The Ancient Runes Master

Something smelled odd, a sort of medicinal smell that Jenova couldn't help but associate with hospitals, even though she hadn't been in many over the course of her life. She opened her eyes slowly, trying to remember how she could have gotten herself into a hospital. The last thing she remembered was…

"I see you're awake at last," a voice tinged with a hint of Scottish accent said, and Jenova rolled over to see two men and a woman walking toward her. The woman who had spoken was slender, with reddish hair pulled back in a tight bun and a pair of spectacles perched on the end of her nose. "We were beginning to become concerned."

"Where is this place?" Jenova looked up at the woman, who turned to a much taller man with a long, flowing silver beard and hair to match. "Wait a minute…you're Albus Dumbledore, aren't you? I saw a picture of you after you wrote me the letter, and…" He held up a hand, effectively silencing her.

"You are correct, Jenova. And to answer your question, you are at Hogwarts. This is our hospital wing, and you have been attended by the most capable Madame Poppy Pomfrey." Dumbledore motioned to a woman with a kind but somehow strict looking face, who managed a smile. "This is Professor Minerva McGonagall, the deputy headmistress and Transfiguration master at this school. She will be most happy to discuss your options with you."

"My…options?" Rubbing her head, Jenova tried to sit up. "I'm afraid I don't understand." There was a sharp pain in her ankle as she moved her leg, and she winced. "What options?"

"Well, we can't just leave you on your own out there," McGonagall said, shaking her head as she spoke. "At the moment you are believed to be dead, but if it was to be discovered that you were not, I'm afraid you would be in quite a bit of danger."

"I guess you're right." Looking up at the other man, who was dressed entirely in black and had been silent and unsmiling through the whole of the short conversation, she gave him only a cursory glance before turning back to Dumbledore. "Before you go, can I ask how I got here?"

"Oh yes, of course." Motioning to the man in black who looked as if he was most unamused, Dumbledore smiled a bit. "Allow me to introduce you to Severus Snape, our Potions master. It was he who brought you here after your unfortunate run-in with Lord Voldemort's colleagues." Jenova looked back up at Snape, whose arms were folded tightly across his chest. His eyes were extremely dark and made Jenova a little nervous as he fixed them on her.

"I…I see. Thank you."

"Very well," Dumbledore said with a small nod. "Severus and I have some business to attend to, so you will pardon us for the time being. Minerva, please inform Jenova of everything she needs to know."

"Certainly, Albus. Now, about what is to become of you," McGonagall said, sitting on a chair that she summoned from across the room as the men walked out of the hospital wing. "I hear that you are something of an expert in several of the ancient magical languages. That's something of a stroke of luck for us, you see, because due to certain circumstances our Ancient Runes master has had to leave the school." She looked up over her spectacles at Jenova. "Would you be interested in taking that position?"

"Me? Teach?" She looked at the older woman curiously. "I…well, I suppose it couldn't be too bad. And I do know quite a bit about Runes and runic structure." Jenova nodded thoughtfully. "Suppose I agree, then what?"

"A practical mind, I see. Albus is more than willing to pay you a reasonable salary that includes room and board here at Hogwarts. You will have an office and a classroom of your own as well as a room in the faculty tower. Some of your things were also brought here, and they are located in that cabinet right over there." She pointed nonchalantly to a tall wooden cabinet, and Jenova nodded.

"My clothes?"

"I'm afraid not. It's a very small bag."

"Oh." Deciding that she was lucky to have a change of underwear at least, Jenova chose not to pursue the point. "Well, then…I suppose I have no choice. It would seem that you now have yourself a new Runes master."

"I'm quite happy to hear it," McGonagall said, handing her a leather portfolio. "Now, there is another small matter. Two, actually. Since you will be, in effect, in hiding here at Hogwarts, we must request that you do not use your real name. Your middle name will suffice as a new surname and you will go by the name of Professor Jenova Verdana. Only Albus, Severus and myself will be aware of your true identity as a safety precaution. Also, it would be much safer for you if you did not leave the castle or grounds unaccompanied by another faculty or staff member. I hope you will find this arrangement satisfactory for the time being."

"I don't exactly have a choice, do I?" Jenova resented being spoken to like a child, but tried her best to keep her annoyance out of her voice. "All right then, when can I move into my own room?"

"Poppy is requesting that you remain here in the hospital wing another night, just so we can be sure that your ankle is healing properly. Tomorrow, however, you can feel free to do whatever you wish. The students will not arrive at Hogwarts for another few days, so there is plenty of time for you to become acquainted with the castle." Standing up, McGonagall removed her glasses and smiled at Jenova. "We are quite pleased to have you with us, Jenova. Please feel free to come to any of us with your questions."

"Thank you, Minerva." Jenova watched her walk away, then leaned her head back on the iron headboard and felt it cut into the back of her neck. So this was Hogwarts. It didn't look anything like she had pictured it.

"Miss Verdana, would you like to take a bath?" Madame Pomfrey was standing beside her bed now, looking over her like some sort of wimpled hawk. "I need to check the progress your ankle is making."

"Sure, whatever." Jenova pulled back the covers and let the nurse examine her ankle, which was wrapped in a long white bandage. "Was it broken?" Shaking her head, Madame Pomfrey began to unwrap her ankle.

"No, only a sprain. But soft tissue trauma can be much more difficult to heal than mending a broken bone, even with magic," she said, turning Jenova's ankle around gently. "Does that still hurt?"

"A little."

"Hm. Well, it should be completely mended by tomorrow morning at the latest." Helping Jenova out of the bed, she smiled. "And I have never had a patient whose recovery was not aided by a hot bath." Carefully, she helped Jenova toward the small bathroom that was attached to the hospital wing and began to fill the tub. "Good for the muscles…and it'll help you sleep. Although how you'll do that after all that rest is completely beyond me."

"Thank you. Can you put my bag on my bed, please?" Unbuttoning the nightgown that had been put on her at some point, she blinked at Madame Pomfrey. "Um…are you going to stand there and watch me bathe?"

"Oh, don't be silly. You've nothing I haven't seen before." She folded her arms as Jenova finished undressing, then helped her into the hot water. "For goodness sake, you girls can be so silly sometimes." Gathering up the clothes, she shook her head. "Call for me when you're ready to get out and I'll bring you a clean gown."

"Thanks." Waiting for Madame Pomfrey to leave the room, Jenova leaned back and put her head on the edge of the tub. This was definitely an interesting turn of events. She had intended to come here, of course, but not under these circumstances. And she had intended to have Sera with her when she…

Sera. From the way she had seen her laying on the floor of their hotel room, she could only surmise that her friend was dead, but she had chosen to be in denial for the time being. Unless someone could tell her for sure that Sera was dead, then she wasn't going to believe it. However, her very nature wouldn't allow her to simply pretend that Sera was out there alive, but there was no one she could ask about it.

Closing her eyes, she thought about Dumbledore. He had been every bit as kind and warm as she had imagined from his letters, and it was kind of him to offer her a job and a place to hide. McGonagall, on the other hand, reminded her a great deal of a professor she had studied under at Greymalkin Academy. She wondered if McGonagall was as strict as her former teacher as well. On the other hand, that Snape…he just made her nervous. It was bad enough when people didn't make eye contact, but it was even worse when people just stared you down like that.

Jenova sat up in the tub, causing a miniature tidal wave to rush across the tub. Snape had brought her here to the castle…who was to say he didn't know about Sera as well? The very thought of talking to him almost put her off the quest for knowledge, but she gnawed on her lower lip as she thought about it. Which was worse?

* * *

The hospital wing was dark and silent when Jenova opened her eyes later that night, and she looked around the room. Madame Pomfrey was already asleep but, true to her prediction, Jenova was unable to sleep due to the long nap she had taken earlier and wondered if anyone else was awake.

Careful not to make a sound, Jenova slipped out of bed and tested out her ankle. It was still a little wobbly, but not nearly as painful as it had been earlier, and she picked up the dressing gown Madame Pomfrey had brought her that afternoon, cinching the belt around her waist before moving slowly to the door and sneaking out into the hallway.

The school was much bigger than she had expected, and Jenova found herself looking in awe at all of the pictures and sconces that filled the walls. So this was to be her new home for a while. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.

She came to a door made of dark wood and pushed it open, wondering where this would lead. Not surprisingly, it was a staircase that led down into the dungeons, and Jenova smiled. This was where her classroom was supposed to be, right? Maybe she could take a quick look inside and figure out how to decorate it.

Much to her dismay, there was only one large classroom at the end of the hall and from the cauldrons in the corner and the cabinet full of dried herbs she could only surmise that it was the Potions classroom. Taking a deep breath, she smiled. When she was a student, her favorite and best class had always been Potions. This really took her back. Back to Greymalkin where she and Sera had been in the same house. Where they had studied Care of Magical Creatures together and tried to make Glamour Potions.

Turning away, Jenova walked quickly back out of the classroom and into the hall, tears stinging the lids of her eyes. She had no desire to remember any of that right now. The last thing she needed was to get all emotional.

As she hurried down toward the staircase, she noticed a door that was set into the wall near the classroom and frowned. It looked like there was a light coming from underneath the door, and she wondered if someone else was awake. It suddenly dawned on her that this was probably Snape's office and that it was most likely he who was in there doing…what?

Jenova knocked lightly on the door, halfway hoping that the noise was too soft for Snape to hear, but an irritated voice from within told her otherwise.

"Come in."

"Um…hello." Poking her head into the door, she tried to smile. Snape looked up for a moment, then turned his attention back to something he was writing. "I saw your light and wondered who else might be awake." There was no response, and she tried again. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"It's my job," he said crisply, not looking up.

"Yes, well…I was wondering if you knew anything about my friend Serafina. She was in the hotel room with me, and I thought maybe since you found me that you might have…" Jenova's voice trailed off as the man across from her finally stopped writing for a moment. "…found her too?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"Oh." It wasn't exactly how she wanted to have found out about it, but she supposed she had asked for it. Uncomfortable now, her eyes began searching his office slowly. There were a great many jars filled with liquid in which strange and interesting things were suspended, and lots of books. "Mind if I look at your books?"

There was no answer from Snape, who continued to write, and Jenova limped slowly over to the shelves and scanned the books. It was cold in his office even without his icy disposition, making Jenova want to turn and leave as fast as she could, but it seemed like it would have been a little rude. Continuing her search of the books on the shelves, she was pleasantly surprised when her eyes made contact with some highly unusual characters.

"The Talcryllian Processes? I've never seen a copy of this outside of a library! And I know that not many people bother learning to read Talcryl, so I'm assuming that if you have the book you can read it too." Pulling it carefully off the shelf, she shifted the cumbersome book in her arms and opened it. "Oh, this is fascinating. I mean, most of these theories were discredited in the 1600's, but their reverse distillation process is still one of the most…" Jenova looked up to see Snape glaring at her with narrowed eyes and the rest of her sentence ended in a long string of mumbling.

"Do you want to borrow it?" Sounding as if it was taking a massive effort just to speak to her, Snape glanced at the book in her hands. "Be my guest."

"Thank you," Jenova said uncertainly, holding the book to her chest. "I'll return it when I'm up and around tomorrow." She tried again to smile at him, but he had already turned his attention back to his papers.

"Take your time."

"Um…all right." Jenova limped toward the door slowly, holding fast to the precious book. She had almost made it out into the hallway when Snape's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"If you're really interested in the Talcryllian Reverse Distillation Process, I suggest you begin on page 583."

"Oh. Th-thank you." Hurrying the rest of the way out the door and up the stairs to the hospital wing, Jenova tightened her fingers around the ancient volume. She couldn't decide if that had been a good experience or a bad one.