Quick authors note to answer some questions that complex-manifold posed in the review.
1) apperating into Hogwarts. I'm thinking that Sev' used blood wards or something that would key into his blood signature rather than magical one so as he and Trix are related, you know the whole 'blood of my blood' thing Trix can apperate in there too. I also think that the castle as a bit of a personality in itself (weird I know) but it wanted Trix to be there to mellow out her old man and so the castle let her in.
2) The amount of lessons she's taking. I looked on the 'net and aparently students can take as many classes as they like as long as the teachers approve and the lessons don't overlap. Also I seem to remember a fair old list of the Golden Trio's OWL results. As well as that stuff like DADA, Charms and Potions she's learning in the evening with Severus.
3) The flat in Paris. The question was about flats in Paris being rather expensive but my behind the scenes thinking was that Uncle John and Aunt Ruth were Aurors or something equally well paid before they retired and so had a fair amount of money and so they moved to Paris. However they had only planned to stay for like ten years before moving back to England but then Trix arrived and they stayed to keep her safe, hence their lack of funds at the start of the story.
Hope that answers the questions! Any others just ask and I'll do my best to answer them! Now on to the story
So this is it - the plot finally starts to kick off...
The 24th of September brought the deadline for Trix's current pile of homework. She finished the last of the art work just before lunch which she defiantly spent in the Great Hall with her friends instead of tidying up after herself. Currently if anyone opened the door to Severus's rooms too quickly the carpet would turn a funny shade of purple. Most people were surprised to see her there, even the Slytherins but they managed to insult her all the same.
"Too scared to attend class with us?"
"Afraid we'll do you some harm?"
Gritting her teeth she walked to where Laura and Steven were sitting waiting for Sophia and Archie to arrive. Without preamble Laura launched into a detailed explanation of the Divination class she'd missed.
"And then," she beamed, "you know how I predicted that harm would befall Steven in his next Div' lesson, well…" she paused.
Steven sheepishly rolled up his sleeve showing a bandage not unlike Trix's own covering his hand and wrist. Blood was starting to seep through it.
"Tripped over one of those damned stools she has and smashed a tea cup on the way down."
"It was spectacular!" Laura grinned. "Paused in mid air for a moment and then just fell like a… a… kneazle trying to fly!"
"Was not funny. Bloody painful."
"What happened to you?" Laura squeaked looking round at Sophia and Archie who had just arrived. Trix and Steven looked too.
Both Sophia and Archie were sporting large red marks on their faces that looked suspiciously like burn marks and they were steadily growing brighter and more pronounced. Archie winced and sat down. Sophia practically collapsed on her way to her seat.
Unthinkingly Trix reached out and steadied her causing pain to flash through her own arm but it was better than Sophia falling to the floor. Laura clambered over the table and sat next to her, letting her lean against her.
"I'm getting Madam Pomfrey." Trix said and marched over to the staff table.
She was just telling Madam Pomfrey what was happening when Professor Trelawney walked over to her seemingly in a trance. Madam Pomfrey stopped talking and watched Trelawney with curiosity. A few of the surrounding teachers looked around too.
"You will see something," Trelawney began in a voice that was not her own, "on the eighth of the next month. Something painful… something… something… Sorrow. Pain. Pain…" she choked on the next word and then came back to herself.
Trix stood there, with Trelawney grasping her arm, her face filling with something between fear and understanding. In the couple of divination lessons she'd had Trix had found her amusing more than anything else. Assumed she was a fake.
She couldn't deny that she had the Sight now though. There was an unmistakable aura around her that only appeared when someone saw something of the future. She'd only seen one other person have a vision before when she was really young and could barely remember it, but she'd had plenty enough herself to say without a doubt that this was no faked vision.
"Did I say something, dear?" Professor Trelawney asked looking utterly bewildered.
"N-no." Trix stammered.
For a moment no one moved at the staff table, all looking at Trelawney and Trixabelle. Minerva was the first to get out of her seat and gesture Trelawney back to hers. Severus looked intently at his daughter with narrowed, concentrated eyes. Madam Pomfrey then stood from her chair and hurried to the Ravenclaw table.
Trixabelle however just stood there staring at the space that Trelawney had been stood in. Normally her visions (generally of small accidents around Beauxbatons) came unexpectedly. Now she would be counting down the days to the 8th of October, dreading the vision she'd see ever more as the day crept closer.
Having a vision was never a fun experience even if it was someone she hated getting embarrassed as it always left her addled for a couple of minutes, unsure of who she even was sometimes.
No though she knew it was going to happen.
A hand descended upon her shoulder making her jerk out of her trance. She looked round and saw that her dad was standing in front of her, a blank expression on his face.
"I'm going to eat something." She turned on her heal and caught sight of Professor McGonagall. "I'll give you the work next lesson."
McGonagall nodded once and turned to her drink.
By the time she got back to the table Archie was walking out of the hall following a guy who was carrying Sophia.
"Potions gone wrong." Steven said. "Explosion."
"I wish I was in Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts and other cool stuff."
"Transfigurations is cool." Laura said defensively.
"Yeah but I have no teachers around to watch over me so I'm stuck with book work." Trix said picking up a sandwich stubbornly not thinking about the vision. She'd have enough time to worry about that in the future.
When she went to collect her work a note addressed to both Severus and herself was sat on the table. It read:
On our way now. Can't use muggle transport with Fawkes so it will take a while. Hope Trixabelle is alright in the mean time.
Harry
She put it back down and then picked up her work hoping she was up for the trek all around the castle that she'd doomed herself to at lunch. The thought that her father probably wanted her to stay in the room spurred her on though. Anything to rebel just a little bit.
She was, however, regretting it as she walked back down from Divinations. Trelawney had pounced on her once again proudly telling the class of the vision she'd had, dragging Trix around the room as she did so making her drop the bundles of parchment and books she was carrying. In the end she just dropped them all onto a near by table and let herself be dragged round. She could see the class had started to ignore her and were looking at tea leaves.
A triumphant shout brought Trelawney round.
"Hufflepuff win the Quidditch tournament!"
The normally quiet class rose into a raucous cheer and some started chanting a song they had made up. A couple of people lifted the round faced boy who had made the prediction onto their shoulders as he raised the cup. Trix took the opportunity to leave without preamble and slowly walked down the stairs to save wearing herself out.
Transfigurations in contrast was silent. Students were writing on parchments and flicking through books. McGonagall was sat behind her desk also writing on some parchment. She looked up when Trix stood in front of her.
"Good. Put it over there." she pointed to a cabinet. "These are your instructions. Just work on these until you master them or come back to class, which ever comes first. Severus will help you in the evenings. An hour a night at least, Miss Snape."
"Yes, Professor." Trix nodded taking the parchment in her hand.
"And what was all that racket a minute ago?"
Trix considered telling the truth but remembered that Gryffindor held the Quidditch cup for now.
"Oh, just a successful, bookless prediction saying Hufflepuff will get a bunch of points in the near future." Trix shrugged convinced with her almost lie. McGonagall seemed to accept it.
In the art classroom her class were sitting idly reading a chapter about the next genre they were to study. A few looked at her with hopeful faces, wanting her to make the lesson more interesting. She exaggerated a wink back at them and they all grinned burying their heads their books waiting for the opportunity to curiously look up and abandon their work.
Trix casually walked up to Professor Spat's desk where he appeared to be day dreaming. He was wearing an apron over his normal, garish robes. A slack jawed expression came over his face and he drooled a little.
"Hungry Professor? No food in the Great Hall enough to satisfy your hunger?" Trix asked.
Archie instantly getting her insinuation buried a laugh behind tightly closed lips. Someone in the far corner was hiding behind her hands. Everyone else was yet to understand the subtlety of her comment but would soon catch on.
"Wha – No – just thinking." He replied wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
"Desert on your mind? Something sugary sweet?"
"Err…" he looked confused for a moment thinking that there was another meaning behind the words but not quite cottoning on.
"Here's my work, sir." Trix passed him the painting.
It was of two people leaning against a tree under a pink and orange sunset. She'd bewitched it to show words in the wind. Words such as love, passion, romance swirled round. Then the sentence, passion rising higher as we hold each other close in letters large enough for the whole class to see. Archie, normally so stoic, was fighting to keep a straight face. Others in the class recognised the enchanted writing to be their professors and began hiding their laughs as well. The girl at the back of the class who had been one of the first to sense what was about to happen was red as a tomato, letting out a couple of squeaky giggles and was shaking so much she was almost falling off her stool.
"Well isn't this magnificent?" Spat said standing up and talking to the painting.
He held it up in front of him at arms length and watched it for a moment, his eyes glittering with amazement. He made a few other small gasping noises and one word comments.
"Where did you get this idea, Miss Snape?" he asked not looking away from the canvas.
"You were my inspiration, sir." She sycophantically beamed.
"Really?"
"Oh yes, sir!" she said nodding enthusiastically all the time imagining his head swelling up and exploding with pride. "I just saw you sitting there talking about the genre and you inspired me, sir!"
Archie was now chortling into his hands and so were most of the rest of the class. A couple were doubled over holding their sides.
"I took art at Beauxbatons and all the teachers were so dull compared to you, sir. I've never been so inspired in my life." Trix lied enjoying herself immensely. She'd never even taken art before she came here – surely it showed in the crudeness of the picture.
"Seeing me sitting there writing a letter, eh?" Spat beamed lowering the picture so the class could see his face.
An undignified sound of people bursting out in laughter and then trying to hide it exploded in the room but the teacher didn't seem to notice.
"Oh yes, sir! You were so full of… passion."
Archie actually fell backwards off his stool. A couple of others around the room joined him, others were lying, laughing out right, with their heads resting on the table tops and gasping for breath.
"I – well – I think I'll go and show this to everyone." Professor Spat said proudly and began walking out the room.
"You do that, sir."
As soon as the door closed everyone began laughing harder and louder than before. Trix now joined in leaning against the desk wiping tears from her eyes.
Ghost History wiped away her good mood and replaced it with scathing anger. Professor Dashworth was sitting behind her desk dictating to the class, scaring all the first years half to death when she entered. The professor looked up from her book.
"Stand over there and wait." She snapped. "Do not interrupt again. Five points from Ravenclaw." she then turned back to the book ignoring the whimpering of one of her students.
She read for a few minutes before sighing and snapped the book shut.
"Stop that incessant snivelling, Sookie." She growled. "Completely un-necessary."
Sookie cried even harder and turned round burying herself behind her hands. Professor Dashworth stood up her shoes clicking dangerously on the floor like an emotional radar. Trix stood in front of the girl taking the brunt of the teacher's malevolent glare.
"What are you doing, Snape?" she snarled.
"Giving you my homework." Trix growled back shoving the work into Dashworth's hands. "Sookie isn't feeling well and needs to go to the hospital wing."
Trix turned to the girl who was crying harder than ever. She went to her side, gently pulled her up picked up her bag and then lead her out in to the cool, quiet corridor.
"Th-th-thank you." Sookie sniffed and wiped her eyes even though she was still crying.
"Don't worry about it." Trix yawned. She still had to deliver most of the work and she was already falling asleep. "Go and hide in the toilets for a while or something."
"O-k-kay." Sookie walked away.
As soon as she was in the Ravenclaw common room (it was closer than Severus's private rooms) she fell asleep in a chair by a steadily growing fire.
The smell of cottage pie roused Trix from sleep. Everyone in the Ravenclaw common room was unusually silent, grinning at her.
"You're a hero downstairs." Archie grinned and passed her the steaming plate of pie. Trix couldn't remember ever seeing him smile so much. "Even some of the Slytherins admitted that what you did to him was awesome."
"I wish I'd been there." said a guy called Tom. "Archie told us exactly what happened."
"You didn't hear about Dashworth yet obviously."
As if that was a cue for story time everyone found somewhere to sit, on the arms of chairs, edges of tables, even the floor by her feet.
"Everyone sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin…" Trix smiled along with everyone else and then re-counted what happened in the Ghost History classroom.
She slept in the dorm that night and only briefly saw her dad in the morning.
"Can I go to class today?" she asked whilst peeling the bandage off her arm. The skin had grown back but was still rather sallow and tender, the whole arm weak. She wasn't as tired as she had been the day before, though.
"Monday perhaps. If you improve at Transfigurations in the morning and last out the weekend you can. Harry Potter will be arriving soon with his phoenix who has agreed to spare you some of his tears."
"Yeah I saw the note. Don't I have to do something to the polyjuice potion soon?" she asked hopeful that she'd be allowed to do something interesting for once.
"Sunday evening." Severus said wrapping a clean bandage around Trixabelle's arm. "Subtle painting." He said as he left the room.
So now that the plot is here it will all start to get more interesting. It didn't play to much of a part for most of this chapter but it will be even more important in the next chapter. Hope you liked this one. Please review!
J.K.R owns Harry Potter.
complex-manifold was right on the button with the review so 10 points to (insert house name here) Any yes, her mother is VERY important. All will be revealed in good time...