Chessie strongly disagreed with the large clock central to King's Cross Station. They were not running that late, all considered. There was still five minutes left to board the Hogwarts Express. George, pushing a trolley heavily laden with trunks, with Rose sitting on top and flanked by the twin Cenopathy boys, raced towards, and then through, the wall at Platform 9 ¾. Chessie followed close behind, covering for their blatant lack of discretion by throwing a smoke bomb from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
She didn't get to use the pranks and charms that George sold very often. She finally started to understand the appeal. Somehow, Chessie had drawn the short straw a second time in the staff meeting and was to ride the train with the students as a faculty supervisor on its seven-hour trip to Hogwarts for the beginning of the school year.
They kept running straight to the train itself, yelling at other students' families to get out of the way without pausing themselves, and stopped at the steps to one of the train cars with enough momentum to send Rose and the three students' trunks onto the stairwell. With encouragement, each child grabbed a trunk and dragged them onto the train as the final warning whistles emanated from the engine.
Chessie gathered her floor-length black skirt and moved to jump into the train car as well, but George, in his standard work business suit of brown with purple pinstripes, pulled her back by the hand and into a long, slow, dramatic kiss. The train whistled again and started to chug as he pulled her back upright, smiling mischievously. She snorted with amusement and a fond smile, gently slapped his cheek, and stepped up onto the train car step as the train shuddered to life and began to move.
"Try to stay out of trouble," she shouted over the steam release and engine chugging.
"You too," George shouted back, bowing and backing up with the now-empty trolley as the train began to move. She was going to miss him, but knew they would see each other a lot this fall. Their wedding was in the process of being rescheduled for the Christmas holiday. Chessie was still smiling as she turned to help Rose and the boys shove their trunks into a cabin within the car.
They sat together in an otherwise unoccupied car, chatting about the schoolyear, until the compartment door slid open and a confident young voice yelled happily at the twins.
"Absolom! Ambrose! Here you are!" It was Corvus, the twin's best friend, already clad in his Slytherin robes. He was flanked by a thin, pale girl with electric green hair in Gryffindor scarlet and gold- Australis Black, technically his great-great aunt, but they referred to each other as cousins for simplicity- as well as a younger, darker, curlier-haired version of Corvus in neutral First Year robes. His colors would come that evening.
The twins started talking at once, dragging their friends into the cabin.
"You guys! This is important! I want you all to finally actually meet my little brother, Ara! He'll be starting his first year with us this year." Corvus gestured at the smallest member of his posse, who looked small and vaguely worried.
Absolom pulled Rose, in her purple lace dress, to his side, "And this is our sister Rose, she's starting this year too." Ambrose nodded in agreement. The two eleven year olds said hello to each other awkwardly, flanked by their older siblings and sibling substitutes.
"Also, it seems that you are not dead so that's great too," Corvus added as an afterthought towards Ambrose. They all laughed and Chessie saw a moment.
"It sounds like you have a lot of catching up to do, so I am going to go patrol," she said tactfully, squeezing through the door. "You're all welcome to this cabin. The trolley should be by in a bit if you want snacks. Find me if you need anything."
"Er, Chessie?" Rose whispered, eyeing the doorway where her adoptive mother stood. Chessie pretended not to notice.
"Keep an eye on Rose, guys." She looked at the twins, her gold eyes meeting their dark blue ones, "Until she's Sorted, she's your responsibility," and with that Chessie slipped down the train car and across to the next one, and she spent a fun afternoon scaring new students and current students alike.
The first years followed Professor Flitwick to the front of the Great Hall, lined up alphabetically. Chessie, in her seat at the Head Table, tried to watch like a hawk while appearing to be unperturbed, not at all convinced that she was fooling anybody. Rose was just behind Ara Black, as it turned out, and the two whispered to each other based on only hours of familiarity. That was more that most students had, though.
"Abner, Andrew," Flitwick began reading the names as each first year came to the stool and the Sorting Hat. It felt like mere moments before Ara was called up.
"Black, Ara." As with his brother before him, whispers went up at the surname. However unlike Corvus, Ara sat, small and erect and calm, for the minute or so until the hat shouted "Ravenclaw!" and he scurried off to sit with the blue and bronze. And then-.
"Carley, Rose."
Rose hurried to the stool and sat, crossing her ankles, looking small and pale in the black Hogwarts robes. She seemed so uncomfortable until the Hat was lowered-.
"Hufflepuff!" the instant it touched her head, the House was shouted. Chessie smirked as Rose hurried off to the Hufflepuff table, being embraced by some of the friends and connections of Absolom and Ambrose. Chessie chuckled quietly. They had all predicted Hufflepuff for Rose, and it played out just that way. She had just won 20 quid from Bill Savage off of Rose's Sorting.
McGonagall gave her Headmistress' Speech, which was brief, and then supper commenced. Chessie ate like a monster, what with the full moon the next evening, but something caught her eye as she tore chicken off the thigh like a beast. Who was sitting on the other side of Angelica, two seats down from her? He was pale but dark-haired, and his thick was pulled back into a modest clubbed style, restrained by a modest black ribbon. His features were handsome but worn a bit by life, and his eyes showed further trauma.
Angelica Black, the elegant, regal, yet surprisingly muggle-oriented Muggle Studies professor, nudged the tall, dark, mysterious man sitting next to her while looking at Chessie.
"Regulus," she said calmly in her American accent, "This is who I was telling you about. This is Chessie Wharton."
The man turned his attention from the book hidden in his lap towards the foci of his wife's attention.
"Hello," Chessie said uncertainly. She wasn't given to feeling cowed by impressions generally, but when the tall, pale, grey-eyed yet dark-haired Black descendant focused on her, it felt as though he could see right through her. That was not possible, she had to firmly remind herself. Yet, she was just as sure that he knew what she had been doing through the war even more than she did about him, it was a lot more than she was comfortable with. They had met, very briefly, the prior winter during the rescue of Australis, but Chessie's wrangling of students and a dangerous situation had belayed her creating an impression of him.
"Hello," he responded neutrally, buttering a roll. Angelica took over, being willing to talk for both of them.
"Reg," she said warmly," has been accepted as the new History of Magic professor for the year until we figure out where Binns got off to. Reg, this is Chessie. She teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"I have heard about that," Regulus said quietly, nodding in greeting. "The word on the street is that even though you are a werewolf, you are a strict, firm, but ultimately fair professor. It is hard to fire someone held in those regards."
"Not that some haven't tried," Chessie warned, "But I am always ready."
Angelica rolled her pretty brown eyes dramatically. "Is this how Slytherins talk to each other? No wonder your House isn't called the sociable house. This is positively tedious."
A brief smirk crossed Regulus Black's pale, angular features.
"Wampus is not translatable to Hogwarts Houses, my beloved," he said in a very quiet tenor, "but if I had to compartmentalize, your attitude is positively Gryffindor."
Chessie snorted. "Go dye your robes red and gold and think about your life," she goaded as they all ate. Angelica smiled at her husband and friend as they all dug into the feast.