Chapter Four:
As the door shut gently behind him, Eleanora turned to face her godfather.
"Was I interrupting something there?" she asked, with a rueful expression on her face.
"No, my dear, not really. We were, in fact, discussing you."
The young woman frowned and bit her lower lip. "It's just that Professor Snape seemed distinctly unfriendly. I thought he might have objected to my somewhat inaccurate apparition." She smiled sheepishly at the older wizard.
"I'll let you in on a secret, my dear," said Dumbledore in a lowered voice, "he always seems like that." He winked at his god-daughter and they both chuckled loudly. "Now, Eleanora, you know of course of the four distinguished Hogwarts houses?" She nodded reverently. "As a mature transfer student, you have the choice of which you will join. Do you have a preference? I assume that your father has high hopes of you in Gryffindor."
A furrow appeared on Eleanora's brow. "Yes, he did mention in the letter that he sincerely hoped I would "carry on the family tradition." She rolled her eyes, and Dumbledore smiled. Suddenly, a mischievous glint came into her eyes. "Think of his face if I chose Slytherin!" she crowed, laughing at the mental picture of her irate father. No doubt several incensed howlers would ensure, and as much as she adored shocking her father, Eleanora had no wish to attract the attention of the whole school at breakfast time, with a resonant rendition of the old "Eleanora Delphinia Saturnine D'Souza: You disappoint me!" speech.
Still inwardly chuckling, she asked Dumbledore, "Would it be alright with you if I allowed the infamous Sorting Hat to have a go at placing me?"
The old wizard nodded his approval. "Indeed, my dear, indeed. Our old hat had never made an error to this day." He gestured to a tattered looking wide brimmed dress hat, sitting unassumingly on a high shelf above his desk. "We will wait until the Sorting Ceremony. The school does so love to see the new students sorted." In the meantime, whilst you are not affiliated with any particular house, you will be perfectly comfortable in quarters near the rest of the staff, if that is agreeable to you?"
The young woman nodded affably, and asked, "When will the other students arrive?"
"In a little over a weeks time," came the answer. "In the meantime, I'm sure that you will find plenty to amuse yourself with." He smiled kindly at her, but his next words were grave.
"Though, Eleanora, I must impress upon you the importance of your safety here at Hogwarts. Your father was most adamant that your security here was paramount and I should so hate his trust in the school to have been misplaced. Whilst you remain within the castle confines you are practically untouchable, but when in Hogsmeade and outside the walls, I urge you to be cautious to the utmost and never, ever alone."
She made to protest, but he held a hand up to quiet her. "You are currently very vulnerable, not just because you are Aloysius's daughter, but because you are in your own right, a very powerful witch, as you well know." She once again bit her lip in frustration. "I know that you are aware of your powers, but you do not realise, I fear, what lengths Voldemort and his followers would go to destroy you."
Her dark eyes hardened visibly, and she replied, "So my father sees fit to hide me away from the whole world and cut me off from all my friends. What's the point of going to such trouble to protect my life, when in doing so he's successfully ruining it? I know he's acting in the interest of my safety, but I'm dammed fed up of being controlled and confined!" she finished bitterly, and then looked down into her lap, her cheeks flushed from her frustration. She raised her dark eyes, now burning with aggravation to meet Dumbledore's own vivid blue ones.
"I'm sorry, but it's been so long since anyone actually talked to me like an adult." She ran a hand through her mane of tangled hair, and said, "Gods! I must look an absolute state. No wonder Professor Snape looked at me as if I was something the cat had dragged in."
Dumbledore looked at the large grandfather clock that stood in his office. "You have an hour before your evening meal, my dear. I expect you would like to freshen up after your journey. I shall summon one of the elves to show you to your rooms."
Eleanora stood up from her chair, and turned to face the headmaster before making for the door. "I promise not to put myself in any unnecessary danger. Though I fear our definitions of unnecessary may differ slightly." Her eyes now sparkled with humour and Dumbledore knew that despite her teasing, she would respectfully adhere to his request. He snapped his long fingers and moments later, a diminutive house else appeared at his feet with a soft pop. Eleanora started at the small creature with amusement. The elf was wearing the oddest assortment of clothes she had ever seen: A red sock adorned one tiny foot, and a green and silver striped one (regulation Slytherin colours, she noted) covered the other. A large crocheted tea-cosy served as a hat, and a thick cable knitted jumper embroidered with a Gryffindor lion covered his chest.
The elf bowed deeply to Dumbledore, then turned and did the same before Eleanora. She smiled warmly at the creature, and his cheeks flushed with pleasure.
"I has heard that Miss Eleanora is a great witch. I wishes to welcome her to Hogwarts."
Her smile widened and she bent down to face the spirited elf. "Why, thank you," she beamed. She shook the small hand he offered and squinted at the red sock he wore. "I'm guessing that you must be Dobby?"
He gasped and clapped a hand over his mouth. "How did Miss Eleanora know that?" he cried.
She giggled and pointed to his sock. "Your name is embroidered on the sock." She glanced up at Dumbledore who was rocking with silent mirth.
Having got to her feet again, she nodded her head in the direction of her luggage. "I'll shrink them, and then if you could show me to my rooms I'd be very grateful."
Dobby nodded enthusiastically, and darted off in the direction of the door. "Give me a second," she called after him, still smiling at his assortment of clothes. She raised an elegant hand and pointed a finger in the direction of her trunks. A pointed cough from Dumbledore stopped her in her tracks, and she mentally chastised herself for her absent-mindedness. With a sigh, she lowered her hand and instead reached inside a picket of her robes for her wand. A slim, highly polished baton of mahogany was produced from the viridian folds, and she twirled it around her fingers before pointing once again at her trunks and murmuring "diminutivius." The hotchpotch of cases instantly shrunk to a size allowing her to pick them up in one hand.
"I will see you at dinner, Godfather." Dumbledore nodded and smiled at her, and watched her as she strode out of the room, the rustle of her robes soon mixed with the sound of her and Dobby's lively conversation as they descended the enchanted spiral staircase.