Daughter of Two Worlds

Is a Friend of Mine

"Andy, come join us!" Rose and Hugo beckoned excitedly as Albus let out a sleepy yawn next to the pair of siblings. Andromeda carefully picked her way across the Common Room floor, sidestepping piles of wrapping paper and spent Christmas crackers. She reached her friends sitting on the plush couch near the fireplace and squished in next to Rose. Andromeda giggled when she realized that her friend seemed to be vibrating with excitement.

Hugo cleared his throat, "Alright you three, I think that Andromeda should open her presents first since it's her first time spending Christmas with us. It's only fair since we're cousins and have spent every Christmas together since we were born." Rose and Albus nodded in solemn agreement before turning to Andromeda with face-splitting grins on their faces. Andromeda noticed a large number of packages in her friend's hands, and it dawned on her that all of them were for her. Rose demanded to go first and thrust her packages into Andromeda's hands.

Andromeda took a moment to admire the wrapping paper Rose had used, noticing it seemed to sparkle no matter which way she turned it. Deciding to ask about the charmwork later, she tore open the wrapping and shook out a beautiful set of cornflower blue dress robes made of a light, gauzy fabric that shimmered in the warm light of the fireplace. Andromeda stood and held the robes to her body, twirling in place and admiring the gentle swish the fabric made. "Oh, Rose, I love them! How did you know this is my favourite colour?" Rose blushed a bright pink that climbed to her ears, "I noticed that during our days off, you always seemed to wear the same blue jumper. I figured it had to be your favourite since the only other time you wore anything else was when your jumper was in the wash," Rose confessed. Andromeda threw her arms around her friend and thanked her profusely for her thoughtful gift.

Albus went next, and his gift was the full boxed set of her favourite muggle book series. "I noticed you reading the same book over and over, so I sent a letter to Aunt Hermione to ask for her help in finding the full set for you. It's the full first-edition set, too," Albus rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, his face turning crimson from embarrassment. Andromeda smiled and thanked her friend before turning to Hugo. He grinned as she opened her gift, finding it to be a large plush starfish that moved its arms when she tickled its belly. Andromeda clutched it tightly to her chest as she thanked Hugo. Quickly standing, Andromeda hurried to the large Christmas tree behind the couch and pulled three envelopes from its branches. She returned to her friends and handed them each an envelope with their name written on it.

"I thought long and hard about what I wanted to get you three and decided that for each of you, an experience would be the best gift I could give. So please, open your envelopes," she gestured excitedly. Hugo opened his first, jumping up in excitement as he read aloud, "This letter guarantees one day spent in the presence of the creatures of the Black Lake, with translation provided by Miss Andromeda Granger. You may pick any date of your choosing, so long as there are no scheduling conflicts. This guarantee does not expire," Hugo began jumping up and down on the couch, causing his friends to burst into gales of laughter. "I didn't know you could speak with the creatures in the Black Lake! That's incredible, Andy!" Andromeda laughed heartily as she nodded and gestured for Rose to open her letter.

Rose cleared her throat and began to read, "To Miss Rosalind Claire Weasley. I am writing to you today to invite you to join me for brunch and a full, behind-the-scenes tour of Vogue Headquarters in New York City, New York, on December 29th." Rose's voice grew shrill as she continued reading, "Please bring with you any sketchbooks and/or designs that you may have, as I would greatly enjoy meeting you and sharing designs over brunch and afternoon tea. Yours, Miss Anna Wintour, Editor in Chief of Vogue magazine! P.S. I do hope you have some designs for magical fashion as well, as I plan to branch out shortly," Rose squealed and fell back onto the couch, fanning herself with the letter. "Andy, how did you pull this off?! And since when does Anna Wintour know who I am?" Rose asked breathlessly. Andromeda grinned and shrugged. "My mum and Anna Wintour are old friends, and she's always willing to meet new aspiring designers. She only acts cold in public so people don't try to abuse her kindness. She's a very nice lady, and she's a squib!" At this, Rose pretended to faint before launching herself across poor Albus to wrap Andromeda in a tight bear hug. "This is the best present I've ever gotten! Thank you so much, Andy!" Andromeda patted her friend's back before turning to Albus and gesturing for him to open his envelope.

Inside was a voucher to Spintwitches Sporting Goods in Diagon Alley to meet with the proprietor for a full Quidditch gear fitting. It was the latest innovation in Quidditch gear, charmed to grow with the wearer as they grew older. It was also able to change based on what position the person played. Albus was elated as he had been dreaming of this gear since he had first seen advertisements for it in the Daily Prophet. He wasn't much for hugging, so he simply nodded at Andromeda and quietly thanked her. Andromeda was happy, and hopefully, the rest of the day would be just as wonderful.

Time Leap is brought to you by Firebolt 3500 series racing brooms...

Andromeda wiped her face with her sleeve, trying to keep sweat from dripping off her forehead and into the mixing bowl on the table in front of her. She hadn't realized just how hot the kitchens got, and she regretted not taking Ivy's advice on using a cooling charm before she entered. Thankfully, the next step to making Percy's Christmas gift was portioning out the cookie dough on the baking trays and having the elves put them in the ovens to bake. She had been correct in thinking that the elves would be excited to help her bake, and she also managed to befriend a few of the elves in exchange for leaving them a batch of cookies to enjoy amongst themselves. With the help of a little house elf magic, the cookies were done far faster than Andromeda could have accomplished on her own. After packaging the cookies in a shiny blue tin on which she had placed a warming charm, she thanked the elves profusely for their help and urged them to enjoy the cookies.

Andromeda hurried back upstairs to the Common Room to change into clean clothes before making her way to Percy's classroom. He had sent her a note telling her to come to his classroom at 1:00 pm, as he had a surprise for her. She took a deep breath before pushing open the classroom door and entering. Once inside, she heard laughter coming from Percy's office and made her way to the front of the room. She knocked on the door to his office, and the door flew open so quickly, that Andromeda had to leap back to avoid getting smacked in the face. "Andromeda, come in! There are some people here I'd like you to meet." Percy ushered his sister into the brightly decorated room. They paused in front of a group of people who seemed excited to meet her.

An older man in a wheelchair introduced himself first, "Ah, young Andromeda. How wonderful to finally meet you, my dear. My name is Chiron. I believe we met in a dream of yours, did we not?" Andromeda shook his extended hand in shock. "Yes, I saw you in my dream! But, you weren't in a wheelchair then." Chiron laughed and made as if to stand up. As he did so, it seemed as though there was a hidden compartment in the wheelchair that was capable of holding an entire horse inside of it! Chiron dusted off his coat and stamped his foot on the stone floor, guffawing at the look of astonishment on Andromeda's face. "I am a centaur, dear child. I have lived for many, many years, training multiple generations of heroes. Soon, it will be time for you to receive such training. But I will let you meet the rest of the guests; we can converse later." Andromeda nodded slowly, and a blonde woman with shocking grey eyes came up to her next.

"My name is Annabeth. You also met me in your dream. I'm Percy's fiancee," Annabeth explained to the speechless girl. Andromeda shook her hand politely. "It's nice to meet you, Annabeth. I have to ask, though. Is Percy always so strict about training schedules, or is that new?" Annabeth laughed as Percy looked admonished. "No, he wasn't always so strict, but I taught him well. He was hopeless before we met, weren't you Seaweed Brain?" Percy grinned sheepishly and gave his fiancee a sideways hug, "Yeah, but you wouldn't have it any other way, would you, Wise Girl?" She laughed again and pecked him on the cheek in response. "No, I wouldn't." Andromeda soon met everyone else in attendance. Nico, Will, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Calypso, Piper, and another older gentleman who asked to be called Pete. Andromeda noticed that Pete had a distinct air about him, although she couldn't put her finger on what it reminded her of.

Andromeda was content to sit on the couch all evening, immersed in the joyous laughter and conversation that surrounded her, and it took the grandfather clock tolling 10 times before she realized that people had started to bid their goodbyes. After many hugs and well wishes for the new year, the only other person besides Percy and Andromeda was Pete. He made no move to leave, and instead settled on the couch and looked expectantly at Percy. Andromeda refilled her goblet with apple cider and took a seat in the armchair across from the couch, tucking her feet under herself. Percy helped himself to another blue cookie before standing to Andromeda's left and resting his arm on the high back of the chair she sat in.

"Are you ready for my present to you, Dromeda?" Percy took a bite of his cookie as he waited for his sister's enthusiastic response. "I am!" Andromeda set her goblet down on the table to her right and rubbed her hands together in anticipation. Percy smiled and gestured towards Pete, "Andromeda, I'd like to introduce you to our father, Poseidon. Dad, meet Andromeda."