A/N: Here's the next chapter. I should be able to maintain this posting pace up to chapter 18, 'cause that's what I have written. Unfortunately at that point I hit a combination of burn-out and writer's block (have I mentioned this was a NaNoWriMo?) so I don't have anything after that. Part of the reason for posting is to see if I can't feel any pressure to push past the issue I'm having with the chapter. I know what the problem is, I just need to sit down and force myself to write through it. Also, I'm playing with the horizontal lines to make my formatting look right.
And because I don't think I've said it before: I don't own Harry Potter or Highlander. I do own Diana and Belinda in the same sense that I own my cats: the girls deign to allow me to tell their story where as my cats deign to allow me to cater to their every whim.
Chapter 7
The Headmaster's Office
The walk to the headmaster's office was only moderately long. The difficult part was keeping up with Professor Snape's ground-eating stride. Eventually, though, the trio found themselves standing near a gargoyle statue. Professor Snape scowled at the statue before muttering, "Chocolate frog."
Before Belinda or Diana could giggle at his behavior, the gargoyle leapt out of the way, revealing a spiral staircase that led up. Once on the stairs, they began rotating rather like an escalator would if it were capable of rotating like this. At the top of the stairs was a door, which Professor Snape knocked twice on.
"Ah, come in, Severus," the voice of the headmaster drifted out to them.
The girls followed Professor Snape into the Headmaster's office. Diana wasn't sure where in the large, circular room to look first: at the myriad moving portraits, the knickknacks on the various shelves, or the books on various shelves. Belinda, on the other hand, knew exactly where to look first: at the Headmaster. Diana kept looking around in curiosity even as she moved to the chair she'd been motioned to.
"Would either of you ladies like a lemon drop?" the headmaster asked, holding out a dish of yellow candy. They both accepted a sweet, though neither actually put it in their mouth. "So, Belinda, what brings you here this evening?"
Professor Snape stepped forward and held out the envelope and parchment. "Miss Black has a boomslang familiar that she would like to keep. When asked about it, she produced this letter."
Headmaster Dumbledore took the letter and read it over carefully. Once he was finished, he looked up, blue eyes twinkling. "Interesting. So tell me, how is Cassandra these days?"
Belinda blinked several times as she began playing with the ends of her hair. "Um, she seemed well, Headmaster. I didn't really get the chance to speak with her extensively." She looked to Diana, pleading in her eyes.
Diana scowled, though made sure she wasn't directing the scowl at Belinda. "Cassandra's doing just fine, sir. Having visions, being cryptic, still obsessing over old grudges…you know, same old, same old."
Dumbledore turned to Diana, eyebrows raised in mild surprise. "You know Cassandra, Diana?"
Diana snorted. "Better than I'd like. She and Sensei don't get along. So she hates me for liking Sensei." She paused. "Though, to be fair, she really just thinks I'm a blind idiot. I think."
Dumbledore looked like he really didn't know how to respond to that. "Well, Belinda, I don't see any reason why you can't keep your familiar, so long as you agree to a couple simple precautions."
"What sort of precautions?" Belinda asked suspiciously.
"Just a spell so that he can't bite anyone," Dumbledore told her. "To protect the other students."
Belinda frowned. "But how is he supposed to hunt, then?" she asked. "Can't you make it selective so that he can't bite something unless he means to?" She looked down at the snake, careful to keep herself speaking English. "You'd agree not to bite anyone unless they were trying to hurt me or you, right, Sal?"
"Sal" very clearly nodded his head yes.
The Headmaster's eyes twinkled madly. "Well, well, well," he mused. "You do have a very intelligent member of the species there. Very well. If I may?"
Belinda hesitated, then looked at Professor Snape pleadingly.
"May I, Headmaster?" he queried.
Dumbledore nodded once, the twinkle in his eyes fading. "Of course, Severus."
One complicated spell later, Belinda was dismissed. She hesitated, looking at Diana. "Don't worry, Belinda," Diana reassured her. "I'll be alright." She looked up at Professor Snape. "Sir, would you be able to see her back to the dungeons? I don't know how well either of us remembers the route back."
Snape studied Diana for several silent moments. "I will return shortly," he informed her. He shot an unreadable—for the girls, anyway—look to Dumbledore, then escorted Belinda out the door.
"Well, Diana, it's been a long time since Hogwarts was graced with a Fulmina student. Nearly forty years, if memory serves. Tell me, if you know, why your mentor would send you here, instead of sending you to Salem? We're always honored to have a member of the Order of the Fulmina, but I would have thought you'd be more comfortable at an American school."
Diana smiled wryly. "Possibly, sir, but that's part of why Sensei wanted me to attend school overseas." She felt a pressure on her mind again, and frowned slightly as she reinforced her shielding. "Sensei has business in Paris for the next few years and wants me close, but he doesn't trust my French enough to allow me to attend Beauxbatons Academy of Magic." She blushed slightly. "I can get by, barely. Frankly, I know just enough French to get myself into trouble. For some reason it just doesn't want to stay in my head."
"Well, languages aren't everyone's gift," Dumbledore assured her. "You know, I'm sure, that all recognized students that are Fulmina are considered adults, correct?"
Diana nodded. "Yes sir." The pressure in her head had increased a bit, so she started pushing back on it.
"Still, that doesn't mean that the teachers can't help you. Why, just last week I asked help from Severus to help me find my lucky hat that I'd misplaced."
Diana blinked a couple times. "Your…lucky hat?" she inquired.
"Of course. Oh, it's not as important as my lucky socks, but I was most put out that I couldn't find my lucky hat. Fortunately, Professor Snape found it in the Infirmary."
Diana stared at Professor Dumbledore, confused as to what her reaction should be. All the same, as the pressure on her mind increased, she pushed back harder. It was getting harder to pay attention to the headmaster's rambling story—which had continued—but there was a little part of her that wondered if the point of the story wasn't to distract her. It was only a little part though, because the overwhelming majority of her concentration was taken up with fighting off the Headmaster's mental intrusion.
However, her concentration was shattered when she felt a Buzz. It wasn't exactly like a typical Buzz, though. Normally, Diana felt the Buzz as the sensation of standing in a strong electrical field; the sort of sensation that results in all your hair standing on end. This one, however, fluctuated in almost a musical trill. Diana's gaze darted around the room, as she heard a beautiful trill that matched what she was feeling through the Buzz. Fortunately, the trill distracted the Headmaster as well, so he wasn't able to quite break all the way through her shields—though she was pretty sure he felt her sudden thrill of fear and confusion. Diana turned towards the sound and saw a gorgeous scarlet and gold bird perched on the chair beside her. Once it saw that it had her attention, it flew over to the back of her chair and, once again making sure it had her attention, began to sing.
Diana wasn't sure what kind of a bird it was, but its song was one of welcome. Diana let her eyes close as she listened—as was the best way to let the music take you away—and found her Quickening singing along with the beautiful song. She didn't know how, and she was pretty sure that it wasn't audible to any but an Immortal (and maybe only her, at that), but she could feel the avian's song become a duet of greeting.
The music ended, but Diana waited until the last resonance had faded from the room before opening her eyes. Dumbledore was gazing at her with a look of interest. "My, my. Fawkes hasn't shown that much interest in anyone in a long time," he said quietly. "His song was lovely, don't you think, Severus?"
Diana half-turned to see her Head of House standing in the doorway looking almost subdued. "Quite. I'm surprised the phoenix has taken such a liking to you: he's usually far more aloof than that."
Diana blushed, and turned so that she was focused on the…. "Did you say phoenix!?" she exclaimed.
Dumbledore chuckled while Snape raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, my dear," Dumbledore confirmed. "Fawkes consented to be my companion many years ago."
Diana stared at the phoenix and saw amusement deep in its black eyes. She was stunned that she could apparently sense the phoenix's immortality, and that there was a resonance between the Immortal Buzz and a phoenix's presence. Unfortunately, she had no way of asking a mortal if a phoenix had a presence that could be sensed by a mortal. Ever so gently, she raised a hand up and gently stroked the phoenix's plumage. He was warm, almost hot to the touch. "It's a pleasure and an honor to meet you, Fawkes," Diana said softly.
After several moments, it became clear that Diana was lost in petting and scratching the phoenix, while Fawkes appeared to luxuriate in the touch. Professor Snape turned to Dumbledore. "Headmaster, if you are done with Miss Adamson, it is getting late and she has yet to get situated in her dorm."
The headmaster nodded once. "Diana." He waited until the young Fulmina had managed to tear her gaze away from the phoenix. "I want you to know that if you have any questions or concerns, you can feel free to come speak with myself, or any of the professors here. We don't want you to feel like you can't reach out, just because you hold a special status in the Wizarding World. And I know that it can be overwhelming, attending a school in a different country, away from everything that's familiar."
Diana kept her face blank as she looked at the headmaster. Really? He wants me to trust him after what he just tried to pull? There was no animosity to her thoughts, the phoenix's song seemed to have relaxed her beyond the ability to feel even annoyance, but she still wasn't going to trust Professor Dumbledore. Ever. Finally, though, she simply said, "Yes sir," and turned to Professor Snape.
"Good evening, Headmaster," Snape intoned, before leading Diana out of the office.
They were away from the office and on the ground floor when Diana spoke up. "Professor Snape?"
"Yes, Miss Adamson?"
"What did you try to do in your office?"
The professor's gliding stride hitched a moment before he whirled around to face her. He cast a silent spell before speaking to her. "You don't know?" he inquired. "And you may speak freely. No one will overhear us."
Diana frowned slightly. "I know you tried to access my mind, but I don't know if you were trying to read thoughts or emotions, or do something else entirely."
Professor Snape scowled. "It is a discipline called Legilimency. Legilimency is not mind reading," he sneered. "And how do you know Occlumency if you don't know what Legilimency is?"
Diana blinked at him several times in confusion. "Occlu…I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch the full word."
"Occlumency." Snape frowned in mild confusion himself. "It is the magical defense of the mind against external penetration. It's what you used to keep me out of your mind."
Diana shook her head. "No sir, that's not what I used." She hesitated. "At least, I don't think my shielding is magical in nature."
Snape frowned for several moments. "It is nearly curfew. I will contact you tomorrow with a day and time where we can continue this conversation." He cancelled the privacy spell he had cast and began walking again. "I realize the Fulmina hold a certain…status in the Wizarding World," he said. "I still expect you to obey all the rules set down by both the school and myself. There will be no special privileges that you do not earn the hard way. Is that understood?"
Diana kept the irritation off her face and out of her voice. "Yes sir." She was getting mightily sick and tired of everyone talking about some sort of "special status" that she was supposed to have. Diana decided she would check her personal library for references to the Order of the Fulmina tomorrow night, and if that didn't yield any pertinent information she would check the library over the weekend.
Diana entered the common room, while Professor Snape continued on—presumably to his office or his own quarters. Once inside the Snake Pit, she looked around again and smiled at the serenity of the room. Unfortunately, shortly after that she realized she had no idea where to go. So, with a put-upon sigh, she took a seat on one of the couches where she could watch the water.
"Diana?" The young Immortal turned towards the sound of her name. "There you are." Belinda came and stood near the couch. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever coming back," she said lightly.
Diana smiled at Belinda, seeing the very real fear in the other girl's coppery eyes. "I just wasn't sure how to get to the rooms," she admitted. "I was hoping a prefect would come by, but no luck."
"Well, you're in with me," Belinda told her. "Come on." Diana stood, wondering when Belinda would get up the nerve to grab her arm and drag her, the way she'd already dragged Belinda a few times. "Unfortunately," Belinda narrated as they went down a hall and then down some other stairs, "since we had to talk to the Headmaster, we got stuck with the leftover room." Belinda led Diana down another hall, then around a corner. "I think it's the smallest room, but…" She opened a door at the end of that last hallway. "…it has its compensations."
Diana stared in awe as she surveyed the room. Three of the walls were that same stone as the rest of the dungeons, but the far wall looked like it was made of glass and showed a magnificent view of an underwater forest in the lake. Both of the far corners had a four-poster, canopy double bed with hunter green hangings. The beds were oriented so that the feet of them were pointed towards one another, which would allow for private time while staring out into the lake. Each bed had a small table beside it. The floor was stone, but covered with throw rugs of varying shades of green. On opposite sides of the door were a pair of desks. It wouldn't take more than a few steps to cross to any point of the room from any other point in the room, but Belinda was right: that view compensated for quite a bit.
Diana turned to Belinda and smiled. "Do you have a preference on which bed you get?"
Belinda shrugged. "Not really. I just figured I'd take the one my trunk is at." She hesitated. "Unless you'd rather have that one?"
Diana looked at the bed directly across from the door, the one with her trunk at its foot. "No, actually," she said. "I think I'll be perfectly happy with this one. Thank you, though." A yawn abruptly came out her mouth, surprising her a bit and setting off Belinda into a yawn. "And I think that's enough for tonight," she muttered. "Talk to you in the morning?"
"Okay," Belinda agreed.
The girls dug through their trunks for sleepwear, made a quick trip to the restroom, then curled up in their beds and let the gentle feeling of the waves lull them to sleep.
