“What did Mara say about not attending Quidditch practice when you told her?”

Hailey turned to look at Hermione before she answered. “I said that I was going shopping, and that I would be looking at broomsticks, to hopefully get a decent one that I can use. Mara was more than happy with me skipping practice for that.”

Her bushy haired friend nodded. “That’s good. Mara is scary when she is talking about Quidditch and anything to do with her team.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” She giggled and shook her head. “Although I heard that the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain… Wood I think his name was? Is equally as manic.”

Hermione shook her head. “What is it about Quidditch that gets them going so much? Can you explain it to me?”

“I feel free when I am in the air and when I am playing Quidditch, I feel connected to the team in a way that I rarely feel at any other time. Scoring goals, preventing goals and catching the Snitch for my team is a thrill that I have never felt before. It’s a form of magic all its own; of course I haven’t played an actual game yet, but if that’s how I feel during practice, I can’t wait to try the real thing.” The last of Hailey’s words were muffled while she slipped a fresh robe on in preparation for her shopping trip. Even though she had only had a few practice sessions with her team, she had enjoyed them a lot. 

After a moment of silence, Hermione hummed slightly and shrugged. Clearly her friend didn’t fully understand, but that was okay with Hailey, she didn’t always understand Hermione’s passions either.

They had gone down to have breakfast, Hermione having jam on toast and orange juice while Hailey had bacon on toast. Hailey had been told to be at Professor Flitwick’s office by nine am, giving her just under forty minutes to finish breakfast and dress appropriately. Wearing a black robe with a dark purple skirt and shirt underneath, Hailey waved her wand, casting a small charm that gave her the look of having light makeup on her face. She was ever so grateful to her sister for teaching her that spell. 

“How do I look?” She asked, twirling before she giggled as her skirt and robes billowed out slightly.

Her nerdy friend blushed, coughed lightly into her hand and cleared her throat. “Umm, cute? Yes, definitely cute. You did a great job with that charm, by the way, it really goes well with your blue hair,” Hermione replied, appraising her with pinked cheeks.

It was her time to blush as she replied. “Thanks, Hermione. I really appreciate that.”

Her cheeks still pink, Hermione nodded. “You’re welcome, now, we better go, otherwise you will be late.”

“You’re coming with me?” Hailey asked, slightly surprised. “I thought you were going to stay here and study?”

Hermione shrugged and followed Hailey as she made her way into the bathroom and cleaned her teeth. “I thought that maybe I would check out the library while you are out shopping. I wanted to look up the Patronus Charm. If I remember correctly, Professor Flitwick mentioned it once. If all else fails, I can ask him for more information.”

“Good idea, I really don’t like the idea of those things being around and being defenceless against them.” Hailey shuddered. There was zero need to elaborate on what things she was talking about. She had had a nightmare last night that had a bunch of dark hooded creatures wielding scythes. They were cutting down people, many of them who had really pointy ears, much more prominent than her own currently were. 

Glancing in the mirror, Hailey moved aside some of her still blue hair and noticed that her ears had grown slightly pointier; they made her think of a fantasy elf she had seen on a cover of a book once. She had wanted to get it, but Uncle Vernon had forbidden it. “‘I’ll have no ruddy books about magic in my house!’” he would yell right before locking her in the cupboard under the stairs for a day and night. 

Shaking her head, Hailey cleared her mind of those terrible thoughts and memories. She tried hard to forget them, drawing on the strength and comfort that knowing her true name gave her. 

“Welcome back,” Hermione said with humour as Hailey looked around confused for a moment before realising they were out the front of Flitwick’s office. Apparently she had followed Hermione on automatic the whole time. “You were deep in thought for a while. I thought it best to let you think through whatever thoughts you were having.”

“Thanks, Hermione. I hadn’t even realised we had gone so far. Well, I should probably go, I don’t want them waiting on me.”

Hermione nodded. “I want to get to studying anyway.”

With a smile and a wave to her friend, Hailey pushed the office door to see that Ariana and Aberforth were already there. They were standing near the fireplace with the tiny Professor Flitwick who was holding a small bowl of powder.

“Ah, Miss Potter! I’m glad that you made it.” He glanced at a large mechanical clock on one wall. “Right on time, too! Well, you all best be off; the sooner you leave, the sooner you can finish up and be back here before supper.”

Professor Flitwick held out the bowl to Aberforth, who grabbed a pinch and threw it at the fireplace, shouting, “Leaky Cauldron!” as he did so. Immediately the fire burst into emerald flames and Aberforth walked straight into it with a nod at the room in general. Clearly a man of few words she thought wryly.

She watched as Ariana grabbed a pinch of the floo powder, smiled at Hailey before thanking the Professor and followed her brother after shouting her destination too.

Her head of house smiled kindly at her as he gestured for her to step up. “Have you used Floo Powder before, Miss Potter?”

“Several times,” Hailey answered, nodding. “I visited the Weasleys before school started.”

The tiny Professor beamed up at her. “Good, good. Then you know what to do then. Have fun.” He moved closer to whisper. “Don’t get into too much trouble,” he added, winking and holding the bowl of powder out for her.

With a smile at her charms Professor, Hailey grabbed a pinch of powder and threw it into the fireplace shouting, “Leaky Cauldron” as she did, immediately stepping into the green fire with a small wave at Professor Flitwick. Her world constricted and spun dizzyingly while she saw random houses from their fireplaces flick across her vision.

Stumbling slightly out of the large fireplace, Hailey was caught by slim hands, steadying her. “Whoa, I have you.” She looked up into the blue eyes of her friend as Ariana helped her get her balance and smiled at her nervously.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, blushing at having almost fallen over. Controversially, Hailey much preferred apparating to using the floo network and couldn’t wait until she could apparate herself.

Ariana squeezed her shoulders gently, still smiling, before she let go. Hailey immediately missed the warmth of her touch on her shoulder, blushing even more at that thought.

“Ready to go, girls?” Aberforth said, coming up from behind Ariana, holding a meat pie in his free hand.

“What’s that?” His sister asked, pointing at the pie in his hand.

“Meat pie, what else could it be?” he replied as if stating the obvious.

Her eyes narrowed. “That's a goat pie, isn’t it?” Ariana asked.

Aberforth looked uncomfortable for a moment, before he sighed and nodded.

Giggling, Ariana shook her head. “You have not changed at all. Still as hopelessly obsessed with them as always.”

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, Ari. Tom makes the best meat pies with the goat meat I send him. It’s been awhile since I haven’t gotten out this way for a while. I couldn’t miss the opportunity, could I?”

The youngest Dumbledore had a funny look on her face for a moment, before she shook her head again. “You raise goats? That should not have surprised me as much as it did. I suppose I am going to need to know more stuff like that, if we are going to pull off the story that I am your granddaughter.”

“We can do that while we shop. Come on, you two. Let’s go.” Having said that, Aberforth turned around and walked out the back of the pub and towards the entrance to Diagon Alley. He didn’t even bother looking behind him to see if Hailey and Ariana followed. 

Rushing to catch up to the younger Dumbledore brother, they got to him just as the brick wall opened up, letting them through. Hailey watched Ariana with a smile as she glanced around the revealed shopping district with an amazed look. 

Dozens of stores with magically animated signs and displays in bright colours ran up and down the length of the street, each one competing with the next for dominance. Hailey had no clue how Hermione had managed to make it through all of this as she focused on Ariana’s awed expression instead of the flashy signs.

“Should we get you your wand first?” Aberforth asked, stopping and turning towards his sister.

Ariana’s eyes brightened with excitement. “I have always dreamed of getting my own wand! What do you think, Hailey? Should we go there first?”

With how excited and giddy her friend looked, Hailey just knew she wouldn’t be able to disappoint her. “Sure, we can do that, then we have to go and get you new clothes. You can’t wear those mismatched lost and found stuff forever.”

Trying and failing to contain her squeal of excitement, Ariana hugged Hailey, twirled around and hugged Aberforth, before then setting off in the wrong direction.

“Ariana? It’s this way,” Hailey called, giggling slightly at the blush on her friend’s face.

“Right. Oops! I will just let you guide me!”

While Ariana practically rode on her heels as she walked, Aberforth quickly finished his meat pie, sighing with satisfaction as he wiped his hands on his robes. The tinkling of a little bell announced their presence in Ollivander’s when Hailey opened the door to the dark and quiet little store.

“Students, at this time of the year? How curious, which one of you broke your wand?” A voice called out, ending with a sigh of long suffering.

From behind the counter, Ollivander appeared, looking at the three of them curiously, before settling on Ariana with a slight frown. “Curious. You look familiar, but I know that I haven’t sold you a wand before.” He looked at Aberforth. “Nice to see you again, Aberforth. I hope you are keeping your current wand in better condition than your last one.”

Looking embarrassed to be called out like that, Aberforth nodded at Ollivander. “Don’t worry, I’m keeping much better care of it, I promise,” he replied, patting the side of his robes where Hailey could sense his wand.

“I’m pleased to hear that, as would my father, no doubt. And Hailey Potter, my dear. I do hope that you haven’t broken your wand, after all the trouble we had in finding you one in the first place.”

Hailey shook her head, smiling at the wandmaker warmly. “No, Mr. Ollivander. My wand is in perfect working order. I even found a book in the Ravenclaw library that you wrote on proper wand care.”

Ollivander’s face brightened considerably after hearing that. “You’ve read ‘ To Love and Care For Your Wand ?’ I’m surprised, most people don’t care about their wands beyond making sure it works for them.” The old wizard sighed. “It’s why I stopped selling and printing it a decade ago. Well, I suppose that just leaves this young lady? How can I help, Miss…?”

“Dumbledore, Ariana Dumbledore.”

Before the wandmaker could reply further than a raised eyebrow, a rattling whistling noise echoed out from further into the small shop.

“Well, Miss Dumbledore. It would appear that your wand has already chosen you,” the old wizard remarked, smiling fondly then walking towards the source of the noise. Returning quickly, Ollivander was carrying a long thin box identical to any other type in the shop, except this one was jumping and wobbling in his hands.

“Looks like we’ve got a feisty one here.” He gently held his hands out, letting Ariana take the box. “Here we go. It should settle now.”

As soon as Ariana took the box, it instantly stopped trying to hop around and sat there quietly, waiting. With shaky hands, the blonde witch slowly removed the box, revealing a wand that looked very much like someone had cut a vine off of a tree and fashioned it into a stick. Despite how very wild and natural it appeared, it nonetheless had an elegant and beautiful appearance. 

Ariana gasped when her eyes fell on her wand and slowly, she picked it up, a happy grin on her face the entire time. As she watched, Hailey’s eyes widened in surprise when the wand grew several buds, which very quickly blossomed into beautiful flowers, before they detached from the wand and floated around Ariana until they popped, leaving petals to float slowly to the ground.

“It is beautiful!” Ariana squeaked out giddily, staring at her wand before turning to smile brilliantly at Hailey. “Don’t you think?”

Hailey’s breath was suddenly stolen by how alive and mesmerising Ariana was standing there holding the wand that had chosen her with petals in her hair and on her shoulder. At that moment, Ariana seemed to have a bright aura of magical potential that blew Hailey away.

“Hailey?”

Snapping out of it, Hailey smiled back at her friend. “Sorry, yeah, that was amazing! Y-it looks perfect!”

Taking a breath to try and calm her racing heart, Hailey looked over at Ollivander, watching him smile warmly. “Ahh, vine wands, every so often they do like to make a spectacle of themselves like that. It’s rare, but they can make an announcement when their new owner enters my shop.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “If only every wand was as easy to match when it’s like this, it would make my job a lot easier.

“Vine wood, exactly ten inches with a phoenix core. This wand is made in a similar style to what the ancient Druids used to create their magical foci, albeit with modern techniques, of course.”

“Thank you, Mister Ollivander!” Ariana happily said, giving the wand maker a small curtsy.

While Aberforth and Ollivander settled the cost, Ariana inspected her wand before hugging it with a happy smile. “I never thought I would live to see myself get one and now I have. Not only that, but I’m cured and changed, all on the same day!”

“I am grateful for all of that too, especially getting to meet you, no matter how weird our meeting was,” Hailey agreed with a giggle. 

Ariana laughed along with her. “It is definitely a unique way of making friends, I will grant you.”

“If I don’t see another Troll, it would still be too soon,” Hailey said, shuddering at the memory of the ugly creature.

Aberforth said his farewell to Mr. Ollivander, walking past Hailey and Ariana to stand near the shop entrance. “Come on, girls, let’s finish our shopping.”

Saying their farewells and thanks to the wand maker, Ariana and Hailey hurried after Aberforth, who had already started making his way to the next shop.

Before Hailey could ask Aberforth where they were going next, someone shouted out her name. 

“Hailey! Hey! Hailey! Wait up!”

Ginny was waving enthusiastically at her from her mother’s side, holding her hand. Her fiery red hair waved in the slight breeze, glaringly obvious among the crowd – who stopped to watch the girl. 

She watched as almost like they had one mind, the crowd turned to look where Ginny was, and spotted Hailey with Aberforth and Ariana.

Almost immediately, Hailey could hear the crowd murmuring. 

“Is that Ha-Hailey Potter ?”

“Everyone felt that magic she did weeks ago, right?”

“What’s with the hair colour?”

Someone gasped. “Is she a metamorphmagus?”

She heard even more people from the crowd gasp when someone asked that, with even more murmurs and speculation erupting from the crowd. 

Trying to do everything in her power to not run away and hide, Hailey blushed as Ginny and Molly Weasley reached them, the latter looking embarrassed and ashamed at bringing attention to Hailey like that.

“I’m so sorry, Hailey. I didn’t think that would happen,” Ginny said while looking at her feet, her face as bright as her hair.

Wincing at the attention, Hailey walked up and hugged her friend. “It’s okay, I know that you didn’t mean it.” Stepping back, but keeping an arm around Ginny, Hailey looked at her group. “Can we go into the clothes store to avoid these stares, please?”

Nodding their assent, everyone made their way into the store – which was thankfully nearby.

Still with her arm around Ginny, Hailey introduced her to her new friend. “Ginny, this is Ariana Kendra Gloria Artemisia Dumbledore. Ariana, this is Ginevra Molly Weasley. She much prefers Ginny though.”

“Why did you introduce our full names like that?” Ariana asked curiously.

“Because names are important to her, especially with her friends,” Ginny answered, immediately blushing and looking down at her feet at the look Hailey gave her.

Hailey was touched that Ginny understood her reason for doing introductions like that and hugged her friend tighter. “Aw, you do know me!”

Before Hailey could introduce Aberforth, the man himself spoke up. “You're that Molly girl, aren’t you? How is… what was his name? Arnold? Alex?”

“Arthur,” Molly replied, looking surprised at Aberforth. “How did you know? I only remember meeting you just the one time.”

Aberforth laughed. “I remember you and Arthur coming in for a date into my pub.” He shook his head, grinning. “Whatever happened to him? If I recall, that wasn’t a great date, what with that vampire trying to get your boyfriend’s attention and all.”

“Ah! I thought I recognised you, Aberforth Dumbledore, right? At Aberforth’s nod, Molly continued. “I ended up marrying him, if you could believe it,” she answered dryly before her cheeks pinked a little as she blushed slightly. “Anastasia – the vampire – was actually at our wedding as one of my bridesmaids. She is back living in Pennsylvania now though.”

Hailey giggled upon hearing the name Anastasia, it was rare enough that she picked up a little bit of the vampire’s personality herself when Molly spoke her name. Aberforth thought that the vampire had been into Arthur – which to be fair she was – but not as much as she had a thing for Molly. Tapping her chin in thought, Hailey was surprised that she had picked up so much from just so little. She thought that perhaps because Molly had a deeply personal connection with the named person. She barely suppressed her sigh of frustration. There was just so little she knew about herself, and no one she knew who could answer her questions definitively.

Feeling Ginny squeeze her tighter and bump her shoulder lightly, Hailey turned and looked into her friend’s beautiful light-brown eyes. “What was that giggle for?” Ginny asked quietly.

“Oh, just something I picked up from Anastasia’s name.” She glanced at Aberforth and Molly, who had moved closer and were merrily chatting away, ignoring them. “Anastasia was into both your mum and dad, and would have happily dated both, if she could have.”

Ginny giggled as Ariana blushed brightly. “Everyone in the family knows that mum likes women too, except for mum herself.”

Someone clearing their throat nearby made them jump, nearly bumping heads they had been standing so close. Turning around, they spotted Molly glaring at them with her hands on her hips. “What are you three whispering about? Not conspiring for some mischief, are you?” 

Shaking their heads simultaneously, they all denied the accusation, with Ginny rolling her eyes. “No, mum. We aren’t Fred or George.”

Mrs. Weasley glared at her daughter for a moment more, before her expression softened. “Alright, dear. I trust you to be on your best behaviour.”

“By the way, where is Arthur anyway? I thought he would have been with you,” Aberforth asked, looking around as if Mr. Weasley would pop up from behind a clothing stand suddenly.

With a sigh, Mrs. Weasley shook her head. “No, they have him working overtime with all of these sudden new cases of accidental magic and muggleborns with unprecedented magical power this past week. It’s been hell on the whole ministry trying to keep the statute of secrecy secure.”

Ariana’s brother nodded gravely. “I remember reading about that in the Daily Prophet. They started appearing a few weeks ago, didn’t they? These new muggleborns.”

Hailey was surprised that she hadn’t heard of this before now, and that Professor McGonagall hadn’t been handling it, but perhaps there were too many for her, or it fell under a different jurisdiction than Hogwarts.

The older redhead sighed. “The overtime pay is nice, but they are running him ragged, and I miss my husband. Well, I better not stand about gabbing all day, we have things to do before we go home. Come on, Ginny, you got to see Hailey like you wanted to, let’s finish our shopping now.”

“Mum!” The now firetruck red Ginny yelped in embarrassment, blushing down to her roots, refusing to look at anyone.

Hailey blushed, embarrassed, but knew that Ginny was feeling worse and while how Ginny acted around her could be a little embarrassing, she was still her friend. Trying to ignore her own embarrassment, she hugged Ginny fully. “Hey, don’t worry, I’m glad I got to meet you before the holidays, and the fact that you wanted to see me again makes me happy,” she whispered in the other girl's ear.

Ginny looked startled as she lifted her head to look in Hailey’s eyes, her face still very much bright red. Hailey could see that tears were threatening to break free.

“Really?” Ginny asked, hope blooming on her face.

“Really, really .”

“I’m sorry, Ginny, dear, that was insensitive of me to say that. We really should be going though,” Molly interjected suddenly.

“Could Ginny stay with us for a while? We are just shopping, after all,” Hailey asked. She enjoyed Ginny’s company, and wouldn’t get to see her again until the holidays. It would also reassure her that Hailey still wanted to be her friend.

Mrs. Weasley looked reluctant. “I don’t know… you aren’t here to have fun yourself, Hailey.”

“It’s fine with me, Molly. Ginny can stay with the other girls, I am sure that they will be fine. After all, we are only here for school supplies for Ariana anyway, what trouble could they get up to?” Aberforth said, smiling warmly at his sister. 

It was easy to see that Aberforth was more than happy for Ariana to spend time with more girls her own age.

Still looking a little conflicted, Molly finally relented after Ginny begged her. 

“Please, please, please! I’ll be good, Mum, I promise!”

“Oh, alright! But remember what I said about your best behaviour.”

An almost giddy Ginny promised once again that she would be good, before Molly took her leave out of the shop, heading only she knew where after she said her farewells.

Once they had conferred between them what they should get Ariana first, they went straight for the most important items like underwear. Aberforth blushed like a young man when he noticed where they were heading to and decided to wait elsewhere until they were done.

Hailey giggled. “I don’t think that your br- grandfather has much experience dealing with girls, or ladies in general.” She was glad that Ginny didn’t seem to have noticed anything when she nearly said ‘brother’. Hailey hadn’t been given permission from Ariana to reveal that to Ginny, so until she did, Hailey’s lips were sealed on the matter, unless she made a mistake.

Ariana looked sad while Ginny giggled, but the blonde haired witch chose not to comment.

⚡

After buying all of the clothes that Ariana would need for the next year, Aberforth paid extra for it to be shipped directly to Hogwarts the next day, instead of having to carry it around while they continued shopping. Next, they went to Flourish and Blotts to buy all of Ariana’s school books. The wizard behind the counter was confused by how late they were purchasing everything into the school year. 

Over the next couple of hours, Hailey was pleased to watch as Ginny and Ariana became friends, making jokes and teasing each other. Although it seemed that she found some of Ariana’s mannerisms strange, like her tendency to speak a little more formally than most people would in a normal setting like shopping.

Despite the occasional odd glance her way from Ginny, Ariana seemed to be having fun, equally giggling and amazed at how everything looked compared to how she imagined or remembered it before she became an obscurus. Although she was amused to note that a lot of the magical fashion hadn’t changed a whole lot in hundred years, that particular fact she whispered to Hailey alone.

Ariana was interested in some of the muggle fashion she saw on a few witches who wore that instead of the normal witch garb. After seeing a particularly pretty dress on a witch clearly dressed in muggle fashion, Hailey promised to go shopping with her in the muggle world one day during the holidays, with Ginny begging to go along with them. Aberforth was less amused by her desire for muggle fashion, but he had no say in the matter according to Ariana when he brought it up.

They went to lunch at a small cafe off of the main street of Diagon Alley, named Elevenses , before resuming their shopping. After lunch, they obtained the last of the supplies Ariana needed, which included her cauldron and well made quills, before Aberforth informed them he needed to go to a particular shop to buy some supplies of his own.

Following Ariana’s brother, Hailey walked with her friends into a dirtier and dingier area named Knockturn Alley. 

“Are you sure we should be going here?” Ariana asked her brother nervously.

Aberforth turned around, looking at his sister, before looking around the dirty sideroad they had entered. “Yeah, it’s totally fine… during the day,” he answered, before turning around and continuing walking. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. If you want to, you can go and wait back near the cafe.”

Looking between her two friends, Hailey looked back and noticed a man with dirty and ripped clothing between them and Diagon Alley, watching her, Ginny and Ariana with an unpleasant look on his face and decided that staying with Aberforth was probably the better alternative, and followed after him.

A damaged door chime went off the moment they entered the store that Aberforth had wanted to visit. The store was clean and well lit, surprising Hailey as she had expected it to be as dingy as the outside was, after all they couldn’t even make out the name of the store on its sign. It was a small store filled with various containers of magical and non-magical fluids and powders on shelves all around the walls. Plenty of candles floated on the ceiling, illuminating the entire shopfront.

“Blasted chime! I’ve been meaning to fix that for a while now. I’ll be with you shortly,” an old man called out, already helping someone else. Someone that Hailey recognised instantly, someone she was surprised to see in a place like this. 

“So you don’t have anything to get past or subdue a Cerberus?” Professor Quirrel asked, without a hint of his usual stammer Hailey noted quickly.

The shopkeep shook his head, looking saddened he couldn’t help. “Sorry, lad, but that I can’t help with. You would have to ask its master what that would be. They tend to make great guards because their weaknesses can vary so much.” The old man shrugged. “You could try a variety of the most common weaknesses, if you aren’t able to find out another way, but that can be a hassle for no reward.”

As the professor turned away from the shopkeeper without another word, Hailey thought she heard him mutter ‘Might have to trick the oaf’ but she wasn’t entirely certain, as he spotted her almost instantly afterwards. His eyes widened in surprise and he shuddered as if in pain.

“Professor? What are you doing here?” Hailey asked, still surprised that she had seen him outside of class.

“Ha-Hailey Pot-Potter, what a-a surprise to see you. I was ju-just do-do-doing research. Excu-cuse me.” Giving them a timid smile, her Defence Against The Dark Arts Professor passed them, seeming to keep as much distance between Hailey and himself as possible in the small shop.

Hailey shuddered as if a cold wind blew through her when he passed, and she felt sick, like she had smelt something rotten and dead, even though all she could smell was a lemon scent that she was assuming was from whatever the shopkeeper used for cleaning.

“Are you alright, Hailey?” Ariana asked, putting her hand on Hailey’s shoulder in concern.

Shivering slightly from the memory of the feeling, Hailey quickly nodded after taking a breath. “Yeah. I just felt like someone walked over my grave.”

Aberforth frowned at her while Ginny and Ariana stood close enough to give her comfort. “That’s odd. That was a strange man that my brother has employed. Oh well, nothing I can do about it, he won’t listen to me. Just be wary of him.” He shrugged, before turning to talk to the old man who had turned to look at him expectantly.

“What was that all about?” Ariana muttered to Hailey. “You called him a professor?”

Hailey nodded in response. “He teaches defence against the dark arts at Hogwarts. I have felt weird about him for a while, and his name has begun to feel strange lately, almost as if it wasn’t his real name anymore, and that it’s been slowly changing.”

“What would make a person’s name change like that?” 

Shaking her head, Hailey turned to answer Ginny’s question. “I honestly don’t know. I have not encountered it before. Sure, my name changed, but that was because the name I was born with was wrong. For Professor Quirrel, it was almost as if his name is being replaced with someone else's.”

“That doesn’t sound healthy,” Ginny replied, a worried look on her face. “Hailey, please be careful around him, okay? You too, Ariana. I don’t want to see either of you hurt.”

With a grateful smile at her friend, Hailey nodded. “We will,” she promised.

⚡

“Hello, how may I help you today?” the salesman said, smiling at the four of them expectantly. Ariana, Ginny and even Aberforth looked towards Hailey, making her feel like she was in the spotlight all of a sudden, even though she knew it was coming.

After finishing up in the store in the creepy Knockturn Alley, Hailey had walked with her friends and Aberforth to Quality Quidditch Supplies . 

Stepping forward slightly, Hailey smiled at the wizard. “I’d like to see your broomsticks please.” Looking around the well lit and very clean shop, Hailey was able to see each broomstick neatly on display. Each one rested on a wooden stand with soft velvet rests. She also saw a section that had been dedicated specifically for toy brooms, and they were adorable as they sat there on tiny little stands.

“Very good, Miss,” the wizard responded, smiling and bowing slightly towards her. Hailey watched as his eyes flicked up towards the scar on her forehead, before they widened slightly; expecting him to say something, she was mildly surprised when he didn’t. 

“What type of broomstick were you after? We have the always popular Cleansweep series, or if you’re looking to learn how to fly well, the Shooting Star is an excellent starter broom.” The salesman gestured toward each particular broom as he spoke.

Hailey shook her head as she glanced at the brooms that the man had pointed out. “I need it for Quidditch. I’m a reserve for Ravenclaw.”

She had to hand it to the wizard, he was a professional, barely showing surprise at her announcement before he gestured towards another broom, an even fancier one than the other two he had pointed out. “Definitely not the Bluebottle then,” he responded with a bit of a chuckle. “Well, perhaps one from the Nimbus series? Before we get into any specifics, did you have a budget in mind?”

Aberforth, looking bored with all the talk about broomsticks, drifted off to one corner of the shop and opened up a book on goat care he had bought earlier. Ginny was avidly standing next to Hailey, looking excited to be in the store, her head almost on a swivel, turning this way and that as she attempted to look at everything at once. Ariana seemed interested, but nothing like their redheaded friend was though.

Before she and Hermione had begun to research brooms, Hailey had requested a total of the gold in her account from Gringotts and upon getting that, they had sat down and worked out what she could afford to spend. It ended up being a lot of money and an eye opener for the both of them in regards to the magical economy. A lot of things that were necessities for day to day living were cheap by muggle standards, according to Hermione, yet things that weren’t, such as Quidditch broomsticks, or romance novels, had a price tag that surprised them both. Hailey had been glad for Hermione’s help, as she hadn’t had to do anything like this before, and she had only touched the basics in class before coming to Hogwarts.

“I don’t have a budget,” Hailey replied. 

She heard Aberforth sigh and shake his head in her direction, while Ariana giggled and Ginny looked at her in amazement with her jaw opened slightly. After a moment’s thought, and seeing the gleam in the shop worker’s eye, she thought that perhaps she had said the wrong thing.

“Well then, might I suggest the Nimbus 2000? Latest and greatest model out right now…”

⚡

“Wow! I can’t believe you bought the Nimbus 2000, just like that!” Ginny exclaimed, snapping her thumb and middle finger together and shaking her head. The red haired witch was almost skipping along beside Hailey and Ariana in excitement as they left the store, the door chime growing quiet behind them. “Could I have a ride during the holidays, do you think?” she asked tentatively.

Holding her new Nimbus 2000, wrapped in brown paper, Hailey smiled at her friend with her obvious excitement. “Of course you can, I’ll have to bring it to your place though. Nowhere for me to fly it at the Tonks’ place.” She grinned as an idea came to her. “We will just have to have a sleepover!”

“Yay! Definitely!” Ginny cheered, jumping up as she did. “You’ll come too, won’t you, Ariana?”

Ariana looked startled at being asked about a sleepover, but that quickly morphed into a bright and excited smile. “I would like that,” was all she said, but Hailey and Ginny could see that she was excited as well.

“Hailey,” Aberforth said, coming up from behind them.

Grimacing, Hailey stopped walking and turned towards the older Dumbledore. “Yes?”

After staring at her without expression for a moment, Aberforth slowly nodded. “I hope you enjoy your new broom. You know what you did wrong though, right? Salesmen are out to get as much of your money as they can. Given your circumstances, you need to be extra careful of that.”

“Aberforth! Don’t be rude!” Ariana shouted at her brother with her hands on her hips, glaring at the ageing wizard.

Looking down at her feet, Hailey winced. She had already thought of all that, but somehow it made it all the more real having someone just say it so bluntly. “I know.” She sighed, looking back up at Aberforth. “I realised that it wasn’t something I should have said as soon as I had said it.” She looked at Ariana and smiled slightly, warmth blooming in her chest at her friend’s defence of her. “It’s okay, Ariana. Aberforth is right. I should have been more careful with my words.”

“I know, but it was still rude for him to say it the way he did!”

“Well how else am I supposed to say it? I tried to be delicate!”

Hailey sighed, shaking her head as the siblings argued. It was amusing to watch an eleven year old argue with an old man as siblings, rather than grandfather and granddaughter. They didn’t do a very good job of pretending.

“He isn’t her grandfather, is he?” Ginny asked, whispering in Hailey’s ear.

Shaking her head, Hailey looked at Ginny. “I can’t say. It’s not my story to tell,” she replied. She disliked keeping anything from Ginny and hadn’t even considered trying to lie. Not only was it something that was physically hard for her to do, but just the thought of lying to a friend almost made her feel ill.

Ginny hummed thoughtfully, and opened her mouth to respond but before she could finish her thought, Ariana turned to her and Hailey. Ariana’s face was flushed and she was breathing hard. “Sorry about that,” she grimaced. “My br– grandfather is going to buy me a pet of my own. Right?” She finished, turning towards Aberforth with a fierce glare.

Chuckling, Aberforth mussed his sister’s hair, all evidence of him having just been arguing with her gone. “Sure, Ari, anything you want.”

Fixing her hair, Ariana glared at Aberforth and pretended to get all huffy at him.

It was amazing to Hailey how fast the siblings had fallen back into a pattern of behaviour that seemed comfortable with them both. Considering how much of a grumpy man Hailey picked up in Aberforth’s name, he was clearly a very different person around his now alive sister. It was almost like he had come alive himself.

Although she wasn’t sure how Aberforth saying something potentially insensitive somehow meant that Ariana got a pet, she wasn’t complaining though, she was enjoying her day, and seeing how much her friend was opening up.

“Oh, by the way, Ginny, just how did you know that I was going to be here today?”

Ginny blushed, looking anywhere but at Hailey. “That’s an easy one. Mum and Dad had Andi and Ted over for dinner last night, Andi said that you were going to help a friend out. I knew Mum had some things she had planned on getting here when she got around to it, so I asked if she could do it today.” She looked down at her feet. “I wanted to see you,” she whispered, blushing brightly.

“Hey, well I was sure glad to see you! It was a nice surprise,” Hailey replied, hugging Ginny to her side as they walked to the pet store.

Still blushing, Ginny put her arm around Hailey’s waist like she had done, and side by side, they walked, occasionally glancing at each other, smiling, and looking away shyly. 

Ariana smiled, giggling everytime Hailey and Ginny blushed. By the time that they had arrived at the store, Hailey’s cheek muscles were aching, but she would never complain about smiling too much.

The smell of the various animals hit them first as the door swung open to let them in. Various animal calls could be heard deeper in the store, including several cats and toads. Hailey could see rats running around in a cage near the front counter as well as half a dozen white ravens perched nearby.

Ariana was immediately drawn to the kittens, cooing and ahhing at them, squealing when one patted at her through the cage and meowed loudly. Hailey couldn’t help but smile warmly at the sight. Her new friend was having a blast with the animals and it was endearing.

“Hello, girls. I see you have found our cats,” an elderly witch said, smiling warmly at them while Ginny moved forward to pat the cats as well.

Aberforth grunted. “Not as cute as a baby goat,” he mumbled, crossing his arms.

The youngest Dumbledore rolled her eyes and poked her tongue out at her brother, while absentmindedly patting the kittens. “Yes, yes, everyone knows how much you love goats, Aberforth. I, however, love cats and kittens, they are just so adorable!” Her voice went up at least an octave at the end.

Suddenly a different type of cat pushed its way forward, through the throng of other kittens. It had white, almost mangy looking fur, with splotches of black and grey all over, including a dark circle of fur around one eye. Long pointed ears that stood up on its head, that were almost comically large on its small frame, and a tail that was thin for most of its length before it thickened and became bushy right at the tip. It stared directly at Ariana as it mewed, getting her attention instantly.

Hailey watched while the kitten and witch stared at each other as something magical passed over her senses, travelling between the two before her. It was fleeting, and moments later, they broke eye contact, ending the magic, smiling at each other. Hailey didn’t even know that cats could grin, but that was the impression she got.

“That one!” Ariana said immediately, pointing at the white kitten. “I want her.”

The elderly witch hesitated for a moment. “If you’re sure? She is almost full kneazle, they can be a handful as pets. Why not one of the others? They are only part kneazle. You get the intelligence and loyalty, without the aggression and hassle.”

The blonde witch shook her head. “No, I want her, please.”

As Aberforth moved forward to back up his sister, Hailey looked around for Ginny, as she had moved away from the cats and was watching the rats play and apparently do gymnastics in their cage.

“You know, none of these rats are anything like my brother's rat. All he does is lay about and eat. Lazy Scabbers.”

Hailey gasped in shock as her magic rushed through her, causing her to freeze in place and twitch like she had been electrocuted. Breathing deeply when she could move again, she turned to Ginny. “ What did you just say? ”