Hey everyone,
Now there might be a few who will not agree with this, but the next couple of chapters are going to cover the rest of the first week of November. I have plans for several of the classes that Henrietta will have, included her dropping two classes and replacing them with two others. Also, in this story I am going to bash a character that I have never bashed before, at least not in this way. I just wanted to let you all know this in advance.
Sorry, not sorry,

Venquine1990

Chapter 13
Breakfast And Trouble

2nd of November 1994
Private Dorms, Hogwarts
Henrietta's POV

I wake up and, upon recognizing my new private bedroom, a sense of excitement overcomes me. I jump out of bed and hurry to grab my new robes as I rush for the bathroom. I quickly take care of changing into the shirt, robe, skirt, tie, socks, fresh underwear and shoes, brushing my teeth and hair and want to head out when Winky stops me. "Mistress needs to apply make-up and lotions." She tells me and I raise my eyebrow as I ask: "For going to class?"
The elf nods and motions for several bottles I had only subconsciously noticed standing next to my new toothpaste and the cup holding my toothbrush and the make-up bag that appears on the other side of the sink. I shrug and say: "I don't really have time to break into this new set the way the sales witch advised me, Winky, so why don't you apply a small amount to my face while I do the lotion?" Winky nods in happy pride and asks:

"What look would Mistress like?" I shrug and say: "Just a casual one. A little something that does make someone know I wear make-up, but only if they look closely. Nothing that, you know, attracts creeps like Smith from last night." The Elf sends me an understanding nod and then motions for the bottles and the small glass container again as she says: "Mistress will need the white bottle and the white container. Winky suggests container first."
I make sure to follow her advice and while it feels like yet another new thing to rub the cold white cream over my face and rub it in, I continue to follow her advice as she tells me to use the lotion in the bottle on my hands and the bit of my lower legs that is visible between my white socks and my plaited skirt. Winky then snaps her fingers twice and I do feel her magic cover my face the first time and then feel it go over my lips, cheekbones and eyelashes.

"What was that first one for, Winky?" I ask the elf while looking in the mirror and admiring how there is a light coloring to my cheekbones, how my eyelashes look just a tad darker now and how my lips have a bit of a sheen added to them. "Mistress still had bits of cream on her face. Winky made sure the cream was absorbed into Mistress' face properly before Winky applied make-up. But why does Mistress not have perfume?"
I wince and mutter: "We didn't get a chance to buy some yesterday.""If Mistress writes a vow to Goblins, Winky can take vow to Mistress' Account Manager and then Mistress can give Winky access to her gold. Then Winky can buy Mistress perfume." This suggestion really speaks to me and I nod at her as I say: "Fine, but please remember." Winky grins and says: "Winky knows, subtle, like Mistress." And I smile at her for the compliment.
I head out of the bathroom and into the study compartment of my trunk. Winky uses her magic to make some parchment, ink and a quill appear on the gorgeous dark brown oaken desk that is set in there and while I decide to appreciate and admire the rest of the incredible study later, I quickly write down I, Henrietta Juliet Potter, hereby give the House Elf named Winky permission to take money from my vaults for purchases that I ask of her to make for me. On my magic, this I swear.

I hand the note to Winky, who seems to read it over and gives an approving nod before she asks: "Does Mistress have any preferences?" And suddenly I remember Leanne's deliciously smelling shampoo. "I bought a shampoo that smells like peaches. My hair also smells like coconut. See if you can find a perfume that either has similar scents or scents that compliment that." Winky nods and pops out. And as she does, I feel my excitement returning.
I quickly climb out of my trunk, pick up my bag and check my schedule to get the right books out of my old trunk before I dash out of my room. "Mum, dad, good morning." The two are beaming as they see me rush over to them and while I feel a spot of annoyance at how high they are hanging above the fireplace, I raise my arms up as high as possible and push my hands against the canvas. Both of them do the same from their side and mum asks:
"Good morning, my little moonbeam. Slept well?" I nod, my elation rising at her pet name and I answer: "Yeah. I woke up and instantly wanted to come greet you guys. Also, I got a new House Elf friend last night at dinner. Her name's Winky and she helped me packing my new robes last night as well as with my make-up earlier this morning. And now she's out looking for a few perfumes for me. What do you think?"

I know that I am being way more open than I have ever been with Ron or Hermione, but at the same time I can't find it in myself to care. I step back to give my parents a chance to have a good look at my face and the two beam at me as dad says: "It looks great on you, sweetie. It's obviously there, but it's very subtle. A good look for a proper lady of a House." Mum also nods and then suddenly a pair of arms wrap themselves around my waist.
I turn my head and grin widely as I see Cedric, who happily greets me. "Good morning. Ready for classes?" I nod at him and then ask: "I am, though do you think it's possible to reposition my parents' portrait? To the wall between our bedrooms, I mean.""Any reason for this?""I don't want to have to reach up every time I want to greet them. They're up too high." Cedric nods in understanding and says: "We'll do so when we change the decorations."

"Right. Did you think of a possible color scheme?" I ask him as we move over to the couches and chairs set around the fireplace and my parents' portrait. Cedric nods and says: "I was thinking of making the main scheme be my eye color and have the details be in yours. I even copied your brilliant style of showing off what I mean." He pulls a scroll from his backpack, which is on the floor next to us and rolls it open.
The majority of the scroll is indeed grey, but there are also patches of green. I smile at the mix of the two colors even as Cedric coughs and says: "Though to be honest, I also tried playing with other shades of grey and green and thought this one might work too." And he pulls out another scroll, this one also with grey being the main color and green being the secondary, though the shades are quite a bit brighter.
Yet as I look from the second scroll to the walls around me, I still think that the brighter tones are not as bright as the room is now. I look between the two scrolls and hum as I say: "To be honest, I kind of like these shades more." I motion for the second scroll. "What shades are they?" Cedric answers: "They're apparently called dark pastel green and cadet grey. My eye color is apparently slate grey, which really isn't that different from cadet, just a shade or two darker."

I look between the scroll and Cedric and notice that he is right. Yet I can't help but smile as I say: "Maybe. But I prefer this color on the walls and this one to just look at whenever I look at you." Yet as I say this, my face turns beet red and I mentally ask myself: "Where the hell did that nonsense come from?" And while I mentally prepare myself to hear Cedric laugh in my face, he just snickers and pulls me close as he whispers: "Ditto."
And the kiss to the cheek heats my cheeks up for an entirely new reason, even as I feel amazed that Cedric feels touched instead of amused or something. Then two doors I hadn't noticed the other day open and I notice Sirius and Lupin coming out, the two of them instantly getting huge grins on their faces as they spot Cedric and me. I beam back at them and Sirius suggests: "Rita, could you stand up and twirl, please?
I want to see how my goddaughter looks on her first day of school." I nod and move around the couch I'm on. I notice Lupin sending Sirius a strange look, but just ignore it. I twirl on my axe and Sirius nods before he moves closer, a curious look on his face. "You sure did your make-up quite well for this all being your first time.""Winky did it for me. I was really excited over being able to greet my parents and told her I didn't have time to figure it out."

The man nods and Lupin says: "Let's head down for breakfast. I would like to know if Parvati and Lavender managed to reassure Hermione and whether or not they thought of a more long-term solution for her fears." I nod at this and yet, as I grab my own backpack and Cedric joins us heading out, I greet my parents and then ask: "By the way, what was your talk with McGonagall about the other night? After Ced and I went to bed?"
"Glad you asked, Rhy. We decided to discuss that whole 150 point thing and the lie she sold you back then. Though there was also a bit of conflict between us that will probably be resolved at breakfast. Apparently you were supposed to have detention at 2 with Hagrid and Sprout, but afterwards Hagrid told Minerva that he had taken over. She's going to question him about that now that she knows about the dragon and that you sent it to Charlie."
I can't help but grimace at this and Cedric asks: "She's not going to like the answer, is she?" "I doubt any of you are. Hagrid wasn't lying, he did take over. But – we never knew our detention was in the afternoon. Hermione, Neville, Malfoy and I all got notes telling us that the detention would be at night and that Filch would pick us up. Also –." I take a deep breath and speak as I release it: "Itwasinthe-forbiddenforestandinvolvedaunicornkillerthatturnedouttobeVoldemort."

The others all stare at me as we walk and Lupin mutters: "I hardly understood any of that other than forest, involved, killer and Voldemort – and that doesn't reassure me." I wince and almost whisper: "I said, It was in the Forbidden Forest and involved a unicorn killer that turned out to be Voldemort." This makes all of the others falter and I wince again. But then Sirius starts to march and he growls: "Let's go. Minerva needs to rip Hagrid a new one before I do."
And to my shock I see Cedric and Lupin nodding in agreement as they start to march after the man. I quickly hurry after them myself. And yet even before we reach the Great Hall, I already hear the same strange accent and dialect that McGonagall used the other night when she was ripping into dad. Sirius, Lupin and Cedric share a smirk and we head down the last set of stairs and into the Great Hall. And in the hall, there really is a sight to see.

Hagrid might be the largest kind of person I have ever seen, Madam Maxime not included, but he almost looks as small as Professor Flitwick as he winces and cringes away from McGonagall, whose anger makes her look twice as tall as he normally is. The woman's bun is entirely undone and her hair is even slightly floating around her head, as if her magic is emulating her emotions around her form and causing a breeze to blow through her hair.
Her cloths are also very much ruffled and seem to be caught in the effects of her raging magic, just like her hair, yet it's the woman's eyes that really catch my attention. The woman has always been able to express her emotions through her gaze, even if it was a really stern and disappointed gaze more often than anything else. Yet even while I am on the other side of the Great Hall, I can see the raging fury in her sharp green eyes.
I have definitely seen the woman look furious a few times now and she made me think that she was either about to explode or spit fire. Yet this time the woman might not really resemble a dragon, her anger actually makes her look scarier than she has ever looked before. I can't help but feel utterly glad that I'm not on the receiving end of her anger and yet I also feel very grateful that the woman is feeling this furious at my expense.

But then my gratitude is smashed and replaced by Hagrid, who whimpers: "But Professor, at least Harry was able to take it. Which is why we should change him back. Harry is better as Harry than as this – this – this girl." Tears pool in my eyes, my heart beats painfully in my chest, my whole body starts to tremble and I just want to turn around and dash out. The only thing stopping me is McGonagall who shouts:
"EXPULSO!" And her rage actually fuels her magic enough that her spell is powerful enough to make the man get launched off his feet alongside his chair. He gets slammed against the wall just off the side of the door to the antechamber and even cries out as the chair gets crushed between his own form and the wall behind him. He falls down and the cracked chair bits and hundreds of splinters land on top of him, certain parts already stuck in his back.

"Twipsie, get Hagrid to the Hospital Wing. Inform Poppy what happened and then tell her to only close his wounds, but not treat him otherwise. He does not deserve the full scale of her skill." These words coming from Dumbledore make me wish that Hagrid was conscious as I know how much the large man admires the Headmaster and how hurt he would have been if he had heard it. Yet I only need to look at Lupin to know this will soon happen.
Dumbledore then notices us and he and McGonagall move around the Head Table before they rush over to us. And while a lot of students move away and a few even wince in fright as McGonagall passes them, the man is the first to reach me. He gently moves his hand up my cheek and only then I realize that I am actually crying. I want to angrily wipe the tears away, but the man seems to know this as he says: "Don't, Rita. Let them flow."
"He doesn't deserve them." I mutter as I try to make a non-existent sense of anger overcome the pain and hurt that makes my heart beat painfully inside my chest. "No, but you do deserve to grieve over a friendship that got ended so abruptly." Dumbledore's words make me sigh as they allow me to just give up on my attempt to get angry. The man notices this as he gives me a smile that conveys both relief and pride before he says:

"And besides that, I, Albus Percival Ignatius Brian Dumbledore, hereby accept Lady Henrietta Juliet Potter as my ward and charge. From this day forth, I will use all of my wisdom, experience and strength of mind, heart, magic and soul to see her, her future and the future of House Potter prosper as best I can. My magic is hers as is my heart as she, in my heart, is my grandchild, for now and forever. So I swear, so mote it be."
The whole hall is silent and several people are, like myself, gaping at the man thanks to the end of his oath. The man gently pulls me close against his form and whispers: "I said the same thing the first time Lily and James allowed me to hold you in my arms, my dear little one. It has always been this way." And this time a few tears of caring gratitude fall down my cheeks as I return the short embrace before the man lets go again.

He gives me a warm smile and says: "In you go, dear. It's time for breakfast." I nod at him, but then Professor McGonagall asks: "Mss. Potter, may I have your schedule, please?" I hand it to her while I feel confused at the same time. The woman taps the small bit of parchment with her wand and hands it back as she says: "There, I removed ComC from your schedule. With a teacher that detrimental to your health, I can't let you continue to sit his class."
"Can the same count for her friends, Professor?" A new voice suddenly asks and I notice that my friends are all standing on the top of the small staircase that separates the Grand Staircase from the Entrance Hall. I also notice Hermione standing intriguingly close to Fred for some reason, but I ignore this as McGonagall says: "Only if Professor Hagrid proves that his opinion of Mss. Potter interferes with his ability to teach properly.
If he, say, purposely ignores you in class, interrogates you on topics not covered in his class or fails you without reason, you will be allowed to leave his class and I will clear it from your schedule, but only then." The others nod and I grimace as my mind is already envisioning the man doing exactly that, yet at the same time my heart is trying to convince me that Hagrid wouldn't do such a thing. But then I shake my head and think:
"He would sink that low. He already did. Harry is dead and with him – a friendship died." My eyes shut themselves tightly, but this allows me to sense the presence that is Cedric standing next to me all the more. The tenseness in how I keep my eyes closed lessens slightly and I reach out instinctively. My tenseness relaxes a bit more as Cedric takes my hand in his and, like last night, gives it another gentle and reassuring squeeze.

I open my eyes again and motion for the others to follow me inside. We all retake our seats from the previous day and Cedric says: "Let's just make it a weekly thing, but agree that we will sit on the other table in case of our current one acting like jerks or disrupting our meal." Everyone nods and as we pile some food on our plates – or in my case in a bowl – I turn to Hermione and ask: "Feeling better?" The girl happily nods and then shocks me. "I'm betrothed."
Instantly my eyes turn to Fred, who nods and George says: "It's one of the best ways to keep her safe. Once dad has made the whole thing official, Hermione will be allowed one of the Heiress rings like Ginny, which will work similar to yours, though the warning system will work differently. One of our ancestors put a special kind of protection rune on the rings that are family secrets." I nod at this, yet also wonder if my family has secrets like that.

Then suddenly I notice that Hedwig is flying towards me, yet she's not alone. Another owl, this one looking incredibly regal and quite powerful thanks to the way he flaps his wings as he flies, fly in my direction. The other owl actually guides Hedwig into gently lowering the huge and heavy tome that they're carrying onto the table. I also notice a note stuck to one side of the tome and pull it loose while Cedric uses magic to release the owls of their burden.
Only when he tries this with Hedwig, the owl caws at him and even snaps at the tip of his wand. "She doesn't like wands aimed at her. I never really got to find out why, but she prefers personal touch. As long as you keep your wand out of sight, she'll let you untie that book from her." Yet Cedric grimaces at this and says: "That's not a risk I can always take. Some rivaling house might try to send me something cursed. I'd need to check that first."

Yet as I suspected Hedwig takes this really personally and loudly lets Cedric know this. The boy winces and I roll my eyes as I say: "Okay, lesson number two in how to treat Hedwig. Never underestimate how protective she is. I'm basically her young; she'll never accept anything she thinks might hurt me, regardless of method or anything." Cedric mutters an apology to Hedwig, while Hermione leans over the table to release her.
Hedwig gently and gratefully hoots at Hermione over this and flies over to land on her shoulder. She takes a few strands of hair in her beak and gently moves them to be stuck behind the girl's ears before she flies off again. I want to open the note and see what it says, but then notice that a shadow has come to rise over me partially. I turn around and notice that a girl who seems to be in Cedric's year and who is also a Hufflepuff, standing there.
"So Cedric, are you done with Potter and her ridiculous ways yet? If so, there's always room next to me at the Hufflepuff table. You know, where you belong." The girl puts on a tone to emphasize the last few words, but Cedric only rolls his eyes and mutters: "Get lost, Marrendelle." Yet the girl seems to ignore this as she just giggles and says: "You know, I made sure to come to breakfast early today. I prepared your favorite. Just come join me, Ceds."

I raise my eyebrow and think: "Ceds? Really?" But Cedric just continues to ignore her and fills my goblet with a spot of orange juice. Yet I also notice a familiar gleam in his eyes, familiar thanks to the three years I've spent around the Weasley twins. I instantly know he's up to something and get proven right. Cedric pulls out his wand and says: "Mr. Weasley taught me and my dad this one." And he conjures two straws.
He holds them up for me, but he also tightens his grip as the girl tries to snatch one out of his hands. "Share your meal with me, Rhy?" He asks, the fact that he is tightly holding onto both straws to keep the girl from taking one of them the only sign that he is giving to acknowledge her. I smile and reach out for the straw that the girl isn't trying to pull out of his hand. And to the shocked shriek of the girl, Cedric easily lets go of it.

"Give that here! THAT'S MINE!" The girl demands of me, but I just put the straw in the goblet as I decide to follow Cedric's example. Even though at the same time my mind constantly comes up with several comebacks to the girl's demeaning and demanding comments and statements, I just keep calm. But then the girl pulls her own wand and snarls: "Evanesco!" And to the annoyance of both Cedric and myself, the orange juice disappears.
"Hah." The girl exclaims and sends me a look as if she's trying to say I win. I just raise my eyebrow at her and then decide to just get a little bit even. "I'm sorry, who are you exactly?" I ask and the girl almost falls over as she falters while wanting to walk away. "I mean, I see Cedric around quite often as he seems to have an easy schedule and really likes the outdoors, but – I don't think I've ever seen you in the usual group of friends he has with him at those times."

The girl gapes at me and I let her for a few minutes before I shrug and say: "No answer, huh? I guess you really are a nobody then. Okay, back to my meal. I got classes to get to." And as I say this, I notice that Professor Sprout and the Headmaster have come to join us. "And so do you, Mss. Marrendelle. And the fact that you are continuing this obnoxious and humiliating behavior instead of respecting Mr. Diggory's betrothal really is the worst.
Leave now, before I start taking points." And while the woman doesn't threaten with detention, her look alone proves that Marrendelle shouldn't try to make her either. Marrendelle spots this and cringes away from her Head of House before she retreats back to her table. Yet she also makes the Professor snarl her name again as she uses her wand to make the plate set next to her flip over, the flip causing for a loud racket of golden metal hitting wood.

"Thanks for that." Cedric whispers at me and I ask: "Seriously, who is she?""Marrendelle, though most people call her the Gold Digger. You know how Zabini's Mother has the nickname the Black Widow, because her husbands keep dying mysterious deaths and leaving her their fortune? So far, bar myself and a few others, Marrendelle has dated almost everyone who has been popular at any point in time in the past six years.
She was definitely interested in me, or better said in dating me because I was popular, but she was also starting to drop hints of thinking that Harry was – growing up nicely. I guess now that she can't have the Boy-Who-Lived, she decided to, as she'd probably see it, get back at Henrietta by stealing Cedric away from her. Or something like that.""Okay Cedric, quick question. How are you so good at reading these people?"

Hermione asks and Cedric sighs and takes a bite of his egg and cheese sandwich before he says: "Mum taught me the whole thing before I went to Hogwarts. It's something most Purebloods are told, though a lot of them also explain this to Muggleborns once they start noticing the signs, if you know what I mean. It might be a bit later, but it used to be so that Muggleborns weren't warned until after they dated the wrong sort first, at least once."
Hermione and I both wince at this and Hermione mutters: "I guess it's better than nothing." Fred leans close to her and whispers something in her ear that cheers her up. The girl nods at the twin and yet their interaction makes me turn to George. The lad shrugs, a happy grin on his face and I turn back to one of my best friends as I finally ask a question that's been on my mind for the duration of breakfast. "How did this happen?"

The girl giggles and says: "Last night, the Chasers explained to me about rings and how they work and how they are bestowed upon both families and people who, in various possible ways, can sort of become part of said families. They explained me about becoming a Daughter of the House, which is basically another word for Vassal. But as I fell asleep and dreamed, my subconscious let me know it was more interested in betrothal.
So I woke up and talked with Lavender and Parvati for a moment. Apparently the Patils are known to, like, represent people if they consider a bond like this, though they usually work between one person and a large family." Hermione turns to look at Parvati, her gaze obviously silently asking the other girl if she wants to take over, but Parvati shakes her head. So Hermione goes on: "They get to know that family along with the person in question.
Then, like with the Weasley bros and me, they meet with the two parties and – well, normally they would explain to the family why this person would make a welcome addition to the family and tell said person about the benefits and detriments of entering a bond with various family members. And Parvati really proved her skill in this field. She knew both incredible pro's and cons for going into a betrothal contract with Charlie – I know, still – Percy, Fred and Ron."

This makes me turn to George, but then I notice that he has one of his hands on the table and that it's interlinked with Angelina's. I turn back to Hermione, who nods and yet I can't help but say: "I get it so far, but – no offense, I kind of thought you'd be with Ron." This seems to startle both my best friends and then Ron groans and he asks Hermione: "Are we really going to have to explain to every-bloody-one that we're more like siblings?"
"I guess so, yes." Hermione mumbles and I give her a sheepish grin. "So, you and Fred?" I ask as I decide to just get back at the original topic and the girl nods as a beaming smile grows on her face at the question. This is something I take as a great sign and then Fred says: "What's more, George and I burned our plans." I look shocked and confused and my friend elaborates: "Over summer, we started thinking up our own line of Love Potions.

They would have only caused infatuation, depending on how much you ingest, but we were arrogant and we didn't think that anyone would dare to use them to target someone we cared for. Last night we got proven wrong, so we decided not to take the risk. We took all of our plans and designs and burned them in the grate." I really want to appreciate this, but something about it bugs me. And Cedric actually voices my concerns.
"Why not just let someone keep it secret? You know, a Potions Master of sort. I mean, sure Snape's a bit of a git, but he is considered the youngest Potions Master of the Century for a reason. He surely would have kept the recipe secret until such time it was safe." But the twins shake their heads and Fred mutters: "As long as there is anyone who would want to hurt one of us by breaking us apart from within.""We can't take that risk."
Cedric and I grimace at this and while I really admire the twins, a silky voice suddenly sounds behind me. "An admirable belief, Misters Weasley. But you must not let this fear of yours consume you. It will only hamper you in the long run. Try to find any kind of medium or compromise. And if you ever have another recipe you do not wish to publish, please follow Mr. Diggory's advice. I will ensure that it never sees the light of day."

I feel shocked that Snape had been behind us this whole time and amazed that he didn't give Cedric grieve over insulting him. I turn to face him and the man turns to me as well as he says: "Mss. Potter, I am aware that you no longer have ComC and agree with your Head of House and her decision. However, I expect you in Potions for the third period, understood?" I nod at the man, who curtly nods back and leaves as he says:
"You lot best hurry. You may have a free period now, but your peers do not.""Right, my first class was Care. You guys better get going." I tell Ron and Hermione, who both grimace and Ron asks: "Is it wrong that I purposely want to be late?" But while she is now betrothed to a prankster, this seems to be too much for Hermione's love of authority and classes. And so, just like so many other times before now, the two leave while squabbling.

The others also wolf down the last bits of their own breakfast and Cedric even gently gives me a kiss on the cheek as a greeting before they all, bar Sirius and Lupin, leave the Great Hall. Though Cedric does falter halfway through getting up and turns to Sirius as he says: "Keep her safe." Sirius gives the lad a solemn nod and says: "I'll personally walk her to Potions, don't worry." I want to roll my eyes, but I just grin widely instead.
The three of us then calmly finish our own bit of breakfast and, with the large tome tucked under my arm and the letter in my backpack, we track back to the private chambers. The canvas is, naturally, empty as we arrive and I give a gentle knock to the canvas. Mum enters it a moment later and I say: "Cedric and I decided on a new password the other night. Palettes of the future." The woman beams at me and her canvas opens.

Yet after I walk in, Winky appears and says: "Mistress, Winky is done buying Mistress' new perfume. Does Mistress want to try it?" I hum in thought for a moment, but then I say: "No Winky, we'll leave that for Friday. There are plans for Saturday that will make a perfect chance for me to show off my new perfume. Let's practice on Friday and make sure that people can smell it, without it overwhelming them on Saturday.
After that, I will start to wear it from time to time when I feel like it or at important events, alright?" The Elf seems to really agree with this and yet before she can pop away, I ask: "Also, I'm going to write a small note with the new password on it. Could you copy that, enchant it so it can only be read by those I ask you to deliver it to and then deliver it to them? I don't want them accidentally using an old password when they want to come and hang out."
"Winky will do that. Winky will use Potter Elf magic to keep password safe. Mistress will not need to write down password. Winky will make sure that friends of Mistress will know new password. What is new password and who are friends of Mistress?" Amazement and awe fill me up at the great variety of power and magic that Winky can make use of and I think: "And Hermione thought they were weak and underdeveloped creatures."

I want to shake my head at this, but just ignore it for now and say: "The new password is Palettes of the future. You can let Fred, George, Ron and Ginny Weasley know this, alongside Hermione Granger, Neville, Longbottom Lee Jordan, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet. I do have other friends, but I'd like to keep it to this group for now. Also, see if Cedric wants you to do the same for friends of his that might be in other years or Houses."
Winky nods and pops out of the room. Yet I notice that the others are all looking at me worried. I frown and say: "I am not going to hide away or use these chambers as a getaway or something of the sort. I have my friends and I will open my doors for them. I am not going to seclude them just because there are assholes walking around these halls. That's a mentality that Voldemort tried to implement back in the war and I refuse to accept that."

The adults in the room with me are still frowning, but they are also smiling at the same time. I just decide to leave it at that for the time being and move over to the futon in front of my parents' portrait and put the huge tome down on the table in front of it. "Ah, it came in, I see." Mum says and I look up as she goes on: "That, dear, is a compilation of all journals and diaries ever kept by a Lady Potter. I got it the day after your dad and I tied the knot and I'm pretty sure my own notes and journal entries have since been added to it."
This instantly makes me want to turn the tome around to the back end, but mum's next words stop me. "Don't worry, the book's magic is ancient as it's been collecting for decades and is pretty clever. It actually puts the most recent entries at the front, well, after the introductory and the foreword, and the entries of the first Lady Potter at the back."
I grin widely at this and ask: "Then I guess the note that came with it was to explain this, huh?" Mum shrugs and says: "I wouldn't know, dear. Your dad gave it to me when we married. You best read the note before you read the book, just to be sure." I nod in understanding and while I have a huge urge to just lose myself in my mum's words, I leave the book for what it is for now. I pull the parchment from my pocket and read the context. And it shocks me:

Greetings, my lovely,
I spotted you walking through the Paddock the other day with several men and thought: "Now there's a girl who knows how to have fun." I may not know who you are, but I am sure we can bring each other great pleasure. You need only come to the address written at the bottom, which I also made a password for the Port Key attached to this letter, and we'll get started. Considering how hot you looked, I decided to be kind.
The book you see before you is a tome filled with every pose ever invented for the sake of physical pleasure by the genius that is the human mind over the course of the last two millennia. I am well aware that you are probably only in your mid to late teens, but I thought I'd at least give you a nice little head's up of what will be in store for you if you decide to pursue me. Which, if I have to go by your entourage of the other day, you probably will.
For now I suggest you leave your reading and studying to the first twenty or so chapters of this lovely tome. Also please note that I will be extremely busy today, so I must ask you to refrain from saying the password until tomorrow. However, if your hormones do get the better of you, know that I will have a few minutes between 11.40 and 11.47 as well as 13.00 and 13.05.
Don't worry, though, I cleared my schedule for tomorrow, so if you wish to entice us both, you just be a good girl, study hard and I will be yours tomorrow. Just please make sure that you shower before you come to me. I don't really feel like

But while I kept reading up to this point out of some kind of horrified instinct, my other emotions finally break me free at this point as I don't even want to read the rest of the letter. I just throw it away and dash out of the room, only vaguely hearing voices somewhere in the distance. I rush into my bedroom and over to my bed. But then the contents of the letter come back to me and I change directions mid-run.
I run for my new trunk instead and without thought throw open the lid. The trunk seems to have decided for me and I end up in my walk-in closet. This makes tears of relief rush down my eyes and for the first time since I was ten, I move into the smallest closet I can find and crawl all the way to the back of it, behind long draped cloths hanging down from hangers. I clutch my legs close to my chest and cry in disgust and horror at what I read.

And when something wet pushes against my arm, I let out a yelp of intense fright, jump up and want to pull my wand. But then, in the darkness of the closet, I spot a pair of wide yellow gleaming eyes. I squint through my tears and vaguely manage to distinguish a hulking figure of a dog in front of me, the dog sitting on its back legs and staring back at me, the stare asking as if it's silently asking me if it's okay for it to come closer.
I slouch down again and even drop my wand from my weak grasp as I whisper: "It wasn't the tome mum thought it was." The dog seems to take this as an invitation and moves closer until it is able to lie its furry head on my legs, which are still hunched up and with my arms wrapped around them. I show him a small smile, but it vanishes instantly and while I look down with unseeing eyes, I whisper: "Some creep sent it, Sirius.
He saw me in the Paddock and got the completely wrong idea of Cedric, you and Lupin being with me. He – he –." But this is as far as I can get before the words of the letter and the emotions they enticed overwhelm me again. I press my face against Sirius' muzzle and just start crying all over again as my emotions make it hard for me to do anything else. Sirius just keeps sitting where he is, his form only moving slightly closer to offer me silent support.

I unwrap one arm from around my legs and use the hand to grip his fur as I cry, but this hold onto something else, something firm and alive, something breathing and close by, helps me. After a few more minutes of crying I take several deep breaths to further calm myself down and look up. Yet Sirius is still just sitting there, his eyes searching out mine. And he seems to spot something as he moves his head over and gently licks a few tears away.
I give the dog-man a warm and grateful smile and he turns around and walks out. Only halfway there he stops and turns his head. I nod and crawl out after him. And when we leave the closet, I am shocked to see Lupin standing in the larger portion of the walk-in closet. I get up and instantly the man has his arms wrapped around me, his grip strong, comforting and reassuring. Same as the tone of his voice as he tells me:

"Winky sent the letter off to the authorities of the Paddock. They'll trace the owl and who it belonged to so they can find the perpetrator. She's also going to check up on Hedwig to see what made her sent the note and tome. We should have the results of that in about another minute or two." And Winky proves him right as she pops in just as the man finishes. "Mistress, Hedwig be innocent. Creepy man had sent several owls, but all were tired, so Hedwig took over.
She not know that letter and tome were bad for Mistress. Winky found this out as Winky spotted several strange owls that were resting near Hedwig and all had same magical trace as regal owl that flew in with Hedwig. Winky has made copy of trace and sent it to Paddock authorities along with note and tome, Mistress."

I pull myself free from Lupin and pull the incredible being into a tight hug as I whimper: "Thank you, Winky. You went above and beyond for me. Thank you so much. You're the best House Elf friend a girl like me could wish. Thank you, just – just thank you." The elf lets out a shriek at first, but after she hears me rant, she actually pats me on the back as if she's my mother or something and gently says: "Winky just does what Winky does, Mistress.
Winky will never let any creep near Mistress. And any that try will feel Winky's wrath. Winky might not always be able to be directly responsible for getting back at creeps, but Winky will do what Winky needs to protect Mistress." And in her voice I can hear all kinds of emotions, especially conviction and determination. I even hear something that sounds like a silent promise. I tighten my grip on her in gratitude for this and then release her from the hug.

"Will Mistress always hug Winky like that if Winky does good?""If you ever go above and beyond like this, definitely. You're more than my elf, Winky. You just cemented yourself as one of my close friends. And I – I am growing a liking of expressing my emotions through physical touches and hugs and the like." Winky nods and says: "Winky likes. But Winky needs to go. Winky was meeting with Mistress' spouse when Mistress' dogfather called Winky."
I nod and say: "Let him know what happened, Winky. But only do so when he has time to come here. I don't want Cedric missing or skipping classes for me." The elf nods and pops out. And this talk has really helped me as I finally feel calm again and feel back in control of my emotions. Sirius comes to lie a hand on my shoulder and I just know, without looking, that Lupin is just slightly behind him, ready to reach over as well.

Be strong, Rita,
I'm going to be honest, this chapter is slightly deriving from what I had planned. And I don't really mean to throw all of the bad and icky stuff at Henrietta right off the bat and then leave it be for the rest of the year. It's going to happen in clusters throughout the year, a couple now, a rare few in a month or so, some after Christmas, like that. So yeah, everything after Hermione announced that she is betrothed was unplanned.
Okay, that's not entirely true, Henrietta leaving ComC and therefore having a free period on her first day of classes was planned. But I had actually planned for Henrietta to have Divinations for her first period and for a little something to happen in that class. I just, while writing, realized that it would be best to just cover the whole ComC thing first and get to that later. So that is going to be covered in a later chapter.
Just wait,

Venquine1990