After a little while, though, she finally noticed the cold and headed into the Main Keep. Still, she didn’t enter the Great Hall, but paced around the vestibule for a moment before returning outdoors. It was another few minutes till she finally came into the Great Hall and sat down. She still, though, didn’t touch the food.
She didn’t know whether it was thirty seconds or five minutes that passed. “You alright?” she finally heard Tom say as he sat down to her right.
“No,” she said. “Melissa figured out that my parents don’t know I’m a girl.”
“So are you afraid she’ll tell them?” he asked.
Before Rosemary could answer, Clara sat down opposite her.
“Where’s the others?” asked Clara.
“Ooh sorry, I forgot!” said Rosemary, beginning to stand up. “I left without them!”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Tom, tapping her on the shoulder to indicate that she should stay seated. “I’ll find them and tell them what happened. They’ll understand.”
“What happened?” asked Clara.
“Melissa somehow figured out Rosemary’s parents don’t know she’s a girl,” explained Tom.
“Ooh, I see,” acknowledged Sarah.
“Now if you excuse me,” he said, “I got to find the other ladies and let them know what happened.”
“So,” said Clara, as soon as Tom had left. “You’re afraid what Melissa will do now that she knows?”
“So, you ditched us?” Rosemary heard Lilith say behind her. She turned and saw Lilith standing there, along with Mika and Samantha.
“Didn’t Tom explain?” asked Clara.
“Explain what?” asked Lilith.
“We haven’t seen him yet,” said Mika.
“Melissa found out Rosemary’s parents don’t know she’s a girl,” explained Clara.
Lilith sat down to Rosemary’s left, as Samantha and Mika sat down to her right.
“So you’re afraid she’ll out you?” asked Lilith.
“Yes,” answered Rosemary.
“Whatever happens, we’re here for you,” said Clara, extending her hand across the table. Rosemary reached for it and squeezed for a moment.
“So what are you going to do?” asked Lilith.
“I don’t know,” answered Rosemary.
“What if you tell them first?” asked Mika.
“Mika!” chided Samantha.
“Just saying,” said Mika. “No matter what happens when they find out, it’s got to be better if they find out from Rosemary than from Melissa.”
“But that’s only if Melissa tells,” said Samantha.
“Oh she will,” said Rosemary. “When she found out, she was way too happy to not be planning something sneaky like that.”
“If that’s what you think,” said Lilith, “maybe you should tell.”
“I know,” said Rosemary. “But I’m scared.”
“What if my parents are there with you when you tell them?” asked Clara.
“Will they?” asked Rosemary.
“I’m sure they will,” assured Clara. “I’ll write to them now. And you should see if you can get anyone from the Board of Magical Education to be there.”
“Yeah,” said Lilith. “Write to Dr. Fletcher.”
“And get something to eat!” said Samantha.
“Better write first, then eat,” said Clara. “Our carpet boards at eleven-fifteen. North Wing Courtyard.”
“Oh, I don’t have my ticket!” panicked Rosemary.
“Of course you don’t,” said Lilith. “They give those to us at the courtyard. Just write to Dr. Fletcher, eat something, and relax.”
Rosemary got a piece of parchment and a pen out of her backpack and placed them on the table. She began to write.
Dr. Fletcher,
Someone found out that my parents don’t know that I’m a girl, and I think they are going to tell my parents — so I am going to have to tell them as soon as I get to Knoxville so they will hear it from me before they hear it from them. But I am scared.
Clara says she is writing to her parents, but that I should also write to you.
Can you help me?
Thanks,
Rosemary Corbin
She folded the parchment into the shape of an envelope and addressed it to “Dr. Rudolph Fletcher — United States Board of Magical Education”. She then got out her seal and sealing wax and sealed the letter before casting the spell to send it. As the letter floated off, she put the pen, seal, and sealing wax back into her backpack and poured for herself a bowl of cereal.
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* * *
Tom came around shortly after and found that Lilith, Samantha, and Mika already knew what he was seeking them out to tell them. Clara told him about the letters that she and Rosemary had sent, and the rest of breakfast went by without incident.
Rosemary was sitting in the Common Room with Mika and Jesse when Dr. Fletcher’s response landed on the coffee table in front of them. She opened the letter and read:
To Rosemary Corbin,
I have received your request. I am configuring something that you might need, and then I’m heading to the Sunsphere in Knoxville. I will see you when you arrive.
Regards,
Dr. Rudolph Fletcher — United States Board of Magical Education
Rosemary folded up the letter and put it in her purse. She continued sitting quietly with the two friends of hers who lived in Hemlock Tower with her and were headed that day for Knoxville’s Sunsphere as she was. When it came close to time, they headed together to the North Wing Courtyard where Professor Hathaway handed each of them their boarding pass.
A few minutes later, their carpet landed, and they handed their pass to Mr. Johnson, who tapped the tip of his wand to each pass, emitting a slight sparkle of light, before handing it back.
Rosemary sat between Mika and Clara on the flight back, after the two of them explained Rosemary’s situation to Jesse.
“Did you hear back from your parents?” Rosemary asked Clara.
“Oh yeah,” answered Clara. “They’re ready.”
* * *
Toward the end of the trip, when the carpet was beginning to hover over Knoxville, Rosemary took out the vial of the boy’s liquid hairdressing spell and applied one drop to her head. Her heart sank while, as far as anyone looking could tell, she transformed into Simon. Finally, the carpet landed. Rosemary picked up her suitcase, and her friends encouraged her as she got up and headed down the aisle to the carpet’s exit, where she stepped into the Sunsphere, onto the fifth-and-a-half floor.
Rosemary looked around until she saw her family smiling brightly at her. Dr. Fletcher was standing next to them, which was a good sign that they had already found them. It didn’t take her long to notice that together with them were also a witch and wizard she had seen only once before — Clara’s parents.
Rosemary and Clara said goodbye to Mika who went to join her parents who were also waiting elsewhere in the same crowd.
“Let me know how it turns out,” said Mika, as she went her own way.
Rosemary and Clara went to their parents.
“Good to see you again, Simon,” Miriam said, hugging Rosemary.
“We missed you,” said Naphtali, her father, also giving her a hug.
“I love you very much,” said Serena, as she hugged her too.
“So,” said Miriam, tenderly, “what did you want to talk to us about that you needed both Dr. Fletcher and the Lawsons around for?”
“I think we might want to have that conversation somewhere more private,” said Dr. Fletcher. “I’ve arranged for us to use one of the conference rooms.”
He led the Corbins and the Lawsons to a corridor labeled “Conference Rooms” that started between two vendor kiosks. Beyond a door labeled “Conference Room C,” he showed them to a well-lit room with a conference table that had five seats on each side, with an eleventh seat at the far end.
Rosemary took a seat on one side of the table with Clara to the left and Clara’s parents to the right. Her own family sat across from her along with Dr. Fletcher.
Mr. Lawson spoke first. “We’re here with someone who cares about you a lot,” he said, “and who really values your view — who has something to tell you that requires a lot of courage.”
“I told you, Simon,” said Naphtali. “You’re our son, and we love you no matter what.”
Simon cringed.
“Why’s that something to be afraid of?” demanded Naphtali.
“I don’t think the problem is with the sentiment,” said Mr. Lawson. “It’s with your choice of words. You’ll understand when you hear what it is.”
“So what is it?” asked Miriam.
“I’m a girl,” Rosemary finally blurted out.
“I knew it!” said Serena.
“Not now, sweetheart,” Miriam said to her younger daughter.
For a moment, nobody said anything.
“That’s it?” Miriam finally broke the silence.
“Yes,” said Rosemary.
“I would like to say,” said Dr. Fletcher, “it is the policy of the United States Board of Magical Education, we don’t out kids to their parents. It is for their safety, as there have been cases of parents having responded rather abusively to their kids upon learning such things. And even though you don’t seem to me like the kind who would react like that, we don’t feel it’s appropriate for us to make that determination ourselves.”
“I totally understand,” Miriam said to Dr. Fletcher. She then turned to Rosemary. “Now,” she said, “all I know is that when you were born, Dr. Miller at the maternity ward told me you’re a boy — and if he was wrong about that, I think I would have noticed in all the times I’ve changed your diapers. That said, we always knew you weren’t very manly.”
“And when I say you’re our son,” added Naphtali, “you’re our child. We don’t care whether you’re our son or our daughter.”
Rosemary began to relax, but didn’t relax completely.
“Now, if you feel you’re a girl inside,” said Miriam, “I don’t know what to say. We love you either way. Have you checked to see if there is a spell that can help you be that way physically? How do they handle this in the magical world?”
“Well, everyone’s different,” explained Dr. Fletcher. “There’s some people who don’t feel the gender they were assigned at birth fits who they are and decide to live as their authentic selves without any physical changes at all. There are others, though, who do feel the need to adjust their physical bodies so that they can feel more at home in them — and for that, there’s even options in the non-magical world. But yes, there are additional options in the magical world.”
“Such as?” asked Miriam.
“There is a magical art called ‘somamorphy’,” answered Dr. Fletcher, “which is the art of bodily transformations. It can do a number of things — and gender affirmation is one of them.”
“Have you looked into that?” asked Miriam.
“Yes,” answered Rosemary.
Miriam eyed Rosemary up and down. “And you’ve done it,” she guessed aloud.
“I did,” said Rosemary, blushing.
“What happens if you decide to change your mind?” asked Miriam.
“I won’t,” said Rosemary.
“I can answer that,” said Dr. Fletcher. “The only way to reverse a somamorphic transformation is to stop renewing it, and the longer a transformation is continuously maintained, the longer it can be renewed for. When a transformation is first done, it can’t even be renewed for a full day at a time. But as time goes by, it can be renewed for longer and longer.”
Miriam looked at Rosemary.
“How long have you been transformed?” she asked.
“Since early September,” answered Rosemary.
“And you’ve been afraid to tell us,” she mused. “So, what do they call you?”
“Rosemary,” answered Rosemary.
“Rosemary,” said Naphtali.
Miriam and Naphtali looked at each other.
“One other thing we want to know,” she said. “We are aware that someone attempted to take her away not too long ago. Could this have anything to do with why?”
“Well,” answered Dr. Fletcher, “the simple answer is, we don’t know. The kind of animosity that exists in these parts against those who make changes like these just isn’t a thing in the same way in the magical world. That said, haters of all kinds exist everywhere — so we can’t really rule any possibilities out until we know more.”
“What are you doing to protect her?” asked Miriam.
“Everything we can,” said Dr. Fletcher, “and if we think of anything we aren’t already doing, we’ll start doing that too. We’ve moved her into a dorm room with Sarah Mitchell, who is the Secretary of the Student Council. She’s a bit older than Rosemary, but keeps a good eye on her.”
“How much older?” asked Miriam.
“She’s a seventh-year,” answered Dr. Fletcher. “But she keeps a good eye on her. And we’ve put up special wards in their room so nobody can phase through the walls or anything.”
“And we’re about to go on a trip to see Naphtali’s brother and his family in Boston,” said Miriam. “Is that safe?”
“As you may know,” said Dr. Fletcher, “a member of the faculty has given Rosemary an alarm that she can turn on at night that will alert her as well as the local Sentinel Operations Department if anyone tries phasing through the walls anywhere near her. There’s always risks going anywhere, but I don’t think you’d want her to be cooped up in Misty Peaks unable to leave until she graduates — and who knows where she’d go then.”
“Of course,” said Miriam, “but I mean until you find who is behind the abduction attempt.”
“As I said,” said Dr. Fletcher, “there are no guarantees. But as long as she remembers to enable that alarm every night before she goes to sleep, the chances of something bad happening are very slim.”
“Okay,” said Miriam, “then I have one more question. What do we say when we get to Naphtali’s brother with two daughters and no son?”