//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Harry Potter and the Six Odd Witches // by Rainbow Sparkle //------------------------------// “I am so, so, sooooo sorry Headmaster!” Dumbledore watched as Twilight Sparkle bowed, giving a few more sorry’s as her friends stood around her. A few of them were giving Rainbow Dash the sort of look he had seen on a number of students' faces before. To her credit, Rainbow Dash was meeting their gazes a bit evenly, as she did admittedly have good reason to do so. He offered her a soft smile as he said, “There is no need to apologize, Miss Sparkle. No harm was done, and in fact it is possible your friend’s presence may have saved young Potter’s life.” True, the chances of him actually getting fatally harmed were slim. Madam Hooch was a skilled flier and referee, and would likely have been able to get to Harry in time. And he as well as several of the teachers would likely have reacted before he could smack into the ground at high speed. But saying that would have underscored Rainbow Dash’s quick action. And the simple truth that most of them had been a bit more focused on the rest of the match. “Besides, I am at least partially to blame. It should have occurred to me that boredom, and sheer curiosity, may have caused at least one of you to seek to explore or see what is beyond the infirmary. I know that if I were transported to another world, I would find it hard to keep myself confined to a single chamber.” Rainbow Dash smirked a bit and spoke to her friends, though the scathing retort from Rarity and Rainbow’s wince told him plenty, even if he couldn’t understand. Minerva, who was standing nearby with the other Heads of House, couldn’t help but mirror the slight smirk that formed on his own face. Some things it seems, are universal, Dumbledore thought to himself as Twilight remarked, “Still, we did promise that we’d do our best to remain in the infirmary. I’m sure you had your reasons for not letting us wander freely about the castle.” She wasn’t wrong, and given that there was a strong chance they’d be here for a while, there was no reason not to share it. “You are also correct. Hogwarts is full of magical passages and secret routes that lead to all kinds of rooms. Most are benign, a few are not as they are meant to help deal with intruders. It is also easy for those who don’t know their way to get rather lost. On top of that, with the student body not yet being aware of your presence, I did not wish for them to think there were intruders in the school.” Twilight blinked a bit at that, tilting her head as she asked, “Couldn’t you have told the students we were here?” “Yes, but I wasn’t sure if it would be necessary. This term is nearly over, and in two days the students will be heading home.” Dumbledore remarked, before glancing over to Minverva, Severus, Pomona and Filius. He let out a curious hum as he looked to the six girls, and said, “And of course, I had no way of knowing how long you may be here. That is no longer the case.” That got the attention of everyone in the room. Even Twilight’s friends seemed to perk up, as if sensing he was about to bring up something important even if they didn’t understand him… Sans Rainbow Dash, whom he had likewise cast the translation spell upon after she had set Harry back on the ground. Casting it a second time had been, surprisingly, less difficult than the first had been. Pulling his thoughts back to the matter at hand, Dumbledore raised a hand and a book from a stand nearby slowly levitated over towards him. “Last night, I was visited by our Divinations Professor, Sybill Trelawney. That in and of itself was impressive, given she rarely leaves her tower. She insisted that I check the Book of Admissions, as she claimed to have had a vision for the coming year. That we would have some very interesting new students coming to study here.” As the book landed on his desk, he shot the other professors a small smirk before looking back to Twilight and her friends. “Considering that the norm for Trelawney is to predict the death of a student, this was a curious departure from the norm.” This drew some mixed expressions from their guests after Twilight and Rainbow translated, so Dumbledore decided to forgo further explanation and simply continued. “Sybill was quite insistent, and while I do admit her abilities as a Seer are nowhere near as great as her ancestor, I decided to indulge her after she described all six of the students she saw in her vision.” Everyone’s attention was on him now. Especially the Heads of House. He’d already discussed a bit of the situation with all of them, though Minerva and Severus had heard the most. Except for Severus, they each bore an expression of trepidation. Severus remained as nearly impassive as ever, but his gaze had become more intense. Opening the book, he reached the last page and used his wand to point six names written in golden ink. “Miss Sparkle, Miss Dash? Could you both step closer and read these names for all of us? The translation spell should have enabled you to read English as well as understand and speak it.” Slowly, they both gave a nod and approached the desk. Both looked down, and read aloud the names, first in English, then in Equestrian. The look of surprise on their faces was, really, all that Dumbledore needed. Nonetheless... “They are your names, and the names of your friends, correct?” Twilight nodded. “I don’t quite understand… you said yesterday that this was a school for magical humans… we aren’t human though, even if uh, we look like it right now. So why are our names in it?” “Indeed. Which is an important fact, given that by the laws of Britain’s Ministry of Magic, non-human magical beings aren’t allowed to learn wand magic. At the same time however, the very nature of this book here means that barring myself and a majority of the staff and the Board of Governors being in agreement, it can only register the names of human witches and wizards.” Dumbledore remarked, a smile spreading on his face as he added, “And I can assure you that I have not inquired about such with any of the staff, nor have the Board of Governors agreed to such.” Minerva snorted at that. “Given who is on the board, even bothering to ask would be pointless.” Rainbow Dash glanced back to the teachers, and her equally confused friends, before looking to Dumbledore. “So uh, what does this mean exactly?” Dumbledore steepled his fingers for a moment. He had been giving this a fair bit of thought since he woke. “I have come to at least three conclusions, the most likely ones at least given what little we both know so far. The first of course, is tied to the last, but is essentially that you being here is an accident. But this here, makes me think the chances of that are unlikely now.” “The second hypothesis is that you were sent here with the explicit goal being to make contact with magical beings of another world, and to share knowledge of your world while learning about ours, and that something went a bit wrong en route. That the fates are still inclined to see your mission through though, and have ensured you can do so by having you enroll here at Hogwarts.” “Which you described to us as one of the most prestigious magical schools of the world.” Twilight noted, earning a nod from Dumbledore. “And the alternative is…” Twilight chose to finish for him as she said, “That someone sent us here, reasons unknown, and figures that doing something like this will keep us here for a while.” Dumbledore nodded sagely. “There are other possibilities, but without more information, I believe I can safely say those aren’t likely enough to be worth mentioning. As it is, at the moment, I have no reason to deny you and us this opportunity. If you wish to take it, that is.” He stood up, closing the book as he continued.  “Even if your being brought here was purely an accident, the magic of the school seems to believe the six of you are witches, or that you are worthy of being students here. And as you regain your memory, you would be able to share much with us as we share with you. Beyond that, learning about the magic here may have practical value both in helping to find a way for you to return home, and may be something you could bring back to your world.” Twilight frowned, going deep in thought while Rainbow simplified the discussion for the others. Rarity seemed to ask a question, and Rainbow quickly translated it. Minerva stepped in to answer while Dumbledore paid close attention to Twilight and the others. “Yes, there are costs for books, equipment, and so forth. The school does have a fund for assisting those who do not have much in the way of resources of course…” “And I have, on occasion, dipped into my own wealth to assist incoming students as well.” Dumbledore added, smiling softly. “And given the circumstances, I would not mind doing so. As I said, this could be a learning experience for us as well. This is the first contact we have had with magical beings from another world, or dimension of existence, after all.” “Will this cause you any trouble?” Twilight asks, and Dumbledore considers it for a moment. “It will ruffle some feathers and cause some outcry among some. But I believe once it's made clear the circumstances are special, things will settle down. In any case, since you would be spending the vast majority of your time here at the castle, you likely would not have to deal with most of it.” He adds, almost as an afterthought, “Assuming, of course, you chose to enroll here.” The six girls looked at each other for a moment, their expressions ranging from uncertainty to excitement and at times shifting here and there amongst themselves. “Is there… someplace we could discuss this amongst ourselves?” Twilight finally asked, earning a nod from Dumbledore. He waved his hand, and the door to his quarters opened up. “Feel free to take as long as you need in there.” They all nodded, and made their way in, Twilight’s magic gripping the door and closing it behind them. Dumbledore was quick to cast a spell upon the door so they could have some privacy, and so he could discuss with his staff the prophecy that Trelawney had shared the previous evening. Their reactions were about as he expected. “So, as if we didn’t need further evidence for it, we know that the Dark Lord seeks to return, but that some powerful entity has decided to involve themselves, and these girls, in some ‘game’ as he sees it, with Fate itself,” Pomona inquired, with Filius quick to interject. “And on top of that, in some way, these girls may just wind up playing a role. And that their absence from their own world shall also change things.” Dumbledore nodded. “Before, I had pondered the possibility that their arrival here was accidental. This new prophecy however, removes any chance of such. And the fact their names appear to have been added to the book itself…” Filius perked up at this. “So, their names didn’t just appear there?” Dumbledore could only shake his head, while Severus spoke up. “Professor McGonagall and I double checked it. The ink that their names are written in is imbued with magic unfamiliar to us, and of a nature that I feel attempting to remove them might have unforeseen consequences.” He looked to Dumbledore and added, “It is why, even if I am leery of playing into the hands of some unknown entity, I am giving my full backing to the Headmaster’s decision.” “You back this Severus?” Pomona asked with a raised eyebrow. “I wouldn’t have expected you to support this.” “I am no fool Professor Sprout. It is clear someone or something wishes them to be here, refusing to give them the choice may have consequences difficult to deal with. And I suspect that, given their own circumstances, they shall accept the offer, if for no other reason than to secure a place to stay.” Severus replied.  There was the barest hint of a glare from him as he added, “Obviously they should be held to higher standards and expectations if they do accept, as not only are they older than the typical student to first come here, but they are not human. And should they come to pose a threat to the safety of the school or the students, through this prophecy or other means, they should be handled swiftly and accordingly.” Pomona could harrumph as she said, “I stand corrected.” Minerva however pursed her lips and asked, “Do you really think the Board, not to mention the Ministry, are going to accept this Albus?” Dumbledore could only shrug. “I believe once I explain the situation to my allies among the board, even Lucius will not be able to do much. And I am confident that Minister Fudge can be convinced to support the move as well. What I am most worried about is just what this prophecy entails.” Filius snorted a bit, chuckling as he said, “I for one look forward to how the papers will view things.” Minerva and Pomona both groaned at that, while Dumbledore simply smirked as he remarked, “This of course presumes that they do decide to take the offer. Though I must admit, I wonder what houses they would all wind up in.” He peered at the four of them, a mischievous glimmer flashing in his eye as he inquired, “Do you think any of them would wind up in your House, Severus?” Severus didn’t even bat an eye. “I have absolutely no idea, Headmaster.” He glanced at the door nearby, before adding, “We will just have to wait and see.” -*- Twilight closed the door with her magic as the last of her friends followed in. There was temptation to explore the quarters of the Headmaster of a magical school, but they decided against it. They were in here after all, to discuss their answer to the question that had been posed to them. She looked at each of her friends, and then asked, “Well girls, what do you think?” “I totally think we should like, totally accept it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she bounced into the center of the group. “I mean, I know for sure you definitively wanna say yes yes yes yes! After all, magic is your special talent and learning about magic from another world seems like something you’d absolutely want to do!” Twilight blushed a bit and rubbed the back of her head. “Y~You’re not wrong there Pinkie, but well, why-” Twilight let out a squeak as Pinkie gave the horn marking on her forehead a light poke. “I know what you’re about to ask, and for me at least, well, I've got lots of reasons I can think of! But one of them is cause we could all use those pretty sticks-” “Wands,” Twilight interjected, rubbing softly at her forehead. “Right, wands! If we had those, we’d all be able to do the kind of magic you and Rarity can do!” “That would be pretty awesome. I can’t remember all the stuff I’ve seen ya do Twilight, but I know you’ve done some amazing stuff with your magic.” Rainbow Dash remarked. “And what is my magic, chopped dandelions?” Rarity inquired, earning a sheepish look from Rainbow. “I know I don’t have anywhere near as many spells as Twilight, but I can do a fair bit more than you know.” She paused for a moment to tap her chin, frowning as she added, “Or well, it feels like I do at least.” “I~I wonder if they have any magic that’d be useful for helping to take care of animals,” Fluttershy pondered aloud, while Applejack offered her own two bits. “I reckon there’s not much of an option for us, is there?” Twilight tilted her head a bit at that, while Pinkie Pie popped up next to her and asked, “What’s wrong Applejack, don’t like the idea of getting to use magic like a unicorn?” Applejack seemed ready to deny such, but after a moment and a brief glimmer in her eyes she sighed and admitted, “I am a bit leery of it I admit. I’m used to doing a lot of things the old Earth Pony way, which means hard work and sweat. Not that Unicorns don’t do hard work themselves, but magic does make it loads easier.” “Applejack, Earth Ponies use magic too you know, just different magic.” Twilight commented, working to recall the differences between the magic of the three tribes and having some luck… though she was sure she was forgetting some things. “I know. But... Well, when you’re raised to often see unicorn magic as a bit of a shortcut, it's hard to let it go. It's why I got upset at ya last Winter Wrap Up.” For a brief moment, Twilight didn’t recollect what Applejack meant. Then there was a glimmer in her mind and she was able to remember it in crystal clear clarity. She blushed a bit and rubbed the back of her head, giggling a bit as she said, “Hehehe, I got overeager to help, especially after all the rest of my luck that day.” Applejack smiled, coming over and giving Twilight’s shoulder a soft squeeze. “And once I found out later, we talked about it some and I promised to try not to be so hard on magic in the future.” Twilight smiled softly, giving Applejack a nuzzle. “And you have… I think.” “Yeah, kind of hard to remember right now isn’t it?” The other girls nodded, and Applejack sighed again. “But I think we’re getting a bit sidetracked. We’re here, basically alone and on our own. I don’t know about any of you, but I don’t have any bits on me, so we don’t really have much in the way of money so-” “I’ve got some!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, fishing around in her dress pockets, reaching in between the collar of her shirt, which for some reason made the other girls blush just slightly. She pulled off a boot, turned it upside down, and then shook her curly, poofy hair about as a few more golden bits rained out.  Gathering them all up, she smiled and said, “We’ve got thirty bits! That’s five for each of us!” Applejack blinked and opened and closed her mouth a few times, before shaking her head as she said, “Right, so we got 30 bits, still not gonna do much more than maybe get us a bushel or two of apples. We don’t know much of anything about this world, and right now only two of us can even speak with the locals.” After getting some more nods from the girls, Applejack carried on. “And right now, we have no way of getting back home that we know of. We don’t even really know what those pieces of jewelry we showed up with are or what they do. We only know each of them belongs to us and that they're important.” “I think I see where you’re going with this.” Rarity interrupted. “You’re basically saying that we need to say yes to this offer, even if we didn’t think this was a good idea.” Applejack nodded, then added with a bit of a snark, “And besides, even ignoring all that… if we don’t accept the offer, what exactly would we be spending our time doing anyways? Anypony have any ideas?” There was silence at that. While it probably wouldn’t be hard to find things to do even if they said no, there was no guarantee anything they tried on their own would help them figure out a way back home. And even if they did try to learn the magic of this place on their own… it’d be slower, take more time, and they’d be liable to face more trouble without the help of someone important. Like the Head of the realm’s foremost magical school. “So then, are we in agreement on this?” Twilight asked as she looked at each of her friends. She waited til she got a nod from them, then moved to open the door. She paused however as she asked, “Anypony have any questions Rainbow or I need to ask when we walk back in?” The only real question anypony seemed to have was what the plan was for them learning the local language. The translation spell seemed rather useful, but Twilight had shared with them that it supposedly only lasted a week or so. Unless the spell was able to permanently impart some understanding, recasting it over and over would become tedious and or potentially problematic. Otherwise, the consensus was that any other questions or things they’d need to deal with would either possibly be answered (or asked) by the humans themselves, or would come to the forefront when something relevant to them rose up to be a problem. With such sorted, Twilight went ahead and opened the door so they could head back into the Headmaster’s office. She caught the tail end of a conversation, one that seemed to be centered on which of the four houses they thought the six of them might wind up in. Bit presumptuous to be thinking that isn’t it? Twilight thought to herself, but then shook the thought off. If they’d reached the conclusion that they didn’t have much other options but to accept the offer, chances were good the humans had done so as well. And she’d be lying if she herself wasn’t a bit curious, the thought having been lurking in her mind since her first exchange of information with the Headmaster. She looked to Dumbledore, who had turned his gaze towards them as they filed back in. She looked to the other teachers who were watching her and her friends intently, and gave a nod. “With no place of our own here, and no way of knowing how to get home right now, we need as much help as we can get. So, we’ve decided to accept your offer to become students here at Hogwarts.” “Excellent!” Dumbledore remarked, beaming at them as he said, “I am sure it will be quite an informative education for all of us.” The older teacher, McGonagall, if Twilight remembered the name correctly, said, “There are still a few things we will need to sort out before we go any further, but first, is there anything else you would like to ask us?” “Yeah, actually, we got a big one.” Rainbow Dash jumped in, glancing at the other four before asking, “Are any of you good at teaching English?” -*- The rest of the day was spent discussing a number of things that they’d be dealing with in the coming days and weeks before the start of next term. How to introduce themselves to the students, how much to share, discussions about what trouble they were likely to face from the Ministry and or the Board of Governors, among many other things. The good news, at least for the moment, was that they would have lodging for the summer and the school year at least, and that the school did in fact have a teacher who specialized in teaching more mundane things such as language and grammar. So as long as they worked hard, they should be able to manage to learn enough English to not need the translation spell. There was some lingering worry amongst the girls, and that was to be expected. After they’d accepted, Dumbledore had informed them that due to the fact they were non-human, others would be more likely to judge them unfairly. And that many would be watching and hoping they didn’t do well in their time there, eager for anything that would give them reason to push for them to be removed from the school. Dumbledore however did his best to reassure them, letting them know that even if it did wind up that they had to leave the school, he would do his best to continue to help them in their efforts to both restore their memories and find a way home. Twilight got the strong impression that the Headmaster (and head of the British magical parliament they learned) saw their presence and this turn of events as possibly a boon for opening some minds amongst the magical population.  And even if most hearts and minds remained closed off, making contact with another world of magic would still in of itself be a tremendous accomplishment in and of itself, and open the doors to many other possibilities for both worlds. They were a bit surprised to learn that one possible complication would be Spike, who had been fetched from the Infirmary where he’d been napping to be brought up to speed. His being a dragon meant he was supposed to be a carefully regulated creature according to the laws of the Ministry. But given his being sapient, that threw his status into a bit of an odd gray area, given that (as far as anyone knew) dragons were nothing more than powerful, dangerous beasts. But that would likely be sorted after they got introduced to the Minister, which would happen after Dumbledore brought him up to speed in the next few days.  But first would come their introduction to the students, which after some discussion between them and the teachers, it was decided would be conducted the following evening during the End of Term Feast. They would also be honest and forthright about what they were, that they weren’t from here, and that they were lost. There had been some disagreement on this, but Applejack had made two rather convincing points. One, withholding the truth would just hurt them in the long run. It’d make people think they had something to hide, and thus more reason to distrust them. Two, it was likely going to get out eventually anyways. So best to get it out in the open and out of the way sooner rather than later. There was a worry that this could make things more difficult for Dumbledore’s own efforts to smooth things over with the Board and Ministry, but Professors McGonagall and Snape both rightly pointed out that things were doubtless going to be rocky regardless. With such things settled and sorted, or as sorted as they could be for the time being, Dumbledore informed them their temporary quarters had been arranged. He led them through the castle, the group not bumping into anyone besides a grumpy man the Headmaster informed them was caretaker for the school, Mr. Filch. They arrived in one of the school’s many extra classrooms, which had been converted temporarily into an apartment of sorts for the six of them. Divided between a communal living area and sleeping area, it would serve as their home for the next two months. He did request that, at least until the students had left, the seven of them stick to their quarters, and that they hold off on explorations of the castle for after the students had left for the summer holidays. This time, Twilight made sure they were all quite clear on the promise they made. She didn’t want them to wind up giving the impression they were going to be trying to wriggle their way out of their word.  This of course prompted Pinkie Pie to poof up considerably as she suggested they do a Pinkie promise, which they all quickly agreed to. The level of seriousness that suddenly filled the room as they conducted the motions Pinkie Pie instructed them to make gave Dumbledore the sincere impression that they’d practically made a magical contract with their friend and left the Headmaster pondering just how different some of their magic might be… He informed them Professor McGonagall would come to fetch them the next evening for the End of Term Feast and their introduction to the students, and that before the end of the night a Professor Yelik Levance would be coming by get to know them and give them the books they’d be using to learn English. Excusing himself, noting he needed to get started on getting in contact with the Governors and with the Minister, the seven of them started getting settled into the room. Each of them couldn’t help but wonder if they had made the right choice in accepting the offer, and just how much difficulty they’d face in the days ahead. Not for the first time, the question of just how long it would take to regain their memories, and how long it’d be till they could return home, flitted through their minds. Not willing to see such heavy thoughts weigh down her friends, Pinkie got them to play a bit of a guessing and memory game. She figured if they did it every few days and kept track of their score for it, they could see if they were making progress on recollecting their past and putting the pieces together. It served as a good distraction, at least until Professor Levance arrived a few hours later. The lightly tanned, thin man with slightly curly hair didn’t waste any time moving past introductions and getting straight to work explaining the work they’d be doing.  The groan Rainbow Dash let out when he mentioned he’d be assigning them homework as well earned her a light punch from Applejack, who assured her she’d be making sure she didn’t spend most of the summer napping when they had a language to learn.  They spent a little bit going over the books that Professor Levance had brought along, then noted that if they thought it would make things easier, they could work to try and teach him Equestrian along the way. Considering he already knew several languages, adding another was not a difficult prospect for him. They at least were all able to share a chuckle at the concerned look that crossed the Professor’s face as Twilight eyes went wide and her smile began to stretch almost unnaturally across her face. And the nervous look he got once Twilight bounced over and started hopping in a circle around him as she squealed and repeated, “Yes yes yesyesyesyesyes!!!” excitedly. Levance left just around the time some House Elves popped in and brought them their dinner. A mixture of dishes that were quite popular across the British Isles, or so the Elves claimed. It had come as a surprise to Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore that they were capable of, and alright, with eating meat. Equestrians were omnivores after all as far as they could remember, even if on average their memories gave the impression that most preferred a primarily vegetarian diet. It was still something several of them were adjusting to, though the one handling it most easily was Fluttershy.  Which, given she recalled her job involved tending to and caring for all kinds of animals, wasn’t that surprising. Once they finished, they thanked the House Elves profusely, to which they bowed and expressed their happiness to serve before vanishing away. But not before informing them they also had a small bathroom attached to the room. Which was nice, since they hadn’t really had a chance to bathe since getting here.  After a quick group shower, Spike included much to his embarrassment, they all started getting situated for bed. It was a bit early, but they wanted to go ahead and make sure they got plenty of rest for tomorrow. There were still unknowns about tomorrow, and each of them was feeling at least some level of anxiety. Even Pinkie Pie! Wishing each other good night, the six girls and one dragon nestled into the soft and comfy mattresses slowly drifted off to sleep. Each of them hoped that their introduction to the students went smoothly, and that there wouldn’t be too much backlash to their presence in the school.