Please r / r. This is really my first fic, so be kind and give me feedback on where to take it.
Disclaimer: I surely don't own any thing that anyone else does, and that includes HP which actually, strangely enough, belongs to J K Rowling.
Oh, and Susu, you will recognize some of it.
The Transfer
There is a time in the lives of men when they must accept their failings and admit that they are less than perfect. This was not one of those times," Sheila thought. The newly graduated ship's pilot felt she could do anything, even give up her animals for months at a time while she was on assignment. Lord, she sure was going to miss Fluffy and Bob. Those two hamsters were lost without her to feed and amuse them. Oh well, at least she was allowed to bring Brax with her so she would have some one to rely on her. The psychiatrist had told Sheila that she had a fixation on the idea of being wanted and Sheila had to agree with him. What was wrong with that anyway? Everyone should want to be needed.
"Attention former incompetent students. You must now venture into the workforce and make this flight school famous. Remember if any of you fall into a fortune, you owe the school at least three-quarters of it. Ouch!" Professor Quilty started his speech only to be silenced by his assistant, Miss. Dulcimere. She gave the Professor a telling look and touched her head.
"Eerm, uh, anyway. I was only joking about that last part students. This has been a wonderful year for this school and we thank you all for coming. Good night." He abruptly sat down and pinched Miss. Dulcimere. She glared at him and rang the dismissal gong.
Sheila arose and looked around. She was going to miss this room. It was musty and falling apart, the curtains were yellowed with age and grime, the chairs were hard and slippery; but she loved those little quirks and hated to leave it.
"Hurry up Sheila," Wanda whined.
Roommates were horrible, Sheila thought as she increased her pace to meet up to Wanda.
"What was it you wanted Wanda", She asked with a slight curl to her lip.
"I want to get your animals out of MY room", Wanda replied.
"Hey, it's not yours until midnight and anyway, you should not be in such a hurry to get rid of me. What if your next roommate is worse than I am? That is possible. She could have a true managerie, complete with lions and tigers and bears. All I brought was a couple of hamsters and Brax. They are at least potty-trained and quiet. "
"Yea right", muttered Wanda sarcastically. "I'll, hopefully not, see you again. Bye."
She waved and walked down the hallway toward the flight simulator, humming a dirty song about men and chickens. The hallway was a dull, cold gray that could use a good scrub. People were milling around and yelling to each other. A few were so happy about their first posting that they were still telling everyone about it. Even if the people they told had heard all about it at least four times. Sheila spotted Ian walking toward her.
"Don't even say it", she told him. "No more. I don't care anymore that you are going to the Firebird. It is not as important as you say it is."
"What, have I already told you about it." Ian said incredulously. "I really don't remember a thing about it. Are you sure?" He wiped his hands on his uniform nervously.
"Yes, you have. Four times." She said deliberately.
"Um, okay." He cleared his throat. " There's something I've been meaning to ask you Sheila."
"Yes." She prompted.
"Well, you know that I really like you and we've been dating for awhile now. Well, um, well. I just wanted to say that since we're going to be so far away from each other, well. " He paused. "I think we should not try to hang on to this thing between us." He stated in a rush.
Sheila laughed and hugged him.
"Thank you for telling me how you feel Ian. You know that you are my dearest friend, but we weren't going anywhere. It really is best that we not hang on. I will miss you and seriously do want to remain friends. And that's not just a line."
"You, you agree with me." Ian looked shocked and betrayed. "I did not really mean it. I expected you to say no." He looked really disappointed.
Sheila kissed him and said, "I love you and refuse to let you stay tied to me while you are on the other side of the galaxy."
He did not look convinced.
She took his hand and squeezed. "Goodbye."
He looked after her confused. "Bye."
The library was dead at this time of year and the silence was deafening. It was hard to believe she was about to leave a place where she had logged in so many off hours. There was her table, scarred from years of use and dark from too few cleanings. It sat facing the window. Space was vast and dizzying. Sheila hoped that her space-phobia was truly under control. It simply would never do to have a pilot who could not look outside without becoming sick. The stars were beautiful; shiny their compassionate faces down upon those who watched. It was no wonder that the ancients had worshipped them.
"Hrrumph, you never could stay out of here for a full day"
Sheila jumped and turned around to see Mr. Jake Philo, librarian extrordinaire, walk up behind her. She took his wizened hand and laughed delightedly.
"Jake!" She exclaimed. "And how are you?"
"Fine, fine. My rheumatism is acting up and the old orbs of sight are getting more blurred every day".
"Now, if I've told you once, I've told you twice. Get your eyes and joints fixed! There is no reason for you to suffer in this way." She tried to order him. This was hard when he was saying it along with her. "I know I've said it a lot, but you need to have it bashed into your big, stubborn head."
"Pish posh! I won't let any of those quacks take one gander at me. I'll get by. Don't you mistake that my girl."
"Anyway. I hope your next assistant is better at convincing you then I am." She muttered crossly.
"Oh, she will be. She's my daughter's, step-niece's, best friend's, mom's, ex-husband's, little sister. At least, I think she is. She may be some one else, it gets confusing around the best friend."
"I should say it would, are you sure you want to hire her?" Sheila hated to leave the old man with a bad assistant.
"Do not go worrying about me, I'll get by. You take care of yourself. I gotta' get back tuh work, so go away." This last part was strained and he turned around quickly.
Sheila knew that he would not want her to see him right now, so she put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Then she turned and left the book-filled space.
The trip to her room was uneventful and unnerving. She never realized how empty the halls were. All sounds echoed, including her steps. She suddenly stopped and turned around. There was no one there, but she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. There was a rustling behind her and Sheila whirled around again. There was a black-robed figure in front of her, humming some unknown song.
"What do you want?" Sheila whispered.
The figure remained silent as his robes swayed in the breeze. While the robes at first appeared black, on further study they took on many hues. The pink swirled around the purple and the green and orange kept switching places. What was wrong with her eyes, Sheila thought. She started to feel as if she was staring out of a window at the stars.
Just as the girl collapsed, the figure stepped back into the shadows. He had completed his task.
"What is it Ruthbert?" The screeching voice was unexpected from such a beautiful woman.
"Nothing ma'am, I simply wanted to tell you that your brother was here." Ruthbert quickly turned to leave.
"Wait! Has Robert told you why he came today of all days?" Vera's eyes were filled with malice and she gave a terrible laugh. "Oh, wait, I just remembered, it's my birthday. How kind of him to have remembered it. Tell him to have a drink and wait a few moments for me. I'll be right down with a surprise."
Ruthbert had been backing away slowly and said as he reached the door, "Oh go away, why are you still here." She waved him away with her jeweled hands.
He quickly bowed and rushed out of the room. As Ruthbert walked down the corridor, he thought about Robert and what would then happen to him. It was really most unfortunate that he had come at such a critical time. Otherwise, the mistress may simply have let him go with a warning not to see her again. Oh well, the man was simply unlucky. What would Ruthbert get to do with his clothes? They were very well made and the man would not need them much longer. Perhaps the mistress could be induced to try and keep the clothes clean. Or perhaps not, she was in a bad mood and if he asked, she would likely get rid of him with the brother. On that thought, Ruthbert reached the waiting room. The man was standing near the fireplace and smoking a pipe. He turned around when the butler came in and smiled.
"So, what did she say my good man?" Robert was clearly looking forward to seeing his sister and if the wrapping on the present beside him was any indication, he had spent a lot of money on her.
She asked that you have a drink. She should be right down. What would you like sir?"
"Oh, just water will be fine. Can you believe it? Villy's 30 years old today. It's been years since I've seen her. We've both been so busy. I really want her to meet my fiancée', Phoebe has been asking about my family and I really want her to meet Vera. They have a lot in common. They are both professional women who are beautiful and love all forms of art."
Ruthbert handed Robert a glass of water and looked into the man's eyes. He looked so innocent and nice. Perhaps the butler should tell him to leave before it was too late.
"Hello my dear brother. Make me a scotch and soda would you, Ruthbert?" she paused and revealed a package from behind her back. "When I heard you had come by, I could not resist making you a little something." She handed her brother a dish of some dark brown substance.
"Um, what is it?" Robert asked looking uncertain. "I remember what you used to make when we were kids, and I really do not feel like a batch of snail stew."
"It's chocolate", she answered, "for fondue. Here's the chocolate and here," she reached into her pocket," is the crackers." She set the food on the table and backed away. "I need to get a burner to put beneath it, why don't you start without me?"
"Okay, normally I would not, but as you know, I've always had a weakness for chocolate." With this Robert tuned toward the table and picked up a cracker. He did not seem to notice that his sister had not left the room and she had a cruel smile on his face. He ate the cracker with chocolate on it. It only took a few seconds for it to work.
"Mistress, is that a new sleeping potion?" Ruthbert asked as he picked up the sleeping man.
"Yes, it has more snail's ears. No, do not take him into the laboratory. Take him to the dungeon, he requires extra effort". She directed him toward the basement door.
CRASH. The door slammed open and a figure in black entered.
"Valde, you old hound dog. Have you completed the mission already?" Vera asked the robed man.
"Yessss, Vera my dear. I have the essence we need to effect the transfer. Have you been able to find a body?" Valdemort threw back his hood and revealed glowing eyes.
"Yes. I see that you were able to get a lot this time was the one you found young."
"Extremely, the girl probably has some of her essence left, she had a lot of it."
"The body I found is young as well. It's my own dear brother. It will be wonderful to finally be able to put him to good use. I put him down in the dungeon so that we can keep him for a long time. This should buy us another 50 years with both of their essences."
"Isn't it wonderful to not have to worry about death anymore? Thank you for finding that new spell and letting me use it."
"Don't mention it. I'm sure you would have done the same for me."
"Yes, of course." Valdemort agreed. "Now don't you trust me with the final incantations?"
"No, I don't, so you had better stay up here until I'm finished. If you try to spy on me, I'll sense it and then I may forget to include you in the spell." She turned and led him to her laboratory. "Now, about that girl's essence. I found a stone to imbue with it while I'm working. Aha, here it is." She picked up a nondescript gray rock that looked like any other rock.
"Are you sure you want to use a rock when you could use me? We'll lose some of the essence in the transfer."
"Oh, I'm sure. If the girl had as much as you say, then the loss will be negligible." She placed the stone in the middle of a pentagram and said, "Trodden," in a big voice. "Now it's your turn", she told Valdemort. "Remember your great-grandfather. What would he say if you were a little scared of a simple spell." She told him when he started to hesitate.
"Oh, all right", he said. He then looked down and said. "You hear that Grandpa, I'm as good as you were." He stuck his finger to the rock and said, "Transference".
"Ha ha ha. Did you really think I would share this power with you? You are nothing more than the descendant of one of the greatest wizards of all time. Do you really think he would have trusted me to perform this ceremony on him? How naïve can you be? It's a good thing the first Valdemort isn't alive today to see what became of his progeny." She continued to laugh tauntingly as she continued to inscribe symbols to the pentagram.
Valdemort tried to pull his hand away. "What did you do?" He asked her.
"Oh, I did nothing except forget to tell you that the spell to transfer essence to stone takes all that it can get. It will not release you until it has taken everything ". She started to sing a song and left the room. Valdemort continued to try to pull his hand away, he was trying the entire spell he knew and none were working.
"It's better not to try, no one has ever gotten away from her. Ever." Ruthbert walked into the room and picked up some lab equipment that he had fallen to the floor because of Valdemort. "All you are doing is creating work for me sir. I would really appreciate it if you would try to be cleaner about this death business."
"Oh, well, I'll try." Valdemort was already collapsing from the loss of energy. He gave a few last gasps and then went silent. His hand was no longer touching the stone.
Ruthbert picked up the body and carried it out of the lab.
"What's going wrong?" Vera asked herself.
Everything had been going so well until the last phase of the spell. It was as though the essences
were fighting her. She tried to shut out the voices.
"What are you doing to me", a girl asked.
"Shut up, you're dead." Vera told the voice.
"OOOOHHHHHH". The girl sounded horrified. "And I was looking forward to my life. She complained.
Suddenly the spell took an unintended path. Vera had the sensation of flying through are holding the stone.
"Where am I?" She asked.
She saw a group of men gathered around another man. Suddenly she realized where she had seen this scene. It had been inscribed with the spell she had last performed. This was the last place it had been performed correctly. Why would she be here? This was a hundred and fifty years ago.
"I wonder why too". Another voice in her head said. It sounded suspiciously like Valdemort.
She watched as the men gave their essences to the man in their center. He became more powerful before her eyes. Suddenly there was a crash and the man crushed the stone in his hand. He laughed a terrible laugh. It was the first Valdemort. Vera decided not to reveal herself so she masked her signature and that of the stone. As the woman backed away from the gathering she discovered a hidden cave.
"Oh, you're not running away so easily, are you? After all, he's only one man." The annoying voice of the second Valdemort rang out in her head.
"Yea, didn't you used to tell me that you couldn't understand why people were so afraid of him. After all, he only killed a few people." Her brother now had a thing to tell her.
"Hey, I don't know who that dude was, but he looked scary. I can't blame this lady for being scared of him. I wish I could use a space fighter against him. He looked like bad news." The girl inside her commented.
"Thank you for backing me up dead-girl", the woman said sarcastically. "What is your name anyway?"
"Sheila." The girl answered.
"Well, do you all have any ideas on how to get back to our own time?" Vera asked.
"I think we should go to Hogwarts School." Valdemort said. "The head master there is supposed to be great. If anyone can send us back, he can. And before you ask. I'm sure he won't notice the stench of evil around you. After all, I never did."
"You think".
"Yes and the others agree with me, right?"
"Yea". The other two chorused together.
"Since I cannot think of a better plan, off we go". She was about to transport there when she realized that Hogwarts would not allow it. "I guess I'll have to walk there right? Oh well, I need the exercise".
"This is the Hogwarts school of magic, it's so drafty and old looking", Vera was not impressed by the school. "I hope we don't have to stay here long." She saw a boy with spectacles running toward a large man towing some sort of monster toward the school.
"I know he's a wonderful animal. He's very sweet, but you can't bring him into the school with you Hagrid". The boy said.
"I know, but he'll get lonely out here", the large man replied.
"Hey boy", Vera ran up to the boy, "Would you know where Dumbledorf's office is?"
"Uh, yea, here I'll show you the way."
The boy led her into the monstrosity of a building.