Myr can't quite remember either, which is bothering him. "Maybe we should say hello? I doubt she knows anyone here either." He suggests, though he's quickly proven wrong when several of Eric's friends start chatting with the girl. "Or not."

"We can still say hi, and introduce ourselves to Eric's friends! The after party will be no fun if we only know each other after all." Holly says confidently, striding over towards the group and leaving Myr to debate whether staying in the corner alone or going to talk to a bunch of strangers is the worse option.

The decision is made for him when Holly enthusiastically points him out and then waves him over. It would be rude to stay away at this point.

"Myr, these are Eric's classmates from school, and also Ana but you know her." Holly explains cheerfully.

"Not all of us actually, Sarah and Eric used to be best friends before Laurel came into the picture." The one male present pipes up cheerfully and earns himself an elbow in the ribs for his trouble.

"She's completely swamped with work, which you'd know if you kept in contact with anyone other than Eric." The lanky brunette scolds. She holds out her hand to Myr with an apologetic smile. "I'm Josie, this is Horace, and that's Hannah." She introduces the three of them with slight flicks of her hand, and Myr nods to each of the others as he accepts the handshake.

"Myrddin Cadwallader, but I usually go by Myr." he replies, despite Holly having already blurted his name moments before.

Myr doesn't end up talking much after that - the Ravenclaws go off on wizard politics and he finds himself utterly lost, barely being in tune with the Muggle side of things nonetheless the wizarding part.

Though I probably should start paying attention, considering what I want to do for a career. He thinks to himself.

Thankfully, Ash and Lydia usher everyone into their seats not long after, so Myr manages to avoid feeling too awkward.

The service is painfully long, though it helps that Laurel keeps making faces at him, Holly, and Willow to show she's as bored as the rest of them. Eric looks simultaneously amused and embarrassed at her antics.

Finally it's over, the vows are said, and Eric kisses Laurel to thundering applause.

Holly sighs dreamily next to Myr. "I can't wait until I'm in love." She says wistfully. "It must be lovely."

"Getting there is a mess though. Also staying there." Willow quips cheerfully. "I'm in no hurry to find another boyfriend myself, relationships are exhausting."

Holly sticks her tongue out at her older sister. "Maybe you're just bad at them, did you ever think of that?"

Myr leaves them to it, deciding to join the crowd of people congratulating the bride and groom.

It takes a few minutes but he eventually reaches the couple, and Laurel lights up when she sees him.

"Myr! How's my favorite beater doing? Did they get a good replacement? Holly says yes but I don't trust her Quidditch judgement. How did Kent do as captain? Who's captain now? If it's not Charlie Weasley I'm going to be paying Kent a visit to smack some sense into him."

Myr blinks rapidly and Eric laughs.

"Let the kid breath Laur, you're overwhelming him. They just had their OWLs remember?" He points out.

Laurel at least looks sheepish. "Sorry, I haven't really spoken to anyone from the team since graduating."

Myr manages a grin. "Well Evera and Jacob Fawley started dating so there's that."

Laurel laughs. "I knew it! I knew they would! Kent owes me five Sickles, he said no way his sister would sink that low but I saw that tension. It was either kissing or killing."

Myr is glad he'd decided to talk to Eric and Laurel - he ends up staying with them for the rest of the night. Ana stops by to chat with Eric and the two of them go off on hypotheticals about a bracelet, which Myr doesn't totally understand, and Myr and Laurel discuss Hogwarts Quidditch.

"Man, Hufflepuff won this year? That team has been doing really well, I heard Lola had offers from a couple teams."

"Did she not take them?" Myr is genuinely surprised to hear it. He'd always assumed Lola would go pro with Quidditch considering how skilled she is.

Laurel shrugs. "Not that I've heard. Don't quote me on that though, it's only hear-say. We on the pro circut like to gossip about potential recruits but we only really know anything about our own team."

It's a nice evening, overall. Myr does feel a bit awkward when people he doesn't know swarm the happy couple to congratulate them and reminisce about school days or 'when you were this small!' from distant family.

Everyone starts heading home well after dark, and Lydia insists he retire too when he tries to help clean up.

"We have magic dear, this will only be a few minutes at most! You look absolutely beat and you've got a Floo trip home tomorrow!"

Myr doesn't really put up a fight about it. He is absolutely exhausted.

Still, he's glad he came. It really was a fun night.

Ana had fun at Eric's wedding, even if she'd be loathe to admit it. She honestly was surprised he'd invited her at all, and she normally might have given it a pass except the fact that June has been dragging itself out painfully slowly and it gave her something to do while waiting for her exam results.

And it had been fun to see Josie again, if not Horace who merely reminded Ana why they had never really been on speaking terms.

She'd of course spent most of the evening with Hannah though.

They'd mostly discussed the work Hannah was doing at the observatory - apparently their team is pushing for open communication with the herd of centaurs in the forbidden forest but is meeting resistance from both the Ministry and the centaurs - but Hannah does ask about Alec.

The blonde is the one person who knows that Ana has been regularly owling the curse-breaker, though her parents are starting to catch on as well.

"I've only written him once since getting home. He is in Peru, communication is rather difficult." Ana sighs when Hannah spectacularly fails to be subtle when bringing it up. "And yes this is still the necklace he gave me, it matches everything and I've gotten used to having it on." She adds.

Hannah smiles. "I said nothing. It is a really beautiful necklace, I would certainly wear it regularly if I had anything like it." She agrees. "It must be nice to have someone to talk to about curse-breaking, I was utterly lost when I first started looking for observatory jobs. Sarah and I were the only Ravenclaws still taking Astronomy and she had no interest in pursuing it further so I mostly had to figure things out as I went."

Ana hums. "It is useful. The whole thing is far more complicated than I had initially assumed." She admits.

Hannah had let the subject drop after that and they mostly watched the other party guests embarrass themselves as they got increasingly inebriated as the night went on. It wasn't until just after eleven that Ana and Hannah walked back to the floo and said their goodbyes before heading home.

Once she arrives Ana does her best to stay quiet, certain her parents are already asleep. She pads up to her room, slips into her nightgown, and thankfully falls alseep rather quickly.

The next morning she tries to force herself to sleep in, just to waste a bit of extra time, but Dracula is making a low, irritated whining sound and she's not really tired anyway. She cleans out the fire salamander's cage and then heads downstairs for breakfast.

"Only one more day until OWL results arrive!" Her mother greets her brightly as Ana settles at the table. Ana glares. She doesn't need a reminder - she's already acutely aware of when the results are supposed to be released, and she's equally aware that actual reception of the results can take anywhere from one to five days after initial release to arrive.

"Hopefully." She mutters, helping herself to the plate her mother has already left on the table. As she eats, an owl taps at the window, and for two seconds Ana finds herself hoping it could somehow be the as-yet unreleased exam results.

But the large grey owl is familiar, and though she is a bit disappointed a response from Alec isn't the worst way to start the day.

Her mother looks quite pleased with the interruption. "Hello there, good to see you again." She greets the owl. "Ana, it's for you. I'll get you a treat, just wait a moment." She adds to the international flyer, who looks quite pleased by the news.

Ana quickly grabs the letter before her mother can try to read it and hurries back up to her room. While she's rather certain her mother knows exactly who she's been owling she has no interest in dealing with that particular conversation. Now or ever.

She opts to sit on her bed, and she lets Dracula out onto her pillow before tearing open the envelope and unfolding the letter within.

Ana,

Hope you had fun at the wedding (I'm assuming this letter will arrive after it's happened). I can't say I'm much of a fan of grand spectacles either but as you say it can be a good way to waste time. I remember the summer after fifth year, you must be frustrated with no summer homework to work on. If I may make a suggestion, you should work on your wandless, wordless magic. The Trace can't track that so you wouldn't technically be breaking any laws. And I imagine it would give you something to focus on other than your Baba's Dark Magic lessons, which I do hope you've stopped. Sixteen and over you become legally responsible for any Dark Magic you learn and it is grounds for application rejection so do be careful.

Alec

Ana still isn't sure why she'd told Alec about her Baba, but it had come up and she had felt surprisingly comfortable admitting her childhood Dark Arts lessons. She has decided to stop practicing them though - as Alec has pointed out they could jeopardize her career options.

She does appreciate the suggestion as she likely wouldn't have done any work on her silent spellwork due to the Trace. But if it can't track her without her wand, she may just have something to do this summer after all.

She decides to postpone replying to Alec until she's gotten her OWL results - it should only be a few days after all.

She carefully hides the letter in the drawer where she keeps all of her and Alec's correspondence and then stands and opens up the window. She plans to start with spells she'd already accomplished without a wand, but she doesn't fancy filling her room with smoke on the off chance something goes wrong.

She also puts Dracula back in his cage and secures as much of the loose paper in her room at she can so that nothing is blown out the window. She then takes a careful breath, holds up her hand, and mutters,

"Lumos."

A small ball of light flickers to life in her palm, but it sputters out only a few moments later. Ana gives an irritated frown and tries again, and again the light only survives a few moments before going dark again.

"I suppose it needs a continuous source." Ana decides. "Let's try something else."

Her next attempted spell is Alohamora which goes much better. She manages to unlock every lock in her room individually, though a few do take multiple tries.

She's thinking about attempting Accio next but her mother calls up for lunch and Ana startles to realize how much time has passed.

"I was thinking we could go into the city this afternoon, do some shopping, maybe get you some new clothes! You've grown an inch since the winter at least." Her mother suggests hopefully as the two of them sit down to eat.

Ana isn't very enthusiastic about the idea - she'd much rather attempt Accio without her wand - but her mother isn't wrong that most of her dresses are getting a bit short around the ankles, even the ones she'd only just gotten the year before.

So she agrees, somewhat grudgingly, to the request and spends her afternoon trying on dresses and watching her mother dither over what to make for dinner for the next week. By the time they get home, just as the sun is setting, Ana is regretting agreeing to go, even if she did get quite a few new items for her wardrobe. She couldn't have imagined a duller way to have spent her afternoon.

The sole positive is that it did wile away the remaining time until the next day - the day the exam results will be released.

Ana has a very difficult time falling asleep that night. She knows there's a chance the results won't actually arrive in the morning, but living as close to the Ministry as she does she's pretty sure they'll arrive with the morning Prophet. Despite her own insistence otherwise.

She does eventually fall into a rather fitful slumber, though she never fully falls asleep and instead lingers between dreaming and wakefullness all night.

This has the result of her being utterly exhausted when the morning arrives. She drags herself out of bed, cleans Dracula's cage, and then heads downstairs to make herself a coffee and wait for the morning owl.

She even beats her father down, and he's momentarily startled when he sees he sitting at the table, cup of coffee in hand.

"You know that stuff stunts your growth." He observes when he's recovered, pouring himself a glass as he does.

"I've grown plenty, I'm happy at this height." She replies blearily. "Good morning." She adds after a moment.

Her father laughs. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see you up. Your exam results come in today, correct?"

She just nods mutely, too tired to really respond, and her father pats her awkwardly on the shoulder.

"Well, best of luck. We know you'll do great." He offers encouragingly.

Ana of course knows she did well, but that doesn't stop her from being nervous about the entire situation. The morning post arrives just as her father is getting ready to head out, and with a grin he passes her a sealed envelope.

"I'll try to get home for dinner tonight so you can tell me how you did." He promises before Apparating away, Prophet in hand.

Ana grips the envelope nervously for a solid minute before exhaling and carefully prying it open.

The topmost parchment is a letter from the head of the Wizarding Examination Authority, which she quickly tosses aside in favor of pulling out the twelve pages below it.

At the very top is her Care of Magical Creatures assessment and grades. She looks first at the grade - an E, which while not an Outstanding isn't bad considering how little time she truly dedicated to studying for it - and then skims through the notes given by the grader.

She's a bit irked by a note stating that her writing can seem stilted and unconnected at times, but she pushes down the irritation and moves on to the next paper.

She smirks when she sees the O at the bottom of her Charms evaluation - of course she'd gotten perfect, the exam for that class had been quite easy. She ends up rifling through the pages to look for other Os and is a bit disappointed that Arithmancy and Defense Against the Dark Arts are the only other two she's gotten.

She's managed an E for most of the rest - Transfiguration and Potions most notably, which pleases her since those are the required grades to continue to the NEWT levels. The comments on those are mostly positive, and generally note that while she occasionally glosses over details it's clear she understands the concepts quite well.

She also gets an E in Ancient Runes which does bother her somewhat - she'd been certain she'd get an O. The comments state that she had mixed up a few similar runes and she resolves to go back through all her textbooks before returning to school.

Astronomy is the last E grade she finds, and her gut twists somewhat when she realizes that there are still four exam papers she hasn't properly looked at - and as she'd been going from highest grade to lowest they must be the exams she did worst on.

The biggest problem in the pile is her Herbology grade. While an A gets her an OWL credit and is all that is required for curse-breaking, it doesn't get her into the NEWT level class at Hogwarts. She wonders if she can argue her way into the course regardless - she is the top-ranked student in their class, surely the professors would see that it would be silly to bar her from taking the higher level classes.

She gets an A in Divination as well, which she accepts grudgingly. She can still continue the class at Hogwarts with an A, and it's widely known that one pretty much has to be a Seer to get any higher. It still stings a bit though.

Finally she picks up one of the last two papers, and nearly chokes on air.

A P stares up at her from the bottom of the page. She'd gotten a P in History of Magic. A Poor.

She hadn't gotten an OWL credit at all.

The notes are much harsher here about her essay writing abilities, noting a lack of coherency of ideas and common grammatical missteps. It also notes her lack of detail, which makes her want to throw the page across the room. Who cares about details of things that happened thousands of years ago anyway?

She almost doesn't want to look at her Muggle Studies grade, but she forces herself to anyway. Another P decorates the bottom of the page, and she doesn't bother reading the comments.

Her mother finds her a few minutes later when she emerges from the master bedroom.

"Ana, are those your grades? How did you do?" She asks brightly, though her demeanor shifts when she spots her daughter's sour expression. Winona uncertainly picks up the pile of exam grades Ana had left on the counter and begins shuffling through them. She begins to smile again as she does.

"Oh Ana, ten OWLs is amazing! I only got seven you know." Her mother looks over and frowns when she sees that Ana is still slumped miserably in her chair. "Now Ana, very few people can get all twelve OWLs - ten is already mind blowing. You're acting like a stubborn child who didn't get dessert." She scolds. "You're nearly seventeen - nearly an adult!"

Ana huffs out a breath but does sit up. Her mother isn't wrong after all, but the comments about her writing on top of the two failed exams still leave her in a grouchy mood for most of the day.

It isn't until after dinner that she remembers she needs to write Alec back. Sighing, she deposits Dracula on her writing desk next to her inkwell and sets to work penning a short response.

Alec,

My exam results just came in, and I unfortunately failed two of the OWLs, and I did not score high enough in Herbology to continue at the NEWT level. Should I make a case to the Headmaster and Professor Sprout to rectify this? Or is an OWL enough Herbology knowledge for Curse-Breaking?

Ana

She reads back over the letter, hesitates, and then adds a coda.

P.S. - The graders noted that I have a rather stilted way of writing essays. Any tips on how to improve?

Rajani gets a Dreadful on her Ancient Runes exam and it lands her in a full pot of boiling water with her parents. She does manage seven OWLs total - including an O in both Muggle Studies and History of Magic, an E in Transfiguration and Charms, and an A in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, and Potions - but the two Ds and the P she gets in Ancient Runes, Herbology and Arithmancy respectively are the only things her parents notice.

Luckily for her she's only able to be grounded for a week before she's needed for wedding preparations, so she figures punishment could have been worse.

Or it's being postponed until after Sahana's marriage, but Rajani has decided that worrying about that is future Rajani's problem. Present Rajani is busy trying to sneak meetings with Ed in Diagon Alley whenever she goes out to pick up orders for her parents.

She knows it's probably a bad idea to put off their pre-determined breakup until Ed gets a job, but Rajani doesn't really want to think about that either. Honestly after OWLs she's not much up to thinking at all if she can help it. Her brain needs a break.

It's two days before the wedding when Ed asks her to grab an ice cream at Fortescue's with him, and Rajani gets around her parents by lying that she's helping Queenie choose her outfit. She arrives a few minutes late to find he's already gotten her a bowl of strawberry ice cream with slices of banana and kiwi on top.

She grins and accepts the spoon. "Hey, so what's up? You don't normally risk owling me since my parents are so crazy." Her smile drops when he doesn't laugh. "Ed? Is everything alright?"

"I got a job as a scribe for one of the older Wizengamot members." He responds, and for a moment Rajani is thrilled for him. Then she remembers what she hadn't been thinking about and feels like someone punched her in the gut.

"Oh, that... that's amazing!" She tries to imbue her initial excitement into her words but she knows she's failing miserably.

Ed frowns. "It is. But I'm going to be really busy from now on, and not being able to owl you..."

Rajani nods. "It would basically be a long distance relationship but with extremely limited communication. It doesn't make sense." She knows they're being logical, but it still .

She says as much a moment later and that gets Ed to laugh slightly.

"Hey, maybe in two years when you enter the Ministry we can meet up." He offers. "But I start tomorrow and the hours are pretty intense. It's not fair for me to expect you to wait."

"And it's not fair for me to expect you to wait either." Rajani sighs. "Well, maybe see you in two years?"

He grins at her. "Hey, I don't start until tomorrow. Can't we have one more afternoon to hang out?"

The afternoon is bittersweet, but Rajani does enjoy herself despite everything. She's definitely going to miss Ed.

The next day Rajani submits to the unavoidable fussing her mother puts her through to make sure she looks absolutely perfect. She'll have to go through the entire process again in the morning, but Vandana wants to ensure that everything looks correct before the big day, including Rajani.

Once her mother is satisfied Rajani takes off the entire ensemble and retires to her room. She knows that technically most of the guests are arriving that afternoon and she should be greeting them, but she's honestly just tired.

It's that afternoon, sitting up in her room and trying to figure out how to ward off the intense boredom that's latched onto her that she properly processes her OWL grades.

"I failed Ancient Runes." She realizes, sitting up sharply and in a breath. The other classes she'd wanted to continue are fine, but she'd needed an E minimum for Ancient Runes.

She wonders if Snape is going to mock her. He's never mocked a Slytherin as far as she can recall, but she's heard him go after students from the other three Houses and she's not eager to be on the other end of his scorn.

She does wonder how her schedule will work now - will she be able to replace her sixth class, or will she only be taking five? She figures the school will most likely send an owl explaining the process, and she hopes she can intercept it before her parents read it and remind themselves that they're upset with her.

She figures she can also ask Queenie, Eugene, and Clary their thoughts as she'd invited them all to the wedding. Queenie and Eugene's whole families are coming, but Clary is attending on her own which did disappoint Rajani's parents who had been hoping to properly meet a branch of the Travers family.

She perks up slightly when she remembers that Eugene's uncle is a former professor at Hogwarts - he'll surely know what the next steps are for her. Feeling much better, she goes back to being bored until she's called down for dinner.

She ends up next to Keaton's aunt, who's half blind and fusses over her, cooing about her 'pretty dark hair' and 'exotic complexion'. Rajani is distinctly uncomfortable with the entire situation but she mostly keeps quiet and remains polite whenever she responds to any questions the woman asks.

"No young man in your life then?" Mrs. Avery asks at one point, and Rajani sighs.

"I just broke up with my boyfriend." She says honestly in return. "He's graduated this year and has a job, and as I'm about to start my NEWT studies we both decided it would be best to focus on ourselves rather than a long-distance relationship."

Mrs. Avery pats her consolingly. "Terribly sorry to hear it. Well, if it was meant to be then you'll surely run into each other down the line. Fate has a funny way of working out like that." She says consolingly, and Rajani is surprised to find that the sentiment actually does make her feel a bit better. Although it's clear the karma from her past life isn't ideal, things have generally worked out well for her, so surely romance will likely be in the cards for her future.

And, she reminds herself, if things don't work out in this life I just need to do my best to pursue Moksha and my next life will be better.

The next day is the wedding, and once again Rajani undergoes fussing, though less than the day before as they'd already determined exactly what needed to be done to make her look perfect.

She admits it's nice to be dolled up in her formal sari, something she doesn't often have a reason to wear, but she knows she stands out amongst all the formal gowns of the native Brits and she's not blind to the occasional stare of distaste as she mingles with the guests.

She finds Queenie and Eugene sitting together with a girl she vaguely recognizes from around the common room and she moves to join them.

Queenie beams when she spots Rajani making her way over. "Raj! Hey, great venue, Eugene and I are taking notes." She greets with a grin. "You're the maind of honor, right? You know, I always thought that would be Mayra, she and your sister were best friends back in school." A raised eyebrow tells Rajani that Queenie has a good hunch on exactly how close Mayra and Sahana had really been, though she thankfully doesn't mention it.

Rajani shrugs. "School time friendship I suppose. How much did they really have in common in the end?" She responds as neutrally as she can, eyeing the other girl curiously. "I think of it as practice for when I'm your maid of honor."

Queenie grins. "Consider it more like an audition. Do this well and I'll consider you for the role." She teases.

The third girl clears uncertainly, and Eugene beams and pulls her closer. "Guys, this is Maribell Rowle. Her older brother Thorfinn is around somewhere, he's the best man. He and Keaton were best friends back in school." He introduces her.

Rajani eyes Maribell as suspiciously as the other girl is eyeing her. She's a broad woman, heavy-boned and curvy, with dusty blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. Even sitting down Rajani can tell she's very tall, and though she'd never say it Rajani is slightly intimidated.

"Going into your last year?" Rajani guesses, keeping her tone neutrally polite. She's not sure why but something about the blonde sets off warning bells in her mind.

Maribell hums. "Indeed. After which I shall being training as a midwife at St. Mungo's. Eugene and Queen were just telling me of their own ambitions."

The conversation is uncomfortable, but with his usual charm Eugene manages to keep it flowing until Rajani finds an excuse to leave - namely her mother waving for her to take her place in preparation of the ceremony.

Rajani catches a glimpse of her sister, and while she's still not okay with Sahana's life decisions, she has to admit that her sister looks absolutely stunning in her wedding sari.

Rajani takes her place in line, just in front of her sister and next to a broad, blonde man who looks so much like Maribell that Rajani knows instantly it must be Thorfinn.

Rajani decides to skip small talk and waits in silence for the music to begin. If Thorfinn is anything like his sister she's not going to have much to say to him anyway.

Finally it begins, and the flower girl skips down the aisle excitedly. The other bridesmaids and groomsmen go next, and Thorfinn offers his arm politely. Rajani takes it with as much dignity as she can muster considering she's several inches shorter than him.

Thankfully the walk isn't far, and she's able to release his arm shortly after to join the other bridesmaids in a line next to the altar.

It's the first time Rajani has seen Keaton, and she's stunned when she realizes he's wearing a formal Hindu wedding garment. She wonders if maybe she should be feeling bad for him - he obviously is genuinely in love with her sister, and Rajani is still convinced that Sahana is just using him.

If she's honest Rajani doens't really pay attention to the ceremony. It's incredibly long and partway through her legs start getting tired from standing. She glances over at Queenie and Eugene repeatedly, but both are enraptured by the ceremony - she's pretty sure Eugene even tears up during the vows.

She does finally spot Clary as things are wrapping up, and her friend looks like she's struggling not to fall asleep. Rajani feels vindicated in her boredom.

Finally the big kiss happens and Rajani beelines for a chair as soon as it seems appropriate. Her friends join her not long after, Queenie bearing an extra glass of water which she hands to Rajani with a grin.

"So how did I do? Did I pass the test?" Rajani jokes once she's downed half the glass in one go.

Queenie laughs. "Eh, you looked a litle bored, but I guess you'll do." She teases. "Sorry Clary, you'll have to settle for being a simple bridesmaid, Rajani has secured Maid of Honor."

Clary looks surprised. "I didn't even think I'd be in the wedding, but heck yeah! No ugly dresses though." She adds threateningly. "I will intentionally show you up if you try to make me wear something gross-looking."

Queenie laughs. "Please, like I'd ever let my entourage look bad. And of course you're in the party, Lenox is going to be one of Eugene's groomsmen after all."

Eugene looks slightly uncomfortable. "He, uh, is actually probably going to be my best man. If that's okay with you Clary." He adds hurriedly.

Clary grins. "It's fine, it's fine. Lenox and I are stable, not walking down the aisle together at our friends' wedding won't be destructive to our relationship."

Rajani feels slightly nervous when she realizes that it will be her walking down the aisle with Lenox, but she quickly pushes it down. She hadn't liked him before, and he and Clary are obviously happy together - she may be a Slytherin but she's not going to hurt her friend like that. She's just lonely because of the breakup. That's all.

The reception is a lot of fun at least, and she and Clary end up commiserating over their parents' disappointment with their OWL grades while Queenie and Eugene dance. They also both consult with the former Professor Slughorn once they manage to get Eugene to introduce them properly, and he assures them both that their Head of House will meet with them again at the start of term to correct their schedules and do what he can to ensure their career choices are still available.

"At least I did pass five classes." Clary observes when they've returned to their table. "Now I just have to buckle down and make sure to get the NEWTs for them as well."

"I can help with History." Rajani offers. "I managed an O in that one."

Clary looks sheepish. "Failed that one." She admits. "I'm sort of stuck with Herbology, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Divination."

Rajani makes a face. "Divination?"

Clary shrugs. "Just predict the worst possible outcome and you're almost guaranteed and O." She laughs. "Really though, there have been seers in the Travers line before so I'm predisposed. I feel bad for Nia, the Flints haven't ever had seers in the family and you can definitely tell watching her in class."

The reception wraps up a little after eleven, and Rajani says her farewells to her friends before having to help her mother and Keaton's mother with clean up. The two women use magic, leaving Rajani with not much to do, though she isn't allowed to leave until everything has been put away. She finally stumbles into her bed just after midnight and passes out rather immediately.

The next morning Keaton is sitting at the breakfast table, and Rajani pointedly keeps her eyes down so she won't glare at her sister and possibly bring their parents' attention onto herself.

"Well you two enjoy your honeymoon, Dehli is just beautiful this time of year."

Rajani glances up slightly at her mother's words. "You're going back home?" She asks, directing her question more towards Keaton than Sahana.

Keaton smiles at her. "I wanted to see where Sahana grew up." He explains. "I hear the spice markets are an absolute delight."

Rajani thinks again that it's too bad her sister doesn't truly like Keaton - but at least, she thinks, she'll get along with her brother in law.

She ends up describing the spice markets to Keaton in detail over breakfast, and she's almost cheerful as she helps clean up afterwards.

Then her mother turns to face her. "Now then Rajani, we must discuss your OWL grades."

Rajani barely bites back a groan. She supposes she's future Rajani now, and she'll have to deal with it.