Chapter 25

Elsa was released from the Hospital Wing later that afternoon. The Potion for Dreamless Sleep had fulfilled its task magnificently. She felt well rested and ready to return to her regular school life. Then again, maybe she wasn't returning to her regular school life. Everyone now knew the secret she'd been concealing for more than six years and, far from fearing or rejecting her, they just about adored her for it. She now had more friends than she'd ever imagined and she'd mended her relationship with her little sister. She'd be starting over with Hogwarts and Hogwarts would be starting over with her.

Madam Potts put a Levitation Charm on the pile of gifts from Elsa's admirers and bid Elsa goodbye before rushing to the aid of Aurora Briar, who at that moment began stirring and muttering something that sounded vaguely like "Phillip". As Elsa left the Hospital Wing with all of her gifts hovering around her, she heard Madam Potts say to Aurora, "I'll send for him right away, dearest."

Elsa felt at peace with the world as she walked to Ravenclaw Tower. To someone who had struggled so much inside for half her life, this was the strangest feeling in the world. Fear, confusion, and (she might as well admit it) bitterness had all been such frequent occurrences to her that she actually had to remind herself that, strange though it seemed, all was finally right with the world.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she had to bite her tongue to prevent herself screaming when she turned a corner and walked into someone who was so small, they just barely reached her midsection.

"Oops," she said when she looked down and saw who it was. "Sorry, Professor Mode."

Professor Mode straightened her large glasses, which had gone askew when she collided with Elsa, and suddenly beamed when she looked up and saw who had walked into her.

"DAHLING!" She shouted so loudly that her voice echoed throughout the corridor. She then jumped up, seized Elsa by the shoulders with a surprisingly firm grip, pulled her down into a squat so that their eye levels matched, and began kissing Elsa on both cheeks.

"Uh, it's nice to see you too, Professor," said Elsa in an uncomfortable tone that Mode did not seem to notice.

Mode released Elsa and, still beaming, said, "Oh Dahling, you could not have caught me in a finer mood!"

Somehow Elsa did not doubt this.

"I just finished repairing the Ravenclaw Common Room! And it turned out so beautiful, you would never have guessed that it was ever destroyed by fire!"

Elsa snickered. "Well that's very good news."

Barely listening, Mode continued, "And believe me, I took great pains to do it all too. It has almost completely confiscated my life, Dahling! I still had a mountain of homework from third-years that needed to be graded, not to mention I hadn't even started reading the fifth-years work! They're my top priority right now what with O.W.L.'s coming up soon. But I was not going to let the students from my own house be subjected to a life of sleeping in tacky sleeping bags in the Great Hall! Especially you, Dahling, having just being released from the Hospital Wing! No, Dahling! Our school hero deserves the best and so does her house!"

She had said all of this in one breath.

Elsa, whose eyes had gone as round as remembralls, simply said, "I'm flattered, Professor. Really, I am. Thank you."

"Oh Dahling, it was merely a trifle!" said Mode. "You will die when you see what we have planned for you in the Great Hall tonight!"

Elsa looked bewildered. Before she could ask for more information, Mode held up a hand as though to silence her.

"No, Dahling! I won't say anymore here! You will see for yourself tonight! Now go on. I must go and finish decorating." She said the last statement in an unusually casual tone.

As Elsa and her floating gifts continued on their way, her immediate thought was of the strangely happy mood Professor Mode appeared to be in. Mode had gotten overly excited about various things before, but what she had just displayed was bizarre even for her. But then Elsa remembered the motivational lecture Mode had given her the first night of term. She thought of how Mode had said that she herself had been Head Girl in her day, even though she had been as much of an outsider as Elsa, and how she had ignored naysayers and showed them that she had what it took to be a school leader. Considering this, maybe Mode's attitude was just after all. It was so simple. She was proud of Elsa. Proud that she had saved Hogwarts from peril. Proud that she had overcome being an outcast. Proud that she had searched inside and found her fighting spirit. Mode might have had an eccentric way of showing it, but she was proud nonetheless.

Not much later, she finally arrived at the familiar door atop that winding staircase. She reached out one of her hands, thinking how strange it was that it was not in a glove, and rapped on the door.

"What can thaw a frozen heart?" asked the eagle-shaped knocker.

This question seemed a little too appropriate, but Elsa knew the perfect answer.

"An act of true love," she said with a smile. "I should know," she thought to herself. "That's what thawed my frozen heart."

"Both insightful and sentimental," replied the knocker, and the door swung open.

With her possessions right behind her, Elsa walked into the common room, which had indeed been restored to its former glory, and the chattering Ravenclaws inside suddenly went silent. Every head turned to face Elsa as she slowly walked to the staircase to the dormitories. She humbly looked from one side of the room to the other and smiled a bit bashfully, though no one screamed or applauded. They merely smiled in return. Some people even sat down into chairs as she passed them as though displaying respect for her. Perhaps they knew she'd already gotten enough attention and glory from her friends and Professor Mode and did not want to burden her with more. Ravenclaws were always so intuitive.

She found Belle and Rapunzel standing at the bottom of the staircase.

"Hi," said Rapunzel. "Feeling better?"

Elsa nodded. "Yeah," she said simply. "I think I'd just like some privacy."

"Not quite accustomed to being school hero yet, are we?" said Belle, teasingly raising an eyebrow.

Elsa chuckled. "Can't say that I am."

"Go on then," said Belle, gesturing up towards the dormitories.

"And be sure not to be late for dinner," said Rapunzel, a little slyly.

The moment Elsa was in the familiar dormitory, she waved her wand once and the Levitation Charm on her gifts lifted. The flowers, sweets, and giant stuffed polar bear placed themselves at the foot of her bed, which she threw herself onto and felt relief for the first time as she got lost in her thoughts.

A couple of hours later, she lifted her head from her pillow and looked out one of the graceful arched windows. It was dark now. It must have been nearly time to go down to dinner. Elsa had almost completely lost track of time. She decided it was time to go down to the Great Hall and see what exactly was waiting for her there.

As she arose from her bed, a familiar airy voice spoke to her from thin air.

"Well, you've mastered your powers well enough, but you have much to learn about punctuality."

The Grey Lady appeared, her eyebrows raised and her lips curled into a relative smile.

Elsa chuckled. "Hello."

"How are you feeling?" asked the Grey Lady.

"Very well, thanks." Elsa could not remember the last time she had said this and actually meant it.

"I realize by now you must have heard this more times than can be counted," said the ghost. "But well done, Elsa. I can honestly say that I've never been prouder of one of our own."

Elsa shrugged modestly. "Well it's not like I did it on my own. I needed to be persuaded by you, by Anna, and by my friends. Not like I was doing any of it on my own. Besides, how did any of it make you proud? I was using my powers, not 'wit beyond measure' or any of that other…"

"Who's to say you were simply acting on someone else's orders?" the Grey Lady asked seriously. "Your friends and I were offering encouragement, not persuasion. Because we knew you were capable and we wanted you to see what we could see."

Elsa shrugged again, not entirely convinced.

"And if it's any consolation," the ghost continued, "I am not proud of you simply because of your heroic actions. In fact, I would say that's the least of it."

Elsa winced. "You're definitely the first person to say that."

Ignoring this statement, the Grey Lady said, "As far as I'm concerned, Elsa, what makes you truly admirable is how much you have learned throughout your struggles."

Suddenly feeling bewildered, Elsa looked the Grey Lady full in the face. "What are you talking about?"

The Grey Lady shook her head slowly. "Is it not plain to see?" she asked, sounding almost amused. "After all these years of self pity and rejection, you've finally learned to accept yourself and to discover who you are and what you're capable of. There is great beauty in your gift, Elsa. And now that you've learned that for yourself, you must now be the true Ravenclaw that you are and share the knowledge you've acquired with the entire world."

A small smile formed on Elsa's face at these words. Once again, the Grey Lady had shown the remarkable quality of making her look at a situation in a way that nobody else could.

"How can I do that?" Elsa asked eagerly.

The Grey Lady looked back at her and patiently replied, "Once again, I can only say that you'll know how when the time comes. Now, you'd best be on your way. I will see you in the Great Hall."

She then turned away and glided through a wall on the opposite side of the room. Elsa heeded her advice and made her own way down to the Great Hall, still wondering what she would find when she got there. She walked down the endless parade of staircases and finally arrived at the Great Hall. She could hear the usual chattering of her fellow students in the Great Hall and thought nothing could possibly be out of the norm. But then she walked up to the great doors, pushed them open, and, as if on cue, everyone fell silent.

Elsa froze in her tracks and stood in the entrance to the Great Hall without saying a word. Everyone seated at the four House Tables was staring back at her. Several people sitting at the opposite end of the Hall were even standing up to get a better look. And it wasn't just students either. The eyes of all the teachers at the staff table had fallen upon her too. For several seconds, Elsa could only focus on everyone staring at her. Then she noticed that the walls on either side of her were decorated with large banners. To her right, just behind the Ravenclaw table, she saw the Ravenclaw House symbol: blue with a silver raven. To her left, the banners were white and strangely blank. Before she could wonder, of even ask, what these white banners meant, Professor Merlin arose from his seat at the Staff Table.

"Come forward, Elsa, and join me up here." His voice seemed to boom in the awkward silence.

Suddenly feeling nervous, Elsa walked to the front of the Hall between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. She looked around from one side of the Hall to the other. No one took his or her eyes off her as she walked. First years gave her admirable looks. Belle and Rapunzel beamed at her from the Ravenclaw table. Merida winked and clicked her tongue as she passed her. Anna, who was sitting with Kristoff, Tiana, and Charlotte at the Hufflepuff table, reached out a hand to Elsa as she walked by them and the two sisters held hands briefly before Elsa continued on her way. From the Slytherin table, which looked strangely vacant even though only four of its usual occupants were missing, Anastasia waved eagerly at her and Flynn and the rest of the Quidditch team gave her thumbs up. She wondered to herself when the last time that a student had received admiration from all four houses had been.

Before she knew it, she'd reached the staff table. Professor Merlin smiled at her once and then turned his gaze to the rest of the Great Hall. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak.

"Never once in my many years as Headmaster of Hogwarts School have I been more proud of one of my students," he announced. "This evening, we are extremely fortunate to once again be dining under the roof of this Hall. Tonight, we will be just as lucky to be sleeping in our dormitories. And tomorrow, we will be even luckier to be having classes in our classrooms. But were it not for the actions of our Head Girl, Miss Arendelle here, these privileges would be a mere fantasy right now."

Elsa blushed and almost fidgeted. It was all she could do not to.

"I know many of you may find it too remarkable to be true, but it is," Merlin continued. "I have seen this girl endure much since she arrived here more than six years ago. I have seen her hide what makes her special out of fear and shame. I have seen her suffer from verbal abuse at the expense of her fellow students, rather like myself."

For a moment, his eyes fell upon the Slytherin table. Most of them hid their faces, though not to conceal the amusement on their faces. If anything, they seemed to be concealing shame.

"But," Professor Merlin went on, "I am pleased to say that at long last, Miss Arendelle has shown her true colors and in so doing, she has saved us all. I dare say a number of you may now wish that you'd never insulted or criticized her. You know who you are."

Several Slytherins fidgeted in their seats again, even though Merlin was not looking at them.

"I am not here to reprimand you" Merlin assured them. "But I hope now you realize that just because a person is out of step does not mean that they are not capable of doing great things."

At that moment, he approached Elsa and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"And for this reason, it is my sincere pleasure to award Miss Arendelle fifty well-earned House points and a Special Award for Services to the School."

Elsa smiled as every single Ravenclaw broke out into applause. When they fell silent, Merlin turned to face Elsa.

"You have done great things for our school, Elsa," he said. "Hogwarts will remember you long after your graduation. And I dare say the staff would love something to remember you by."

"But of course, Headmaster!" shouted Professor Mode from her seat. "Why do you think I left those banners completely bare? It was a hint! Must I draw you a picture?"

Merlin chuckled. "Thank you, Enda. That will do."

Elsa turned her gaze to the blank white banners on the right side of the Great Hall and understood immediately. She closed her eyes and imagined a perfect new design for those simpled banners. Then she opened her eyes, clapped her hands once, and pointed them at the white banners. In an instant, each one was pale blue and beautifully embroidered with a pattern of sparkling snowflakes. The Great Hall was suddenly buzzing with shouts of "Ooh!" and "Wow!" as the students admired Elsa's artwork.

"Beautiful, Dahling!" Mode shouted at Elsa. "Such use of self expression!"

"Indeed, it is," said Merlin. "We will treasure them forever. We will hang them every year in honor of the greatest Head Girl we have ever known."

"Thank you, Professor," said Elsa humbly.

"No no, my dear," said Merlin. "It is all of us who should be thanking you." He turned again to the Great Hall and said, "Let us all have a round of applause for our hero, Elsa Arendelle."

At the exact same moment, every single student from every table jumped to his or her feet and clapped and cheered so loudly that the walls shook. And it was all for Elsa. First years from all houses, even the Slytherins who had once idolized Hans, began running forward to shake Elsa's hands and she obliged without fearing that she would freeze them. It was more than she could ever imagine. In less than one year, she'd gone from social outcast to most feared person alive to school hero. And she knew just who to thank for it.

She looked over at the Ravenclaw table and, to her relief, saw the Grey Lady hovering a few feet in the air above the students' heads.

"Thank you," Elsa mouthed.

The Grey Lady smiled and joined the rest of the school in applauding their hero.

The End