Chapter 1
Summer had been… Eventful.
When Lilian had come home, with her hair cut so short, her parents had nearly had a conniption. Let alone the fact that her hair was now permanently and irrevocably white.
Needless to say, there were so many things that Lilian had told them, about Hogwarts, her new friends and the incredible lessons she’d been learning.
She’d kept correspondence with all of her friends, regularly updated about the tree farm from Hubei as she talked on about Harrow learning how to play quidditch.
Abby came over regularly, as she always did but now there was the new mystery that lay before them. The mystery of the Ice Vault and how it could potentially lead to Abby’s brother and her cousin, Jacob McKinley.
She couldn’t lie, the idea of finding Jacob after so long certainly enticed her, especially when he’d been the one to inspire her to learn magic as much as possible.
Even without the mystery of the Cursed Vaults, Lilian had plenty to occupy her time. When she’d returned from Hogwarts, all of her friends had excitedly gathered around to ask about the new transfer school Lilian was attending, trying to learn as much as possible.
Of course, inevitably, her childhood bully Sydney would walk down the street, sneering at Lilian in her typical way, though this time she seemed… Off.
“Hey! How come Le’Rude gets to dye her hair and I can't! Ugh this is so unfair! Whatever. It’s not even a cute color, so it totally doesn’t count.”
Lilian simply smiled, though her hair was still a rather sore subject with her. Of course, no one else really knew that when they complimented her on her hair color and how it made her look more noble like a lady from stories.
After what felt like an entirely too short summer of study, mystery solving and puzzling what little clues Abby had together, she stood once more on Platform 9 ¾ waiting to board the Hogwarts express. Flanked by Abby and her crocodiles and her own familiar Eleanor, Lilian smiled as she saw the Khanna twins, Harrow and Hubei, standing alongside Penny Haywood.
Penny was a rather nice girl, whom Abby had met while looking into the cursed vaults. Eventually she was introduced to Lilian, and the two had become fast friends over studies. Between Penny, Hubei and Lilian, there was never a conversation one couldn’t learn something new from.
“I’m positively ecstatic about this year! Madam Pomfrey’s supposed to be getting Snap Dragon seeds for us to practice with!”
Lilian giggled a little. How odd for the name ‘Snap Dragon’ to mean something so completely different in the muggle world than it did in the wizarding world. But then again, such was how everything truly was.
“Yes, though I suppose I’m more interested in Charms and Transfiguration. I recently read a book on animated suits of Armor and It’s all rather inspiring.”
Hubei suddenly remembered something as she dug into her satchel while everyones trunks were being loaded onto the train. “Speaking of Animated… I read the book you lent me, Lilian, and I must say that it’s wonderfully well written! I was almost positive that this ‘Mary Shelley’ had to have been a witch, but no! Astoundingly, it was her neighbor Abbigail Rotwillow who was the wizard in that relationship!”
Lilian stood there, slightly confused. “Relationship? Mary Shelley was married to a man named Percy.”
Now it was Rowan’s turn to look confused. “No? It’s in ‘Witches of the Ages’ that Abbigail Rotwillow married a muggle woman named Marian Shelley, with whom she lived out her days with.”
The two stood on the platform, confused before boarding the train and continuing the discussion. As they did so, Abby and Harrow talked about quidditch and how excited the two of them were to be quidditch rivals.
All was well, the introduction ceremonies and selection had gone on as normal, with quite a few new faces amongst the Ravenclaw house. Everyone quickly went about welcoming the first years to Hogwarts, everyone eating their fill at the feast.
Soon, students filed away to their dorms when someone tugged on Lilian’s sleeve. She turned to find a worried Penny, who pulled her off to the side. Lilian saw Abby and Harrow as well, each looking worried.
“What’s the matter Penny? You’re rather… Tense.”
Penny nodded before taking a deep breath. “I think Ben might be in trouble. I haven’t seen him at all since the train and I’m starting to get worried. Not even at the welcome feast.”
Lilian frowned, puzzled by this new revelation.
“We should ask Professor McGonagall. She’d best know how to help.” Harrow suggested. Abby looked at him and nodded while Penny gave a brave smile.
“That’s great! Harrow, you could ask her and we could meet up tomorrow to try and look!”
The four nodded to each other before splitting off for their respective dorms.
But something did bother Lilian. Ben, while not the bravest soul, wouldn’t disappear without a reason. It just wasn’t like him. So why was he now?
The next day, Lilian found Harrow running up to her and Hubei as they were on their way to class.
“Lilian… Professor McGonagall said that we should check his hiding spots. I already told Abby and Penny so they’re checking the Artefact room and Courtyard. Could you check near the school yards?”
Lilian nodded, though with Charms lessons she didn’t know how effective she’d be. Hubei just looked at the two confused. “What’s going on?”
Lilian frowned before explaining how Ben had turned up missing and how Abby, Penny and Harrow had asked for their help looking. Hubei frowned and held her chin in her hand as she thought about it. "Well, If there's anything suspicious, we'll let everyone else know. Until then, We'll try out best to figure out what has happened."
Harrow nodded. "Great. Now, I've got flying practice, so I'll see you guys at lunch. Later!"
Hubei sighed, watching her brother run towards the practice fields. "My brother has way too much energy. It's as if he were a Snidgetin a previous life."
"Snidget? Don't you mean a Snitch?" Lilian asked as the two walked towards the Charms classroom.
"Well, Many people believe that chasing a Golden Snidget, a small golden bird that is really fast and excellent at hiding, was the birth of Quidditch. Though, They're a protected magical species now and endangered."
Lilian thought about this as the two walked along, scratching the short hair she'd managed to grow out over the summer. "It seems rather cruel to use an unknowing animal for a sport without caring for it. I mean, Horsemanship is a thing but still."
"Lilian, that's why we started using Snitches. It's more humane and hopefully we can help save the Snidget population."
Lilian nodded to Hubei as the two took their seats for the Engorgio lecture. Lilian noted a few small items in her notebook, amongst the other small trivia needed to pass the multiple choice items on the test. Lilian looked at the apple that they would be testing the spell on and thought about the possibilities of a spell such as this. Could people be shrunk down? And if there were a spell to enlarge, could there be one to reduce?
"-Miss Le'Reau!"
Lilian looked up with a jolt, turning towards Professor Flitwick. "O-oui, Professor?"
Lilian couldn't tell if the snickering in the back was malice towards Lilian for not paying attention, or simple immaturity.
"I had hoped you could demonstrate an attempt at the Enlarging Charm. You do seem to have a knack for charms."
Lilian nodded towards the Professor before walking down towards the class center. She looked to the apple, held her wand before looking to the professor. With a nod from Professor Flitwick, Lilian took a breath and swung her wand.
"Engorgio!"
Everyone looked to her, astonished as the apple sat on the stool, completely taking up the seat.
"Outstanding Miss Le'Reau! With more practice, I daresay that you'll be able to control the growth rate of any object you cast upon!"
Lilian smiled, staring at the apple. Returning to her desk, Lilian couldn't help but feel giddy over her best attempt at a new spell.
If only finding her friend were so easy...