First Encounters

Disclaimer: I, NoReins94, do not own Harry Potter. The seven novel series was written by the wonderful J.K. Rowling. However, Ember Evans and the story line for Silver Windows is mine and mine alone. For those of you who read Nervous Jitters (a previous, crappy story of mine) this story is a spin-off from it.

A/N: I want to send a shout-out to my wonderful editor, marauder05, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I know it is rather short, but I hope to have another chapter or two up soon. Feel free to review. Constructive criticism is very much appreciated.

Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore sat on one side of a deep redwood desk. He was dressed in dark purple robes; his long, white beard tied together with a piece of string and he lounged back in his chair, silently contemplating something. His eyes were shut and half-moon spectacles sat high on the bridge of his crooked nose.

I glanced around the magnificent room. When I'd arrived at Hogwarts I'd been ushered to the headmaster's office by a small, stout woman with graying hair. She'd introduced herself as professor Pomona Sprout, the Herbology teacher, and led me down a few corridors before sending me up a rotating staircase. The staircase wound up a tall tower and I was welcomed by Dumbledore when it reached the top.

The room was filled with portraits of past headmasters. Many were snoozing in their chairs, light snores making their way out of the paintings. A few others were floating between the paintings, talking quietly with one another, discussing the beginning of another school year. And a few of the past headmasters seemed curious about the "pretty, little red head Dumbledore has in the office".

The walls were filled with shelves. Many of them held books of various ages, some dating back from the beginning of the wizarding world. They appeared to be sorted by topic, ranging from astrology to werewolves. Tables were filled with silver gadgets. Some of them emitted smoke as they whirled. More of them were used for astrology. Dumbledore must have had an interest in reading the stars. A strange-looking cabinet was located by one of the few windows in the tower. It seemed to be hiding secrets.

A bird flew around the large room, occasionally coming back to a table next to Dumbledore's desk and perching on its ledge. It was a phoenix, scarlet and gold plumes gorgeous in the office lighting.

There were three large windows in the office, looking out on different parts of the school grounds. Out one window I could see a large, dark lake. Something was moving under the surface. The Forbidden Forest could be seen through the other two windows. It wasn't exactly a killer view. All I could see was a bunch of trees and a tiny hut with smoke coming out of the chimney.

There was a knock at the door and I turned to see a tall, dark haired man enter the room. He wore black robes and his face seemed set in a permanent sneer. His black, dark eyes looked into mine. The dream from a few weeks ago flashed through my head. Those eyes looked so familiar.

The headmaster straightened in his chair. "Ah, Severus," he said, rising from the dark wood chair he'd been sitting in.

Severus? Could this be the man that Bellatrix, the crazy woman with unruly black hair, had spoken of in my dreams? I found myself carefully assessing his facial features. His dark eyes were filled with hatred. But the hatred seemed to be covering up something. Perhaps a sad, painful story.

"Severus, this is Ember Evans. She's a transfer student from Beauxbaton. Her parents seem to think her seventh year would best be served here at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, walking around the desk and coming to stand beside me. There was a twinkle in his eye.

"Miss Evans, this is Professor Snape, the potions master," he said, motioning for me to stand. "I've asked him to escort you to the great hall where you will join your fellow Gryiffindors for the sorting ceremony."

"Another Gryffindor, eh?" Snape sneered.

"I thought Professor McGonogall was supposed to be escorting me, professor," I said, turning to face the headmaster. I wasn't sure I could be alone with the strange man before me.

Earlier in the day I'd been introduced to Professor Trelawney. Divination was her specialty and after a few hours in her classroom she'd clearly explained to me the "talents" I possess. Divination was something that Madame Maxine and the teachers of Beauxbaton Academy steered clear of. It wasn't even taught at the school. They saw it as a dark magic, claiming that You-Know-Who had possessed some of its powerful traits.

Apparently, divination focuses on gathering insight on the future, or in my case, the past. Trelawney said she'd never seen anything like me before. She'd greeted me at her tower door with a cup of tea, the leaves settled at the bottom and preceded to put me through a few tea readings.

Clearly unsatisfied by my little knowledge of the tea leaves, she brought out her crystal ball. I'd never seen one up close before. Colored smoke filled the orb and she forced me into an extremely uncomfortable mauve cushioned chair. Unsure of what to do, I just stared into the smoke.

Two young girls were playing on the swing set, whooshing through the air. The sun pounded on the metal playground. I sat watching as they giggled, brushing a strand of black hair from my eyes.

Black hair? I didn't have black hair. Suddenly, I realized what had happened. I was having a sort of vision and I must have been in someone else's body.

Glancing back at the girls, I realized that one of them had red hair, the same shade as mine. She began arguing with the other girl, telling her to watch as she jumped from the swing set. The other girl, who seemed to be her sister, didn't like the idea. But still the laughing, red head leaped from the swing.

"Ms. Evans?" professor Snape questioned, looking at me strangely, strands of greasy, black hair covering his eye. "Are you coming or not?"

I stumbled forward. Dumbledore must have answered my question as my mind wandered back to the events of the morning.

"We'll make our way down together, then," Dumbledore said, picking up a raggedy old witch's hat and leading the way out of the office.