It had been a hectic first night back at Hogwarts for Professor Filius Flitwick. Shortly before the students were scheduled to arrive on the Hogwarts Express he had received an urgent letter from one of his second year Ravenclaws informing him that she had missed the train. He had floo'd to the station practically as soon as he had finished the letter, but to his dismay the girl was nowhere to be found. It had taken him nearly half an hour to discover that she had hidden herself in a corner of the Muggle side of King's Cross, having been to scared to just wait on the empty platform. He had floo'd her to Hogwarts and sent her off to the feast, but by the time he had written a letter to her parents to inform them of what had happened, he was dismayed to find that the feast was over.
It was when he was hurrying across the Entrance Hall on his way to the kitchens to grab a quick meal that he heard a strange noise over the sound of his footsteps. Stopping to listen more intently, he was shocked to hear what sounded like crying. He carefully followed the sound until he found himself at an alcove near the dungeon stairs. The sight that greeted him was not quite what he expected.
There was a young Slytherin girl (a first year, judging by the fact that Flitwick didn't recognize her) trying to muffle the sound of her sobs in the sleeve of her robe. But that wasn't the most surprising part. The girl was sitting in a wheelchair- something he had never before seen at Hogwarts.
He was snapped out of his momentary surprise by the sound of her sniffling. Not wanting her distress to continue any longer than was necessary, Flitwick softly cleared his throat. "Miss, what are you doing out here?"
The girl started at the sound of his voice, hastily rubbing her red-rimmed eyes and meeting his gaze with a slightly fearful expression. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be up here alone so late, I'm not causing trouble or anything I swear, I..."
"It's alright, you're not in any trouble," Flitwick said gently, trying to calm the girl. "I'm just curious as to why you're not with the rest of your housemates."
"I... kind of got left behind, I guess."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, during the feast I had been sitting at the front of the table, furthest away from the doors, and when everyone was dismissed I couldn't get past the crowds of people. So I had to wait until nearly everyone was out of the Hall, but by then my house was gone, and I didn't see where they went. I had heard that Slytherins were in the dungeons, but even if I knew where, I couldn't get down there if I wanted to, not with all of those stairs in the way..."
Flitwick frowned. "Well that was most inconsiderate of your housemates, wasn't it?" It certainly wasn't like Slytherins to do something like that to one of their own, either purposefully or accidentally. 'If only Severus were here', Flitwick mused to himself. He never would have let this happen in the first place!
It was unfortunate that the younger man had to miss the first few weeks of term in order to harvest incredibly rare potions ingredients that were only in season once every ten years. Silas McVale was perfectly qualified to fill in for him as a potions professor, but he was a bit absent when it came to dealing with his temporary head of house duties.
"Well then, I'll be glad to escort you to your common room."
The girl looked puzzled. "But how will I get down the stairs? I don't suppose there's a lift nearby."
Flitwick gave her a mischievous smile. "No, I have something much better in mind. How do you feel about flying?"
The girl had been quiet the entire time Flitwick had been levitating her down the stairs, but he knew from the awed expression on her face that it wasn't a fearful or unhappy silence. It was only when they had finally made it to the correct floor and had started to twist their way through the dungeon corridors that she spoke again.
"I just realized, I never told you my name, did I? I'm Anna Lewis."
"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Lewis. My name is Professor Flitwick, and I'm the Charms professor here at Hogwarts, as well as head of Ravenclaw house."
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Professor."
In a few minutes they had finally made it to the entrance of the Slytherin common rooms. Flitwick pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill from his pocket, scribbling something on it before skillfully folding it into a paper airplane. He tapped it with his wand and muttered a spell, then handed it to Anna. "When you get inside the common room, throw this. It will find a fifth year girl named Beatrice Veers. She's one of my advanced Charms students, and she'll help you get to classes for the next few days while I work out a more permanent solution to let you get around on your own."
"I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along, Professor. I hope I haven't kept you from anything important."
"It was no problem at all, Miss Lewis," Flitwick replied. "Now, in order to get into the Slytherin common room, you need the password. Luckily for you, I happen to know that the current password is bezoar." As he spoke, the entrance to the common room opened. "Make sure that you never share the password with anyone other than your fellow Slytherins. Other than that, I think you should be fine. Because the Slytherin common room isn't located in a tower, there shouldn't be any more stairs, so I believe this is where I will leave you. Goodnight, Miss Lewis."
"Goodnight, Professor." She wheeled herself halfway across the threshold before she paused. "And thank you. For everything."
Flitwick smiled at her. "It's my pleasure, Miss Lewis."