The Farland Files

Exhibit A: An Unusual But Powerful Outlier

A/N: My baby's growing up so fast! Already in her second year! 

Yes, I did change the style of the chapter titles (in case you noticed), but I'm going to do that for every 'new year' :) Anywho- Enjoy!

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After nine months at Hogwarts with over fifty peers that not only looked up to her but respected her space, going back to St. Jude's was like someone that had gotten used to living in a mansion being forced to live in a straw shack.

That was to say... it sucked.

Lena had used a bit of mind magic to cajole the Matron into submission about her leaving twice a week to spend all day at the library, but the amount of magic even that had used left her feeling weary for a good day.

She figured though that magic was like a muscle and she'd been using the lightest weights she could (her wand), thus it having gotten weak. And as she wasn't allowed to do wand magic outside Hogwarts anyway, it gave her plenty of time to practice her spells wandlessly. Like levitating books in front of her as she read, knocking back the boys who thought she'd forget she didn't like them because she had been gone, and transfiguring many many types of arachnids and serpents to scare the other girls who thought they could go through her trunk- much less get in.

It was little surprise to her when the librarian, Miss Darin, asked her about helping out around the library in turn for a bit of pocket money- and with a bit of mind control on the Matron, she was out of the orphanage five out of seven days a week.

Though she brought her shrunken trunk with her, of course, as she didn't know how magical locks would hold up to determined muggle brats with hateful grudges.

Charles, his mum, and Remus stared at the house-elf.

Sirius gaped at the house-elf.

"Mr. Charles Potter must not go back to Hogwarts this year! There is a plot! A plot to make most terrible things happen!"

"What horrible things?" Uncle Remus' voice was steady, kind. "Can you tell us?"

The house-elf's eyes widened, swaying slightly as it gripped at its ears and it muttered under its breath, looking distressed.

"Barmy little thing." Sirius scowled.

Charles kicked his uncle, glaring. He knew that the man had no love for the creatures, as he had too many bad memories associated with them, but this house-elf was obviously distressed. Looking at the elf, he sighed. "Dobby, Hogwarts is like my second home, and- well- all my friends are there."

Next thing he knew, Remus' birthday cake was in his mom's face and Sirius was chasing the small elf around as it popped from place to place, yelling about 'great evil' and 'horrible danger'.

Okay, so maybe it was a bit barmy after all.

"So... you thought you could just barge into my room like that and what? See me undressed?"

Lena was half-dressed, a white button-down hanging down just enough to cover her plain black panties, a skirt lying on the bed that she'd been just about to put on. One of the buttons at the bottom of her shirt wasn't done, and her small fingers were wrapped around the boy's throat tightly, eyes narrowed.

Sam Mason- bully, creep, and altogether miscreant of St. Judes- shook his head. "I- I just wanted to- to... it was a dare!"

"I bet." Her voice was dry, eyes narrowing. "And what was this dare?"