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Matilda has a minion!

Apostrophe the Bitabook

Matilda
Legacy Name: Matilda.

The

Sweetheart Wyllop
Owner:

PinkPanther

Age: 10 years, 1 month, 3 weeks

Born: March 10th, 2014

Adopted: 10 years, 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Adopted: March 10th, 2014

Pet Spotlight Winner
August 26th, 2022

Statistics

Level: 2
Strength: 10
Defense: 10
Speed: 10
Health: 10
HP: 10/10
Intelligence: 0
Books Read: 0
Food Eaten: 0
Job: Unemployed

It was four years after Matilda's adoption that she got the letter.

Life was so much better with Honey. No more cruel parents obsessed with silly reality television. No pesky older brother always calling her names and throwing food. Miss Trunchbull was somewhere out there in the world but after four years, the nasty principal seemed like a distant nightmare who existed only in memory.

They were just sitting down to breakfast when a handsome owl swooped over the house, depositing an official-looking letter right through the open kitchen window. Honey had grown well used to unusual things happening around her daughter. When she saw Matilda's name on the envelope, she handed it over with a sunny smile.

Matilda read it through three times, scarcely able to believe the words.

"I've been accepted to a school for magic called Hogwarts!"

"That's wonderful dear. You'll be able to meet other children with your talents and see the world!"

*****She quite enjoyed the train ride.

She wasn't quite so sure about the boats.

Most of her fellow students looked pretty nervous walking up the central aisle. She was merely intrigued by the frayed and patched old hat sitting on its little stool. She'd been reading all she could about the school's history so she knew this was the famed Sorting Hat.

Where would she be placed. Gryffindor, for all the bravery she'd shown in overcoming Miss Trunchbull? Ravenclaw for her love of books? Maybe she'd be a Hufflepuff because she could pretty much get along with anybody. She wouldn't be in Slytherin. Her brother Mikey would be a better fit there - ambitious and nobody's idea of a gentleman. Good thing he'd never shown any aptitude for magic.

She overheard another girl referring to Hogwarts: A History. The girl had rather mousy brown curls and large front teeth. Hermione, she overheard another student say.

Perhaps a friend?

She couldn't understand why the black-haired boy with glasses was getting so much attention. He seemed nice enough but he didn't have unusual hair or really any remarkable features other than a scar on his forehead.

Being new to the magical world herself, Matilda had never heard the legend of Harry Potter.

The sorting hat mulled matters over for a few seconds while Matilda waited patiently.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Smiling, she hopped down from the stool and trotted over to a table dominated by the color blue.

*****

She would've happily spent the entire year in the library if some prefect or other wasn't always coming around to chase her back to the common room before lights out.

The wondrous books! Topics she'd never even considered grabbed her attention and refused to let go. She found every one of her classes fascinating, particularly transfiguration and charms. The end of the year came far too quickly. It was a strange feeling but she almost regretted the necessity to return to her former town, though she would dearly love to see Honey again.

There was quite a commotion around a magical stone cleverly hidden within the school. Matilda was too absorbed in which books she would pick up on her next visit to Diagon Alley to pay much attention to current events, though when she heard of Harry's success at destroying the evil spirit feeding off Professor Quirrell, she sent a small box of chocolate frogs as a way of saying thanks. She knew what it was to face evil...and she'd never cared for Quirrell besides. The man was far too nervous.

*****

Year Two proved no less exciting as rumors surrounding the dreaded Chamber of Secrets slithered up and down the school's massive halls. Always one to enjoy a good research project, Matilda took an interest in what sort of creatures might be lurking in some long-forgotten chamber that was supposedly shaped by Salazar Slytherin himself.

It would have to be some form of serpent, of course. A sea serpent was unlikely. Not only would such a creature be uncomfortable surrounded by stone but sheer size wouldn't allow such a creature to move through walls. A basilisk was a possibility but could a creature that would die at the crow of a rooster really be the source of so much terror? Matilda thought it unlikely.

She rather hoped the creature was a lindworm. It was said the shed skin of the lindworm could greatly increase a person's knowledge. Matilda found herself sneaking a peek around the corner of every hallway, encouraged by a first-year named Luna who supported her theory. Luna was quite the rare magical creature scholar, actually. Others called her odd but Matilda thought her brilliant.

The only real flaw in this otherwise glorious year was the revelation that Gilderoy Lockhart, Ravenclaw's most notable celebrity, was actually a fraud. How anyone accepted into the hose of Rowena Ravenclaw could give into the temptation of plagiarism...it was simply unthinkable!

When it was revealed that the Chamber's creature was in fact a basilisk, Matilda was mildly disappointed but after two eventful years, she couldn't wait for the coming of fall and whatever adventures Year Three had in store.

*****

The escape of Sirius Black from Azkaban was all over the news, even among muggles. Honey had always been pretty lax about things like locking doors but even she was nervous, though Black's last sighting was a hundred miles away. Matilda behaved herself, keepin her curfew and secretly carrying her wand though she was well aware she couldn't use it. Twice, she felt a dreadful cold that seemed to take all the joy out of life. The feeling never lasted more than a minute but made her extremely nervous.

She was having a rather good time imagining Miss Trunchbull locked in the depths of a wizard's prison when all the lights went out on the Hogwarts Express.

Cold. Sorrow. Despair.

It was as if Honey had never come into her life. She felt even more dreadful than when her family had been at their worst, more fearful than when Miss Trunchbull had tormented her on a daily basis.

Just as suddenly, that awful feeling was gone.

She huddled in her train compartment with fellow students in Ravenclaw, feeling for the first time that even Hogwarts could not entirely protect students from all the evils of the world.

The more she learned about dementors in the weeks and months that followed, the more she was convinced that such creatures had no reason to exist.

And that Azkaban really would be the ideal vacation spot for all the Miss Trunchbulls of the world.

*****

Matilda enjoyed every action-packed moment of the Triwizard Tournament.She'd never admit it to her fellow Ravenclaws but she was basically rooting for the dragons. Not that she wanted the contestants to come to any harm, of course. She just thought it was a little mean to bring in nesting dragons and make them think their eggs were in danger. She very nearly got caught sneaking out of the Ravenclaw common room after hours. She just had to know if the dragons were being well cared for. A glance of Charlie Weasley instructing other wizards how to feed the captives without losing any limbs soothed her fears that the magnificent creatures were being mistreated.

Matilda found herself invited to the Yule Ball by a rather plain-looking boy from Durmstrang. He seemed gloomy on the surface but he proved quite witty and was a skilled dance partner. She had a marvelous time.

The second event at the edge of the lake was less thrilling. There really wasn't much to see with all the competitors underwater, though watching Dumbledore communicate with the merpeople quite made up for a few hours away from her precious books.

Her heart went out to Harry when he emerged from the maze, holding the Cup and the body of Cedric, a Hufflepuff who had been quite popular with the girls. Matilda was more attracted to good books than handsome youths but her heart went out to the family of the charming young man. Unlike half the student populations, she readily believed Dumbledore when he said Voldemort was returned.

They'd once had a fascinating conversation about butterbeer when Dumbledore was on his way back to his office from the loo. He'd guided Matilda to a few particularly good reads. She would believe Dumbledore no matter what he claimed.

*****

That summer, her parents and brother came back for a brief visit, flying in from South America to spend a week at their old haunt.

Mikey had filled out and even grown a worm-thin mustache. He was wary of his little sister, a lot less willing to tangle with a witch-in-training than he'd been to annoy a little girl. His own studies in sugar cane exportation would hardly win him the Nobel Prize but he was developing his father's knack for making a quick buck off a gullible customer. Matilda's parents were the same insufferable pair - though they never once tried to suggest what Matilda should watch or interrupt her when they saw her with a spellbook. She was all smiles and polite words for Honey's sake. She didn't want her adoptive mother to feel uncomfortable, after all. Matilda was quite relieved when the lot headed back to their jungle home. Good riddance.

Honey hugged her and told her everything would be alright when Matilda explained the awful events surrounding the end of the Tournament. Matilda accepted Honey's hug but was rapidly coming to that age when children realize very little is ever right in this world, making the transition to adulthood.

She resented everything about that awful woman, Dolores Umbridge. Matilda gleefully attended Dumbledore's Army meetings, listening to Harry's advice and readily applying it when called on. She was in the crowd when Fred and George made their epic escape, cheering them on with the rest of their classmates.

*****

Her OWL scores were nearly perfect, opening a whole wide range of career opportunities. She was quite convinced she wanted to go to work for the Ministry of Magic. Perhaps she could even work for the Department of Mysteries. What better career for a girl who loves to read and do research all day long?

She wasn't upset that she hadn't been chosen as a prefect. Quite honestly, babysitting younger students would cut into her reading time. She was determined to get top marks on all her NEWTs. She was putting in six or seven study hours a day, to say nothing of her classes. She loved Quidditch days. With most of the school out watching the action, she sometimes had the entire library to herself. She'd never been one for sports and while she would cheer on Ravenclaw when prompted, she just couldn't get into the high-flying action.

Dumbledore's death hit her particularly hard. While everybody else was giving fancy tributes and leaving impressive mounds of flowers, she laid one small bag of lemon drops at the side of Dumbledore's tomb. Somehow, she knew he would appreciate a small gesture much more than some grand act. That little bag of cheery yellow rounds almost brought a smile to her face. She wept and turned away as Fawkes began his lament.

*****

Hogwarts wasn't the same in her seventh and final year.

Fear of Voldemort was at an all-time high. Students were being pulled out of school by their parents and security was fierce. Nobody seemed quite sure of themselves in the wake of Dumbledore's death. Even the teachers who had been in those prestigious halls for decades wandered the halls between classes as if they were looking for something just out of their reach.

She witnessed the conversation between Harry and the Grey Lady, though she remained hidden behind a pillar. For months, she had continued to take part in Dumbledore's Army, despite the constant threat of the wicked Carrows. As if cruel school administrators were anything new!

She fought with every skill in her magical arsenal at the final battle. She saw the last duel between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.

It was a sight she would never forget.

*****

In time, she would reconnect with that witty boy from Durmstrang. They had continued to write back and forth over the years, though it was not until she was Under-Secretary to the Temporal Research Head that she agreed to accept his proposal for marriage. He'd never enjoyed the drafty halls of his family home and gladly moved to England, to share the seaside cottage she'd bought with her impressive salary.

They had four children, all witches and wizards with great potential. All readily accepted at Hogwarts.

All Ravenclaws, of course.

Story by Pureflower
Fusion story inspired by Roald Dahl's novel/movie "Matilda" and J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series
Profile and coding by sonata
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The character and quote belongs to Roald Dahl.