After the War.

Revise.

"Iona, I haven't seen you in ages. Well, like nine or ten months. Still, how are you?" I smiled and dropped all of my things. Arms spread wide as my mind buzzed with happiness. I was home and walls that I knew well decorated around me. She was busy and had a degree in design for a reason. Her house was always well decorated.

"Melissa. I have missed you so much." The house was warm not because of the hot temperature but the spirit that she put into it could warm any frozen and broken heart. She loved anyone and everything that came into contact with her but she was also no fool as she could love at the distance of a pair of long arms.

"Tell me about the year... Who is this?" I was so stupid at times.

"Sorry, got caught up. Missed you but this is Elliot. We are friends and we go to school together. Don't worry he isn't staying but I wanted you to meet him because he is my best friend." She smiled and gave him a hug. A raised eyebrow was sent my way but I batted her away.

We walked into the living room and Matthew was sat there. My body tensing as I saw him but he looked equally tense and so I knew that there was a reason for him being there. "Look, I wanted to see you. Adelaide gets the kids for one weekend a month so it is just me as well. No her and no kids." I smiled and nodded. Relaxing and the hand holding mine relaxed as I did. Elliot was a babe and there was no doubt about that.

"Right, I don't expect you to love him being here but he is my brother and Adelaide lied to both of you in the same way. Manipulative bitch. Anyway, he is here but I want to hear about your year. How was it and what did you learn? I want to know what about the place has you so sworn to secrecy." I took the deepest breath in and sat down. It was time.

"Mel. I love you and I think it is time I tell you about something. I can't show you because I have to be 17 for that. I wanted to tell you before but before I was under the impression that I wouldn't see you after school so I didn't want to love you. I did love you and you know that." Her eyes told me to get on with it or she would get annoyed. "You can't tell anyone else, not another soul. Right, Mel I am about to hit my fifth year of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. I have a wand, a grey cat Babushka you have met, and can do magic. So can Elliot here. Not out of the walls of Hogwarts though." She looked at me and held an eyebrow up to challenge me in my words. "Look, I have my books and I have a broom. We can use your back garden because you live in Devon. The south of nowhere and no neighbours for miles and we can talk this through." I looked hopefully at her but she doubted it. That was when I left the room and grabbed my books. The portraits that moved and the pictures. My birth parents had their very own portraits so I had a way of getting to know them, sort of.

"So, this school teaches you how to be magic?" I was quick to nod as she looked over my books. Ink kept contained in the pots as she looked it all over. As if it may disappear before she could read it properly.

"I will tell you what. When Flitwick sends the letter for next year you can come with Hermione and I to get my things. I need to get money out and then we can shop. They have butter beer. Not real beer. The streets are filled with magical people and Hermione is getting married in a month. If you want to you can be my plus one. If not I can go alone." She nodded at my words but she needed a while to get over what I had spoken. That was fair and so I left her to look at my things.

"How long have you known?" Was suddenly asked after half an hour. Her hands packing my things into my bag again. Elliot and Matthew keeping casual talk going with me.

"Since I was eleven so four years I think." She was a smart one and always eager to learn so it wasn't going to take long for her to wrap her head around it but time was needed. I just had to let her figure it all out before she went crazy.

Elliot was sat beside me and a hand was rubbing my back as I sat there. His hand moved calmly and smoothly as the seconds ticked until I grew to be a little bored of the silence. "Elliot, we have our OWL exams soon. We should be revising." The pair of us stood and walked over to the dinning room table.

The wood was soon covered in paper, quills fit in the gaps. Nothing much was said but the scratch that quills brought made the silence less eerie and more of a desired sound. The cogs in our heads audibly at work. In my case it was overtime as magic wasn't a thing that came naturally to me. Elliot was far more elegant and yet forceful with it all like something in his mind could click with it all.

"Iona, should we test one another?" I snapped my head up and put the quill into where it was supposed to be before waiting for his questions to roll like I was expecting. Not that he would make it easy for me but I did know that he would help me. He cared for me enough to let me struggle and get it all wrong and that was something I liked about him.

The questions kept coming and I heard the faint sound of Matthew sneaking out so that he didn't get between our revision but I made sure to shout a loud goodbye and then got back to it. Our hour was quickly up though and so were we.

"You stir it three then five times. Clockwise and then anticlockwise." I sighed out clearly done with what we were doing as it wasn't exactly easy to keep at the work before us.

"No. Once anticlockwise and then ten times clockwise because this evens out the mix." He was a stubborn boy and I was just as bad so the both of us turned to the book. Flicking from page to page trying to find where it told us who was right but it was a big book and the words were small.

"Ah ha. Page 115, 'after you have added in the crushed up leaves sir the potion three times in a slow and steady clockwise direction. Following this the potion is to be stirred anticlockwise five times until the potion is blue.' I told you I knew this one. The only one I do know, not that Slughorn noticed. Now, we have to stop before one of us goes too far and says something that isn't true or kind." We both agreed and closed up the books. Piles were made and then I placed them neatly back into the bag and box that they came from. Our work was done for this day and soon he would have to leave. Nothing else would be seen of the other person until term started again and that sucked.

"How will I contact you when you go to this school of yours?" A worried voice spoke and the missing body of Elliot was felt properly but it wasn't as bad as I had been expecting. Melissa was a miracle worker for making me feel loved and doubt didn't seem to weigh heavy in my mind.

"Well, I can send owls but you can just post it and we have a way. I will only receive letters at the morning meal. That has been the rule since I started at least so if it takes a day or two longer than you expected it to do not worry about it." This seemed to calm her nerves.