Mina dropped her suitcase and Trunk off where the rest of the student's luggage would be stored until later that evening. She glanced around the castle curiously to see if anything had changed since her last time attending Hogwarts. Severus walked with her slowly, understanding that this time around it would be much harder for her to be back. As they happened upon the grand staircase Mina felt her heart leap. She started to recall the first time she had ever laid eyes on Sirius Black…
*Flashback*
The hallways were packed with students rushing to and from the many staircases to find their next class. Mina, walked down the steps with her bag of books draped over her shoulder. As always, she knew where each and every class would be and had done her best to try and look the part of a new student by glancing around and looking lost for her first few classes. However when it came to Care of Magical Creatures she was not messing around, that was her favorite class and she wanted to be the first one there. She was about to place her foot on the last step of the staircase when someone rammed into her from behind. They rushed past her without even a second thought as Mina let out a yelp and fell forward towards a male student with long shoulder length black hair. The boy had just enough time to spin around when Mina fell into him.
"I'm so sorry!" Mina apologized as she looked up only to see the most handsome boy she had ever laid eyes on.
They both froze and stared at each other for a moment before the boy finally answered.
"Don't be." He replied as he flashed the most stunning smile Mina had ever seen.
Mina felt herself blush as she let go of the boy and slowly got up. The boy got to his feet quickly never taking his eyes off of Mina.
"You're the new transfer student." He said with a soft smile as he reached down and picked up one of Mina's books that had fallen out of her bag and handed it to her.
"Yes, goodness where are my manners? I'm Isla, Isla Knox." Mina answered as she shoved her book back into her bag and reached out her hand to the boy.
During this time, Mina was known as Isla Knox. A transfer student from Beauxbatons Academy whose parents had taken a job in the Ministry of Magic causing them to move back to London.
"Sirius Black." He beamed as he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips leaving a kiss on the tops of her knuckles.
Isla felt her stomach do a flip as a huge grin lit up her face.
"It's nice to meet you Sirius." She laughed as she brought her hand back to rest over her bag strap, "I am sorry for falling on you. Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm used to it. You see I play Qudditch." He admitted as he straightened his tie out.
"Oh really? How exciting! I love Qudditch!" Mina confessed.
"Do you really?" asked Sirius with excitement.
"Yes, I really do! What position do you play?" she asked as she glanced over at him.
"Keeper." He replied proudly.
"Wow! Me too! Or at least I did when I was at Beauxbatons." She confessed as she turned her eyes to the ground.
"You should try out for your team!" he encouraged her as they continued to walk towards the Lake.
"Maybe I will." She smiled.
"Well, I know we're having try outs later this week maybe you could come and watch since the first match won't be for a few weeks at least and not to mention our first match is with Hufflepuff." Sirius said as he searched her face for a reaction.
"I'd love to! I mean if they'd allow it with me being Slytherin and all." She added quickly as she glanced at the floor.
"If I ask them to, they will." He beamed as the two of them started walking towards the doors that led outside of the castle.
"Well I have to get going. I have Potions with Professor Slughorn and I'd rather not be late." He said reluctantly.
"Oh right. I have Care of Magical Creatures." Mina nodded off towards the edge of the forbidden forest.
"So I'll see you at our Qudditch try outs then? Or maybe even before that?" he asked as he gave her a hopeful look.
"Yes, I'd like that very much." She smiled at him.
"Great!" he exclaimed as a big grin took over his face.
"Sirius! What are you doing out here? Our class is in the dungeons remember?" Called an irritated voice of a boy with shaggy dark hair and glasses who was standing just outside of the entrance to the school.
"Right then. I'd better go. Until we meet again Isla." He smiled as he took off jogging towards his friend.
Mina stood with a goofy grin plastered on her face as she watched Sirius run up towards the school. He turned around to look back at her with the most dazzling smile plastered to his face, he waved, spun around and tripped over his own two feet. Mina let out a soft chuckle as he spun back around to shout out,
"I'm okay!"
And then he ran up the stairs and disappeared with his friend inside of Hogwarts.
Mina knew right then and there that Sirius Black was going to somehow wiggle his way into her life whether she wanted him to or not.
*Present Time*
Mina starred at the double doors as she felt overwhelmed with grief. Severus reached out and pulled her into a tight hug.
"You can do this." He reassured her as he held her close.
"He's really gone." Mina managed to speak as tears fell from her eyes.
"It's going to be okay. I'm here with you every step of the way." Severus cooed as he patted her back.
"I know. Thank you Sev." She replied as she hugged him back.
"Come on then, let's get you to Dumbledore." Severus nodded as he let Mina go and she too nodded and fell in step beside him as they made their way for Dumbledore's office.
Mina tried to cover up the fact that she had been crying before they entered Dumbledore's office.
"Just a fair warning he has called a meeting on your behalf so everyone should be here." Severus explained as they crossed over the last step up to Dumbledore's office.
Mina nodded as Severus raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Dumbledore's friendly voice called out as the door swung open to reveal Dumbledore sitting behind his desk while every staff member at Hogwarts this year sat or stood around the outskirts of the room.
"Bloody Hell!" Professor Binns exclaimed as he floated closer to Mina.
"After all the years you've known me Professor and you still react like that?" Mina chuckled as she flashed him a smile.
"That's because even after all these years, I still can't get my ghostly brain to wrap around this!" he answered as he floated back over towards Professor McGonagall who's face had turned white as if she were seeing a ghost.
"How good it is to see you again!" Professor Slughorn called out with a pleasant smile.
"Everyone, this is Wilhelmina MacDuff. A special student with a very special circumstance. She has been in the castle long before most of us were around. In fact she's quite close to myself in age if we're being honest." Dumbledore chuckled.
"I still think you have me beat by a few years Professor." Mina beamed as she took a seat in an empty chair near the front of the room.
"You see I was cursed. Cursed to live forever and one of the conditions of my curse is the fact that I can never age." Mina explained as she looked around the room at several of the teacher's faces.
Some of the teachers had taught her before while others were brand new to her.
"Because of this, The Dark Lord is currently on the hunt for her so we have decided it would be in her best interest to come back to Hogwarts to pose as a student to keep her safe, again." Dumbledore added.
"Now I've gone by many other names and had many different back stories so try to remember this one this time around if you can. My Name is Mina Smith, I'm a transfer student from America who's parents were recently killed in a unfortunate accident. So I have been sent here to Hogwarts to live under the watchful eye of my God Father, Severus Snape." Mina informed them as she glanced around the room and did an impeccable American Accent.
"It is vital that you remember this story that way we can be sure to keep Miss Smith safe while she is here." Dumbledore instructed his staff.
"Now then there is the matter of the sorting ceremony." Dumbledore said as he clapped his hands and the sorting hat appeared before him.
"Is it time already?" the hat called out as its face emerged out of the deep ridges and creases of the hat.
"Not yet, however I wonder if you'd indulge us for a moment." Dumbledore chuckled as he picked the hat up and walked over and placed it on top of Mina's head.
"Oh, you again! I do say, how many times are you going to come through this school? Don't you have anything better to do?" The hat said aloud in an annoyed tone.
Mina growled under her breath.
"There's really no need to keep doing this, the answer is always the same, SLYTHERIN!" the hat cried out obnoxiously as Dumbledore reached over and plucked it off Mina's head.
"Good thing we did that here and not in front of a bunch of students." McGonagall spoke suddenly.
"Indeed." Severus replied as he glared at the hat.
"We made that mistake once before, many years ago so we knew better this time around," Dumbledore added, "Now I will introduce Miss Smith here after the first years are sorted since she will be posing as a sixth year Slytherin transfer. Once again I must remind you how important it is that we keep this story straight otherwise Miss Smith's life will be at risk."
"Yes of course!" Slughorn nodded.
A couple of the other teachers chimed in.
"Now the students will be arriving shortly, let's go give them a proper greeting. Miss Smith I just ask that you stay with Severus until it is time to introduce you in the great hall."
Mina nodded as many of the teachers got up and started to file out of the office.
"I hate that hat." Mina growled as she and Severus made their way out of the office.
"Is it always that friendly with you?" Severus teased as they climbed down the stairs.
"Actually it was much more civil this time around." Mina replied as they reached the bottom of the stairs and headed back towards the great hall.
"Are you ready for this?" he asked her as he glanced at her to try and get a read on her emotions.
"As ready as I'll ever be. I swore I wouldn't come back to this place after Sirius died and look at me now." Mina muttered as she gestured to the castle.
"I don't know why you're surprised. Isn't this your what, hundredth time attending Hogwarts?" he teased as a slight smirk appeared on his face.
"Oh hush Severus. And no this would be my seventh time attending, Thank you." She replied with a slight smile as she stuck her tongue out at him.
They continued to make their way back to the great hall and as they did they passed by a window that overlooked the lake, a place she and Severus frequented a lot during her last visit at Hogwarts.