Miscellaneous Oneshots

This Page is for my remaining fanfic oneshots that don't fit anywhere else.

Secret Relationship (Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars)

Barriss gently knocked on the door in front of her.

She waited a few seconds, before the door opened up, a half-asleep Ahsoka leaning on the doorframe.

Ahsoka's face lit up immediately upon seeing Barriss. "Barriss! Come in!" She stepped out of the doorway to let Barriss into her quarters. She sat down on her bunk. "Come on. Sit."

Barriss sat down next to Ahsoka.

"So, what's up?"

Barriss took a deep breath. She grabbed Ahsoka's hand and held it. "Just… just a bad dream, nothing big or anything. And, well, Master Luminara isn't here right now, so I just thought… well, you are my girlfriend now…"

"That I am! Wanna talk about it?" Ahsoka reached up to run her hand through Barriss' hair.

Barriss leaned into the touch, her eyes closing. "I don't really want to talk, but I know it helps to talk about anyway."

"Well, yeah. What happened in it?"

"It was… horrible."

"How bad?"

Barriss shifted closer to Ahsoka. "Very… very bad. You almost died."

"Died?"

Barriss nodded. "Not that that doesn't already happen frequently anyway. But in this dream… I had to watch. And I couldn't do anything. I woke up before… before…"

"Oh."

Barriss sniffled. "You're fine. It's all fine. You're not dying on me. You better not."

"I wasn't planning on it sweetie."

Barriss leaned her head on Ahsoka's shoulder. "Promise?"

Ahsoka nodded. "Of course I promise!"

Barriss closed her eyes and turned so she could kiss Ahsoka's cheek. "I hate having to hide this."

"Me too. I wish we could just leave the Jedi and just… live our own lives. Preferably together."

Barriss nodded. "Very preferably."

Of course, they couldn't just leave the Jedi Order. The two of them had managed to make plenty of enemies during the war just by fighting in it. It would be a lot harder for both of them without the protection of the Order.

Ahsoka kissed Barriss' forehead. "We both need our sleep, sweetie."

Barriss nodded. She started to stand to leave, but Ahsoka pulled her back down and onto her lap.

"Please stay."

"What if someone finds it suspicious we spent the night together?"

"Then we just tell them I was helping you deal with a bad dream and you feel asleep here. Nothing strange about that."

"I guess not."

Ahsoka kissed Barriss' cheek. "Up to you."

"I want to stay."

"Then stay."

Barriss relaxed into Ahsoka's embrace, tucking her head into Ahsoka's neck. "I love you, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. "I love you too, Barriss."

Public Service Announcement: Wear Your Mask (and also something about autism) (Fandom: H*rry P*tt*r)

Hello, ladies, gents, unknowable genders from realms beyond our comprehension. I'm Holly Jasmine Potter, here to tell you about my stance on masking.

Just mask up folks. It's easy, not hard to do. If you're having trouble finding one, I've been to hospitals handing them out for free — although, if you live in the States, your millage may vary). But if those plain old masks are boring to you, don't worry. You can easily find masks with all kinds of lovely patterns on them. Here's one with some nice flowers, here's one with a rainbow — very gay. And this last one I probably can't show you for a couple reasons, one of them being it depicts me having hot gay sex with both my girlfriends. The other, of course, is it being animated and thus horribly violating the statute of secrecy if I showed you.
Anyway, why wear the mask? Well, masks do actually help slow or even stop the spread of a variety of infectious diseases, not just the one that is in the news a lot. They can save lives, either your own or someone else's. A real superhero move if you ask me — wait, superheroes still wear masks, right?

This is especially important around more vulnerable individuals, like grandma or that person who had a transplant and has to be on immunosupressants and so their body can't fight even a mild cold. Also, believe me, masks can be quite the fashion statement if you work at it — which isn't important, but it is nice to know.

Uh, let's see.

Oh, right.

Even when there isn't some big scary virus going about infecting everyone, masking still has its place. If you're gonna be hanging out with one of those vulnerable people I mentioned, like grandma, masking will definitely keep them safe. And absolutely masking should just be the default in hospitals, they're fucking hospitals, infectious diseases are gonna pop up there a lot I imagine. I don't think you wanna catch something from a patient, or worse, give something to one of those immunocompromised patients. Unless it's a polite wave. Polite waves are fine. Might be a little weird if you don't know them, but at least you aren't giving them a disease that could kill them that you shrug off thanks to your lovely fully functional immune system.

Uh, that should be everything, assuming I haven't mixed everything up and I was supposed to be talking about autistic masking, which is a whole different thing. Uh... don't force autistic people to mask, definitely don't force them to unmask. Definitely make it safer for them to unmask if you can, masking is very stressful for autistic people. I should know, my girlfriend is autistic and she knows and told me.

Uh, thanks, good night, protect your grandma, don't force autistics people to mask — that is, masking their autism — and definitely make sure you floss your damn teeth! Do as I say, not as I do. That was about the flossing thing only by the way. Bye!

Acceptance (Fandom: Percy Jackson)

Madeline lightly closed the door to her room. She placed her backpack on the ground before sitting on the edge of her bed. She wrapped her arms around herself.

Today in health class, they had discussed puberty and what to expect. She had hated it. She hated the fact that her voice had already started to crack, that soon she would be getting hair in places she absolutely did not want hair. She would have cried if she still could, but her dad had long since bullied her into suppressing her tears, telling her to ‘man up.’

She couldn’t even really tell her parents what was bothering her, because if they knew she was a trans girl, they’d send her off to some camp somewhere to try and convince her she wasn’t.

On the bright side, a few days ago had been the school’s book fair, and she had finally been able to pick up a new book for herself - the third entry in a series she really enjoyed - using some of her limited allowance. She had started reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians a few months ago, starting with the Lightning Thief. Personally, she figured it was much better than the movie had been.

Madeline pulled her new book, The Titan’s Curse, out of her bag, lying back on her bed, opening it up. She giggled at the humorous chapter titles, such as “I Wrestle Santa’s Evil Twin” and “I Go Snowboarding with a Pig,” as she read the table of contents, before turning to the first chapter, “My Rescue Operation Goes Very Wrong.”

She continued to read until she got to the third chapter, at the end of which she paused. She had a funny feeling. She had an idea - a ridiculous idea, but it wouldn’t hurt, and it would also be somewhat affirming of her gender, in a way.

She sat up straight, holding her book to read the words that had caught her attention. “I pledge myself to the Goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt.”

She closed her eyes, sitting there for a little while. A small smile crept onto her lips. That had felt rather nice.

Then there was a knock on her bedroom door. “James, dinner’s ready.”

The smile disappeared. Madeline sighed, putting her book away, and quickly moved to head out to join her parents for dinner.

She suppressed a grimace. She hated mashed potatoes. But of course her parents neither knew nor cared. Just as she sat down, and her dad was about to start praying for the meal (which Madeline thought was a bit silly to do every single meal, whether or not God did exist), there was a knock on their front door. Her dad wrinkled his nose, and got up to answer.

“Can I help you?” He said, opening the door.

On the other side was a strange girl. She was maybe 18 or 19. She wore a silver jacket and dark jeans. Strangely, she had a bow and quiver of arrows slung over her back.

“I’m here to see your daughter,” the strange girl said.

Her mom shot her a glare. Madeline shrank down in her seat, wishing she could disappear.

“I don’t have a daughter. Why don’t you piss off, kid,” her dad said rudely.

That wasn’t the right thing to say, as it turned out. The teenager pursed her lips. Her eyes flashed dangerously. “I do not take orders from a man .”

Her dad was about to say something, but the woman simply flicked her wrist dismissively, and with a flash her dad was gone. In his place was a small lizard.

Madeline’s mom squeaked in fright.

“That’s much better,” the girl said. “Madeline?”

Madeline jumped in her seat. “Um, yes? I mean, yes ma’am?”

The woman looked her over. “I am here to tell you that I accept your oath.”

Madeline was confused. “What?”

“The oath you just made. I am Artemis, and you just made an oath. If you still wish to follow through, you may come with me.”

Madeline glanced at her mom, who was white with fear, staring at her formerly human husband.

Madeline smiled. “Well, I guess you already did prove it.”

“Don’t, James,” her mom said.

Artemis glared at her. “Her name is Madeline. I suggest you use it unless you want to end up exactly like your fool of a husband.”

Madeline’s mom gulped but said nothing.

Artemis reached out her hand to Madeline. “Well? Are you coming?”

Madeline looked at the hand. “Won’t the other Hunters have an issue? You know, with the whole…” she trailed off, seeing Artemis' warm smile.

“You aren’t the only trans Hunter of mine. They will accept you, I promise, Madeline.”

Madeline smiled and took Artemis’ hand.

She never once regretted her choice.

Untitled Lesbian Hacey Fic (Fandom: H*rry P*tt*r) (unfinished)

It was a just a standard Sunday at Hogwarts. Tracey had got up, had her breakfast in the great hall, then hung out on the grounds, sitting on a bench along the path to the Quidditch pitch, with her best friend, Daphne Greengrass.

Except for the small issue of Daphne having gotten detention this weekend. Now she was out here alone, with nothing but her thoughts. Said thoughts happened to be focused on a specific Gryffindor. Holly Potter, famously known as the Girl-Who-Lived, had been spending a lot of time on Tracey’s mind. Especially after the girl had come out as gay. Something which Tracey happened to be as well.

Tracey had had a crush on Holly for about as long as she knew what having a crush meant. As a little girl, she had heard the story of how the girl had defeated You-Know-Who, the dark lord who had been terrorizing their country not that long ago. Upon reaching Hogwarts, she finally got to meet her idol. And from that point on, Tracey was completely enamoured. Everything about the girl, from her smile, to her gorgeous black hair, and those eyes…

Unfortunately, they had got sorted into different houses. Any other pair of houses and this probably would never have been an issue. But while the Girl-Who-Lived was sorted to Gryffindor, Tracey had got herself into Slytherin. Of course, it was only after that Tracey found out about the extreme rivalry between the two houses. Afterwards, any chance she might have had to get to know Holly were exceedingly slim.

It wasn’t all bad, she had met Daphne in Slytherin after all.

But no matter what, she just couldn’t seem to drop this crush on Potter. Every year, she heard stories of the girl’s exploits: saving the Philosopher’s Stone from a shade of You-Know-Who possessing a professor, killing a basilisk, driving away over a hundred dementors with a single spell. On top of that, Tracey got to be a member of the audience for the Tri-Wizard tournament. A tournament that Holly had been entered into as a 4th champion. Of course, Tracey had seen how terrified the girl was. But she had swallowed her fear and faced down a dragon with just her wand and a summoned broom.

It was safe to say that Tracey’s crush was not going anywhere anytime soon.

So lost in thought was she, that she didn’t notice someone walking up to her until they spoke.

“Mind if I sit here?” A voice said. A voice Tracey knew well. It was her.

Tracey looked up at the girl. She was wearing a zip-up hoodie and jeans. Absolutely gorgeous. “Uh y-yeah. Sure.” She took a deep breath to steady herself. “Of course, you can.

Holly smiled at her. Tracey’s heart skipped a beat. “Thanks!” The girl sat down, barely a foot away from Tracey.

“Where are your friends right now?” Tracey could have smacked herself. That sounded kind of rude.

Holly didn’t seem do notice the blunt statement. “Arguing. About what, I have no idea. They just like to argue, I guess. How about you? I’m pretty sure you normally have your friend with you out here.”

Tracey swallowed back her nervousness. “She had detention.”

“That would make sense. No point breaking your routine I suppose.”

Tracey shook her head. “I didn’t really have anything else to do. So, I came out here. Daphne’s detention ends at lunch though.”

Holly absentmindedly started playing with a pendant hanging off her necklace. Which of course drew Tracey’s attention. Which then further directed her attention to what happened to be just below it.

Tracey forced herself to look away. She really did not want to be caught staring. Especially not staring at that specifically. Fortunately, the other girl hadn’t noticed.

“So, you’re out here all morning then?”

Tracey nodded. “Until lunch, yeah.” She looked back at Holly, who had turned slightly to face her. “What about you?”

Holly shrugged. “Dunno. Was going to hang out with Ron and Hermione, but then they started arguing. Thought maybe I could hang out with Neville, but that would be too awkward for me.”

Neville. Holly’s ex. The two had gone on a couple dates earlier in the year. It had actually broken Tracey’s heart. Then of course they broke up. Of course, the reason why was meant to be personal, but someone had overheard. Now the entire school knew that Holly was a lesbian. Something which had given Tracey a lot more hope.

On top of that, after Holly once again defeated Voldemort at the end of the last school year (in the Ministry Atrium no less), many of the less kind individuals in Tracey’s house had become a lot more subdued. Something which Tracey hoped could help tone down the rivalry a bit. Just enough to where she wouldn’t get hounded by her housemates for just talking to the new wizarding world savior. And now she was sitting right next to her.

“I can imagine.” Tracey played with the folds of her skirt nervously. Maybe now was the time to take a risk. “I bet you’re a little upset the reason why didn’t stay secret.”

Holly sighed. “Not really. I mean, I’m upset that someone overheard. But unlike every other rumor about me before, this one is true. And not a bad thing.”

Tracey gulped. Now or never. “You know, I’m a lesbian too.”

Holly’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Tracey nodded, her stomach doing backflips. “Yeah. Well, bi, actually. But, well, I haven’t really crushed on many guys. And nothing ever really intense, like, ‘oh, I would love to date him.’ More like, ‘oh, he’s kinda cute.’ Meanwhile, I’ve had a crush on this one girl for a while now.”

Holly snorted. “I don’t even get that about guys. I only really dated Neville because I thought that’s just how you’re supposed to do things. You know, date a boy and shit. But then I realized not only that I like girls, but that this is something normal. Something that other girls feel. Made it a lot easier to accept.”

Tracey wished she could have helped Holly figure this out about herself sooner. “So, any girls you might be interested in?”

“And how am I supposed to tell if the girl I’m into also happens to like girls?” she replied.

“You can ask, I guess. Wait. Scratch that. While it will be fine with witches, muggles have some weird hang ups. Comes from some of those religious nutters. So, if they’re a witch, then you ask. Muggles on the other hand…” Tracey trailed off since she got distracted by Holly doing the simple action of moving some hair out of her face.

“What about muggles?”

“Right. Yeah. My mum, who also happens to be bi, told me that muggle lesbians will try to subtly signal it.”

“Sounds kinda exhausting. Those religious muggles kinda suck.”

Tracey rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it. And don’t get me started on what the muggle government’s been pulling.”

Holly glanced at her watch. “Shit. Lunch is being served. You gotta get to your friend.”

Tracey peaked at Holly’s wristwatch. 12:07. “Yeah. I promised her I’d help her with some herbology homework.”

Holly stood up, followed by Tracey.

Holly said, “hey, how about we hang out again. Later this week. Or maybe next weekend. At Hogsmeade. Could be fun.”

Tracey gaped at the other girl. That was supposed to be her line. “Uhh… sure. Yeah, I’d love to.”

Holly sighed. “Cool. I just… you seem cool. And I wouldn’t mind getting to be friends with you.”

Tracey almost squealed in joy. Holly Potter thought she was cool. She held it back, however. No need to lose her cool. “So, Hogsmeade on Saturday then?”

Holly nodded. “Or if you’re available to hang out during the week that would be cool.”

“I am available on Wednesday, if you’d like.”

Holly grinned. “Wednesday is perfect!” She looked over Tracey’s shoulder. “Oh, there’s Ron and Hermione. Gotta go. See you on Wednesday!” She jogged over to them.

“Bye!” Tracey called. Holly waved back to her as she caught up to her friends.

Tracey waited until they were out of sight before she let herself go. She squealed in excitement. Holly Potter wanted to be her friend. Holly Potter wanted to hang out with her. And next weekend, she would be going to hang out in Hogsmeade with Holly Potter. And the were going to hang out on Wednesday.

Maybe I’ll ask her if she’s ok making this Saturday into a date then…

Damn, she’s cute, Holly thought, as she walked to lunch with Ron and Hermione.

“So, what were you doing with Davis back there?” Ron asked.

“Talking.”

“What were you talkin’ about?”

“Mostly why I left you two back in the common room. Also agreeing to hang out on Wednesday and go to Hogsmeade together next weekend.”

Hermione smirked. “Oh? Like a date?”

Holly flushed slightly. “Kinda. We didn’t say it was one, but uh… well, she is gay too… bi, actually… so I guess if we wanted it to be a date, it could be a date.”

“So why don’t you ask her if she’s ok with it being a date then?” Ron asked.

Holly ignored him. “I mean, I do kinda want it to be one. She is cute…” She asked them, “what do you think, me and her?”

Hermione laughed. “Sounds like you got a bit of a crush there.”

“Well duh, she literally just asked you what you think of them being together,” Ron replied.

“Let me tease her about this. This is the first time I think she’s ever admitted to having a crush on anyone.”

“I had a crush on Cho Chang a couple years ago. I told you that. I just didn’t know that’s what it was then.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Doesn’t count. You didn’t fancy her anymore when you admitted it.”

They had reached the doors to the castle and gone in.

“Look, Holly. You said you two were gonna hang out on Wednesday. Speaking of, what were you planning on doing?” Hermione asked.

“I uh… didn’t think of anything.”

Hermione sighed. “You’re hopeless.”

“Oi!”

“Well, you told her you wanted to hang out, and didn’t come up with something to do.”

“I’m working on it!”

“Did you even realise that you needed to actually have something planned before, or did I only just remind you?”

Holly stared at her feet. “… yes?”

“Damnit, Holly.”

“I’ll think of something!”

“You better. Anyway, I also think that if you really want next weekend to be a date, you should just ask her on Wednesday. Or whenever you next see her. Or, even better, go up to her at her table and ask immediately.”

“But… but… but what if she says no?”

Ron snorted. “And what if she says yes? Then you have a date with a girl, who, by your own admittance, is ‘cute’. I think that’s a pretty good outcome. And if she says no… then you just hang out as friends.”

“But wouldn’t it be really awkward?”

“Only if you make it awkward.” Ron said.

“Fine. I’ll ask her.”

“And what if she asks you?” Hermione asked.

Holly looked as though she had never even considered the possibility. “Why?”

“Why would she ask you? I dunno, might be because she wants to.”

“How do you know she wants to?”

“We don’t,” Hermione said. “But if she does ask you, then she definitely wanted to.”

“What do I do if she asks me?”

“I think you can work that out yourself.” Hermione replied.

“But what if I get nervous… or… or…”

“It’ll be fine, Holly,” Ron said. “Just relax. If she asks, just say yes.”

By this point, they had sat down at the Gryffindor table, and Holly was sporting an intense blush.

“Ok. So, what if we do go on a date. What do I do?”

“Well,” Hermione said, putting some mashed potatoes on her plate, “you should ask her what she wants to do.”

Holly stared at her plate.

“Haven’t you been on a date before?” Ron asked through a mouthful of mashed potato.

Hermione scowled at him. “That was with Neville. You know, a boy? Holly doesn’t like boys, she likes girls. And this particular girl is one Holly happens to fancy.”

Ron swallowed. “I suppose there would be a difference.”

Holly took a deep breath, then started dishing out some cauliflower for herself. “Can we drop this subject for now? It’s just making me nervous.”

“So… you got a date with Potter?”

Tracey blushed. “It’s not a date.”

Daphne replied, “you are going, with a girl you like, to Hogsmeade, alone. That sounds an awful lot like a date.”

“But we didn’t say it was a date, so it doesn’t count.” It was after lunch, and upon returning to the common room together, Tracey told Daphne all about her talk with Holly Potter.

“But you want it to be a date?”

“Of course, I do. But I don’t know if Holly wants it to be a date.”

“So why don’t you just ask her you dumb bitch?”

Tracey snorted. “Because I forgot to.”

“You forgot to ask your crush on a date while discussing getting together to hang out in the future?”

“Yes.”

Daphne dropped her head into her hands. “So, are you at least going to ask her on Wednesday?”

Tracey rolled her eyes. “I was planning on it.”

“Don’t chicken out this time.”

“I didn’t chicken out! I just forgot.”

“If you say so.”

“Daph…”

“Trace…”

“I don’t chicken out.”

“Sure don’t.”

The two girls mock glared at each other before breaking down in a fit of giggles.

Holly looked up from her book as Tracey walked up to where she was sitting. It was after class on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Holly had slipped Tracey a note telling her to meet in the library.

“Hey,” Holly said.

“Hey yourself.” Tracey leaned on the table. “I hope you weren’t planning on hanging out in here.”

Holly shook her head and stood up, putting down her book. “No. I have something else planned. Follow me.”

Holly led Tracey back out of the library.

“So, what do you have planned?”

“A few things. Actually, it’s not exactly plans and more suggestions. We could go flying. Maybe play some board games. Hermione brought a few fun ones with her after Christmas.”

“What board games did she bring?”

“Uh… Monopoly, although that’s more fun with more than two people, Risk, that one was pretty cool, Cluedo. To be honest, all of them are better with larger groups of people. Two just isn’t enough in my opinion.”

“So not those, then?”

“Guess not.”

“I do like flying, but it was a bit chilly out during herbology today. I imagine it’s only gotten worse.”

Holly nodded. “Is there anything you wanna do?”

Tracey grinned. You, she thought. “Uh… we could try messing with Malfoy. He was being an arse earlier.”

“What did he do?”

“The usual. Acting like he was better than everybody else. Which is pretty laughable since his dad’s in Azkaban now. Oh, and he tried to hit on Daph.”

“I take it he’s not allowed to do that?”

“He shouldn’t be allowed to hit on anyone. Not until he drops that massive ego.”

“That’s not happening.”

Tracey smirked. “Got any ideas to mess with him?”

Holly thought for a second. “I like to charm his hair funny colours.”

“Oh, that was you?”

“Well, Ron helps sometimes. But yeah, mostly me.”

“What if we charmed his hair and clothes different colours?”

Holly laughed. “Oh, hell yes.”

Tracey laughed as well. “We can set that up for some dinner entertainment then. What else should we do?”

Holly grinned. “I could show you some Hogwarts secrets.”

“Oh? What sort of secrets?”

“How about the Chamber of Secrets?”

“That’s not exactly secret anymore, everyone knows you killed a basilisk down there.”

“But I’m the only one who can go back down there.”

“But can’t Dumbledore...”

“Nope. You need to speak parseltongue. He doesn’t, I do.”

“Then lead the way.”

“Damn. That’s bigger than I expected.”

Holly stood behind Tracey as the girl examined the basilisk corpse.

“And you managed to kill this thing. At 12.”

“I got a lucky shot in.”

“I imagine it took a bit of skill.”

Holly shrugged. “I still have no idea how I managed not to stab myself.”

“Stab yourself?”

“Yeah. I killed this thing with a sword.”

“You killed it… with a sword.”

“Yes.”

“Damn.”

Holly nudged Tracey and indicated for them to leave.

“You been down here recently?”

Holly nodded. “Dumbledore and I had a couple loose ends to clear up earlier in the year. Basilisk venom just happens to be good at cleaning up loose ends.”

Tracey stared at her. “I hope you don’t mean you killed someone.”

Holly’s eyes widened. “God no. No. The venom is just good at destroying cursed objects. We stumbled across a few of those last summer.”

“Ok good. You had me worried there.”

The two mounted Holly’s broom together, started the flight back up the chamber. Tracey tried to hold in her blush at the close contact between the two. Once at the top, Holly closed the Chamber again.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Holly said at the same time as Tracey said. “There’s something I wanna ask you.”

“You first,” Holly said.

Tracey took a calming breath. “I wanted to ask you if perhaps, maybe, possibly you would be interested in maybe Hogsmeade on Saturday being a bit of like a date.”

Holly blushed. “I uh…”

“We don’t have to. We can just hang out, like you said.”

Holly tugged on a lock of her hair. “I would…” she licked her lips. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

Tracey’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

Holly smiled nervously. “I think what I mean to say is… yes. Yes, I would like to go on a date with you, Tracey.”

Tracey smiled wide. “Great! Fantastic! That’s… yes. Ok. Date.”

Holly giggled. “Yup. Date. You and me.”

Tracey smirked. “If we’re going on a date, I hope you have no issue with me wanting to kiss you.”

Holly blushed. “I uh… I would like that,” she said quietly.

Tracey smirked. “God, you’re adorable.”

Holly got even redder at that. “So are you.”

Tracey smiled.

They continued walking to the great hall in silence.

“So do you still wanna prank Malfoy?”

“Oh god yes.”

“Wanna come sit with me?”

Tracy nodded. “And you introduce me to your friends?”

Holly snorted. “Obviously. Anyway, let’s get out of here before the students start showing up.”

Holly and Tracey had just finished pouring a bit of itch dust onto Malfoy’s seat at the Slytherin table. It seemed a bit uncreative, but it had never failed to amuse Holly in the past, and Tracey seemed to find the idea of doing this hilarious.

They ran out of the great hall and down aa hallway before stopping. The girls giggled at each other. “God, I never get tired of doing this to him.”

“And you really have never been caught?”

“Not one single time.”

“Damn.” Tracey looked around. “We seem to be alone.”

Holly nodded. “I suppose we are.”

“Still have a bit of time before dinner…”

“We do have that,” Holly said, wondering where Tracey was going with this.

“Want a kiss?”

Holly’s eyes widened. “I- uh…” she flushed. “Maybe?”

“That’s not a no, but it’s also not a yes. Lemme know if you figure it out.”

Holly frowned. “It’s not that I don’t want that – I do. It’s just…” she trailed off, blushing. “I just don’t really feel ready for that right now.”

“Oh.” Tracey frowned. “That’s alright. I was just wondering. I mean you look adorable, but if you’re not ready, I can wait.”

“Ask me again Saturday.”

Tracey nodded. “I can do that.”

“Still… what do we do with the remaining time?”

“I don’t know.”

Holly shrugged. “There happen to be a lot of secret passages around the school.”

“What sort of secret passages?”

“I found ways into every common room earlier this year. That’s how I got Malfoy’s Christmas present to him.”

“That was you?”

Holly giggled. “Me and Hermione.”

“Granger? Really?”

“Oh yeah. She actually has a lot more issues with Malfoy than I do. I mostly just find him a bit pathetic, really.”

“He is pathetic. And now he doesn’t have his precious father to go crying to. It’s actually kinda sad. I’d almost feel sorry if it wasn’t for how much of an arse he is.”

“Come on then, secret passages to see.” Holly grabbed Tracey’s hand, dragging her along.

Tracey was very aware of the hand that was now in her own. It feels warm. Is it supposed to be warm? She fought to keep a straight face, despite the fact that she was somewhat excited. This was Holly frikkin Potter. And she was holding her hand.

The two girls reached a portrait of a monk holding a rather large book. Holly then seemed to notice that she was still holding Tracey’s hand, and let go, blushing. Internally, Tracey bemoaned the loss of contact.

“Good evening, Oliver,” Holly greeted the monk.

“Evenin’, Holly,” he replied. “And who might this be?”

“Oh, this is Tracey. Tracey Davis.”

“Nice to meet you, young lady.”

“You too,” Tracey replied.

“And how have you been since we last talked, Ms. Potter?”

Holly shrugged. “I’ve been worse.”

“I suppose you’ll be wanting passage?”

“I don’t always come here just for that.”

“Something for which I am grateful.”

“But yeah. I’m showing Tracey some of the secret passages I’ve found around the castle.”

“Then you best be on your way. There are many passages you know.”

“Oh, I know. Flabbergast.”

At the last word, the portrait slid over along the wall, revealing, as expected, a tunnel just behind it.

“Thanks Oliver.”

“Any time, Holly.”

Holly stepped into the passage, Tracey following. The portrait slid back over the entrance behind them.

“So, you made friends with the portrait there?” Tracey said.

“I have a bit of familiarity with all the portraits that guard the school’s many passages. It just so happens that him I have the most familiarity with.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well first of all, this tunnel leads to the Hufflepuff dorms, and they really know how to throw a party in there. But sometimes I come here just to talk to him. You saw how he’s the only portrait in that hallway? He gets lonely, so I just kinda… visit him sometimes.”

Tracey stared at the other girl. “You, Ms. Potter, are one strange person.”

“Nothing strange about liking a good party.”

Tracey snorted. “Just how good are we talking?”

“I’m talking actually good music, not whatever most of the Wireless channels happen to have. And also, they always have some killer snacks. You absolutely need to try Hannah’s chocolate chip cookies sometime.”

“It probably doesn’t hurt that they’re right near the kitchens.”

Holly replied, “I should tell you about the time I caught Hannah and Susan in the kitchens.”

“Caught them?”

“They were uh… well, you know. They were doing couple stuff.”

“They’re together?”

“Have been since last year, actually.”

They continued walking in silence for a bit before reaching a flight of stairs.

“I’ve actually been spending a lot of time visiting the other houses. For the first 5 years here, I’ve really only hung around Ron and Hermione. This year I figured I should try making some other friends.”

“I haven’t seen you around Slytherin.”

Holly snorted. “That’s because I try not to be seen when visiting there. Can you imagine how Malfoy would react?”

“Good point.”

They reached the bottom of the stairs and found a door.

“I wouldn’t mind if you visited by the way. Malfoy can go fuck himself, honestly.”

Holly knocked on the door. “I might.”

“You will.” Tracey paused, then added, “please.”

Holly turned towards her. “Alright then. I will.”

The door opened, revealing a short, redheaded girl. “Hey Holls.” The girl turned her gaze on Tracey. “Oh hey. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Susan.” She reached out her hand.

Tracey took it. “Tracey.”

“You’re in Slytherin.”

“Yeah. So?”

“About time Holly started bringing some Slytherins in here.”

Holly scowled. “Yes, because they are all definitely people you want at a party.”

“They can’t all be Malfoy.”

Holly shrugged. “I know. But I brought Tracey here now.”

Susan rolled her eyes. “Party’s not ‘til Saturday, Holls.”

Holly laughed. “I know that. I’m just showing her around.”

“Well show her around, then bring her here again on Saturday. And make sure you get that butterbeer this time.”

“Alright Susan. Jeez, relax. Go snog Hannah or something.”

Susan scowled. “Saturday. 6 pm.”

“I’ll be there.”

“You better.”

The door closed.

“Damn.” Tracey said.

“So, do you wanna go? You don’t have to.”

“What’s the party for?”

Holly shrugged. “Well, last Saturday every month, the ‘Puffs host a little get together. Typically just to celebrate birthdays that month. First Saturday of term we have one for birthdays from during Summer. And also there’s one during Christmas. That’s actually when I caught Susan and Hannah in the kitchens. And of course, end of term comes with a graduation party as well.”

Tracey smiled. “That actually sounds quite nice.”

Holly sighed. “It really is. Susan and Hannah invited me Ron and Hermione to the start of term one, actually. It’s actually the first birthday party I’ve ever had. Doesn’t matter I was sharing it with several other students, it was still at least partially for me. Neville was there too. Although he’s been going to the parties since fourth year.” Holly tapped her wand on a brick once they reached Oliver’s portrait again, causing the painting to slide out of their way. “Hey Oliver.”

“Hello again, Holly.”

Holly waved to the portrait as they continued down the hall. “Anyway, the next month we went for Hermione’s birthday. And then after we just kept going because it was honestly loads of fun. At Christmas, Hannah and Susan extended a general invitation to all of Gryffindor, and told me to do the same for Ravenclaw.”

“How do all of you get in? Do you go by Oliver?”

“Nah. Professor Sprout never really cared for keeping other houses from getting into their common room. So Hufflepuff actually keeps the same password over the whole year. So, we all just go in the front door.”

“And Bones mentioned something about butterbeer?”

“I’m supposed to sneak butterbeer in. I have an invisibility cloak, which makes it easiest for me. Last month, I forgot, however.”

“Oh, that must have sucked.”

“Yeah. I missed the first hour having to go get it. On the bright side, I do have an agreement with Madam Rosmerta.”

“So you’ll remember this time then?”

“Something tells me you won’t let me forget,” Holly said.

“Damn right. I will not be going to this party only for you to miss out on an hour.” Tracey brushed a hand through her hair. “Should I invite Daph?”

Holly nodded. “Absolutely. Invite anyone you want, actually. Susan told me she was thinking of inviting Slytherin house this time.”

“Imagine if Malfoy got invited.”

“Would he even show up?”

Tracey shrugged. “Probably not, but what if he did?”

Holly giggled. “He’d probably get kicked out. Susan is kinda de facto in charge of planning this stuff, and she will not put up with any of his usual nonsense.”

“Would she hex him?”

“Oh would she ever. The mark she left me with last month took to weeks to fade.”

“Whoa.”

“Yeah. Whatever you do: do not piss off Susan Bones. Ever. Your life may depend on it.”

They both giggled, climbing a flight of stairs to the 5th floor.

They stopped next to a suit of armor. Holly waved at it. It looked down at them. “What is the capital of Kazakhstan?”

Holly scratched her neck. “Oh damn. I know this one. Uh… Bishkek? No wait, that’s Kyrgyzstan…”

What’s going on?” Tracey asked.

“Oh, this is the passage to the Ravenclaw common room. The main door typically asks you a riddle. This just asks you random trivia. First time I found it, it challenged me to learn the capitals of the world. So now all the questions it asks me are random capitals.”

“Astana,” Tracey said. The wall next to the armor sunk into the floor to reveal the passage.

Holly raised her eyebrow at the other girl. “I could have gotten that.”

“I bet. And I knew the answer too.”

“Why do you know the capital of Kazakhstan?”

“I visited Kazakhstan once.”

“Oh. That makes sense,” Holly said. The two girls walked into the passage, the wall closing behind them.

“So, it asks you for capitals every time then?”

“Yup. Mind you, that’s for me. For you, it might ask something stupid like the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow.”

“African or European?”

“That’s what Ron said.”

“Did it answer that?”

“Apparently that was the right answer.”

“What?”

“It’s from a movie. Monty Python. They go on this quest and at one point they have to answer some questions. One of them was something like that, and then one of the characters just responds ‘African or European’. Apparently, it thought throwing in this reference would be amusing.”

Tracey laughed. “Did Granger ever try?”

Holly giggled. “Oh yeah.”

“And?”

“Asked what the answer to life the universe and everything was. She was stumped for days afterward.”

“That’s just a cruel question.”

Holly snorted. “Not really, it’s just 42.”

“You are gonna need to explain that,” Tracey said, confused.

“It’s another reference. This time to a book.”

“Doesn’t Granger love books?”

“She does. But apparently she has never read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Dumbledore has, however. I asked him, and he told me about it. I still haven’t told Hermione, though. I think she ought to figure it out herself.”

“That seems like a pretty reasonable stance,” Tracey said.

“You would think that, but Hermione didn’t agree. She was pretty annoyed after I told her I knew but wouldn’t tell her yet. I just told her it’s in a muggle book. I think I will tell her at the end of the year though.”

“That seems more than fair to me.” Tracey giggled.

Holly stopped. “Right here.” She pushed a hidden button on the wall, causing another part of the wall to slide away, revealing a small library. “Welcome to Ravenclaw Tower.”

Tracey poked her head in. She noticed a few students sitting and reading. The room itself was very quiet.

One girl who was sitting on a couch looked up at them. “Hello Holly Potter,” she said.

“Hey Luna,” Holly replied. “How are you doing?”

Luna shrugged. “I have been fine. Things have been quite nice this year.”

“That’s good Luna. What’s that you’re reading?”

Luna lifted up her book and showed the girls the cover: The Hobbit. “It’s a muggle book I found over Winter break. It’s quite good. I’ve read it 6 times so far.”

Holly sat down next to Luna on the couch. “It’s got a sequel, you know.”

Luna’s eyes widened, which Tracey hadn’t even thought possible considering how wide they were to begin with. “Really?”

Holly nodded. “Yup. It’s called The Lord of the Rings. I can get it for you if you’d like.”

Luna nodded eagerly. “Yes please, Holly Potter.”

Holly smiled, then gestured for Tracey to join them. “Luna, I’d like you to meet Tracey Davis, my new friend. Tracey, this is Luna Lovegood.”

“Hello Tracey Davis,” Luna said, smiling. “Are you her girlfriend?”

Holly’s eyes widened. “I- uh-“

“Yup, that’s me!” Tracey said, smirking.

“Uh no- we’re not-“ Holly stammered out.”

Tracey giggled. “I’m kidding.”

Luna laughed. “You are funny.” She stopped laughing then turned to stare at Tracey. Tracey found the girl’s gaze to be somewhat unnerving. “You could be though. Holly clearly likes you. You’re the only one other than Ron and Hermione she’s shown all these passages.”

“How do you know I’m showing her all the passages?” Holly asked.

“Lucky guess,” Luna said.

“And I’ve shown you some passages.”

“Just the ones into here and the other common rooms. You’re showing Tracey all of them, right?”

Holly nodded. “Yeah… uh…”

“Just think about it. Ok, Holly Potter?”

Holly paused before nodding once. “I will, Luna.”

Luna smiled wide. “Yay!”

Holly smiled back, not nearly as wide. “Gotta go now Luna. Lots of passages to show off.” She stood up and grabbed Tracey’s hand again, waving to Luna as they walked back to the door, which was hidden bye a bookshelf.

Luna waved back. “Bye, Holly Potter!”

Once back in the passage, Tracey gave her thoughts. “She’s… odd.”

Holly nodded. “A little. But she’s a total sweetheart. A great friend. And she’s really smart. Very observant too. She uh…” Holly trailed off.

“She what?”

“She knew I was gay before I did.”

Tracey laughed. “I’m sorry, but I can actually kinda see that.”

Holly mock scowled. “She was the only one.”

Tracey smirked. “No she wasn’t.”

Holly sighed. “You’re right. It was actually Ginny who helped me figure it out, you know.”

“How’d that happen?”

“She uh… well, I was talking to her about Neville. And how while I liked him a lot - he was a great friend, very kind, all that – I just… wasn’t really feeling a relationship. Mind you, I had no idea what a relationship was meant to be like. But it just felt like going through the motions. So, we were talking, and she asked me to kiss her.”

Tracey’s jaw dropped. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Neither was I,” Holly replied. “I protested. Said it would be weird to kiss a girl. Ginny just said that she wasn’t sure I would think that after. After a bit of her trying to tell me that I should try it at least once. So, I kissed her.”

“And?”

“And she kissed me back. She’s a good kisser. I mean, so is Neville, but I never really enjoyed kissing him. I enjoyed this, though.”

“Let me guess. She asked you because she guessed you were probably gay and wanted you to kiss her to see if that was the case?”

Holly nodded. “Basically, yeah.” Holly paused for a few seconds. “She’s actually bi too. Actually, she has a bit of a crush on me. A few days later, she asked me out.”

“What did you say?”

“I declined. I told her I wasn’t entirely sure about my feelings at the moment. She understood.” Holly looked at her feet. “I later regretted that.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes really. It turns out I did like her. Still do kind of. But she has a boyfriend now. I missed my chance.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what? It’s not like you convinced Ginny to go and get a boyfriend while I was still trying to work out my feelings.”

“I know I didn’t. It’s just something people say.”

Holly shrugged. “Dunno why. Not like what they’re apologising for is their fault. It never really made much sense to me. It’s kinda like ‘why are you apologising for my parents being dead? A: I never really knew them to miss them in the first place, really. B: You’re not Voldemort. He killed them, he gets the blame.”

“You mean you don’t miss them?”

“I sort of do and sort of don’t.” Holly struggled to find the words. “It’s like… I miss the idea of them. The possible life that I then wouldn’t have with them. But I didn’t ever actually know them, so there aren’t actual people I knew to miss. Yeah, I got stories about them from Sirius and Remus from time to time. But that’s not really the same as actually having been raised by them.”

“That makes sense. Like, you never knew them, so you don’t really know what it is you’re supposed to miss, but you still feel the loss because it robbed what could have been?”

Holly nodded. “Anyway. Ginny’s a great friend, you know. She helped me figure out I was gay and all. And well… she’s the only person I actually knew who I could actually really talk about this. I mean I could talk to Hermione, but Hermione doesn’t actually like girls; Ginny does. I mean, a lot of boys do too, but I’m not talking about this with a boy.”

Tracey snorted. “Yeah. Have you ever heard what some boys say about us when they think we can’t hear?”

Holly rolled her eyes. “Several times. Mind you, some of what I’ve heard is from Fred and George just being jokers. Like those two didn’t mean what they said, they were making fun of other guys. But uh… do you remember when Cormac McLaggen had to substitute for Ron in our game against Hufflepuff?”

“Yeah. Didn’t he manage to send you to the hospital wing with a bludger, despite the fact that he was supposed to play keeper?”

Holly nodded. “Yup. Anyway, apparently, he’ll be perfectly happy to say that sort of nonsense whatever his audience. Of course, he probably now regrets that.”

“Why do you say that?”

Holly replied, giggling, “Ginny told me she threatened to cut his bits off with a rusty spoon if he didn’t shut up.”

“Oh Merlin. I think I’m starting to have a bit of a crush on her, and I’ve never actually met her.”

“I did say she’s got a boyfriend.”

“For now.”

“I suppose,” Holly said. “Mind you, he is kinda a prat. He keeps managing to upset her over little things. I don’t think it’ll last with them.”

“Are you going to ask her out if they break up?”

Holly shrugged. “Maybe. It depends, really. I mean… I do have that upcoming date with you, right? And if that goes somewhere…”

“And why couldn’t we just share her?”

Holly stumbled, putting a hand against the wall to steady herself. “I’m sorry. What?”

Tracey giggled. “Share her. You know, like both of us date her together.”

Holly’s eyes widened. “I- uh- would she even be ok with that?”

Tracey shrugged. “We could ask her. It’s not like I’m just gonna go up to her and say ‘hey. So, Holly and I are gonna share you now. Have a nice day.’”

Holly flushed. “I don’t think that’s something I particularly want. I mean, I’m not sure.”

“That’s alright, “Tracey said, “it was just a thought.”

Holly nodded. “Right. Yeah. Ok. So, uh… I can show you the passage into Gryffindor tower next.”

“Oh nice. Then I can sneak in to see you whenever I want.”

“I’d like that.”

“But on the way, I know a few shortcuts. And also a long cut. Very circuitous route. Passes by the greenhouses.”

“What’s the point of a passage that does that?”

Holly laughed. “No idea. I’ll show you my favourite short cut. Come on.”

After exiting the passage back at the suit of armor, Holly led Tracey down a hallway and through a left turn before stopping at yet another suit of armor. This time, instead of it asking a question, Holly just twisted the hilt on its sword, causing a section of wall to swing open.

“After you, Ms. Davis,” Tracey said, gesturing at the revealed tunnel.

Tracey stepped inside, followed by Holly. The wall closed up behind them.

“And now, we just go down this one flight of stairs and we’ll be right across from the passage into Gryffindor.”

“That is really close.”

Holly giggled. “It’s a long passage to Gryffindor from there, but this is the fastest way from the Ravenclaw passage to it.”

“I see. What’s the fastest way to the main Gryffindor entrance to Ravenclaw then?”

“I’ll show you after. Come on.” Holly started down the stairs, Tracey following her.

At the bottom, Holly tapped her wand against a spot on the wall, causing it to swing open, allowing them out.

“How do you open this from the outside?”

“You tap the same spot on the outside.”

“That makes sense.”

Holly led Tracey directly across the hall, then tapped on a spot on the adjacent wall, causing yet another section of wall to open for them.

“Alright, just gotta go up 3 flights of stairs, then we should be at the Gryffindor common room.”

Tracey followed Holly up the stairs.

“How did you figure out that you liked girls?” Holly asked.

“I didn’t. Figure it out, that is. I’ve always known. Actually, it was liking guys too that surprised me.”

“Really?”

Tracey nodded. “Yeah. I’m attracted to boys so rarely, that it was a complete shock when I saw this guy once and just thought ‘oh, he’s cute.’”

“So, you mostly prefer girls, then?”

“Yup. I have had crushes on… four guys so far, I think.”

“That’s more than I ever have.”

Tracey laughed. “You said you didn’t like any guys at all.”

“Exactly. Mind you, I could be like you, and that it’s really rare.”

“Could be. But do you really care to find out?”

Holly shrugged. “Not really, no.”

They walked in silence for a bit.

“Who were the four guys?”

“Do you really wanna know?”

Holly smirked. “What? You think I’m gonna be jealous of them?”

“Pfft. Hell no. One of them is too old, one of them is gay, one I don’t have a crush on anymore, and the fourth is… well he’s kinda dead.”

“Oh shit. That sucks.”

“It wasn’t like I was actually dating him, you know.”

“Still. That must have been a little… I dunno what it is, but it isn’t good.”

Tracey shrugged. “Well, that was a couple years ago now. When he died that is. You were actually probably closer to him. As in friends. Maybe.”

“Wait… Cedric?”

Tracey nodded. “After he got selected… well, a lot of other girls thought he was cute, you know?”

Holly nodded.

“Anyway, I did agree. He was pretty cute.”

“And the other three?”

“Well, the gay one is a muggle that lives near me. His name is Brent. The other two…”

“Yeah?”

“Well, one of them was Professor Lupin.”

“You’re joking.”

“No. Really. Actually he was the first guy I thought was cute. Isn’t that a bit messed up?”

Holly shrugged. “Maybe? I dunno. It’s a little weird to me. But that’s more because he was my dad’s friend at Hogwarts.”

“Really?”

“Yup. Anyway, he is currently in a relationship, actually.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. With my godfather, funnily enough.”

“Oh damn. He’s gay too?”

“Either that or bi. They told me over Christmas break after I told them I was gay.”

“I imagine they took it well if they’re together.”

“No duh. Be a bit hypocritical of them, wouldn’t it?”

“Just a bit, yeah.”

“Anyway. Who’s the fourth guy?”

Tracey smirked. “Neville Longbottom.”

“… what?”

“I know. Bit of a coincidence, that. And get this: I liked him before he got hot.”

“Well, I can tell you that he’s a good kisser. Objectively speaking that is.”

“Objectively speaking?”

“Well, it’s not like kissing him is for me. I’m not into him.”

“I’ve been told I’m a good kisser,” Tracey said, smirking at Holly.

“Is that so? Maybe I should try verifying that for myself.”

Tracey’s eyes widened. “I- uh- yes?”

Holly laughed. “Weren’t expecting that response, were ya?”

“I should have.”

“Maybe.” Holly paused. “Wait, who told you you’re a good kisser?”

“Daphne.”

Holly raised an eyebrow. “And here I was under the impression she was straight.”

“Oh, she is. She still said it was a good kiss. Objectively speaking.”

“And uh… why did you kiss her?”

“She kissed me on a dare.”

They continued walking in silence. Eventually, the reached a seemingly blank patch of wall.

“So, uh… there’s a hidden door here. Handle is hidden by an illusion, but you can still feel for it. Here, you try.” Holly grabbed Tracey’s hand, causing her heart rate to spike, and had her feel along a part of the wall until Tracey felt an indent. “Right here.” Tracey’s fingers sank into the wall up to her second knuckles and she felt a latch. She pulled and the wall swung open.

They stepped into the passage, and Holly pulled the door shut behind them, lighting her wand after.

“Alright, just go down this flight of stairs. Comes out through a hidden door next to the fireplace.”

At the bottom of the stairs, Holly tapped her wand against the wall, and a patch of wall right in front of them slid out of the way.

“HELLLOOOOOO!” Holly shouted.

A couple of students, Ginny and Hermione, sitting on a couch looked up at them.

“Hey Holls,” Ginny said at the same time as Hermione said, “no need to shout, Holly.”

“Ginny, Hermione, how are you doing?”

“We’re doing fine, Holls, just working on some homework.” Ginny lifted up the parchment she was working on to show them. “Is that Tracey?”

Holly nodded. “This is indeed my newest friend, Tracey Davis.”

Tracey waved at the two girls. “Hi.”

Ginny waved back. “So how’s the date going?”

Holly spluttered. “Date? What date? This isn’t a date. The date is Saturday.”

“Oh, you asked her then, Holly?” Hermione said, smirking.

Holly flushed. “I uh… well… she asked me.”

Hermione’s smirk grew even wider. “Oh, did she now?”

Holly stuck her tongue out at Hermione. “In my defense, I was about to ask her.”

“I’m sure you were,” Hermione said sarcastically.

“She actually was,” Tracey defended.

“I never said she wasn’t,” Hermione said, giggling. “So, what brings you two here?”

“I’m showing off secret passages,” Holly replied. “After dinner, I’m gonna drop her off using the one into Slytherin.”

“Did you invite her to sit with us, Holly?” Ginny asked.

Holly nodded. “Of course.”

“Good.” Ginny stood up and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Ginny.”

Tracey took the offered hand. “Tracey.”

“You been enjoying yourself? Holly made a fool of herself yet?”

“Oi!”

Hermione snorted.

“I have been, and no she hasn’t.”

Ginny nodded. “Ok. Well, dinner is soon. Come walk down with us.”

“I don’t think that-“

“Nobody will care that you’re not a Gryffindor.”

“But I’m a Slytherin.”

Ginny shrugged. “You’ll be with Holly. Nobody will really care.”

Hermione nodded. “It’s true. Holly can literally get away with almost anything that would typically be a social faux pas.”

“Well, if you say so…”

And with that, the four girls started walking to the great hall together.