The garden was filled with white rosebushes.  There were other plants, of course; mostly herbs and a few other flowers. But the roses were the stars, and their scent wafted through the careful warmth of the area.

"And then we put up new posters! My room is actually clean. Mum even fixed my Ginny Weasley figurine. Someone knocked it over." Rowena shot an attempt at a disapproving glare towards her errant kitten, who still had its little claws stuck in the train of Rowena's dress. "But sit down!"

A table had already been set in one corner of the garden, bearing not only tea but plates piled high with candy, cookies, and various sorts of cakes. She couldn't help staring at it for a moment. "I think Mum missed us." Then she plucked the kitten from her clothing, set Boudicca down on the ground, and took her seat before said kitten could reattach itself.

Sophia sat her basket down, her kitten still sleeping inside, and regarded the cookies and cakes lightly. Clearly she was disappointed, but it had nothing to do with the spread. She didn't want to be put out at the 'kids table' anymore than she wanted to be scolded. With a longing look to where she thought she heard the grown-up voices there was a faint whispering of how she shouldn't try and rush her childhood. However, Sophia simply didn't want to listen.

"She did, and I missed her more than I truly thought I would. I worried more than I should have." She looked to her sister before catching sight of Abby, and smiled up to her. "You looked beautiful at the Yule Ball, by the way. I'm not certain I had the chance to say that."

Though Abby was seventeen, she relished the chance to escape from the adults for a bit and relax around the first-years, because she felt like she could truly be herself around them. No Aileen to clear her throat at her. It was easy for her to relate to the girls, perhaps because she still acted like such a kid in some ways.

The garden was gorgeous! She listened to Rowena chatter about her posters and Ginny Weasley, glancing around for a moment, and raising her eyebrows at the number of cakes, too. But Abby only had eyes for the kittens. So. Adorable! Taking a seat, she leaned forward and tried to entice the ginger kitten to come toward her. The other was safe for now, sleeping soundly. She dangled her fingers in front of Boudicca and giggled when the kitten batted her little paws at the chair leg, too tiny to reach them.

Abby had missed Sophia's look of disappointment earlier, but she heard the compliment.

"Thank you!" Abby grinned at Sophia, charmed. "You did too. You both did! I'm sure your mother and father were pleased to see you look so grown up, like little ladies," she teased.

"Is it strange being home after being at school for a while? Different sets of rules, and all." Abby looked at them in curiosity. It had been an adjustment for Abby, going from her parent's house to living with her sister, though she much preferred her sister.

"You worry too much." Rowena shot her sister a smile before starting to pour the tea. Sophia was so good at being polite, even if she seemed a little disappointed. The adults probably weren't discussing anything too important anyways. And the y didn't get to be in the garden!

Abby's compliment made her turn bright red, though. Rowena didn't usually feel too ladylike, even when she really tried. "Thank you!"  Somehow she always got a bit of potion on her nose or a crumb on her dress or just walked too loud. She picked up one of the plates and offered it to both of the other girls in turn. "It's been odd. But they've been really nice. I woke Father up the other night and he only scolded me." Oh, yes, and getting whipped cream in her hair.

She took a small crumbly cookie from a plate for herself. "Mum was in a really good mood when they picked us up. I think they were-" she leaned over towards Abby a little, and lowered her voice to a whisper. Abby was family! They could talk about things that their mum had said weren't for proper company. "-having the sex."

Taking her tea she held the cup like a proper lady should, sipping quietly until the time came for her answer, "Oh yes, things have been nice. I'm ready to get my grades so that I can relax." Sophia ignored Abby's comment about the Yule Ball, not wanting her little secret to get out, but she was down right envious of her attire--and her date...mostly her date.

And then it came.

-Having the sex.

Rowena said without much conviction, and Sophia spit up her tea. It sprayed from her mouth like a fan and showered them all. Thankfully there wasn't much that would leave much stain, but she did set her cup down giving her sister a very stern look.

"Our parents don't do that." She looked horrified, having really just learned about herself. (the problem with hanging with mostly boys) "Abby, tell her that our parents don't do that, that only the older years and young married couples. Wait...no..." She covered her ears with her little hands, "Let's just not talk about this." 

Abby nearly choked on the cake she’d popped into her mouth, overcome by a fit of giggling and coughing. “Oh my Merlin!” She wheezed, fanning her face with a napkin. Then she used the napkin to wipe off the tea Sophia had sprayed.

She shot a glance at the doors leading into the garden and attempted to calm down. “It’s just called sex,” she said frankly, but kept her voice down. “There’s no ‘the’ in front of it. It’s not like a tournament challenge,” Abby stifled more giggling.

She glanced at Sophia apologetically. “They could have been having a pillow fight! Or exercising! You never know.” Maybe that would calm her.

Abby shrugged. “The best thing to do, if you suspect something, is not to let them know you know. Trust me. Unless you want your mother to turn bright colors and your father to hide in the study. Then go for it.”

A mischievous grin spread across her face. Just call her Bad-Influence-Abby!

There was tea on her nose! Rowena quickly wiped it off with a napkin. And Boudicca was pawing at her leg, seemingly excited by the tea spurting and Abby's giggling and this wasn't proper at all. Rowena stared down at her plate. She was being a terrible hostess.

"Mum didn't turn bright red when she-" That wasn't helping. At all. "How is your tea?" A good question. Normal question. Polite.

"Did you have a good time with Sasha? I didn't dance much. The Great Hall was so pretty, though." The older boys were too tall to dance with! And most of the younger ones didn't seem to know how.

Oh Abby, just was the perfect little vixen, and Sophia secretly hated her for it. Well, no...of course she thought highly of the younger sister, she still couldn't help the unnatural jealousy she felt sometimes, and the desire to trade places.

"Or the correct answer would be to simply ignore it Dear Sister," She would never be able to look her parents in the eyes again.


"Rowena. Stop." Thankful she didn't need to beg her sister changed the subject, but truly couldn't have picked a more horrid topic, "Oh she doesn't want to talk about Sasha." Sophia sat her cup down on the saucer and looked off onto the roses thoughtfully, while her face painted a soft flush. "She didn't come all this way to talk about boys. Or..'The Sex', why don't you tell us instead what you have been up to. What life is like outside of the school."

Rowena’s bold moment had faded, and Abby seemed most comfortable of the three. Things were back to normal.

“The tea is perfect,” she sipped at it.

“I don’t mind talking about boys,” Abby shrugged with a smile. But she’d spare Sophia the details. Not that 12 year-olds needed to hear how well her date’s suit had fitted him, anyway.

“He’s great at dancing,” she told Rowena. “Like the formal stuff, especially.”

“I’ve mostly been enjoying my winter break, like you two,” Abby grinned at Sophia. “It feels like a break, since most of my friends are on one, and I’m not interning at the Ministry for now. So, lots of shopping, and birthday parties to plan for, and Christmas Eve was the best. I convinced Aileen to accept the invite to Professor Tappy’s, so I got to see Gigi, Cy, Winnie, Sasha again, and Professor Storm.”

She paused for dramatic effect.

“Professor Storm in an apron.” Abby laughed, hoping they enjoyed that image as much as she did. "I'm not making this up!"

"An apron?" Rowena set down the cookie-thing she'd been about to bite into, and leaned slightly towards Abigail. Her eyes had gone a little wide. "Did you take pictures?" Imagining Professor Storm in an apron was like imagining Father...no, that strand of thought would be going no further.

"It's good to be home. I don't have to wear a uniform and I got the nicest presents-" Boudicca pawed at her leg at this point, "-and Mum promised she'd take us to Diagon before school starts up again." She pushed a plate of little round cookies towards their guest. "Miss my potions class, though. They bought me my own set for it!" Her own little pouch and a mortar and pestle and books for things she wasn't studying yet. Sophia might have been the scholarly one, but Rowena still wanted to make her parents proud.

"We might even go dress shopping." She wasn't sure if her Sophia had heard about that yet, but it was exciting. "Though Sophia's already the prettiest girl at school." Her hair shook a little as she sat straighter, and sent her younger sister a proud look. Rowena couldn't help feeling a little protective of her sometimes.

"It's not that I don't like talking about boys, it's just that the school doesn't have a single one that meets my standards." Such a grown up thing to say coming from such a small little woman, "Your date was the only barely tolerable one there." In truth, her date was the most perfect wonderful man that ever was, and no body could take that away from her. She filled her Diary full of little hearts with Sasha's name inside them.

"The rest were toads." Sophia spoke over the top of her cup, and pretended to look bored off in the distance. Her sister was something sometimes, and with a shake of that hair she was surprised that a few leaves didn't fall out.

"You had the prettiest dress there that night, Rowena, and you know it." She smiled warmly, something Sophia didn't do often, and in truth only did so to a select few.

"Abby, you looked...put together." Oh the jealousy there was uncanny, and so bitter she worried her tea would freeze in her hand.

“Sadly, no, no pictures,” she told Rowena. “I was too busy laughing to think of it. Or trying not to laugh. But Winnie might have!”

She stifled a giggle at Sophia. “Sasha’s definitely not a toad,” she agreed.

Dress shopping! That was always fun. At least for Abby. Aileen got impatient with her dawdling and indecisiveness. And they didn’t compliment each other like these sisters did – or if they did, it was in a teasing way. Abby would tell Aileen that she was proud of her for wearing something short, and Aileen looked pleased whenever Abby’s hair behaved, and that was the extent of their mushiness.

Still, praise was always welcome, even faint praise, and she smiled at Sophia in thanks.

She tilted her head, glancing between the girls curiously. “Tell me,” she paused, thinking. “All about Hogwarts!”

“Favorite classes, favorite professors, all the gossip. I know you like potions,” she nodded at Rowena. “History?” She ventured a guess with Sophia. Something bookish.

“I’m sure you get asked this all the time, but humor me,” Abby popped a cookie in her mouth and took a sip of tea. Yum!

Rowena just blushed at her sister's compliment, her cheeks turning near as red as her hair. A bite of cake-with her hands held just so to try to hide it, and then she smiled at Abby's distracting questions.

"I like history!" Words delivered with an enthusiastic nod. "Usually, at least. It's like Father's stories about the Wizengamot. Sometimes it's fascinating and sometimes you just fall asleep while he's droning on about cauldron thickness. But mostly interesting." And there was something comforting about falling asleep listening to his voice anyways.

Not that she was going to go off and admit that.

"Professor Trishna was a pony for our first class![1] With wings and everything! And we learned about stars. I want to get a telescope of my own this summer." At least, she did now. What she wanted that summer tended to change from day to day.

Right now a pony sounded nice. Even if it wouldn't fit.

1.	Space is no Place to Horse Around

Sophia sat up in her chair and looked at her sister with a confused face, "All of Father's stories are interesting, Rowena. They are important." She spoke so matter-of-factly that she truly appeared baffled Rowena would think so.

"I really like Professor Trishna, though he wears very funny things. Actually...a lot of the Professors dress funny. In jeans of all things. I'm rather fond of Professor Storm, and Madame Hooch. Even though I didn't really like flying." No Sophia was much better and much happier on the ground.

"I really liked learning to dance with Madame...well..Professor Reid and Professor Kesali, that was truly fun. I didn't enjoy how my dance partner stepped on my dress, but I did find a better partner as the night went on." Sophia looked Abby over, "He's also a Ravenclaw. Though I fear he is a toad, or at least keeps them in his pockets. Merlin help the woman he ends up with." With a sip of her tea she sat her cup down to pull out her diary and jot down a few lyrics that came to mind.


"Abby, maybe you can help clear up a rumor that is going around school?" She asked, as if suddenly remembering it. "But if you wish to plead the fifth then I understand, "But it's about your sister, and her suitors."

“History never appealed much to me, but it really depends on how it’s told, doesn’t it.” She could appreciate Rowena’s enthusiasm, and understood the girls’ devotion to their father.

“I like hearing about the people and battles – like, why they happened. Not so much the dates and nitty gritty stuff.”

She laughed at the reminder of Professor Tappy as a pony. What an image! Even better than the one of the Defense professor in an apron.

“I love dancing,” she nodded at Sophia. “I always wished I could fly.”

A grin that held a hint of private amusement spread across her face. For a girl who thought boys were toads, Sophia sure seemed to enjoy talking about them. Had Abby thought boys were so yucky when she was twelve? Probably not. She remembered finding them odd as a child, and then falling rather quickly into crushes and giggle-fits just before she hit her teen years.

“A rumor?” Abby perked up with interest. “Suitors, plural? Now this I have got to hear.”

She leaned forward, not in the least bit concerned about pleading the fifth right now.