Being Different Year 5

Anne spent a few days in the Hospital Wing recovering, when she returned to the Ravenclaw Common Room on Monday evening everyone was very pleased to see her back on her feet.

The first years looked deeply relieved. As Anne came through the Common Room entrance, she was assaulted by at least twelve of them jumping on her for hugs and questions.

“What was it like to faint?” asked a boy with sandy coloured hair.

“Is Umbridge getting fired?” asked a tall girl.

“Can you help us with our Potions homework?’ one pleaded desperately.

“One of the Slytherins is bullying me,” said another who seemed to be sporting a black eye.

Anthony was smirking slightly from behind the first years.

“First of all,” Anne chuckled as she started to answer the stream of questions, “it’s not much fun to faint, I wouldn’t recommend it, I have fainted several times so I should know. No Umbridge isn’t getting fired but those evil quills have been removed. Of course, I’ll help you with your homework, I’m it won’t take too long. And as for that Slytherin, if you know their name, I can report them to Professor Snape.”

“Anne,” said Anthony as Anne helped with the homework.

“Hmmm?” she lifted her head up from trying to teach a group of first years about bezoars.

“Next time you faint, or something could you leave an instruction manual for this lot?”

Anne had been bombarded with questions from the moment she came through the door and had been able to sort them all out within moments. Anthony was fairly sure that the majority of the first years had been waiting for Anne to come back to tell her about their problems, Anthony had had to break up a few fights, but nobody had asked for help with their problems.

When seven o’clock came the desks were moved aside as usual, and Michael and Terry took over the Common Room as disc jockeys for an hour.

“We have a request!” said Michael after a while.

“One of our newbies wants to celebrate Anne being back safe and sound, and was wondering what her favourite group was,” continued Terry.

“As anyone who listens to Anne’s caterwauling when she thinks anyone isn’t listening, her favourite music group is an Australian band called The Seekers,” added Michael. Anne blushed slightly and Brenda gave a cheer throwing her fist into the air.

“So here we have Georgy Girl, by the Seekers,” said Terry as he put the record on.

“We have another request,” said Michael after a few more songs.

“This one’s for all the lovers out there,” said Terry as he put on the next record.

Irwin beamed as they put on Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, and he pulled Anne closer into his arms. The room seemed to make space for the couple as they twirled and span around the floor, eventually Irwin ended the song for a long kiss on Anne’s lips.

They broke apart at the sound of applause, clearly at least half the Common Room had been watching them dance energetically and were now clapping for them.

“We weren’t that good,” muttered Irwin.

At the end of music hour, Anne made sure she was caught up on her homework before going up to bed.

The next morning for some reason Anne found herself being drawn into getting out of bed at five o’clock, she took a shower and washed her hair and then went downstairs with her books for the day.

It was only five thirty but there was clearly already someone else awake and down here.

“Morgana?” asked Anne walking over to where one of the first years was curled up on the sofa.

Anne noticed that Morgana had clearly been crying.

“Whats wrong are you homesick?”

Morgana shrugged.

“Want to talk about it?” asked Anne sitting down next to the girl.

“I guess I miss home,” Morgana sobbed, “but there’s so much pressure from my parents to do well, I don’t want them to know I’m upset.”

“Its perfectly normal to miss home,” said Anne putting an arm around her, “you’ve only been here a week.”

“Do you miss your family?”

Morgana nodded.

“Cant you write to them?”

“Well yeah but its not the same.”

“I get that,” nodded Anne, “you got any siblings?”

“Si- five,” Morgana stuttered, “I’m the oldest, three brothers and two sisters.”

“That must be rough for you leaving all your siblings at home, you must all be close?”

“Yeah we are,” she sighed.

“There’s still something wrong?”

“No,” said Morgana abruptly, “everythings fine!”

“Which is why you’re crying down here at five thirty in the morning?”

Morgana smiled slightly before giving a reluctant sigh.

“I miss my brother.”

“One of your younger brothers?”

“My older brother,” she muttered, “I thought he might have left something behind here.”

“I thought you said you were the eldest?” asked Anne confused.

“I am and I’m not,” Morgana struggled to explain, “he’s my half-brother.”

“What did you say your last name was again?” Anne asked looking at Morganas face. There was something eerily familiar about those soulful eyes.

“Selwyn,” said Morgana.

“You miss Julian don’t you?” Anne asked beaming.

“How did you know that?” asked Morgana shocked, “Dad says we’re not even supposed to talk about him.”

“But you miss him?”

“Yeah,” she muttered.

“How would you feel if I could tell you I know where your brother is, and that you could talk to him right now?”

“What?” said Morgana with her mouth wide open.

“Julian and I were very good friends when he was at school,” Anne explained, “he used to help me a lot in my first few weeks, in the holidays Julian and I would spend a lot of time together because we were some of the only Ravenclaws still there.”

Morgana was listening intently to Anne’s story.

“When Julian left home two years ago, he wrote to me,” she continued, “we went to the Leaky Cauldron where he was staying, and my Uncle invited him to move in with us. He’s been living with Harry and me ever since. He’s even got a job, he’s tutoring Irwin’s twin siblings, they’re eight.”

“So,” Morgana stammered, “that Julian’s safe and happy?”

Anne nodded.

Morgana seemed to cheer up slightly.

“I’m glad that Julians happy,” she said, “Julian and Dad never really got on, Dad never even let Julian spend more time with us than he had to.”

“I’m well aware,” said Anne through pursed lips, Julian had told her all about his step father.

“Do you want to talk to him?” asked Anne getting out her mirror.

“Um ok,” said Morgana looking perplexed at the mirror.

“Sirius!” Anne called, “Sirius!”

“Where’s the fire?” mumbled Sirius as he picked up the mirror.

“Good to see you too Sirius,” she chuckled.

“Just for future reference,” growled Sirius, “I prefer the usual method of waking up, an alarm clock!”

“Could we talk to Julian?”

“Did you wake me up at a quarter to six in the morning so that you could talk to Julian?” he asked slightly annoyed.

“Um yeah,” grinned Anne sheepishly, “I’ve got someone here who wants to talk to him.”

“Alright, alright,” muttered Sirius getting up to go and find Julian.

A few minutes later, a pyjama clad Julian was on the other end of the mirror. He wasn’t an early riser, but this morning had been reading in bed before getting up.

“How may I be of service to our auburn locked goddess today?”

“Shut up Julian, there’s someone here who wants to talk to you.”

“Um hi Julian,” said Morgana shyly as Anne passed her the mirror.

“Morgie?” stammered Julian, he pinched himself to check he wasn’t dreaming.

“Morgie is that really you?” he asked still not believing it.

“Yeah,” she nodded, “I’ve missed you!”

“I’ve missed you too,” he grinned. It was true out of his younger siblings it was Morgana he had thought about the most since he had left home. She was the eldest, so he had gotten to know her the best before he left for Hogwarts at eleven.

“You a Ravenclaw then?”

“Yeah,” Morgana nodded, “it’s great everyone’s really nice. Especially Anne.”

“You’ve got yourself a good friend there.”

“Julian why’d you leave home?”

“It just didn’t feel home to me anymore, it hadn’t for a long time.”

“I get that,” she nodded, “it’s just you really upset Mum and Dad, they miss you!”

Julian gave Morgana a meaningful look.

“Ok well mum misses you,” she corrected herself quickly, “and the rest of us.”

“I know Morgie, but I never really felt part of that family.”

“Dad was furious,” Morgana muttered.

“He didn’t hurt any of you, did he?” Julian panicked.

“No, he just smashed a lot of things and shouted a lot,” she explained.

She bit her lip slightly, “he also wrote you out of the will.”

“Seeing as I was never a Selwyn in the first place,” Julian chuckled, “I never thought I was in the flaming will in the first place.”

“You’re right,” agreed Morgana, “that one probably was an empty threat.”

“You all ok though?”

“Yeah we’re fine, I’ve mostly been worried about you, are you alright?”

“I’m fine Morgie, I’ve got a job that I love, and I’m really happy in my new family.”

“Ok,” grinned Morgana happy to know that her brother was finally happy.

“If you need anything just ask Anne if you can borrow the mirror ok?”

“Ok, I love you Julian.”

“Love you too Morgie!”

“Thanks Anne,” said Morgana giving Anne a hug once Julian had gone.

“It’s nothing,” she beamed, “you look like him you know, the same eyes.”

“Really?”

“Yep, exact same eyes.”

Anne showed Morgana some photographs of the strange family that she and Julian were a part off. Morgana’s favourite photo was the one where Averett was trying to steal Julian’s champagne glass at Remus and Tonk’s wedding, Julian was having to try and wrestle to get his glass back. The photograph of Julian’s face covered in glitter definitely reached the top five though.

“Who wants to break some fast?” asked Irwin at half past seven.

“Sounds good to me,” chuckled Anne.

“Me too,” said Morgana.

“So Morgana,” asked Irwin with a glint of his eye, as they settled down for breakfast, “what was Julian like as child?”

Morgana was half way through telling Irwin how Julian had somehow managed to turn her hair pink when Julian had been ten when Michael interrupted them.

“You guys need to read this,” said Michael urgently.

“You know that we don’t read that hogwash,” muttered Irwin.

“Theres something you might want to read,” he repeated handing over the paper.

“What’s a High Inquisitor?” asked Anne as they read the paper.