Praeris came downstairs yawning.
Yesterday a witch had lent her a copy of Slytherin Secret Records, and she hadn't been able to stop herself. She stayed up all night and finished it.
Fine. She'd said before that wizards loved those made-up little stories. Now here she was, reading that same kind of made-up little story.
Slytherin Secret Records told the story of Slytherin and a Muggle-born witch named Vera. The book was pure filler, not a shred of truth in it. Except for the Four Founders, every character was invented.
The great wizard Slytherin, in his youth, chanced upon the powerful Muggle-born witch Miss Vera. He was powerful. He was proud. He had a terrible temper.
But Miss Vera, through her own strength and her gift for loving others, won him over completely. He sank deep into love.
Vera opened a different world to him. A world willing to believe, willing to love, willing to change.
Then, the witch Vera accidentally revealed herself in front of Muggle relatives. Her family drugged her. A priest killed her with a triple-edged blade coated in "holy water."
(Don't ask what the holy water was. The book never explained.)
Slytherin arrived at the critical moment and pulled Vera back from the brink, but her life had already reached its end.
She cupped his face in her hands and begged him not to persecute Muggles for her death.
"The ones who killed me were Muggles. But not because they were Muggles."
Slytherin sealed Vera away in a cave of ice and set out to find a way to extend her life. From that day on, he hated betrayal. He refused Muggle-born students.
Praeris turned the page in a rush. The story couldn't end here. If it did, it deserved to be called a botched ending.
At the very least, there had to be a plotline where Slytherin brought Vera back, right?
She had to admit, the wizarding world was something else. On the very last page, this wretched author had written: Love makes one wish to live. Love makes one wish to die. Love leads one toward the light. Love lets one sink into darkness. Does the reader believe Slytherin's choice was what Vera hoped to see? Stay tuned for the next installment: Gryffindor Secret Records!
The End!
Praeris stared at the page in horror. That cut-off was agonizing.
She looked out the window at the sky just barely turning with dawn light and felt she'd wasted an entire night.
"Little Prae, why do you look so sleepy?" Tom said, surprised.
Praeris took a vicious bite of bread and slapped Slytherin Secret Records onto the table. "I've been scammed. I will spend one Sickle to sue the author of this book."
"Hahahaha!" A familiar laugh rang out.
The witch who had lent her the book.
The witch fired a wink at her. "I still have the next three books in the series, plus six stories pairing up every combination of the Four Founders. Want to read them?"
"No wonder your smile yesterday felt a little off," Praeris said. She really was still too green.
The witch covered her mouth with theatrical flair. "Merlin, am I not kind? Oh no... yes, you've found me out. I suppose I'll just have to silence you permanently!"
Tom shook his head disapprovingly. "Every year you find some kid to trick, Heidi, honestly. Though isn't this sort of thing out of fashion now? Yesterday's paper mentioned some writer — what was his name?"
"Gilderoy Lockhart." Heidi gave a dismissive little laugh. "My girlfriends are all obsessed with him. If you ask me, Mr. Fox's books are still better — even if his books were already old news when I was little."
Heidi let out a full die-hard fan sound.
Fox? Praeris turned it over. The author's name was "Fox," but no surname attached.
That looked more like a pen name than a real one. Though there were people with the surname Fox.
"Tell me about this Lockhart," Praeris asked curiously. "What does he write?"
Heidi made an effort to recall. "Some works about combating Dark creatures? If you ask me, if he really had that kind of skill, he was just born in the wrong era. Ten or twenty years earlier, the Dark Lord would have had a capable opponent to contend with."
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Tom shook his head. "That's all in the past now. Little Prae, if you're curious, you can head over to Blenheim's, he seems to have gotten a batch of Lockhart's books in."
A wizard author whose skill could rival Voldemort's?
Praeris felt a small flicker of interest.
But she had to go prepare beauty potions that afternoon, so after breakfast she made her way toward the beauty potion shop.
On the way, she passed Flourish and Blotts and found the bookstore packed with people. A rare sight.
Madam Primpernelle, Praeris called her Madam Pri, ran a particularly profitable business. A single bottle of beautification potion started at one Galleon.
Miss Winnie was Madam Pri's close friend. The two of them would sit together and talk about the things ladies talked about.
"Little Prae, oh! Thank you, I love this." Madam Pri accepted the afternoon tea Praeris had brought with a gentle smile. "Dear, did you see the commotion at the bookstore? My friend says Mr. Lockhart is terribly handsome."
Praeris nodded. "There are crowds over there. Though I heard he has several more events like this. Have you seen my gloves?"
"I took them to be cleaned — use mine for now."
Madam Pri opened the box, laid out the afternoon tea on the table, and waved for Winnie to come and join them.
"Winnie dear, supposedly Mr. Lockhart is also a Ravenclaw, did you ever cross paths with him?" Madam Pri asked.
Winnie rested her chin in her hand and thought it over. "You're really putting me on the spot. How many years has it been since I graduated? I feel like I've heard of him. You know, I do know some other writers, even if I only count as a contributor myself. Doesn't he have some sort of title?"
"What kind of title?" Praeris asked, still stirring. "Along the lines of Professor Snape being an acknowledged Potions Master?"
"No, no, no!" Winnie looked genuinely alarmed. "Absolutely nothing like that!"
It was a good while later, after Winnie and Madam Pri had spent considerable time debating a new nail dye, that Winnie suddenly looked up.
"I remember now! No wonder he seemed familiar!"
"He has a book called Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests!"
The realization hit Winnie all at once.
Praeris was at the sink washing equipment. Madam Pri's standards weren't particularly demanding, but she had one firm rule: every instrument had to be thoroughly cleaned after each batch and started fresh, even if the next potion was the exact same one.
"This concerns the looks of young ladies!" That was Madam Pri's principle and her hard line.
Praeris nearly laughed out loud. "So what's his title then — Friend of Housewives?"
Madam Pri and Miss Winnie both broke down laughing. "Hahaha, that's not bad at all, Little Prae!"
It took Winnie a while to get herself under control. She shook her head. "It's not that. He's won the Witch Weekly Most Charming Smile Award 5 times. Everyone calls him the Most Charming Wizard."
Praeris's head filled with question marks.
Is there something slightly off about you Ravenclaws?
Madam Pri stood up, extended both arms, and flashed a wicked grin. "Little Prae, dear, you're all done! Care to receive my services? I can make you the Most Charming Witch too!"
Praeris shook her head frantically, hands waving. "No, no, I mean, that title is far too elevated. I'm not qualified. Miss Winnie is much more suitable, just look how beautiful she is!"
Madam Pri, your elegant refined image has shattered!
Winnie crossed her arms and shook her head firmly. "No, no, no, what I booked was the basic treatment. Basic."
After the midday break, Madam Pri's clients began arriving one by one.
Praeris normally kept up Madam Pri's potion reserves in advance, but some clients had special requests, which meant adapting on the fly in the preparation room.
It didn't happen often. Most of the time, Praeris could slack off in the preparation room and work on her homework.
All in all, it was a comfortable job. It required some skill, but the workload was light.
Madam Pri was a witch who truly knew how to enjoy life, that much was obvious from her friendship with Winnie. Two women with the same high standards for living, and they'd clicked at once and never looked back.
Madam Pri closed the door, hung up the "Closed" sign, and wrapped an arm around Praeris as they walked out together.
She set her hand on Praeris's waist. "Dear, ever since I graduated from Hogwarts, I've lived alone. Well, along with the witches I see every day. You'll come to understand: when your life is full of lovely girls, you'll be much happier."
"I also lived with many girls when I was little," Praeris said, before she could stop herself. "But I wasn't happy."
Madam Pri smiled and tapped her gently on the forehead. "Dear, that just means there were still men in your life who shouldn't have been there."
Yes. Madam Pri was that kind of witch, all the way to one extreme. Praeris didn't fully agree with her. But she respected the way Madam Pri had chosen to live.
And at the very least, she truly was happy. That alone made it worthwhile.
Praeris said goodbye to Madam Pri in front of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop and turned toward the Leaky Cauldron.
Everyone had the right to choose their own life. Miss Winnie. Madam Pri. Herself.
Miss Winnie giving up a respectable job left people baffled. Madam Pri's shop serving only witches drew its share of criticism. Praeris walking away from the convent hadn't earned Professor Snape's full support either.
But all of them were walking a path toward the life they wanted. Even when it wasn't easy.
Praeris stopped at the owl post office and collected her mail: one letter from Millicent, one from Hogwarts, one from Professor Snape.
She sat on her bed and opened them.
Millicent had fought with her mother again. End-of-term results, not ideal.
"I really wish I had even half your IQ!" Millicent wrote.
Praeris: abandon.
The Hogwarts letter was the book list for next term.
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2, that made sense.
What she hadn't expected was the string of "Gilderoy Lockhart" titles that followed.
Damn it all! Why not throw in Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests while they were at it!
Praeris held the letter in one hand and pounded her neatly folded quilt with the other.
Alright. Alright. Calm down. Count up your savings. Bestsellers like these wouldn't be cheap.
5 minutes later,
Damn it all! She might as well sell herself. No money!
Praeris's brain spun at full speed. She was already weighing whether to shamelessly drop by Blenheim's and mooch a read, or just borrow Millicent's and the others' copies. She only needed to read something once to have it memorized, what did she even need these textbooks for?
5 minutes later,
Damn it all! Maybe she should just go assassinate the teacher when school started.
➤ Next: Miss Winnie's Past