Trinity

Chapter 8

Sarah

"What is it, Miriam?" Miriam's father asked.

"When I told you about Sarah and Taylor..." Miriam shifted in her seat. "I wasn't being entirely truthful. They are my friends; Sarah and I even share a dormitory. And we're in the same House and year at school. What I didn't tell you was that..." She sighed. "They're my brother and sister. The three of us...we're triplets."

Shock registered on Miriam's parents' faces almost immediately.

"Are you sure?" her mother asked. "And how long have you known?"

Miriam nodded. "I'm absolutely positive." She nodded to me. "Sarah here has precognition. About six weeks before our birthday, she had a vision - she saw a photograph of the three of us before we were split up. It had all our names on it." She tugged on a few locks of her hair, something I had noted that she did when she was nervous. "I've only known for a month. These two decided to spring it on me on our birthday."

"And you just believe them, do you?" Mr. Kennedy asked, his tone of voice vaguely accusing. "What proof do you have?"

"Well, there's Sarah's 'seeing-into-the-future' thing for starters - she is never wrong. Plus there's this." She elbowed Taylor, who dug around in his pockets and pulled out the photograph that we had pieced together over the past few months. "We each had one piece of it, and when these two met they put their pieces together. And then, on our birthday, they showed it to me." She shrugged. "I put my piece of the photograph together with theirs...and I guess the rest is history."

She shifted slightly in her seat. "I know you don't believe me. But I know that these two are my brother and sister. It's instinct. I never felt it with Josephine, because we aren't related by blood - our relationship is in name only. I think it's the main reason why we're always at one another's throats and sniping at each other, and why I was so relieved that our star signs precluded us from being in the same house. If we were blood relations, maybe our relationship would be better." She dropped her gaze slightly. "May we go? We need to figure out everything for when we go into the city tomorrow."

"Yes, I suppose so," Mrs. Kennedy said. "But we are going to have a talk about this later, young lady. Understood?" Miriam nodded and made to stand up. "Before you go...when you came to us, the adoption agency gave us a name."

Miriam paused. "What was it?"

"Diana."

Upstairs in Miriam's room, Taylor immersed himself in Australian television - he soon took a liking to a program by the name of Home And Away, mainly because of a character called Gypsy Nash - while Miriam and I got to talking about the Christmas In July ball that would be taking place partway through Term Three, and also about the name that Mrs. Kennedy had told us before we'd left the table.

"Who do you reckon Diana is?" Miriam asked. She was sitting up against the side of her bed, thumbing through the latest catalogue from Aether Designs, one of the clothing stores in Sydney's wizarding district. According to Miriam, it catered more to the teen and young adult markets, and always carried the latest fashions. Therefore, it was to be our first port of call when we arrived in Absconditus Plaza tomorrow.

"Older sister?" I hedged.

"Why older?"

"Well, look at this way, Miz," I said, calling Miriam by her nickname (even though it felt strange to say it). "We - that is, the three of us - were adopted a week after we were born, right?" Miriam nodded. "She couldn't be any younger than us, otherwise we probably would have been quadruplets rather than triplets."

"Good point."

"So she's either an older sister, an older cousin, an aunt, our grandmother..." Something connected in my head. "Or our mother."

"You think?" Miriam asked, sounding dubious.

"I think it's a pretty good bet."

Miriam turned to the next page in her catalogue. "It's a shame we can't go and pull my records so we can find out for sure."

"Why not?"

"Because the Muggle legal age is eighteen. My legal birth certificate lists my adoptive parents, not my biological ones, and my adoption records were sealed when I became a Kennedy. They're at DoCS - that's the Department of Community Services," she clarified. "I'm technically still a child when it comes to Muggle matters."

"They wouldn't have them at the Ministry?"

"Not as far as I know. I might ask Mum if she could go into the Ministry and see." She furrowed her brow. "Actually, scratch that. It has to be me who does it, and I'm not old enough yet."

"Your mother couldn't go with you?"

Miriam shook her head. "Nope. It's one of those strange laws - you can't pull your adoption records until you're of age in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, not even if you have your parents or a guardian with you. It sucks, but the only people who can change that particular law are John Howard" she spat that name, as if it were something distasteful "or Minister West - and neither of them are willing to do it."

I gave a nod of my own. "So, tell me about Christmas In July."

Miriam's face lit right up, and she launched into an explanation of Christmas In July, and how they celebrated it at the Academy. And by the time we went to bed, I had gotten quite excited about it. My last thought before drifting off to sleep was that July couldn't get here quickly enough.

* * *

I tumbled out of the fireplace the next morning, coughing as a cloud of smoke and ash billowed up around me. "I hate going by Floo," I mumbled as I staggered around the circular, lantern-lit room, trying to regain my balance. Miriam managed to catch me before I fell right on my backside.

"Whoa, easy does it," Miriam said, her hands on my shoulders to steady me. "I probably should have warned you. The attendants at this end think that it's funny as hell to toss more than the recommended amount of Floo powder on all the fireplaces and stoke up the fire until it causes a tornado effect on this end. You right now?" she asked, and I nodded. "It's actually a rite of passage in this part of Australia. If you can ride the Floo network and navigate at the same time, without throwing up or getting disoriented, you've made it." She clapped me on the shoulder, gave me a grin, and caught Taylor by the arm as he came barrelling out of the fireplace next to the one I'd exited from.

Once we'd dusted ourselves off and completely regained our balance, we walked into the Plaza. From what I remembered, it took up the area equivalent to a typical city block, and was lined with stores, all open and with their wares piled around the storefronts. In the middle of the Plaza was a small garden, enclosed by a low sandstone brick wall. The roof was clear glass, through which bright mid-April sunlight filtered. There was a large gap in the middle, directly above the garden, through which a couple of owls flew, each with a parcel clasped in their talons.

"I'm guessing the two of you need a pick-me-up after that little excursion," Miriam decided. The three of us had come alone - Josephine wanted to catch up with her Muggle friends, and Miriam's parents had to work; Mrs. Kennedy had a veterinary practice in Mosman, where she treated both Muggle and magical animals, using her power of healing, and Mr. Kennedy worked for the Muggle Bureau of Meteorology. "And I know just the place." And with that, she steered us toward a store named The Great Australian Ice Creamery. As we got closer, I could see 'Wizarding Division' written in calligraphic lettering under the store name. "This was a Muggle company to start with," Miriam explained as we took seats inside the brightly lit store. "Few years back, they realised that there was a whole market that they hadn't yet considered, right under their noses. We magical folk like ice cream just as much as the next Muggle. So they created a whole new division of the company, hired a couple of hundred wizards and witches, and set them to work buttering up us lot. This is the result." She gestured expansively at the lively atmosphere. "So, what'll you guys have?"

After some deliberation, we placed our orders. On Miriam's recommendation I chose a Great Australian Bight - essentially a glorified banana split - while Taylor chose the Flamin' Waratah. Miriam's choice was the Cherries 'n' Fudge. While we waited for our orders to arrive, Miriam pulled out her Aether Designs catalogue and the two of us pored over it, looking at possible outfits; Taylor amused himself by making lightning crackle from his fingertips and dance over the backs of his hands.

"You've been pretty quiet," Miriam said to Taylor as a young witch served us our ice cream, and I let out a quiet moan of delight. The photographs in the menu did not do justice to the real thing. I could see now why Miriam had told me to order what I did - it was more than just a glorified banana split. It had a banana in it, of course, but it also had three massive scoops of ice cream (vanilla, strawberry and chocolate), crushed pineapple, lashings of strawberry and chocolate syrups, a whole heap of whipped cream, and a liberal dusting of chopped nuts. It looked absolutely heavenly. I grabbed my spoon and dug in with wild abandon.

Taylor looked up from his Flamin' Waratah - essentially a massive scoop of strawberry ice cream that had been drenched in strawberry syrup and covered with whipped cream - and swallowed. "It's a bit overwhelming, that's all," he said quietly.

"Someone's homesick," Miriam sang as she popped a cherry into her mouth. Her sundae was easily the most elaborate after mine - lots of vanilla ice cream and cherries, hot chocolate fudge and whipped cream.

"And if I am?"

"Hey, it's no big deal," Miriam said. "You're in a foreign country, thousands of kilometres away from the rest of your family. Of course you'd be homesick. I don't blame you one bit. Just so long as you take it out on the opposition when we get back to school, and not on Sarah and I."

Taylor managed a small smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

"I just have one question," I said as we finished off our ice cream. "Why are we getting our dress robes now, rather than during winter break?"

Miriam licked the fudge off the back of her spoon and dropped the spoon in her dish. "Because Aether Designs routinely jacks up the price in the weeks immediately preceding the Christmas In July ball, that's why. And mostly, even I can't afford dress robes when it's so close to the date. We're better off getting them now. They'll still be in fashion in July, trust me."

Our sundaes eaten, Miriam led us across the Plaza to the store where Taylor and I had bought our school robes back in January, Aether Designs. Now, instead of rows of robes in school colours and carrying school badges, there were rows of robes geared toward the teen market. There were formal robes in dark colours, for funerals and other solemn occasions, sewn from what looked like wool or other heavy material, tucked in a corner furthest from the door. A few racks of everyday robes filled the middle of the store.

Miriam immediately dragged us toward the very back, where racks of dress robes were packed into a corner. "Guys' robes are over there," she told Taylor, jerking her head toward three racks packed with dark-coloured robes. She then moved into action, closely studying me before digging through the racks of girls' gowns, draping about three or four outfits over her left arm. "You ever tried contacts?" she asked.

I touched the rim of my glasses. "No..."

"I didn't think so. You should; they'd really suit you."

"And I suppose you'd know?"

"Of course. I wear them." She handed me the robes that she had selected, and started digging around for more.

"I didn't know you wore them."

"Most people don't. It's not as if I advertise the fact. There are some members of the opposing teams at school that would love nothing more to incapacitate me if I went out on the pitch wearing my glasses. I might show you them sometime."

Having chosen a few potential outfits for herself, Miriam steered me toward the change rooms. "I want to see what they look like, so don't go locking yourself in there," she called after me as I entered the nearest change room and latched the door behind me.

The first outfit was sewn from dark blue satin, with a fitted bodice that laced up the back, looking suspiciously like a corset, and an ankle-length skirt. A cape made from the same material completed the outfit.

I didn't need to look at any of the others. I didn't doubt that they were just as nice, but this one just felt...right. I stripped down to my underwear, leaving my jeans, bra and T-shirt pooled in a corner of the cubicle, and stepped into the dress. One tap on the back with my wand, and it laced itself up the back; I drew in a sharp breath as the laces tightened.

"This is it," I said as I stepped out of the cubicle. I spun in a circle to show it to Miriam. "Though if I didn't know better, I'd think someone slipped a Muggle dress in here by mistake."

"Nah," Miriam disagreed. She took the cape from me and draped it across my shoulders, fastening it at my throat. "Fashion designers here have been experimenting with combining Muggle and magical designs. This is just one of the designs that they came up with." She stepped back and eyed me appraisingly. "Yeah, this one's good. Forget the rest of them - you're going to knock 'em dead in that."

"Well, thanks," I said. "Do you really think it looks nice?"

"Yeah, I do." She gave me a quick grin, and I stepped back into the change room.

About half an hour later, the three of us exited Aether Designs, each of us carrying a cardboard box. My wallet was considerably lighter, but it was worth it.

That is, until I remembered how we were getting home.

I stared into the fireplace, one hand clutching the terracotta jar of Floo powder that Miriam had tossed over her shoulder to me just as she had stepped into her fireplace. The other held the box that contained my outfit for the Christmas In July ball.

"Oh, for Circe's sake," I muttered. I placed the box on the floor, propping it against my leg, and uncorked the jar; taking a pinch of powder, I hurled it at the fireplace, picking up my box and stepping into the fireplace after emerald flames flared to life, and shouted the address of Miriam's aunt's house. "Seventy-four Bradleys Head Road!"

* * *

Taylor

Easter break was over almost before I knew it. The new term started in May, heralded by the appearance of a poster in the Atitjere common room.

Attention All Students

The twenty-fifth annual inter-school Quidditch tournament is scheduled for the September break, commencing on September fifteenth and concluding on October first.

Students are advised that there will be no school train service from Alice Springs to Adelaide at the end of Term 3. Any student wishing to leave school for the spring break must arrange their own transportation. Emergency Portkeys will be arranged only for those students requiring urgent medical treatment, or who have immediate family commitments. In addition, students playing on their House Quidditch team are required to remain at school over break, except in the case of serious illness or immediate commitments at home.

At the bottom of the poster, someone had quilled in dark purple ink:

The annual prank war will also be taking place during the tournament - Southern Cross versus Twofold Bay. We belted them last year, and we can do it again! Don't any of you come back here in Term 3 without some damn good ideas for pranks!

The handwriting looked suspiciously like Miriam's.

I stepped away from the noticeboard and wandered across the common room, toward the stairs leading upstairs to the dormitory. It felt slightly strange to be back at school after two weeks of freedom. Miriam had spent the two weeks of Easter break showing us how the Australian magical community lived, and she had started by taking us up to Byron Bay for a week. Our time in Byron Bay had included a match between the Nimbin Wanderers and the Waikato Riverwalkers - the Wanderers had won 290 points to 10. Which was surprising, considering that the Wanderers had spent most of the match floating lazily around the pitch on their brooms, each player surrounded by a cloud of glittering blue smoke. However, every ten minutes or so, one of the team's Chasers shook off their inebriation, as it were, and charged up the pitch toward the goals. The Riverwalkers' Keeper was perpetually so shocked by this that their reactions were not as quick as they probably should have been, and in the confusion the Wanderers scored. In fact, the Riverwalkers' only goal had come when a passing butterfly had distracted the Wanderers' Keeper. It had been an excellent match, and one hell of an introduction to Australian Quidditch, which was far more brutal and fast-paced than the American variety. Miriam had compared it to rugby league football, and after seeing a game of rugby league on the television during the holidays, I agreed with her.

"So what's this I hear about a prank war?" I asked as I entered the Grade Eleven boys' dormitory and headed right for my desk.

Seth looked up from his Charms homework. "Oh, that," he said. "It's just a way for us all to blow off some steam between tournament rounds. I mean, what else are we going to do? We can't go home, so we have to do something to keep ourselves occupied." He shrugged. "You might want to talk to Miriam about it; she organises it every year."

"So what House won the tournament last year?" I asked.

Seth pulled a face. "Tanami," he replied. "It was Tanami and Atitjere in the final, and their Seeker snatched the Snitch right out from underneath Kali's nose. Kali copped an earful from the old captain for that one. Mustn't have bothered Mrs. Chatham that much, because Kali was named team captain this year." He set his book to one side and looked up at me. "You do know that if our House Powerball team makes it to the grand final, you're going to be playing at the end of the Quidditch tournament, right?"

"What?"

Seth nodded. "It's tradition. The teams that win the semi-finals play an exhibition match at the end of the Quidditch tournament. You might want to ask Dominic about it, though - I'm not on the team, so I don't know all of the details."

"I've got practice now, actually," I said. I headed over to my bunk and opened my wardrobe, and started to rummage around for my practice gear. "If we get a break halfway through I'll ask him about it; otherwise it'll have to wait until practice is over."

As it turned out, Dominic was so focused on getting the team back in shape that Miriam actually had to remind him, after a full solid hour-and-a-half of running drills, that we needed a break. And she did it in the best way that she knew how.

"Motherfucking hell!" Dominic yelled as Miriam let loose with a well-placed bolt of blue lightning; it hit him in the backside. "Merlin Miriam, what the fuck was that for?"

"Dom, we need a break," she told him. "You've been working us ragged for the past ninety minutes."

"Miriam, we've just had two weeks off - if anything, we should be working harder," Dominic said, sounding determined.

"Dominic, come on," I said. "Miriam's right. We need a break. We don't work this hard during actual matches, so what's the point of making us work so hard now?"

Dominic sighed and looked at us. Most of the team looked absolutely mutinous - a couple of the girls had lightning crackling between their fingertips, and one of the other boys was spinning a ball of electricity above the palm of his left hand, glaring menacingly.

"Oh, fine," Dominic agreed, sounding rather reluctant. "Fifteen minutes, but then I want you all back here."

None of us needed to be told twice. Miriam and I headed right for the sidelines, where Sarah sat leafing through one of her textbooks. "Dominic really pisses me off sometimes," Miriam groaned as she collapsed on the grass and put her head between her knees.

Sarah eyed the both of us silently, before pulling a large wooden bucket out of nowhere - it was the first time I had seen her put her materialisation power to use - and using her water power to fill it almost to the brim. I poked Miriam's shoulder, and she looked up. "You want some of this?" I asked her, and she shook her head. I shrugged, before getting up on my knees and sticking my head in the water; I ended up inhaling about half the water by the time Dominic called us back onto the pitch.

Before Miriam and I returned to our practice, I spoke to Sarah. "You're wrong, by the way."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Remember when we met, and we were about to get on the plane in Los Angeles?" I said, and Sarah nodded. "You said something about me not being able to drown. And you're completely wrong - I can drown."

"Miriam, Taylor, get over here!" Dominic yelled.

"Hold your horses Dom, we're talking!" Miriam yelled. "What's this about?" she asked me.

I repeated what I'd said for Miriam's benefit, before continuing. "Before I started at Amargosa, the College had all the new elemental students come in for a testing session, to measure our individual 'capabilities', as they called it. And, well..." I played with the end of my rat-tail. "My parents had registered me with the Department of Elemental Magic at the USMC - that's the United States Magical Congress - a couple of weeks after my sixth birthday, so the College already knew about my particular 'situation', I suppose you could put it. And basically...they put me through hell. I had migraines and pneumonia for weeks afterward. From their little testing session, I know that I am physically unable to breathe water that is ice-cold or boiling hot, or water that has even the smallest amount of sand, dirt or whatever in it. If I even so much as try, there's a good chance that I'll drown."

"Oh jeez," Miriam said softly. "That's awful."

"That's not even the half of it. On my eighteenth birthday, according to my mother, I'm going to have to go to Philadelphia so that I can go through the whole process again." I shuddered involuntarily. "I'm not looking forward to it in the slightest."

"Can't say I blame you." Miriam looked over toward the pitch. "Come on, we'd better go back to practice. Merlin, the way Dominic's looking at us, if looks could kill we'd both be six feet under by now."

Practice was finally over by the time the bell rang for dinner. Rather than join my team-mates in racing up to Atitjere Tower to shower before joining the rest of the students in the dining hall, I stayed back to speak to Dominic about the annual exhibition match.

"Seth already told you what you need to know," Dominic said as he tapped the game ball with his wand, ending the enchantment on it so that he could pick it up. "I'm surprised you didn't ask Miriam about it over the holidays."

"Yeah, well..." I shrugged. "We were fairly busy, so I didn't really get much of a chance to talk to her about it." I loosened the straps on my gloves and pulled them off, tucking them into the waistband of my shorts. "So we have to do it if we make it to the grand final?"

"Unless you manage to injure yourself before the match, yeah." He narrowed his eyes at me. "Don't you go getting any ideas though. We don't have any reserves, and if even one of us is..." He trailed off, seemingly searching for the right word. "Incapacitated beforehand, we'll be at a disadvantage." He looked at his watch. "You'd better go shower before dinner," he said, effectively dismissing me. I nodded and ran up toward the school homestead.

* * *

Between going to class, working on my History of Magic project, Powerball practice sessions and writing to my parents and Elissa every week, the term flew by. I barely had time to breathe, let alone look at a clock.

During a History of Magic class near the end of term, while we as a class were working on our projects, Mr. Miller called each of us up to his desk for a 'conference', as he called it. I'd been dreading this since the project had been assigned, because no matter where I looked in the school library I had found only the bare minimum of information for my project. Therefore, I was rather nervous that I was going to be reprimanded for being lazy.

"Taylor Chambers," Mr. Miller called, and I sighed before gathering up the few pages of notes that I'd managed to make. He hadn't sounded very happy while he was discussing the progress of Gavin Reeves' project, so I felt I had every right to be reluctant. I sat down in the wooden chair next to Mr. Miller's desktop and shuffled my notes into some semblance of order. "How is your project coming along?" he asked me.

"Not very well," I said truthfully. "There isn't much information in the library that I can use."

"I see." Mr. Miller leaned back in his seat. "Where are you staying during the holidays?"

"In Sydney."

Mr. Miller seemed to think for a little while. "During the holidays, you might want to pay a visit to the State Library of New South Wales. They have a fairly extensive section about Australia's magical history, and if I'm not mistaken a section dedicated to elemental history." He gave me a smile. "I'm going to see about having some books about our history added to the school library, to help future students - hopefully this sort of problem won't happen again."

I nodded. "Thanks Mr. Miller," I said as I headed back to my seat.

* * *

Miriam

"Hey Miz! Wake up!"

Something large and with quite a few sharp corners smacked me in the head one morning at the beginning of July. Term Three had started little more than a week earlier, and Taylor, Sarah and I had spent most of the holidays in Queensland, exploring the Gold Coast - I knew full well that it was the last chance this year for either of them to do a decent amount of exploring, owing to our restriction to the school grounds and Alice Springs during the spring holidays, and so we'd spent quite a bit of time (and money) in Surfers Paradise. Taylor had taught Sarah how to surf, having brought his surfboard with him (it had been sitting in his trunk all year, shrunken to the size of a large pebble), and I had shown them around my favourite place in the ocean-side city - Ripley's Believe It Or Not, which was basically a museum of the absurd.

But now we were back at school for the remainder of the year, much to my dismay. Still, there was no point in crying over spilt potion - the only thing to do was to make the most of a generally annoying situation.

I crawled out from beneath my blankets and immediately reached for my dressing gown. Even with the Heating Charm that was cast over the entirety of Atitjere Tower at the beginning of June every year, it was still cold. "What's this business with waking me up at" I squinted through sleep-fogged eyes at my watch, which I had hung around one of my bedposts "five-thirty in the morning?" I asked tiredly. "By Circe, it's too damn early..."

Another object, this one without corners, slammed me in the head. "Oops, sorry Miz," I heard Kali giggle.

"I'll 'oops' you in a minute," I grumbled. I rubbed my head as I looked at the calendar that was pinned to the noticeboard next to the head of my bed - and the reason for my roommates hurling things up at me leaped out at me.

Today was July twenty-fifth - Christmas in July.

I shook my head, chuckling. "You could have woken me up a little more gently," I said as I kicked off the tangle of blankets and climbed down my ladder to the floor. I got my wand out of the pockets of yesterday's robes and Summoned what I assumed to be two of my presents down from my bed.

"Yeah, well, if you'd gotten up when Anna's alarm went off, maybe we wouldn't have had to throw things at you to wake you up," Kali admonished jokingly. "Now come on - where's our pressies?"

"And who said I got you anything?" I joked, and started digging around in my wardrobe.

There were quite a few things I liked about going to Southern Cross Academy, and one of those things was Christmas in July - it meant presents, lots of delicious food, snowball fights in the school grounds, and dancing. But the best part about it was that it fell right at the beginning of Term Three. And that meant that if July twenty-fifth was a weekday, the teachers gave us a full day off from classes. Today being a Tuesday, that meant that today was reserved for fun, eating, dancing and generally enjoying the break from our studies.

The five of us went down to the common room, our arms piled high with brightly-wrapped packages. The Grade Eleven boys were already down there, all of them except for Ares fast asleep; Ares was tracking the flight of a Snitch around the common room with his wand.

We girls dropped our armfuls of packages on the floor, looked at one another, and started flinging them at the boys; each package had been spelled so that it automatically went to its intended recipient. The boys woke up as soon as the avalanche started, and quickly responded in kind. As soon as we had exhausted our respective supplies of 'ammunition', we settled ourselves on the floor and tore into our gifts, flinging wrapping paper every which way. By the time we were finished, different sized shreds of paper covered almost every visible surface, and we each had a neat pile of gifts before us. I had at least one present from each of my friends, and two from my parents, the best of which were a new cloak, scarf, gloves and beanie, all of which were green so that I could wear them at school, and a new pair of ice skates from my parents, and a season pass to all of the Sydney Swifts' games during the upcoming 2000/2001 season from Kali.

"So what do you guys want to do after breakfast?" Inanna asked as we girls headed up the Tower to our dormitory.

"I'm going ice skating," I replied. "It'll give me a chance to start wearing my new skates in. Plus I can bet that my parents are going to want photos of me wearing what they got me, so I hope at least one of you has film in your camera."

"I do," Kali replied.

After I had levitated all my presents up onto my bed, save for the presents from my parents, I found some clean clothes in my wardrobe and headed down to the girls' bathroom to shower. When I entered, the air was thick with steam, and the slate floor was slick with condensation. I scowled and pulled my wand out of the pocket of my dressing gown. "Hasn't anyone here heard of a Drying Charm?" I called as I flicked my wand at the floor.

"What?" I heard Sirena yell over the water.

"Nothing!" I yelled back. I found an empty shower cubicle and closed its door behind me.

Breakfast was simple compared to most days of the year, owing to the Christmas dinner that awaited us later in the day - cereal, toast, fresh fruit, croissants and jugs of fruit juice were set up on each of the House tables when we Grade Elevens entered the dining hall at around a quarter past seven. Judging by the fact that the hall was practically empty, most of the school was taking advantage of the day off classes, and were sleeping late.

"Someone please tell me why we got up so damn early?" Artemis asked as the ten of us sat down at our House table and started eating. "Hardly anyone's up yet. Not even the teachers!"

"Well, Mr. Merchant's up," Ares corrected. He nodded toward the staff table, where the Astronomy teacher sat. "But otherwise you're right." He polished an apple on his T-shirt and bit into it.

"It'll give us a chance to get the forts built for the snowball fight," Seth said. "Unless we're not doing that this year...?"

"Oh, we're having a snowball fight, all right," Kali said, sounding determined. "We need to get Tanami back somehow."

"Back for what?" Sarah asked.

"They belted us in the Quidditch tournament last year," Valerian replied. "Kali still hasn't managed to let that one go."

"They humiliated us!" Kali shot back hotly.

"They humiliated you, you mean," Ares said. "For Merlin's sake Kali, please, let it go. Save it for the pitch if you must."

Kali rolled her eyes and muttered invectives to herself, but otherwise remained silent.

Most of the school had started trickling downstairs as we left the dining hall, carrying our cloaks and other winter gear with us. "I thought we were in the desert," Sarah said to me as we walked out to the front hall.

"We are," I confirmed. I dropped my skates, scarf, gloves and beanie on one of the benches that lined the wall next to the doors, and proceeded to put my cloak on.

"So why then is everyone talking about a snowball fight?"

"You remember what I said about Mr. Hensley, and the fact that he controls what weather we get here?" I asked, and she nodded. "Well, every July twenty-fifth, we get snow." I jammed my beanie on my head over my pigtails. "It builds up in the days leading up, but it's snow nevertheless. We never get a white Christmas here in Australia, so this is the next best thing."

When the lot of us were rugged up, we ventured out of the castle into the grounds. It was absolutely freezing outside, and I was immediately glad that I'd had the foresight to wear my warmest jumper under my cloak. I pulled my scarf up over my mouth and nose and led the way down the main path to the back of the school.

While Seth, Ares, Valerian, Artemis and Inanna pitched in and built their usual fort for the day's snowball fight, Kali, Taylor, Sarah, Alexei and I headed for the lake. It had frozen over, as it normally did during winter, and was therefore perfect for skating. I cleared a patch of snow away near the ice and sat down on the grass, pulled my boots off and slid my feet into my skates.

"Love the socks," Kali said before I laced my skates up.

"Thanks," I said with a grin. My socks were purple and white striped knee-highs, purple being my favourite colour (with blue running a very close second). I laced my skates up tightly and stood up a little unsteadily, before stepping out onto the ice. This was the moment of truth - I hadn't skated in over a year, not since the previous year's Christmas in July ball, so I had no idea if I still had it in me. "Got your camera ready?" I called out to Kali, and she held her camera up so I could see it.

"All right, Miriam," I told myself. "You've been doing this since you could walk. Just because you messed up at the ball last year doesn't mean you're going to mess up now." I took a deep breath, pushed off with my left foot, and glided out further onto the icy lake, the sound of Kali pressing the shutter button on her camera following me the whole way. "Hey you guys!" I yelled out to my friends, turning around and skating backwards as I did so. "Come out here, it's fun!"

"We don't have skates though!" Alexei yelled back.

"What are you, a Squib?" I taunted him. "What do you think your wand's for?" I shook my head. "Idiot," I muttered, and started to skate a figure-eight.

I spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon out on the ice, eventually letting myself be dragged into a pickup game of magical ice hockey. The one major difference between Muggle and magic ice hockey was that the puck was semi-sentient, and often veered off between a player's feet as soon as that player went to belt the puck across the ice with their hockey stick, making it even harder to score. Only when the bell rang at around six-thirty did anyone even consider heading back inside.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked as everyone stopped what they were doing and headed up toward the homestead.

"Time for dinner," I replied. "Then we're going to dance the night away." I grinned at her and yanked my boots back on. "Come on, I want you to show off that gown of yours." I raised an eyebrow at her. "You did remember to bring it, right?"

"Of course I did," Sarah replied, sounding a little indignant.

"Okay, just checking. No need to bite my head off."

Upstairs in the dormitory, I took my gown from my wardrobe and ran the tip of my wand over it a few times to smooth out any creases that weren't supposed to be there. It was a Renaissance-style gown, sewn from cream silk, satin and lace - I had loved it from the moment I'd laid eyes on it, and had willingly paid the sixteen Galleons that Aether Designs had asked for it, just to have it in my possession. Aside from my wand, it was the most expensive thing I owned.

Around me, my roommates were bringing their own gowns into the open. Artemis' gown was also a flashback to the Renaissance - it was sewn from dark blue velvet and cream silk. Kali had chosen a black strapless gown, and Inanna's was white satin with beaded shoulder straps. I had already seen Sarah's gown, so I was looking forward to what the girls thought of it - and especially what Taylor thought, considering that he and Sarah were going together. It was the perfect way to keep everyone thinking that, despite the fact that the three of us looked alike, we weren't actually related, when the opposite was true. My date for the evening was Alexei.

"Sarah, you look beautiful," Kali said when Sarah was dressed, save for her shoes. "Where did you get it?"

"Aether Designs, in Sydney," Sarah replied. "Miriam and I went shopping during the Easter break." She folded the clothes she had worn today and set them on her desk chair, before rummaging around in her desk drawer and taking out a small black case. Off came her glasses, and she opened the case. Contained within was something I had pretty much talked her into buying while we were in Surfers Paradise - a pair of contact lenses. She turned to me as soon as she had put them in. "Are you sure I look okay?" she asked, sounding worried.

I nodded. "You look wonderful," I assured her. I beckoned her closer, and whispered in her ear so that the other girls couldn't hear, "It's a shame you and Taylor are related, 'cause he'd be all over you in a heartbeat." Sarah blushed a wonderful shade of crimson, and I smiled in satisfaction.

Our shoes slipped on, hair done and makeup applied, the five of us left the dormitory and descended the staircase into the common room. I assumed that the rest of the House was either already down at dinner or still getting ready, because just like this morning, the only occupants of the common room were the Grade Eleven boys. They looked up as we entered single-file and approached each of our dates.

"Lady Miriam, may I have the honour of accompanying you to the ball this evening?" Alexei asked as he bowed.

"You may," I replied, curtseying. "And Alex, please, what's with this 'Lady Miriam' shit?"

"Only being polite," Alexei replied as we linked arms and led the procession downstairs to the dining hall.

At around seven-thirty, the doors of the dining hall opened, and we proceeded inside and seated ourselves at our usual tables. The tables were bare, save for the usual crockery and cutlery - a stark difference to what the tables usually looked like during mealtimes. Mrs. Heinemann got our attention right before the Grade Sevens started a mutiny.

"Students, your attention please," she called out over the hum of voices, and silence blanketed the hall. "Thank you. Before we begin our meal, I would like to remind you all that the ball will be starting at nine o'clock sharp, and dinner will conclude at a quarter to nine. The Academy Choir will be singing for us in the auditorium before the ball begins. Thank you, and enjoy your meal." She waved her wand three times, and the usual Christmas in July feast appeared on the table.

"About time," Kali muttered. "I haven't eaten all fucking day..."

"Yeah, and whose fault is that?" I said as I surveyed the platters and dishes that lined the table. Roasted turkey, lamb and pork; bowls of steaming buttered peas and green beans, and honeyed carrots; mashed potato; roast pumpkin and potato; broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potato; dishes of cranberry sauce and apple sauce; jugs of gravy...it all looked absolute divine, and dessert was bound to be just as delicious. The kitchen brownies had truly outdone themselves. I grinned gleefully and loaded my plate.

As the clock ticked over to eight-forty-five, Mrs. Heinemann tapped her goblet with her wand and we all looked up just as the remains of the feast vanished from the table. "Thank you everyone. Now, I would like you all to proceed into the auditorium; those of you who are in the Academy Choir, please go up onstage as soon as you enter," she said, effectively dismissing us from dinner.

The auditorium was dark, lit by clusters of floating candles, when we entered. Through the darkness, I could see the Academy Choir standing onstage in four rows, their hands clasped before them with golden candlelight illuminating their faces. When all the Academy students had entered, quiet music began playing, and the choir started to sing.

"Across the plains one Christmas night...three drovers riding blithe and gay...looked up and saw a starry light...more radiant than the Milky Way...and on their hearts such wonder fell...they sang with joy, 'Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!'...

"The air was dry with summer heat...and smoke was on the yellow moon...but from the heavens, faint and sweet...came floating down a wond'rous turn...and as they heard, they sang full well...those drovers three, 'Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!'...

"The black swans flew across the sky...the wild dog called across the plain...the starry lustre blazed on high...still echoed on the heavenly strain...and still they sang, 'Noel! Noel!'...those drovers three, 'Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!'..."

The song was The Three Drovers, one of the few Christmas songs that Australians could truly call their own. After we had all applauded, the next song started.

"Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee, all through the night...guardian angels God will send thee, all through the night...soft the drowsy hours are creeping...hill and vale in slumber sleeping...God his loving vigil keeping, all through the night...

"While the moon her watch is keeping, all through the night...while the weary world is sleeping, all through the night...through your dreams you're softly stealing...visions of delight revealing...Christmas time is so appealing, all through the night...

"You, my God, a Babe of wonder, all through the night...dreams you dream can't break from thunder, all through the night...children's dreams cannot be broken...life is but a lovely token...Christmas should be softly spoken, all through the night..."

More quiet applause, and then the final song began.

"Said the night wind to the little lamb...do you see what I see...way up in the sky, little lamb...do you see what I see...a star, a star, dancing in the night...with a tail as big as a kite...with a tail as big as a kite...

"Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy...do you hear what I hear...ringing through the sky, shepherd boy...do you hear what I hear...a song, a song, high above the trees...with a voice as big as the sea...with a voice as big as the sea...

"Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king...do you know what I know...in your palace warm, mighty king...do you know what I know...a Child, a Child shivers in the cold...let us bring him silver and gold...let us bring him silver and gold...

"Said the king to the people everywhere...listen to what I say...pray for peace, people, everywhere...listen to what I say...the Child, the Child sleeping in the night...he will bring us goodness and light...he will bring us goodness and light..."

With the final song concluded, applause sounded through the auditorium, and the auditorium was bathed in bright light. The Academy Choir filed offstage, and lively music started playing. I wasn't quite ready to dance just yet; I wanted some dessert first, and so I headed directly for the dessert table. All of my favourite things were set out on crystal platters - pavlova, white Christmas, cherry pom-poms, truffles, apple pie, blueberry Danish, lemon meringue pie, and strawberry cheesecake just to name a few. A large bowl of punch held pride of place - at a distance it looked like glass, but on closer inspection I saw that it was made of ice.

Kali came up beside me, picked up a plate and started dishing herself out some dessert. "Sarah and Taylor look amazing together, don't they?" she said.

I nodded my agreement as I took a bite of Danish. "It's a shame that Taylor already has a girlfriend, though," I said after I'd swallowed.

Kali raised an eyebrow. "Really?" She looked back at Taylor and Sarah, who were currently in the middle of dancing the Pride of Erin waltz with most of the other students. "And he didn't ask her to be his date? She's not going to be very happy with him..."

"She's in America, Kali," I said. "And I'm sure he would have already asked her, but she probably couldn't come."

"Oh, well, that's all right then."

I shook my head, chuckling. "I truly wonder about you sometimes, Kali."

I sat by the sidelines for a little while, watching everyone else dancing, until Taylor came up to me. He gave me a smile as he sat down next to me. "Why aren't you out there dancing?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Don't really feel like it yet."

"Miriam, you've been sitting there most of the evening," he scolded jokingly. "Will you come and dance, please?"

"If you tell me why Natalie isn't your date tonight," I replied.

"She couldn't come - it was too expensive. It's not like you can take the Floo Network out here. She wanted to, though. And yes, she's fine with Sarah and I going together - I daresay she'll even be fine with you and I dancing for a little while."

"Well, in that case..." I set my plate and fork aside, and stood up. "Shall we?" I said, holding out my left hand.

"As you wish, m'lady," he said, affecting a very convincing English accent and taking my hand. We walked out onto the dance floor, just as a slow waltz started and the light dimmed just a little.

I was tall for a girl my age, but I definitely wasn't as tall as Taylor - and he was the perfect height for me to rest my head on his shoulder as we danced. Shame we're related, I thought. Not to mention that it's a shame he's already taken - I'd be all over him if not for that...

As the music ended, Taylor leaned down and whispered, "Sie schauen schöne diese Nacht, Miriam." Even with my rudimentary knowledge of German, I knew precisely what he had said. He stepped back, bent down and kissed the back of my outstretched hand.

"Danke," I said in reply, and he grinned.

All in all, it had been a pretty good day, and an amazing night. But even I knew not to count my dragons before they had hatched. It had been a great year so far, true, but things were only bound to get better.