“Lemon drop.”
Professor McGonagall sighed internally as she stepped onto the rotating staircase to Dumbledore’s office. She’d gotten up this morning to find that ten points had been awarded, in two different awards of five each, to a student named ‘Silversong’ during the night... and while the Castle was able to figure out who that was, the awards had bounced- and come to her- because it couldn’t figure out which house it was supposed to award them to.
When she then asked the magic of the castle which house Silversong was sorted into, it claimed the student- it sounded to her like a female name, but it also sounded Equestrian, and she could never tell with those- was unsorted.
So she’d spent much of her day- when not teaching classes of fourth or seventh years, of course- running down the full class roster, searching for the name.
She hadn’t found it. Silversong had never been sorted, never officially admitted to the school.
Yet, when she queried the Castle spellwork, Silversong had been attending classes since term started, had a class schedule… and, perhaps most importantly, grades. Good grades, at that- she seemed to be suffering on the practical side, suggesting she was a Raeth… but she was performing well with everything else, almost as if she was a Ravenclaw. That the girl was able to do that well without having a regular place to sleep- it seemed she was sleeping on the floor or something- was a promise of such talent that Hogwarts could not afford to squabble it away. The girl was too good to be allowed to fail by virtue of not being sorted.
Unfortunately, there was only one way to fix that. And, this time around, she wasn’t the Headmaster.
So, she needed to talk to Professor Dumbledore… in person, because the Ward network was too far removed from reality. It was too easy to miss things like importance.
She did tap into the Ward network anyways, as she approached Dumbledore’s office door. The Castle’s Marauder’s Map function- which she had named after the student-made item that used it the most- informed her he was in his office. “Dumbledore,” she sent him. “We need to talk.”
Dumbledore sighed. “Come in.” It wasn’t the first time she’d done that, by a long shot.
She pushed the door open, and let herself in.
“So,” Dumbledore began. “What is it this time?”
“Silversong,” she answered simply.
“Silversong?” Dumbledore asked, surprised. “She was mighty helpful this morning. Did something happen?”
“She received points,” she nodded.
“And…?” Dumbledore began, confused. “She’s in Slytherin, is she not?”
“She’s unsorted.”
Dumbledore froze. “... Unsorted? She was mighty helpful in the aftermath of the brawl in the Slytherin common room this morning. That’s why I… gave her… points.” He took a deep breath. “You mean we missed her?”
She nodded. “That’s what it looks like… but according to the Castle, she hasn’t just been floating. She’s got grades- and good grades, at that. Even though she doesn’t have a bed, or anywhere to store her trunk.” She sighed. “If she even has one. The Castle wasn’t able to find it.”
Dumbledore winced. “And everything else checks out?”
She nodded again. “She’s in the Book, and is recorded as having accepted her position. It would seem she missed a few classes a few weeks back, but that was all covered by a medical excuse.”
Dumbledore put his head in his hands. “Could it be that she got lost on the first day, and ended up sitting with the Slytherins?”
She shook her head. “She wouldn’t have had a schedule if she did that. When they made the schedules, Princess Twilight’s teams worked off of the lists of students sorted to each house. It shouldn’t have been possible for her to have been missed in the sorting and still gotten a schedule, but…” She shrugged. “I looked at her schedule- and it looks like it was designed as if she were a Slytherin.”
“But she’s unsorted,” Dumbledore muttered.
She nodded.
He sighed. “How… How is she performing?”
“At this rate?” Professor McGonagall shrugged. “She’s showing difficulty with her wand- suggests she might be a Raeth- but she’s just shy of the Honor Roll.”
Dumbledore blinked. “We’re going to have to hold a Late Sorting Ceremony, won’t we?” He sighed, putting his head in his hands. “I can’t even remember when we last had one of those.”
“Not surprised,” one of the pictures hanging on the wall stated simply. “It was three hundred and sixty-two years ago.”
Dumbledore looked up. “... Right. Well. At least it’s not completely unprecedented, is it?” He grinned at the picture. “So, first off… I’m going to need to summon her in here, aren’t I? To explain what’s going on, and get her temporary bedding overnight?”
“Yep, that’s what I recall,” the picture nodded.
“Alright then,” Dumbledore sighed, reaching for a fresh piece of parchment.
“D-Silversong?” Diamond asked, sounding surprised, as she entered the common room.
Draco, sprawled out across one of the couches in his female form, looked up at her. “Hi.”
“I- I thought-?”
He shrugged. “Does Draco ever do something like this?”
Diamond blinked. “Now that I think of it… No, I don’t think he does. Is that why…?”
He nodded. “Well, that and Crabbe and Goyle won’t follow me around, since they can’t find Draco.”
Diamond wrinkled her nose at the names. “Yeah, that’d be a huge plus, wouldn’t it?”
“Yep,” he stated. “Only way I could think of to lose them for more than five minutes on a weekend.”
“Even though you’re then going to be…?” Diamond gestured towards him. “For basically all day?”
He nodded. “Yeah… I’ll make do.”
“And you’re going to need to change your clothes at some point, too.”
He blushed, and looked away from her for a few seconds. Then he looked back at her. “Gee, thanks for reminding me,” he complained. “But yeah. Small price.” He shrugged. “I’ve even got my wand this time- not that I’ve been able to ‘stabilize’ my magic enough to use it, but who’s counting?”
“... Okay.” Diamond picked a chair that faced his couch. “That actually makes me wonder: Do you know what your unique talent is?”
He raised an eyebrow. “My…?”
“Unique talent,” Diamond repeated. “That’s what we call it here. You might remember me telling Flexible what mine is?”
He blinked. “Something about being bossy?”
Diamond snorted. “Right, yeah, I guess. Technically, my talent is simply leadership- but it comes out in that I have a very easy time getting people to do what I want them to. Any ideas what yours might be?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean… During the first week, my classes were all fairly easy, then…” He gestured down at himself. “Lyra did her thing. Ever since then, I haven’t been able to use my wand… but everything else has become a cake walk.”
Diamond’s eyebrows shot up. “A cake walk? Like…” She scowled. “Have you, perchance, had any difficulty with anything you tried to do after Lyra’s Papa Tango finished?”
“Uh, yeah? My wand doesn’t work.”
She winced. “Aside from that.”
He rolled his eyes… then paused to think. “...No,” he eventually muttered. “I don’t think I have.” He scowled. “Well, unless you count ditching Crabbe and Goyle.” A sound like a gong echoed suddenly from upstairs. “Speaking of which, it would seem they’re awake.” He looked up in time to see Crabbe slide back down the girl’s staircase, now a slide. He’d gotten up extra early explicitly so he could have the common room to himself, even if for just a few minutes… and had taken that chance to transform.
After, of course, making sure he had it to himself.
Diamond rolled her eyes. “Yeah, of course they are. But anyways, doesn’t that kinda suggest something with the magic?”
He blinked. “You mean, you think my… ‘talent’ might be to be good at everything?”
Diamond shrugged. “I mean, it could be. If so, that’s a very powerful talent to have.”
“Then why would I still have trouble doing the magic thing…?”
“Just because you’re automatically good at it doesn’t mean you know how to do it,” Diamond smiled.
He blinked. “Yeah, I suppose. I’ll just have to ask Hermione for more instruction sometime…” He scowled. “Which Draco would never do.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, unless he doesn’t mind losing a little face, he never would do that, would he?” Then she shrugged. “But you would do that no problemo, right?”
He winced. “Yeah… but then she’d know.”
She grinned. “She’s a student instructor,” she said. “She’s already sworn to keep her students’ secrets, except in as much as they endanger the castle.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
She nodded. “Yep! I’m a student instructor myself- Potions. And that oath is one of the first things they required us to do in the Student Instructor Crash Course at the beginning of the year. So don’t worry, she won’t be telling anyone.” She shrugged. “And if you ask her to, I’m sure she’ll even keep it from her co-instructor, Bonbon.”
“You haven’t told-?” he asked, blinking.
“Nope,” she answered. “It’s our secret right now. I mean, I can tell her if you want me to, but…”
“No, no, I’m good,” he said hurriedly. “I just… thought you would have.”
Diamond gasped theatrically. “And betrayed your trust? How could I?”
Later, at breakfast, something happened.
Draco had been expecting to spend the day as Silversong, then find some empty room or passage in which to retake his form as Draco shortly before bed time.
Until, of course, he got the letter. An owl floated down to him at breakfast… and hooted at him.
“What-?” he began.
Diamond leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Yes, we can understand them. Roll with it.”
He took a deep breath, and let it out again. The owl had only called his name- his female name, Silversong. It hooted again.
“Hoo.” There you are, Silversong. Where have you been?
“Ahh,” he muttered, rubbing one hand on his hair.
“Hoo.” No matter. It took two weeks, but I found you. Got a message from the Headmaster… I think it’s important. The owl offered the letter in its beak to him.
“Ahh… Thank you.” He accepted the letter, and started unfolding it.
“Hoo.” You’re welcome. It might be a good idea to send him an answer?
“Just a sec…” Draco muttered, scanning the missive.
Dear Silversong,
Please come to my office at your earliest opportunity. Any of the school professors will be able to guide you.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Hogwarts Headmaster
He let out a sigh. “Well… Yeah, I’d say. And if this was two weeks ago…” He scowled, then turned. “Diamond, do you have a quill I could borrow?” Then he blinked. “Unless…” He looked at the owl.
“Hoo.” No, he cannot understand me.
“Dang,” he muttered.
Diamond slipped a small quill out of her pocket… No, it wasn’t a quill. It was a strange, plastic cylinder, and it had a button on one end. “What’s it say?” she asked.
“Dumbledore wants me to visit him in his office… two weeks ago.” He shrugged. “After the match today ought to be a decent time. Unless…?” He looked at the owl.
It shook its head. “Hoo.” Unlike you, he’s easy to find. Sixty seconds, tops. It then gestured towards the staff table, where Professor Dumbledore was eating his morning meal.
Draco chuckled, turning back to Diamond. “So…”
She held up the plastic thing. “It’s called a ‘pen’,” she informed him. “Muggle alternative to a quill. It doesn’t need to be dipped in ink- instead, when you want to use it, you click the button to make the tip appear… and when you’re done, click it again to protect the tip.” She demonstrated, showing the tip while she clicked the button a couple times.
“Oh… kay,” he muttered, accepting it, and clicked the button slowly. “That’s… strange.”
“Just beware when you write with it- it’s a specific type of pen called a ‘ballpoint pen’, meaning there won’t be any of the scratch you’d get from a quill. It’ll slide much more smoothly over the page.”
“Alright,” he muttered, and put the ‘pen’ to the page. Diamond was right, it did write a lot easier than a quill did.
Understood. I’ll be up shortly after the match today.
He clicked the pen, and gave it back to Diamond, who pocketed it. “That is… strange. But I like it.” He grinned, glancing at the neat lines it had made on the parchment, before he refolded the letter and offered it back to the owl. “Alright, thank you. Want a snack while you’re here?”
The owl almost seemed to grin. “Hoo.” No, but thank you. Dumbledore isn’t a very patient man, these days. It took the letter, and took to the air again, heading straight for the staff table.
“Uh-oh,” Diamond muttered.
He nodded. “Uh-oh indeed.”
Ooh, looking forward to seeing how that goes. Another excellent chapter!
I am figuring that Lyra made a 'small' mistake with the Papa Tango, and its affecting the past as well as the present.
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Or maybe it's just the fact that Silversong is Draco, so everything he does in one form is credited to the other as well. The Papa Tango affected his core enough that as Silversong, he reads as a completely different person, especially since he allows himself to act so differently. However, I bet that if they were to look, Draco's records still exist, since the castle still probably lets him into his room in the Slytherin dorm. Then if they were to compare Draco's and Silversong's school records, they would be exaclty the same. The only difference is that "Silversong" as a named entity, technically was not at the Sorting Ceremony.
I bet Draco's going to become an actually rather nice person, having an outlet for frustration and pressure as he has now. And a girlfriend to boot, when he gets old enough.
That feature should be added to fimfiction
Owl is like Groot, you can say a lot with few sounds.
The story has been focused on Silversong lately instead of Lyra's maniac exploits. Not that I mind since it is interesting to see Ranma 1/2 setup in magical world. It just seems strange not seeing Lyra come and check on Draco after her failed experiment caused him sick for weeks. I am certain Lyra would like to do more experiments on Silversong by now.
I am even more curious as how that one occurred. They only had a couple hundred at best.
What's going to happen if Silversong isn't sorted into Slytherin I wonder?
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More options for where to bunk?
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I agree wholeheartedly. I’ve missed it too many times, when reading other stories.
Looks like the castle has proper error handling -- imagine if the House Points system simply crashed!
Uncaught Exception: student.house is null
Did Dumbledore not wonder at all why an owl took two weeks to deliver a message?
Did Dumbledore not wonder at all why even in the great Hall at meal times the message was not delivered?
Did Dumbledore not consider just going to one of silver songs classes?
Did Dumbledore not consider just having one of silver songs teachers contact her in class?
I cannot believe that Dumbledore would have allowed a two week delay in delivering a message of this importance. Not unless, say, Dumbledore figured out what’s going on, and deliberately tried to give Draco/silver song some time.
This time around? Is this a fourth wall breaking reference to The Gate, or has she been headmaster before at some point?
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Yes, he wondered why it took so long.
Yes, he wondered why it wasn't delivered during meals.
Yes, he probably did. Only thing was, he couldn't find Silversong, because she didn't exist.
Yes, he probably did that- only thing was, they couldn't find her either, because she didn't exist.
Of course he didn't allow it. Only thing was, Silversong didn't exist for that entire time (Draco did, but Silver didn't), so it was completely and totally undeliverable... and nobody that knew who Silversong really was was aware that the message was sent in the first place.
Good chapter, not a fan of Dumbledore using mighty instead of great or excellent when refering to Silversong's help. It seems off compared to his usual dialogue.
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... It was actually supposed to sound off. He's been under a lot of stress throughout the year, to the point where even he was starting to show it.
Good chapter
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It's not a multiversal reference to The Gate, no. The problem is, not even I know the full implications (ha!) of this sentence yet, and I'm an editor!
10298744
The easiest way to deal with this situation is simply to get Pomfrey into the loop, since she was the one that was dealing with Draco's transformation into what would ultimately become his Animagus form, Silversong. All she needs to do is tell Dumbledore that Silversong is Draco's Animagus form (oh, and also he's an Animagus, now) and how he got it, and that clears that up.
The only real hang up I can see out of that is how the staff and castle's magic reconciles Draco's and Silversong's performance and output if they, at their core, are the same person, but each totally different. Technically, Draco's points earnings and deficits are Silversong's, but at some point, if Draco loses points and Silversong gains them (or vice versa), someone might raise the question if they should really be considered the same person, or a form of multiple personality disorder that can physically manifest itself because of magic. Another question will be if Draco begins to lose who he is to end up becoming Silversong, and all the issues that comes with that (his standing and membership of the Malfoy family, does he now become an Equestrian citizen and under the collective rule of the Princesses, would he still be a British citizen, etc?).
But back to my original point: Pomfrey holds the key, and is the easy answer.
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I imagine the moment the hat lands on Silversong's head, it's gonna read Draco, and announce that it's already sorted Draco Malfoy into Slytherin. That would instantly give it away what's going on. Additionally, Madam Pomfrey also has more than enough information on the whole situation to clear it up.
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Yes, that would be an easy answer. Assuming she would tell him, considering that knowledge was covered under doctor-patient privilege... But, that wouldn't necessarily fix everything, as he'd have to explain it to a lot more people to get it to work, and risk exposing his secret to the general population, including the other 'noble' houses that would inevitably want to kill him for it.
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Or I could do that, and undoubtedly destroy just about every aspect of Draco's life, effectively forcing him to go into "hiding" in Equestria to avoid the lethal attempts from the other 'noble' houses...
And if that sounds messed up, that's because it most definitely is.
I mean, I live in an area where just cross-dressing can get you killed... And forget being trans, that's a blasphemy.
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In my own Hogwarts crossover, Draco got turned into a girl via a potion gone wrong while he was trying to become an animagus. In my story, he wasn't the only one, and everyone knew. As a result of the potion misshape, he's forced out of the Slytherin dorm after deciding to continue with school while he waits for a counter potion. I had him became a white thestral while still under the influence of the potion. After he gets the counter potion his animagus form is still female and it creates a condition where he can switch genders back and forth. I pretty much had him relying on the equestrians for his safety with the incident bringing about a big personal turn around.
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Oh, no doubt- and I'm sure that could be handled more gracefully. The situation my Draco would find himself in, though, is not one where he was "accidentally" placed in a female form, but one where he either placed himself or had himself placed in a female form... and people would think it was explicitly so he could avoid his name. Which wouldn't be far from the truth. That'd be what made it dangerous for him.
On the other hand, an unwilling transformation into female form, such as via potion, could get him teased a few times, but wouldn't pose any real danger- especially if he wasn't the only one. For as long as he was waiting for the antidote, he would actually be expected to continue his schooling, and accomodations would be made for his "magical-disaster-spawned" needs. As for being able to switch genders after it was fixed, as a long-term side effect... he could probably get away with it, because that's "what he was used to" or something.
As a matter of fact, had my Draco never turned into a boy again when he first shifted and appropriately panicked (which was actually exactly what he did when he first transformed), he could have gotten away with letting everyone see that Draco and Silversong were the same thing- so long as he didn't name the female form, they'd see it as a magical accident, and would accomodate him... probably by preparing him a single bedroom someplace, so he wouldn't be sleeping with the rest of the boys while he was female.
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What I did with my telling is that even though the transformation wasn't his fault, there was still a small group of individuals who behaved as if he/she had done something horrible. I did it like that because I've experienced people who were like that. People who are so homophobic that even being a little outside of their comfort zone was enough to get a person targeted for hate. To people who hate, there is no such thing as it's not their fault. People don't think rationally when it comes to deep-seated mindsets and phobias. Ronnie Antonio Paris was murdered at the age of three because of his father's extreme homophobia. Nor would I put it past some of the purebloods in the world of Harry Potter to behave like this. Not when they waged a war against their own spurred on by nothing more than ideology.
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This is true.
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Try speaking Red. Everything is said by staring at the other guy until he gets it. Don't even get me started on Anime Schoolgirl Babble. The greatest minds have gone sane trying to figure it out.
Silversong female persona is very strange thing for the castle registry to be glitched on.
So... I've gotten this far into the story today, and while the premise is interesting there were a few things that jumped out at me:
1. A positive point, imagining all the ponies as 11 year old kids is freaking adorable - especially Luna and the guards.
2. The deal going on between Dumbledore and the Weasleys is shady af.
3. The Diamond Tiara headcanon is weird, and it feels a little shoe-horned, but it hasn't been a big factor in the story so far... so meh.
4. I really hope the Draco/Silversong thing doesn't become a hamfisted attempt at a trans plugin, because I can totally see it happening... Draco, despising the noble image he has to project, uses his secret identity as Silversong to escape his expectations and "be himself"... eventually getting used to the form and wanting to transition fully into Silversong full time. That would just be an easy out, an escape from his problems, instead of fixing the root cause. I hope he will eventually learn that he doesn't need another mask (Silversong) in order to make his own life separate from the obligations of his family.
4. Also, was the muggle tech thing resolved after the Equestrians got to Hoggwarts? I remember it being mentioned on the train chapter, but idr it being brought up again.
5. I would think it would have been more practical to spread the Equestrians out between the different magic schools... as opposed to basically invading Hoggwarts.
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#1: I... never thought of it that way, but yes, absolutely.
#2: Yes, yes it is. I've elected to go the manipulative-but-generally-good-Dumbledore route for this story.
#3: Yes, it is, kinda. If you've read my Stronger Tiara, you'll understand a bit of where that came from, and the development behind it... just ignore the Bolo, because that story is a Bolo crossover and this one isn't. These events will be explained in this story whenever- and if ever- they become important.
#4: ... Hangon.
#4.0: Draco wasn't originally intended to become trans when I first wrote him with that ability in The Gate. And unfortunately yes, Silversong does end up being a bit of an easy out... Except that while Silversong might not be a British noble, she's also technically homeless. And an orphan... Personally, I think the final result is a lot better than you're fearing, but perhaps not as good as you're hoping.
#4.1: Did you know, you have two #4s?
#4.2: The muggle tech thing simply wasn't mentioned after that point, as it hasn't been important. It has been mentioned, though, in chapter... 37, I think it was? The one I released yesterday. See comments on my blog post about the Hogwarts Express (both those I wrote and the ones I replied to) for details of how it works.
#5: Yes, it would've been more practical. Only, those schools didn't have magic spells generating attendance rolls, that might have perceived an entire new dimension as full of nothing but 11-year-olds... (Explained a bit better in Chap. 37 or so, if I remember right). And if I did scatter them, I'd only have to have a few students in Hogwarts... and it would be a "typical" Equestrian-in-Hogwarts story, which is what I was explicitly avoiding.