Ana returns home to find that somehow her parents have learned about her new relationship despite her not saying a word about it in her infrequent letters to them during the year.

Her mother has about a thousand questions as soon as Ana approaches her on Platform Nine and Three Quarters and Ana is too stunned by the onslaught to even consider denying the premise. Not that she would anyhow - she's not ashamed of her new status with Alec, merely surprised that her mother somehow knows.

When she can get a word in edgewise she manages to ask how her mother had learned that and Alec are now dating.

"Why Mareum told me of course! And I suppose Alec must have told her." Winona says after thinking on it for a moment. Ana frowns.

"I didn't know he was planning to tell his mother." She observes thoughtfully. "I'll ask him about it in my next letter."

Alec had returned to Peru at the end of April, after the dig site had been declared entirely safe. He's complained in a few letters that some of his favorite towns to visit have been declared off-limits for the time being by his supervisors - honestly it will be a relief when you get your certification and we can partner up and not have to listen to any supervisors - as they've declared the areas not entirely clear of contamination despite the tourist boards opening them up to visitors.

Personally Ana is thankful for his bosses being so strict - she would absolutely hate if she were to lose Alec now, when things are developing so nicely between them.

"I always thought there might be something there, what with you two owling so much." Her mother says slyly, oblivious to her daughter's thoughts.

Ana blinks, brought abruptly out of her head, and nods. "I suppose. Jerome insinuated the same when I told him."

Her mother frowns. "Now which one is Jerome? And why did he know about this before your own parents?" She asks, clearly hurt.

Ana rolls her eyes. "He's my best friend mother, we invited him and his family over for New Year, don't you remember? And he knows because he happened to be there when I realized it." A blatant lie but she's not about to tell her mother about Jerome's uality - she's quite certain were her parents to realize she wouldn't be allowed to be friends with Jerome any longer and she would rather avoid the exhausting process of hiding their friendship for the year she has left under her parents' roof.

The two women exit King's Cross and Ana notices that there's no cab waiting for them outside. "Are we Apparating home then?" She asks, quite pleased. She had passed her test with no difficulties at all and she's rather looking forward to using her new skill properly as the Anti-Apparition wards at school mean she hasn't been able to Apparate since getting her license to do so.

Her mother nods briskly, clearly still irritated over the entire Jerome situation. "I'll take Dracula as you've never Side-Along Apparated anything before. You take your trunk."

Ana hands over her lizard without complaint - she's heard horror stories of Side-Along gone wrong (mostly from the Apparition teacher Wilkie Twycross to be fair but she considers him a relatively accurate source of information) and she had no interest in seeing her beloved pet turned inside out.

The two women walk a few blocks away from King's Cross and slip into an empty alleyway before grabbing the luggage and spinning on their heels, appearing in front of their house moments later.

Ana has to blink some swirling away from her vision - she really needs to Apparate more over the summer, get herself acclimated to the odd feeling.

"Now then, you can unpack yes? Oh, and we're having dinner with the Macmillans tonight so do change into something presentable would you?" Winona instructs as she deposits Dracula's terrarium on top of Ana's dropped trunk and bustles off to the kitchen.

Ana sighs and pulls out her wand, levitating both the terrarium and her trunk up the stairs to her room and being thankful that her birthday lands when it does. She can't imagine not being able to do magic this summer.

She opts to take a shower to wash off the general gross feeling she always gets after sitting on the Hogwarts Express for seven hours straight and then flips through her closet to try and find a dress that's nice but not overly formal. She eventually settles on the one Mareum Macmillan had given her some Christmases ago, back when her favorite Macmillan was still Alasdair. She magically resizes certain areas on the dress and lengthens the hem to cover her ankles.

She adjusts her pendant and bracelet before taking Dracula out of his terrarium to perch on her pillow while she cleans it out magically. She then sets her clothes to unpack themselves while she retrieves her NEWT workbooks and begins skimming through them and sketching out a rough study schedule for the summer.

She's about halfway through when she hears her father come home. She half-listens as he trudges up the stairs and into the master bedroom, presumably to get ready for the dinner. Another half hour later and Winona calls them both down and eyes their outfits critically before approving them and handing them each a small bag of floo powder.

Ana goes through the fireplace last and walks into the familiar Macmillan mansion to find her mother and Mareum already talking and her father asking Alasdair about his year (she notes that her old friend looks less than eager to respond to Alexander's questioning).

Mr. Macmillan holds out a hand as she charms the soot off her skirt, and once she's clean she accepts the handshake.

"Good evening Mr. Macmillan, good to see you." She says politely. Having never really spoken much to Alec and Alasdair's father, as he's much quieter and has a far less demanding presence than his wife, she isn't quite sure what else to say to the man.

"You as well Ana. Alec tells me you're still taking NEWT-level Astronomy and Divination?"

It's not the question Ana expects, but she's far from adverse to discussing two of her favorite subjects. "I am. Why do you ask?"

Mr. Macmillan waves to a side room. "One of my Great Aunts fancied herself a Seer, though they say she was never very good. She left me an old tarot deck as part of my inheritance, but it's been sitting on a shelf collecting dust for years. I wondered if you might want to take a look at them?"

Ana tries not to look too eager. "That would be lovely if you don't mind." She agrees, following the man into the study after catching her father's eye and tilting her head to indicate her location. While she feels that she's plenty old enough to not have to inform her parents of her whereabouts constantly, she also knows her mother might cause a scene if she realizes that she isn't aware of where her daughter currently is.

Mr. Macmillan is pulling a beautifully ornate chest off one of the top shelves when Ana enters the study, and she looks around uncertainly for the ideal place to sit in order to properly examine the cards.

They've only done a few lessons on tarot readings in class, but Ana is confident in all the basics and knows she'll be able to do some simple readings if asked.

Mr. Macmillan unlocks the box and places it onto the desk, gesturing for her to take the leather chair pulled up to the desk. Ana quickly settles herself and begins shuffling through the cards carefully. Some of the older sets are so worn down that mishandling can cause them to rip, and as the set isn't hers she doesn't want to damage it.

"These are beautiful." She observes, slightly awed. "They must be ancient, some of the symbols on here haven't been used in generations."

Mr. Macmillan smiles. "I thought you might have more of an appreciation than my sons. The cards have been passed down through our family for quite some time now, though I don't think they've seen much use. If you like you can feel free to visit any time to practice with them."

Ana looks up in surprise. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose." She says, hoping he won't change his mind.

He smiles. "Of course, tarot cards are made to be used after all. You would be doing me a favor."

Ana gently reorganizes the cards and puts them reluctantly back into the box. "That is really too kind Mr. Macmillan, but it's greatly appreciated, thank you. I'm sure I'll see you a few more time this summer then."

"Excellent, and please, call me Alistar. Now then, Mareum has likely started putting out dinner, we should join them before she comes snapping at us."

Ana decides she quite likes Alec's father.

Dinner is a bit of a subdued affair - Alasdair seems to be rather tired as he sulks the entire time, even when Ana decides to try and make some conversation about the Quidditch team.

"How about dessert then? Dear, didn't you want to take Ana out to the backyard for stargazing as well?" Mareum prompts as soon as everyone finishes the main course. "You can take your cake slices out with you."

"I took NEWT Astronomy as well, I used to help Alec study for it." Alistar tells her as they excuse themselves to the yard. "I must admit I was rather excited when I heard you were taking it as well. Some of Alec's old workbooks may still be around as well, feel free to look for them when you visit."

The two of them remain in the yard analyzing the stars for nearly an hour. Their empty cake plates sit empty on the porch while they lie on conjured lawn chairs on the grass.

"I wanted to ask you, does taking Divination help with Astronomy at all?"

Ana thinks for a moment before shrugging. "I'm not sure if 'help' is the correct term but I'm able to combine some of the things I've learned in ways I wouldn't be able to otherwise. For example, Saturn is almost as bright as Mars tonight, which foretells a death in the family. It's rather vague though, I would have to calculate angles from multiple views to determine which person in which family, if I could even get that specific."

"Still, quite impressive." Alistar notes.

"Ana dear, we're heading home." Winona peeks out through the back door. "I know you're enjoying yourself but it was a long day for us all. You can visit again later."

Ana sits up and spells her dress clean, vanishing the lawn chair just after. "Thank you very much for a wonderful evening Mr. - Alistar," She corrects herself. "I look forward to seeing you more this summer."

He smiles. "No trouble at all. Oh, hold on, there's one last thing. Something Alec asked me to do."

Ana frowns and follows him and her mother back into the house. She waits by the fireplace for a few minutes before Alistar reappears holding a cage. Inside is a tawny owl that Ana knows quite well.

"Hello Inti, good to see you again." She greets Alec's owl with a smile.

"Inti doesn't get to do much these days since Alec is always away in Peru, so he wants you to look after him this summer if that's alright with you and your parents?"

Ana looks to her mother and father for confirmation, and at their nods she holds out her hand for the cage.

"I promise he's in good hands." She says firmly, pushing down an urge to grin like a child getting candy. Writing to Jerome will be much easier and less expensive with Inti on-hand to deliver for her.

When they get home she settles Alec's owl next to Dracula's terrarium, and then opens both the cage and her window so Inti can go hunting.

"Please eat outside my room though." She requests as the tawny owl stretches out his wings in preparation to leave. "I don't want to upset Dracula."

Inti tilts his head, seems to look at the fire salamander, and then takes off through the open window.

Confident that he'll do as asked - Inti is incredibly bright and respectful, even by tawny owl standards - Ana sets about her night time routine, dropping Dracula onto her pillow as she does to allow him some time to stretch before locking him in again for the night.

Inti still hasn't returned when she's ready to settle in for the night, so she decides to leave the window open overnight.

The next morning she wakes up with about a hundred new bug bites and a resolve to come up with a new method for letting Inti hunt.

"Mother, as I've never cared for an owl before, and I recall you had one when I was young, could you give me some advice?" She asks at breakfast, scratching at a bite on her elbow. "I would hate for Alec to return home and find his owl ill or deceased."

Her mother looks at where her hand is and raises an eyebrow. "And it has nothing to do with those?" She says with some amusement. "I have some Itch-Away in the cabinet, let me fetch it for you, and then I'll teach you some insect repelling spells for the future."

"Much appreciated." Ana replies, letting her thankfulness slip slightly into her tone.

After eating, and after learning the new spells which are quite simple, Ana returns to her half-completed NEWT study schedule, intent on finishing it before lunch. She has quite a few subjects to study for, and with Alistar's offer to allow her practical tarot studies during the summer she'll need to edit the parts she'd already finished as well. It's a rather monumental task.

In the end she barely finishes editing the first half before she's called down for lunch, and she sighs and resigns herself to spending the rest of the day finishing the schedule.

"Studying hard up there?" Her mother guesses as she takes her seat.

Ana shakes her head. "Not yet unfortunately, I need to finish scheduling my time. Hopefully I'll be starting tomorrow though. Perhaps this evening I'll write to Jerome and take a walk in my cat form, I'd love to see the neighborhood from a new perspective."

Her mother smiles. "I'm still so proud of you for that dear, my daughter, the Animagus." She smiles wistfully. "I must say it's almost scary how close you are to leaving home, but I know you'll do well."

Ana gives a half-smile in reply. "It's still a year away mother. But thank you. I'm certain I shall as well."

Aster thinks it's a wonderful idea when Myr mentions in a letter that he's thinking about getting a job in Diagon Alley over the summer. She tells him as much in her own letter, which he's surprised to get by owl as until this point she'd always used Muggle mail to write him (he pretends this doesn't imply that her relationship with Uncle Cyril has progressed. He doesn't want to think about it).

So he's not surprised when it's Cadi who picks him up from King's Cross and less surprised than he would have been when they arrive at her flat and it's been magically resized to fit in an extra room already stocked with his clothes.

He applies everywhere that's hiring, but in the end only the Second-Hand Bookshop offers him a position, which he can't really complain about. He spends eight hours of his weekdays manning the register and keeping the store front clean and organized, and twelves hours on the weekends sorting inventory. The weekends are his favorite days since he's not the only one in the store, and by the third week he's met all three of his fellow employees and has developed a loose friendship with each of them.

Bob works every Sunday for the entire day. He's an ancient wizard who took the job as something to do after retiring from the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad and he always shares stories with Myr of the weirdest and most interesting jobs he had.

Saturdays are split between Casey and Morgan, who also take some of the weekday solo shifts. Casey is a recent Hogwarts graduate trying to get funding for research into Hungarian troll habitats. He's so far had little luck though he still has plenty to say on the subject. Myr almost regrets that he dropped Care of Magical Creatures after fifth year as he's rather certain he could write a very impressive essay on trolls after only three shifts with Casey.

Morgan is a middle-aged witch who works several part-time jobs so Myr often sees her elsewhere in Diagon Alley when he's out on his own time. She's short and slightly overweight and she's had more jobs than Myr has had years of life and she has complaints about every single one of them.

The best part about the weekends, though, is that he can choose when to take his lunch break, and once Holly learned he was working in the Alley she started swinging by to pick him up so they can take their lunches together.

Myr is flipping through a worn copy of a romance novel one Sunday afternoon, trying to determine if it's in 'fair' or 'good' condition, when he hears the bell announce a customer. He ignores it until a familiar voice sounds from the storefront.

"Hey Bob! I'm here to pick up Myr."

"Hello Holly, you're in a bit late today." The old wizard observes. "Let me go get him for you."

"Thanks!"

Myr is already putting the book down and summoning his bag when Bob peers into the stock room. 

"Your girl friend is here." He informs Myr with a bright smile.

Myr has long since given up on getting Bob to stop calling Holly that, especially as he knows the wizard is well aware that they're both in committed relationships with other people.

"Thanks Bob, I'll see you in an hour." He promises, slinging his bag over his shoulder and heading into the front.

Holly is idly scanning a row of adventure novels when Myr approaches her.

"See any that interest you?" He asks, as he always does.

She shakes her head. "Nah. I was thinking we could hit Muggle London for lunch today, I'm craving fish and chips and they just don't make them as well at the Leaky."

Myr grins and agrees and the two head off towards the London exit of the Alley.

"Any interesting customers today?" Myr asks. First year students usually go to Ollivanders, but the occasional poorer (or stingier) family heads instead to the Kiddell shop so business is steadier for Holly than it generally is for Myr.

But she shakes her head. "Pretty quiet so far today. I finished carving that pear wand though! He's a real beaut, Phoenix feather core, I think it'll be a great graduation gift for Charlie."

Myr just shakes his head in amusement. Holly had gotten it into her head to carve personalized wands for her closest friends - "Except you Myr, since you already have a Kiddell original" - and she's constantly updating him on her progress. In addition to Charlie's pear wand she's started work on an ebony one for Fiona. She wants to make some for Nabila and Evera as well but she hasn't chosen woods for them yet.

"Any way, only one person came in today, a Ministry guy who broke his Ollivander's wand and was too embarrassed to go back and ask for another one." She laughs. "Uncle Rowan had to handle that one, I was busy trying not to laugh. The guy must have been in his fourties at least, who's still embarrassed about that stuff at his age?"

Myr shrugs. "It takes all kinds I suppose." Is the only thing he can think to reply with.

It's a standard lunch, with Holly doing most of the talking and Myr occasionally offering his opinion. It's not a bad routine at all and he's feeling refreshed when he gets back to work.

Things continue on that way comfortably, with the only variations coming when Amanda surprises him during his weekday shifts, or Holly's boyfriend Emery joins them on the weekends for lunch. Cadi continues to threaten to stop by during her own lunch hour but by mid-July she still hasn't gotten around to it.

That's when Amanda starts reminding him about the Quidditch World Cup and Cadi suddenly has extra free time out of nowhere.

"I didn't realize you liked Quidditch." Myr says dryly as his sister and girlfriend loiter at the front of the second-hand bookshop, chatting excitedly about the lineup for the Cup.

Cadi grins. "How could I not? My little brother plays, I had to learn about it. And anyway Rhys is really into it as well so he talks about it a lot."

Myr makes a face at the name. His sister had gone through with her threats and started dating Wyniteg's "hot brother", much to Myr's discomfort.

"Really into it is an odd way of saying it's basically his job." He replies flatly.

Cadi rolls her eyes. "He works in Magical Games and Sports, and he's actually working on a report about the safety of Exploding Snap right now." She counters cheerfully, and Myr knows that she knows he's just giving her a hard time. "So it's not 'basically his job' mister."

"Safety of Exploding Snap?" Amanda asks in confusion and Cadi happily launches into a minute-long explanation of the injuries sustained mostly by younger players, and how Rhys has been tasked with determining if an age limit should be added to game boxes to minimize incidents.

Amanda frowns. "I never got hurt playing and I started when I was four or five." She says, almost defensive.

Cadi just laughs. "Most people don't. Rhys says he'll likely just propose that a warning be added to the box to not let small children play alone and it should do the trick. The key is convincing his boss - she's nearly seventy and convinced all children are stupid little porcelain dolls who can't do anything."

Amanda makes a face, sticking her tongue out as she does. "Sounds like my Nana." She jokes and the conversation moves right along.

For all his grumbling Myr actually doesn't mind days that Cadi and Amanda set up in the front of the store - they at least give him something to do.

He works the weekday shifts alone so they can get incredibly boring if nobody comes in - which nobody ever seems to. There are more book drop offs than sales and Myr often starts sorting the new stock during his weekdays shifts to make the weekends easier.

He's in the backroom doing just that one Thursday when the owner - Zachary Hale, who he'd only met during his interview - comes into the store.

Myr hears the door and immediately puts down the book he'd been inspecting and hurries to the front room to greet who he assumes is a customer. When he sees his boss instead he freezes, wide-eyed and worried that he'll get into trouble for not being in the front to start with.

But Mr. Hale doesn't look angered as he gazes around the shop. "Good afternoon Myrddin, I hope you don't mind my stopping by. Don't let me interrupt your work."

Myr blinks. "Um, I always stay in the front if there are people." He says nervously. "But no one has come in since eleven so I got started on the sorting-"

"Ah, that is you! I thought it might be." Mr. Hale says warmly, cutting Myr off mid-explanation. "I usually come in at night to do that. You've been making my job much easier, thank you. When Casey was in charge of weekend sorting he never did it on the weekdays."

Myr somehow isn't surprised to hear it. "Well, um, you're welcome I suppose?" He offers uncertainly.

Mr. Hale finally turns to properly face Myr. "No need to be so tense Myrddin, you've been doing a wonderful job, I'm not here to scold you. Rather, I would like to simply inform you that business is going to be picking up next week. As you likely know, Hogwarts letters go out this week so Muggleborn first years will be just learning about the wizarding world and their part in it. We get a lot of nervous Muggles in here right around this time and as you mentioned that you were raised Muggle I was hoping you might be wiling to take a few extra hours. I think you might be better at maintaining patience with the Muggles."

Myr stares at his boss for a long moment before remembering that he has to reply. "Um, yeah, of course sir, no problem. I remember being confused when I was eleven, I know what it's like."

Mr. Hale beams. "I'd hoped so. I usually take shifts during this time to make up for Casey's... less than helpful demeanor with the Muggles but I'm getting a bit old to be on my feet all day."

Myr smiles, starting to feel a bit lighter. "Well I won't let you down Mr. Hale."

His boss returns the grin. "I know you won't."

Myr's first extra shift comes before his own letter arrives, but they get three confused Muggle families going through the store, picking out their children's textbooks.

"I'm so glad you're here, the other place was so expensive!" One mother exclaims to him as she's making her purchase. "We aren't poor, but the exchange rate is ridiculous."

Myr nods. "I know what you mean, my mom has the same problem. It's why I'm getting all my own books this year. Oh, and a tip on wands: everyone will tell you to go to Ollivander's, but the Kiddell shop has the same quality for lower prices." He gives the woman a knowing grin as he hands her her change and she thanks him profusely, dropping half of it into his tip jar.

Holly calls him out on it when she comes into the shop during her lunch hour. "Thanks for the business Myr, we're thriving today!"

"Least I could do. My wand serves me really well, why spend extra money just for the name?"

Holly sticks her tongue out as another family comes into the store. "Our name will be huge one day, just you wait and see."

"That's nice Holly, now shoo unless you're buying something, I'm on shift." Myr teases as he hurries past her to greet the confused parents and their bouncing eleven-year-old.

It's honestly the best week of his life since getting his new wand from the Kiddell shop. (Amanda pretends to be insulted when he says as much to her, and then laughs when he trips over himself trying to say meeting her had been amazing as well). And then the weekend comes and he wakes up to his sister dropping a heavy envelope onto his chest in lieu of a wakeup call.

"Your letter came today. There's something in it too, I think the dang thing dented my table. Also can you tell the delivery owl that I don't have any treats for it? It's refusing to leave."

Myr flails blearily for a moment, and the envelope falls onto the floor. He stares at it for a long moment before starting to giggle, a bit madly.

Cadi frowns at him, her brow furrowing. "What's so funny?"

"This is almost exactly what happened seven years ago. The envelope on my bed, then it falling off. Weird." He says, knowing most of his amusement probably comes from the fact he's still only half awake.

Cadi grins ruefully. "Man, we were tiny back then weren't we? Weird how you're graduating this year and I've got a job. And we're both in serious relationships." She sighs faintly and sits at the edge of his bed. "Go on and open it, I'm curious now. The stupid owl can find his own way out."

Myr chuckles and sits up, brushing his hair out of his eyes and leaning over the bed to retrieve the envelope from where it had settled just under the bed and is now being poked at by a curious Owen.

He can feel the odd lump that's weighing down the letter and he frowns and tears it open, curious as to what exactly the object could be.

When he pulls it out he's pretty sure the world freezes for several seconds.

Or perhaps he's just gone into shock. Because the badge in his hand can't have been sent to him. Clearly there was a mix up, he'll have to write Headmaster Dumbledore-

Cadi grabs the badge out of his hand and reads it curiously, then grins at him in pure excitement.

"Oh my gosh Myr, Head Boy? I don't totally know what that is but it sounds super important! Is that like the prefects you told me about?"

"I don't... there was a mistake Cadi. Only prefects can be Head Boys." Myr stutters out.

Holly fixes that misconception as soon as he tells her about the letter that afternoon on their lunch.

"Myr, anyone can be made Head Boy or Girl, it's just usually given to the prefects." She explains patiently, looking incredibly amused as she does. "So congrats, you're now in charge of a bunch of kids high on power. Have fun."

When Myr goes home that night he decides to actually read the letter, something that had been neglected in his initial shock.

Mr. Cadwallader,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to be this year's Head Boy due to your patience and dedication to the student body. We are certain that you will do an excellent job and look forward to working with you in the coming year.

Attached is the name of the Head Girl, whom you'll be partnering with most closely. Please contact her to determined your plans for the year.

Myr quickly flips the paper over to find the name of his partner, and promptly frowns.

How do they expect him to work with a Slytherin?

Rajani is still slightly in shock even a week after getting her final school letter.

Her mother had been over the moon of course, and even her father had gruffly congratulated her and mentioned how even Sahana hadn't been made Head Girl when she was at school.

Rajani is happy of course. But she also doesn't understand it at all.

Of course, her partner is someone who isn't even a prefect so it's possible that Headmaster Dumbledore had merely gone temporarily insane when selecting the Head Boy and Head Girl for their year which is an option she's not ruling out.

Still. Head Girl. It's like something out of a dream.

She'd written to Queenie right away of course, and then Apparated to Eugene's House to tell him, as well as work on some summer assignments together. Since she has her Apparition license Rajani is making a point to spend far more time in the Slughorn family home than in her own, wasting away hours talking with Eugene and his mother and occasionally discussing politics with his Uncle Horace when the old man is around.

"I still can't believe you were made Head Girl over Jemma Finnegan." Eugene laughs for what must be the hundredth time since Rajani had told him three days prior. "And that none of the prefects were made Head Boy. Like wow, that actually stings a bit."

"I mean, we all had no idea which of you would actually work as Head Boy." Rajani points out, slightly irritated by the repetitiveness of the conversation. "I'm sure Cadwallader will do fine."

"Have you contacted him about it yet? You guys need to plan the first meeting on the train." Eugene says, thankfully shaking up the topic for once.

Rajani frowns. "Not as of yet, no. I figure I'll just send him a rough schedule in mid-August and let him edit it as he likes."

Eugene gives her a look. "Raj. Darling, second light of my life, best friend of my love, you do realize that he wasn't a prefect right? He's going to need some hand-holding. He's as aware of how all this works as the fifth years will be."

Rajani blinks a few times, staring at her best friend, momentarily too stunned by her own massive oversight to call him out for his genuinely horrible excuses for pet names.

"I didn't actually think of that." She mutters angrily, flushing slightly and glaring at the floor so she doesn't have to look at Eugene's smug, triumphant grin.

"And that's why you keep me around, to remind you." He says jovially. "You should probably owl him now though, the sooner you guys talk the better. Though I guess from his name he must be Welsh - could be difficult to set up a meeting time if he's not linked to the Floo."

"And it's not like my parents would want us meeting in our house. If I remember correctly he's Muggleborn." She sighs. "And before you ask how I know, he's in our Muggle Studies class - he's the one who tried arguing with Professor Quirrell about spark plugs a few years ago."

Eugene laughs. "Oh man, him? He's Gryffindor right? This will be an interesting year for us prefects, a snake and a lion having to work together."

Rajani sniffs. "Well so long as he can be professional then there won't be a problem." She declares firmly, and Eugene just laughs again.

Lakshmi returns to her window that night with a dead rat and a letter from the Head Boy, which rather surprises Rajani. She hadn't thought he'd reply so quickly, or that her owl would be back until the next morning considering the long flight to Wales.

She's glad that she's already in her room for the night though - she still hasn't told her parents who the Head Boy is and she'd like to develop her own opinions about him before telling her mother and father that her partner for the year is a Muggleborn Gryffindor. After all, despite the bad ending to their friendship Donaghan was Muggleborn and he'd been nice enough when they were young. And Collette and Adrian from Gryffindor are good prefects. So this Myrddin could be decent enough, Rajani just needs to meet him.

She flips open the letter and reads it quickly.

Ms. Misra,

Good to hear from you. I'm sorry I didn't message you before, I have a cat, not an owl, and Owen isn't big on letter deliveries.

Rajani smirks at that despite herself.

I'm actually staying with my sister in Muggle London this summer, and I have a job at the Second-Hand Bookstore in Diagon Alley so we could meet during my lunch break on the weekends or after my shift on the weekdays, whichever works better with your summer schedule.

I guess you already know but I don't really know how this works? So I apologize in advance if I'm a bit hopeless at this whole "Head Boy" thing.

Talk soon,

Myrddin Cadwallader

She reads the short letter a few more times, amazed at her luck. What are the chances that the one Welsh student wouldn't be in Wales the one summer she needed him in London?

Well, she amends to herself as she pulls out a scroll and quill to pen her own response, He may very well always spend the summers in London, it's not like you've ever spoken to him before.

She thinks for a moment before beginning her reply.

Myrddin,

Please don't call me Ms. Misra, my name is Rajani, or Raj if you prefer. If we're going to work together this year I believe the least we can do is be on a first name basis.

If it's not too abrupt I'd like to stop by the bookstore tomorrow to work out details for a more in-depth meeting. I need to do some shopping regardless so it appears to be convenient for us both.

Regards,

Rajani Misra

She ties the note to Lakshmi's foot as her pet finishes off her dinner, and the barn owl looks at her distinctly unimpressed.

"Oh it's a short flight Lakshmi you'll be fine. Be sure he replies will you?"

Her owl ruffles her feathers in irritation but takes back off into the night sky, her white feathers glowing in the artificial light starting to fill the dusk.

Rajani sits back at her desk and idly reaches for one of her books. It's been quite some time since she's practiced her Hindi, and with her parents no longer pushing her on that front she's lost quite a few of her skills. She skims a few pages, picking up words here and there but ultimately putting the book back in annoyance. She has more important things to do anyway.

She pulls out a clean scroll and starts writing out a rough schedule for the first meeting - may as well work on it now since she'll likely need the entirety of July to get Myrddin up to speed and then maybe he'll be able to make his own additions or edits in August.

She can already tell it's going to be a frustrating year.

Myrddin's reply comes after about thirty minutes, and Rajani rewards a clearly annoyed Lakshmi with a treat before shutting her owl into her cage for the night - she'd obviously already hunted.

The reply letter is only a few sentences.

Raj,

Friends generally call me Myr - easier to pronounce. And sure, I'm on shift tomorrow. We're a bit busier right now but I should have a few minutes.

See you tomorrow,

Myr

Rajani sighs. She'll have to come up with a reason to go into Diagon Alley alone tomorrow - she does need to shop but she's unsure if her mother will allow her to go alone even if Rajani is seventeen now and a legal adult.

But she needs to meet with Myrddin - Myr, stupid nickname really, how do you even pronounce that? - and she certainly doesn't want her mother there when doing so.

She stays up far later than she should, turning ideas over in her head and shifting this way and that in her bed, trying to sleep but prevented by the roiling mess of thoughts clouding her mind. Eventually she does manage to fall into a fitful slumber, still no closer to knowing how to put her mother off her tail.

In the end all her stressing is for absolutely nothing - her mother goes out with friends the next day and Rajani simply leaves a note saying she decided to pick up the few school supplies she needs from Diagon Alley, though she's almost certain that she'll be home before her mother is and Vandana will be none the wiser as to her youngest daughter's excursion.

She Apparates onto one of the side streets and then slips effortlessly into the throng of the Alley, which is full to bursting with younger students and their parents rushing about in an effort to find everything on their shopping lists.

Rajani lets the familiar bustle sweep her along until she needs to turn, at which point six years of school shopping experience kicks in and she darts through the crowd easily, reaching the side street where the bookshop is located after bumping into only two people, a record for her.

She's never actually been inside the Second-Hand Bookstore - Misras always buy everything new - but it's right next to Slug and Jigger's Apothecary so she knows exactly where it is.

She glances through the window and sees a handful of families browsing the shelves as a vaguely familiar brunet boy flits between them, obviously offering assistance.

Rajani decides to go into the Apothecary and browse a bit before talking to Myr, so as not to be stuck waiting for him to finish with his customers.

She hasn't needed to come to the Apothecary since fifth year - no potions class means no need to buy potions ingredients - but it's exactly how she remembers it. Dark, damp, and slightly odd-smelling.

She spots a few familiar faces collecting ingredients, including her fellow Slytherin prefect Alana who pauses counting out porcupine quills to say hello.

"So do you know who the Head Girl and Boy are or do only they know?" She asks bluntly. "Because I want to brace myself."

Rajani shakes her head. "Only the Head Girl and Boy know who they are. Lucky for you I happen to be the Head Girl."

Alana blinks, then snorts. "Well that's a relief, though no offense no one expected that. Good luck HG, see you on the train."

Rajani nods and the willowy girl saunters away. Normally Rajani would have taken some offense if not for the fact that she herself hadn't expected to be chosen. She checks the time with a quick Tempus spell and decides Myr surely must be finished with the people she'd seen before and exits the Apothecary.

Myr is just ringing up the last group when Rajani pushes open the door and strides in with purpose. Myr looks up and gives her a quick, uncertain grin. He hurries to finish the transaction and then walks around the desk to join her.

"So is your name pronounce myrrh like the spice or mere like the word?" Rajani asks bluntly, not wanting to mess up his name and honestly not caring enough to try and be more subtle with her attempts to figure it out.

Myr blinks, clearly taken aback. "Er, the first way. I'd ask about yours but I can't think of any other way of pronouncing Raj."

Raj smirks at him. "Because there isn't. Alright then Myr-like-the-spice, I don't really have much time right now so when do you get off work? Or maybe we could meet on a day you aren't working? There's a lot to go over before school starts again."

Myr looks less and less enthused as she talks, and Rajani knows it's probably going to be a very long summer.

"My shifts end at five, and I work Mondays and Thursdays every week and alternating Wednesdays." He replies, and Rajani notes that he's at least trying to sound diplomatic. He's failing, but he is trying, so she decides to extend the same courtesy.

"Excellent, I usually study with my best friend on Wednesdays so my parents don't expect me home until after supper. Is this week on or off?"

"Off." Myr replies, clipped, and Rajani nods.

"I'll meet you at Rosa Lee Teabag's then? Around, say, eleven thirty? It's less crowded than Fortescue's or the Leaky." She adds at the quick flash of distaste that crosses Myr's face at the mention of the local branch of the tea shop. "We won't have to shout to be heard, and we're almost guaranteed a table." She adds a bit snippily.

Myr sighs and then nods. "Fine, sounds good. I'll see you in two days then."

Rajani merely nods in return and the two part ways, him back to his post and her out into the Alley.

She Apparates home, deciding not to shop so as to hold onto the excuse for another day if needed, and as expected her mother is still out. However there is a new letter on the table next to her note, which she quickly tears open when she recognizes the handwriting on the front as the familiar neat script of her best friend.

Raj,

Oh my goodness congratulations!!!! I'm going to get you something super special from Peru in celebration, way to stick it to the Hufflepuffs.

Rajani laughs at Queenie's enthusiasm, palpable through the ink on the page and the unusually informal phrasing.

That does about your partner, but hey if he's inexperienced it just means you've got that much more power, which is never a bad thing. You'll whip him into shape no problem, I guarantee it.

Three more weeks until I'm home but honestly I could stay here forever, Peru is really amazing, you'll have to come visit with me at some point. I'm definitely going to convince Eugene that we should come here for the honeymoon.

Rajani rolls her eyes in amusement. She'd pity Eugene except she knows she's equally as stuck with Queenie's antics as he is.

Anyway, I do miss you guys, Eugene has been telling me about your study sessions. Oh, and just an idea but maybe you could invite Clary next time? She's been really down in her letters - not intentionally but I can tell - I think she needs a friend or two right now, the Lennox stuff is still really getting to her.

Anyway, hope everything else is going well, I can't wait to see you next month!

Best,

Queenie

Franziska both loves and sort of hates being able to use magic outside of school.

On the one hand she's started going with her mother to work some days and getting to help with small tasks while learning about the daily responsibilities of a Muggle Liaison. On the other hiding things from Rosalinde has become about a hundred times more difficult.

Franziska has taken to leaving her wand at home whenever she's out with her best friend, otherwise she finds herself mindlessly reaching to pull it out for simple tasks, such as fetching the ball if one of them kicks it annoyingly far.

Well, she still mindlessly reaches for it but without it actually being there she's far less likely to break the Statute of Secrecy.

"You've been twitchier since getting home." Rosalinde observes curiously one afternoon, after another wand-reaching incident. "Is it because you're going to work with your mom? Everything is okay there?"

The two girls are at the park, lying on the grass and relaxing after an intense one-on-one football match.

Franziska smiles at her friend, glad for the provided excuse. "Yeah, sorry. I keep thinking 'oh no, did I remember to grab those files Mr. Becker needed by the end of the day?' and then I remember that I did remember and also it was two days ago."

Rosalinde laughs. "Well, at least you're taking it seriously. It's really cool that your mom got you an internship working for the government - my resumé is going to be worthless when I have to start looking for grownup jobs." She groans, flinging an arm over her face. "Clearly I'm destined to work in fast food forever."

"Well then Jennifer will have to be the money maker." Franziska jokes, and Rosalinde shoots her a grin.

"She will be too, no matter what I do, she's absolutely brilliant." Her friend sighs happily, and Franziska is content to sit back and listen to Rosalinde ramble happily about her girlfriend. Franziska still hasn't actually met Jennifer, but Rosalinde is insistent that they'll meet sometime during the summer.

"So when do I get to meet the ever elusive Jen?" Franziska asks when they're walking back to their neighborhood later that afternoon. "You keep saying it will happen but we're nearly at the end of July."

Rosalinde groans. "I'm working on it. Jen's got a summer job too ya know, it's hard coordinating both of your schedules. And she's still a little hesitant." She adds after a moment, muttering the sentiment so Franziska only barely catches it.

"Rosa, don't force your girlfriend out of the closet." Franziska scolds lightly.

"I'm not!" Her friend insists. "I haven't said a word about telling her parents or my parents, even though I'm out to them now."

That had surprised Franziska when she'd arrived home. Apparently Rosalinde had made a huge deal about telling not only her own parents but Franziska's as well and it had taken Franziska completely by surprise when her mother had casually mentioned it on their way home from the Portkey office.

Her mother had also asked her if she was interested in girls, and assured her that if so it was completely okay.

Franziska had laughed out of sheer confusion and surprise before assuring her mother she was only interested in men.

Still, it had made her think, for a while, whether maybe she did like girls and just hadn't realized it. Then she started dropping in on Stephan in the Portkey offices during her lunch breaks and had very firmly concluded that she was quite happy with men.

"Still, you know you're lucky with your coming out so far." Franziska sighs. "Jen's parents might not be as open-minded as ours."

Rosa sighs. "I know, I know. That's why I want her to meet you guys first to see that not everyone is awful about this stuff, you know? If her first experience coming out is awful I bet it will be way harder to do in the future. And I don't want to live my life in a closet."

Franziska raises her eyebrow. "...trouble in paradise?" She guesses hesitantly. She doesn't love digging into people's relationships, but after dealing with Jemma and her entire romantic mess all year she's gotten decent and spotting potential problems. And as Rosalinde is her best friend she doesn't think she's crossing any boundaries by asking.

Rosalinde sighs. "I mean, I love her Fran. I really do. And yeah we're only seventeen but I don't think that changes anything." She kicks the ground in frustration. "I don't want to hide that I love her forever. I mean, it's not even as bad here as it is in, say, the East, or Russia, or the USA. There's really movement for the LGBT rights right now - they made it illegal to discriminate against people in the military on the basis of their uality this year, did you hear? Just before you got home, it was a big deal." Her eyes are bright in the way that Franziska recognizes all too well.

"You're going to end up in activism aren't you." Franziska says, amused.

Rosalinde shoves her lightly, playfully. "Yeah, you're one to talk. You go on about being a liason like your mom but you should see yourself when you get going on the unequal pay between the government departments. Mark my words we'll be marching together my friend."

Franizska just shrugs in response. She's had to be vague about her work with Rosalinde but her friend isn't wrong. She spends a lot of her downtime with Stephan debating inequities that she's noticed since starting her unofficial internship, and Rosalide isn't wrong that she finds the entire thing fascinating. She just isn't sure she finds it fascinating enough to make a career of it.

But she keeps all that to herself and the two finish their walk back in comfortable silence, occasionally tossing the ball back and forth between them when there's no risk that it will tumble into the street and potentially cause an accident.

Franziska waves as they part at Rosalinde's house before finishing the short rest of the walk to her own.

"Hello Lida, how was your day with Rosa?" Her mother greets as Franziska pulls off her shoes and places them against the wall.

"It was good, same as always. Hold on I'm going to get my wand." She excuses herself briefly up to her room before returning to the kitchen, feeling a lot better. "It's frustrating not having it with me during the day." She explains, a bit self-consciously.

Her mother laughs. "I remember that feeling. It will pass with time, as you get used to the Trace being gone. For now could you plate dinner? Your father should be on his way home any minute now."

Franziska divides the food into even portions and then levitates the plates onto the table. She sets the table magically as well, just so she can keep waving her wand around. Her mother doesn't comment but she does look quite amused.

Heinrich arrives home from work shortly after Pannida and Franziska finish cleaning the kitchen and Franziska is content to sit back and let her parents discuss work.

"Oh, Ziska, I ran into Mr. Becker from the liaison office today. He was dropping off a few reports, he tells me that you're doing a wonderful job." Her father mentions about thirty minutes into dinner, and Franziska beams.

Mr. Becker is the head of the liaison department so Franziska generally reports to him if she's not sure what she should be doing. She'd always worried a bit that she was bothering him dropping by so often so it's nice to get confirmation that she's doing well.

"Speaking of, you're coming into the office tomorrow right Lida?" Her mother checks. "We have a lot of work coming our way with the Quidditch World Cup starting so soon and we could use the extra hands."

Franziska nods eagerly. She's been looking forward to helping with the Cup since the beginning of the summer, and though Germany isn't hosting they have a massive wizarding population and most of it plans on attending. As such they're working closely with the Turkish Department of International Cooperation as well as their own Department of Transportation to ensure that everything goes smoothly. It's a massive undertaking but it's all quite exciting.

The next day is indeed busier at the Department, as her mother had said. Franziska ends up missing her lunch hour, instead eating a sandwich one of the other employees had handed to her along with an armful of documents while going between floors to deliver said documents where they need to go.

The last of the files is given to Mr. Becker, who smiles thankfully and then hands her several more files to be brought to Transportation.

"The Portkey office." He adds. "You can give them to the secretary there, he knows what to do with them."

She nods and hurries off, glad that she actually knows the secretary. There have been plenty of moments during the summer where she didn't know exactly who she was delivering too and she'd end up wandering around a Department's floor reading every nameplate until she found the one she was looking for.

Stephan is looking rather frazzled when she gets to the office, the top layer of his robes lying abandoned on his desk chair and his sleeves rolled up, revealing ink-stained hands and arms. He barely glances up when the door opens.

"Just put them wherever you can find room." He instructs, brisk despite his obvious state of fatigue.

"Hello to you too. This is my last errand at the moment, do you need any help?" Franziska teases, placing the files delicately on an open chair and regarding the rest of the parchment-covered room with a sharp eye.

Stephan finally looks up properly and flushes. "Oh, sorry Lida, I didn't realize it was you. We've had requests pouring in all day for Portkeys and it's been a bit of a strain getting them all coordinated."

"Can I help?" Franziska repeats patiently, knowing that Stephan probably hadn't really heard her the first time - he tends to get far too caught up in his work and not process anything outside of it.

Stephan blinks, considers the room, and then grins sheepishly. "If it wouldn't be a bother?"

She grins at him assuringly. "None at all. What do you need me to do?"

He sets her to organizing the Portkey requests by location while he goes over the files she had just delivered. It's a lot more time consuming than she had expected - multiple times she has to check with Stephan if locations are close enough to group together or if she should start a new pile.

Stephan finishes with the files about two hours later and asks if she wants to take them back to Mr. Becker.

"It's nearly five as is, isn't that when you usually head home?" He points out.

She glances at the files and then up at him. "Are you heading home?"

He blinks. "Well, no, I'm not. I need to get these sorted tonight or my Department head is screwed for his meetings tomorrow."

Franziska nods. "Then I'll come back after I get these to Mr. Becker." She says firmly, and she doesn't miss the thankful smile Stephan gives her as she gathers the files and hurries to the lifts. She also doesn't miss the slight warmth she feels staining her cheeks as a result.

Well, there are worse crushes to have. At least it's really obvious Stephan isn't that affected by my heritage so I don't have to worry so much about that.

She drops off the reports with Mr. Becker and requests to be allowed to assist Stephan for the rest of the evening.

The Department Head looks surprised. "I was going to let you head home Ms. Reinhardt, but if you want to I'm not going to stop you. Poor kid has been in until well after ten every night this week, he could use the assistance."

Franziska bites down a comment about the funding for the Portkey office and instead smiles and gives a quick curtsey before hurrying back to the lifts.

She runs into her mother on the way.

"Ah, Lida, ready to head home?"

"I'm actually staying a bit later today mom." Franziska tells her as they both enter the lift. "Stephan is swamped so I'm helping him out in the Portkey office for a few hours tonight."

Her mother smiles a bit too knowingly for Franziska's taste. "Is that so?" She says lightly. "Well don't be out past eleven."

"Mother!" Franziska blushes. "For one thing we're both way too busy to do anything but work, and for another I have one year left at Hogwarts. I'm not interested in starting any relationships right now!"

Pannidda laughs. "I know dear, I'm sorry I can't help it. You two have become quite the gossip topic in the offices, it's cute."

Franziska didn't think she could blush any harder but she proves herself wrong. "Well people in the office need to gossip less." She grumbles. "Nothing is happening there any time soon."

Her mother puts her hands up in defeat. "I won't say another word on it." She promises. "I don't think it's gotten around to any of the other Departments if that makes you feel better."

"Slightly." Franziska sighs. "Well, as Rosa would say it's impossible for a girl and a boy to be friends without people assuming they must be romantically involved."

Her mother laughs. "Don't let it get to you, I'm glad to see you making friends here, it will make things much easier when you apply for a full-time job next year."

Franziska beams at the thought. She exits the lift before her mother does - the Apparition points are on the lowest levels of the building - and heads back to the paper blizzard that currently occupies the main Portkey offices.

Stephan doesn't notice her entrance and she doesn't announce herself, merely picking her way across the room to sit beside him and start in on one of the piles he's laid out.

"You haven't moved my piles right?" She checks.

He startles slightly but recovers and nods. "Nothing touched." He promises.

They work mostly in silence after that, with Franziska again occasionally checking on placement.

It takes until nine o'clock to get through every request, and Franziska is absolutely sick of sorting by the end of it.

"Thanks for helping me out, you probably just saved me an all nighter." Stephan smiles thankfully, and Franziska waves him off.

"No trouble at all, that what friends do." She tells him, grinning at his subsequent blush.

Then she decides to take a risk.

"So my mother says I don't need to be home until eleven tonight. That gives us a few hours." She looks at Stephan pointedly and he very clearly startles.

"Oh, um, I..." He stutters and she laughs.

"Do you want to get dinner?" She clarifies. "I don't know about you but I'm starving."

Stephan heaves out a breath and then gives her a shaky grin. "Sounds fantastic. I'll pay, it's the least I can do."

She agrees, and they head to the lifts together.

She debates taking his hand as they walk, but ultimately decides against it. She's really not looking for anything long term at the moment.

And if it's meant to be, then he'll still be single after she graduates. She'll just have to wait and see.