He saw a potential opening when she asked about the Quidditch team. He ought to have thought about bringing up the Holyhead Harpies before, now that he thought about it. What if her reticence to present as a girl was only because she'd never seen one engaged in anything interesting? Maybe a well- timed Harpies match could have settled this conundrum for him a year ago. Now, the Quidditch season had been halted for the World Cup, and the National Team was hardly going to inspire her. There was only one girl on the team and he honestly wasn't even sure if she was any good. He was not, normally, a particular fan of the Harpies.

Before he could bring it up either way, though, he noted a shift in the air and a subsequent one in her expression. Gideon watched her helplessly, sure that he'd said or done something that had hurt either her feelings or her pride. He wasn't sure what it was, though, much less how to fix it.

"I don't want you to be a girl, Billie," he said softly. "I want you to be happy. And I'm afraid that if you go to Hogwarts and try to pretend, something might happen that would make both of us unhappy."