Mr Jefferson had gone out for the day to day and so I would be home alone for the whole day. Days like these had their ups and their downs. On one hand I could do what I like, but on the other it could get quite lonely. Mr Jefferson would most likely spend the day at his office doing something or other with the firm he worked for. I checked the food we had in the cupboards and fridge. We had plenty for the week so food shopping wouldn't need to be done.
I spent the day reading some of my favourite books up in my bedroom. Chores weren't necessary to do the day after you had done them. Sunday was my day of rest.
There was a phone call that came late afternoon; it was Mr Jefferson calling to say that he would be staying with a business partner for the week. The man he would be staying with was most likely his friend Mr Malfoy. I didn't like Mr Malfoy; he was arrogant and mean. Always making some kind of rude comment and acting like people were below him. I had once asked Mr Jefferson what he and his business partners did for jobs but he had got angry and snapped at me saying 'Don't ask questions!', I never did again; and I never found out what he does as his business.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing and studying various different books from my non-fiction bookcase. I would have to go to the library to borrow some different books for me to read.
# # #
Today I would go to the library to get some books that weren't ones I had read several times before. I had eaten breakfast by myself, seeing as Mr Jefferson was not home yet. It was about nine o'clock in the morning and Mr Jefferson wouldn't be returning for another couple of days yet. I was ready within a few minutes wearing my usual jeans, t-shirt and hoodie.
It was a short walk to the library. The library was near to our house and was placed just a little further in than the edge of the village. I was friends with the librarian there, he was probably the only person, besides Mr Jefferson and Mr Malfoy, who even knew of my existence. He was also the only one who knew that Mr Jefferson wasn't that great a person at looking after children, or should I say the only person who had guessed.
I made it to the library and I opened the front door. There were bookshelves everywhere, as soon as you walked through the door. I loved this place, besides the walks around the village it was the only place I felt welcome. I only ever came here when Mr Jefferson was out or away for a couple of days. I feared that he would ban me from coming here if he found out.
"Good Morning Rebecca." Freddy said as I came through the door.
"Morning Freddy." I said back.
"I take it Snoot is out of the house?" He asked, snoot being our code word for Mr Jefferson.
"Yes, he won't be back for another couple of days from now."
"Ah, and how long has been gone for already" He asked again.
I sighed in reply and mumble the words 'three days' in reply, whilst walking past the desk to look at the first shelf.
Freddy sighed as well. He insisted that I go to someone and tell them that I was being neglected. I didn't want to though. I would only end up back in the foster system. The home I was in wasn't bad, it just wasn't the best. I argued that I could end up in a worse situation than I already was. He disagreed with me of course.
"I suppose you'd be wanting something to read then." He was still looking at me exasperatedly when he said this.
I nodded my head and he came out from behind the counter and motioned for me to follow him. When he did this it usually meant that there were some new books, or something like that. He almost bumped into a women as he was turning the corner. My eyes grew slightly as I recognised the green robes to be those of the women who had knocked on our front door.
She smiled at us as Freddy said excuse me. She looked at us with curiosity when she saw me, no doubt she had probably heard our conversation; 'Snoot' wasn't exactly a common word, let alone a word at all. I had no idea what she was doing here. I don't think I have ever seen her around the village before.
I must have been frowning because Freddy explained to me that she had come about ten minutes before I got here. He told me that she had told him that she was staying in the village for a few days. Freddy suspected she was travelling and didn't have anything to do today. I nodded along to what he was saying, it was most logical. The only part that didn't fit in was knocking on the door to the house. I supposed that she must have been looking for directions.
We got to the back of the library and I could feel eyes on my back but I ignored them. I only looked round when Freddy went to go back to the front desk. I saw the women from the other day looking in our directions. She averted her eyes however when she noticed I was looking at her. I decided to ignore it and look at the new books that had just come in. There were both fiction and non-fiction books.
After a while I picked out a fiction book that looked interesting. It was something to do with witches and wizards. Freddy gladly scanned out the book. I thanked him and said goodbye and headed back to the house.
# # #
It was a day after I had been to the library. I couldn't stop myself from wondering who that women was. It was strange and I had nagging feeling that she wasn't here for a holiday. Sure it was the summer holidays but I couldn't explain to you why I thought there was something different about her. I was in the kitchen clearing some mess I had made earlier, when the doorbell rang once again followed by a knock.
I frowned, twice in a week. Surely she didn't need directions now she had been here a couple of days. I walked to the front door and looked through the peep hole expecting to see the women again. I found what I expected.
I hesitated not sure about whether I should open the door to her. She was after all a stranger. After a few moments of just staring I realised that she didn't look as though she was going to go anywhere. I decided to see what it was she wanted and so I opened the door. When she saw me peering cautiously round the door that was hardly open, she smiled.
"Hello Rebecca." She greeted, "Is your guardian home?"
I looked at her slightly surprised, not many people knew that Mr Jefferson wasn't my farther. Then again not many people actually knew my name.
"Um…" I wasn't supposed to let people know that he left me on my own from time to time, so I replied with the first lie that came to mind. "He's at work." Which wasn't technically a lie.
She raised an eyebrow expertly, obviously something she had done many times before. It was obvious she didn't buy it.
"I don't appreciate the lie Miss Jefferson."
I looked at the floor, embarrassed she had seen straight through the blatant lie. She didn't tell me off any further instead she introduced herself.
"My name, Miss Jefferson, is Professor McGonagall."
I looked up at her sharply at that name, it was familiar but I couldn't quite place it. Her lips curled ever so slightly into a smile at that. I mildly frowned back at the smile; then my brain finally remembered where I had heard the name. Professor McGonagall. I had seen that somewhere before, at the bottom of that letter I had recieved. She was the so called 'deputy headmistress' of 'Hogwarts'.
"You're the deputy headmistress?" I said. It was supposed to be statement but it came out as more of a question.
She smiled at me, "Indeed I am."
"Ur…" I had no idea what to say next. Then I remembered that I am supposed to be polite, even if I do still doubt the reality of this being genuine.
I opened the door wider for her to be able to enter and motioned for her to do so. She smiled again and walked past me and waited for me to close the door. I led her down the hallway and into the sitting room, where she took a seat on the sofa.
"So Miss Jefferson, where is he?" That was the first question she asked.
It was almost as if she knew what was happening and what had happened in the past, but that wasn't possible. Wasn't probable. The tone of her voice when she asked the question told me that she didn't really need the answer. Even if she could tell that he wasn't here, which was quite clear and plain for everyone to see. It wouldn't be possible to tell that it had happened many times before. Not unless you had visited the house many times before.
So I played it safe, still unsure whether this women really was trustworthy, answered with the obvious.
"I think you can tell for yourself that he's not here. He went out a while ago."
There was more truth in what I had said than there was the last time.
"And when will he be back?" She asked in a serious manor.
Damn. That was impossible to answer seeing as I didn't know the answer myself. I was stuck in a cross fire. I couldn't answer with 'he'll be back in a couple of hours' because she would either stay and wait or go away and come back later. Mr Jefferson will be livid when he comes back. There was no way I could answer with nothing but the truth, and I don't think it would be a sensible idea to drag Freddy into this; he would probably just tell her anyway. I sighed and she looked at me as if to say 'I'm waiting'.
"A… A couple of days' time…maybe" I mumbled but I could see that she heard me loud and clear.
She pursed her lips and looked somewhere beyond me. Her expression stayed hard for a minute before it softened when she turned her gaze back to me.
"I could ring him for you Ma'am" My suggestion sounded feeble and stupid now I had said it aloud. I mean, how exactly was that going to help.
To my surprise she smiled and said, "That would be good of you."
I returned a weak smile got up and walked out the room to go and retrieve the house phone. I dialled Mr Jefferson's mobile number as I walked back into the living room. I stood awkwardly in the doorway waiting for someone to pick up on the other end.
"Hello?" It was Mr Jefferson who picked up.
"Hello, Mr Jefferson. Um…" I trailed off not exactly sure what to say.
"What do you want? Haven't I told you not to call this number?" His voice had grown angry and impatient. I cringed as I was reminded that I wasn't supposed to call unless it was a big emergency. The 'professor' raised an eyebrow once again at my cringe, only this one held more concern than her earlier one of disbelief.
"There's someone who would like to speak to you." I told him weakly.
"Well put them on then!" All patience he had had clearly dissolved in a matter of seconds.
I passed the phone to the professor, who took it and walked out of the living room and into the corridor, closing the door to behind her. I waited in silence sat on the sofa until she came back again.
The professor then came back into the room looking rather more annoyed then she had when she had walked out. She sighed as she passed me back the phone and sat down once again on the sofa opposite mine. She took what seemed to be a calming breath before she spoke.
"Let's start from the top." She muttered to herself before she began, "You received the letter that the school sent, did you not?"
I nodded my head yes and said, "But that was just a joke…Right?"
She sighed and shook her head no.
"What? Hang on…So your telling me that I'm a…Well, that I'm a…a witch?" I stammered out, every part of me telling me not to believe her.
She smiled and nodded. She seemed to sense my disbelief and pulled out a smallish wooden stick from a pocket within her green robes. She waved, what I assumed to be a wand, and an ornament from the mantelpiece flew through the air and into her hand. She then floated it back onto the mantelpiece.
I don't think it would be possible for my eyes to be any wider than they were at the moment. She chuckled and said, "See? You're most definitely a witch, and I'd be willing to bet money that you've done something similar before."
I gave her bewildered look, any doubts that I previously had vanished. Then my expression turned slightly guilty, knowing that I had indeed done similar things a few times. Once again looking at my toes in embarrassment.
"How did you know?" I asked her.
She smiled and shrugged and said, "Most young witches and wizards do accidental magic, and that is why it is necessary for you to come to Hogwarts. You need to learn how to control your magic."
I nodded but stayed silent letting my brain catch up to what was being said.
"So is Mr Jefferson's permission needed for me to go to Hogwarts?" I asked.
She sighed, "Unfortunately it is."
At those word I shrunk into the seat I was in, with disappointment. There was no way Mr Jefferson would allow me to go. He would probably think that I was a freak and lock me in the basement.
"However," the professor interrupted my thoughts of misery, "Mr Jefferson won't have a say in this matter."
I looked at her for a minute, stunned. Why wouldn't he? He was after all my guardian as she herself had pointed out earlier.
"How…How come?" I asked somewhat anxiously.
She smiled at me, this time I noticed that she didn't look like someone who did that often. In fact she looked rather strict, and like someone you did not want to get on the bad side of.
"You see Mr Jefferson isn't a muggle, but-"
"A what?" I interrupted her.
"A muggle, someone who is not a witch or wizard." She explained before continuing, "As I was saying, he is in fact someone who is slightly well known in the wizarding world. The fact is that it is known that Mr Jefferson has no children of his own. Nor does he have any children under his guardianship. Legally that is."
She paused to allow me time to process and catch up with what is being said.
"How do you know that it's definitely him and not someone else?" I asked.
"My dear, Mr Jefferson does not exist, however Mr Knot does." She replied.
"So you're saying that…that…" I couldn't really find the words, even if this was good news it was a bit of a shock.
"Yes, well. It isn't exactly known how you ended up here, or who you are for that matter." She paused briefly giving me a small sympathetic look. A look I suddenly realised I didn't like. "It is possible you could be a child that went missing from our world, seeing as you are magical. However there's no sure way to tell I'm afraid."
"So what will happen to me? I mean, where will I live?" I asked, realising this might not be so good after all.
She sighed and I could see she was fighting off a look of sympathy.
"I don't know." She replied finally, "You can however over the half terms stay within the schools. The teachers stay there over the half term and some of the students, although most do go home to their family."
I nodded my understanding and felt just a little bit relieved that I at least wouldn't have to go to an orphanage.
# # #
In all the years that Minerva had had to tell future muggle-born students about the wizarding world she had never come across one who was as different as the one she was telling now. Not to mention it was made all the more harder by the fact that she has to tell her that the man she had been living with all these years had never really been in the right to. Rebecca Jefferson was definitely not what she had expected. She was, in her opinion, too shy and quiet for someone, especially of someone her age. The girl had however shown the same bewilderment and shock as most at the news of being a witch.
Though her shyness and hesitance, Minerva realised, she should have expected. After all Miss Jefferson had been living with Mr Knot for who knows how many years, and Minerva dread to think how many. Mr Knot was a Deatheater back in the days of Voldemort's 'reign'. He was also good friends with the Malfoys' and other such people and wasn't all too different to Mr Malfoy in his manner of speech, solidifying an unwavering hate from Minerva for both of them.
Moreover she felt sorry that the girl had had to live with that horrid man. Minerva had decided that she wasn't going to stay here, even if there was only a couple of weeks until school started. She wouldn't allow the girl to stay. She had told Mr Jefferson so herself on the phone. She had also by accident called by his real name revealing that she knew his true identity. It wouldn't surprise her if Mr Knot went into hiding and seemingly disappeared from the wizarding world completely.
There was however something about this girl that she couldn't shake. There was a vague familiarity about her; something that pulled greatly at Minerva curiosity and made her frustrated that she couldn't place it at the same time.
She managed to suppress her curiosity enough to remember the job she was supposed to be doing. She explained to Rebecca that she would take her to Diagon Alley to get her school supplies. She allowed her to go and get anything she needed for the day and waited beside her front door until she came back down the stairs, ready to leave by apperating there.
