Esther
The morning after the Council Meeting, Morwena was slow to rise. Tess stayed in bed a full half an hour later than the time Rebecca had been waking them for school days. The other girls were getting up and using the water closet by Tess’ bed. Tess got up and used it herself. She checked her hair in the old rusted mirror. No worse for wear, she decided.
When Tess emerged from the tiny room, she saw Rhiannon, in her red plaid nightshirt, lingering by Morwena’s bed. Morwena had yet to rise. “Are you all right?” asked Rhiannon.
Tess quickly came over to Morwena’s bed to hear the answer. “Yes, I’m fine,” said Morwena. “I was up late recording everything that happened in my diary. It’s Sunday. There’s no sense in rushing about.”
“Everyone else is up,” said Rhiannon. “We’ll be taking showers, soon.”
Morwena gave a little shudder. “I’m getting tired of showering en masse.” She stretched but did not sit up. “I think I shall wait to shower, perhaps until this afternoon.”
Rhiannon, though, was eager for instructions, orders. “What about the rest of us?”
“You can shower now, if you like.”
We can’t all shower this afternoon, thought Tess. That would defeat your purpose of bathing in private.
In a whisper, Rhiannon asked, “What about Ables?”
Tess intervened. “We’ll manage it. She can shower with me.”
This was Rhiannon’s preference, and it seemed to be Morwena’s preference as well. She nodded and then rolled over, facing the wall. Rhiannon waited, loyally waiting for additional instructions. Tess tugged on Rhiannon’s night shirt. “Come on,” said Tess.
Tess went to her bed and got her towel. The other girls followed suit. They walked as a foursome to the showers. Tess showered with Vanessa and took silent comfort in the other girl’s soothing aura, while Rhiannon kept with Pauline.
When the four girls were wrapped in towels, heading back to their room, Rebecca found them. She was already dressed, in jeans and an oversized wool jumper that was striped emerald green and silver. “Where is Morwena?”
Tess answered promptly, “She was up late, writing in her diary. She’ll shower later.”
Rebecca gave an irritated huff. “That diary better not get in the way of her school work!”
Tess shook her head. “I doubt very much that it will.”
When they arrived back at their room, Morwena was sitting on her bed, brushing her hair. She was wearing a purple top over a grey wool skirt. The other girls dressed in casual clothes. The weekends were the only days they didn’t have to wear their school uniforms. Tess, Pauline and Vanessa wore jeans and jumpers. Pauline’s top paired nicely with her green eyes. Tess and Vanessa both wore blue.
Rhiannon put on a cotton dress that she paired with long socks and a plain grey jumper. “Don’t you have any jeans?” asked Pauline.
Rhiannon blushed and answered softly, “No.”
At breakfast, Morwena received many complements from the older witches.
"You showed poise last night, Felwich. Well done."
"It's not easy staring down Hellgate. I would have wilted."
"You have the look of Prefect, my dear. Keep it up and you'll be a lock."
Morwena nodded and blushed, but when the four of them were on their own, she grinned smugly.
As she ate, Tess listened to the older boys tease Umberto.
"Here comes the Little Solicitor."
"I have detention tonight. Think you can get me out of it?"
"Please, tell us more about Abigail Van Helsing!"
Umberto, too, kept a smug smile on his face. He knew that this razing was their way to show admiration at his feat of outfoxing Helen Hellgate at Council.
As he took his seat at the table, across from Morwena, he said amiably, "Good morning, Mistress."
At this, her face turned hot, and she hissed, "Umberto, please!"
He nodded his head, and he never called her that again.
It was raining that morning, so the girls took a walk through the castle. Pauline paused by an empty frame. “Are they going to put a picture here?” she asked.
“There is a picture there,” said Morwena. “The subject has wandered off.”
Down a further hallway, they saw another painting: a knight in silver armour astride a fat pony, sitting in a broad meadow. As they passed, the knight called out to them. “Greetings, fair maids! Well met!”
Pauline gave a start. Morwena was momentarily at a loss for words, but Tess answered promptly, “Good morning, sir!”
The knight raised his face plate, showing off keen blue eyes and a bushy brown mustache. He asked eagerly, “Are you on a Quest?”
Tess laughed. “No, sir, we’re just on a walk.”
“There are dangers about! Young maids should not go wandering unescorted. You could come across a troll, or a dragon!”
“I think we shall be quite safe inside the castle,” said Tess, primly.
“Quite right,” admitted the knight.
“If you’ll excuse us, we’ll be on our way.”
“Farewell!” he cried out. “If ever you have need of noble heart and steely sinew, call upon Sir Cadogan!”
Tess laughed again. “We certainly shall!”
After they had taken a few steps, Pauline said, “I don’t know if I shall ever get used to that – figures wandering around from painting to painting, conversing with you as you walk down the hallway!”
“I think you’ll get used to it soon enough,” said Morwena.
“Was that a real person?” asked Pauline.
“Yes,” said Morwena, firmly. “I don’t think we’ve quite gotten to Sir Cadogan in History of Magic, but I’m told that all the portraits in castle are of historical figures.”
After their walk, they returned to the Halls of the Serpent, to their favourite little space, with the two sofas. Tess and Pauline sat on one sofa, Morwena and Rhiannon on the other. The conversation swirled and turned from topic to topic.
Rhiannon had received a letter from home. She relayed a mishap her sister Shona had gotten into. “Mum said she went chasing after a unicorn foal in a field near the house and came home covered in mud!” Rhiannon sighed while the others laughed. “It’s because she’s the youngest that she gets to do stupid stuff. If I had gone running off like that, Grandmum would have locked me away in a tower.”
Pauline laughed. “You would’ve had to wait until some brave lad came to rescue you, like Rapunzel!”
Rhiannon shook her head. “My hair wouldn’t grow into tresses. It would grow out, until it filled the whole room. A giant ball of orange wool,” she added, to laughter.
After lunch, the girls returned to the Halls. On their way to the dormitory, Morwena poked her head into the shower room. The room was empty. “I think I’m going to take my shower now.”
Morwena went to her bed and got her robe and towel. Rhiannon stood by, nervous and worried. “What do you want us to do?”
Morwena smiled kindly. “Just take some time and relax.” Morwena went out into the hallway and disappeared from sight.
Tess was bored, restless. She looked at Pauline and said, “Do you want to see a picture of a handsome boy?”
Pauline laughed. “Sure!”
Tess had been wanting to see the picture of Scott Highcross again, but there was never a time when she wasn’t with the other girls. Now that Morwena was occupied, this was the perfect time.
Tess led Pauline out of the dormitories and into the main part of the Upper Halls. Rhiannon reluctantly followed. When Pauline saw they were headed for the Quidditch library, she exclaimed, “Not the blond boy! He’s so haughty!”
“No, not him,” said Tess, laughing. “There’s this other boy. I nearly walked by him, but he was so handsome, I had to stop. He likes me, too, I think.”
“What boy is this?” growled Rhiannon.
“Scott Highcross.”
“Never heard of him.”
Tess laughed, and with a shrug, said, “Me neither, but really, is that too surprising?”
The girls walked right by haughty Draco Malfoy. He seemed quite offended that the girls didn’t pay him any mind. Instead, the girls crowded around the picture of Scott Highcross.
Right away, Highcross’ face lit up as he gazed at Tess. “Oh my,” said Pauline. “He does like you.” She peered curiously at the photo. Turning to Rhiannon, Pauline asked, “He can’t talk?”
Rhiannon stood a step behind Tess. Her face was impassive, and she spoke in a disinterested monotone. “Photographs don’t talk. Only paintings talk and move from frame to frame.”
Tess was transfixed by the handsome boy and his ardent gaze. Highcross seemed not to see either Pauline or Rhiannon.
Pauline, looking back to the photo, said, “He’s trying to talk. His mouth is moving!” She leaned in and peered closely at the photo. “I think he’s calling her ‘Esther!’”
Tess blushed. “That’s not my name!”
Rhiannon peered between the other girls’ heads at the photograph. “I think you’re right, Pauline. I don’t know why, but he’s calling Tess ‘Esther.’ He’s saying it over and over again!”
To their left, they heard heavy footsteps. The three girls moved closely together. Into the hallway strolled Robert Kaufmann, taking long strides. “Hullo girls,” he said as he passed. Once he had made a few strides past where they stood, he stopped and turned back. “That’s the second time, Tess, that I’ve caught you looking at that photograph.”
Tess, still blushing, answered, “He likes me.”
“Does he?” asked Robert, amused.
Pauline exclaimed urgently, “He’s calling her ‘Esther!’”
Robert’s expression changed from amusement, to alarm, to concern. “Highcross is calling Tess ‘Esther?’” He took a step back, towards the girls. He looked at each girl in turn before focusing on Pauline. “You’re sure?”
Pauline looked back at the photograph, but Highcross had assumed his pose once more, holding the captured Snitch aloft in his right hand. “You can’t hear him, of course,” said Pauline, “but he was mouthing words to us, and I’m sure he was saying ‘Esther.’” She mimicked Highcross’ exaggerated expression. “Es-ter, Es-ter.”
“That is remarkable,” said Robert, quietly.
Tess, embarrassed by all this attention, said, “He must think I’m an old girlfriend of his.”
Robert set a hand on her shoulder. “That is an interesting hypothesis, Tess.”
This was just the sort of thing that Devon Covenshire would say, in a most condescending fashion, to some declaration of Tess’ that he thought was ridiculous. Robert, though, was tender rather than sarcastic. “We should investigate this and find out if you’re right.”
Just then, down the hallway came a boy’s deep voice. “Kaufmann! Where the hell are you?”
“I must go.” Robert strode away from the girls once more, and again, came to an abrupt stop. He looked back at Tess and said, “In your case, Tess is short for Tesserach, is it not?”
Tess cringed. “Yes,” she said, weakly.
“And yet . . .” For a moment, he was lost in thought. “. . . if it’s a coincidence, it’s an extraordinary one . . . but, Tess is also short for Esther.”
A paper aeroplane flew into the museum hallway and hit Robert right in the head. He pulled it from his hair and crumpled it. “My friends are getting impatient with me,” he said. “I will see you girls at dinner.”
As he walked away, Tess said again, “That’s not my name.”
Rhiannon, sternly: “I want to know what Morwena thinks about all this.”
When they returned to the dormitory, Morwena was out of the shower. She was sitting on her bed, in her robe, brushing her damp hair. “Where did the three of you wander off to? I got back and it was just her here.”
Tess looked to her left. To her surprise, there was Vanessa laying on her bed. “Oh, hullo,” said Tess politely. “You feeling alright?”
“Oh, I’m fine,” said Vanessa. “Rebecca thought I’d had too much boys for one day, and I needed to spend some time with you lot.”
Rhiannon, in low tones, filled Morwena in on what happened. Morwena continued to brush her hair. She didn’t look up at Rhiannon, but listened with a cross look on her face.
Pauline asked, “Is it common for a magical photograph to call someone by the wrong name?”
“No, it is not,” answered Morwena, worry evident upon her face. “I’ve never heard of anything like this.”
“Neither had the older boy, Kaufmann,” said Pauline.
Morwena stood and set her brush on her side table. “I’m going to dress. Then, I want to see this picture for myself.”
The other girls backed away from Morwena’s bed. Morwena drew the curtains round herself and dressed once more into her skirt and sweater. Vanessa sat up and slipped her feet into fuzzy pink slippers. It was clear she intended to go with them.
Tess wasn’t sure she liked this idea, but there was nothing she could do about it. It was the will of their prefect that Vanessa join them.
When Morwena was dressed, Tess led the five of them back to the Quidditch museum. As they approached Highcross’ picture, Morwena said, “I remember now, you stopped by this photo during the tour, the night we arrived. Rebecca had to circle back for you.”
As soon as Highcross saw Tess, he lowered his arm and gazed into her eyes. Right away, his lips began to move, “Esther, Esther,” he said, over and over again. Morwena’s dark eyebrows came together as she gazed with all her concentration at the photograph.
“Let’s do an experiment,” said Rhiannon. She came behind Vanessa and clutched her arms in her freckled hands. “Since you’re here, Ables, let’s have you be useful.” She led Vanessa forward, towards the photograph. Tess and Morwena stepped aside. As soon as Tess was out of his direct line of sight, Scott Highcross resumed his victory pose.
“Your aura doesn’t seem to affect this boys at all,” said Rhiannon, slyly. “He must prefer brunettes.”
Vanessa wriggled out from Rhiannon’s clutches and took a few steps towards Malfoy’s portrait. “I have plenty of boys already,” said Vanessa, coolly. “I don’t need a photograph.”
Morwena, lost in thought, murmured, “Not Vanessa, not Pauline, not me, not Rhi. Only Tess. And, he calls her Esther.” Looking to Rhiannon, she asked, “Do you know anyone in your family by that name?”
“I don’t know anybody named Esther,” said Rhiannon.
Morwena turned and gazed at the photo’s caption. “And I don’t know anyone named Highcross. In all of my genealogical studies, I’ve never come across that name once. Not connected to any Slytherin family!” With exasperation, she added, “Who is this guy?”