Chapter Ten
The First Glimpse
When Reign re-entered the castle, Professor McGonagall was waiting for her. An anxious look vexed her face as she waited for Reign to ascend the front stairs. The elf smiled nervously at her, fearing that she may be in trouble. The older woman uncrossed her arms and turned down the hall. Reign needed no verbal instructions that said to follow; she quickly fell in step beside her. She never knew what to think about the Deputy Headmistress; she was quite moody for her age and Reign was never sure if she was on her good or bad side. The elf kept her head high and a stern look on her face as they glided through the castle. The pair of them looked quite ominous in their strides. When they passed the Great Hall, Reign gave a look of concern at the witch. It was then that McGonagall stopped.
"Dumbledore has called for a staff meeting." Reign raised an eyebrow, wondering why this concerned her. "He has asked me to pass the invitation on to you, if you care to join us." Minerva raised her eyebrow and bore her pale eyes into Reign's. The elf was so intimidated that she immediately agreed without even thinking. The witch continued on to the staff room with Reign following sluggishly behind. She had slapped her forehead after agreeing but was too busy trying to keep up with Minerva to beat the rest of herself up. So much for needing time, she thought.
When Reign entered the staff room--close on the heals of the female professor--she was greeted by several familiar faces. Many of the staff was already there when she arrived, and most came up to her and told them how good it was to see her again, and how long it had been since she was last here, and how they were so glad she hadn't died. After all the handshakes and smiles Reign still felt apprehensive about being in the room with them. Instead of taking a seat at the table she leaned against the closest wall. There was a little area when one first entered the room that opened up into the main room. The wall that separated the two was the wall Reign rested against. She crossed her arms and lowered her head. Cool and calm was the look she was going for. But it was no use. She started shaking. Her hands turned to ice and her pulse quickened. She wiped a bead of perspiration from her brow. A few more teachers entered, and then the door opened so forcefully that it banged against the wall and made the elf jump.
"Severus, good of you to join us," teased Albus from the head of the table. Reign's heart, the heart that had been beating like the wings of a hummingbird, had stopped completely. She stopped sweating, she stopped blinking, she even stopped breathing as a dark figure glided into the room. It came to a halt when it noticed the elf leaning against the wall. Reign kept her head down. She would not look at him. But he looked at her. The look lasted only a second, and then he went on and took his seat. Reign's eyes followed his back. It had been so long since she had seen him. He sat down and started to converse with Professor Sprout. He didn't even glance at her. But she stared at him. He looked much older than he really was. The lines of his face were not laugh lines, but lines from years of scowling. His hair was unkempt and his eyes were sagging in their sockets. But those eyes were as black as ever. His nose was the same and his hands were the same. The same graceful hands that had dealt with various ingredients for so many years and still managed to look so smooth and perfect hid under his black sleeves. As she stared, Reign longed to go back in time. She cursed herself for what she did to him. As she stared, another figure entered the room.
"Lucius," acknowledged Dumbledore.
"Albus." Though he said his name, Lucius Malfoy was not looking at the Headmaster. He had eyed Reign staring at something with a wide range of emotions crossing her youthful face--sadness, regret, confusion, rage. He followed her eyes to Severus Snape, and a wide devil's smile spread across his pale face. Upon hearing his name, Reign turned her head to meet Malfoy's smirk. He winked at her and she pulled her eyebrows together and turned away. Malfoy's smile grew even larger as he walked passed her.
"Reign, dear, have a seat," Albus beckoned. Lucius pulled up an empty chair and sat it next to him. She reluctantly took the seat. She laid her hands on the table and folded them. She refused to raise her eyes. Severus was a seat down and across from her. He refused to look at her. Albus made a short introductory speech and then motioned for Lucius to speak.
"As many of you may already know, the school's budget has fallen into the red for the greater portion of this year. It has come to the board's attention and is now considered a serious problem. I have been sent to negotiate a way out of this predicament." And he droned on for another half an hour. There was bickering and arguing over how to fix the problem. Some suggested cutting out certain programs, to which others suggested getting rid of classes, or even Quidditch. Through the yelling and the bickering, Reign sat silently in her chair. She never took her eyes off of a notch in the table, never unfolded her hands, and never repositioned herself in her chair. Lucius stood behind her and watched her strange behavior. He also had his eye on Severus, who was also taking note of Reign. She looked nervous. Nervous about him. He enjoyed seeing her like that. And then suddenly she leaned back in her chair. She crossed her arms and legs and flipped her hair and brought her eyes up to a normal level. She would not let him get to her. She would not let him ruin her. She became very relaxed. She even started to pay attention to what was going on. Unfortunately, her efforts came a bit late.
"Well," shouted Lucius from behind Reign. The sound of his voice made her jump, and it succeeded in quieting the others down, "it seems that we still need time to sort out this ordeal. Albus?"
"Yes, I agree. Let's give it another month. We'll have another staff meeting then and hopefully will be able to work something out." He stood up from his chair, and others followed his lead. Some of the teachers lingered in their seats, still contemplating their dilemma. Minerva took Dumbledore's arm.
"A month, Albus? Don't you think this needs to be sorted out before then? Who can tell what will happen in a month?" Albus put his nimble finger up to his lips to quiet her.
"It is a serious problem that needs to be addressed right away." He glanced at Lucius, who was still looming over Reign, who had gone back to staring at the notch in the table. "But I do not want Lucius Malfoy to sit in on any more of our meetings. I believe his mere presence makes others hard to deal with." He surveyed the room, his eyes falling over conversations between teachers. Some looked enraged: others, hopeless. "We will have a meeting next week. Without Malfoy."
When Reign finally looked up from the table Severus had already left. He had left as soon as Albus got up from his seat. Her heart sank when she noticed his absence. She lowered her head and a pair of hands grasped her shoulders. She looked up into Lucius Malfoy's smoky blue eyes.
"It's good to see you again, Reign." He smiled at her, and she returned it with less sincerity. The elf shrugged his hands off and stood up from her chair. When she looked into Malfoy's eyes she was confused at what she saw. Concern or hunger lied within the pools of blue; she wasn't sure which. He took her hand in his and moved closer to her. He was about three inches taller than she, and his movement intimidated her. She looked to the floor and then up again; this time his eyes were unreadable.
"Are you all right?" She pulled her head back and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yes, of course." He took one of his hands and placed it on her cheek. Reign flinched.
"Are you sure?" A voice inside her head told her to say no. It told her that this man truly did care about how she was feeling, and that she should tell him the truth.
"Yes, I'm sure." She pulled away from his grasp and exited the staff room. As soon as she was gone Lucius bolted to the side door and ran to catch up with Severus. It had been a long time for them, and he decided they needed to have a little chat.
