Must You Be So Miserable?
Chapter Two – Colleagues and Danues.
Authors note: Thank you to all the wonderful people who reviewed! You really made my day!
I can't think of some of the teacher's names so I've made up my own. If anyone knows the proper ones could you please tell me? Cheers.
We know that Beth's a writer, well in this chapter we find out a tiny bit about her books. This little bit of info could play a big part later on. Just thought I'd let you know. :)
The next chapter should be up soon. Hopefully early next week. Half term's coming! Yes!!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of JK's but Beth, Charlie, Jade and Danues are mine so no thieving!
***
Colleagues and Danues"Have you been shown your classroom yet Beth?" Hilda Hooch asked the young woman as she passed her the mashed potato.
"Not yet."
"I expect you'll be shown around tomorrow. I'll come with you if you like,"
"Oh, yes please," she smiled.
"How are your flying skills?"
"Rivalled only by extremely gormless bricks." Beth replied, scooping mash potatoes onto her plate. "I was wondering, if you get enough spare time that is, if you could, er, give me a few tips?" she asked the amber eyed woman sheepishly.
"Of course! We have 2 months of spare time to go dear!"
"Thank you! I really need some help. I'm dangerous on a broomstick."
"I hear you're a writer Beth?" a different voice was saying now. She looked past the kindly flying instructor to see Professor Flitwick smiling at her.
"Yes, I am,"
"I do hope the sequel to 'Last Rites' is coming along well,"
"You read it?" she exclaimed, her eyes now suddenly the size of saucers.
"I did, yes, it was excellent," the tiny wizard exclaimed.
"Thank you!" For the first time in a while she was nearly speechless
"So how is that sequel doing?" someone she recognised as Professor Sprout asked her.
"You too?"
"I couldn't put it down. A real rainy day reader that one was," the little woman smiled up at her.
"Really? The sequels coming well. It's just being drafted at the moment, but it's coming well."
"You couldn't give us any clues as to what happens, could you?"
Beth chuckled a little as she answered," I can't. There's nothing solid to tell,"
"Oh, go on! Just one little thing!" Professor Flitwick begged.
She sighed, giving into the eager faces of her colleagues, "all I'm saying is that two things might, and I repeat, might merge. But that's it!
"But what about Magda? What happens to her?"
"I can't say! I never thought wizards read Muggle fiction anyway?"
"We do, but it's got to be as good as 'Last Rites' though. Dickens is read by many wizards too,"
"I adore Dickens." Someone said.
"I never would have thought we'd have a Muggle writer teaching at Hogwarts," Professor Sprout said, mainly to herself. A thin woman with glasses was about to ask her something but someone cut her off, giving Beth what she thought was a minute to eat the food on her plate, she was about to lift a piece of potato to her mouth when someone she supposed didn't make conversation too much spoke too her.
"You wrote 'Last Rites'?" he asked in the smooth quiet voice she'd begun to associate with the dark haired potions master of Hogwarts. She got the feeling he'd been told to be nice.
"Yes,"
He paused for a short moment, as if considering his reply. "Good job," he told her without smiling.
"Thank you, professor," she smiled. Suddenly she realised the whole table had gone quiet, watching and awaiting his verdict and quickly looked down, stiffing the potato into her mouth, noticing he'd busied himself quickly with eating too.
"Now everyone," Dumbledore began, cutting Flitwick and Sprout off before they began asking her questions again, "can we let the girl eat her meal in peace?"Beth flashed Dumbledore a grateful smile as the rest of the professors began talking amongst themselves, leaving her to eat her meal. She was silent for a while, picking up snippets of the conversations around her when that person she didn't think seemed to speak much, at meal times anyway, spoke to her again.
"So, Beth, how are your potions skills?" there was the impression he'd been told to be nice again.
"Not bad. Why do you ask?"
"Curiosity," 'so she had the right sort of polite but effective curiosity a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor needed.
"How much do you know about Defence Against the Dark Arts?" he tried.
"A lot,"
His eyebrow involuntarily rose, "Care to explain?"
"Not really. But I'll tell you this: I've seen and read enough to make me loath its practicers with a passion. More wine?" that smile was the sort of untrue smile and that finishing comment was not unlike the sort of thing people would expect to come out of his mouth. Dumbledore was watching them.
"Let me," he offered. So she wasn't exactly nauseatingly 'nicely-nice' and appeared to have a more…sarcastic was the word that could almost fit, side. To the table's surprise, the solitary potions master's behaviour became almost gentleman-like – he refilled their glasses.
"Thank you. Why do the other Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers never last?"
"I suppose, that they are too weak for their job,"
"Well, I'm here to stay. That you can guarantee."
He merely nodded. She knew he'd heard that a few times before.
"Where is the DADA room?" she asked, changing the subject deliberately.
"Third floor. Have you not been given the tour yet?"
"Not yet. Tomorrow."
He was about say something else, a sneer also about to play across his face, but Dumbledore interrupted them all.
"May I have your attention?" he stood, "I would like to propose a toast," he looked around at his colleagues as they all took their glasses in hand, "To a restful summer, our new DADA professor, Beth Calto, a good year, and new friends," as glasses clinked together, Beth contemplated if she had imagined seeing Dumbledore looking from her to Severus as he spoke of 'new friends'. She hadn't imagined it. She was sure of it.
***
The Hogwarts teachers returned tot heir quarters after a large dinner, full of food, and glad of a summer of lie-ins awaiting them. Dumbledore had told them all that during the holiday's meal times were different to those of term times. Breakfast was 10am, lunch at 1:30pm and dinner at 6:30pm. Hilda, the flying instructor, had promised Beth some flying lessons on Tuesday which left her with tomorrow, Monday, to start her decorating and arranging her classroom.
Ready to settle down, they climbed the stairs to the staff quarters, biding each other goodnight. Beth was unpacking when she was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was a slightly nervous looking Dumbledore.
"Professor?"
"Er, hello, professor Calto. Could I ask a favour of you?"
"Sure."
"We've, er, found something in the Great Hall that's causing a…slight problem. Truth be told, I'm actually quite nervous of it."
"Oh?"
"Yes, I have a feeling I know what it is but I'm not sure and, as you're our DADA professor, I think it is more your department,"
"Oh, okay," she replied, a little confused, "I'll just get my shoes o-" a high pitched scream rang through the air and so Beth and Dumbledore, shoes forgotten, turned and ran from the door, wands ready.
"Where is it professor?" Beth turned her head quickly to see Severus running behind them – he must have heard the scream too.
"Hall," the old man panted, slowing. Beth managed to pass the headmaster and began sprinting down the corridor, socks slipping, and sown the corridor, Severus trying to keep up, hoping she was going the right way, hoping she was getting nearer. She never had been able to sprint for long.
She burst into the Great Hall and skidded to a halt, gasping, mouth open. Severus, who was behind her, banged into her and was about to say something when he saw what she saw.
Ten feet above their heads, as black as night, beady read eyes glittering menacingly, powerful wings beating hard, gleaming razor sharp white fangs barred, was what looked like a cross between a snake and a bat – only 20 feet tall.
"Dear Merlin!" exclaimed an out of breath Dumbledore, "it's grown!" She could have sworn the thing grinned and was certain it swelled. It did, and at the same time, it made a squeak and its wingspan grew by at least six feet.
"Run!" Beth screamed suddenly and hoarsely, un-sticking her throat and dragging her voice from where it had hidden as she entered the room. They froze as the snake like head of the creature began dancing in hypnotic motions. "Don't look at its head! It's a Danue! Run! Close the doors and run! I'll deal with it! Run, now!"
The two men stood there, frozen. Danues were intelligent, this one understood every word humans said and suddenly decided to attack Beth. It swiped at her face with its enormous spike tipped wing, sending her flying and landing hard meters away. "Run you fools!" she screamed at them, fully aware of the blood trickling down her face and onto her top. "Run!" she repeated. She scrambled to her feet and ran to the far end of the hall, putting as much distance between herself and Dumbledore as possible.
Following her plan, the Danue rounded on her and she snatched her wand from the back pocket of her jeans. She stood, wand out, hand surprisingly not shaking, and mentally urged the Danue closer to her. The creature was intelligent but it was also easily lured into traps. When it was less than ten meters away from her, she threw her wand up above here head and brought it down, shouting the word 'Dinervia' as she did so. A powerful blast of black light erupted from her wand and she was thrown forcefully against the wall behind her by the blast the Danue made when it exploded. Bleary eyed, she watched the wisps of black smoke disappear and began to try and pull herself up using the wall for support. She could hear footsteps running towards her and felt a pair of strong hands hosting her to her feet.
"Beth!" Minerva's voice was shrill and panicky. Beth tried to step forward towards the spot where the Danue had just been stood but the room swayed and felt an arm steady her. She squeezed the arm hard and eventually the swaying subsided.
"How did that get here?" she hissed furiously. The room swayed again and she gripped that arm tighter.
She looked at the faces before her and felt anger bubbling up and overflow.
"Does anyone know what that was?" she roared.
The staff shook their heads.
"It was a Danue – you said so," a calm voice to her right told her. She turned her head too quickly and felt not only the room sway but also her knees buckle. Someone, probably the owner of the arm that was now acting as her support, caught her and, as she righted herself, she saw that it was Severus Snape keeping her on hr feet. He let go of her but she felt her stomach lurch and gripped his arm, if it was possible, even tighter.
"If you tell me those things," she spat the word things as if it wee a foul tasting sweet, "lurk in this area, I'm going straight back to Wales tonight," her voice and glare possessed such an icy touch that could only be matched by the man who's arm must be hurting him by now.
"Professor Calto," Dumbledore began calmly, sensing her barely suppressed age, "I can assure you those things do not lurk here."
"Then how did it get here!" she hissed venomously, reminding herself just in time to hold her language.
"We think it strayed off course on its way to Norway." How could he be so calm?
"In this situation, you may scream and shout obscenities at us. I don't know much about Danues but I know enough to understand your rage." She found it hard to bite her tongue. She couldn't though, not on her first day at her new job.
"What is a Danue?" someone asked gingerly. Beth turned her head too quickly again and gripped Severus' arm tighter again for support.
"A Danue," she began, her voice barely above a whisper, "Is a creature almost as foul as a Dementor. It preys upon humans, finds joy in terrifying and torturing them and then, while keeping their victims conscious, devours the contents of their body through their head, the top of which it eats away slowly. They compete with their own kind for the most prolonged attack and the explosion they make when attacked with the 'Dinervia' curse, the only curse capable of destroying them, can be fatal. That one was just a baby, which is why we all survived,"
"Finally, a DADA professor who knows her stuff." Someone muttered loud enough for them all to hear.
"How did you know that? Don't turn your head because I don't fancy you being sick over me," Severus asked her.
"I told you, I studied magic y the book for years. And I've encountered Danues myself," she replied, her voice wavering. She was going to be sick. Dumbledore must have picked up on this because he came to her side to steady her. The room began spinning like a merry-go-round, the throbbing in her head began to feel like a drum beat and was becoming unbearable and then, it was like someone had slowed everything sown except her mind and she felt herself falling slowly to the right. The next thing she knew, she was moving, but her legs weren't. Someone was running up a staircase with her in their arms. Opening her eyes, she could make out, through her hazy vision, black against very pale skin. She felt herself being sat up on a bed and heard a voice calling her name, tapping her face. Someone poured an icy liquid down her throat. She sat forward quickly, tried to swallow but couldn't and coughed, spilling the liquid all down herself and over what she was sat on.
"She's going to be sick," a frantic voice cried, voicing her own thoughts and a bowl was thrust into her hands – into which she was violently sick. She threw up until she was vomiting bile and then bile became blood. She heard a strangled cry for a woman beside her as she threw up blood over herself in between bowl changes. She felt as if her intestines were coming next. Sweat poured down her face, the gash on her head was bleeding painfully, her eyes streamed, he nose was bleeding like a tap (literally), and nobody could give her anything for fear that she'd either bring it straight back up or choke on it. She wanted to go to sleep. If she tried she'd probably choke on blood and bile. She thought she was going to throw up her skeleton next and that her head was about to explode from the pain currently stampeding through her body, when suddenly, with a particularly nasty bout of blood and bile, it all went black and she collapsed, unconscious.
***
She can't have been unconscious for more than 30 minutes but she felt like she hadn't been at all. Somewhere, very far away, she could hear a man explaining to someone that the effects of a Danue didn't last long. She heard the man say that the blood wasn't anything major and that it wasn't her own. The man was now saying that all 'she', whoever that was, would only be tired, very thirsty and very weak. This person's knowledge of Danues was impressive. At the mention of her name, memories came flooding back. The pain, the blood, her head, the Danue. Her eyes snapped open and she sensed more than saw the woman next to her jump, then she remembered she'd killed the Danue and that killing the Danue had put her wherever she was.
"Poppy! She's awake!" a mans voice shouted. She sat up against the hand that was quickly clapped on her shoulder to prevent her from doing so, pulled her knees up and put her head between them, breathing hard. Her head was throbbing and the room was swaying –or she was- no, she was, the hand on hr shoulder moved to hold her steady.
"Quickly child, drink this," a goblet of green liquid was thrust in front of her and she downed it quickly along with the other 6 or 7 goblets that followed it.
Minutes later, the drumsticks beating on her head disappeared, the swaying stopped, her stomach stopped competing in the trampoline Olympics and her vision cleared. She looked around, cautiously turning her head, and found that she was dressed in a white nightshirt, her blood stained clothes were gone and she was surrounded by her colleagues. Minerva was by her side, Hilda was sat on the edge of her bed, Sybil was stood by Minerva, anxiously wringing her hands, Flitwick was stood on a chair to her right, Poppy the nurse, hovered behind Dumbledore with two goblets in her hands, Dumbledore was pouring a glass of water and Severus was stood with his hand clamped on her shoulder. Seeing everyone looking at him in disbelief, he removed his hand but clapped it quickly back into place when she tried to sit up even further.
"How are you feeling?" Dumbledore asked her, handing the water over, which she took with incredibly shaky hands.
"Tired," she murmured quietly, she gulped down the water, and the next glass and the next.
"What do you remember?"
"Everything?"
"Still threatening to go home?" Dumbledore chuckled. He stopped at her flat toned reply.
"I'm leaving tomorrow."
"No you're not. You might collapse."
"Then I'll go tonight to spite the Danue."
"I see your angry side is back Beth. Only Severus here could match the display of fury you showed us all in the Hall." Albus smiled.
"Can you blame me?" her tone and voice were still frighteningly flat and quiet.
"No. I understand how you feel about Danues."
"Well then you can understand why I want to leave. Good luck finding a replacement," she tried to stand up but felt Severus and Minerva pushing her back.
"Fine, leave. That Danue only strayed off course"
"And it ended up here. So I don't want to be here in case it happens again," she spat with a hint of venom.
"What happens if it happens at home".
She stopped.
"Here you'd be surrounded by wizards and cures for the after effects. I f it happened at home, you'd be still throwing your inside up."
Although she hated to admit it, it was true. Dumbledore smiled as if he could read her mind.
"When can she return to her room Poppy?" he asked the nurse.
"As soon as I clean that gash up, she takes some more potions and gets a meal down her throat,"
"That soon?" Minerva asked.
"The after effects don't last long." Dumbledore said. Beth nodded, swallowing more water. "Anyway, she's strong, you've just seen that," she noticed the way the old man's eyes twinkled, "But you aren't to over do it tomorrow," he warned.
"Do you think she's fit for her job now Severus?" Minerva asked, amused. The surly potions master didn't say anything. "Thought so. It seems Beth, that even our most stubborn and un-pleasable staff member has given you his approval." Snape scowled.
Poppy, the nurse, handed her a goblet of more liquid that she told the tire witch would settle her stomach enough to be able to eat and then disappeared to the kitchens. Dumbledore told all of her colleagues except Minerva and Severus to return to their quarters and told Severus to stay with Beth while he and Minerva checked the Great Hall and informed the Ministry of Magic of a Danue in Scotland
"Why didn't you leave me with her Albus Minerva whispered once they were well out of earshot.
"Because, my dear, I am expecting things from those two,"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Beth and Severus. Can you not see it?"
"See what?"
"The chemistry!"
"Chemistry? Those two? You must be joking Albus! They're the complete opposite!"
"Precisely. Have you really not seen it? Come with me," he turned back and headed up the stairs to the hospital wing.
"Where are you going?"
"Just come with me and watch! I know I'm right. Did you not see the way Severus stayed silent on the way here? –"
"He was just being arrogant Severus," she cut across.
"So he made it look. He was listening to every word she said. I really do think he is on his way to making a friend…more of his own age. Just watch them carefully. I have the feeling we're going to see some changes. Trust me." He whispered as they reached the slightly open door way. "Watch and listen carefully,"
***
Beth finished glass of water number seven and turned to speak to the man sat looking very, very bored in the chair beside her.
"Um, professor?"
He jumped, having been staring into space, and turned to face her briefly.
"Um – thank you – for earlier. The whole arm thing."
He nodded.
"Um did I hurt your arm?"
"I'll live," he told her.
"Sorry." She felt like a school child answering to a teacher again.
"Well done – with the Danue," he told her, avoiding her eyes.
"Oh, thank you. I wasn't heavy was I?"
He looked up from his feet to meet her shy gaze.
"I saw someone running up the stairs with me,"
"Oh. That was me," was he blushing? No, she didn't think so.
"Oh. Thanks." If her face wasn't so stubbornly ghostly pale at the moment, (and would be for the next few days) the small blush would have been obvious.
"You weren't heavy," he told her.
At that moment the nurse came through the door grinning ear to ear. She set a tray of food down in front of Beth, who visibly recoiled at the sight of food, and looked as if she were fighting back a giggle. "You're to eat that professor. I've got to go and make something to help you sleep and it may take a while. I want to see it all gone." She walked away, closing the door to her office and leaving a terrified and revolted looking Beth to stare at her food as if it were a bubbling pot of poison that she'd just been told to eat and a mildly shocked Severus staring at the expression on the woman's pale face. Ignoring Severus completely, she outstretched a trembling hand and began poking the jacket potato stuffed with tuna as if it were about to jump up and eat her hand.
"You've got to eat Professor Calto," he told her quietly, making her jump and drop the fork with a clatter. She reached out and picked up her glass of water, her hand even bypassing the pot of tea and, as she noted as strange, two mugs and an extra fork.
"I can't" she replied, willing her hands to steady. What was going on?
Severus couldn't believe something called concern wash over him. This woman took the job that should have rightfully bee his. He should be complaining about having to be there by now. But instead he found himself showing her what her feared was a face not unlike the one Dumbledore had shown when she passed out – worried. He couldn't be worried about her. Could he?
"Eat." He took the fork she'd dropped, picked up a piece of pasta with it and handed it to her. She pressed her lips together like a stubborn child. He tried his best to be impatient but couldn't. Seeing she wasn't going to give in any time soon, he poured them both a cup of tea. Dumbledore had told him that after being angry she'd be scared of everything - but surely this was ridiculous. Offering the cup again, she removed her hands from their clamped together position and took the drink in both hands, drinking without taking her eyes off him. Her brown eyes staying fixed on his while she drank, as if she were scared her was going to do something. His eyes were black. Maybe in daylight they weren't but at the moment they were. She'd never seen anyone with black eyes.
"You have to eat because it will give you strength. You should know that weakness is caused by the Danue," he told her offering the fork again. She looked from the fork, to him, to the fork and, eventually took it. She looked at it, swallowed and then slowly ate it, making a face as she did so. She swallowed and sheepishly pulled the plate towards her, moving from her 'clinging to the wall' position. He was actually relieved and it must have shown because she smiled.
"Do you want some?" She asked a few mouthfuls later, her voice a little stronger. "There's plenty here and its really good,"
"That's not what you thought a minute ago – you were looking at it as if it were poison."
She shrugged, chewing on potato, gesturing to the food. "Help yourself." He looked from the food to her and she grinned, "its not poison,"
He shook his head and she put her fork down,"If you don't eat then I won't. She smiled, crossing her arms like the stubborn child she could be.
Severus rolled his eyes and took the fork she was holding out to him.
"Come on, I can't eat it all you know," He took a bite of potato and set his fork down.
"You feeling okay now?" he asked her.
"Yeah. I'm going to get indigestion soon though."
"Then don't eat so fast."
"You made me eat."
"You needed to."
"You sound like my mum,"
He spluttered on his drink. Grinning, she downed hers and let him top both cups up. Little did they know, Dumbledore and Minerva had watched and heard everything from the slightly open doorway.***
Authors Note : So there's chapter 2. Bit long isn't it? I'll try and get the rest up next week. Thanks again to all of the wonderful people who reviewed! Love m.