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Diana was a dignified woman.
She was the head of the ancient House of Cavendish, Chair of Magical Medicine at the University of Cambridge, and one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society in history. With these positions came certain expectations of decorum and poise. Fortunately, Diana had been trained for a position in high society since childhood, and she did not find these expectations difficult to manage.
Most of the time.
Some days, however, were like this one. She had given two lectures, missed lunch because of a conference planning meeting that could have been an email, and—worst of all—she attended a reception with the Education Secretary, who just happened to be Andrew Hanbridge.
Diana watched the floor indicator on the elevator tick up slowly. She just wanted to be home, and even the short ride up to her floor seemed interminable when she thought of the warm welcome that awaited her.
Ding!
Diana walked to her door with a little more haste than usual, fiddled with her keys, pushed open the door…
“Diana!”
…and was enveloped in a warm hug. She reciprocated with a gentle smile.
“It’s lovely to see you too, dear.”
“y…eem…ensh.” Akko’s voice was muffled against Diana’s shoulder.
“Come again?”
“You seem tense!” Akko pulled back to meet Diana’s eyes. “Wanna watch TV?”
“I suppose you’re going to choose the show?”
“Well…if you want to, you can. But I think I know one that will make us both happy.”
“Might it be The Great British—”
“Bake Off! Yes!”
“At this point, I believe you might be a bigger fan of the show than me.”
“Oh…I don’t know…who’s the one that got a Bake Off shirt for Christmas?” Akko smirked.
“You bought that for me!”
“Yup! And you liked it.” At this point, her wife’s grin could probably best be characterized as ‘shit-eating.’ “Anyway, let’s get started!”
Akko grabbed Diana by the hand, dragged her over to the couch, and plopped down with an excited squeak. Diana sat down next to her, leading to yet another squeak.
Akko fiddled with the remote, and soon enough the familiar show was playing. Diana wanted to watch. She certainly wanted to know what happened.
But Diana was exhausted. She hadn’t realized it until now, but she really needed to rest. Wordlessly, Akko invited Diana to rest on her shoulder, and Diana gratefully obliged.
This was much better. The show was just background noise now, but Diana didn’t care. Her thoughts slowed down as she drifted ever closer to…
…
Why wasn’t she asleep? Everything was right, but her brain was stubbornly keeping her awake.
“Weasel time?”
Hmm?
“Diana, I said: Is it weasel time?”
“Mmhmm”
“Alright.” Diana heard the telltale sound of a wand being readied, and then a whispered spell. “Metamorphie faciesse.”
Diana didn’t even need to open her eyes to know the spell worked. She could tell by the sharpness of her teeth, the movement of her ears, and the warm fuzzy feeling that surrounded her that she was, in fact, a weasel.
A hand gently grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and placed her in Akko’s lap. Diana snuggled up against the warmth.
Now this was better.
Akko gently stroked her fur. A sense of complete contentment washed over Diana. Her mind calmed once more. Only one thought remained as she drifted to sleep.
I wouldn’t trade this for the world.