Sabrina shrugged. She smiled, waggled her fingers in the “so-so” sign and watched as Caitlin signed that she was tired. Sabrina nodded. Smiled and pointed to the teapot. Raising an eyebrow she waggled her hand, fingers splayed, palm down. More tea? Well she would put on the kettle, she was gasping.

Smiling wanly, she settled opposite her silent friend. No doubt about it, it was hard work. But most things worth doing turned out to be hard.

“You know, when I first started at Norwich, I felt so completely out of my depth. Not just because the girls all talked about pop groups I hadn’t heard of and films I hadn’t seen, but because they all could sew. I mean, I made a few dresses for my dollies when I was little, but my mother had to finish them. And there wasn’t any use for that at Hogwarts. After second year I could fix most tears and rips with Reparo,  and alterations were just two or three simple transformations. I mean, who needs to sew?” She stood up and went to pour the boiling water on the tea. Over her shoulder she continued. “I’ll tell you who. Fashion designers do.”

Putting down the teapot she shook her head. “Strictly speaking you don’t have to be good at sewing to design, but it helps to know how things are put together. And when it comes to making up samples, you just have to be able to operate a sewing machine and finish things by hand. Though, of course, I worked out a spell for doing button holes. I mean, nobody can actually do decent button holes without magic. But all the other girls and most of the boys were zipping away with their machines and putting on buttons while they watched telly. I could barely pick up a needle without stabbing myself somewhere. But the thing is, I wanted to learn how. I had to learn how, or get left behind. Shall I be mother?” She added picking up the pot.

Holding her cup in both hands she looked at Caitlin through the steam.

“The thing is, sweet, you don’t stop learning when you finish at Hogwarts. And most of the things you have to learn are things you don’t really want to learn. How to fill out Muggle forms for college. How to sew. How to.. I don’t know, work for a living I suppose. And maybe you just have to learn how to sign. Because, Caitlin, it’s sink or swim. And I just don’t see you as a sinker. Sure, you’ll get your voice back. I’m sure you will. But just waiting won’t help you. Like frelying on magic didn’t help me at college.” She giggled and grinned.

“Because I tried to fake all my sewing at first. I mean, my mother showed me a few good spells, but. honestly, in the end I do a better job with a needle. Ok, sometimes when I’m tired I mark the beginning and the end of a seam and let the needle do the rest, but, I couldn’t do that if I didn’t know the basics.”

She was about to ask if Caitlin had any biscuits when the sound of steps in the hallway made her turn her head. It wasn’t going to be Caitlin’s awful brother come to leer at her again was it?

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