4. Strange Expedition
Evangeline opened her eyes and stretched languidly. With a sigh of contentment, she lay there staring up at a green silk canopy and idly watching the light play over its folds like sunlight through tree branches. Silence and peace surrounded her, and her mind drifted comfortably on a warm sea.
"Oh!" Suddenly a flood of recent memories dragged her from her peaceful reverie, and she sat up abruptly. That's right, she was at Hogwarts. She must've fallen asleep after her bath. It had been so relaxing, and she hadn't felt safe and relaxed in some time. Pushing off the light coverlet and getting up off the bed, she hoped it wasn't too late. As much as she dreaded leaving the safety of the castle, she still needed to take that shopping trip.
Across the room, on a chair beside a wardrobe, was a pile of neatly folded garments. She shook out a light brown robe that was covered with a pattern of ivy in a muted gold color. It looked like it would fit her, so she slipped it over her head and went to look in the mirror. The fit was perfect. It had a square neckline, an empire waist and fitted sleeves. Really, it was more of a gown than a robe. And was just the right length to flow around her ankles without tripping her. All in all not bad for borrowed finery, she thought with a grin.
Evangeline examined her reflection in the mirror with care. The cut on her forehead was looking much better. It was responding to the healing potion in the bandage that Rosmerta had placed on it last night. The bruise on her cheek looked less angry, and her eyes didn't look nearly as wild and haunted as they'd looked earlier in the morning. All in all, she looked and felt much more human and was grateful for the chance to rest before once more facing the world.
She hurried to finish dressing, so she could go downstairs. Professor Dumbledore said he'd have someone take her into Hogsmeade this afternoon. According to the mantle clock, it was already a quarter to two, she shouldn't waste any more time. She shoved her feet into brown slippers that immediately fitted themselves to her feet as if she had had them for years, and set off to find the main staircase.
Eagerly, she swept down the staircase pausing now and then to examine and reacquaint herself with the many paintings that hung on the wall of the entrance hall. There are thousands of paintings in this school! She thought happily. Suddenly the prospect of remaining here for awhile seemed even more enjoyable.
Evangeline found she was smiling to herself quite contentedly as she reached the ground floor, only to be brought rudely back to reality by a cold voice that hissed. "Well, you certainly took long enough to make an appearance. The day is more than half over. Do you really think I have nothing better to do with my time than baby-sit hysterical young women?"
Startled by this sudden attack, she whirled around to find the tall man in black, who had opened the door for her that morning, standing two paces behind her with his arms crossed over his chest and a black scowl on his dour looking face. She swallowed hard as she looked up into his cold black eyes. Whoever this guy was, he had menacing down to an art form. Hoping to rescue the situation, she attempted a smile, stuck out her hand, and said, "I'm sorry, we obviously got off on the wrong foot this morning. I'm Evangeline Winthrop. Professor Dumbledore didn't introduce us, you are?"
The man's expression wavered slightly as if he was deciding just how to respond. Seeming to make up his mind, he ignored her proffered hand, looked down his rather large nose at her, and simply nodded his head curtly. "I am Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master here at Hogwarts, and apparently, your "guide" on an expedition into Hogsmeade this afternoon." It was apparent from his manner and sour expression that the prospect of this did not thrill the Potions Master one iota.
Awkwardly she dropped her hand to her side. "I wasn't actually expecting that my "guide" would be one of the professors. I thought from what Professor Dumbledore said that it might be Mr. Filch."
Professor Snape sighed impatiently. "Professor Dumbledore gave me the impression that you required a guide mostly for protection rather than direction. I assure you, Mr. Filch would not be equal to the task if you seriously ran into difficulties. Now, the sooner we begin, the sooner we'll be finished, and I can return to matters of real importance." With this pronouncement, Snape headed for the front door without waiting to see if she would follow.
"This'll be fun", muttered Evangeline softly, as she scurried to follow Snape. Without delay, they left the castle and strode off across the grounds under a brilliant blue sky. She quickly found that she really had to move to keep up with his lengthy stride. Uncharitably she suspected he was keeping up a fast pace in order to see if she could stay with him. After a few minutes of striding along rapidly in silence, they approached the gates to the castle grounds.
Snape gave her a sidelong glance. "Albus didn't enlighten me as to the reason for this expedition, so I'm not certain just where you wish to go. Are you familiar with the shops in Hogsmeade?"
"Well, I haven't been in Hogsmeade since my student days, so my information is probably not as up to date as yours is. I need to buy some clothes, some art supplies, some potion ingredients, and a cauldron and the equipment I'll need to mix up and store the potions I use to clean, restore, and animate paintings."
Snape nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, Albus did say that you'd be working on the castle paintings. That's a very big job. Do you have any idea just how many paintings Hogwarts contains?"
Pleased to be able to answer him, she smiled smugly. "6,583, is the number I was given. Of course, not all of them will require work, but yes, it will be a big job. I should be here for quite awhile."
Snape thought she looked relieved at the prospect.
He frowned. "If you knew you'd be here for such a lengthy stay, why didn't you bring any of the things you needed with you? And why, may I ask, did you tell me that your business with Albus Dumbledore concerned Death Eaters?"
Evangeline stopped walking abruptly and stared at her shoes for a moment. Obviously Professor Dumbledore had not passed on much of what she'd told him to Professor Snape. I guess he's going to leave it up to me to decide what to tell people, she thought.
Finally she raised her eyes to Snape, who was watching her thoughtfully, obviously waiting for her answer. Well, she couldn't hide the whole truth from this man, he already knew too much.
"I was unable to bring anything with me here to Hogwarts for the simple reason that I no longer have anything to bring. Last night my home was destroyed by a pack of Death Eaters, who seemed hell bent on blasting me at all costs. I barely escaped with my life. Everything I own was a total loss, and before you ask, no, I'm not sure why they picked on me. I came here because this is where I was the last time the Death Eaters were active. I thought I'd be safe here." She shivered. "I hope that I will be."
She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she looked up to see him watching her quietly. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking from his expression, so she continued, "Fortunately for me, Professor Dumbledore was here and was willing to shelter me for awhile. He even had a job for me to do, so things seem to have worked out okay, for now at least. Anyway, that's why I need to go shopping today, and why I feel so much better having you accompany me. If I haven't said so before, I do want you to know that I appreciate you allowing me to monopolize some of your valuable time like this. It's very kind of you."
Snape was obviously a little thrown by this expression of gratitude, but he didn't look as hostile as he had when they started out, so Evangeline took that as a good sign. When he spoke again it was in a gentler tone than he'd used so far to her. "I'm sorry that you had such a harrowing experience, Miss Winthrop. Where would you like to go first?"
Hoping that they'd reached some sort of understanding, she smiled and said, "Well, I'd like to buy myself some clothes to wear first. I'm sure there are some acceptable robe shops in town, but I'd really like to find a shop that also sells Muggle clothing. I don't suppose you'd know of a shop like that would you? Judging by what I've seen of your own wardrobe, I doubt if you have much use for Muggle clothing yourself."
A faint smile flitted briefly across his features. "As a matter of fact, I purchase all of my attire in London, however, as head of Slytherin House, I have had occasion to overhear conversations among some of my charges, specifically teenage girls, who indicated that there is a shop of the type you seem to be interested in, in town. I believe it can be found near the train station. I suggest we begin there."
"Well, aren't you full of surprises, Professor," Evangeline said with a grin. "That sounds good to me, let's go."
With a brusque nod of agreement, Snape turned, and they continued on through the gates and down the road into Hogsmeade.