Platform 9 3/4 appeared as if twelve years hadn't gone by at all; white smoke emitted from the train's front, befogging most of the station but despite this, she was still able to perceive the nostalgic words HOGWARTS EXPRESS emblazoned on the front of the train. Not to mention the bright red hue of its entirety, which one had to be blind to miss. The only piece missing to complete the scenario was the presence of bumbling students and mirthful parents, though frankly, she was rather pleased without them.
"Miss Burgess, the train will be leaving momentarily."
"Stellifer." The elegant-looking woman halted the aged express employee. "Miss Stellifer, please. I don't frequent the name Burgess."
Selena Stellifer. That was her name—for this part of her life, at least.
"Miss Stellifer, my apologies. Your luggage has been taken care of. Shall I escort you to your compartment?"
The trip to Hogwarts felt quicker than usual, and yet, she was made certain that more or less four hours had already gone by. As the train began to slow in motion upon arriving at Hogsmeade Station, the sun had already dipped into the horizon. With haste, Selena made her way to the castle after being reassured once more that her belongings were properly dealt with.
Dumbledore, and the urgency evident in the letter he wrote to her the week prior, was the reason she came at once. He explained to her, in detail, that the circulating rumors of You-Know-Who's inevitable return is, in fact, faultless, and persuaded her to assist him on a few things. Adding that her kind of intelligence—something she's known for having—can help ease a few predicaments they may encounter in the next few years. She will also serve as an additional guardian to the famous Harry Potter.
The two settled it that same week; Dumbledore consulting Selena's seniors at St. Mungo's about her immediate transfer to the Hogwarts Infirmary, and Selena spending the rest of the week packing away. She would act the role of a Mediwizard to veteran Healer Poppy Pomfrey while Dumbledore wasn't in dire need of her assistance.
As the mist over the moat cleared, she relished in the view of the castle, which still stood as grandiose as ever through the years. However, it was deprived of the usual noise produced by chattering students, but seeing that it was still summer, after all, it was only natural. A lone figure standing under the threshold of the school entrance seemed to be waiting for her, and only from the hat alone did Selena instantly recognize the person's identity.
"Good evening, Miss Stellifer." Greeted her old Transfiguration Professor with a considerable amount of welcome, but at the same time, harboured the sternness of her usual tone.
Now that she could grasp a much closer look, Selena noticed how much the professor evidently aged since she last saw her. Her hair, which had been black back in the day, was now inverted into a natural white, and obvious wrinkles formed on her face and pale hands. She still dressed in unchanging green robes, however, and still retained an underlying love of pointed witch hats.
"Hello, Professor McGonagall." Selena offered a small smile, causing the other to do the same, only briefly.
"Just Minerva, dear. I have enough people calling me Professor. Besides, you aren't my student anymore, rather, my newfound colleague."
"Well, in that case, Minerva," A new addition to the few things Selena had to get used to. "Selena would be much more preferable than Miss Stellifer."
"As you wish, Selena." Replied Minerva understandably, and it made Selena's smile widen. "The Headmaster is expecting you. Allow me to see you to his study."
The two women strolled about the castle with their hushed chatter echoing like whispers. When inquired of her current life status, Selena began to talk about the Mediwizard training at St. Mungo's she participated in just after the war. In addition to that, she spoke of her overall well-being and how she's been able to pick herself up after graduation.
It wasn't long until the two ended up in front of the bronze gargoyle of Dumbledore's study. The flames of the walls' torches only did much to enhance the natural glimmer of the eagle statue. Selena was commanded to step inside the secret shaft, and after Minerva muttered incoherent words—most likely the password—the gargoyle began to pivot, stone scraping bronze as a spiral staircase began to form underneath her feet and she was brought up to the hidden floor of the study.
The door opened even before she managed to land a knock, and a low voice followed, "Enter, Selena. Enter."
The Mediwizard's curious eyes roamed the study as she walked under the doorway, for she owned no standing memory of the place in her mind. She never frequented the Headmaster's study as a student, only one or two times when it was required, like the moment she was declared Ravenclaw Prefect and later on, Head Girl—Not that she was there for long anyway, Dumbledore only gave her a short salutation and kind words of appreciation—Clearly, Selena was never one to get into trouble, and in addition to this, the staff—mostly her Head of House—acknowledged her as one of the most angel-like students they'd ever handled, but this fact was unbeknownst to the young girl herself.
Dumbledore, who was sat behind his humble oak desk, offered the Mediwizard to sit across him, and proceeded to say, "If I may be frank, my dear, I quite feared you wouldn't assent to my rather serpentine request, especially on such short notice."
Selena let out a timid chortle. "Honestly, Headmaster, I was quite fearful myself. There was a lot to digest. I never act on decisions impulsively, but it was your urgency that brought me here."
"I apologize if I overwhelmed you, however, I stand by what I said about conceding complete graveness over the matter." Said Dumbledore with his naked eyes barely peeping over his spectacles. "And your wit might just, even to the slightest, ease our quandaries."
Selena smiled, "I can't promise you accurate answers, Headmaster, but I will do my best to help."
"Your best shall be enough." He was, then, rid from his serious look as a grin spread on his lips.
"Headmaster, you mentioned an Order of the Phoenix? Will you reconvene it anytime soon?"
"Perhaps, when it is most necessary, my dear Selena, but as of the present times, I believe that the threat is still riskless. There has been no valid report of the Dark Lord's sightings anywhere, just rumors like it had been for the past few months. Although, it seems the populace merely spur it on because of Harry Potter's admittance to Hogwarts."
The Boy Who Lived. Selena was very eager to discover the whole truth of what happened during the tragic Halloween night of 81'. Like everyone, she believed that it was quite impossible for a baby, who barely made a year old, to defeat one of the world's most powerful sorcerers. She assumes that Dumbledore is aware of it, but the Mediwizard was reluctant to interrogate him because some gut feeling put her under the impression that the matter was rather private.
"It's three days from now, September 1st. He'll be here in three days." Selena pointed out absentmindedly, to which Dumbledore hummed in confirmation.
He wasn't given a chance to reply as the scraping stone of the gargoyle disrupted the fleeting silence, followed by Minerva's muffled protests. Selena immediately assumed that the Transfiguration Professor was accompanied by someone else.
"This is an important matter, Minerva." The unknown voice was obviously a male, discerning from the deep pitch. "What do you mean he's engaged in a formal salutation?—With who?—That can't be, he was free of engagements the whole day. A meeting at this hour—"
Selena quirked her brows at the Headmaster, visibly puzzled, though clearly eager to discover the man's identity. Dumbledore only shook his head knowingly. Soon, a triple-tapped knock was heard from the opposite side of the wood, and Dumbledore opened the door with a single wave of his hand.
"Headmaster, I wish to report a—" The man cut himself off as his gaze landed on Selena, and instantly rid himself from the previous demur of Minerva's exhortations.
The Mediwizard silently perused his figure out of sheer instinct; He owned shoulder-length hair shining with grease. Eyes, stark and black, clearly, but the more she lingered on them, the more it revealed to be distant and dismayed. The robes he wore matched the color of his eyes, and it draped over him like closed wings of a bat. Lastly, his countenance promised all but amiability, which only added up to the cunningness of his demeanor.
Minerva appeared by the man's side in the next second. "Oh, Albus, believe me, I warned him, but you know how..." She hit the man on the shoulder lightly, making him lour at her. "Stubborn he can be."
The Headmaster chuckled, rising from his throne-like chair. "Now, now, professors. We have a guest." He kindly pointed at Selena, who's lips twitched upward coyly. "Dinner will be commencing shortly in Room 02, we can discuss whatever your concerns are, then."
Hesitantly, with eyes wavering towards Selena one last time, the man muttered a soft apology—only addressed to the Headmaster, Selena observed—and simply left with Minerva trailing behind him, who now muttered sentences along the lines of "I told you so."
"Who was that man?" Selena inquired just as the sound of moving gargoyle stopped, signalling a descent.
"Professor Severus Snape, our Potions Master and Slytherin Head of House." He turned to Selena with a small quirk of his lips. "If I'm not mistaken, he's only a year older than you. In school, I mean. You might've encountered him during your academic years. Is he familiar?"
Selena briefly pondered before she spoke again. "The name does ring a bell. However, I must admit, this is the first time I've ever seen him in person."
"Ring a bell? How so?"
"There were… A lot of hearsay back in the day. Most, if not all, revolved around that name." She admitted with some hesitance. "And honestly, Headmaster, they aren't, at all, that pleasant. Some puerile joke of childhood tormentors, I suppose."
Severus Snape, Selena now remembered, was the Marauder's main victim when it came to their bullying. She hadn't first-handedly witnessed any of the mischief they had played on poor Severus, however, she was usually provoked by Sirius Black's failed attempts to woo her, presumably just for a good snog or two. So, from him, she owned a vague idea of how deliberately irritable those Gryffindors could be.
Tonight was, indeed, the first time Selena had laid eyes on Snape's surprisingly lanky form. If ever she'd met him in the past, then, it meant she had long forgotten about it. However, she was never one to forget a face—or anything, really. Her ability to commit anything to memory was her strong point, probably the main reason why she landed in Ravenclaw. Although, another plausible reason could be her limited social interaction, not that she was anti-social or anything similar to the sort, it was merely because she spent most of her free time cooped up in the library or in the common room with her face in a book, shunning herself from the world.
Dumbledore hummed once more. "I should tell you that anything you might've heard in the past has a great dissimilarity to Severus' character now."
"Don't worry, Headmaster, I concur. Hearsay is never accurate. Besides, I never paid any mind to them, anyway. I was more focused on perfecting my OWL's than updating myself on gossip, back then."
"Oh, I don't doubt." Dumbledore tittered and shifted to check the clock behind him. The next second, he was hastily moving around the desk, making his way to the door. "I'm afraid, my dear, if we stay any longer we'll be unpunctual for dinner. We can resume our chat as we venture."
"What time does dinner commence?"
"In two minutes." Oh.
Abruptly, the Mediwizard immediately rose from her seat and soon they were released from the confines of the study. They did continue talking, mostly reminiscing Selena's days as a student and laughing at the comical memories she could recall.
Dinner occurred just before the clock struck thirty to seven that night. The table at Meeting Room 02—A spare room on the second floor corridor, Selena discovered—was colored with delicious dishes with fruitful aromas, it reminded her that she hasn't eaten anything since lunch back in London. Seated contentedly were professors, mostly, and some of them Selena recognized and later was involved in small talk with, like Professor Flitwick, her old Head of House, who was evidently ardent to catch up with her.
Severus, who sat on Dumbledore's left, was finally engaged in the conversation he was so eager to have. Apparently, a book relating to potions which he believed to have gone missing—because, he assumed, it was robbed—was with Dumbledore, all along. Selena tried her best to suppress even a smirk at the reveal, to further save her the exposure of her unintentional eavesdropping.
After an hour, Selena began to feel drowsy, and yet, the dinner turned celebration-like gathering persisted, so did the chatter of everyone present. Her own discussion with Flitwick about something to do with Charms wasn't interesting enough to dispel her from the day's exhaustion, and she felt quite guilty to reply with only a nod and smile spared from the last of her enthusiasm—At least, she hoped, Flitwick didn't notice.
But someone else did.
The professor who sat across her was a very observant fellow, Selena would later discover, because a few minutes after his last conversation with Minerva on his right, he declared loudly enough for people within his circle to hear, "Headmaster, if I may, I shall retire to my chambers now."
"Why?" Minerva was the one who replied instead. "You don't usually leave until another hour and a half."
"Well, I should tell you I am rather exhausted from running around the castle in search of a book thief that never existed." Said Severus with a sigh, to which Dumbledore only let out a laugh. "Permission to leave, Headmaster, or should I say, book thief."
Dumbledore laughed zealously, "Granted, granted. Rest well, now, Severus."
At that, Selena envied the man who was already rising from his chair with faint contentment plastered on his features. Before he left the table, however, his eyes purposely shifted over to Selena and noticed the slight frown on her face as she tried her best to keep up with Professor Flitwick.
"Excuse me, Filius—Miss Stellifer," That caught the Mediwizard's full attention. "Your travel must've been wearisome, I don't doubt. If you would like to retire for the night, as well, I can show you to your chambers."
Selena, though surprised and unsure, smiled as if Severus was her ray of hope, "Well, I am quite tired." Her conversation with Flitwick ended after that, thankfully, and she soon followed the potioneer out of the room after bidding good night to everyone.
"I apologize on behalf of Filius." Severus said as soon as the door shut behind them. "Eversince the Headmaster mentioned your transferring here, you were all he could ever talk about. He's very proud of you."
"I'm not surprised at that, I'm more surprised that you noticed my drowsiness!" The Mediwizard chuckled, slightly embarrassed, "What gave it off?"
He shrugged, "I've nothing to base from, but I can sense that your natural enthusiasm isn't usually that impotent." They began to stride down the corridor.
She chuckled, "Thank Merlin it was just that. I thought it were my eyes drooping, because I really felt it happening."
"If you're worried that Filius noticed, don't be, because he didn't."
"Don't get me wrong, Professor, I'd welcome discussion with him anytime, it's just that my exhaustion found the better of me tonight, rudely enough."
"You and I, both, Miss Stellifer." He sighed and resumed his nonchalant way of speaking. "At least you didn't squander an entire day searching for something that wasn't actually missing."
Selena suddenly snickered, "I didn't mean to overhear your exchange with the Headmaster, but I must say the revelation was quite the laugh." The potioneer merely scoffed, clearly speechless, and it made Selena snicker louder. "Don't worry, Professor, I think your... vigilance on school possessions was much appreciated by the Headmaster."
"Sure, it was." He grumbled, and that was Selena's cue to seize her laughter, though a smile remained.
The two arrived at the Hospital Wing a few quiet minutes after that. Selena was lead inside a compact room situated beside what Severus mentioned was Madam Pomfrey's office. They were greeted by an oak desk and an empty bookshelf behind it. It seemed her luggage was also left there. On the right wall was another door which led to her living quarters.
"If I'm not required of any more assistance, I shall leave you to it." Said Severus as he made a movement to retire.
Remembering he was still here, Selena turned and smiled gratefully. "I think I'm alright now. Thank you, Professor. Have a good night."
"Likewise, Miss Stellifer." Severus said in return before beginning to see himself out with his dark robes fluttering behind him. Over his shoulder, he kindly added in his own dull way, "Welcome back to Hogwarts."
Nevermind the hearsay, Severus Snape wasn't so bad.