The Heiress

Chapter Three: The New Home

Hermione awoke to a brown owl tapping on her window with its beak. She let it in, and the little owl landed on Hermione's shoulder, sticking its leg out so she could get the letter off. Hermione untied the paper, handed the owl a Knut, and unfolded her letter. It read:

Dear Hermione Granger,

It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been selected as Head Girl. Your hard work and leadership abilities have made you the obvious choice for the position. As you know, Head Boys and Girls traditionally return to school a bit early for an orientation. Therefore, we'll send for you two weeks early to help set things up for the school year.

Hermione, there's another reason I want you and the Head Boy to come to Hogwarts early. Remus Lupin recently met a young lady your age, a Miss Aeris Anthony, in the Leaky Cauldron. This young lady is a Muggle-- and she is also a witch. We are all quite confused as to how this has occurred. One afternoon she went into the Leaky Cauldron, where she met Remus Lupin, who immediately notified me of the situation. I have met Aeris, and she will be attending Hogwarts this year as well as filling the position of Muggle Studies teacher. She will teach during the day and take lessons with me at night. I therefore ask you to help her settle in to Hogwarts, tell her its history, and explain the wizarding world to her. The Head Boy is to help with this, too.

Please reply immediately. Use the school owl that carried my letter.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Hermione sat on her bed and stared and the letter for a moment, then jumped up and did a happy dance, scaring the owl. She was Head Girl! She was Head Girl, after all her studying and working...who was the Head Boy? McGonagall didn't mention. She just wrote "Head Boy," never a name. It must be Harry, Hermione thought, or Ron, and she didn't want to over-excite me...

And who was this Aeris girl? McGonagall must have known how fascinated Hermione would be when she learned of a Muggle who was also a witch. Nothing like it had ever been recorded, or at least Hermione had never run across a mention of anything like it. Ooh, history in the making! thought Hermione to herself, and then ran downstairs to tell the news to her parents.

***************************

Draco Malfoy had risen well before dawn. Sleep had not agreed with him very well all summer. Every time he slept, he dreamed about Dumbledore. Dumbledore offering him and his mother protection. Dumbledore begging Snape not to kill him. Dumbledore flying over the edge of the balcony and landing hundreds of feet below. Dumbledore looking at him with those eyes that were saying, Draco, I know you can't do this. I know you're not like your father.

Draco always awoke in cold sweats when Dumbledore hit the ground. He would pad to the mirror to examine his reflection and find himself pale and trembling, his blond hair stuck to the sides of his face with sweat.

So Draco didn't sleep much anymore.

This morning Draco slowly sat up in his bed, yawned and stretched like a cat, and looked out the window. Weather's perfect for a little Quidditch practice, he mused. He got dressed, went downstairs, ignored his mother (who also didn't sleep much these days), and headed out to Malfoy Manor's Quidditch pitch.

Draco ran down to the pitch, Firebolt in hand, relishing the feeling of the cold wind in his hair and on his tired face. Swinging one leg over his broom, he rocketed into the air. Immediately a sense of peace washed over him, as if nothing could happen while he was in the air. After all, I doubt Voldemort rides a broom, he surmised.

Draco turned his broom with a slight touch of his hand and began to head for the goal posts at the other end of the field. He focused on the posts and nearly fell off his broom when a brown owl flew in front of him.

"Ahhh!" he yelled, taking his hands off the broom to swat at the owl. "What are you doing, you crazy old bird?" The owl turned and headed back toward him, and Draco saw that it was a school owl with a letter for him.

"Oh," he said to the owl, and removed the letter from the owl's leg. "Thank you," he said to it, and stroked its soft feathers. The owl gave a hoot of pleasure and took off. Hovering in midair, Draco unrolled the scroll and read:

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been selected as Head Boy for this school year. This is a very great honor, and I hope you will live up to it. It was one of Dumbledore's most fervent wishes that you become Head Boy.

Draco nearly dropped the letter in disbelief. Dumbledore wanted him to be Head Boy? After Draco had tried to kill him? Draco was sure Dumbledore had known the whole year about Draco's little task, and Snape's Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa to fulfill it if Draco failed. And knowing this, he wanted Draco to be Head Boy of Hogwarts?

"Maybe he was serious about giving us protection," Draco thought aloud, then hurriedly looked around to be sure no one had heard him. But no one was there, and Draco urged himself to calm his nerves. He read on:

I know you must be surprised, Mr. Malfoy, and I don't pretend to offer explanations. I am under the impression that you are to figure Dumbledore's reasoning out for yourself.

Draco sighed. Just the sort of thing Dumbledore would do. Leave it to his conscience. Bastard.

And now, I must assign you your first duty as Head Boy. This summer, Remus Lupin happened to meet a young witch in the Leaky Cauldron.

Draco snorted. Go Lupin, he thought. I didn't know you had it in you.

She had no knowledge of magic or the magical world, yet was obviously a witch, as she had found her way into the Leaky Cauldron unaided. Remus owled me immediately, and we have concluded that the Hogwarts quill that detects each magical child at birth missed this child. She is now to attend Hogwarts, at the age of 17, and I need you and the Head Girl to come to school two weeks early to help her settle in and teach her about our world. Please reply as soon as you can, using this owl.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Going to school early actually did not sound bad to him. He liked Malfoy Manor, but his father was in Azkaban and his mother sobbed all day and listened to the women's station on the wizarding wireless. Plus, this girl sounded interesting. Draco Malfoy was nothing if not interested in a good academic challenge.

*************************************

In the few weeks since she had discovered she was a witch, Aeris had been playing. She played with her fingernails, watching them change color; she played with her dogs, levitating them a few inches off the ground (they tried to run in midair--it was really quite funny); she played with her mother, changing cooking utensils in Tara's hands so that Tara would suddenly be chopping carrots with a wooden spoon. Aeris was unaware that the little magical experiments she was making were illegal under Ministry law. But McGonagall had contacted the Ministry about Aeris ("Miss Anthony is a witch that didn't go to Hogwarts, but she's legal now, and wants to join the wizarding community," she told them), so the Ministry let her be. So she experimented on.

Today Aeris was playing with her clothes. She had a ridiculous amount of them to fit into just a few suitcases. Honestly, what were my parents thinking when they bought me all of this? she thought grumpily as she surveyed the mess at her feet.

An idea flitted across Aeris's mind, and a small smile crossed her face.

I bet you can do this, a small voice in her head said.

I bet you can't, said another.

But look at everything you've done so far, with no training, said the first.

You could screw up, said the second. You've had no training.

It's just clothes. What could go wrong? said the first. So Aeris began the magical routine she had developed in her little experimentations. She slowly extended her hand towards the suitcases and summoned every inch of her being to get all those clothes inside and the lids shut.

She felt her fingers begin to tingle at the ends and her hand begin to tremble. Her brown eyes widened in surprise as the tingling grew into a vibration. She heard a humming sound, almost as if it was emanating from her fingers. The vibration in her fingers spread to her arm, the humming reached a fever pitch, the vibration became so violent she couldn't stand it, and Aeris felt she had to do something, perform some sort of action that very moment...she had to let go, let the power coursing through her be released. Without knowing why she was saying it, or even that an incantation was appropriate, Aeris loosed the power that was consuming every part of her being and she shouted, "Arceo!"

The suitcases snapped shut, clothes encased inside, and Aeris let her arm fall limp to her side, breathing heavily and feeling very spent. Small beads of sweat stood along her hairline, and every sense felt somehow heightened.

"Wow," she muttered, in awe of what she had just done.

See, said voice one. Nothing bad happened.

This time, replied voice two.

************

For someone who wanted to go to Hogwarts so badly, Aeris was having a very hard time leaving. Half of her wanted to spring forward into the unknown, while the other half was content to stay here with her parents and dogs. Aeris shook her head to herself as she thought this, knowing that if she didn't go now, she would never be happy. There was really no choice here. It was all or nothing.

Friday morning, Aeris rose out of bed barely having slept. Today, it was today, today she was going to Hogwarts, today she was leaving her home. She could hardly believe it. She spent the morning in the living room with her parents and holding her dogs.

Ten minutes to noon, Aeris climbed the stairs to drag down the few last-minute items to be packed. She looked sadly around her room and tried to take a mental picture of it. The bed she'd slept in her whole life (with occasional new mattresses, of course), the dresser that had held all her most prized possessions, the closet that used to contain all the clothes now magically jammed into her suitcases. The doorbell rang, and she knew McGonagall was here. Tears sprang to her eyes. "Good-bye," she whispered to her room. "I'll miss you." She turned and forced herself to leave, closing the door slowly behind her.

Only her mother and father were to see her off, as Amelia and Aunt Elizabeth hadn't been able to travel the distance due to Elizabeth's work. But they had sent food and letters and good wishes. Aeris had two letters in her jacket pocket, one from her aunt, one from her cousin. She patted them now, suspecting that when she was far from her family, these reminders of her former life would give her comfort. No matter how far she traveled, she would always have this little piece of home with her.

Aeris heard her father's heavy footsteps falling on the old wooden floor in the entry. The door creaked open. "Aeris!" her father called. "Professor McGonagall is here!"

At the top of the staircase, Aeris paused and looked down them. This is the last time I'm going to walk down these stairs as my former self, she thought. She sighed heavily and began descending the stairs, trailing her last suitcases behind her. She had brought most of her things downstairs beforehand. They were to be set up in a small area of the living room and Portkeyed to Hogwarts with her and McGonagall.

She looked up as she reached the bottom of the stairs. McGonagall stood there, as self-possessed and pointy-hatted as ever, and, to her great surprise, so did a dark-headed girl with thick wavy hair and a blond boy who regarded her through narrowed eyes. The boy immediately reminded Aeris of a cat. The girl looked up when she heard Aeris come down the stairs and smiled as they caught eyes. Aeris felt a little heartened at the girl's smile. Maybe this will be okay, Aeris thought.

"Miss Anthony." McGonagall stepped forward to greet Aeris. "I hope you do not mind, but I brought this year's Head Girl and Head Boy to help us get you moved in and settled at Hogwarts. I hope they prove helpful. This-" she indicated to the girl at his side- "is our Head Girl, Miss Hermione Granger."

Aeris turned her gaze to the girl. "Hi," Hermione said, extending her hand. Aeris shook it. "Pleasure to meet you." Aeris grinned at her. She seemed like a nice girl, if a little bookish. Hermione stood back for a moment to allow McGonagall to introduce the cat-like blond boy.

"And this, Miss Anthony, is our Head Boy, Mister Draco Malfoy."

Aeris stepped forward to shake his hand. "Pleased to meet you--" she began to say, but stopped at the look on his face. His grey eyes were full of both ice and fire, and his expression clearly read, "I don't want to touch you." He shook Aeris's hand, but winced as if it were painful to him. Why on earth would they make someone so awful their Head Boy? she wondered. She tried to look him straight in the eye, but he let go of her hand quickly and stepped back, and did not look at her again.

Aeris's parents, who had been standing aside to allow for the introductions, now came to Aeris and hugged her tightly.

"We love you so much, little girl," her mother whispered. "You'll write us, won't you?"

"She can write you, certainly," said McGonagall. "But I believe we can also arrange to have your fireplace hooked up to the Floo Network." Seeing Tara Anthony's confused face, she explained, "You can talk face-to-face with Aeris via a fireplace. Here." She reached into her robes and produced a small wooden box. "This is Floo Powder. John, I trust you know how to use it?"

"Yes, and I'll teach Tara," said John.

"Good," said McGonagall. "Aeris shall have the use of my office to Floo you anytime she sees fit."

"Thank you, Professor," said Aeris. She turned back to her parents. "I love you both so much," she whispered, choking down a sob. "Thank you."

Aeris's mother looked like she was about to burst into great heaving sobs. John Anthony appeared only slightly less emotional. "I love you, and good luck," he said, and embraced his only daughter. He knew, much better than his wife did, exactly what his little girl would face in this new world of hers. It was his job to know. Aeris had been told about the war, and the corrupt Ministry, and the pureblood attitudes that were gaining power with each passing moment. It would be irresponsible not to fully describe to her the world into which they so wanted her to enter. But her father suspected that Aeris's entrance into the wizarding world held a much deeper significance than just a filled Muggle Studies teacher position. He suspected that Aeris would be in considerable danger. He had resolved not to tell this to his wife, lest she worry unnecessarily. But he could not quench the deep fear in his heart that was telling him at this moment to embrace his daughter like he would never see her again. I will see her again, he thought. I will. I have to.

He shook these thoughts from his head as he kissed his daughter goodbye and moved aside to let his wife do the same.

"I love you, honey," Tara said, kissing Aeris on the cheek. "Be safe."

"I love you, too, Mum," Aeris whispered back. "I will."

"I'm sorry, Miss Anthony," McGonagall interjected apologetically, "but it's time."

Aeris nodded and wiped her eyes as she stood back from her parents and took hold of McGonagall's sleeve. Hermione and Draco, who had been standing back silently and politely averting their eyes from the emotional scene before them, held McGonagall's other sleeve. Aeris noticed that the boy tried to stand as far as he could from the girl. She shook this thought and instead turned to smile at her parents.

"Bye, Mum. Bye, Dad," Aeris said. She barely had time to see them wave good-bye back to her before she felt a jerking sensation behind her navel. After a few seconds of blurry consciousness and dizziness, Aeris found herself at the front door of Hogwarts, McGonagall, Hermione Granger, and Draco Malfoy at her side.

"Welcome, Miss Anthony," said McGonagall, indicating the huge castle and vast, beautiful grounds before them, "to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

***********************

Aeris looked around her new room. She was living in the dormitory with the seventh-year girls so she could make friends with people her age and have the experience of living in the dormitory for at least one year. The other girls had been living together for seven years already, and Aeris felt she would like to be at least a small part of that. She was also to have a small office of her own for her teaching duties. One could not very well conduct a course in a room full of loud teenage girls.

Aeris, perched on the roomy window seat in the large window, smiled in appreciation. So far, everything had gone beautifully. Her room, although seven girls shared it, was large and spacious without forfeiting closeness. Her office overlooked the lake. She was about to take a tour of the castle with Hermione before going to Diagon Alley to get her supplies. But right now, she was perfectly content to gaze upon the forest and ponder the things yet to come.

The door opened and Hermione came in. "Hi," she said a tad breathlessly as she sat down on her bed. Her cheeks were flushed as if she'd been outside for a while.

"Hi, Hermione," said Aeris.

Hermione grinned. "You ready for the Grand Tour of Hogwarts?"

Aeris stood up in eager anticipation. "Absolutely!"

"Oh, and McGonagall told me to remind you that we have to get you a wand in Diagon Alley. She's got a Portkey set up for us."

Aeris' heart almost stopped. A wand? In all the excitement, she'd forgotten about that detail. "Oh, wow, I'd forgotten about that," she replied honestly.

Hermione chuckled. "A wand was the very first thing I got when I first got to Diagon Alley," she said. "I wanted to start practicing as soon as I could."

Aeris giggled and then sighed. She turned to the window and again regarded the forest. "I have no idea how I'm going to do all of this," she said. "I mean, I'm already six years behind everyone else my age. Six years! And on top of that, I have to teach a course. It's just..." A wave of stress and weariness came over Aeris. "I haven't even started yet, and already I'm wigging out," she laughed.

"Oh, Aeris." Hermione moved closer to her and put a consoling hand on Aeris's shoulder. "You'll be fine. You're already exceptional."

"Yeah, I'm a historical oddity," Aeris said sardonically.

"That's right, you are." Hermione's grip on Aeris's shoulder became more firm. "Do you honestly think McGonagall would have asked you to teach Muggle Studies on top of everything else you have to deal with if she didn't think you could handle it?"

Aeris shrugged, as if to say, Sure she would. I'm an oddity.

"No," said Hermione emphatically. "She wouldn't have."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I know her," Hermione answered. "She knows all about everything Ron, Harry, and I have done. Plus, Dumbledore selected her to succeed him. Dumbledore knew what he was doing." She smiled at Aeris. "Don't worry. You'll be fine."

*******************

An hour and a half later, Hermione had taken Aeris around every area of Hogwarts she knew, including the kitchens, where Dobby and a still miserable Winky (both very impressed with Aeris, and Aeris with them) had given them chocolate chip cookies after Aeris remarked on the delectable scent.

"Are they always that eager to please?" Aeris laughed as they made their way to the front of Hogwarts.

"Unfortunately, yes," said Hermione with such a sigh of resignation that Aeris stopped laughing immediately.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

Hermione shook her long hair out of her eyes. "I mean that they're slaves," she said, and paused to let Aeris digest this.

"Slaves?" asked Aeris. "You mean Dumbledore doesn't pay them?"

"He tries," said Hermione. "They won't accept payment."

"Oh!" said Aeris. "So they're not really slaves, then."

"Of course they are!" said Hermione, a look of hurt and anger appearing on her face. Aeris, startled at the abrupt change, chose her next words more carefully.

"Well...if they're offered pay and refuse it, then they're not working against their will, are they?"

"Well...not exactly," said Hermione. "But the nature of house-elves is to bind themselves to a family or person as well as their subsequent generations and serve them blindly until they die. Their children serve the same masters as they. They don't ever take any breaks or holidays. It's just awful!" Hermione threw up her hands in exasperation. "They can't help wanting to work. They're all the same...it's like their robots programmed to do whatever someone wants them to do!"

"Oh," said Aeris, thinking hard. "But...they were created, you say?"

"I suppose so," said Hermione. "I actually--I don't know. They must have been--no creature would bind themselves to such a way of life without some sort of reason. And what other animal has ever done that? Even dogs show a semblance of free will."

"I see," said Aeris softly. Hermione obviously cared a lot about this subject. "But since they can't help being the way they are, and they like it, isn't it kinder to let them do what they want to do?"

"But they're not free," whispered Hermione fiercely.

"Isn't the point of freedom the right to pursue happiness in whatever way you wish?" Aeris asked.

Hermione nodded slowly. "Yes..."

"And if the house-elves pursue happiness in a way different than yours, does it make it less valid?"

"I suppose not. But the elves are magically bound to their masters," said Hermione. "It's very powerful magic and can be incredibly traumatic if broken." She thought of Winky, and suspected that Aeris had realized Winky's story.

"So they're not free in that sense," Aeris said.

"Exactly," answered Hermione.

At this moment they reached the front doors and were interrupted by a kindly voice from the stairwell.

"Miss Anthony, Miss Granger," McGonagall greeted them as she descended the staircase. "Ready to go to Diagon Alley?"

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," said Aeris. "I can't wait to get my wand." Aeris felt a shiver of excitement run through her as she said these words--a shiver not unlike the one she'd felt while magically packing her bags at home.

"Wonderful," McGonagall said. "I have your Portkey ready." She held up a small paperweight. "It will activate when I touch my wand to it, and bring you back five hours from that point. Ready?"

Aeris and Hermione grinned at each other and took hold of the paperweight.

"All right, girls," said McGonagall. "Be careful." She tapped the paperweight with her wand, and Aeris and Hermione flew through space to Diagon Alley.