Life After Death - An Erica Black Continuation (4)

Fourty Nine

The little dark haired boy followed his Head of house up to the second floor and into her office.
"Tea?" The witch asked him absentmindedly, picking up a tray with a teapot and two cups and saucers on it. The boy took a seat and watched in awe as she glided elegantly about her office, fixing tea. He had to remind himself that his was the same witch who had turned up to the start of year feast, late and without shoes.  "Yes, please" he nodded, accepting the cup and taking two sugars from the pot.
"So, what's up, how can I help you?" She smiled brightly at the young student, taking her own seat opposite him.
"I- I don't feel like I want to be in the boy's dorms" they stuttered, clearly anxious by the situation; nodding understandingly, she asked them a question which made them feel more at home than they ever had before.
"Okay, what's your name and pronouns and where would you feel more at home?"
"I'm Jake and-" they began but Erica cut them off softly.
"Is that your preferred name? If not I can have the registration changed before classes begin."
"Oh, Juno I think is my preferred name, Juno Nott. I would like to use they them pronouns if possible" They corrected their self, looking down to their lap, hiding the soft flush on their cheeks. "Yes, of course, that is not a problem at all, I can pop a note on your registration so your teachers will know as well, okay?"
"O-okay Miss" they nodded, looking up to smile at the kind woman who then continued to speak; "Now, what can we do, do you think, about the dormitories?"
"I'm not sure Miss" they shrugged.
"Okay Juno, not to worry lovely, here's what I can do for you, either you can stay in the boy's dormitory and I will check in on you every couple of days until you're settled,  I can move you into the girl's dormitory, there's only two first year girls in this house this year so it'll be much quieter and more private. If you do chose to move, we can go back now and we can make some adjustments to help you feel more comfortable. If that isn't quite right for you either, then I can speak to the Headmistress and see if there's anything else that can be done. So what would you like to do Juno?" the Head of house smiled at them, they hesitated for a moment before speaking; "Um, can I try the girl's dormitory?" A smile broke onto Erica's face.
"Of course you can. Finish up your tea and then we can wander back."

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They sat in silence, Juno sipping their tea and the professor waving her wand at pieces of paper with a look of quiet contemplation on her face. Once everything had been filed and the tea had been drunk, Erica Black led the young student down the corridors and stairs of Hogwarts castle into the depths of the dungeons and to the wall that concealed the entrance to the Slytherin common room. "Tradition" she spoke clearly before turning to face the student besides her.  She lead them towards the doorway to the girls dormitories and stopped; she couldn't help but notice the worry of their face as they eyed the door anxiously.
"The castle should recognise your true identity, don't worry about it not letting you in. I know I said boys cannot enter the girls dorms and girl cannot enter the boys but you are not a boy. okay?" they swallowed anxiously but puffed out their chest and nodded with all the certainty they could muster "okay."

"Okay so what I'm going to do for you is this;" she grinned, waving her wand at a chest in front of a spare bed and silently transfiguring it into a dark wood divider which stood at an angle beside the bed where Juno's things had already been relocated, blocking it from the view of the rest of the dorm. The last bed from the door, next to a large window that emitted a green light from the depths of the lake. The divider created a private little corner, separated from the rest of the room. She glanced over at the child who had been watching in quiet awe "Is that better?"
she asked, they nodded, "Thank you, Professor Black" they smiled softly at the witch.
"No problem. Now you go ahead and unpack, get some sleep. My office is always open, you know where it is. Goodnight now, Juno." She waved, grinning as she left the room, closing the door behind herself.

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Willow E. Black,

I hope you had a good time with your God-father and Narcissa in Romania. Now, I am sure you have a lot of settling in to do over the next few days but if you would like, I would love for you to stop by Saturday afternoon for some tea. Be sure to pass this message onto your sister, you know what she can be like with the post, she does tend to forget to open it.

Lots of love,
Mum

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Teddy R. Lupin,

You could've told me McGonagall accepted your proposition. This is wonderful Ted, you're a pioneer, the first councillor in the entire twelve century history of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Absolutely incredible. I am so insanely proud of you, Merlin's beard.
Come see me tomorrow, in my office. I want to know more. I want to know how to help.

Lots of love,
Erica W. Black

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Erica Black took her shoes off her feet, wandered to the window with the sealed letters and
"Mercher, take this to Teddy Lupin's office." She commanded the first owl, handing him a letter before turning to the other and holding out the second letter, "Iris, go see Willow Black in Ravenclaw tower, give her this."  she smiled, watching them fly away for a moment before  leaving the window, putting out the candles and retiring to her quarters to shower and turn in for the night.