All is well - A Hinny fanfiction

Chapter 25

Wordcount: 3690

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Around late May, Mary sat at her desk inside her trunk, which she thought still sounded quite strange to say aloud. She was adding the final details to yet another essay she had to write for Slughorn. She had decided long ago that he was likeable, but he did seem to favour some students over others. Mary was a good example of that.

Her good grades and the fact that she was Harry Potter's ward were too irresistible for Slughorn to pass up. Not even a week of the term had passed and Slughorn had already invited her into the Slug Club. Of course, she said no. Harry had told her about the elderly professor's tendency to 'collect' students. Mary thought that was the reason he was so adamant in giving them endless essays on the uses of moonstones and Occamy eggs in potion making. One thing she'd learned about her professor is that he doesn't take rejection too mildly.

As she finished, she let it dry and made her way out of the trunk and into the dormitory. When she climbed out, Annie lifted her gaze off the issue of Witch Weekly she was reading and smiled at her best friend.

"Hey, Mary," she greeted her.

"Hey, Ann," replied Mary, plopping herself on the bed. She was exhausted, she realised.

"I'm still not used to you just walking into and out of your trunk, you know?" said Annie from her own bed.

"I told you, you can use it whenever you want. You already know where I keep the keys," Mary reminded her.

"Yeah, I know, but it's kind of weird. I guess being muggleborn, I'm still not used to that kind of thing."

Annabeth Laverne was medium height, with curly black hair and fair skin that seemed to glow when the light hit it just right. She wore glasses but, unlike Mary's, they were square shaped and seemed to fit her face perfectly. They had become almost instant friends on their first week at Hogwarts. She was almost as studious as Mary, and took pride in being muggleborn; something that made Hermione proud when Mary told her about Annie. Heaving a sigh, Mary made her way to the door and looked back at her friend.

"I think I'll go for a walk. See you later," she said, running down the stairs into the common room.

She walked aimlessly around the castle, often talking to one portrait or the other. That was something else Mary had a habit of doing, and the people in the portraits were most pleased to be addressed by a student. She was walking down a corridor on the seventh floor when she spotted her guardian exiting the Headmistress's office with a big smile.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, wrapping her tiny arms around his waist. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Neither did I, little one," he told her, kissing her forehead and kneeling to her level. "I came by to ask Minerva a question."

"Oh, are you two finally getting married?" she teased.

Harry chuckled and gently tousled her hair. "No, silly. I asked her if Ginny and I could have our wedding here at Hogwarts," he explained.

"Wow, that's amazing, Harry!" she said, hugging him again.

"It is, and she said she'd do whatever necessary to convince the Board of Governors to let us do it."

"I really don't think they can deny you, Harry, after what you've done," she reminded him.

"I was hoping they would remember some of it, yes," he admitted with a lopsided grin.

"Are you staying longer, then?" she asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately no, little one," replied Harry. Mary's face fell, "I have to go run a couple of errands concerning the wedding. It is much more work than I had anticipated."