Hermione closed the painting with a smile, her boots clicking on the stone as she began to move purposefully down the kitchen corridor back to the main corridor.
The Elves had been remarkably thorough - Bijou and her small group had insisted that Hermione explain several recipes in greater depth while they made meticulous notes on a clipboard. At least she had been assured that her training would progress with greater ease and comfort.
"Hermione?" A small voice called out from behind her and Hermione turned, wondering who could possibly be wishing to speak with her at such a late hour.
It must be close to ten thirty by now...
A moment later, a small black and yellow robed figure was rushing toward her from the kitchen corridor and Hermione's brow furrowed in confusion. That feeling blossomed into concern as she took note of the flying braids and hidden expression as a young witch ran toward her at full tilt.
"Fiona?"
The affirmative came in the form of a small pair of arms wrapping themselves tightly around her waist, nearly knocking her backwards. Hermione's arms automatically wrapped around the small girl in surprise and one hand coming to tilt the witch's chin upwards as she realized the small body was trembling.
"What's wrong?" she asked gently. Dark brown eyes streaming with tears suddenly met hers and Hermione stroked the girl's cheek gently.
"I - I sh-shouldn't be here!"
Fiona's choked reply was interrupted by several more hot tears that spilled down her reddened cheeks. It took a moment for Hermione to understand what the girl meant.
"Of course you should. Don't ever tell me otherwise," Hermione replied swiftly, working to pry the girl's arms off of her. Fiona stepped back at once, folding her hands dejectedly as Hermione kneeled down to look up at her.
"What happened, Fiona?" she asked seriously. If anyone did anything to her, I'll hex them into the next century!
"I… w-we… we had Potions!"
Hermione was surprised when the witch fairly spat out her favorite subject, though she tried not to let her face betray it.
"I sincerely hope Professor Malfoy didn't turn you off Potions for good. If he has, we'll have to share a few choice words with him," Hermione replied, trying to diffuse the situation with humor.
It didn't help.
"I d-didn't understand anything!" Fiona cried, one hand coming up to wipe her eyes angrily. "I don't get it! There are so many th-things to r-remember and I didn't know wh-what the ingredients were… and everything was so strange! I'm going to fail it for sure! I just know it!"
Another sob made its way out of her throat and Hermione quickly pulled the witch to one side and into the shadows where they wouldn't be quite so visible. The last thing I need is Peeves or Filch coming along to make this worse.
"Fiona, my dear… look at me," Hermione commanded gently. When the girl didn't respond, she pressed one finger beneath her chin and waited for the dark brown eyes to meet hers.
The girl sniffled slightly, her shoulders shaking with the effort of keeping in her sobs, but a moment later the red-rimmed eyes gazed upward at her again.
"Fiona. Today was the first day of classes. Do you remember this morning when I told you it would all be overwhelming?"
"Y-yes, b-but…"
"No buts. You are being irrationally hard on yourself and while Potions may have proven itself to be one of the more foreign subjects to you, there is plenty we can do to fix the situation," Hermione said calmly. Fiona gulped, her hands coming up to wipe her eyes again, but she nodded.
"Now, I want you to do me a favor and take a deep breath," she said, smiling slightly as Fiona's eyes rolled. A moment later the little witch did as she asked.
"All right, now repeat after me."
Again she received an eyeroll, but Fiona smiled crookedly and nodded.
"I, Fiona Oliver, do solemnly swear," Hermione said clearly.
"I, Fiona Oliver, do solemnly swear," Fiona repeated quietly.
"That I will do my absolute best to be kind…"
The witch heaved a dramatic sigh and repeated her words.
"To my House, my classmates, and most importantly myself," Hermione said, punctuating each word with a finger on the girl's sternum. Fiona rolled her eyes again but repeated everything with a wavering smile.
"And that I will listen clearly to those who can help me."
"And ignore those who cannot."
The girl's voice grew stronger and Hermione found herself smiling back into the pair of big brown eyes that reminded her so much of her own.
"And I will definitely listen to Miss Hermione Granger."
The girl's face broke into a wide grin and she repeated the phrase with enthusiasm.
"Because I know that she will personally tutor me in Potions if I feel that I need it."
Fiona squealed in excitement and threw her arms around Hermione's neck, her laughter bubbling as she bounced happily.
"Oh, will you? You would do that? Would you really?"
"Yes! Of course, my dear! I happen to rather enjoy Potions quite a lot," Hermione replied, one eyebrow raising as she regarded the young Hufflepuff in mock seriousness. "It would be ever so disappointing if one of my cubs ended up disliking it because of some sort of perceived difficulty."
"Thank you, Hermione! Really! I was so worried I was going to fail it…" Fiona sighed, wiping her face again with a sleeve as Hermione straightened and stood up.
"But really, I warn you… I'm dreadful. Like, really dreadful," Fiona said worriedly, her brows pinching together as she looked up at Hermione with a twinge of guilt.
"Nonsense. You've had one class. And I'm rather good at explaining things," Hermione replied confidently, adjusting her satchel across her shoulder. Fiona didn't seem convinced.
"I don't want you to hate me because I'm not good at it…" she whispered softly, fiddling with the sleeve of her robes. Hermione's heart went out to the girl.
"Fiona, what did I have you swear to yourself just now?" Hermione asked quietly. The girl looked up at her in confusion before dawning passed across her face.
"I promised I would be kind to myself," she replied shyly, smiling when Hermione lifted her eyebrows.
"Listen, my dear. All good things in life require practice. Every powerful witch in the world - all of our professors, the Headmistress, even Helga Hufflepuff herself started just where you are now. At the very beginning, likely terrified of messing something up," Hermione began, placing a warm hand on the girl's shoulder.
"But the truly great witches learn early that they have to work hard. Yes, maybe some have inborn talent or a penchant for a specific discipline… but true talent, Fiona, lies in understanding that all good things in life require effort. If you want to succeed at something, you have to chip away at it slowly… and be willing to put in the work."
Fiona's bright face was looking up at her very seriously, and limned in golden candlelight, Hermione was quickly impressed by the steely and determined expression gracing the witch's youthful features.
"I understand," Fiona replied, her high voice free from tears.
"Yes, I believe you do," Hermione responded with a smile. She squeezed the small shoulder and took a step back.
"D'you think you could still help me later this week?" Fiona asked hopefully. Hermione nodded, already formulating a plan that would possibly manage to kill two birds with one stone.
"Let us meet tomorrow night. I will tell you where," Hermione replied, already hoping that the Room of Requirement had been sufficiently repaired to help them out. The Headmistress and Professor Flitwick had been attending to those wards just before she had left Great Britain.
She moved to draw Fiona into a hug when an unexpected clatter of stone on stone resounded through the corridor behind them. Hermione had her wand out and pointed into the shadows in a flash, eyes searching the darkness as she wordlessly cast a revelation charm. A subtle orange light glowed above the corner momentarily.
An Animagus?
"What was that?" Fiona whispered fearfully, drawing close even as she fumbled for her own wand.
Hermione wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders and gave a small squeeze. Intuition told her that if it was some sort of threat, they would have been pranked or attacked already.
A moment later, the shadowy enclave of the corner leading back toward the kitchens shifted and Hermione's eyebrows rose in surprise at recognizing the familiar shape. She quickly schooled her features back into a neutral expression.
Spying, are we?
Interesting.
"Come here," Hermione said firmly, eyes boring into the shadows where she knew the small figure lay lurking. Her expression softened.
"I have someone I want you to meet."
Minerva froze as her hind paw nudged a loose corner of the foundation and a pebble tumbled onto the stone floor. A thousand unbecoming words sprang to mind and she ruffled her coat slightly to calm the inarticulate fury that flooded through her at her unexpected misstep.
And you call yourself a spy!
The witch and the girl were peering into the shadows where she was hidden and automatically, Minerva flattened herself even lower, hoping that they would simply let her go.
"Come here."
Hermione's unmistakable voice rang out clearly and Minerva winced, noting how the amber eyes were suddenly boring into hers with alarming accuracy. She can't possibly see me, can she?
"I have someone I want you to meet."
Well that sounded less intimidating.
Curiosity won over and a moment later, Minerva emerged… head and tail held high as if she hadn't been just caught skulking suspiciously in the basement.
In truth, she really hadn't meant to spy on the two of them.
After staring pointlessly into the hearth for an untold number of minutes, Minerva had finally shaken herself free of her reverie and decided to attend to a number of smaller matters before the curfew began and she started her rounds in earnest.
Her trip to visit Ptolemy had been interrupted when she had heard Miss Granger's voice obviously comforting someone in distress. Transforming into her Animagus had been an instinctual response, though now Minerva was kicking herself at how obvious and nosy it made her appear.
You haven't had that impulse since you were in your twenties... what's wrong with you?
Ignoring the inner voice that chided her for the unexpected slip-up, Minerva flicked her tail impatiently.
At the moment, Miss Granger was gazing down at her with thinly veiled amusement and Minerva busied herself with the small first-year who smelled… interesting. Familiar somehow, yet decidedly unique. The young girl had obviously been crying recently and against her better judgment, Minerva walked over and wound herself between the girl's ankles.
She had only caught the latter half of their conversation and had been rather touched by Miss Granger's generous offer of assistance. As if she doesn't have enough in her cauldron at the moment...
"This is Fiona Oliver," Miss Granger explained for her benefit as the young witch gave them both a quizzical look. "She's a first-year Hufflepuff. Muggleborn, born in London. We were just discussing the difficulties of Potions classes."
Ah, so that explained a bit of the connection…
Minerva stepped back and sat down a bit further away out of their reach, wondering how to best salvage the situation with her dignity intact.
Far too late for that...
Fiona was looking between the both of them with a disbelieving expression that clearly indicated how very new to the Magical world she was.
"Fiona this is… Athena," Miss Granger said, gesturing toward Minerva with a half-smile as if introducing a cat were a most commonplace occurrence. Inwardly, she sniffed at the nickname. I haven't been called that in years…
"Lovely to meet you, Athena," Fiona replied curiously after a moment, clearly understanding that Miss Granger wasn't joking.
"This is a very special cat," Miss Granger said softly, gazing at Minerva with a warm expression that somehow seemed rather intimate. She curled her tail around her toes and chose to look at the young Hufflepuff instead.
"Why?"
"Well, for starters, she's rather, powerful… and she will help you should you need it, though I warn you that she is not a pet and she will not take kindly to unwanted attention," Miss Granger explained, crossing her legs and leaning against the wall casually.
"Like Mrs. Norris?"
Minerva rolled her eyes, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by either witch.
"Well, no. Athena has a more… discerning moral compass, I think," Miss Granger replied diplomatically, her tone revealing the barest hint of amusement.
At least she's building my reputation, Minerva thought dryly. A bit more self-consciousness energy was beginning to creep along her spine, and a large part of her had to actively resist the urge to walk away and resume her natural form. A childish slip-up, Min... you know better than this!
"Who does she belong to?" Fiona asked, crouching down to look at Minerva more directly. The bright brown eyes seemed rather familiar.
Minerva looked up as Miss Granger laughed unexpectedly, ears quirking in pleasure as she absorbed the young woman's amusement alongside a bit of her own. A moment later, she was caught in the warm amber gaze and again, Minerva found it a bit unnerving.
"Athena belongs to no one," Miss Granger replied softly, continuing to gaze at her with the same unreadable warmth.
"She is her own… cat. She roams the castle at will and it answers to her. She is immensely wise and she is a powerful friend to have."
Minerva was surprised and rather touched by the witch's words.
A moment later her fur rippled in discomfort as the urge to transform and envelop the young woman in a hug washed through her.
This is inappropriate... you must leave...
"Wow… has she been here long? How old is she?" Fiona asked, cutting into the one-sided conversation bluntly in a way that suddenly had Minerva standing, her tail whipping in irritation.
Fiona stood and watched her with a confused expression.
"Believe me. Athena is… young enough," Miss Granger replied with a sensual smile that suddenly had Minerva's ears pricking forward. She paused mid-step in confusion.
But... what?
The young Hufflepuff girl shrugged and knelt down again to look Minerva in the eye.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Athena. I promise I will never pet you without permission," Fiona said, her childish features drawn into a most serious expression. Inwardly, Minerva chuckled, and outwardly she chose to step forward and rub up against the girl's proffered hand for a brief moment.
Well fortunately, it seems that at least one of our first-years is a sweet thing.
"That's a high mark of praise, Fiona. I can't say that Athena has ever responded to me with such enthusiasm," Miss Granger said with just a hint of laughter coloring her tones.
Rather than dignify the quip with a reply, Minerva chose that moment to make her departure… strolling back toward the main corridor with deliberate purpose, her tail lifted proudly despite the overwhelming urge to run and hide.
If she were human, Minerva knew that she would be blushing fiercely.
"Where do you think she's going?"
Slinking into the shadows, Minerva didn't wait to hear the reply, realizing only after she had turned the corner that she still had yet to visit the kitchens.
Bollocks.