AN: Thank you so much Crookykanks for the great review, you made my day.
I am trying not to get bogged down on this like I have a tendency to do and
reviews help so keep them coming.
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The man suddenly moved swiftly towards the screen door, his robes billowing around him. At the door he turned and looked at Leigh appraisingly then said briskly, "Good day." Then quite suddenly and with a very loud pop, disappeared.
Before he left Leigh had only caught a glimmer of his emotions and what she had felt was searing hot anger and what she thought was hatred, but who it had been directed at she was not sure. Her gut told her, however, that given his previous thoughts they were probably directed at her.
McGonagall turned away from the spot where he had vanished from and, it seemed to Leigh, rolled her eyes. "I do apologize for him; he is not always so disagreeable. I do hope you know that not everyone at Hogwarts will be so...unpleasant." She said her voice stern but her words friendly. Leigh felt her worry and smiled to show that she understood.
"Its alright, I've been getting it ever since I started working in this country. Nobody here seems to like us Americans." She said, laughing at herself softly.
She felt McGonagall relax in front of her and then she gave Leigh a smile that was almost warm. "Well then if that is all I will be going. I do hope it won't frighten you if I also Disapparate. It is much quicker." She said, again all business.
"Oh of course not, I think it is fascinating. Tell Mr. Dumbledore thank you for thinking of me and I look forward to meeting him. He seems an interesting character." Leigh said cheerily.
"Of course, good day to you." Came her terse response, which was followed very quickly by a loud pop signaling McGonagall's disappearance.
Leigh stared at the place from which the woman had disappeared for a long moment before turning back to the dumplings that she was making.
She began to think about the strangeness of the situation. Why had this Dumbledore guy chosen her? Professor McGonagall had said that she did not know his reasons but trusted him. It seemed strange to Leigh that she should be chosen over so many more qualified people, both Muggle and Magical.
She dwelled on this thought as she finished cooking the dumplings and was still thinking about it when they were finished. She just could not believe that her abilities, powers, gifts, whatever you chose to call them, were merely a coincidence. She had for years believed that there was a proper cause to them but she had yet to figure it out.
Her intuition told her that the Headmaster knew about her abilities, but how? Perhaps he had similar abilities and he had sensed them in her. She had never met the man but maybe he had sensed her or something, at this point it didn't seem too far fetched.
Then again perhaps her abilities made her a witch. But if she was a witch why had she not been told, she had not received a letter from any school as was described in the book she had read. She felt certain that there was a magical school in the States, there had to be. Maybe a witch's ability does not always manifest so early in life, perhaps she was a late bloomer.
But that couldn't explain the other things, if she was a late bloomer she was almost 50 years late. She was old beyond her looks, best she could figure she had stopped aging in her early 20s and, in the 40ish years since then, nothing about her looks seemed to change, her hair and nails grew but she did not age. She had not been sick in years and cuts and scratches healed after a few hours. She was for lack of a better word, immortal.
The visions that came with touch seemed to have started about the same time that she started hearing people's thoughts. Both started gradually, with mere flashes and building up to brightly colored scenes and very real sounds. Through the years people's thoughts became as clear to her as if they were talking; sometimes they were hard to distinguish from real vocalizations. She, at times, slipped up and responded to thoughts surprising people but she always laughed it off. She had been forced to move every few years so as not to raise suspicion about her agelessness. She was beginning to realize the complete loneliness of her life.
"No." She said, startling herself from her reverie. She hated thinking about the past; it only brought tears and heartache. That was why she had changed her name; she could not hear herself called by his name anymore.
"Your going nowhere with this." She told herself, again out loud. She stood from the table and put the food that she had made away, she had thought too much about the past today and needed to stop. She headed upstairs for a long hot bath to clear her head.
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The man suddenly moved swiftly towards the screen door, his robes billowing around him. At the door he turned and looked at Leigh appraisingly then said briskly, "Good day." Then quite suddenly and with a very loud pop, disappeared.
Before he left Leigh had only caught a glimmer of his emotions and what she had felt was searing hot anger and what she thought was hatred, but who it had been directed at she was not sure. Her gut told her, however, that given his previous thoughts they were probably directed at her.
McGonagall turned away from the spot where he had vanished from and, it seemed to Leigh, rolled her eyes. "I do apologize for him; he is not always so disagreeable. I do hope you know that not everyone at Hogwarts will be so...unpleasant." She said her voice stern but her words friendly. Leigh felt her worry and smiled to show that she understood.
"Its alright, I've been getting it ever since I started working in this country. Nobody here seems to like us Americans." She said, laughing at herself softly.
She felt McGonagall relax in front of her and then she gave Leigh a smile that was almost warm. "Well then if that is all I will be going. I do hope it won't frighten you if I also Disapparate. It is much quicker." She said, again all business.
"Oh of course not, I think it is fascinating. Tell Mr. Dumbledore thank you for thinking of me and I look forward to meeting him. He seems an interesting character." Leigh said cheerily.
"Of course, good day to you." Came her terse response, which was followed very quickly by a loud pop signaling McGonagall's disappearance.
Leigh stared at the place from which the woman had disappeared for a long moment before turning back to the dumplings that she was making.
She began to think about the strangeness of the situation. Why had this Dumbledore guy chosen her? Professor McGonagall had said that she did not know his reasons but trusted him. It seemed strange to Leigh that she should be chosen over so many more qualified people, both Muggle and Magical.
She dwelled on this thought as she finished cooking the dumplings and was still thinking about it when they were finished. She just could not believe that her abilities, powers, gifts, whatever you chose to call them, were merely a coincidence. She had for years believed that there was a proper cause to them but she had yet to figure it out.
Her intuition told her that the Headmaster knew about her abilities, but how? Perhaps he had similar abilities and he had sensed them in her. She had never met the man but maybe he had sensed her or something, at this point it didn't seem too far fetched.
Then again perhaps her abilities made her a witch. But if she was a witch why had she not been told, she had not received a letter from any school as was described in the book she had read. She felt certain that there was a magical school in the States, there had to be. Maybe a witch's ability does not always manifest so early in life, perhaps she was a late bloomer.
But that couldn't explain the other things, if she was a late bloomer she was almost 50 years late. She was old beyond her looks, best she could figure she had stopped aging in her early 20s and, in the 40ish years since then, nothing about her looks seemed to change, her hair and nails grew but she did not age. She had not been sick in years and cuts and scratches healed after a few hours. She was for lack of a better word, immortal.
The visions that came with touch seemed to have started about the same time that she started hearing people's thoughts. Both started gradually, with mere flashes and building up to brightly colored scenes and very real sounds. Through the years people's thoughts became as clear to her as if they were talking; sometimes they were hard to distinguish from real vocalizations. She, at times, slipped up and responded to thoughts surprising people but she always laughed it off. She had been forced to move every few years so as not to raise suspicion about her agelessness. She was beginning to realize the complete loneliness of her life.
"No." She said, startling herself from her reverie. She hated thinking about the past; it only brought tears and heartache. That was why she had changed her name; she could not hear herself called by his name anymore.
"Your going nowhere with this." She told herself, again out loud. She stood from the table and put the food that she had made away, she had thought too much about the past today and needed to stop. She headed upstairs for a long hot bath to clear her head.