No O.W.L.'s

Kay sat at a table in her room in Gryffindor tower, pulled a piece of parchment close to her and began writing:

"Dear Mummy & Daddy,

"All is well here at Hogwarts. As we discussed, I'm keeping my true nature a secret. Meanwhile, my friends have all been sympathetic to my 'condition', and it may even have helped me get some attention: Corwin Creevey asked me out on a date! I told him I'd think about it, but already Laura Chang is telling me that if I don't, she wants to go in my place! Now that's a motivator! Don't worry, Mummy, I'll keep him at arm's length. He is handsome, though.

"Professor Slughorn has invited me to his next party, and I think I'll go. Daddy, did you have anything to do with that? Well, no matter, it'll be a good place to meet people.

"Tell Mr. Sato that his lessons came in handy even before I got to Hogwarts! Marcus Goyle ambushed me, but I taught him a lesson he'll not soon forget. Uncle George's Shield Robe worked just like he said they would. I'll have to drop by to see James & Sirius at the branch store in Hogsmeade (they are still doing that, aren't they?) and have them give it a recharge. I've got plenty of spares, but I think it'll be good to have all of them charged and ready to go.

"I've pulled no pranks of my own, but the temptation's there all the same. As Mrs. Denham said, I can't afford to use my power too openly, or someone might guess what's going on. It's kind of neat to have a secret magic all my own!

"Tell Mrs. Denham that I'll be using the Room of Requirement as she suggested.

"Love to you all,

"Kay"

She tied the letter to her owl--a plain brown barn owl named 'Seeker' and watched it sail away toward home.

Kay thought about finishing her unpacking, and then decided to leave that until tomorrow when she was rested. The trip had been long, and there were bound to be some surprises in her classes tomorrow. She washed up, put on her nightgown, and was about to climb in bed when she heard a voice calling her name. She opened her trunk and got out her private 2-way mirror, a gift from Mum & Dad the previous year. "Morgan?" she asked, and her sister's face appeared in the mirror.

"There you are! I thought you might have gone to bed."

"Just about to. Is there something wrong?"

Morgan was grinning, and the silver lightning bolt earrings she wore seemed to be dancing in tune with her mirth. "I just thought you'd like to know that Marcus Goyle's really upset. Embarrassed, too, I think. I can hear him shouting over in the boy's dormitory. It sounds like he thinks his dad's friend set him up--that you're not a Squib after all."

Kay smirked. "Well, it'll keep him and the rest of his bully boys guessing. How's everything else in Slytherin?"

"Pretty much the same as always. Professor Slughorn gave us all a big speech about doing our best--apparently he really wants us to win the House Cup this year. He still thinks you guys stole the election with those extra ten points last year."

"Well, don't blame me! It was Emma who saved that Hufflepuff boy after he tried that outside loop on a foxtail."

Morgan smiled. "'If it's not one Potter, it's another.'" That maxim had become a byword at Hogwarts as the Potter Dozen systematically made their mark at Hogwarts. "Anyway, I just thought you should know that Goyle's not likely to try that again."

"Thanks." She paused for a moment. "And you're okay over there? No problems?"

Morgan smiled, and then put on her 'crafty' look, angling her eyebrows and making her eyes look slightly larger than normal, then laughed. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking. I just sent Mum & Dad a letter, by the way."

"Me too." Kay cocked her head, and then bent low over the mirror. "I think I hear one of the prefects. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast. Goodnight!"

"'Night," said Morgan, and snapped her mirror closed.

Kay slipped beneath the covers, thinking that Morgan sounded much more confident than last year. After failing to overturn her Sorting, the whole family had worried that Morgan would fall apart in Slytherin--instead, she had excelled. Their father wouldn't say anything, except that he'd asked Professor Slughorn to take Morgan under his wing. Whatever he'd done, it had worked; Morgan seemed happier than they'd believed possible. And with the talk the two of them had with their parents, Morgan seemed at peace. Kay hoped that feeling would last.

The following day, Kay went to her first classes as a "special student", and found it easier than she had thought possible. Many of the teachers, once informed the news, were inclined to be a bit more tolerant of the formerly difficult pupil. Professor Flitwick in particular, passed her a pink rose of condolence when he'd confirmed her dropping his class, and added a cheery whisper of encouragement. Hagrid flashed her a thumbs-up and a big grin when he saw her in his Care of Magical Creatures class. In both instances, she offered her teachers a game smile, and concentrated on the lectures. Now and then she saw people whispering behind hands or making quick pointing gestures when they thought she wasn't looking. Corwin Creevey, on the other hand, smiled whenever he saw her, but maybe that was because she'd accepted his offer of a date on the next Hogsmeade trip. With his bright blue eyes and dazzling smile, she wondered if his attention wasn't just encouragement.

Marcus Goyle and his crowd of bullies, on the other hand, sniggered and made mock sputtering sounds with drooped wands whenever she passed them in the hallways. But Kay found that no matter what they said, it no longer bothered her. She knew the truth, that she was one in a billion; a unicorn in a herd of horses, and it gave her strength!

Mum was right, she thought, as her Potions came back with 'Outstanding' marks again. I don't need to hold a wand to be the best! Across the room she could see Goyle glaring at his 'P', and wadding it into a ball. She smiled, and watched him glower at her out of the corner of her eye. Then Professor Slughorn called for their attention, and she gave it.

"Kay," Corwin Creevey called to her after the lesson. "Hogsmeade is this weekend. I thought we might go to Madam Puddifoot's." He was a handsome boy with blue eyes and hair so blond it was almost white. Kay smiled and nodded, prepared to talk about what they might do after that, and trying to think how she could work in a trip to see James and Sirius, when Corwin blinked and then raced away. Not even a 'Goodbye'!

"Boys are so weird," she muttered, and went on to Ancient Runes.

"Hagrid, are you in there?" Kay knocked again, and then heard an answering shout from inside. The voice was slightly muffled, so she pushed open the door and found her godfather sprawled on the floor, one arm under his bed. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Hagrid gasped, sweat standing out on his forehead. "I dropped me wand, and I can't quite reach it."

"Let me," Kay said, dropping down on her hands and knees. Smaller than Hagrid, she slid easily under the bed and found the wand flush against the opposite wall. "Got it," she said and crawled back out. "Don't lose that, Hagrid. It took you long enough to get it back, even after Daddy interceded for you at the Ministry."

Hagrid flushed and muttered, "I know. Jus' clumsy of me." He tapped his teakettle, and soon poured out two large cups of steaming tea and sat down at his rough-hewn table. "So, everyone else hereabouts treatin' yeh okay, after they heard the news?"

Kay nodded and sipped her tea, finding it sweet with cinnamon. "Yeah, pretty much. Goyle and his gang of Slytherins keep harassing me, but it's nothing I haven't seen before. He's never forgiven my Dad for what happened to his in the war."

Hagrid snorted. "He's lucky it was Harry who caught Goyle at the Battle of the Causeway. If it'd been me I'd'a done a lot worse'n turned 'im into a statue, 'specially after what 'e did to poor Seamus Finnigan." Kay nodded, remembering the story; it was taught now to Defense Against the Dark Arts students; the ultimate example of power used to for evil, or worse, for its own sake. "He gives you any guff, you jus' come'n tell me." He patted her hand. "Nobody bothers my goddaughter!"

She smiled briefly. "Thanks, Hagrid, but I've taken care of him." She explained her new lessons under Benjamin Sato, and then described what had taken place when Goyle had ambushed her. Hagrid roared with laughter and hit the table in his mirth, practically upsetting the teapot. He smiled at her, and then offered up a plate of his famous doughy cookies. "It'll be a while before he tries somethin' like tha' again, I'll wager."

"So what's this big adventure you had?"

Hagrid smiled. "Well, it's like this...did yer Dad ever tell yeh abou' the time 'e an' Malfoy helped me track down those unicorn killers?"

She nodded, remembering her father sitting at the foot of her bed, relating the tale with expressive hands, while she and Morgan sat up in their beds with wide eyes, holding onto each other for comfort.

"Well, there was a rash o' similar deaths just like 'em, an' with most o' the staff gone, it was my job to do somethin' abou' it." He sipped his tea and leaned forward. "I don't mind tellin' yeh, I was more'n a little afraid, 'specially after Harry told me who it was the las' time!" Kay's eyes were wide with fright. "So, anyway, I went out to the Centaur herds an' I asked 'em for a little help." Hagrid warmed to his story, and Kay hung on his every word. When he reached the climax, hurling his burning lantern onto the firbolg, Kay gave a small squeak of fright, her hands over her mouth. Hagrid looked suitably pleased with her reaction, and a bit proud of himself.

"That was very brave, Hagrid." She looked at her godfather with appreciation. He'd always been large in her eyes, of course, but more in the ranks of a teddy bear. Now, with his beard and long hair, a few streaks of silver here and there, she realized he was capable of something more. "Dangerous, but brave," she added, and saw the color rise in his cheeks.

***

Corwin gallantly held out a chair for her and Kay sat down, and then smiled when Madam Puddifoot bustled over, and laid down two cups of tea and a couple of iced crullers. "Katherine, how nice to see you again!" She cooed at how grown up Kay was, and then smiled at Corwin, and then went away to greet two more students who had just entered.

"Katherine?" Corwin asked.

"That's my name, Katherine Ginerva Potter." Kay smiled and bit into one of the crullers. It was as good as she remembered. "What's your full name?"

"Corwin Colin Creevey," he said, smiling ruefully. "Sometimes my friends call me 'C-cubed'." They both laughed. "What's it like being a Potter?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "What's it like being a Creevey?"

He flushed, and then shrugged. "Well, Dad works for the Daily Prophet, so he's always chasing stories and taking pictures, and bursting into the house at the end of the day saying stuff like, 'You'll never guess what I saw today!' I don't know how Mum can take it--she's the calm one in the family; works at an apothecary mixing ingredients and handing medicines across a counter." He sipped his tea. "I guess she likes Dad 'cause he's exciting. But it's kind of weird when your parents play hot and cold like that."

Kay smiled. "Well, I guess it's not too different from my house, then. My Mum did some teaching before she started having kids, then she stayed home with us. With twelve of us, there's always something to do, and Dad gets all kinds of invitations to places: concerts, demonstrations, and fundraisers. You get used to dressing up pretty quickly in my house, but that's kind of fun, too." She saw him nodding, expressing familiarity with the ritual. "There are a lot of hand-me-downs, too. Mum says it's important to learn to save stuff, but sometimes I just want something new." She ate some more of her cruller, enjoying the soft, sweet dough. "There's a lot to live up to, too. I'm the ninth in our family to go to Hogwarts, and there's always reporters creeping around looking for a story. If I ever got a Troll on my report card, it wouldn't just be a lecture from my parents, it'd be all over the newspapers, too!" She sulked a bit, and looked at Corwin, who was looking at her with an indignant expression. "Nothing against you, or your Dad!" she added, and he looked mollified. "It's just something I've got to watch out for."

He thought about that, and then nodded. "Yeah, I can see that."

"What about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

He shook his head. "I've got a lot of cousins, though. My Uncle Dennis has four sons and three daughters, and they'll start coming to Hogwarts next year."

"Say, do you mind if we go by the joke shop?"

"Sure, that'd be fun."

The trip proved to be an adventure. James and Sirius were demonstrating their newest invention: a fake broom that you could switch on your enemy, which was capable of all kinds of mischief, from sickening high-speed aerobatics to suddenly losing power and dropping you on the ground. Customers were taking them for test flights and laughing at the antics. While Corwin was waiting his turn, Kay managed to get her eldest brother's attention. "James, I need a recharge on this robe," she whispered.

"Oh, right, Mum mentioned that in a post. C'mon in the back." Black-haired and thin, James fit their father's mold quite closely, but had their mother's freckles, as well as the blue eyes of the Weasleys. Kay was quite fond of him. He led her behind a curtain in the rear of the store and around several teetering piles of merchandise. "Take it off and let me see it." She glanced about and then drew the robe over her head, and then watched as he put it over a dummy and then waved his wand and a few other items at it. "It's still got six charges left on it, but Mum said you wanted it at full strength, right?" He shrugged, and then set about his work.

"How're you and Ramona doing?" she asked.

He looked up at her in her white shirt and Gryffindor tie and smiled. "Actually, I'm thinking about proposing to her. But keep that to yourself! I want it to be a surprise to Mum and Dad!"

Kay's mouth opened, and then she laughed and hugged her brother. "That's wonderful! Oh, Mum and Dad will be so pleased! And her parents, too! Who would've thought our families would be brought together like this?"

James looked suitably bashful about it. He tapped her robes with his wand and announced he was done. "Uncle George did a good job with this. Nobody can tell it's enchanted." He slipped it off the mannequin and handed it to her.

"Never mind about that, when are you going to do it?"

James shuffled his feet. "I don't know; maybe in a couple weeks, if I can get the ring. There's nothing really suitable here in Hogsmeade, although Mundungus Fletcher keeps telling me he can get me what I need."

"With the fingers still attached, probably."

James nodded. "I don't think Ramona would appreciate a proposal with stolen property." He smiled at his little sister. "So who's the boy?"

"Corwin Creevey. His dad's a friend of our dad's." She looked at him. "I just can't believe it! You're actually going to marry her! I still remember her being my babysitter, or seeing you two with Sirius and Mildred Worple, sitting around the dining room table talking about your adventures at Hogwarts. Marriage!" She shook her head. "It's incredible."

James stuck out his chin. "She's been a friend for years. All I'm going to do is formalize that friendship."

"If she agrees, of course," Kay pointed out.

"Yeah, which means I'd better find her something suitable."

"Well, if I hear of anything good, I'll let you know. Just promise me one thing? Send me an owl the minute she gives you her answer!"

"I promise." He nodded in the direction of the curtain, "Now c'mon, Creevey's wondering where you are, I imagine." He stopped, and then turned to her again. "And if you need any magical help, let me know, okay?"

"Thanks. A lot of other people have said the same, but it's nice to know I can call on you, too."

He kissed her forehead. "Always, little sister, always!"

Kay and Corwin picked up bagsful of sweets from Honeydukes, and then headed back toward the castle. They talked randomly of this and that, and finally Corwin asked her what she knew he'd been avoiding, "Is it true that you're a Squib?"

"Yes," she said, smiling at him. "I've been waiting for that one."

"Sorry, I just wondered."

"I know. It's okay. I've had some time to get used to the idea." She popped a chocolate drop in her mouth. "Not totally, you understand? I can still do small spells and maybe even a charm or two, but nothing big. But that's okay." In this respect she was unlike other Squibs who were totally without magic, but that was because she was really an exsanguinator--a person capable of draining magic away from things and people. But only her parents and a few folks at the Ministry knew the truth. They'd impressed upon her the need for secrecy, so she held the truth inside her.

Corwin blinked, unsettled by her calm acceptance of what he considered a fate worse than death. Then he stopped, "Uh oh," he muttered.

"What?" Then she followed his line of sight and saw Goyle and three friends blocking the path. "Oh no, not again!"

"Well, well, look who's all alone!" Goyle drawled, a smile lighting up his ugly face. His friends sniggered, and they all drew their wands.

"She's with me, Goyle." Corwin pointed his wand in the Slytherin crowd's direction. "Don't try it!"

"I'm not interested in you, Creevey." Goyle said, closing the distance with slow, steady steps. "You can leave now, or get what she gets."

Kay looked at the foursome, and then at the dusty path they were walking on. She measured the distances, and then thought what to do next. Without warning, she bunched up her robe by the hem and dropped to her knees in the dirt. "No!" she wailed, "Please don't hurt us! I'm sorry about what my Daddy did to your Daddy. It was wrong, terribly, terribly wrong."

Corwin Creevey looked at her in shock.

Marcus Goyle and his friends, however, were grinning. "See," Goyle was saying, "I told you she was gutless." They all walked forward, smiling wider as Kay continued to plead, rumpling up her robe in trembling hands.

Goyle listened to the whining girl's voice, and then brought up his wand anyway.

"Now!" Kay shouted, and leapt forward, whipping her robe off her head and snapping it over two of the boys' heads, blinding them. Once free of the robe's constraining folds she shoved them backwards where they collapsed in a heap and then, with hardly a thought, kicked the wand out of Goyle's hand and shoved him backwards with an elbow in his throat.

Corwin's wand flashed, and the fourth bully collapsed, felled by a Jelly-Legs charm.

Goyle scrambled back to his feet, throwing dirt in the direction of Kay's eyes, and then spotted his wand. He pounced on it and brought it to bear. "Not this time, little girl!"

"Expelliarmus!" Corwin shouted, and Goyle was disarmed.

"Thanks," Kay muttered and landed a perfect sak to with her left foot, slamming Goyle in the midsection, then moved forward and seized his left hand in cruel counterclockwise twist and rammed him down to the ground into his two friends who had just managed to untangle themselves from Kay's robe. "Stay down!" she ordered.

"I'll handle that," Corwin said, dragging the fourth boy over and throwing him on top of the others. "Disy," he said, waving his wand. The four Slytherins shivered, and then their heads rolled about in insensibility. Her date reached down and handed Kay her robe. "Yours, I believe." While she walked away and slipped the robe on again, Corwin grinned and then lined the foursome up on the ground in an 'X' pattern, so that their feet were touching. Then he stepped back and pointed with his wand, "Dyngja!"

There was a flash, and huge pile of manure materialized, covering the foursome so completely that only their heads were showing. When the dizziness spell wore off they were in for a rude surprise.

"Nice!" Kay shouted, and applauded. She kissed Corwin on the cheek. "That's terrific!"

He grinned, and kissed her back, on the lips. "You were pretty terrific yourself! I've never seen anyone who could fight like that! Most people I know just wave their wands."

She smiled, and tossed her reddish-blonde hair, mentally thanking her father and Mr. Sato. "You don't hang around Squibs or Muggles very much, do you?"

Corwin hesitated, and then took her hand. "No, but I'm going to start right now."

They held hands all the way back to the castle.