Disclaimer: JK Rowling is the genius behind the HP characters and
wonderful Snape. This is my fantasy alone and no money to be gotten, but a
lot of enjoyment from writing it!
Many thanks to my Beta-readers: Lady Claudia, Ivy and Marianne!
Chapter 2 The team.
"Well, it's about that time, I think we need to be going." Severus said as he sat another group of bottles into the cabinet under the window.
Caleigh answered, preoccupied, "All right, just a second, please. Let me put these last few bottles away, I want to make sure these bottles are safe first. There, that's better. Thank you very much, Professor. I hadn't intended for you to help me with these. I just wanted to make sure that I had them in the best possible arrangement for preservation. I've never stayed in a castle before. The Salem's School of Witchcraft is in the middle of town. It's also very old, but an aboveground building. To the Muggles it actually looks like an abandoned industrial complex that encompasses several city blocks. It was a rather odd sensation living right in the middle of a Muggle city, actually." Seeing by his cold, hard eyes and stern face, that Snape was not in the least bit interested in her school life, she stopped in mid-sentence and said: "I apologize, I'm rambling!" as she began to rub the back of her neck. "Well, I'm ready when you are." She smiled at him, grateful that maybe her plan worked to at least ease the tension in the air after their mutual outburst that afternoon. It seemed to, but it was actually hard to see through this man's apparent mask of coldness and self-control.
There was another door from the lab into the hallway, and they exited through it. Caleigh walked away while Snape stood still, watching her and tapping his foot. He cleared his throat loud enough for her to hear, and instantly probed her incredulously and with a derisive tone in his voice "Excuse me, don't you think you should ward the lab?"
"Well, I thought it wasn't necessary until the students arri.", she was cut short by his reply "Miss Crawford, as glad as I was to counsel you with my knowledge of this castle, I would truly be mournful to have it become totally useless due to your obvious overconfidence. So, allow me to use this knowledge once more in counseling you," he emphasized, "to appropriately ward your door whenever you are not close enough to guard its valuable content! This is Hogwarts, not some trivial place in the middle of a town surrounded by idiotic Muggles," he pointed out. "There are creatures here and about that are dreadful enough to do God knows what and to whom with such precious and potent potions." As he ended his little triumphant speech, he swiftly strode away, billowing dark robes following his graceful movements, towards the end of the hallway, leaving a speechless Caleigh behind.
"Ugh." Caleigh moaned to herself, mentally slapping her hand to her forehead. How could she have been so careless? She had been so careful of everything she did and said. She really wanted to impress this man, whose work she had studied in school. He must have been waiting all along to prove his earlier point about her being too young. How could she have let that pass her attention? Now he would certainly. She was called out of her musing by a powerful voice at the end of the corridor.
"Well, are you going to ward everything, and hurry so we can eat in this century, or are you going to pout all day about your carelessness?" Sarcasm was simply dripping from his voice. She was a dunderhead, he had known it all along! "Maybe I should have 'nanny' painted across my forehead!" He thought to himself, shaking his head minutely.
That was a test and she knew it. She decided to stand up to it: she would not defend herself, that would be too childish. She knew she had made the worst possible type of mistake, a professional one. She would make up for it, instead of ignoring it. Hence, she locked the door using the most confident voice she could manage at the moment, "Clausus!" then, she turned around in swift movements and caught up to Snape, who had already resumed his walk, a satisfied smirk on his face. "At least she didn't reply back! Good enough then." he thought.
Caleigh understood exactly what he had really meant earlier when he talked about her being a student and all. That it really meant that she was younger, and that indeed younger people tended to be more careless. Well, she would have to make it up this is true, because however hard it was on her dignity, she had enough humility to admit her fault. She was definitely going to ask her Grandfather if there were any specific wards she should use.
They continued on to the Great Hall, Caleigh having caught up with Snape. As they entered through the large double doors, Caleigh saw there was only one small table set on the main floor, just large enough for about 15 to 20 people; there were several people who had already sat down and begun to eat. They were close to the last to arrive, so she and Severus sat at the end at one side.
As eyes were watching them enter, questioning who she was, the Headmaster stood. As soon as they reached the table, he began "Your attention please, fellow Professors. I have someone I would like to introduce to you. This is Miss Caleigh Crawford, who agreed to come here from St. Mungo's laboratory to assist in the new Mediwitch program we are starting. I'm confident you will all give her a warm welcome." Albus smiled at Caleigh as he spoke. In turn, he introduced her to each teacher seated around the table. She stood there next to Snape, nodding acknowledgment to each as she went, turning about five shades of red in all. Even though she was highly uncomfortable in this sort of situation, Caleigh gave a little bow to the other professors. She hated these kinds of things, she was so glad when she was able to finally sit down and get out of the spotlight.
As Caleigh kept bowing to each new professor she was presented to, Snape's sneer widened. He had easily noticed her discomfiture, that much was obvious! Usually, he didn't give so much attention to any new professors' traits since either he would try to avoid them in any manner possible or had categorized them already, but in this case, he had to register what he could for further references. After all, he was a Slytherin. His instinct always told him to analyze people in depth or not, according to the amount of time or power you would have to pass up with the person in question. Unfortunately for him, he knew a lot of his usual "social time schedule" would be taken up by this Miss Crawford! As he was thinking this, he saw her turn redder and redder by the second. "Interesting!" he told himself. "Is our little Missy realizing how young she is? Or is she just shy in nature? His train of thoughts were cut short when Caleigh sat in her seat sighing slightly.
Ah, an excellent opportunity! "Miss Crawford, you seem flushed! Have you finally come to realize the importance of your "experience" here or have your eyes encountered so many males at once that your hormones took over?"
Caleigh refused to turn to him, and thought "So that's what I am to him: a teenager!" She was not going to have him bring out this issue anymore. She would not allow it as she had, not when it came to her profession at least. "Well, I might as well be honest with him," she had nothing to hide from this over-confident man after all, now did she? "Actually, I hate being presented to so many people at the same time. Though it is the polite way to behave, I still know that however good my memory might be, remembering all their names and positions is impossible and useless. This can only be acquired with time and interests. For me, it's a time loss, that's why I feel so disconcerted each time it happens." There, she had said it. Let him put that in his pipe and smoke it!
Severus simply smiled and raised an eyebrow at her. It seemed he was not the only to think that way after all!
As everyone turned back to their meals, Caleigh was able to calm herself some and ordered her own meal. When the plate appeared, she hadn't realized how hungry she really was. She saw a witch in a long green robe with her hair pulled sharply back in a knot, pick up her plate and goblet and came around to the other side of the table. "Is that really Minerva?" Caleigh thought to herself.
"May I join you?" She asked.
"What would you do if I said no, Minerva?" Snape answered in his true form this time, still irritated about having to come to the Great Hall.
"My, aren't we sour tonight! I'm rather surprised to see you at supper, Severus. You usually don't make it." She replied to Severus, smiling and refusing to take the bait. She then turned to Caleigh, "Caleigh, it has been a very long time. I believe the last time I saw you was just before you left for school! My how time passes. It's been much too long since I've visited Bea. How is she by the way?" Minerva was smiling at the woman whom she remembered running around her friend's house in dungarees and pigtails trying to catch a frog that had gotten away.
"I remember when you last came to visit! Tad had gotten away from me and I ran square into you trying to catch him! I never had to do so many dishes, and without magic mind you, than after that one!" Caleigh smiled at her memory. "I owled her just before I left Diagon Alley, and haven't heard from her yet. I expect one from her soon. I do need to send her a new supply of Easiheal as soon as I get set up and get it brewed. Her knees are bothering her again."
"And Tad was your.?" Snape interjected questioningly.
"My frog. He loved getting out and would search Nana down ruthlessly because he knew she was scared to death of him!" she stated. "Bea, or Nana as I call her, is my guardian. She has raised me ever since I was a baby."
"How quaint, a frog." Severus commented in a deadpan voice. Having not so fond thoughts of Longbottom.
As she was finishing up with her meal, a lady dressed in an 18th century nurse's uniform came over and sat down next to Minerva. "Hello Miss Crawford, I am Madame Pomfrey, but everyone just calls me Poppy. I'm very happy to finally meet you. Headmaster told me all about your research in the Colonies. Let me tell you, I am SO excited about this project. I have felt for the LONGEST time that it has been sorely needed! I can't wait until we meet in the morning, the three of us, to sit down and plan the curriculum of the course!" Her face was animated and there was a sparkle in her eyes. It had been some time since she had been challenged like this. The fact that Albus had asked her to take part had made her feel useful again, in a capacity other than her norm.
"Hello, Poppy, I am very happy to meet you too! Please call me Caleigh." Caleigh replied. Getting down into the nitty gritty was going to be so much fun, she thought to herself. "I do want both of you to know up front, I respect each of your experience and knowledge and am really looking forward to learning as much from you both as I possibly can!"
Severus was sitting back and watching the animation of Caleigh's face. The excitement in her voice as she spoke of the upcoming chore ahead. He scowled, first to hide thoughts he had thought beyond his reach, but also because he knew probably better than anyone did what they were up against, and it highly concerned him. "I for one am most glad to hear you speak like this. We've an extremely important part to play in what is coming and I, for one, certainly do not need." He didn't get a chance to finish as Caleigh interrupted.
"Professor Snape, I will remind you of what I said earlier, I BELIEVE I said that I am NOT a student anymore and am not some silly, scatterbrained, dunderhead of a school girl that does not know a cauldron from a stock pot! I am aware that I am the youngest of this team, and the one with the least amount of practical experience in the field. I have said many times before in my life that my motto is that I know just enough to get myself in trouble, and that keeps me humble enough to know when to back up and ask for assistance."
"Just like putting wards on your lab?" Snape commented caustically under his breath, all the while having a smirk on his face, he just had to get that in, the opportunity just could not let itself be abandoned.
Caleigh chose to ignore his interjection, "I would very much appreciate it if you would kindly stop comparing me to your students. I am not that much younger than you, and unless you wish to waste our precious time and energy bickering back and forth like this, please stop!" Caleigh stopped to take a breath, looked around and saw everyone looking at her. As usual when she got excited about something, or angry her voice went up in decibels and carried far and wide. Her eyes met with her Grandfather's, who very much wanted to laugh out loud, she could tell by the crinkles in the corners of his eyes. She gave him a warning look, and turned back to Poppy. "I'm sorry, Poppy. I am not accustomed to having outbursts such as this."
It was Severus' turn to interrupt as his temper flared. He leaned over towards her and in a quiet, angry voice, "IF you would be kind enough to STOP interrupting me, Miss Crawford, I was going to say that we do not need Mediwitches who are only partially knowledgeable in their field. We need to be as thorough in what we are about to do as possible. I, for one, do not wish to be injured and have the Mediwitch that is assigned to me have to stop and think or look things up in a book." He began to get the feeling that this woman was going to try him, in more ways than he could imagine. She already had his mind going in more directions than he cared to admit, even to himself. The table had grown quiet by this point, everyone was listening to the heated discussion between the two.
Poppy turned then to Professor Hooch with a bright twinkle in her eye and a little louder than necessary, "Madame Hooch, I do believe I may need to borrow your referee uniform tomorrow, would that be quite all right?"
At that the whole table just burst out laughing as if the joke of the century had just been told. Caleigh was absolutely mortified her face a brilliant red, again! Then she looked over at Snape, whose face was as hard as a rock, eyes dark and angry. He did not appreciate the humor in the situation at all.
Severus' face hardened even more as he said "Well, has everyone finished? May we please get back to the subject at hand? I have things that need taking care of for tomorrow, and I do not relish being the butt of a joke!"
At that, Caleigh smiled as she remarked "Well if you're one cheek, then I must be the other, because I believe they're laughing at both of us!" That took Severus by surprise, she was willing to align herself with him even at her expense? At that, a second round of laughter broke out over the table.
Once things calmed down, Poppy began "I would like to see the students become familiar with the basic workings of the human body, to begin with. Nothing really technical, because we don't need that. Just the basics of how the blood flows, how joints work, what bones are where and where the organs are. It would not be amusing to have someone do a healing spell on a liver when the Mediwitch thinks it is a lung. I have some of de Vinci's works on the human body available to use as diagrams and if you both agree, I will bring them with me tomorrow."
Minerva interjected "Well, I'll leave the three of you to it and get back to my rooms. Poppy, Severus, Caleigh if any of you need anything just let me know and I will see that it gets delivered. I hope to visit with you soon Caleigh, to catch up with what Bea has been up to!"
Caleigh smiled at Minerva, "That would be really nice Minerva. I'm sure Nana would love to hear from you as well! Good night." she turned to Poppy as Minerva left, "Poppy, I also have some more recent information that I brought with me that might correlate well with those sketches."
The three of them sat and talked about what they would begin with, Snape backing out a little whenever it turned to the human physiology end. He observed Caleigh at these times even more. He noticed that she was more than able to carry her end of the conversation with both of them, on a very intelligent level.
Before they knew it, everyone else had left the Great Hall, all except for Dumbledore, who continued to sit at his seat at the end of the table. He had never fully appreciated what an intelligent and beautiful woman his great-granddaughter had become. She was more than able to stand up for herself and back her thoughts with logic and understanding. The excitement that ran across her face as their conversation deepened was quite fascinating to him. He thought to himself, her parents would be so proud of her, if only they were here to see her today. He found himself thinking of his granddaughter and grandson-in-law the day when Caleigh was born. What a wonderful day that was. He gave himself a mental shake, "Now, now old man, you need to stay at the tasks at hand." he said to himself as he stood. He ordered a pot of tea and cups for the three to be served from a house elf, and quietly, but with a very satisfied look on his face left to go to his chambers.
They realized after a couple of hours of intense conversation and discussion that they were by themselves. The tea had grown cold and it was very late. Poppy stated "Oh my, it is really late. I think we all need to go get our rest and meet in the morning after breakfast. I think the library would be the place to go, to begin with." They all agreed. Poppy stood up and headed for her quarters. Caleigh and Severus both walked down the stairs to the dungeons, to their quarters. Both were quiet, deep in their own thoughts about the morrow.
Severus scowled as he walked a step or two behind Caleigh, once again trying to fathom this woman that had seemingly come crashing into his life and just creating chaos in his mind, breaking down barriers and preconceived ideas left and right.
At their quarters, Caleigh turned and looked at Severus "Good night, Professor Snape. I.." She stopped there, not sure of what to say. She felt bad about what happened at supper.
Severus' face was expressionless. "Yes, Miss Crawford, do you have something to say?" his voice was that of velvet, but underneath there was that knife edge as he forced himself to look into those eyes again.
"I.I." she stumbled trying to decide how to put it, then she decided that apologizing after the fact was no way to go about it. "I am looking forward to working with you and Poppy. I have read a lot about the research you have done here at Hogwarts. Prof. Nereys is quite interested in your work and has included a lot of the papers that you have published in his classes."
"He has?" Severus' face dropped the scowl for a moment as he was rather surprised that his publications had actually made it that far abroad.
"Oh yes. He was quite fascinated about the results you got with your Energizing potion, and I am interested in the after effects it has on the body, in the rate of the heart and other effects." She once again lost herself in one of her favorite topics of conversation, potions and the medical aspects of them. "I do have a question on one statement that you made, if you would care to come for tea at some point in the future, I would like to get it and go over it with you." She really had looked forward to working under Snape. He did have a reputation as one of the greatest Potion Masters of his time.
"That would be fine, Miss Crawford at some point in the near future, I'll look forward to it. At the moment however, I think we both need to get our rest in readiness for tomorrow's tasks. So until then, Good evening." Severus tipped his head to her slightly, turned and walked to his door, opened it and shut it quietly.
Caleigh opened her door and quietly closed it behind her.
The next morning, Caleigh awoke feeling very refreshed after a good nights sleep. She was up before sunrise and decided to go for a run. She had brought a jogging suit that she had purchased in the States at a Muggle sports shop. She slipped into it and put her cloak over her shoulders at least until she got outside. She left her room, stepped out into the hallway, turned and began to walk up to the staircase leading to the main floor. As she passed Professor Snape's door she saw a light shining out from under it. She hesitated a second, then decided to go on without saying anything.
Her Grandfather had given her a route that he had felt safe enough for her to run in the mornings, as he knew how much she enjoyed it. There was also a spot on the map that was marked as safe for her to transfigure if she wanted to. She arrived at the main doors and left the building. She hung her cloak on the corner of a stone that was sticking out just a bit from the wall.
Severus had been up until the wee hours of the morning getting his notes and such together for the meeting the next day. He had some specific points he wanted to address right from the beginning on this training. The fact that he had went to bed, tried to sleep and couldn't was not to be admitted.
He was awake when Dumbledore's voice came through the fireplace, "Severus, are you awake?"
"I'm right here, sir." He replied tiredly.
"I know the three of you are meeting this morning, and Caleigh did not answer, so she must be out running. I have the list of students I want to invite to enroll in the training, would you please stop by my office on your way to breakfast and pick it up?"
"Yes, I'll stop by..Is Caleigh running somewhere?" He asked, rather confused at such an odd thing to do.
"Oh it's a Muggle habit that she picked up in the States. She asked me to draw a map for a safe running area. She runs every morning as a form of exercise" Dumbledore responded, with a smile. "Odd thing to do this early if you ask me."
"May I ask what route you told her to take?" Severus asked, curious.
"Why certainly, I'll just leave a copy of the map with the list down by the gargoyle. Actually, it would put my mind at ease if I knew you were to check on her from time to time. Just don't let her see you, unless you want her too. I get the feeling she is one who does not like being checked on." unbeknownst to Severus, Dumbledore was smiling at that point.
"Oh wonderful," he thought sardonically "I'm a nanny, again!"
Dumbledore saw the signs in Severus, what surprised him that it was after only 24 hours. He did not understand why Severus reacted to Caleigh as he did when they first met. He would have to find a way of asking Severus about that. However, he had rather hoped that something might grow between him and his great-granddaughter. He knew Severus well enough to know that once the man gave his heart it would be for eternity, it would take time though. He also trusted him, he knew that he would not do anything to hurt her if at all possible. He also knew Caleigh had what it would take to help his young friend work through his history of involvement with Voldemort. He knew he would worry much less about both of them if they did develop something. This he would help and encourage.
Severus stepped out of his door into the hall and headed for Dumbledore's office. As he was rounding the corner to the stairs he heard running footsteps from the hall up above. Without thinking, he sank back against the wall behind a suit of armor. He saw Caleigh walking quickly down the stairs. She had her cloak thrown over her arm and she was dressed in dark blue running slacks and jacket, with her hood up to protect her from the slight drizzle that was coming down outside. As soon as she entered her rooms and closed her door, Severus finished walking up the stairs, taking two at a time. He did not care to come into contact with her just yet today.
After breakfast, Severus headed for the library. He had seen neither Caleigh nor Madame Pomfrey in the Great Hall. As he entered the library, he caught sight of both of them at one of the tables by the window. He walked over to them, "Good morning." As he nodded to them both and sat down, putting the information he had brought with him on the table.
"Good morning." They both replied in unison.
"I've a list from the Headmaster of the students he wants to invite to enroll in our class. He also needs a list of supplies and textbooks to send with the invitation." He began. As the group got down to business of forming the training program, the hours flew by. At lunchtime, the list was ready to be returned to the Headmaster along with the list of books and supplies.
"Severus, I need to meet with Professor Dumbledore anyway, why don't I go ahead and take it with me?" Caleigh asked as she was getting up to leave. She had had an idea and wanted to talk to her Grandfather about it first before she mentioned it to anyone.
"That would be fine. Thank you." Replied Severus, as he had hoped to get back down to his office. He had made a quick copy of the list of students and he wanted to check some of their records to see their predisposition for potions. He was also adding to his assessment of Caleigh. She was highly intelligent, apparently knowledgeable in their mutual field, but also willing to accept his and Poppy's judgments over her own, when a decision had to be made. This woman was something else, he had never come across anyone quite like her. In so many ways she seemed more mature than her years after all, in ways that he had observed somewhat immature than her years.
Caleigh left the library and headed for the Headmaster's office. As she got out of earshot, Poppy turned to Severus, "Severus, I have known you too long, what is going on with you? You have questioned her as if she was taking a N.E.W.T. or something. Do you not feel she is capable of this?" she had observed her friend in many different situations and had yet to see him be this hard on any of his students. It was if he was trying to find fault with her at every step.
Severus replied with a smirk, "We will see, Poppy, we will see." He turned on his heel and walked from the library, black robes billowing behind him as he strode to his office.
Caleigh reached the gargoyle she said the password and as it moved to one side, she stepped into the foyer. As the staircase lifted her up, she thought about how to approach him with her idea. She knocked at the door.
"Come." came the response from the Headmaster.
"Headmaster?" she called as she opened the door and closed it after she entered.
Albus looked up at his great granddaughter fondly. "I'm alone my dear, it's all right." He said smiling at her. "How is the meeting progressing?" he asked.
"We've finished the list of books and supplies you'd asked for." Caleigh handed him the parchment she had in her hand. She was still trying to think of a way to approach him, but as usual with her Grandfather, she ended up just blurting it out anyway. "Would there be enough funds for a trip for Severus and I to go to my school in the States? I would like for him to consult with the Potions Master there on some things that I think might just work well with what we are trying to do. With Prof. Nereys' experience with the military hospitals in their country and how they are able to make them mobile in the field, he would be able to inform Prof. Snape of the preparation techniques they use. I believe it would be extremely beneficial for what we have in mind." she stopped, took a breath and waited for his answer.
Albus listened to her suggestion, thought a few moments. "It's so close to the beginning of the term, do you think Severus would be willing to go?" He asked thoughtfully.
"That I'm not sure of. I haven't approached him yet with the idea. I wanted to talk to you about it first." she replied, hoping her Grandfather would approach Severus about it.
"Let me consider it first for a bit. I need to do some checking and I'll also contact the Headmaster there and consult with him as well. I think it's a good idea, and they are as concerned about the recent turn of events as we are." he was patting his beard as he thought of what might be done. "Madame Pomfrey would have to cover both classes while you're gone, that might be quite a bit for her to try to do, but I'll think about it."
"We could postpone the potions end of it for a few weeks, as we want the students to get in some field practice, bugging out as they say in the States. We would also like for them to get in some extra flying practice, those that are on the Quidditch team could help with that. We want them to be able to move from one position to another quickly and efficiently. They would also need special permission to apparate from the Ministry, and we would need to alter the ward against apparating within the school grounds as well. Not in and out of the grounds, just from one spot to another. That way Poppy would only have to worry about Professor Snape's regular potions classes" she said thoughtfully. "Then we could concentrate on potions when we get back."
"That's something definitely to consider." Albus was still stroking his beard deep in thought.
Many thanks to my Beta-readers: Lady Claudia, Ivy and Marianne!
Chapter 2 The team.
"Well, it's about that time, I think we need to be going." Severus said as he sat another group of bottles into the cabinet under the window.
Caleigh answered, preoccupied, "All right, just a second, please. Let me put these last few bottles away, I want to make sure these bottles are safe first. There, that's better. Thank you very much, Professor. I hadn't intended for you to help me with these. I just wanted to make sure that I had them in the best possible arrangement for preservation. I've never stayed in a castle before. The Salem's School of Witchcraft is in the middle of town. It's also very old, but an aboveground building. To the Muggles it actually looks like an abandoned industrial complex that encompasses several city blocks. It was a rather odd sensation living right in the middle of a Muggle city, actually." Seeing by his cold, hard eyes and stern face, that Snape was not in the least bit interested in her school life, she stopped in mid-sentence and said: "I apologize, I'm rambling!" as she began to rub the back of her neck. "Well, I'm ready when you are." She smiled at him, grateful that maybe her plan worked to at least ease the tension in the air after their mutual outburst that afternoon. It seemed to, but it was actually hard to see through this man's apparent mask of coldness and self-control.
There was another door from the lab into the hallway, and they exited through it. Caleigh walked away while Snape stood still, watching her and tapping his foot. He cleared his throat loud enough for her to hear, and instantly probed her incredulously and with a derisive tone in his voice "Excuse me, don't you think you should ward the lab?"
"Well, I thought it wasn't necessary until the students arri.", she was cut short by his reply "Miss Crawford, as glad as I was to counsel you with my knowledge of this castle, I would truly be mournful to have it become totally useless due to your obvious overconfidence. So, allow me to use this knowledge once more in counseling you," he emphasized, "to appropriately ward your door whenever you are not close enough to guard its valuable content! This is Hogwarts, not some trivial place in the middle of a town surrounded by idiotic Muggles," he pointed out. "There are creatures here and about that are dreadful enough to do God knows what and to whom with such precious and potent potions." As he ended his little triumphant speech, he swiftly strode away, billowing dark robes following his graceful movements, towards the end of the hallway, leaving a speechless Caleigh behind.
"Ugh." Caleigh moaned to herself, mentally slapping her hand to her forehead. How could she have been so careless? She had been so careful of everything she did and said. She really wanted to impress this man, whose work she had studied in school. He must have been waiting all along to prove his earlier point about her being too young. How could she have let that pass her attention? Now he would certainly. She was called out of her musing by a powerful voice at the end of the corridor.
"Well, are you going to ward everything, and hurry so we can eat in this century, or are you going to pout all day about your carelessness?" Sarcasm was simply dripping from his voice. She was a dunderhead, he had known it all along! "Maybe I should have 'nanny' painted across my forehead!" He thought to himself, shaking his head minutely.
That was a test and she knew it. She decided to stand up to it: she would not defend herself, that would be too childish. She knew she had made the worst possible type of mistake, a professional one. She would make up for it, instead of ignoring it. Hence, she locked the door using the most confident voice she could manage at the moment, "Clausus!" then, she turned around in swift movements and caught up to Snape, who had already resumed his walk, a satisfied smirk on his face. "At least she didn't reply back! Good enough then." he thought.
Caleigh understood exactly what he had really meant earlier when he talked about her being a student and all. That it really meant that she was younger, and that indeed younger people tended to be more careless. Well, she would have to make it up this is true, because however hard it was on her dignity, she had enough humility to admit her fault. She was definitely going to ask her Grandfather if there were any specific wards she should use.
They continued on to the Great Hall, Caleigh having caught up with Snape. As they entered through the large double doors, Caleigh saw there was only one small table set on the main floor, just large enough for about 15 to 20 people; there were several people who had already sat down and begun to eat. They were close to the last to arrive, so she and Severus sat at the end at one side.
As eyes were watching them enter, questioning who she was, the Headmaster stood. As soon as they reached the table, he began "Your attention please, fellow Professors. I have someone I would like to introduce to you. This is Miss Caleigh Crawford, who agreed to come here from St. Mungo's laboratory to assist in the new Mediwitch program we are starting. I'm confident you will all give her a warm welcome." Albus smiled at Caleigh as he spoke. In turn, he introduced her to each teacher seated around the table. She stood there next to Snape, nodding acknowledgment to each as she went, turning about five shades of red in all. Even though she was highly uncomfortable in this sort of situation, Caleigh gave a little bow to the other professors. She hated these kinds of things, she was so glad when she was able to finally sit down and get out of the spotlight.
As Caleigh kept bowing to each new professor she was presented to, Snape's sneer widened. He had easily noticed her discomfiture, that much was obvious! Usually, he didn't give so much attention to any new professors' traits since either he would try to avoid them in any manner possible or had categorized them already, but in this case, he had to register what he could for further references. After all, he was a Slytherin. His instinct always told him to analyze people in depth or not, according to the amount of time or power you would have to pass up with the person in question. Unfortunately for him, he knew a lot of his usual "social time schedule" would be taken up by this Miss Crawford! As he was thinking this, he saw her turn redder and redder by the second. "Interesting!" he told himself. "Is our little Missy realizing how young she is? Or is she just shy in nature? His train of thoughts were cut short when Caleigh sat in her seat sighing slightly.
Ah, an excellent opportunity! "Miss Crawford, you seem flushed! Have you finally come to realize the importance of your "experience" here or have your eyes encountered so many males at once that your hormones took over?"
Caleigh refused to turn to him, and thought "So that's what I am to him: a teenager!" She was not going to have him bring out this issue anymore. She would not allow it as she had, not when it came to her profession at least. "Well, I might as well be honest with him," she had nothing to hide from this over-confident man after all, now did she? "Actually, I hate being presented to so many people at the same time. Though it is the polite way to behave, I still know that however good my memory might be, remembering all their names and positions is impossible and useless. This can only be acquired with time and interests. For me, it's a time loss, that's why I feel so disconcerted each time it happens." There, she had said it. Let him put that in his pipe and smoke it!
Severus simply smiled and raised an eyebrow at her. It seemed he was not the only to think that way after all!
As everyone turned back to their meals, Caleigh was able to calm herself some and ordered her own meal. When the plate appeared, she hadn't realized how hungry she really was. She saw a witch in a long green robe with her hair pulled sharply back in a knot, pick up her plate and goblet and came around to the other side of the table. "Is that really Minerva?" Caleigh thought to herself.
"May I join you?" She asked.
"What would you do if I said no, Minerva?" Snape answered in his true form this time, still irritated about having to come to the Great Hall.
"My, aren't we sour tonight! I'm rather surprised to see you at supper, Severus. You usually don't make it." She replied to Severus, smiling and refusing to take the bait. She then turned to Caleigh, "Caleigh, it has been a very long time. I believe the last time I saw you was just before you left for school! My how time passes. It's been much too long since I've visited Bea. How is she by the way?" Minerva was smiling at the woman whom she remembered running around her friend's house in dungarees and pigtails trying to catch a frog that had gotten away.
"I remember when you last came to visit! Tad had gotten away from me and I ran square into you trying to catch him! I never had to do so many dishes, and without magic mind you, than after that one!" Caleigh smiled at her memory. "I owled her just before I left Diagon Alley, and haven't heard from her yet. I expect one from her soon. I do need to send her a new supply of Easiheal as soon as I get set up and get it brewed. Her knees are bothering her again."
"And Tad was your.?" Snape interjected questioningly.
"My frog. He loved getting out and would search Nana down ruthlessly because he knew she was scared to death of him!" she stated. "Bea, or Nana as I call her, is my guardian. She has raised me ever since I was a baby."
"How quaint, a frog." Severus commented in a deadpan voice. Having not so fond thoughts of Longbottom.
As she was finishing up with her meal, a lady dressed in an 18th century nurse's uniform came over and sat down next to Minerva. "Hello Miss Crawford, I am Madame Pomfrey, but everyone just calls me Poppy. I'm very happy to finally meet you. Headmaster told me all about your research in the Colonies. Let me tell you, I am SO excited about this project. I have felt for the LONGEST time that it has been sorely needed! I can't wait until we meet in the morning, the three of us, to sit down and plan the curriculum of the course!" Her face was animated and there was a sparkle in her eyes. It had been some time since she had been challenged like this. The fact that Albus had asked her to take part had made her feel useful again, in a capacity other than her norm.
"Hello, Poppy, I am very happy to meet you too! Please call me Caleigh." Caleigh replied. Getting down into the nitty gritty was going to be so much fun, she thought to herself. "I do want both of you to know up front, I respect each of your experience and knowledge and am really looking forward to learning as much from you both as I possibly can!"
Severus was sitting back and watching the animation of Caleigh's face. The excitement in her voice as she spoke of the upcoming chore ahead. He scowled, first to hide thoughts he had thought beyond his reach, but also because he knew probably better than anyone did what they were up against, and it highly concerned him. "I for one am most glad to hear you speak like this. We've an extremely important part to play in what is coming and I, for one, certainly do not need." He didn't get a chance to finish as Caleigh interrupted.
"Professor Snape, I will remind you of what I said earlier, I BELIEVE I said that I am NOT a student anymore and am not some silly, scatterbrained, dunderhead of a school girl that does not know a cauldron from a stock pot! I am aware that I am the youngest of this team, and the one with the least amount of practical experience in the field. I have said many times before in my life that my motto is that I know just enough to get myself in trouble, and that keeps me humble enough to know when to back up and ask for assistance."
"Just like putting wards on your lab?" Snape commented caustically under his breath, all the while having a smirk on his face, he just had to get that in, the opportunity just could not let itself be abandoned.
Caleigh chose to ignore his interjection, "I would very much appreciate it if you would kindly stop comparing me to your students. I am not that much younger than you, and unless you wish to waste our precious time and energy bickering back and forth like this, please stop!" Caleigh stopped to take a breath, looked around and saw everyone looking at her. As usual when she got excited about something, or angry her voice went up in decibels and carried far and wide. Her eyes met with her Grandfather's, who very much wanted to laugh out loud, she could tell by the crinkles in the corners of his eyes. She gave him a warning look, and turned back to Poppy. "I'm sorry, Poppy. I am not accustomed to having outbursts such as this."
It was Severus' turn to interrupt as his temper flared. He leaned over towards her and in a quiet, angry voice, "IF you would be kind enough to STOP interrupting me, Miss Crawford, I was going to say that we do not need Mediwitches who are only partially knowledgeable in their field. We need to be as thorough in what we are about to do as possible. I, for one, do not wish to be injured and have the Mediwitch that is assigned to me have to stop and think or look things up in a book." He began to get the feeling that this woman was going to try him, in more ways than he could imagine. She already had his mind going in more directions than he cared to admit, even to himself. The table had grown quiet by this point, everyone was listening to the heated discussion between the two.
Poppy turned then to Professor Hooch with a bright twinkle in her eye and a little louder than necessary, "Madame Hooch, I do believe I may need to borrow your referee uniform tomorrow, would that be quite all right?"
At that the whole table just burst out laughing as if the joke of the century had just been told. Caleigh was absolutely mortified her face a brilliant red, again! Then she looked over at Snape, whose face was as hard as a rock, eyes dark and angry. He did not appreciate the humor in the situation at all.
Severus' face hardened even more as he said "Well, has everyone finished? May we please get back to the subject at hand? I have things that need taking care of for tomorrow, and I do not relish being the butt of a joke!"
At that, Caleigh smiled as she remarked "Well if you're one cheek, then I must be the other, because I believe they're laughing at both of us!" That took Severus by surprise, she was willing to align herself with him even at her expense? At that, a second round of laughter broke out over the table.
Once things calmed down, Poppy began "I would like to see the students become familiar with the basic workings of the human body, to begin with. Nothing really technical, because we don't need that. Just the basics of how the blood flows, how joints work, what bones are where and where the organs are. It would not be amusing to have someone do a healing spell on a liver when the Mediwitch thinks it is a lung. I have some of de Vinci's works on the human body available to use as diagrams and if you both agree, I will bring them with me tomorrow."
Minerva interjected "Well, I'll leave the three of you to it and get back to my rooms. Poppy, Severus, Caleigh if any of you need anything just let me know and I will see that it gets delivered. I hope to visit with you soon Caleigh, to catch up with what Bea has been up to!"
Caleigh smiled at Minerva, "That would be really nice Minerva. I'm sure Nana would love to hear from you as well! Good night." she turned to Poppy as Minerva left, "Poppy, I also have some more recent information that I brought with me that might correlate well with those sketches."
The three of them sat and talked about what they would begin with, Snape backing out a little whenever it turned to the human physiology end. He observed Caleigh at these times even more. He noticed that she was more than able to carry her end of the conversation with both of them, on a very intelligent level.
Before they knew it, everyone else had left the Great Hall, all except for Dumbledore, who continued to sit at his seat at the end of the table. He had never fully appreciated what an intelligent and beautiful woman his great-granddaughter had become. She was more than able to stand up for herself and back her thoughts with logic and understanding. The excitement that ran across her face as their conversation deepened was quite fascinating to him. He thought to himself, her parents would be so proud of her, if only they were here to see her today. He found himself thinking of his granddaughter and grandson-in-law the day when Caleigh was born. What a wonderful day that was. He gave himself a mental shake, "Now, now old man, you need to stay at the tasks at hand." he said to himself as he stood. He ordered a pot of tea and cups for the three to be served from a house elf, and quietly, but with a very satisfied look on his face left to go to his chambers.
They realized after a couple of hours of intense conversation and discussion that they were by themselves. The tea had grown cold and it was very late. Poppy stated "Oh my, it is really late. I think we all need to go get our rest and meet in the morning after breakfast. I think the library would be the place to go, to begin with." They all agreed. Poppy stood up and headed for her quarters. Caleigh and Severus both walked down the stairs to the dungeons, to their quarters. Both were quiet, deep in their own thoughts about the morrow.
Severus scowled as he walked a step or two behind Caleigh, once again trying to fathom this woman that had seemingly come crashing into his life and just creating chaos in his mind, breaking down barriers and preconceived ideas left and right.
At their quarters, Caleigh turned and looked at Severus "Good night, Professor Snape. I.." She stopped there, not sure of what to say. She felt bad about what happened at supper.
Severus' face was expressionless. "Yes, Miss Crawford, do you have something to say?" his voice was that of velvet, but underneath there was that knife edge as he forced himself to look into those eyes again.
"I.I." she stumbled trying to decide how to put it, then she decided that apologizing after the fact was no way to go about it. "I am looking forward to working with you and Poppy. I have read a lot about the research you have done here at Hogwarts. Prof. Nereys is quite interested in your work and has included a lot of the papers that you have published in his classes."
"He has?" Severus' face dropped the scowl for a moment as he was rather surprised that his publications had actually made it that far abroad.
"Oh yes. He was quite fascinated about the results you got with your Energizing potion, and I am interested in the after effects it has on the body, in the rate of the heart and other effects." She once again lost herself in one of her favorite topics of conversation, potions and the medical aspects of them. "I do have a question on one statement that you made, if you would care to come for tea at some point in the future, I would like to get it and go over it with you." She really had looked forward to working under Snape. He did have a reputation as one of the greatest Potion Masters of his time.
"That would be fine, Miss Crawford at some point in the near future, I'll look forward to it. At the moment however, I think we both need to get our rest in readiness for tomorrow's tasks. So until then, Good evening." Severus tipped his head to her slightly, turned and walked to his door, opened it and shut it quietly.
Caleigh opened her door and quietly closed it behind her.
The next morning, Caleigh awoke feeling very refreshed after a good nights sleep. She was up before sunrise and decided to go for a run. She had brought a jogging suit that she had purchased in the States at a Muggle sports shop. She slipped into it and put her cloak over her shoulders at least until she got outside. She left her room, stepped out into the hallway, turned and began to walk up to the staircase leading to the main floor. As she passed Professor Snape's door she saw a light shining out from under it. She hesitated a second, then decided to go on without saying anything.
Her Grandfather had given her a route that he had felt safe enough for her to run in the mornings, as he knew how much she enjoyed it. There was also a spot on the map that was marked as safe for her to transfigure if she wanted to. She arrived at the main doors and left the building. She hung her cloak on the corner of a stone that was sticking out just a bit from the wall.
Severus had been up until the wee hours of the morning getting his notes and such together for the meeting the next day. He had some specific points he wanted to address right from the beginning on this training. The fact that he had went to bed, tried to sleep and couldn't was not to be admitted.
He was awake when Dumbledore's voice came through the fireplace, "Severus, are you awake?"
"I'm right here, sir." He replied tiredly.
"I know the three of you are meeting this morning, and Caleigh did not answer, so she must be out running. I have the list of students I want to invite to enroll in the training, would you please stop by my office on your way to breakfast and pick it up?"
"Yes, I'll stop by..Is Caleigh running somewhere?" He asked, rather confused at such an odd thing to do.
"Oh it's a Muggle habit that she picked up in the States. She asked me to draw a map for a safe running area. She runs every morning as a form of exercise" Dumbledore responded, with a smile. "Odd thing to do this early if you ask me."
"May I ask what route you told her to take?" Severus asked, curious.
"Why certainly, I'll just leave a copy of the map with the list down by the gargoyle. Actually, it would put my mind at ease if I knew you were to check on her from time to time. Just don't let her see you, unless you want her too. I get the feeling she is one who does not like being checked on." unbeknownst to Severus, Dumbledore was smiling at that point.
"Oh wonderful," he thought sardonically "I'm a nanny, again!"
Dumbledore saw the signs in Severus, what surprised him that it was after only 24 hours. He did not understand why Severus reacted to Caleigh as he did when they first met. He would have to find a way of asking Severus about that. However, he had rather hoped that something might grow between him and his great-granddaughter. He knew Severus well enough to know that once the man gave his heart it would be for eternity, it would take time though. He also trusted him, he knew that he would not do anything to hurt her if at all possible. He also knew Caleigh had what it would take to help his young friend work through his history of involvement with Voldemort. He knew he would worry much less about both of them if they did develop something. This he would help and encourage.
Severus stepped out of his door into the hall and headed for Dumbledore's office. As he was rounding the corner to the stairs he heard running footsteps from the hall up above. Without thinking, he sank back against the wall behind a suit of armor. He saw Caleigh walking quickly down the stairs. She had her cloak thrown over her arm and she was dressed in dark blue running slacks and jacket, with her hood up to protect her from the slight drizzle that was coming down outside. As soon as she entered her rooms and closed her door, Severus finished walking up the stairs, taking two at a time. He did not care to come into contact with her just yet today.
After breakfast, Severus headed for the library. He had seen neither Caleigh nor Madame Pomfrey in the Great Hall. As he entered the library, he caught sight of both of them at one of the tables by the window. He walked over to them, "Good morning." As he nodded to them both and sat down, putting the information he had brought with him on the table.
"Good morning." They both replied in unison.
"I've a list from the Headmaster of the students he wants to invite to enroll in our class. He also needs a list of supplies and textbooks to send with the invitation." He began. As the group got down to business of forming the training program, the hours flew by. At lunchtime, the list was ready to be returned to the Headmaster along with the list of books and supplies.
"Severus, I need to meet with Professor Dumbledore anyway, why don't I go ahead and take it with me?" Caleigh asked as she was getting up to leave. She had had an idea and wanted to talk to her Grandfather about it first before she mentioned it to anyone.
"That would be fine. Thank you." Replied Severus, as he had hoped to get back down to his office. He had made a quick copy of the list of students and he wanted to check some of their records to see their predisposition for potions. He was also adding to his assessment of Caleigh. She was highly intelligent, apparently knowledgeable in their mutual field, but also willing to accept his and Poppy's judgments over her own, when a decision had to be made. This woman was something else, he had never come across anyone quite like her. In so many ways she seemed more mature than her years after all, in ways that he had observed somewhat immature than her years.
Caleigh left the library and headed for the Headmaster's office. As she got out of earshot, Poppy turned to Severus, "Severus, I have known you too long, what is going on with you? You have questioned her as if she was taking a N.E.W.T. or something. Do you not feel she is capable of this?" she had observed her friend in many different situations and had yet to see him be this hard on any of his students. It was if he was trying to find fault with her at every step.
Severus replied with a smirk, "We will see, Poppy, we will see." He turned on his heel and walked from the library, black robes billowing behind him as he strode to his office.
Caleigh reached the gargoyle she said the password and as it moved to one side, she stepped into the foyer. As the staircase lifted her up, she thought about how to approach him with her idea. She knocked at the door.
"Come." came the response from the Headmaster.
"Headmaster?" she called as she opened the door and closed it after she entered.
Albus looked up at his great granddaughter fondly. "I'm alone my dear, it's all right." He said smiling at her. "How is the meeting progressing?" he asked.
"We've finished the list of books and supplies you'd asked for." Caleigh handed him the parchment she had in her hand. She was still trying to think of a way to approach him, but as usual with her Grandfather, she ended up just blurting it out anyway. "Would there be enough funds for a trip for Severus and I to go to my school in the States? I would like for him to consult with the Potions Master there on some things that I think might just work well with what we are trying to do. With Prof. Nereys' experience with the military hospitals in their country and how they are able to make them mobile in the field, he would be able to inform Prof. Snape of the preparation techniques they use. I believe it would be extremely beneficial for what we have in mind." she stopped, took a breath and waited for his answer.
Albus listened to her suggestion, thought a few moments. "It's so close to the beginning of the term, do you think Severus would be willing to go?" He asked thoughtfully.
"That I'm not sure of. I haven't approached him yet with the idea. I wanted to talk to you about it first." she replied, hoping her Grandfather would approach Severus about it.
"Let me consider it first for a bit. I need to do some checking and I'll also contact the Headmaster there and consult with him as well. I think it's a good idea, and they are as concerned about the recent turn of events as we are." he was patting his beard as he thought of what might be done. "Madame Pomfrey would have to cover both classes while you're gone, that might be quite a bit for her to try to do, but I'll think about it."
"We could postpone the potions end of it for a few weeks, as we want the students to get in some field practice, bugging out as they say in the States. We would also like for them to get in some extra flying practice, those that are on the Quidditch team could help with that. We want them to be able to move from one position to another quickly and efficiently. They would also need special permission to apparate from the Ministry, and we would need to alter the ward against apparating within the school grounds as well. Not in and out of the grounds, just from one spot to another. That way Poppy would only have to worry about Professor Snape's regular potions classes" she said thoughtfully. "Then we could concentrate on potions when we get back."
"That's something definitely to consider." Albus was still stroking his beard deep in thought.