The Odd Girl Out
One of the older boys towered over Tess and Morwena. He had a thick head of dark brown hair that looked tousled and wind-blown, as if he had just removed a wool cap. Otherwise, he looked handsome, with a slight stubble on his chin. He gazed at the girls and said, “Old Highcross caught your eye, did he?”
Morwena lowered her eyes demurely and did not speak. Tess, though, answered brightly, “He’s just handsome, that’s all.”
The boy nodded. “Tess Covenshire, isn’t it?”
“Yes! And this is my friend, Morwena Felwich.”
“Robert Kaufmann, at your service.” He gave an exaggerated bow. “Are you Devon Covenshire’s little sister?”
“I am! Do you know Dev?”
“Yes. He was a year ahead of me, and in Ravenclaw, but we worked on some projects last year. We were in NEWT History together.”
Tess gave a little laugh. “I think I remember seeing the two of you together!”
“Eight years separate you?” asked Robert.
“Yes. He’s my half-brother. Same father, different mother.”
“I remember him saying he had a step-mother.”
“They were kind words, I hope,” said Tess, with a laugh.
“For the most part, they were,” said Robert, gently.
From the hallway behind Robert, they heard the voice of Rebecca. “Robert?”
Robert turned and gave another exaggerated bow. “Prefect Gallstone,” he said, in a slightly mocking tone. “I was introducing myself to these charming young ladies. Tess here is the sister of one of my fellow History buffs.”
“I know,” said Rebecca, coolly. “I’m giving them a tour. I need to show them their dormitory.”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” said Robert, gallantly. “Carry on.”
Behind Rebecca waited the three other girls. Vanessa stood slightly apart from Pauline and Rhiannon. “This way, girls. I’ll have to backtrack a little, to get these to dawdlers up to speed.”
She led the five girls down a narrow corridor. Off either side were little rooms of various sizes with chairs and side tables. "We could study in any one of these rooms," said Morwena quietly. Tess nodded in agreement.
They paused at a stairwell going down. "The Slytherin Council room is downstairs, and there are other study halls and dormitories. The next time there is a Council meeting, I will escort you down there. Otherwise, it’s off limits for students under Year Four. Even Fourth Years are usually escorted around the Lower Hall.”
Tess felt this was a reasonable restriction. There are plenty of rooms up here us. She took a quick survey of the others' faces. Morwena, Rhiannon and Pauline all seemed fine with it. Vanessa, though, had a gleeful look on her face, as if something funny had occurred to her that she did not want to blurt out in front of Rebecca.
Rebecca brought them to an archway, over which was painted some flowers. “Note the poisonous purple pansies,” said Rebecca. “This is the beginning of the girls-only area, upstairs. Your dormitories, and the showers, are around the corner.
The hallway turned sharply, first left and then right, so the rooms beyond were out of view of the archway. Rebecca pushed open a door on the right side of the hallway. “This is where the showers are,” she said. “I will take you here in the morning. Right now, I just wanted you to know where it was.”
A little further down the passageway was a room with five beds. There was no door, only another archway leading to the main hallway. Morwena quickly questioned this. “Why is there not a door?”
“You don’t need a door,” said Rebecca. “It’s just us girls in this part of the hallway. If you’re feeling modest, the beds are curtained.”
Tess found her trunk at the foot of one of the beds and began unpacking it. No one seemed inclined to trade spots, though Tess soon learned she had the poorest placement, right next to the water closet and its noisy plumbing.
She opened one of the drawers and looked inside. Empty, clean, fresh smelling. It's no wardrobe, but it'll do. She began placing her clothes in the dresser.
As Tess unpacked, her cousin, Delia Soulbridge, came into the room. Delia was a Third Year. Tess was usually unclear on how people in her family were related to her, but she knew that Delia was the daughter of Tess' mother's brother.
"So, Tess, what a pleasant surprise!” said Delia, cheerfully. “We all thought you'd go to Ravenclaw like Devon and Uncle Whorley."
"Well, you know what we say about Dev," said Tess. "Master of the Archaic, Disciple of the Arcane, no practical skills." The two girls shared a laugh.
"Aunt Livy will be pleased."
"I'm sure she will be. I must write her. In fact, I should do so tonight."
"I'll loan you my owl." Delia gazed at the other girls. Vanessa, Pauline and Rhiannon had looked up when Delia came into the room, but they had all returned to unpacking. Only Morwena continued warily watching the newcomer. "What a cute little coven you girls make,” said Delia.
After Delia left, the five girls all took pens, ink and parchment to a nearby study, where there were comfortable chairs and little tables and desks. It was time for each of them to write letters home.
Tess had a lovely, flowing hand, which she had been practicing daily in primary school for just such a purpose. She wrote:
Mum & Dad
Made it safely to Hogwarts. The big announcement: I'm in
Slytherin! Hope that's all right with you, Daddy. Paired up with Morwena
Felwich on the train. I think we're going to be close friends for a long time.
Rhi MacDougal is with us, and another girl, Pauline Langlet.
We make quite the foursome. All we need now is some good weather and we can
play tennis . . .
She rambled on further about the other students in her year before wrapping thing up.
They were all still writing when Delia returned. She had on her arm her pet owl, a tawny with large dark eyes. The feather pattern around her face made her look as if she wore large round spectacles. “What a little cutie!” said Tess.
“This is Eowyn,” said Delia. “I’ll have a letter for her to bring, also, to bring back to Godric’s Hollow.”
To the other girls, she said, “Does anyone else need an owl for their letter home?”
Pauline looked up, suddenly worried. Morwena answered coolly, “We’ll manage, thank you.”
When Delia had left, Pauline asked, “We need owls to send our letters home?”
“Yes,” said Rhiannon, with a sidelong look at Vanessa, who had stopped writing to eavesdrop. “But, it’s okay. I’ll lend you mine.”
“And I can send your letter home with mine, Rhi,” said Morwena. Giving Vanessa the same cool, hostile gaze, she added, “Do you need an owl for your letter, Ables?”
“No, I’m fine,” said Vanessa. She lowered her head and went back to her writing.
Rebecca returned promptly at eight thirty, gathered the girls up and led them back to the dormitory. Tess put away her parchment. She looked once more at her books and wondered which class would be first on her schedule. She tested the bed with a push of her hand. It looked narrow and felt firm. I hope I won't have trouble sleeping.
The water closet was so narrow as to be claustrophobic. Over the pedestal sink was an old mirror with a rusty frame. Sparing no expense for the First Years. I wonder if the boys even have a mirror in their toilet.
Coming out of the door, she passed Vanessa, who gave her a confiding smile. Tess returned to her curtained bed and pulled out her nightgown from her dresser.
Outside her curtain, she heard a harsh whisper. "Morwena!"
Tess went out to see what was going on. Morwena and Pauline were facing off, with Rhiannon looking worried, unsure of where to stand. "Yes?" said Morwena calmly.
"What is meant by all this talk of Mudbloods?" asked Pauline. When Morwena hesitated, she continued. "It means me, doesn't it? Me and the boy, Gordon."
"Yes."
A spasm of fear and anguish crossed Pauline's face. "Why did you bring me here? They will hate me when they find out what I am. They'll kill me!"
"They won't kill Gordon, and they won't kill you." Morwena approached Pauline until she was close enough to set her hand on Pauline's arm. "You did very well at dinner tonight. They suspect nothing yet. Unlike Gordon, you will have a chance to prove yourself. Once you have done that, they will not be able to say anything or do anything to you.
"And, when they know, if they dare try and tear you down, the three of us will fight for you. With wands, if necessary."
Tess was astounded. Morwena was committing all of them to fight, even against older students, to protect Muggleborn Pauline. Pauline seemed unconvinced. Morwena reached up and gave Pauline a hug and a peck on the cheek. Rhiannon wrapped her arms around Pauline and gave her a hard squeeze and kiss.
I do not want to be the odd girl out, thought Tess. She approached the green-eyed girl, still beautiful in her fear and her end of the day disheveled-ness. Tess gave her a hug and felt a thrilling shiver as the girl kissed her cheek.
Just then, Vanessa emerged from the water closet. "Are you all having a meeting? You should have told me. I could have brought out my teacups."
Morwena glared at her with a look of venomous hatred. Morwena must suspect Vanessa of whispering some fear into Pauline's ears, thought Tess. But it was just as likely the rough talk of Cyrus and Stainton that set her off.
How would she know, anyway, that Pauline is Muggleborn? Vanessa's not that clever.
Rebecca came back into the room, ending the standoff. "All right, girls, I want you in your nightgowns and in bed. We have class tomorrow."
Each girl retreated to her own curtained areas. Tess put on her nightgown and got into bed. There was some enchantment in the mattress, she noted. It was wider than it looked, and as she lay there, it seemed to soften to her liking.
A few minutes later, Rebecca peeked at her from behind the curtain. "Good. Thank you for being so cooperative." Tess smiled warmly at her, and so, the older girl came through the curtain and sat on the edge of the bed. "Some girls want to be strong, stiff-upper-lip English girls. But even the strongest-willed girl can do for a bit of mothering at times, especially behind the curtain, where no one else can see."
Tess continued to beam brightly at Rebecca, remaining silent while encouraging the older girl to continue talking. "It's nervous work for me. I've never been a prefect before, though I wanted to be one ever since I was your age.
"You're such pretty girls, all of you. I was such a homely, awkward girl at eleven."
"But you're lovely now," said Tess earnestly. "I don't have curves like you."
Now it was Rebecca's turn to smile and blush. "Your curves will come in time, sweetie." She sighed. "I wonder how Blake is getting on with those boys. The Kane boy promises to be a handful. Are you five getting along all right? I seemed to have walked into a bit of a stand-off."
"I don't think it's too serious, not yet anyway. With five girls, I think there will always be an odd girl out."
Rebecca nodded. "And right now, Ables is the odd girl. I should go and check on her." She petted Tess cheek gently before rising.
Tess stayed awake for a little while, gazing up at the greenish lights flickering on the ceiling. Things have worked out wonderfully, on the whole. Three friends, who promise to be best friends before long. I was so lucky Morwena found me on the train.
But then, she thought, No. It wasn't luck. It was all according to plan - Morwena's plan. I was recruited, just like Pauline was. Morwena must have targeted me after my comments that day at Calliope's.
Morwena and Rhiannon must have split up on purpose, so Morwena could look for me and Rhi could find . . . Pauline specifically? . . . No, they didn't know Pauline ahead of time. Morwena didn't know Pauline was Muggleborn until she asked the question, and I bet Rhi didn't know either until that moment . . .
So, what had been the plan? What did Morwena tell Rhiannon to do? . . . Go find someone pretty and alone, that Rhi could pull in with kindness and sympathy, just like Morwena had pulled in Rhiannon . . . and me. . .. That's why the girls didn't have their cloaks on! Rhi wanted Morwena's approval. 'Look who I found! Isn't she pretty and well dressed?'
But, what if Rhi had come back with Vanessa? She could have been alone, and she's certainly pretty . . . beautiful, even . . . No. Morwena plans ahead. She hates Vanessa, and she didn't just start hating her today.
Morwena knew Vanessa was eleven and would come to Hogwarts. She even predicted Vanessa would land in Slytherin.
Morwena could count on Rhiannon being with her, staying loyal to her. But what if Vanessa paired up with someone? It could have been two on two, just like the boys. Or worse, three on two against . . ..
Morwena wouldn't have liked those odds. She can be assertive, but she's also a little shy. How she disappeared into the crowd in the train compartment! How she shirked from vying with Calliope for dominance!
No, she would want the odds stacked in her favour. If Vanessa was to be in Slytherin, over that Morwena would have no control. But against that beautiful, crude girl, against Calliope, against any other unknown rival, Morwena would bring Four - herself, and three close, loyal friends.
That was the plan, and the two of them executed it perfectly. Maybe they hadn't meant to recruit a Muggleborn on their first day at Hogwarts, but, once they were on the boat, there was nothing to do but go through with it. Besides, with the Progressives in power, this might even work to Morwena's advantage, politically. 'What a good student, and look how she sheltered and mentored Muggleborn Pauline . . . Yes, that would look very good six years from now, when the Headmistress is selecting the next Head Girl . . ..
So, in the coming War against Vanessa, can they count on me? Absolutely . . .. Tess' hand tingled with the memory of Morwena holding it. Those moments of calm and comfort, when Tess was frightened and lonely for her family had won Tess' loyalty. She would be true to her new friends.
That's how things get done in Slytherin House, after all. You make friends, build alliances, and out-maneuver your enemies . . ..
With that thought, Tess fell asleep.
In the morning, Rebecca roused them early and marched them, in their nightgowns, with towels over their arms, down the hallway to the showers. She led them through the door she had pointed out the night before into a large room with benches and tables. Some other girls were in the room already, older, but none as old as Rebecca. They were either dressing or undressing.
The girls were clumped together in little groups, presumably by age, some talking gaily while others were silent and sullen in the early morning. Along a far wall, there was a row of mirrors before which other girls sat, combing their wet hair and applying makeup.
"Get undressed here, and I'll take you to the showers."
"Do you shower in here, too?" asked Vanessa.
"No. The older students have dormitories and showers downstairs."
The First Year girls began to undress. Tess was a little embarrassed undressing in front of the older girls, many of whom she did not know. Morwena looked utterly mortified. Rhiannon, too, looked uneasy. She kept her eyes down; her cheeks were flushed. Pauline was more relaxed. Of the five of them Vanessa was the most confident. She seems quite comfortable, like she parades around her home in the nude all the time, thought Tess.
Rebecca led them next to the showers, several tiled alcoves with drains below and shower heads above. There were bars of soap and pump dispensers of shampoo and conditioner. "You five can have this one," said Rebecca, pointing to one of the alcoves.
Two shower heads for five girls? thought Tess. That's how it is when one's a First Year, is it?
This was farther ahead than Morwena had planned. Rhiannon looked expectantly at her for instructions. Vanessa walked up to one of the faucet and gave it a firm spin. Steaming water streamed down from one of the shower heads. She doused her hair and reached for a squirt of shampoo.
Morwena had her arms crossed over her chest in a vain attempt at modesty. She pointed two-fingered, like a peace sign, indicating Rhiannon and Pauline, and then gestured to the showerhead Vanessa was not using. Rhiannon nodded. She and Pauline went to that one, while Morwena and Tess joined Vanessa.
As they washed, Vanessa made idle chatter. "I wish there were some boys around. That would fun, don't you think?"
Morwena scowled at her, while Tess gave her a smug smile. I bet you would love a bunch of boys gawking at you.
Vanessa tried again. "What do you think goes on in the clubs downstairs? Why do you think they were so keen to keep us out?"
Morwena, washing her hair, pretended not to hear the question. "It's because their rooms are downstairs," said Tess. "They want to get away from us little ones sometimes."
"I think," said Vanessa in a dramatic stage whisper, "that those club rooms are where the older girls go to have sex with their boyfriends!"
"Would you shut up!" snapped Morwena. "I've had enough of your vile mind already! I will not have you harming our reputation with your smutty talk!"
The two girls faced off silently. Though still intensely loyal to Morwena, Tess felt a begrudging admiration for Vanessa, as if some enchantment was tugging at her heartstrings.
Vanessa flicked back her blond hair and snapped, "Who appointed you Mistress, anyway?" She turned and stormed back to the changing room.