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viii. Morning Glory

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EIGHT MORNING GLORY

(WHAT'S THE STORY?)

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       IT IS ON A dreary morning in November when Holly beholds the Prophet article. Part of her is still grasping onto habits from Durmstrang, like getting ready as quickly as possible, and because of this, she finds herself sitting in the common room. Her friends are still brushing their teeth whilst she's ready, hair brushed, teeth clean, uniform smart. She's disguised her copy of Frankenstein using a dust cover for a wizard novel, a weird collection of stories for children. It's the closest she could find, and really, why would she buy a book just for the dust cover, when she already has this one, from when her mother sent it on her eleventh birthday?

       She knows her friends are lovely, and that their dislike of muggles comes from their parents, but part of Holly still worries that it's too early to mention anything about her dad. They might not be at that part yet, when she can open up and they can accept it. Her mother told the world her father was a wizard to keep her safe — and maybe keep Holly safe. In a way Holly wonders if it did, because if she had told the truth, maybe the remaining Death Eaters would have searched through towns for her, to pull her away from her father, force her to live with her cousin or something. A real upbringing, they'd say.

       For now, however, the dust cover is going to hide the cover, however, of an illustrated human heart, around the title and author name. Holly thinks she'll start slipping in conversations about Durmstrang, and then, she'll drop the bomb about her dad. Yeah. That seems to be a good idea. She thinks she'll do that.

       Holly's about to turn the page when a copy of the Daily Prophet is thrown onto her lap. She raises an eyebrow, looking up. Pansy's grinning, as she points towards the paper. "Look!" she says. "You're on the front page!"

       Her eyes widen, as she looks at the paper. Holly grins, and she gets to her feet, climbing over the back of the sofa to get to Pansy. She holds onto Pansy's hand, excited, and she exclaims, "Shit! I didn't think it would be on the front page! This is so cool!"

       Holly looks at the headline, emboldened above the picture of her.

MEET THE SLYTHERIN CHAMPION:

HOLLIDAY LIPPINCOTT