IWSC Season 2 Practice Round 1

School: Beauxbatons

Special rule: open with description

Theme: Parents Day

Prompts: cherry red (main), spellbook, the Great Hall

WC: 3268

Author's Note:

I had a lot of fun writing this. The theme is used very simplistically, but the main prompt is explored in far more complex ways than are obvious on a first read. Although the cherry red rosette only gets mentioned at the very beginning and toward the end of the story, its colour symbolism is a constant thread right through, and is encapsulated in the title. Red is the colour of strength, of defiance, and of battle. But the softer tones in the cherry pinkness make the colour less aggressive. In times past, strong women were confined by social mores and cultural expectations into compliant roles. Outwardly, they submitted. Covertly, however, they urged, managed, manipulated and schemed in order to achieve their aims and regain some of the power denied to them. Similarly, in this story Narcissa exercised her own power by cajoling Lucius into attending the event, and then subverted his dictates by her courtesy toward the Grangers.

(PS. The potion is also wickedly apposite - I like to think Dumbledore would have planned it that way :-) )

SWEET DEFIANCE

Narcissa looked down at the cherry red rosette on her dress. Its brightness blazed against the midnight blue, and she was pleased that it was so noticeable. Beside her, Lucius stood more stiffly than usual, his distaste for the occasion showing clearly in every line. Narcissa herself thought it was quite a good idea of Dumbledore's, but she knew very well that Lucius did not agree.

It had been Narcissa who had opened the letter from Hogwarts two weeks ago. Her heart still ached at Draco's absence, a full two months after he had swaggered off to begin his first year, and she worried about him constantly. She tore open the envelope and sighed with relief to find it was merely an invitation to a Parents' Day. Parents of first years were invited to the school to see how their children were settling down, to be shown around the school grounds, to meet other parents, and to ask any questions they might have. It seemed like a good idea, and she had passed the letter to Lucius without foreseeing his reaction.

"To be 'shown around the grounds'!" he exclaimed. "Why should we need to be shown around the grounds? We all went there ours– "

Then his eyes had narrowed angrily. "Surely Dumbledore doesn't intend to invite Muggle parents, too!"

But that was Dumbledore's plan. Lucius's Malfoy pride was outraged at the thought of socialising with Muggles, and Narcissa had had to plead and cajole for days before he agreed to attend.

"The coach is approaching the gates," Minerva McGonagall's voice came from the far side of the group.

Lucius sniffed disdainfully, and Narcissa laid a warning hand on his arm. It would not do to be too openly scornful of Dumbledore's schemes – even when they extended to allowing a Muggle vehicle to enter Hogwarts grounds.

The Muggle parents had been met at the nearest railway station and driven to Hogwarts by a Muggle-born wizard. For this one day, the usual Muggle-Repelling spells had been suspended for the coach-load of parents so that they could all see the school their children attended. All the magical parents had been instructed to assemble on the front steps of the castle to welcome the strangers.

Were that all, Narcissa thought that Lucius might have tolerated it better, but the cherry red rosette was the sticking point. Dumbledore had announced that each set of magical parents would be responsible for entertaining a set of Muggle parents, and the different-coloured rosettes were for recognition purposes. The two Muggle parents wearing the same cherry red rosettes would be her and Lucius's charges for the day. Lucius had immediately thrust his rosette deep inside his cloak, but Narcissa had pinned hers to her dress.

The coach rumbled to a stop at the foot of the steps and its door swung open. One by one the Muggle parents alighted, their faces full of wonder as they took in the grandeur of the castle. Narcissa glanced behind her, trying to picture the familiar building as they saw it, but a scornful hiss from Lucius brought her eyes to the front again. She saw two Muggles wearing cherry red rosettes standing doubtfully at the foot of the steps. Disregarding Lucius for once, she walked quickly down the steps to greet them.

"Hello. I'm Narcissa Malfoy. My husband and I will be looking after you today." She held out her hand to the man and he took it gingerly – as if he expected it to vanish in a puff of smoke, she thought wryly.

"I'm Mike Granger, and this is my wife, Jean."

Narcissa concealed her momentary shock. Draco had already written several complaints to her about Hermione Granger, whom he described as a "know-it-all Gryffindor Mudblood". Fortunately, Lucius didn't usually read Draco's letters; she hoped he wouldn't make the connection. She turned to introduce him, but he was still standing where she had left him.

"That's my husband, Lucius, there," she said, beckoning to him. Something in their open faces impelled her to be candid with them, and she added in a lowered tone, "I'm sorry. He doesn't like all this; he might be a little unfriendly."

Jean Granger nodded in instant comprehension.

"Hermione told us that some wizards don't like mixing with ordinary people," she said quietly. "It must be difficult when you've had to be secretive for so long."

Narcissa warmed to Mrs Granger's understanding. She began to think the day might not be as awkward as she had feared.

Lucius joined them reluctantly and she introduced their two charges. He inclined his head stiffly in acknowledgement, but did not speak. The two women gave each other a quick look. Jean Granger nodded slightly to Narcissa, and then spoke with enthusiasm.

"It's so wonderful to have this chance to see the school, Mr Malfoy. I'm sure it seems quite ordinary to you, having been a student here yourself, but it's quite unusual for us. It's a beautiful building, and the grounds are lovely. I'm longing to see inside."

Mike Granger chimed in. "I'd like to see the lake. I do some fishing in my spare time, and I think I have a pretty keen eye for a good fishing spot."

Narcissa had a brief, horrifying mental image of Mr Granger fishing up a Merperson or the giant squid, and spoke quickly. "There are quite a few magical creatures that live in the lake. It would be quite dangerous – for them and you – to fish there."

Mike Granger looked taken aback. "Good lord, I never thought of that! I've put my foot in it right at the beginning, haven't I?"

His wife laughed at him. "I told you you would, dear. It's a very different world, and we're complete outsiders. That's why Hermione was so keen to learn everything she could before she came. She didn't want to do exactly what you've just done."

At that moment a small shower of shooting sparks arrested their attention, and all the parents turned to see the Headmaster smiling at them. He spread his arms in an expansive gesture of welcome.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, everyone. I am Professor Dumbledore, the school's Headmaster. Beside me is my able assistant, Professor McGonagall, whom some of you will know from her visit to your home when your child's acceptance letter was brought to you.

"It is delightful to see so many Muggles here, and I'm sure all the magical parents will do their best to make them feel at home. Later, you will have some time to explore the school and the grounds, although for your own safety I must insist that you remain in the company of your guides. They know all the dangers and pitfalls you might encounter, and will ensure you do not get lost.

"Firstly, however, we shall all go to the Great Hall for an icebreaker activity. Magical parents, would you please escort your Muggle charges to the Hall and take a seat at one of the tables? Each table has a different activity, and you may choose any table."

Narcissa led the way into the Hall, with the Grangers following closely and Lucius stalking along in the rear. The Hall had been set up with a series of tables dotted around, each with four chairs at it. She chose the nearest, and they all sat down.

In the centre of the table was a thick spellbook, half-concealed by a sealed envelope. They looked at it – Narcissa with mild interest, the two Grangers with intense curiosity, and Lucius with studied boredom. Narcissa sighed inwardly. Dearly though she loved her husband, there were times when she wished he were less haughty.

As the groups settled at their tables, Dumbledore clapped his hands for attention. The room fell quiet.

"In the centre of each table," he explained beamingly, "is a different challenge, described in the sealed envelope. You will need to work as a team to complete the challenge, and there will be prizes for the first team to finish their task. When completed, your magical guides must send up green sparks, and a staff member will come to check your results. If you have any questions, please send up red sparks. You may begin."

Narcissa reached for the envelope, unsealed it, and read the instructions aloud.

"The spellbook on your table has been enchanted so that its text is visible only to Muggles. Only one spell is visible, and it will fade within ten seconds of opening the book, thereafter remaining invisible until the book has been fully closed (with no marker inserted) for at least one minute. On re-opening, it will then be visible for up to another ten seconds before fading again. You will be able to open the book as many times as you wish. Muggle team members must read and remember the spell's ingredients and repeat them to the magical team members, who must discover each ingredient concealed somewhere in the Hall. Your task is complete when all the ingredients are assembled on the table in the order in which they appear in the spell."

Narcissa looked enquiringly at the other three. "Do you have any questions?"

Mr and Mrs Granger shook their heads.

"No, that all seems quite straightforward," said Mike Granger. "We have to read the ingredients, tell you what they are, and you have to find them."

"And I suppose they'll be things we've never heard of," added his wife. "That will make it harder to read them quickly enough, before the writing fades."

Narcissa nodded. "I expect so," she agreed. "Mrs Granger, would you like to begin? We need to find where in the book the one visible spell is, to begin with."

"Oh, please, call me Jean," she entreated. "And Mike would much prefer to be Mike. After all, we're not going to have time to stand on ceremony while we're doing this, are we?"

"I expect we shan't. So please call me Narcissa, too. And," with a quick sideways glance which nevertheless detected a slight relaxing of his expression, "Lucius for my husband, of course."

Mike Granger looked at her quizzically, and she nodded. He accepted her unspoken confirmation and leaned toward Jean, who was already thumbing through the spellbook looking for writing.

"Too slow, darling. It'll fade before we find it. Here," he took the book from her and began fanning through the pages, watching closely as he did so.

"There!" they both suddenly shouted together, but Mike had already fanned past it and they had to flick back several pages. Narcissa, of course, could see nothing but blank parchment, so could only wait until they were ready. They had found the page by now, but before they had time to do more than take in the name of the spell, it had gone. They groaned in unison.

"I'll try again. I think it was about two-thirds of the way through the book," said Mike. "We need to remember that, so we're not spending all our ten seconds trying to find it each time."

He found it more quickly the second time, and Jean began reading.

"A Potion to Promote Harmony Between Neighbours," she read. "When there is constant friction between…oh wait, I don't need to read that. Here we are – ingredients. Essence of…oh, it's gone, bother it."

She closed the book and looked at Narcissa. "It looked like essence of myrtle, Narcissa. Would that be right?"

"Essence of Murtlap," Lucius put in curtly.

Narcissa agreed. "Almost certainly, I'd say. Lucius, perhaps you could look for that while Mike and Jean find out the next ingredient?"

Lucius rose reluctantly. He had promised Narcissa he would be civil at this event and he knew she wouldn't call his current attitude civil. But at least while he was away from the table, he thought, he wasn't being expected to make conversation with the Muggles.

When he returned with the Murtlap, Narcissa had gone looking for a pinch of powdered bezoar, and Mike and Jean were eagerly reading the third ingredient.

"Oh, I know this one," exclaimed Jean. "Aloe barbadensis – that's aloe vera. Lucius, would you – ?"

He nodded abruptly, and left them waiting the requisite minute until they could open the book again. As he passed Narcissa on her way back to the table she smiled at him, and he grimaced sardonically in return.

When Narcissa arrived at the table, Jean was struggling to make out the next ingredient as the letters faded. "Nux mysti…mystery…it was something like nux mystrica, Narcissa."

"Nux Myristica, Jean. It's a magical form of Muggle nutmeg."

Jean looked at her in astonishment. "How do you know that? I thought you were – " She stopped abruptly.

"You thought I was one of the magical folk who don't have anything to do with Muggles," Narcissa said quietly. "I know. Lucius is, of course, and Draco, my son. So are most of my family, but my sister Andromeda married a Muggle. I lost touch with her, but I never felt quite right about hating her as the rest of the family did. It's been…difficult."

Jean squeezed Narcissa's hand sympathetically. "It must have been!"

"Please don't say anything to Lucius," Narcissa said hurriedly, pulling her hand away as she saw her husband returning. "I have to stand by him, even though I don't agree with everything he thinks."

Mike and Jean nodded understandingly, and turned quickly back to the spellbook as Lucius dropped the aloe vera on the table and resumed his seat.

"Three drops of belladonna," Jean read out next, and looked at Lucius. "Is that the same as our belladonna?"

"I wouldn't know," he answered stiffly. Narcissa frowned at him, and he looked away. No doubt there would be an argument later, he thought; Narcissa didn't very often disagree with him, but when she did she did so forcefully. He rose abruptly. "I'll go and look for it."

Mike was looking at his watch. "Twenty-five seconds," he murmured. As soon as the minute was up, he quickly opened the spellbook again.

"Mandrake leaves," he announced triumphantly, almost drowning out his wife's simultaneous call of "Dittany."

"I'll look for the mandrake leaves," promised Narcissa. "Tell Lucius to find the dittany when he comes back."

"There was just one more, I think," said Jean, "but it looked like another strange one. We'll check it while you're gone."

Narcissa left them, and the two Muggles took the opportunity to look around them while they waited for the spellbook to be ready again. Jean looked up at the bright blue ceiling with its drifting cumulus clouds, and said to her husband, "I know Hermione told us about the ceiling of the Great Hall being enchanted to look like the sky outside, but you really have to see it, don't you?"

Mike agreed. "It must be difficult for her to fit in, to be honest. I mean, all this – " he waved his arm in a gesture which encompassed the ceiling, the suits of armour, the magical folk in their cloaks and hats, and Professor Dumbledore at the high table, with his trailing beard and unusual clothing, "it's hard to get your head around, isn't it? It's really no wonder lots of ordinary folk are scared of magical people and the magical ones feel scornful of us."

Jean nodded vigorously. "That's why today is such a good idea. By mixing both sorts together, and finding out that we're really not that different deep down, there's the chance for better understanding on both sides."

Mike chuckled. "I don't think it's having that effect on Lucius. He seems determined to treat us like a bad smell."

"We'll see," Jean twinkled at him. "There's still most of the day left."

"What have you got in mind?" her husband demanded suspiciously.

"Nothing – yet," she retorted. "But you can jolly well back me up if I do come up with anything. I'm pretty sure Narcissa will."

"I think you're right there. I felt quite sorry for her when she was talking about her sister. That whole upper-crust notion of cutting off the people who betray your ideas of what's proper must have been responsible for a lot of unhappiness over time – especially among the women who felt duty-bound to stand by their menfolk."

He broke off as he saw both Lucius and Narcissa approaching the table again, and quickly started flipping through the pages of the spellbook.

Jean smiled apologetically as the other two sat down. "I'm afraid we've been marvelling at the Hall and talking about how good it is to see the things Hermione has described to us, and forgotten about our task," she said disarmingly.

Mike had found the recipe and the last ingredient. "Left-handed n-nazle powder," he read out hesitantly.

"Nasal powder?" queried his wife.

"N-a-z-l-e," spelt out Narcissa quickly, realising what Jean had thought. "In the correct quantity it makes people change to being left-handed, but a pinch of it in a potion like this would simply act as an aid to making them change their thinking."

"Oh," said Jean blankly. "Goodness me, it's quite complicated, isn't it?"

Narcissa agreed. "Yes, it can be. Potions are very precise, and a small change can make a big difference to the result."

"We still don't have the dittany yet," reminded Mike. "Lucius, could you find that, please, and Narcissa, would you look for the nazle powder?"

Narcissa nodded, and nudged her husband. He inclined his head in silent assent and they left the table together.

"I've got an idea," murmured Jean, "but I need to talk to Narcissa on her own for a couple of minutes. Can you delay Lucius somehow?"

Mike looked doubtful. "I'll do my best, but he's not very responsive."

He rose and headed toward Lucius, who was at the far end of the Hall. Jean beckoned to Narcissa as she was passing the table. Narcissa paused.

"What is it, Jean?"

"Sit down for a moment, Narcissa. I want to ask you something."

Narcissa pulled out her chair. "Yes?"

Jean hesitated, then took the plunge. "I want to thank you for being so helpful. I can see it's hard when Lucius is so reluctant, and I thought – well, I thought you and I might make a sort of gesture of friendliness. Could we perhaps exchange our rosettes, so that I keep yours and you keep mine? We may never meet again, but it would be nice to know that we had that connection with each other." She hurried through the last words, feeling a little embarrassed by Narcissa's level gaze. Was she presuming too much?

Narcissa said nothing for a few moments, and then her face relaxed in a smile. "That's really a very nice thought, Jean. And Lucius could never find out, could he?"

"That's what I thought. They're all exactly the same; only you and I would know we'd swapped. And the colour is quite symbolic, I think – it's the fire and spirit of red, but the sweetness of the cherry-pinkness. We're being a bit defiant, but in a nice way."

Narcissa was startled by Jean's words. It was exactly how she had felt about the rosette when standing on the front steps waiting for the coach to arrive. She had defied Lucius in insisting they come today, and now, by forming even a small bond with the Grangers, she felt as if she were defying Draco too. But somehow this exchange with a Muggle made her feel as if, in a very small way, she were reconnecting with Andromeda.

For Narcissa, that was a very sweet thought indeed.