To Hogwarts I Go
"But how do you wait for heaven? And who has that much time? And how do you keep your feet on the ground—" I was singing softly as I waited for my flight to board. Sighing, I looked around at the people also waiting. I had always thought it was great fun to watch people and guess things about their life.
"My daddy, he is grounded like the oak tree; my momma, she is steady as the sun. Oh, you know I love my folks, But I keep starrin' down the road, just lookin' for my one chance to run." I know I should be more nervous. This was my third job this year. My passion was writing, but I couldn't afford to get my books published. So I do the next best thing: teach.
Right now I was in London, England. I had just got off a plane from Orleans, France, where in my last job being the newest teacher at the college meant you were fired for budget cuts. I was a good teacher, they told me. All the students were sad to see me go. But we have to fire you. No hard feelings, right? The idiots.
Yeah we'll just fire you without giving you any references to any schools or your last paycheck. You understand? Unfortunately I did. This small community college I was just booted out of had to save their music department. Music was exceedingly important to me, so when the Dean said he was sorry about my paycheck I just waved it off.
I looked at my watch and noticed my flight would be boarding in 10 minutes. I started to pick up my two carry-ons when a woman stepped in to the lounge area.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please? Flight 136 was canceled due to the pilot calling in sick and no reserve pilots in London at this time. There will be another flight for you all tomorrow. I'm sorry for the inconvenience." Well, what a bummer. That was my flight. I didn't have enough money to rent a room, guess I was bunking on the airport floor. That's when I noticed the woman was walking towards me.
"Hello, my name is Amber Talley; I'm ticket master of this floor. Is your name…" She looked at the papers in her hand. "Anna Frost?"
"Yes." My eyes slightly narrowed as I tilted my head in confusion.
"Your employer called here." She handed me the ticket. "He thought it would be less trying on you if you took the train. Your train leaves Kings Cross at 11 o'clock. That gives you three hours to get your bags and catch the train. Have a good day."
"Yeah, you too." I said absently. I was looking at my ticket and walking away already. A train? Why wait until 10 minutes before my flight to tell me? This Mr. Lemon was a sketchy guy.
Walking into baggage claim I saw my two black travel bags behind a desk and went to claim them. It was quite a trial. The young man behind the counter insisted he saw ID, then he wanted my ticket, Passport, and drivers' license for the states. I drew the line at him wanting my number though.
After 5 minutes of Mr. Wandering-Eyes, I was finally out at the curb hailing a taxi. The man got out and popped the trunk.
"You want me to get those, Miss?" he gestured to my bags.
"Only if you want to; I don't mind putting them in the trunk myself." I wasn't really tracking. I was still studying my ticket… there was something funny about the platform. The number was hazy. It could be a 9 or a 10. I couldn't tell. The man had just put the smaller of the two black suitcases in the trunk and turned back to me. "Excuse me, but is this a 9 or 10?" I asked him.
His head cocked to the side to study the paper. A few seconds passed and then he shrugged. "Search me. Sorry Miss. Do the smaller bags go in the back too?"
"No, they stay with me. Thank you, by the way." I gave him a smile and climbed in the back of the cab.
"Where abouts in London are you heading, Miss?" he asked me once he was behind the wheel.
"Uh, Kings Cross Station, please."
I looked at my ticket the entire ride there. Only once did I look up when I could have sworn I saw a purple bus drive passed at an alarming speed. But when I jerked my head up there was nothing there. Walking into the train station I was slightly worried: I still hadn't figured out if it was a 9 or a 10. Stupid printers and their smearing ink!
I decided to just sit on a bench in between platforms 9 and 10 and board the one that left at 11 o'clock. It could work. I mean how many trains leave at 11 o'clock? Most leave at noon or around 8.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I settled down for my now two hour wait for the train to arrive and board. Hearing my stomach give a rather loud growl, I was reminded that I had yet to eat this morning. Of my two carry-on's one was my laptop holder, the other held my wallet, cell phone, I-pod, three books, a journal, and an assortment of pens, pencils, and sharpies. Reaching into this bag I pulled out my wallet to see if I had enough cash to buy myself a bottle of juice and foil wrapped sandwich. I had seen a stand on the way over here.
It looked like I had about £7, give or take. I was still iffy on British money. Ah, well, it'll be worth a try. I gathered up my four bags and trooped back to the food stand. Turns out I had just enough, it all rounding up to £5. Happily making my way back to my bench with my cran-grape juice and what felt like a two pound turkey on rye, somewhere in passing a brick wall between platforms 9 and 10, I was shoved in to the wall.
I scrunched up my eyes waiting for the pain as I stumbled sideways. I had never had the best balance. But the pain never came. I opened my eyes to see a breath taking red steam engine. Looking around in shock I noticed that this platform was slightly busy, young children and teens with their parents chatting away. No one seemed to notice me just pop out of a wall.
A heavy hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped wildly and spun around only to trip over my larger black bag. My juice and sandwich went flying and I gave a startled gasp of pain when my elbows connected with concrete.
"Gah!" I hissed in pain as I watched with awe the man who had tapped me caught both my juice and sandwich with ease.
Amber eyes looked down at me with worry. "Are you okay, Miss.? I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you." His voice was a soft tenor. His tawny hair flecked with gray.
"No, it's fine. My fault," I climbed to my feet and fixed my suitcase. "Thanks. I'm just confused right now."
He smiled and handed me my food. "That happens a lot when people first see the Hogwarts Express. Are you Anna Frost?" He suddenly looked worried, like maybe I was the wrong person.
"Yes, I'm her. I mean, that's me, yeah." I shook my head slightly in confusion.
"Oh good. Follow me and I'll help you in to a compartment." Without asking he picked up both of my black bags and set off, leaving me no choice but to follow. "My name is Remus Lupin. Two years ago I taught at the school so… Mr. Lemon thought I should be here when you get on the train."
"Will you be going with me to… the school?" What in the world had he called it again?
"No, I'm afraid that I resigned from my post so I no longer teach there. I will however," He hopped on the train like my bags where nothing but small reams of paper. Turning around he made sure I got on okay (it was quite the struggle for me, me being so short) then headed for the trains last compartments. "Answer almost any questions regarding the school. Everything else will have to wait for Mr. Lemon to explain."
At last we chose a compartment. It was small, no table, and just two fluffy benches attached to the walls on either side of the five foot wide, six foot long compartment. Mr. Lupin put both of my black bags in a stowing rack above the window then asked if any other bags go up there. I gave him my computer bag with somewhat reluctance. When I told him what was in it he looked at me like I was absolutely bonkers.
"Okay, that's all done." He sat down and gestured for me to sit as well. I sat down across from him. "Now do you have any questions about the school?"
"Oh, yes! First off, what's its name?" I was almost desperate to stop calling it "the school" in my head.
Chuckling quietly he answered, "Hogwarts."
"Bless you." I said dryly. He laughed out right at that. "Alright, next question: how many students attend?"
"Ah, let's see… there are roughly about forty students per… grade… and seven grades attend every year, so it's right around two hundred and eighty to three hundred students."
I gaped at him. That was it? I had taught in Florence, Italy for two years and had memorized all 3,684 names of my students. I was good with names.
"It's not so bad once you get started." He smiled comfortingly at me, assuming that I was mentally freaking out.
"What does Hogwarts run off? Is it seven periods in a day? Or block periods?" He looked at me with almost approval. Apparently I was asking the right questions.
"Block periods. We don't have grades we have years. First through seventh, the children start attending when they're 11, then if they passed they would graduate at age 17…or 18 if you were born late. The students are also separated in to four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."
I looked out the window to process it all. The platform was getting full. The amount of children had doubled and even more where coming through the wall that I had fallen through. Maybe it was a trick wall? My mind whispered that it was supernatural but I ignored it. I had always seen and heard things that weren't necessarily there. Floating lights in the bogs of the south, children and unicorns running through the forests of France, a purple bus driving through downtown London and amazing speeds… it was common for me to see the strange and unusual. My mother had me institutionalized for in for a short while. The only reason I was 'free' so to speak, was my Grandmother Stella. She used to tell me that I was special, not crazy. That I would understand one day.
Just then I saw a red haired man came through the wall with a black haired boy that had glasses. They were followed by a small army of other redheads and some strange looking characters… did that guy have a peg leg?! I shook my head and looked at Mr. Lupin again. I had one more question.
"What exactly will I be teaching? Mr. Lemon said that he wanted my cultural and historical expertise, yet he didn't say what specific culture." I searched his eyes to make sure he didn't lie to me and was pleased when he shifted under my gaze.
"Your class is called Muggle Culture. You will teach your students how to live like muggles and also to blend in and understand that they are very similar to us. A lot of the students unaware and some are slightly if not extremely prejudice towards Muggles, so your job is to show them that Muggles are basically… human, just like everyone else." He looked satisfied with his answer for all of him seemingly making it up on the spot.
"How am I supposed to do that when I don't know what a 'Muggle' is?" I was slightly alarmed. I knew plenty of third world cultures and many major country cultures, but I had never heard of Muggles.
"Mr. Lemon will give you more information on your arrival at the school." Again with that comforting smile. His abrupt dismissal made me look out the window. Lupin followed my gaze and gave a start when he looked out the window. His eyes widened and he jumped out of his seat. "I'm terribly sorry, Miss. Frost, but the rest of your questions will have to be answered by the headmaster. Would you excuse me?"
He all but ran out of the compartment, looking very frantic. I looked out the window to see what got him all flustered. It was a boy. The same boy I saw walk on to the platform, only this time he had a dog with him. A beautiful mutt of a dog. Just then the dog stood on his hind legs and put his paws on the boy's shoulders. How odd. The look on the dog's face was almost tender. If I hadn't known better I would say that the boy was really touched by the look too.
Just then Mr. Lupin walked up behind the dog.
"Well, hello Harry… Snuffles." He said the last name through ground teeth. I couldn't help it: I opened my window a little wider. "Fancy seeing you all here." The last seemed to be directed at the dog.
The dog gave a yelp and turned around. It visibly shrank under the withering glare it was getting from Mr. Lupin. Then, with its tail tucked between its legs, it hid behind the boy. The boy—Harry was it—gave a cry of joy upon seeing Mr. Lupin and ran to give him a hug. Over Harry's shoulder Mr. Lupin continued to glare at the dog as it whimpered pitifully. Really, what did the dog do to him?
"It's good to see you, Harry. I hope you have a good year. Study hard and have fun!" Mr. Lupin called as Harry climbed on the train.
"Will do Remus! Bye Snuffles see you at Christmas!" The train started to move but the boy kept waving. He laughed with sadness and joy when his dog chased after the train barking happily. Then the track turned and the platform was whisked out of sight.
I sat back and heaved a sigh. Well, here I go. Off to a school that I had never heard of, to teach a class about a culture I don't know. Should be fun. As we passed out of the city and started going past fields I started to finish the song my head. Looking around to the door the kids where just passing by my closed compartment as soon as they saw me.
"Cause I will soar away like the black bird. I will blow in the wind like a seed. I will plant my heart in the garden of my dreams—" A small group of older students stopped outside my door and looked in. Two of them where wide shouldered and heavy set. Another was the tallest of the group, one girl was with the four boys and I couldn't help but think that her face looked a bit squashed. The last boy had the blondest hair I have ever seen, his aristocratic features showed his distaste that I was in the compartment. He shoved the door open.
"Get out." His voice was hard and cold leaving no room for doubt as to what he had said.
"Excuse you?" I cocked an eyebrow at him, daring him to continue. He didn't take the hint.
"I said: Get. Out. This is our compartment, you're in it, get out." Oh, yay, my first reprimand.
"What is your name, Student?" that should give him a hit as to who I was.
"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He looked particularly pleased about his name.
"Well Mr. Malfoy you have officially made a bad impression with your newest teacher. Now if you want to apologize I would gladly share this compartment with you. But I will not leave." I never raised my voice at students. But I do look them in the eye until they do as I ask. And right now, Mr. Malfoy looked about to break. He had a soft pink blush that would go unnoticed if you weren't looking for it and the cold look in his eyes had shifted first to horror then embarrassment.
"I'm…I'm sorry Professor. May we join you?" His voice was softer, an almost whisper. To his friends it would seem like reluctance, but I knew better: this boy, for all his high-horse attitude, respected his teachers.
"Yes you may, Mr. Malfoy. And while you're at it why don't your friends introduce themselves." I smiled at him accepting his apology.
The five of them trooped in and put their trunks up on the rack next to my bags. After they had settled, the girl in the farthest corner away from me the two larger boys beside and across from her, the tallest across from me and Mr. Malfoy next to me, the girl spoke first.
"Well, I'm Pansy Parkinson and I want to know what you teach." She had a snobbish voice to match her face.
"Pansy shut it! She's the teacher not you. Show some respect." He glared at the girl then turned back to me. "My name is Theodore Nott, Professor…" the boy across from me trailed off looking expectant.
"Anna Frost. You may call me Miss. Frost or Professor Frost." I liked this one; he had clear sharp eyes and a sense of purpose. The larger boys and Miss. Parkinson seemed to almost be mindless sheep following Mr. Malfoy.
"And this is Crabbe and Goyle. Now that we all know each other, may we know what you teach Miss. Frost?" Mr. Malfoy had spoke for the two larger boys but I didn't know which was which.
"Mr. Malfoy unless those boys are mute they can speak for themselves. Boys please introduce yourselves." I didn't miss the glare Mr. Nott sent Mr. Malfoy's way.
"I'm Vincent Crabbe." The one by Miss. Parkinson said. His voice was dark; the last time I heard a dark voice was when I was almost killed by a mugger. Mr. Crabbe would bear watching.
"I'm Gregory Goyle." I leaned forward to see that the boy was looking at the ground. His voice was more… cautious. Almost as if he wanted to stay under the radar. I would watch him as well.
"Thank you, Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle. As for what class I teach, I will be teaching Muggle Culture." They all looked at me like I had just said something disgusting.
"Why would anyone want to teach such a pointless class?" Mr. Malfoy said with mirth. Miss Parkinson laughed like a hyena. So this was the prejudice that Remus Lupin had talked about.
"What's the difference between Muggle Studies and Muggle Culture?" Mr. Nott looked at me with curiosity.
I looked straight at Mr. Malfoy when I answered. "In Muggle Studies you study Muggles as if they were a specimen in a jar that you didn't understand. Poking and prodding at them until you get the answers that you want, not the true information. In Muggle Culture you become the specimen in the jar; learning first-hand what it means to be a Muggle. Your Headmaster thinks this would privilege you into seeing just how 'the other half' lives." Where had all that come from? I don't even know who or what a Muggle is! "Is that what you were looking for Mr. Nott?" I turned back to the teen across from me.
He seemed to be studying me; his eyes searching mine. Was he trying to stare me down? For the first time I noticed that he had one chocolate brown eye and one dark green eye. I cocked an eyebrow at him letting him know I was waiting for an answer.
"I'm sorry Miss. Frost, but might I ask what school you went to?"
"What school? I'm afraid I don't understand your question Mr. Nott." I had been at many schools; he would have to be more specific.
"What school did you graduate from? Did you go to Hogwarts? Or perhaps Beauxbaton's? Then again your accent is American so maybe a school from there." His tone was the perfect amount of polite and curiosity, but his eyes were far too sharp for this to be a general what's-your-story inquiry.
"I graduated from a small town high school in southern Colorado, and then attended Penn State University. Upon arriving there I studied History, Culture, and a variety of languages. Those include but are not limited to French, German, Spanish, and Latin." Mr. Nott was looking at me calmly but the others looked as if I had just offended them greatly. "Does that answer your question adequately, Mr. Nott?"
"If it weren't for the fact that you where a Mudblood, I would say you were a female Snape." The sneer came from Mr. Malfoy and right on queue Miss. Parkinson gave a shrill laugh. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mr. Nott go form not-so-subtly glaring at Mr. Malfoy to cringing at the sound of the laugh.
"And if I didn't know better I'd say you just insulted me Mr. Malfoy." My eyes narrowed. "And if that's the case then I should ask you to apologize. Then, sense you seem to have prestige in your clique you can endeavor to find more pleasurable fold." I could tell he was having trouble keeping up with my vocabulary. Mr. Nott however was not. He was looking at me with some respect. I was in full Teacher Mode now.
"What did you just say to me?" He seemed to find insult in my statement.
"She said: apologize… and then get out." Mr. Nott was having far too much fun with this. I gathered that the blonde was rarely ever put in his place.
"Shut it, Theodore. If I want your opinion, I'll ask." He smirked and the other three laughed uproariously as if he had made a great joke.
"Oh don't be so modest Draco! All he needs is a snap of the fingers!" Miss. Parkinson's squished face was looking uglier by the minute.
As the others fell over themselves with mirth I glanced to my left to see the tall dark haired boy. He locked eyes with me and muttered, "A modest little boy, with much to be modest about." Then smirked wickedly. I cocked my left eyebrow and smiled crookedly back. I could never pull off smirking.
I stood up and addressed the laughing teens in a firm unyielding voice. "You have thirty seconds to grab your belongings and scat kittens. Otherwise I might just have to drag you by your tails to the conductor's carriage. Was that clear enough?"
Mr. Malfoy stood up so fast his blonde hair glinted. "What did you just say, Mudblood?"
"Did I stutter?" I shot back. "You now have twenty three seconds, and need I remind you Mr. Malfoy… I am your teacher. Would you like a detention before we even arrive at the school?" I made eye contact and held my ground. This aristocratic teen was nothing compared to what I had to go through with the teens in Chicago.
I saw his hand twitch then a long polished stick of wood was all but poking me in between the eyes. Just as fast Mr. Nott was up and pointing another stick at Mr. Attitude.
"What are you doing, Draco? She's a teacher! And a Muggle! Put it away before you get arrested you dolt!"
"This Mudblood needs to know her place! No one talks to me like that, no one! And this disrespectful harpy is no different. She'll pay. Now sit down Nott if you know what's good for you."
"Mr. Malfoy, I suggest you lower your wand, and that will be thirty points from Slytherin. Oh and a months' worth of detention with me." The low baritone came from the direction of the hall. I didn't shift my glare so I saw the pale boy across from me prove there was a paler color on the spectrum then white.
He spun wildly and with a look of utmost horror he squeaked, "P-professor Snape! I- I was just-"
"I know what you where 'just' doing Mr. Malfoy, and let me assure you that it will never 'just' happen again. The Headmaster will be notified as will your father, now you and your band of hyenas will leave this compartment. Now!" He snapped the last word and there was a mad scramble of arms and legs. Soon it was just Mr. Nott, myself and a tall man dressed in all black in the small six seat compartment.
"Mr. Nott was I unclear in my orders for you to leave?" Sharp black eyes narrowed at the boy over my shoulder.
The arm that had come up beside me with the stick in it lowered slowly. "No, Professor. I merely thought that Miss. Frost would tell me more about her class. You know I take Muggle Studies, I was hoping we could talk more." I stepped to the side so I could see both of the tall men. Brown and green met my dark green and he tilted his head. "That is, if it's alright with you Miss. Frost."
I smiled. Yes, I liked this one. "Well I don't see why not. Unfortunately because of this little spat I might have more questions than answers."
"Maybe I could be of assistance there. The Headmaster asked me to ride on the train and talk to you. There won't be enough time before the welcoming feast to answer all you questions so, for some imbecilic reason, he thought I would like to play twenty questions." His lips curling in to a sneer, he sat on the right side of the compartment, as close to the door as he could.
Some part of me was telling me not to look him in the eye, which was ridiculous. I took a few deep breaths and cleared my mind. That Malfoy boy would best be served like dessert: cold. After I was calm again I met the Professors obsidian stair. Almost immediately I felt a tickle in my mind. Almost as if a feather was lodged into my cranium.
On some unknown instinct I kept my mind clear with the meditation that I learned in Japan. I broke eye contact and sat back down. Still standing Nott looked back and forth between me and this Professor Snape. Finally settling his eyes on me he sat down slowly with a look of awe in his eyes.
I raised an eyebrow at the look and turned once again to the man by the door. "I'm sorry, was your name Snape? Professor Snape? What do you teach?" I folded my hands in my lap and leaned back.
"Yes, my name is Severus Snape. I am Potions master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He was looking at me closely again and I felt the tickle once more.
Wait… did he say witchcraft and wizardry and potions?
"Come again? Witches and wizards? With the wand waving and the spell casting and the broom riding?" I knew my voice was getting steadily higher pitched but this was one of those times where you just couldn't control that. I looked at the teen across from me and was not in the least bit comforted.
"You mean you stood up to Malfoy, and said all that stuff and you didn't even know what a Muggle was?" His eyes where comically large as he swung his head around whipping his dark brown hair out of his eyes and asking Snape: "Professor, no offence to her, but what is she doing here? With things as they stand now, and Miss. Frost not even knowing about our world, if the Dark Lord—"
"Enough Mr. Nott! Now, Miss. Frost, calm yourself. What do you know about Hogwarts and magic in general?"
Within the next three and a half hours I got a crash course in magic, the Ministry, and the Magical World in general. Theodore, who preferred to be called Theo, only stopped explaining and answering questions when a grandmother-like woman opened our compartment door abruptly.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" She smiled at us and as I looked at the sweets and treats on her cart I remembered I still had not eaten anything. I reached into my bag for my sandwich and juice as Theo, and Snape got their lunch.
"Gah!" Just as I went to take a third bite a frog jumped on my wrist. I stared at it utterly panicked. I strongly disliked frogs. My older brother had pushed me into a small pond when I was little and the frogs near overwhelmed me. Being four at the time it terrified me.
Then I heard something strange. A choking sound. I looked up and saw that Mr. Nott was trying very hard not to laugh. Unfortunately seeing my panicked face seemed to be too much for him and he burst in to laughter. He was holding a candy box and quickly putting two and two together I looked back at the frog and saw it was unmoving and melting. I put my sandwich back in the foil and gingerly picked up the dark brown frog.
"Eat it."
I looked at Snape, thinking he was insane. He had a wicked gleam in his obsidian eyes and his smirk was no longer cold. Theo's laughter stopped and he gave me his full attention. I looked back and forth between the two men then at the frog. Making up my mind I slowly brought the frog up to my face and gave a discreet sniff.
Chocolate? Was that… chocolate? I sniffed again. Yep it was. Turning the small amphibian like candy this way and that, I could see indeed that it was slowly melting and the sensation I had felt earlier was in fact true. So feeling vindictive to the others in the compartment, I bit its head off with a snap of breaking hollow chocolate.
"So how was it?" Snape had put on his blank mask again.
"Chocolaty delicious." I popped the other half in to my mouth and smiled brightly.
"You should have seen your face! Ha, ha! It was priceless; I had no idea that someone could get so pale in such a short amount of time." Theo was laughing again.
"You are finding this much too enjoyable, Mr. Nott." I stated dryly, as I reached for my sandwich.
Still chuckling he went back to his food. After we had all finished our lunch Severus informed us that he would be doing rounds and that he would return soon. There seemed to be a hidden message in that simple sentence because Mr. Nott nodded as if Severus had told him something very grave.
I looked out the window and noticed it was getting dark. The train was passing rolling hills and I think I can even see a river in the distance. The setting sun blazed an orange-ish red agenized the low clouds. Another song popped in to my head but I brushed it away. It was impolite to stare out a window with a glazed look in your eyes when you were with other people. As I looked back at Theo I briefly wondered about his sanity.
"You do realize that you're supposed to eat jellybeans right? Not sniff them so hard they nearly go up your nose?" I grinned at him when threw a glare my way.
"Well Miss. Frost, if you feel brave enough… why don't you eat it?" he held out his hand and lying in the center of his palm was a red, orange, and yellow jellybean. I narrowed my eyes as he assumed an innocent expression.
"Okay… What's the catch?"
"Catch? Why Professor I have no idea what you're talking about."
"The chocolate frogs' jump, Fizzing Whizbees make you float, and Licorice Wands shoot out a couple of sparks. What do the jellybeans do?" I was smiling now because he seemed almost nervous.
"Well… Damn! I can't lie to a teacher. Well technically they don't do anything." He smiled ruefully at me.
"Then why won't you eat it?"
"Simple: it might just make me gag and lose my lunch."
I blanched and promptly leaned back. Seeing the look on my face he laughed retracted his hand. We continued to explore the small amount of sweets Theo had bought until Snape came back and told us that we would be arriving soon and for Theo to go change into his uniform. I looked out the window again when it was just me and my new collogue then started when I realized I was ill prepared for the welcoming feast that was tradition to this school.
"Professor Snape, I find myself at a loss as to what to wear to the feast. I don't own any… robes. What should I do?" I looked at him and tilted my head to the side.
He seemed to think about the question, crossing his arms and gazing at the ceiling. "What would you wear to an opening feast at a muggle school, Miss Frost?"
"A dark blue dress full length, loose fitted, long sleeved; short heels to mach." I answered promptly. I had seen a coworker wear it and thought it was just a perfect outfit… though I had never got around to buying any dresses myself.
"Any accessories?" He was still looking at the ceiling.
"Oh… well and nice pearl necklace and bracelet. Drops in the earrings as well." I was picturing it now. It would look fabulous. Too bad I didn't have anything appropriate…
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Snape was waving his want at me. I gasped as my clothes started to change on my body. What was he doing!?
"Professor!" I yelped going to cover myself. My hands came into contact with dark blue silk. I looked down bewildered.
My clothes had been transformed into an evening gown… for medieval times. Dark blue, full length, silk with a beaded bodice; the skirt part was full and had large crystals pinching some of the fabric together on some places giving it a running water look. My arms were bear but it worked with this dress. I heard a chuckle.
My head whipped around to see… Severus… actually smiling at me. A small smile but a smile never the less. I tilted my head again and my now loose hair tumbled over my shoulder. "What did you think I was going to do to you Miss Frost? Disrobe you for all to see?" His smile turned to a smirk. "I didn't get the dress right but I think it came out… rather well."
Not having an answer I stood and turned to use the window and a mirror. I had a pearl and sapphire necklace, a bracelet to match and earrings that sparkled with every turn of the head. Those were pearl and sapphire as well. What a generous… gift.
"Beautiful. But will it last past midnight, Fairy Godmother?" I swung around to look at him and he out right laughed.
Just then Theo walked back in. He slid the compartment door shut and faced Severus. "Professor there are some younger years fighting towards the end of the train. The prefects are… having a hard time containing it." He sneered the last bit.
"All right, I'll see what I can do. Oh, Miss Frost, you will need a cloak." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black pressed handkerchief then, with a swish of his wand, a long shimmering black cloak replaced it. "Mr. Nott, would you be so kind as to escort Miss Frost to the Great Hall once we arrive at Hogsmeade Station?"
"Of course, Sir." He nodded as he took the cloak from Severus with a slight raised eyebrow. Severus left the compartment with a nod to me. Only then did Theo turn towards me.
I folded my hands gracefully in front of me and watched with amused eyes as his eyes popped and his mouth dropped. He composed himself quickly and handed me the cloak. It felt like water but was dense and heavy, it would be warm. The silver clasp was a shiny snowflake. Theo tilted his head in a small bow, "Professor Frost."
I smiled.
This… is going to be fun.