Within moments, Freja's eyes fluttered open again. Dumbledore had cast a simple spell to awaken her from her fainting.
"There, now. You'll be fine. This wouldn't be the first time someone with no magical ability reacted that way to their first exposure to a spell."
Freja grimmaced. She looked up and saw these large creatures soaring in the sky. 'I'll have to get used to this momentarily, I guess.' Freja thought to herself. She stood up and brushed off her clothing. "Well, let us go inside, I guess. I suddenly feel overly exposed."
They begain walking again towards the castle. The closer they got, the harder Freja's heart pounded. A combination of worry and excitement made her body shake. She was curious as to the interior of the building as much as the outside. She was hoping to, at some point, get a chance to walk around and explore, to a point.
As the large doors opened to the castle, the light of the cadles flickered before their eyes. The large and open foyer welcomed them warmly. The staircase they walked up was so clean and well kept, Freja could see their reflections! "The inside is so clean!"
Both men turned and looked upon her. "Of course it is. Our caretaker keeps on top of the cleanliness here."
Freja smiled and then, frowned in thought. "What do you have in mind for me here? Is it your intention to keep me here or turn me away? Do you think you could help me regain my memory before that, at the very least?" She didn't really have anywhere to turn to and while she did not want to stay very long, she thought it wise to find somewhere to go. She could get hurt worse in her current state.
"You may stay for as long as you like. The doors of Hogwarts will always be open to anyone looking for sanctuary." the headmaster answered.
She gave a sigh of relief, and then asked, "Can we continue our tour, then, perhaps?"
Hagrid spoke, "Actually, I must tend to the animals and the grounds." And he turned to leave after saying his farewell.
"Let us pick up, once again, Miss Lowes." Albus said, as he continued his descent up the ajoining staircase.
"What is through these doors here?" She pointed to the closed double doors at the landing of the first staircase.
"That would be the Great Hall. That is where we all eat, and where the Sorting Ceremony takes place. We also hold staff and student meetings there, when needed." He smiled. "Unfortunately, our kitchen help is away for the summer holiday. We will hav to find our own way to prepare our meals."
For the next couple hours, they spent the time walking the castle corridors, as Dumbledore shared his stories and insights of the building. He talked about his time here as a student and mentioned the few... or at least a few... of his trouble-making. Freja had suspected he wasn't telling her every detail of these stories and she laughed to herself outloud.
They had finally made their way to what was the Astronomy tower, when the man spoke about an open position of being the assistant of Madame Sinistra, the Astronomy Professor.
"It won't pay much, but it'll give you something to do while you stay here. And you don't need magical abilities for the task. Just a basic knowledge of Astronomy and Astrology." he pointed to the books lining the walls. "Should you be interested, you may study from those."
"Absolutely. Maybe I could find some answers as I read as well."
It was uncomfortably quiet for a few minutes. Dumbledore sighed and then said, "Well, I best be off. You may explore the castle as you wish. But I must ask you, if something is locked, try not to let your curiosity get the best of you. The castle needs to keep it's own secrets."
And then, he was gone. Freja let out a sigh of relief. It was her first time alone in the last few hours. She liked her time to herself. She walked over to the bookcase, pulled a manuscript off the shelf, and then began reading...
A few weeks had passed, and Freja was quietly sitting in her quarters. She was eating a breakfast of toast and peanut butter when she heard a knock at the door. Setting down her plate, she brushed her hands off, swallowed the bite she had been working on, and stood.
She opened the door to see a stern looking woman standing before her, her hands folded behind her back.
"Good-morning, Minerva!" Freja said animatedly. "How can I help you?"
The woman named Minerva smiled. "I was instructed to fetch you. We are to have a staff meeting in the great hall to prepare for the arrival of our students."
The Great Hall? Freja grinned. She hadn't seen that room just yet. "Are all of the staff members going to be there?"
"No, for now, until later today at least, the House Leaders are attending the meeting." she paused, "But we needed you to meet the staff, and hear of any new changes that are happening this year."
Freja nodded. She asked for a few minutes to herself, to get ready. And a few minutes later she stepped from her quarters and asked, "Is this appropriate for the meeting?"
Minerva looked her up and down and gave a nod of approval. "Very lady-like, Miss Lowes. Let us go."
End of chapter 4. Please leave a review and let me know how I am doing! Any critique is appreciated! :)
