(no subject)
Title: Arithmetic
Author: aimeesworld
Rating: G
Character(s): Lavender Brown, plus others.
Summary: She thought it was a joke at first. She hadn’t even applied. But then this dumpy woman with a patched hat ended up on their doorstep, calling herself ‘Professor’ Sprout. Lavender Brown has a life-altering decision to make.
Lavender Brown was not the sort of girl who liked mathematics.
In fact, she was the sort of girl who loathed sums with a fiery burning passion. Every week, her class would have quick-fire multiplication tests and Lavender would do appallingly.
“That was deplorable,” her teacher would say to her, shaking his head and handing back her paper.
Lavender thought that deplorable rolled off her tongue like the hard boiled sweets her and her best friend would buy from the local dairy on their way home from school. Sandy was three weeks older than her, but Lavender was five centimetres taller. They were going to go to the same school the next year and do all the same options and catch the same buses and be just like twins even though Lavender’s fair plaits didn’t look anything like Sandy’s mop of chocolate curls. And when they were old enough, they’d both go to university in London together and be roommates. They both wanted to be Vets. Lavender loved animals, but she wasn’t allowed any until she was old enough to look after them by herself.
Then Lavender got the letter.
Dear Miss Brown, We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts’ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…
She thought it was a joke at first. She hadn’t even applied. But then this dumpy woman with a patched hat ended up on their doorstep, calling herself ‘Professor’ Sprout. Her dad and the woman talked for a long time. Dad didn’t believe her at first (Lavender was surprised herself at how readily she believed) but after their visitor transfigured the teapot into a turtle, he had to concede that perhaps she really was telling the truth. He started using the voice that he usually reserved for the people who called up to sell him stuff over the phone.
“I’m not sending my only child off to some pretentious boarding school in Scotland to teach her magic tricks,” he said. “Lavender’s going to make something of herself. In the real world.”
“It would be the best thing for her,” the sprout woman said calmly. “Being among her own kind …”
Dad interrupted. “Her own kind is me and her friends at school and the neighbourhood she’s grown up in. She’s perfectly content here.”
“She won’t continue to be. She’ll have been performing accidental magic around the place, and it’s likely to only get worse.”
“Accidental magic?” her dad scoffed.
Lavender thought about how ghastly Susan Jenkins always tripped over when she walked past, even though there was nothing to trip over. And when Thomas Young had teased her about how she didn’t have a mother, his throat swelled up and he started gasping for breath. Everyone had said it was an allergic reaction to something (what was never specified) but that didn’t stop her remembering how angry she had felt, like she wanted those horrible people to just leave her alone. Now Thomas avoided her, as if she had some kind of infectious disease and his mother didn’t smile like she was better than Lavender anymore. Just hurried past with a bad smell under her nose.
“Could I decide for myself, Dad?” she asked. The turtle crawled over to Lavender and butted his hard head against her foot.
Both adults looked over at her in surprise, like they’d forgotten she was there. Which was stupid, she thought. She was the one they were arguing about, after all.
“I don’t want you going off to some boarding school,” her dad said, more gently this time. “They go against my principles.”
“If it helps, Mister Brown,” Professor Sprout said, “Hogwarts isn’t a fee-paying school. It’s entirely funded by our Ministry. Lavender would just have to buy books and her wand and so on.”
“All the same...”
Lavender turned to Professor Sprout. “I’m not saying I want to go to this school but am I able to go on a tour? I did that for the school I’m going to next year.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. The school’s closed currently. But I can take you into Diagon Alley and you can see a bit of the Wizarding World. And I can answer any questions you might have about it.”
“Dad?” Lavender did her best puppy dog eyes. “Can we just go visit this place? Please?”
He sighed. “I suppose so.” He turned to Professor Sprout. “You might want to be careful about your attitude though. You’re no better than other people even if you can do magic.”
Professor Sprout went pink. “I’m sorry. I do try.” And changed the turtle back. Lavender had already nicknamed him Charlie.
The night before they were due to go to Diagon Alley, Lavender couldn’t sleep. The Professor had said that she couldn’t tell anyone about magic. Apparently anyone included Sandy. Lavender didn’t class her as just anyone, more as a part of herself that got to wander around on its own. But her dad and Professor Sprout didn’t see it that way and she was forbidden from saying anything. There was a queasy ache at the pit of her stomach at the thought of this. What would happen if she did go to this school? Would she be allowed to tell Sandy then?
She woke up the next morning, grumpy and tired. Her dad wasn’t singing like he usually did when he made breakfast. She gulped down her cereal and yoghurt and was brushing her teeth when the professor came to pick them up. Lavender’s dad drove them into London. It was the oddest car ride. Lavender had thousands of questions, but her throat was dry and she didn’t know how to get them out.
They stopped outside a pub at Professor Sprout’s instructions. Her dad was bit confused, saying it was a dirty wreck of a building, but Lavender thought it maybe just looked a bit old. There was some procedure done with the wall, but Lavender wasn’t concentrating. Then, “Wow.”
“This is Diagon Alley,” Professor Sprout said. Lavender had read about medieval villages at school and even seen pictures, but this was a thousand times better. The streets were cobbled and everything seemed almost lopsided. A girl walked into theshop they were outside, babbling to her dad about Veracious Valiats. Lavender thought she might have read about those in a Roald Dahl book. She looked over at Dad, who was smiling, but not with his eyes.
“Cheer up,” she grabbed his hand. “It’s just a visit.”
He smiled properly at her this time and squeezed her hand.
“Right,” Professor Sprout said. “I thought you might want to go to the bank and change some Muggle money, pounds and pence and all that.”
Lavender groaned. “Do I have to?”
Her dad looked uncertain. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“Pomona!” a loud voice cried. “What are you doing here?” Professor Sprout was enveloped into a bear hug by a large Indian man.
“Parmesh, how are you?” she smiled. Her hat was practically falling off. “These must be your girls.” Lavender noticed two girls, identical and about her age, slightly behind him. They were the prettiest girls Lavender had ever seen. She smiled at them awkwardly. “This is Frank Brown, and his daughter, Lavender. Mister Brown, this is a former classmate of mine, Parmesh Patil and his daughters, Parvati and Padma. Parmesh, I’m showing Lavender around before she decides if she wants to go to Hogwarts.”
“Of course she wants to go to Hogwarts,” Parmesh said, voice booming. “Best seven years of your life. Especially if you’re a Hufflepuff, eh Pomona?” He winked at Lavender, who smiled back even though she had no idea what he was talking about. Her dad frowned.
“Don’t pressure her, Parmesh,” Professor Sprout said, but she was laughing. Then, her face lit up. “Would Lavender be able to go around with you while I take Frank to Gringotts?”
“Not a problem. We were just going to get ice cream,” Parmesh said. “Celebrate getting Hogwarts letters. Lavender is welcome to join us, my treat.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with this, Lavender?” her dad asked. The worry lines on his forehead had deepened.
“It’ll be fine, Dad,” she said, smiling cheerfully.
“We’ll meet you at Fortescues when we’re done,” Professor Sprout said and they were drawn back into the crowds.
“Lavender, was it?” Parmesh said, a bit quieter. “These two are Parvati, on my left, and Padma. Sometimes even I can’t tell them apart, so I wouldn’t be too worried.”
Lavender could see the differences immediately. Parvati had her hair in a plait, while Padma’s was cut short and curled just below her ears. Also, Parvati had a broader smile and a slightly rounder face. She followed them silently to the ice cream store and when Parmesh was up at the counter ordering them ice creams (“Something wizarding for you, little colour chart,” he’d said to Lavender) she found her voice. “Are you a Wizarding family?”
“Through and through,” Parvati said cheerfully. “Dad was Hufflepuff and Mum was a Slytherin and everyone thought it was mad when they got together.”
“What’s a Hufflepuff?”
“Oh, you won’t know will you?” Both girls gave identical looks of enthusiasm. “They’re houses at Hogwarts. There’s four in total.”
“Hufflepuffs are really loyal and hard-working-” Padma said.
“And stupid!” Parvati crowed.
Padma rolled her eyes. “You know that’s not true, Vee. Look at Dad. He’s a Muggle Liaison Officer.”
“And Slytherin’s another house,” Parvati continued, rolling her eyes back at Padma. “They’re supposed to be cunning and ambitious. Mum’s a healer, one of the best. She’s wicked funny, you should hear about some of the tricks she used to play when she was at Hogwarts.”
“Slytherin has a reputation for being evil, but they’re really not much more than the other houses,” Padma explained. “They just have different ways of doing things. I’d quite like to be be sorted into Slytherin,” she added, almost hopefully.
Lavender felt strangely sad at this news. Slytherin didn’t sound like it would suit her at all. “Will you be a Slytherin?” she asked Parvati.
Parvati laughed. “I’m about as cunning as a tortoise. I’m going to be a Gryffindor. They’re brave and heroic. Padma will probably end up in Ravenclaw. They’re the smart ones. She reads all the time.”
Parmesh came back with their ice cream. “There’s nothing wrong with having a good old Ravenclaw when you’re in a tough spot.” Lavender smiled hesitantly and took a tiny spoonful of the ice cream, which was a frightening shade of yellow. “Lemon, Banana and Pineapple with Fortescue’s Special Sauce. It’s the girls’ favourite sundae.” Delicious.
Padma and Parvati continued talking loudly. “You won’t be in Gryffindor,” Padma argued. “There’s never been a Gryffindor in our family, not in a hundred years. Anyway, you just want to be in the same house as Harry Potter and he’s sure to be in Gryffindor.”
Parvati poked out her tongue. “Do not!”
“Do so!”
Parmesh looked over at them both and they went silent. Lavender thought of another question. “Do they have maths at Hogwarts?”
Parvati grinned. “That’s the best part about it.”
Padma sighed. “You don’t have to take maths. You can take Arithmancy, which is probably the closest thing to it, if you want in your third year but they don’t make you. I think it sounds really interesting. I get to do some when I finish lessons early sometimes.”
“What subjects do you have to take?” Lavender couldn’t imagine what wizards might have to study.
Parmesh answered. “There’s Potions, Charms, Astronomy and History of Magic. It’s pretty easy to work out what those subjects are. Then, Herbology, which is looking after magical plants. Pomona Sprout teaches that. Transfiguration is turning objects from one thing to another. And then there’s Defense Against the Dark Arts where you learn to defend yourself against jinxes and dark creatures and so on.”
Lavender shivered. She’d be dropping that as soon as she could. If she went. “Have you already learnt lots of that stuff?” she asked Parvati and Padma. “I’ll be so behind.”
“No you won’t,” Parvati said, sighing dramatically. “We’ve had a tutor with Pansy Parkinson and Zacharias Smith since we were five. Teaching us English and Maths and boring stuff like that.”
“Why didn’t you go to school?”
“There are no Wizarding primary schools,” Parmesh explained. “And it would be too difficult to send the girls off to a Muggle school.”
“You’ve been at Muggle school, haven’t you?” Padma said, looking at her intently. “It must be really hard to choose. Leaving friends behind and all that.”
“Yeah,” Lavender said. “It’s hard. I’m enrolled in the same school as my best friend, Sandy, for next year. We’re doing all the same subjects and stuff.”
Parvati rubbed her shoulder. “You’ll work out what you want to do and if she’s your best friend, she’ll understand.”
Lavender smiled and the subject was changed to Quidditch, which was apparently some sort of sport on broomsticks that was far too complicated for Lavender to understand. Even so, she couldn’t wait to try it. If she ended up going of course. When Lavender’s dad and Professor Sprout came by, Parvati was doing an imitation of some boy they knew called Blaise Zabini and Lavender was in hysterics along with Padma.
They split their separate ways. The twins promised they’d owl her to find out whether or not she was going. She spent the next few hours wandering around with her dad and Professor Sprout. She pointed out the sights and helped Lavender buy a book on Hogwarts so that she’d be able to find out more about it and make an informed choice. Her dad bought her some candy and a little figurine of a horse that reared up on its hind legs and neighed softly.
It was a quiet ride home. Her dad was listening to the news on the radio and Lavender was deep in thought. When the car had stopped, her dad turned around to look at her.
“I reckon it’s not up to me to decide whether that world is best for you, especially if you’ve got magic,” he sounded like he had a bit of a cold. “The decision’s yours.”
“Thanks Dad.”
Later that night she lay on the floor of her room with the book about Hogwarts, the prospectus for the school she was enrolled in and a big sheet of paper. It was too hard to decide, but her dad had always taught her that it helped to write everything down.
“Alright,” she muttered. “Hogwarts, pros…”
Quickly she scribbled down several points. Magic. Diagon Alley. Wand. Owl Post. Houses sound like fun. The Twins were really friendly. Flying on broomsticks. Magical animals - they have classes to study them when you’re older. Being normal - no weird accidents like with Thomas and Susan.
“And cons.”
No Sandy. Boarding School. Defense Against the Dark Arts sounds yuck. Robes - they look scratchy and heavy and I’ll probably get them muddy. Scotland was always cold and wet when I went there with Dad. No vet school or University. Covering up everything and being secretive. Writing with quills - I’ll spill the ink.
She went on writing, scribbling down anything that came to her head. A while later, hand cramped and blue ink staining her fingers, she finished and counted up both sides.
Twenty on each side. Equal.
Next point wins, she thought. Then remembered part of the conversation she’d had and scribbled down something.
NO MORE MATHS.
“I guess I’m going to Hogwarts then,” she said, breathing deeply. There were more discussions to have, repurcussions for her choice, but it felt good. Right. She looked in the mirror (she didn’t look any different) and went down to tell her Dad.
Turns out Maths changed her life.
Author: aimeesworld
Rating: G
Character(s): Lavender Brown, plus others.
Summary: She thought it was a joke at first. She hadn’t even applied. But then this dumpy woman with a patched hat ended up on their doorstep, calling herself ‘Professor’ Sprout. Lavender Brown has a life-altering decision to make.
Lavender Brown was not the sort of girl who liked mathematics.
In fact, she was the sort of girl who loathed sums with a fiery burning passion. Every week, her class would have quick-fire multiplication tests and Lavender would do appallingly.
“That was deplorable,” her teacher would say to her, shaking his head and handing back her paper.
Lavender thought that deplorable rolled off her tongue like the hard boiled sweets her and her best friend would buy from the local dairy on their way home from school. Sandy was three weeks older than her, but Lavender was five centimetres taller. They were going to go to the same school the next year and do all the same options and catch the same buses and be just like twins even though Lavender’s fair plaits didn’t look anything like Sandy’s mop of chocolate curls. And when they were old enough, they’d both go to university in London together and be roommates. They both wanted to be Vets. Lavender loved animals, but she wasn’t allowed any until she was old enough to look after them by herself.
Then Lavender got the letter.
Dear Miss Brown, We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts’ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…
She thought it was a joke at first. She hadn’t even applied. But then this dumpy woman with a patched hat ended up on their doorstep, calling herself ‘Professor’ Sprout. Her dad and the woman talked for a long time. Dad didn’t believe her at first (Lavender was surprised herself at how readily she believed) but after their visitor transfigured the teapot into a turtle, he had to concede that perhaps she really was telling the truth. He started using the voice that he usually reserved for the people who called up to sell him stuff over the phone.
“I’m not sending my only child off to some pretentious boarding school in Scotland to teach her magic tricks,” he said. “Lavender’s going to make something of herself. In the real world.”
“It would be the best thing for her,” the sprout woman said calmly. “Being among her own kind …”
Dad interrupted. “Her own kind is me and her friends at school and the neighbourhood she’s grown up in. She’s perfectly content here.”
“She won’t continue to be. She’ll have been performing accidental magic around the place, and it’s likely to only get worse.”
“Accidental magic?” her dad scoffed.
Lavender thought about how ghastly Susan Jenkins always tripped over when she walked past, even though there was nothing to trip over. And when Thomas Young had teased her about how she didn’t have a mother, his throat swelled up and he started gasping for breath. Everyone had said it was an allergic reaction to something (what was never specified) but that didn’t stop her remembering how angry she had felt, like she wanted those horrible people to just leave her alone. Now Thomas avoided her, as if she had some kind of infectious disease and his mother didn’t smile like she was better than Lavender anymore. Just hurried past with a bad smell under her nose.
“Could I decide for myself, Dad?” she asked. The turtle crawled over to Lavender and butted his hard head against her foot.
Both adults looked over at her in surprise, like they’d forgotten she was there. Which was stupid, she thought. She was the one they were arguing about, after all.
“I don’t want you going off to some boarding school,” her dad said, more gently this time. “They go against my principles.”
“If it helps, Mister Brown,” Professor Sprout said, “Hogwarts isn’t a fee-paying school. It’s entirely funded by our Ministry. Lavender would just have to buy books and her wand and so on.”
“All the same...”
Lavender turned to Professor Sprout. “I’m not saying I want to go to this school but am I able to go on a tour? I did that for the school I’m going to next year.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. The school’s closed currently. But I can take you into Diagon Alley and you can see a bit of the Wizarding World. And I can answer any questions you might have about it.”
“Dad?” Lavender did her best puppy dog eyes. “Can we just go visit this place? Please?”
He sighed. “I suppose so.” He turned to Professor Sprout. “You might want to be careful about your attitude though. You’re no better than other people even if you can do magic.”
Professor Sprout went pink. “I’m sorry. I do try.” And changed the turtle back. Lavender had already nicknamed him Charlie.
The night before they were due to go to Diagon Alley, Lavender couldn’t sleep. The Professor had said that she couldn’t tell anyone about magic. Apparently anyone included Sandy. Lavender didn’t class her as just anyone, more as a part of herself that got to wander around on its own. But her dad and Professor Sprout didn’t see it that way and she was forbidden from saying anything. There was a queasy ache at the pit of her stomach at the thought of this. What would happen if she did go to this school? Would she be allowed to tell Sandy then?
She woke up the next morning, grumpy and tired. Her dad wasn’t singing like he usually did when he made breakfast. She gulped down her cereal and yoghurt and was brushing her teeth when the professor came to pick them up. Lavender’s dad drove them into London. It was the oddest car ride. Lavender had thousands of questions, but her throat was dry and she didn’t know how to get them out.
They stopped outside a pub at Professor Sprout’s instructions. Her dad was bit confused, saying it was a dirty wreck of a building, but Lavender thought it maybe just looked a bit old. There was some procedure done with the wall, but Lavender wasn’t concentrating. Then, “Wow.”
“This is Diagon Alley,” Professor Sprout said. Lavender had read about medieval villages at school and even seen pictures, but this was a thousand times better. The streets were cobbled and everything seemed almost lopsided. A girl walked into theshop they were outside, babbling to her dad about Veracious Valiats. Lavender thought she might have read about those in a Roald Dahl book. She looked over at Dad, who was smiling, but not with his eyes.
“Cheer up,” she grabbed his hand. “It’s just a visit.”
He smiled properly at her this time and squeezed her hand.
“Right,” Professor Sprout said. “I thought you might want to go to the bank and change some Muggle money, pounds and pence and all that.”
Lavender groaned. “Do I have to?”
Her dad looked uncertain. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“Pomona!” a loud voice cried. “What are you doing here?” Professor Sprout was enveloped into a bear hug by a large Indian man.
“Parmesh, how are you?” she smiled. Her hat was practically falling off. “These must be your girls.” Lavender noticed two girls, identical and about her age, slightly behind him. They were the prettiest girls Lavender had ever seen. She smiled at them awkwardly. “This is Frank Brown, and his daughter, Lavender. Mister Brown, this is a former classmate of mine, Parmesh Patil and his daughters, Parvati and Padma. Parmesh, I’m showing Lavender around before she decides if she wants to go to Hogwarts.”
“Of course she wants to go to Hogwarts,” Parmesh said, voice booming. “Best seven years of your life. Especially if you’re a Hufflepuff, eh Pomona?” He winked at Lavender, who smiled back even though she had no idea what he was talking about. Her dad frowned.
“Don’t pressure her, Parmesh,” Professor Sprout said, but she was laughing. Then, her face lit up. “Would Lavender be able to go around with you while I take Frank to Gringotts?”
“Not a problem. We were just going to get ice cream,” Parmesh said. “Celebrate getting Hogwarts letters. Lavender is welcome to join us, my treat.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with this, Lavender?” her dad asked. The worry lines on his forehead had deepened.
“It’ll be fine, Dad,” she said, smiling cheerfully.
“We’ll meet you at Fortescues when we’re done,” Professor Sprout said and they were drawn back into the crowds.
“Lavender, was it?” Parmesh said, a bit quieter. “These two are Parvati, on my left, and Padma. Sometimes even I can’t tell them apart, so I wouldn’t be too worried.”
Lavender could see the differences immediately. Parvati had her hair in a plait, while Padma’s was cut short and curled just below her ears. Also, Parvati had a broader smile and a slightly rounder face. She followed them silently to the ice cream store and when Parmesh was up at the counter ordering them ice creams (“Something wizarding for you, little colour chart,” he’d said to Lavender) she found her voice. “Are you a Wizarding family?”
“Through and through,” Parvati said cheerfully. “Dad was Hufflepuff and Mum was a Slytherin and everyone thought it was mad when they got together.”
“What’s a Hufflepuff?”
“Oh, you won’t know will you?” Both girls gave identical looks of enthusiasm. “They’re houses at Hogwarts. There’s four in total.”
“Hufflepuffs are really loyal and hard-working-” Padma said.
“And stupid!” Parvati crowed.
Padma rolled her eyes. “You know that’s not true, Vee. Look at Dad. He’s a Muggle Liaison Officer.”
“And Slytherin’s another house,” Parvati continued, rolling her eyes back at Padma. “They’re supposed to be cunning and ambitious. Mum’s a healer, one of the best. She’s wicked funny, you should hear about some of the tricks she used to play when she was at Hogwarts.”
“Slytherin has a reputation for being evil, but they’re really not much more than the other houses,” Padma explained. “They just have different ways of doing things. I’d quite like to be be sorted into Slytherin,” she added, almost hopefully.
Lavender felt strangely sad at this news. Slytherin didn’t sound like it would suit her at all. “Will you be a Slytherin?” she asked Parvati.
Parvati laughed. “I’m about as cunning as a tortoise. I’m going to be a Gryffindor. They’re brave and heroic. Padma will probably end up in Ravenclaw. They’re the smart ones. She reads all the time.”
Parmesh came back with their ice cream. “There’s nothing wrong with having a good old Ravenclaw when you’re in a tough spot.” Lavender smiled hesitantly and took a tiny spoonful of the ice cream, which was a frightening shade of yellow. “Lemon, Banana and Pineapple with Fortescue’s Special Sauce. It’s the girls’ favourite sundae.” Delicious.
Padma and Parvati continued talking loudly. “You won’t be in Gryffindor,” Padma argued. “There’s never been a Gryffindor in our family, not in a hundred years. Anyway, you just want to be in the same house as Harry Potter and he’s sure to be in Gryffindor.”
Parvati poked out her tongue. “Do not!”
“Do so!”
Parmesh looked over at them both and they went silent. Lavender thought of another question. “Do they have maths at Hogwarts?”
Parvati grinned. “That’s the best part about it.”
Padma sighed. “You don’t have to take maths. You can take Arithmancy, which is probably the closest thing to it, if you want in your third year but they don’t make you. I think it sounds really interesting. I get to do some when I finish lessons early sometimes.”
“What subjects do you have to take?” Lavender couldn’t imagine what wizards might have to study.
Parmesh answered. “There’s Potions, Charms, Astronomy and History of Magic. It’s pretty easy to work out what those subjects are. Then, Herbology, which is looking after magical plants. Pomona Sprout teaches that. Transfiguration is turning objects from one thing to another. And then there’s Defense Against the Dark Arts where you learn to defend yourself against jinxes and dark creatures and so on.”
Lavender shivered. She’d be dropping that as soon as she could. If she went. “Have you already learnt lots of that stuff?” she asked Parvati and Padma. “I’ll be so behind.”
“No you won’t,” Parvati said, sighing dramatically. “We’ve had a tutor with Pansy Parkinson and Zacharias Smith since we were five. Teaching us English and Maths and boring stuff like that.”
“Why didn’t you go to school?”
“There are no Wizarding primary schools,” Parmesh explained. “And it would be too difficult to send the girls off to a Muggle school.”
“You’ve been at Muggle school, haven’t you?” Padma said, looking at her intently. “It must be really hard to choose. Leaving friends behind and all that.”
“Yeah,” Lavender said. “It’s hard. I’m enrolled in the same school as my best friend, Sandy, for next year. We’re doing all the same subjects and stuff.”
Parvati rubbed her shoulder. “You’ll work out what you want to do and if she’s your best friend, she’ll understand.”
Lavender smiled and the subject was changed to Quidditch, which was apparently some sort of sport on broomsticks that was far too complicated for Lavender to understand. Even so, she couldn’t wait to try it. If she ended up going of course. When Lavender’s dad and Professor Sprout came by, Parvati was doing an imitation of some boy they knew called Blaise Zabini and Lavender was in hysterics along with Padma.
They split their separate ways. The twins promised they’d owl her to find out whether or not she was going. She spent the next few hours wandering around with her dad and Professor Sprout. She pointed out the sights and helped Lavender buy a book on Hogwarts so that she’d be able to find out more about it and make an informed choice. Her dad bought her some candy and a little figurine of a horse that reared up on its hind legs and neighed softly.
It was a quiet ride home. Her dad was listening to the news on the radio and Lavender was deep in thought. When the car had stopped, her dad turned around to look at her.
“I reckon it’s not up to me to decide whether that world is best for you, especially if you’ve got magic,” he sounded like he had a bit of a cold. “The decision’s yours.”
“Thanks Dad.”
Later that night she lay on the floor of her room with the book about Hogwarts, the prospectus for the school she was enrolled in and a big sheet of paper. It was too hard to decide, but her dad had always taught her that it helped to write everything down.
“Alright,” she muttered. “Hogwarts, pros…”
Quickly she scribbled down several points. Magic. Diagon Alley. Wand. Owl Post. Houses sound like fun. The Twins were really friendly. Flying on broomsticks. Magical animals - they have classes to study them when you’re older. Being normal - no weird accidents like with Thomas and Susan.
“And cons.”
No Sandy. Boarding School. Defense Against the Dark Arts sounds yuck. Robes - they look scratchy and heavy and I’ll probably get them muddy. Scotland was always cold and wet when I went there with Dad. No vet school or University. Covering up everything and being secretive. Writing with quills - I’ll spill the ink.
She went on writing, scribbling down anything that came to her head. A while later, hand cramped and blue ink staining her fingers, she finished and counted up both sides.
Twenty on each side. Equal.
Next point wins, she thought. Then remembered part of the conversation she’d had and scribbled down something.
NO MORE MATHS.
“I guess I’m going to Hogwarts then,” she said, breathing deeply. There were more discussions to have, repurcussions for her choice, but it felt good. Right. She looked in the mirror (she didn’t look any different) and went down to tell her Dad.
Turns out Maths changed her life.