Chapter Seven
Learning to Make a Stand
Perhaps if Essie had spent more time as a mouse she might of thought of traveling in the walls instead of along them. But as it was, she followed them as she knew them and somehow managed to keep from being seen by everyone but a few familiars, who only looked at her curiously and paid her no mind at all. It wasn't until she got to the stairs leading outside that she realized she had a problem. It was going to take her quite a long time to get down those stairs.
She was just about to look for another way out when a gentle hand reached down and picked her up. She nearly jumped out of his hand from surprise, but another hand came up and settled her, and she found herself looking into a pair of huge blue eyes behind a pair of thin-rimmed glasses.
"There there, don't be afraid, little one," Dumbledore said in a gentle tone. "You look like someone who's a little lost. Come along, perhaps I can help you find your way back to where you belong," he said, lifting her up higher. It was then he slid her behind a fold of velvet material, and Essie realized that she was riding in the brim of Dumbledore's hat. This, she mused, wasn't exactly her idea of a good hiding spot. It was, however, a very interesting spot. She risked a peek out every now and then to see where they were.
"Professor Dumbledore?"
Essie heard footsteps hurrying up and realized that it was Julie Brim, doing her Prefect patrols.
"Yes, Julie?"
"Professor Dumbledore, have you seen Essie Willowby, sir? I can't find her and she left dinner rather abruptly tonight, so I'm rather worried."
"Oh? Why did she leave dinner abruptly?" Dumbledore asked calmly.
"The other students were talking about Defense class, and I suppose it must have upset her, because she took off. Mattie said she thought she heard someone crying in the girls bathroom near the Great Hall earlier, but no one was there when I went to check and she hasn't come back to the houserooms yet."
"Thank you, Julie. I'll make sure she's in good hands," Dumbledore promised, then went up the stairs. The moment he stepped on the first one, the others began to move, and by the time Essie peeked her nose out again, she realized they were on a different staircase entirely, going up in a spiral. At last he opened the doors and Essie couldn't help but careen her neck around in amazement, her head poking out quite a bit behind the rim of his hat as she gazed around at all the odds and ends, bookshelves and cabinets of Dumbledore's Study.
"I don't suppose you'd care for a bite to eat, or at least a nibble?" he asked, taking off his hat and setting it on the desk.
Not really seeing too much choice in the matter, Essie climbed out just as Dumbledore set down a teacup and the largest biscuit she had ever seen in front of her, helping himself to one as well.
"It's rather nice to have company for a change. It can get rather dull, you know, filling out paperwork, endorsing book orders and potion ingredient orders and such, not to mention trying to keep up with so many students and professors," he smiled softly, sipping his tea as the mouse lapped at hers thoughtfully.
"No, it's not always easy being Headmaster, but I daresay being a student probably isn't always a walk in a garden either, and feeling as if both teachers and students alike are always ready to criticize everything you do. I myself remember how it was when I first came to this school.
"I happened to be, well, rather small of stature for my age, and quite a number of students thought that I made perfect material to take out their frustrations on. Most of them didn't truly mean anything by it, not really; of course, it took me several years to realize that on my own. Fortunately, I also had a wise teacher, who took me in his office one day after a rather grueling test I failed miserably at… oh yes, I failed a test on occasion. I had been rather distracted that day, and it was one of those days where everything that could possibly go wrong seemed to. Anyhow, he was the one that taught me that hiding or trying to ignore my problems didn't make them go away, no matter how much I wanted them to. Sooner or later, I had to face them.
"Yes, well, that is, of course, easier said than done," he admitted, "especially if you were like me and made quite a habit of running, and with good reason… some of those other students were twice my size. But I began to realize that not running doesn't always mean you have to fight, and problems often have more than one solution. And solutions can be different for different people. But I have found if you actually turn and try to solve your problems, eventually, perhaps with a few bumps along the way, you will find the solution that works best for you," he told the mouse with a nod. "In my case, I discovered that I had particular luck with Light charm spells. So, after being backed into a corner and having no other options, a few well-placed Stupefications seemed to clear up the problem completely," he smiled, taking another sip of tea.
He glanced up thoughtfully towards the door, and looking at the mouse, he made a quick decision and opened the top drawer, scooping up the mouse and plopping her on top of a stack of Wizard Weekly beside a crystal candy dish. He handed the mouse a piece of sherbet lemon and closing the drawer.
Essie began to panic and was wondering how exactly she was going to get out of this mess when she heard a swift knock. The door opened and someone stepped in.
"Albus?" Minerva McGonagall said. "Might I borrow the map for a moment? It appears we have a missing student. Essie Willowby hasn't returned to her room this evening. Pomona and I have been looking everywhere for her."
"Have you checked with all of the other professors, Professor McGonagall?" Dumbledore asked calmly. "I'm quite sure she can't be far. Perhaps even closer than you think," he said.
"Albus?" Minerva said, tilting her head, slightly confused. Then she noticed the extra teacup on the desk.
"I believe, from what I've been hearing, that little Essie has had a most upsetting day today. I'm quite sure she's still here and she'll come out when she's ready. I daresay we'll probably find her snug in her bed in the morning. After all, Essie belongs in this school. She has quite a lot of potential, don't you think?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes," McGonagall said cautiously. "She does quite well with the spells in my class. She just gets a bit nervous about tests, but I'm sure she'll grow out of that. I wish she would come to us when she feels she's in trouble, though."
"My guess would be that little Essie is feeling some of the pressure we were afraid at one point that Corey would feel," Dumbledore explained. "I think that she's afraid that if she comes to one of us with her problems that it might look like favoritism, considering how much time she spends in the summer with her brother and his parents."
"Professor Dumbledore, she is a student just like all the others and has a right to go to anyone she feels comfortable with when she has a problem. I daresay Corey has come to me often enough with his little hang-ups. I promise that if she ever comes to me with something, I'll treat her fairly," McGonagall said firmly.
"Thank you, Professor McGonagall, I knew that you would. Essie has a great many people in this castle that care for her. I'm certain that the sooner she realizes that, the happier she'll be going to school here," Dumbledore said. "Now, try not to worry. If it makes you feel any better, I will go and look for her myself after we've finished our tea."
"Yes, Professor Dumbledore, thank you. Good night," she added. A moment later the drawer opened again, and Essie found herself in Dumbledore's hand, staring into his glasses again.
"So terribly sorry about that. Professor McGonagall is rather timid around mice," Dumbledore said, putting her back on the table. "I'm afraid it seems I have some business to take care of once we've finished our tea. But don't worry, I'll take you back downstairs with me. I trust you'll be able to find your way from there," he smiled at the mouse, setting her back down on the desk.
After eating nearly half the biscuit (and feeling a bit sleepy because of it), Essie soon found herself riding on the brim of his hat again. Before too long she was back downstairs near the Great Hall, eerily quiet that time of night.
"Now I must be going. I have a missing student to find," Dumbledore said almost apologetically, setting her back down on the ground. "Do watch out for the cats and owls, now. Hogwarts has a great deal of both, you know," he added, walking further down the corridor.
That was when Essie decided once and for all that maybe living her life completely as a mouse probably wasn't such a good idea. She also didn't want Dumbledore to worry or spend all night looking for her. Quickly she scurried off around the corner to the other side of the Hall where the bathrooms were, squeezing back through the hole under the door she had first come out of.
Trying to remember exactly how she turned into a mouse and what it felt like, Essie began concentrating on her human form until she felt herself start to transform, slowly finding her perspective changing. Her arms and hands felt right again as her legs once again became her human legs and she found herself standing in front of the mirror in her Hogwarts' robes, looking a bit unkempt but otherwise herself again.
Dashing out the door, she hurried over to where she thought she had seen Dumbledore last and went down the corridor. Finally she found him stepping out of the library, glancing curiously down the hall as she slowed her speed, hesitating.
"Essie? Is that you?" Dumbledore asked in a concerned voice.
"Sir, I… I know it's late. I'm sorry, I had to… to think, and I lost track of the time. I hope I didn't worry anyone," Essie answered, feeling rather silly and very conscientious of the fact that she wasn't telling him the exact truth. But there was no way she was going to confess that he had been having tea with a mouse who wasn't really a mouse at all.
"Very well, Essie. I am glad to see you are safe. There were a fair number of people who were worried about you," he said, looking at her over the rim of her glasses. "But I am wondering now if there is anything, anything at all that you wish to tell me?"
"Er, no sir," Essie said with a squeak, clearing her throat. "I'm fine, really." Dumbledore looked at her for a long time, before nodding.
"Very well then. Off to bed," he said gently. Nodding nervously at him, Essie turned and hurried towards the stairs, running all the way down to the Hufflepuff rooms. Dumbledore looked after her for a long time before finally letting out a soft chuckle. Shaking his head, he returned to his study.
Slipping into her room, Essie tried to climb into bed as quietly as she could, stubbing her toe on her trunk as she tried to get undressed. Angela, in the bed next to hers, suddenly sat up and rubbed her eyes, squinting at her.
"Essie! There you are! Where have you been all this time?" she asked in a loud whisper as the other girl climbed into bed.
"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," Essie said, pulling her covers over her head while the other girl frowned at her in annoyance, lying back down again.
Anna couldn't help but notice how unusually grumpy her brother was when he finally appeared in the staff room a couple of days later. His magic still wasn't working, and although he was quickly able to curb all questions and comments from the students during class, he was just as aware as everyone else what was being discussed in the halls. Anna, for her part, couldn't help but think that the experience would actually be good for Severus. He had always been a bit cocky and overconfident with his magic, and in Anna's opinion way too dependent on it. Still, she also didn't want to see it go on forever, either. The truth of the matter was, he just didn't seem like the same old Severus without his magic. His cloak was on his shoulders and he made no movement in taking it off, nor had he since his magic went out. Without saying a word he nodded to her and grabbed a cup and a roll and sat down beside her.
"So how are you holding up?" Anna asked.
"Don't start," Severus snapped, looking over his paperwork. "My entire class plan is shot until this is fixed. No demonstrations, no examples. I can't bring in cursed items in my upper year classes in case anything goes wrong. The class has been reduced to a book subject."
"Well, why don't you do what Jennifer does when her magic is out and have some guest speakers?" Anna suggested. "There's got to be a lot of people you can call up for Defense. Like Harry, or Audi, or Vallid?"
"The students haven't recovered with dealing with Audi from last year. And I am well aware of how busy Vallid is, I doubt she'd have the time. I may Owl Harry, though," he mused. "Still, a guest speaker now and then isn't enough. Perhaps I should go on leave until this is over… if it is ever over."
"Oh come on, Severus, if Jennifer can teach class without magic like she has over the last three years you can deal with this…"
"Why does everyone have to keep bringing that up?" Severus snapped. "Potions class requires little magic except on a molecular level, which fortunately doesn't go away. It's not like Defense where you're using spells during every class."
"Then why not trade classes with Jennifer?" Anna asked. "She's qualified to teach Defense."
"You forget, we're on schedule. She'll be losing her own magic at any time as well," Severus muttered.
"Well then, how about you teach Muggle Studies and I'll teach Defense," Anna suggested. The look on Severus' face indicated quite clearly that he didn't think that was very funny.
There was a clop-clopping sound from the hall, and Sagittari peered in, smiling warmly at Severus before taking another step in. He had been back for some time; apparently the problems had cleared up for the Fomorians as quickly as they started, and they were able to move back once again into their underwater homes. Unfortunately, they were blaming the wizards for the mishap, but had reluctantly allowed the giants to stay on to help repair the damages. Sagittari was shooed away like the plague, but he was glad to return home in spite of the knowledge that things could hardly get any worse between the Fomorian mages and the wizards.
"Ah, there you are, Severus. Is your conference time free today? I've finally gotten all the allergy tests set up," Sagittari said with a smile.
"Good, let's get this over with," Severus said, standing up. "Muggle Studies," he muttered again as he walked to the door. Anna smirked at him, shaking her head. She couldn't help but hope that Severus was going to learn something from this experience.
It was nearly time for her advanced Muggle Work Studies, a class she had arranged for wizard and witch students of later years wanting to seek regular professions. There were, regrettably, very few full wizardborn students in the class; most of them had at least one Muggle parent. But those who had stuck it out through the last two years of her classes and were still interested she tended to cater to a bit; after all, the others had at least some limited exposure outside of class, while those few didn't have any at all.
It was a class full of field trips, leaning to count Muggle money and even to some extent Muggle manners, mannerisms and what to wear and where (each student was required to have both a dress outfit and casual outfit of Muggle clothes to even take the course), and everyone who took the class seemed excited about all of the outings for the year ahead. Of course, transportation for the trips were going to be hardly conventional; otherwise Anna would never have managed to get them back for their next classes. But still, even if the bus was a 'little' faster than normal, the students were otherwise instructed not to do any magic while in the class or out of it.
One of the repeat offenders of this rule, Bryan Aldeb, was a wizardborn who wanted to go to college to learn computers after he graduated. But every time something got too complicated, the wand came out to 'fix things' and the wand found itself on Anna's desk for the day. But that particular day he'd been unusually good at keeping it to himself, and it was decided by everyone that it was a very good thing that he had.
Anna had been in the tedious process of teaching them Muggle banking, something the wizardborn seemed to have a particularly hard time grasping. She ended up asking Danny to come in and help to explain some of it in terms they could understand (the part that all of the money came from the exact same vault worried them) until finally they got it down. Anna then gave them homework on how to fill out deposit slips and cheques, spending that next class period going over them.
Abacuses were flying on the desks as they tried to work it out, and Anna wished not for the first time she could find a calculator that would work in the school.
As she sat at her desk writing up the possibility of solar calculators, Anna noticed an odd figure standing by the door. It was an Imp. It was rather like the one that had spoiled her wedding, except this one was wearing wizards clothes and pointing a wand directly at her.
Before she could get up, it cast a spell at her she didn't quite hear; a blaze of light appearing around her as her magic tried to fight it off. A complex matrix of chain-like energy criss-crossed in a giant polyhedron-like shape and forced its way around her. As she tried to push it away, the glow around her began to waver as if the shape was absorbing her energy, pulling her deeper into the structure. But Bryan was the top student in Arithmantics and wasted little time in pulling out his wand, pointing it at the structure.
"Gamma Epsilon Alpha Equate!" he called out as a formula appeared in the air in front of him. The strange structure began to spin rapidly until somehow it turned itself inside out, looking like a spiked crystal. Several of the other students stood up, all casting random spells. One of them casted 'immobulus' on the Imp, while another cast 'requite' on the structure, sending it right back towards its caster. Another cast 'expelliarmus,' to disarm the Imp, and then all of the students gathered around it, their wands pointed at its nose.
"Nobody had better mess with our teacher," Perry Dalance said, "or any teacher here, ever again."
Footsteps hurried up the hallway and Sirius Black and McGonagall came in the door, looking at the creature in surprise before it suddenly dissipated into mist.
"Goodness! An Imp! How did that get in here?" Minerva asked.
"Anna, are you alright?" Sirius asked with concern, hurrying to her side.
"Sure. Fine." Anna said noncommittally, glancing over at the class. Looking rather sheepish, Bryan walked over to the desk, putting his wand on top of it before taking his seat again. Following his lead, all the other students did the same thing, taking their places as if nothing had happened.
