Tolerantia

"I have something for you," Mom pulled a pair of small devices from her pocket and held it out for us.

Andrew's eyes widened and a dimpled grin overtook him, "Really? He's giving us back our cell phones?"

I hate to admit it, but I let out a girly squeal. "This is totally awesome!"

Mom smiled at the pair of us while handing us our solar phone chargers, "I told your father that you can text your friends to keep in touch since calling them would be much too costly."

"And he bought that?" Andrew hugged Mom briefly and dropped his phone and charger into his coat pocket. I instantly bounced over to her and hugged her tightly which she returned with a kiss to my cheek.

"Of course not," Mom smirked at my brother, "I told him I wanted you to be able to text me."

"Thanks, Mom." We chorused.

"Just pay attention to your monthly text limits. Don't make me regret giving them back."

"We won't," I immediately agreed. The train whistle blew and I shuddered. It was time. I looked at the train that sat so innocently and hated it. It was an inanimate object, but I loathed the thing all the same.

Mom straightened her son's collar, "Do you have everything?"

"Yes, ma'am." Andrew patted his coat pocket.

"Andi?" She cupped my cheek and I nodded. I couldn't speak. My heart was in my throat. I really didn't want to go. "Good."

I hugged her again before I began backing away, "Love you, Mom."

"I love you, too." She shooed us onto the train, "Now, go. Make friends. Make good grades. Make me proud."

Andrew could only grin crookedly at Mom's antics, "Yes, ma'am."

Before he could step on the train, she called out to him, "Andrew."

He stopped and turned back to Mom, "Yeah?"

"I love you."

My heart clenched. It sounded so final. I turned and watched the exchange. I wanted to put her face to memory. What were we getting ourselves into? Why hadn't they just sent us back home to Salem?

Andrew heard the undertones in her voice too. The unspoken plea for him to understand and be understanding; her need for him to not walk away still annoyed with her and he nodded, letting Mom know he got the message. "I love you, too."

I swallowed back the tears and walked to find a compartment to sit in. We were told that the train ran year round twice daily for those who wanted to go to Hogsmeade from London. I thought that meant the train would be busier, but many of the compartments were empty.

We exchanged looks and Andrew just shrugged, opening the next empty compartment for us to use. I sat down and looked out the window. Mom stood on the platform waiting for us to go. Andrew lowered the window in order for us to wave. I felt as if I was eleven again, going off for my first day of school and my insides were tied up in knots.

"She's trying not to cry."

"I know."

"She sounded so sad."

"I know."

"We shouldn't be going to Hogwarts."

"I know."

The train began moving and I sat as Andrew closed the window. I looked up at my brother who was older by six minutes and sighed, "I hate this."

He gave me a dimpled grin when he repeated. "I know."


We were met at the station by a huge man who told us his name. He was difficult to understand, but I think he said it was Agrid. Odd name, but he's an Ish, so I've come to expect oddities from them. At least he seemed friendly enough during our five minute encounter.

Agrid had a carriage waiting for us. It was pulled by two thestrals. Fascinating creatures, but I couldn't see them. We learned about them a few years back, so I knew the only way to be able to see a thestral was to witness death. So, as much as I'd love to see one, I hoped that that wouldn't happen too soon.

The ride to the castle was breathtaking and I couldn't wait to see it all in the daylight. I was so enthralled with the twinkling lights that I forgot to be afraid. That lasted until we arrived at the front door.

The man standing there was rail thin, pimply faced and snarling at us exposing his yellowed teeth. Ew. Why were most Ishes so utterly ew? Pimple man just made things worse when he spoke in his squirrely, heavily accented voice, "You them new students?"

The man butchered the English language, both Americans and Ishes would shudder when they heard it. It was on the tip of my tongue to snark at him, but I bit it back and choked on it. Andrew spoke on our behalf, "Yes, sir."

The Ish-man stood straighter when Andrew addressed him as 'sir', but he continued to snarl at us as if we were beneath him. He escorted us into the castle. We were in some sort of foyer, very castley with stone walls, floors and high ceilings. What I found odd were the four large hour glasses against one wall. Each one was filled with different colored stones. The bottom of the red one was empty, the yellow had a few, the blue was better off than the first three, but the green was brilliantly filled with nearly half of the allotted stones. The large doors before us were wide open and I could see 4 long tables with some students sitting around them and a head table which currently sat empty. The tables were set up for a meal and I could feel my stomach gurgle in protest that I wasn't in there with the other students. The rail man didn't take us in there, he stopped at the foot of a grand marble staircase before he spoke again, "I'm Professor Carrow."

I blinked at that statement and nearly asked him to repeat what he said. I mean seriously… Professor Carrow? The Pimple was a professor? We were doomed. How could such an uneducated man believe he could teach us anything?

Movement caught my attention and I watched the staircases move. Students would either wait for the stairs to come back or go a different route when that happened. It was interesting to watch the reactions from the various people.

Unfortunately he wasn't done talking, "Yer ta go up ta the headmaster's office before tha feast." Pimple pointed up the marble staircase, "Third floor, left hall to the stone gargoyle. Password is tolrentia."

"Tolerantia," Andrew automatically corrected. I bit my lip and kept quiet. The squirrelly man not only butchered the English language, he apparently did it with Latin as well.

"Tha's what I said," Carrow's gaze narrowed at my brother. It wasn't what he said. I knew it, Andrew knew it, but either way it didn't matter. Getting away from that man and up to the headmaster's office was what was important at the time.

I touched Andrew's arm to keep him quiet. "Yes, sir." I said and moved away to the stairs. I had had enough of that man and hoped like hell I didn't have a class with him.

The students making their way to the feast either ignored us, didn't notice us or stared at us. I was busy looking around at everything, taking it all in. The castle was enormous and grand. Not beautiful, per se, but enchanting and had a charm of its own. I ran my hand up the banister as I went up the steps and felt a small jolt in my palm. I paused and frowned, but Andrew didn't and fell through a missing step.

I bit my lip to keep from giggling, but the moment Andrew began cursing I lost hold of my control. He glared at me while standing calf deep where a step should have been. "Not funny, Andi."

"Sure it is."

There were more giggles and Andrew's head whipped around. His glare eased instantly as he took in the sight of a busty blonde whispering to her cute brunette friend with large brown eyes and thick lashes that batted as her eyes flirtatiously met his. The pair wore the same uniform as I did with two exceptions. They both had on red striped ties and some sort of lion emblem on the front of their school robes. The hormonal teen that was my brother suddenly grinned with full dimples causing the girls to swoon. I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Come on, Drew." I offered him a hand and he huffed, but he accepted the aide all the same.

The busty blonde stepped forward asking, "Are you new here?"

Andrew's grin was back and I stepped over the missing step. "What gave it away?"

The brunette chimed in, "Because you fell into the step. It's been there for ages. So you were either distracted or you're new. Seeing how we've never seen you before, we think you're new here."

"Astute observations. We need to see the headmaster." I started up the stairs again. "Drew!"

"Ladies," my idiot hormonal brother was still flirting with the Ish-hussies, but I refused to wait anymore.

"There's another missing step between the fifth and sixth floors." The blonde called after us.

While I appreciated the warning, we only needed to get to the third floor before dinner. And considering how many students were now on their way down the stairs, I'd say that was soon. I stayed to the right of the staircase as per normal and couldn't understand why I kept running into so much traffic.

I had lost count of the floors we passed and soon stopped when I found myself face to face with a boy. Deja vu only that was no man before me and definitely not a looker like Lord Luscious. He was short for a male, meaning he was as tall as I was and standing on a step making him shorter than me had we been standing on common ground. He grinned hugely at me and I nearly flinched. He had brown scruffy hair that curled messily with blue eyes and freckles, but that wasn't what had me recoiling. The guy had a nasty shiner and it looked as if it hurt even if he didn't act as if it did. He was still grinning when he said, "Now ain't you a sight?"

That was English, right? I stared at him for a moment. "What?"

I suddenly felt Andrew behind me and he growled. He. Growled. I tore my eyes from the injured boy - who was also sporting a red striped tie and a lion emblem - and looked over my shoulder at my brother. Why did Andrew growl? Only the next person to speak was the Ish, not Andrew. "Is tha' yer beau then?"

"What?" I hadn't a clue what he said! His accent was SO thick.

Andrew smirked at the boy before he ignored him. He gripped my upper arm and said, "Come on, we have to hurry."

"Oh now you want to hurry?" I let him guide me away and over to the left side of the stairwell. The left? Oh right… we're in Ish-land. They were so damned backwards!

"Oi! Wha's yer name?"

I didn't stop to ask what he said again, because he didn't clarify the last two things he had said. Besides there was a slim chance he wasn't speaking to me as there were hundreds of students in that school. He couldn't possibly know them all.

Andrew walked with purpose up the marble staircase. He got that stride from Dad. The Major believed if you held your head high with confidence, walked like you knew what you were doing and where you were going; folks would leave you be and believe you belonged there. It seemed to be working for him. Those that were walking towards us moved out of his way.

When he turned towards the left hallway, Andrew paused and glanced behind him and passed me. I wasn't sure what he was looking at so I looked behind me as well. I was confused and asked him, "What?"

"We're on the third floor, but I don't see a gargoyle."

Ah, I understood, so I explained, "They do things different here. The first floor is the ground or house floor, meaning the second is the first, so now that we've gone up three flights we would normally be on the third floor, but we're only on the second." He huffed at me and I rolled my eyes. "I didn't make up that rule."

We were running late so I double timed it up the last flight of stairs. Andrew was right behind me muttering, "Moving staircases, missing steps… it's as if the castle is taunting me."

I rounded the stairs and headed towards the stone gargoyle, "Right, the stairs were immobile until today. The castle simply knew you were coming so it decided today was a good day to change after a thousand years."

"And that's another thing…" Andrew started as if he had been speaking the entire time. "Why's the headmaster's office guarded? Why not have a secretary and an open door policy? What's the man hiding? Why's he hiding? How can anyone be expected to trust a headmaster so secretive?"

Andrew was on a roll and I had to stop him. I put a hand on his chest and said, "Breathe."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. I could see the calm washing over him as he compartmentalized his feelings.

"I know you're unhappy, but we're about to face the headmaster. You remember what Mom said." Andrew nodded and I continued, "So we do the best we can, lay low and noses clean for the next five months and we're home free."

"Right," Andrew stood before the stone guard and took another calming breath before muttering, "tolerantia."

The statue slid back with a grating sound and a spiral staircase began to move upwards much like an escalator. Andrew stepped aside to let me go first and he stepped on behind me until it came to a stop at the top. We stood at the door and I gave him an encouraging nod. Like everything else in our lives; we were in it together.

Andrew rapped sharply twice on the wooden door. The entrance opened soundlessly and we waited to be summoned. Just like you didn't walk away from the Major without being dismissed, an open door was never to be taken as an implied welcome. The headmaster's voice was a deep baritone, smooth and assured with a distinct Ish drawl that could be heard even with one spoken word, "Enter."

I shivered at the sound of it and Andrew looked at me sharply. Damn. He saw me. The headmaster's voice was better than Luscious, but from what Mom told us about him (gangly, long black greasy hair, crooked yellow teeth and a large hooked nose), his voice was the only cute thing about the man. With the mental picture she painted of him; he wasn't going to be pretty like Malfoy.

Andrew pushed the door open, allowed me to enter first and closed the door behind him. I kept in step with my brother's long strides and we approached the desk together. That was when I got a good look at the man behind the desk. Or as good as one could when the man was busy reading a parchment.

I knew Headmaster Severus Snape was the same age as our parents. Unlike the Major, he didn't have a single gray hair in his long black locks which was neatly pulled back at the nape of his neck. The prominent hooked nose separated a pair of piercing onyx eyes that pinned me to the spot when he raised his head from the pages he had been reading.

I wasn't sure if I was pleased, relieved or disappointed to find he wasn't as hideous as Mom painted him to be. He wasn't handsome, but he wasn't ugly… he just… was.

Andrew's hand flexed into a fist so I assumed the position of parade rest the moment I stood before the desk. Andrew followed suit and spoke clearly to announce our arrival, "Andrew and Andrea Chambers, Salem Academy transfer students, sir."

"The Americans," Snape commented. As it wasn't a question we kept silent. I found a crack in one of the stones in the wall over the man's head and focused on it. The headmaster laid the parchment down on his desk and looked us over with a contemplative regard. "You have come to Hogwarts during dark and troubling times."

Still no question was asked, but I just knew Andrew wanted to say something to that. I slid my eyes to him and saw the muscle in Andrew's jaw flex. I wondered if Snape had seen it and brought my gaze to him. Snape looked amused. I saw it glimmer briefly in his eyes before he brought his gaze to me.

I didn't flinch from his gaze. I met it calmly. There was a small twitch of his lips as if he were holding back a smile, but then Snape broke the silence in the room when he demanded, "Your transcripts and transfer papers."

Andrew pulled a manila folder from the inside pocket of his cloak and handed it over to the headmaster. I did the same. Snape accepted the folders and opened them to glance at the pages. He compared both transcripts and read Andrew's course aloud, "All of your classes are MEWE level: Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and…" Snape looked up at Andrew when he read off the last class, "Healing?"

Snape read the last subject as a question. Questions required a response. My eyes snapped to my brother. Andrew dropped his gaze to meet the headmaster's, "Yes, sir."

When he addressed me next I brought my gaze back to him, "As for you Miss Chamber, you are also taking MEWE level courses with the exception of Potions." He looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "You were taking a pre-Apprenticeship level class with your Potions Professor?"

There was a level of surprise in his voice. Not condemnation like some had in my past. I heard it all before: 'But you're pretty. Why would you want to study so much?', 'You're so popular. Why don't you just socialize?', and the worse one yet, 'You're a girl, you don't have to have a job. You just need to find a good husband to take care of you.' Only Snape wouldn't think that. He was good at Potions. Mom had said so. He'd understand. Therefore I didn't hide the pride when I said, "Yes, sir."

Snape set the page down on his desk and contemplated for a bit. He then noted, "I see you do not have Muggle Studies."

"Muggle… Studies?" Andrew blinked, bemused. I had to admit I wasn't sure what he was talking about either. Don't get me wrong. Snape spoke in a slow drawl and enunciated clearly so I understood the words, I just hadn't a clue what a Muggle was.

"Muggles," Snape clarified, "non-magical humans."

Oh. No-Majs… apparently the Ish had a different word for them. Figured. Just one more thing to confuse me. I responded, "No, sir."

Andrew elaborated, "There was no benefit in taking a class to learn about non-magicals seeing how our father is a No-Maj."

"Muggle Studies is compulsory."

"Sir?"

"You do know what compulsory means?" Snape quirked an eyebrow when Andrew stiffened. I bit my lip to keep from laughing at my brother's expense. Snape gave a small nod. "It will be added to your class schedules.

"Hogwarts does not offer a course in Healing nor such an advanced Potions class." Snape cupped his chin in his long fingers of his right hand as Andrew's brow furrowed in disappointment and my stomach dropped. Damn. Damn. Double damn. The headmaster's hands dropped to his desk as he came to a conclusion. The look on the man's face was calculating, "I will speak with our Matron and see about working some training into her schedule."

Snape's gaze swept to me and he totally made the rest of my year brighter, "As I am a Potions Master, I can tutor you in more advanced potions than those taught by Professor Slughorn. We will work out a compatible schedule next week. Due to the nature of the classes and the fact that it will not be offered to others, you will not tell anyone of our arrangement."

"Yes, sir."

The headmaster pushed his chair back and stood. His features were all business when he continued, "While you are at Hogwarts you will be expected to carry yourself with proper decorum at all times. There is no using magic in the halls, breakfast is at 0730, first class begins promptly at 0900, lunch at 1230 and dinner is at 1700.

"There are four 'Houses' within Hogwarts. Each represents one of the four founders: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor," Snape bit off the last name with disgust. I knew that was because he was a Slytherin in his days at school. Mom was a Ravenclaw. "Each House has a Head of House and six prefects: a boy and girl for each year starting from 5th to 7th. If you have trouble, handle it. If you cannot handle it yourself, you are to seek out a prefect prior to the Head of House and if you still require assistance then - and only then - you will come to me.

"You will be sorted prior to joining a House. We use the Sorting Hat which was enchanted by the Founders." Snape made his way around his desk and over to a bookshelf that lined the wall. Once at the bookshelf he wanted, he grabbed a worn leather pointed hat and motioned for me to take a seat. "Sit."

I bit my lip and nodded. Mom warned us about the hat. She said it was traditionally kept a secret, but since we were taught occlumency at a young age because of our Dad's position in the military, we needed to be forewarned about the need to drop our shields for the hat. I moved to the chair and sat down. I folded my hands in my lap and looked up at the headmaster. Snape watched quietly before slipping the hat on my head.

'Interesting,' the haggard croaky voice spoke in my mind. 'It isn't often a student requires sorting mid-term. Nor have I had to sort a student as old as you are and, goodness, relax your shields or we'll be here all night.'

I crossed my ankles, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. With each second I felt my shields lower. It was an odd feeling to have the hat rifling through my thoughts. I wondered how the others felt about it or if they even noticed.

'Under normal circumstances you would be rather fitting in Slytherin, but these are dark times… dark times indeed. No…' the memories flooded my senses and I bit back a whimper as the Sorting Hat continued. 'You have brave tendencies yet you are not rash, you're contemplative, hardworking, loyal, but not towards many and your thirst for knowledge is only surpassed by your ambition and drive… yes, yes… I see it all here… you are the quintessential Slytherin, but given the current turmoil within the school's walls, you'll thrive so much more in,' The Sorting Hat confirmed his findings aloud, "Ravenclaw!"

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. Snape took the hat from my head and Andrew held his hand out for me to take. I gave him a weak smile and accepted it. He must have figured it was hard since he too knew about having to drop the occlumency shields.

Andrew didn't release my hand. Instead he quietly asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I gave a small nod. "I just need a minute."

Snape watched our exchange, but didn't comment. I stepped out of the way as Andrew took his turn under the hat. I took that opportunity to look around the room. There were so many portraits around the office. Each one was a sleeping witch or wizard: some slouched in chairs, some snoring softly and one that grinned down at me with twinkling blue eyes.

I smiled back at him when he waved. The hat called out, "Ravenclaw!"

Andrew was quick to remove the worn leather hat from his head and closed his eyes. I watched as he brought his shields back up into place. It was fascinating to watch the emotions drain from him. Snape took the hat from his grip and Andrew's eyes snapped open.

I went to my brother immediately and crouched beside him. "Drew?"

"I'm good." He took a calming breath and I stood to get out of his way. That was when I noticed his tie had changed. It was plain black when he put it on. Now it was stripped with blue and his robe had an eagle emblem. I looked at my own uniform and noted mine had changed similarly. I looked closer at the emblem and read Ravenclaw. That was so cool.

Andrew stood up and we watched as Snape made his way back to his chair. He paused to glance up at a portrait - the only one near his desk. It was the same one that grinned at me moments ago.

The old man in the painting wore a rather bright blue robe with moons and stars with a matching pointed hat. He had long white hair and a longer white beard with half-moon glasses perched on his long slender nose. He appeared to be sleeping… until the elderly man in the portrait winked at Andrew.

Snape cleared his throat to gain our attention. "Just as we do not offer healing classes, we…" Snape paused only a hair of a moment, but it was long enough to catch our attention, "no longer offer Defense Against the Dark Arts." The headmaster sat behind his desk and leveled his gaze at us, "Dark Arts are taught in its stead. You both have enough classes on your schedule that you can opt out of that class if you wish."

For the first time since arriving, Andrew sighed heavily and dropped his guard. That reaction surprised me. Andrew wasn't the dramatic one, that was all me. "DADA is not necessary for my chosen profession of healing, although it could be handy to learn the counter curses in order to save lives. Not to mention that I have learned a semester of Dark Arts…" Andrew must have realized he was rambling. He looked at the headmaster as his mask of indifference fell back into place, "Sir, taking Dark Arts during my MEWE, excuse me, NEWT year makes no logical sense since I hadn't taken the course at any other time and having extra study time could be much more beneficial."

"Interesting logic." Snape turned his gaze to me, "And you, Miss Chambers?"

"I will be a Potions Mistress." I stated, because I was. It was my all time favorite thing in the world… besides shopping and I may have been great at buying things, I didn't think I wanted to do that for the rest of my life as a profession. "For the same reasons stated by my brother, I respectfully decline taking Dark Arts at this time."

I seem to be amusing Snape again because his lip twitched… again. Then he asked, "The idea of Dark Arts does not bother you then?"

Snape watched us as if he were gauging our reactions. I spoke first, "Magic is magic, sir."

"Not everyone shares that opinion." He wasn't wrong. Mom was one of them.

"That may be so, but it is what we were taught in Magical Theory at Salem." Andrew chose to elaborate when he saw Snape's eyebrow rise, "Magic dubbed Dark or Light is simply magic. Both can be beneficial or detrimental, as it is the intent of the caster that makes a person dark or light."

The headmaster contemplated for a moment more. He seemed to do that a lot. I wondered what went through his mind. Snape pulled his wand and suddenly a silver doe burst forth before circling back to its creator. Holly Hannah, a fully corporeal patronus and silently cast! The man was powerful. I was duly impressed. The wizard spoke softly and the patronus ran through the door to its intended target. "Your Head of House will be along shortly to escort you down to dinner. Welcome to Hogwarts."


My alarm went off and I sighed heavily. I turned it off so I didn't wake the other girls. I sat up slowly and got my bearings. I hated waking up in a strange new place only to fall out of bed or stumble across a room. I had three roommates - Lisa Turpin, Sue Li and Mandy Brocklehurst - and if any of those girls saw me being clumsy, it would be so embarrassing.

I slipped on my wand holder and ensured it was securely in place before I swung my legs out of bed. I stuffed my feet into my house slippers and waited for my eyes to adjust to the early morning light that was straining to break through the darkness of night. I grabbed my workout clothes and shuffled out to the bathroom. I won't go into details of what I did in there because that was totally private, but suffice it to say I was dressed and ready to work out in no time.

I double timed it down stairs and hit the common room at the same time as Andrew. "Morning," he mumbled. I just nodded and followed him out the door. Andrew was carrying his precious box of weights while I had my yoga mat, two towels and two bottles of water.

Last night Professor Flitwick - our Head of House, a short man who I would guess was part goblin or dwarf due to his size, but I favor goblin from his obvious intelligence - showed us an empty classroom we could use to exercise in. He said we weren't allowed to run outside before the sun was up, so I decided to run in the afternoons.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the room had been altered since the night before. Last night it was dusty and filled with unused desks and chairs. That morning it was clean, light filled the room when we entered and all the unneeded furniture was pushed to the sides of the room. Best of all, there was a thick cushioned mat on the floor.

"I love house elves." It was all I could think of saying. It was true. They were awesome.

"Yeah," Andrew agreed and moved to far side of the room. He set down his small box on a table and began setting up his exercise machines, enlarging them as he went.

I moved to the mat and began my yoga stretches. "Did you manage to find a signal anywhere?"

"Nope," He groused. "Don't know how we're going to get a text off to Mom."

"After we get our schedules, I'll send an owl. I'm sure the school has one we could borrow."

I was in my favorite asana when I heard the familiar metallic clank of the weights. Apparently Andrew got his equipment set up as he liked it and started his own workout. I moved seamlessly from one pose to the next and felt my body come alive. I loved yoga.

Balancing in the crow position - hands planted on the floor, my shins resting on my upper arms and my feet lifted up - I realized that while there were windows in the room, I couldn't tell what time it was by the sun. It was our first day at school and it just wouldn't do to be late.

I slowly transitioned into a lotus position and checked my watch. We had been in the room an hour already. I called out to Andrew in order to be heard over his exhales with each lift, "It's 0630. We have an hour before breakfast."

Andrew paused with the barbell suspended in the air to look my way, "Got it," and he set the weights back on the pegs.

"Ah, good morning," Flitwick squeaked from the doorway.

I smiled at the diminutive man and greeted him in return, "Good morning, sir."

"Mornin', Professor," Andrew chimed in. He grabbed one of the towels to wipe the sweat from his face. I tossed one of the bottles of water to him and he caught it handily.

"I see that you two have things well in hand here."

"Yes, sir." I said as I released my position in order to stand. "The room is perfect: not too hot, not too cold and the work the house elves put into preparing it for us is greatly appreciated."

"Good, good." He said and smiled at us. He then pulled his wand and began muttering under his breath. I watched in fascination as he did some very complex charm work on a desktop. It soon became a clock face. Flitwick then removed it from the desk, raised it into the air and had it stuck to the wall. "There."

"That was awesome." I said appreciatively.

The man blushed and waved a hand dismissively, "Just a bit of charm work."

"You're being modest," Andrew said as he stepped closer to the new clock. "And it's perfect: easy to read from anywhere in the room. If Andi hadn't spoken up when she did, I'd probably be late to breakfast."

"Yes, working out has a way of making time pass quickly." Flitwick agreed. "I have my own style of exercise." He lowered his voice conspiratorially, "I was once a dueling champion in my youth."

"How exciting, do you teach dueling?" Andrew asked as we followed him out of the room.

"No, no… although there was a short stint of a dueling club once about five years ago." Flitwick waved that explanation away and warded the door closed. "I need you both to tap your wand to the door, one at a time, please."

Andrew went first, tapping his wand on the door and watched as it flashed a shimmering blue. I followed and tapped my wand tip to the door and it flashed once again with a shimmering pale blue. Flitwick grinned up at us, "Excellent. Now the door is secured to allow only staff and the two of you to open the door. It will keep your belongings safe."

"Thank you!" I beamed a full dimpled smile at him and he smiled back. We had the coolest Head of House ever.

"I have your class schedules," He announced and handed us both a slip of paper.

I read mine and compared it with Andrew's and noted we had most of our classes together.

"We don't have a book for Muggle Studies since we didn't know we had to take the class." Andrew explained, "So we'll have to owl our mother to have her purchase any books we need."

The look on the professor's face changed from carefree and cheerful to full on rage. I blinked in surprise and was even more so when the look was gone just as quickly. "Yes, well, thankfully there are no required textbooks for that… class."

"I still would like to owl home to let Mom know that we're okay. Are there school owls we can borrow?" I asked cautiously.

Flitwick's mood changed again and he was smiling indulgently. Honestly I didn't know if I could keep up with the changes. "Of course. The owlery is located in the North Tower. I'm sure one of your dorm mates can show you. If not then one of the prefects will do so."

"Okay, thanks." I said. One of my dorm mates, Sue, also happened to be a prefect.

The little professor opened the common room door for us and said, "Run along, you don't want to be late for your first day."


I was surprised at breakfast to receive an owl. I didn't know anyone in Ish-land that wasn't family. I didn't think we had an owl, therefore how could Mom already send us something. I caught the note that was dropped in front of me and watched as the brown barn owl continued back out the window without prompting.

Lisa looked at me curiously, "Your first day and you already have mail. You're popular."

"Not here," I said with a shrug. "I did okay at my old school. Unless Drew ran them off. Still I doubt it's from any of my friends back home." I glanced at the small rolled parchment and continued, "Plus back home we didn't use parchment."

The conversation from the night before came back to me. The headmaster had mentioned he would contact me in order to set up a time for tutoring. I also remembered that the sessions were to be kept private, so I didn't open the scroll at the table with prying eyes nearby. I dropped it into my bag and went back to my breakfast.

"You're not going to open it?" Sue asked on my other side.

"Not now." I said noncommittally and ignored the frowns I received from my nosey roommates. "Doesn't anyone drink coffee?"

"We have tea," Mandy stated from across the table, "milk and juice."

I looked at the pitcher of 'juice' and wrinkled my nose. "What sort of juice is that?"

"Pumpkin juice," Sue asked, "You don't have that in the states?"

"No," I stated. "We have coffee, milk and orange juice for breakfast. Apple juice, fruit punch, milk or water for lunch and dinner."

"Here," Lisa handed me a pitcher that was further from me and I sighed with relief when I saw it was orange juice.

But still, "What I wouldn't give for a Starbucks!"

Mandy and Sue stared at me blankly. Lisa got it, she giggled. Let her giggle. I hated the weirdness that was all things Ish! Yes, that was an exaggeration, but how did one exist without coffee? Sue nudged me, "If there is coffee in this place, we'll have to try the kitchen. Come on."

Mandy sat up in surprise, "You're going to the kitchen?"

"Yes," Sue said as she dropped her napkin on her plate.

I was already standing and wanting to know what the heck they were waiting for, but Sue finally moved and I was right there with her.

We made our way to the Entrance Hall, then took a left to the hall to the basement. Then another left and then… a painting. A painting? I looked at Sue who reached out and tickled the pear. It giggled. I shit you not, the pear giggled! Then the pear became a doorknob. That was so ridiculously adorable. I couldn't help but grin.

"Clever." I admitted. Seriously, who would think to tickle a pear on a huge painting?

Sue smiled back and opened the door for me. "Welcome to the kitchen."

I stepped in and she closed the door behind us. The place was super busy with a hundred house elves. Well maybe not a hundred, but loads of them, about twenty at least bustling around: cleaning, prepping for lunch and others were putting away leftovers.

One elf was walking past and paused when we were noticed. He slowly turned to face us, his huge blue eyes blinked as if trying to decide if we were really standing there or not. Apparently he decided we were indeed real when I smiled at him. A huge smile broke across his face and he bowed gracefully. I curtsied in return and the elf's smile broadened, "How can I's help, Miss?"

"Do you have any coffee?" I asked.

The smile dropped immediately and the elf stepped closer. He stared up at me in fascination, "Yous not from here."

"Nope," I agreed. "American. I'm Andrea… or Andi to friends."

"I's Tuppy, Miss." Tuppy bowed again.

"If you get me some coffee, you can call me Andi."

The house elf shook his head, causing his ears to flap and he laughed merrily, "Tuppy will get Miss coffee, but not calling Miss that." Tuppy turned his attention to Sue, "Is other Miss wanting things?"

"No thanks, Tuppy." Sue answered, "I was just showing Andi where to go for her coffee."

Tuppy nodded quickly, ears flapping again and he bounced away to presumably get the coffee.

Other house elves had looked our way while we were talking to Tuppy. One of the females pointed at a seating area and shoo'd us out of the way. Sue and I took a seat and Tuppy was back in no time with a fresh cup of coffee, sugar and milk. I wanted to kiss the elf, but I refrained. I doctored my drink and took an eager sip. Caffeine heaven in a cup, "You're the best, Tuppy!"

He laughed again, "I's thinking Miss is just happy for coffee, but thanks Miss all the same."

Sue grabbed my watch and cursed, "Bugger, we have to go!"

I looked at the time and nearly choked on my coffee. We had Potions in ten minutes. "Thanks for the coffee, Tuppy. Can I come back tomorrow?"

"Yes, Miss. Or Tuppy can make sure Miss has it up in Great Room with early meal."

"You really are the best, Tuppy!" And I didn't resist that time. I kissed the top of his bald head and dashed out behind Sue.

We made it to the dungeon classroom just in time to get in the door before it closed. Slughorn looked at me in surprise and then motioned me to sit in an empty seat. "Ah the other Chambers sibling, welcome… welcome… have a seat in any empty chair."

"Yes, sir." I said and made my way to the only empty seat available.

Andrew was watching me with a raised eyebrow, but I ignored his questioning gaze. I'd answer for my near tardiness later. Right then I was in my favorite class and didn't want to deal with an overbearing brother.

The boy next to me was wearing a green striped tie. I learned earlier that meant he was a Slytherin, but what almost made me regret sitting there was who he was. He looked at me with his piercing gray eyes and I nearly fainted away. Malfoy Jr! Didn't that just figure?


AN: Just for clarification, Andrea will not be hooking up with Snape for the same reasons she wasn't seriously flirting with Luscious: old… creepy… ew. Even if she doesn't consider Snape creepy that's just not gonna happen. She likes their voices and thinks Lucius is pretty, but creepy. Snape has a fabulous voice she could listen to all night and he's brilliant, but that's it. She does find someone later (if you noticed I already showed who she finds).

Tolerantia: according to the Latin Dictionary: patience, fortitude, tolerance; ability to bear/endure pain/adversity. I found it rather fitting for Snape.