Aarien spent the rest of the day peeking around corners and checking her books for mysterious letters, but none came. Feeling a little less paranoid by the time her last class rolled around, she walked in like she owned the place, noisily taking her seat in the front row.
As the other students filed in and took their seats, Aarien realized that their teacher wasn't there. "Odd," she mused aloud as she looked around the classroom. No, there was absolutely no sign of her teacher.
"Either I'm not the only one playing Misson: Impossible, or she's sick."
Aarien's observation was soon confirmed as a tall, thin woman strode into the classroom. She stood at least three inches taller than Aarien, and her stern face was highlighted by dark black hair pulled into a tight bun. Though she looked rather, well, mean, there was nothing too out of the ordinary about her… except for those flowing crimson robes she wore over a black, unfitted dress. Both swept the floor around her ankles and gave her the appearance that she was almost floating in mid-air.
Shuddering slightly with a sudden chill, Aarien allowed her eyes to follow the woman and she made her way to the front of the classroom. This was going to be their history substitute teacher?
Aarien gulped as she sat up straighter in her seat, suddenly wishing she had slipped quietly into one of the back seats. From where she was sitting, the teacher could easily watch her and keep her from sleeping, or worse, call on her to answer something from the textbook she hadn't read.
"Great," she muttered, "what a wonderful day to have not done my homework. If she calls on me, I'm gonna look like an idiot."
She sighed as she flipped the book open to the pages they were supposed to have read the night before and began to skim over them, retaining as much information as possible without actually reading it. It wasn't that she was a bad student, in fact, she made mostly A's and B's, it was just that around Fridays, she got into periods of laziness where she wouldn't do anything school-related, and then play catch-up over the weekend.
Just as she was scanning the bottom of the third page she was supposed to have already read, the substitute teacher spoke up, "Hello class, I will be covering for Mrs. Heath today as she had a family emergency and was unable to make it to your school today. I normally teach at another school, but I have been called here as a special favor to someone. I expect you should know you were supposed to have read chapter 23 last night and were supposed to be prepared for a quiz today, so please put away your books and take out a piece of paper and a pen."
Aarien slumped slightly and continued to scan the pages as she reached onto the floor beside her to pull a piece of paper free from a notebook. Still keeping her eyes glued to the page, she fumbled her hand around on the floor until she felt her pen and wrapped her hand around it, picking it up and dropping it onto the desk. Begrudgingly, she closed her book and dropped it the floor beside her desk, wincing slightly as it made a very loud "thud," on the tile.
She blushed sheepishly as the teacher gazed at her with a disapproving look on her face. Aarien breathed a slight sigh of relief as the teacher simply shook her head and turned to the desk, picking up a stack of papers off of it.
The teacher strode through the aisles of desks, laying a piece of paper on each without so much as cracking a smile. Once everyone had a paper on their desk, the teacher announced, "By the way, my name is Professor McGonagall if you need anything. You have until the end of the period to complete the quiz and your final will be tomorrow. Begin."
Aarien worked through the first six questions easily, regurgitating the answers from what she had just read, but as she reached number 7, she realized the quiz had gone beyond what she'd had a chance to read. Now she would have no choice but to resort to guessing, unless - A grin spread across her face. Yes, that is what she would do. When that Professor McGoney, McGongale, whatever her name was, wasn't looking, Aarien slid her book up to in front of her desk a little bit with her foot.
Checking to make sure she still wasn't watching, Aarien muttered under her breath, "Invisiblus Covrai." As if it were magic, the cover of her book as well as every page up until the one she needed were now transparent, allowing her to read every word crystal clearly. She smiled to herself and worked on finishing her test, every so often mumbling another page number under her breath.
She didn't want to get caught cheating, but the smile on her face was clearly visible from anywhere in the room. This was just too easy. She had figured it out on accident one day last semester in a situation similar to her current one. She had just started muttering random phrases she knew wouldn't work to help her cheat her way through the test and one, "Invisblus Covrai" had actually worked.
As Aarien neared the end of the test, she heard a very thin, stern voice, "Miss Jacobson! I would like to speak with you."
Her shoulders fell and she turned her concentration away from the book. Instantly, the cover returned to normal. Aarien looked up to see the substitute teacher standing beside her desk with her hands firmly on her hips. The teacher's eyes were glued to the book. She couldn't have known, could she? Nobody else had ever acted like they could see what was happening to the book…
Keeping her eyes on the floor, Aarien quietly slipped out of her desk and followed the professor out to the hallway, dragging her feet. Never before had she so dreaded speaking with a teacher. Usually she remained on their good sides, so they had little reason to scold her, but she could feel this one coming. She just had a feeling that the stern woman knew she had done something to the book.
As the teacher shut the door to the classroom behind them, she spoke, "Miss Jacobson, I must say I am indeed surprised in your behavior-"
Cutting off the teacher, Aarien quickly tried to explain herself, "I… I'm sorry! I didn't get a chance to read it last night and I thought, well, I didn't think anybody would know and I did know some of it! I didn't…I didn't mean to cheat!"
For the first time in nearly an hour, the stern woman cracked a very slightly smile, putting her hand gently on Aarien's shoulder, "Relax dear, I am not going to yell at you or reprimand you."
"But-…you said you were surprised by my behavior!"
The woman nodded, "I said I was surprised, not disappointed." The smile grew slightly wider, even allowing her teeth to just barely show. "I didn't expect to see you using magic."
Aarien stood there dumbfounded, giving the woman a look that clearly spelled confusion. Shaking her head, the woman sighed, "You really haven't been told anything, have you? I thought Dumbledore was exaggerating."
"Dumbledore? Who?" Aarien felt a creepy sensation overtake her. Her eyes widened as she realized she remembered that name… and McGonagall too. Those names were on those mysterious letters she had found all morning.
The woman sighed and fished inside the folds of her robes for something, pulling out what looked like a baseball card. She handed the card over to Aarien, who looked at it as if it might bite her, "What is this?"
McGonagall sighed, shaking her head, "Yes, I see we have a lot of work to do. That, my dear, is Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Aarien looked up from the card at the woman accusingly, "So it was YOU! You know, it's pretty cruel to play a joke like that. You had me believing in that mess for a moment! I'm just 16 and my mind is still moldable to a point, you shouldn't do stuff like this to a girl who has enough on her mind with finals coming up and everything!"
The woman took a step back from Aarien, obviously surprised by her outburst. Finding her voice, she shook her head, "My dear, I am afraid this is no joke. This is a very serious matter."
Aarien laughed unbelievingly at the woman, "Right… this is all real. And let me guess, you came here to explain to me how you got those letters in my locker and on the bus, and how you knew where I would be, right? Oh, and let me guess… you're also here to explain everything to me because you KNOW I don't believe you and you want to convince me that you're not crazy and that there really is some school to teach wackos how to flick a wand at things and make them move or turn into something else, right?"
McGonagall raised an eyebrow as she eyed Aarien curiously, but she didn't dare interrupt her.
When she got no response out of the woman, Aarien rolled her eyes and continued, "Oh this is crazy! And I thought my parents were weird. Agh! I knew I should stayed home from school today! This is nuts! I am officially going crazy…"
Trying to conceal a smile, McGonagall shook her head, "No dear, I am afraid you are not going crazy. This is all very real, and unfortunately, at the present time, very dangerous to you, which is why we have contacted you against your parents' will."
Aarien flung both arms up into air with a flair. This was all some very crazy story…so crazy that she almost believed the woman. After all, how could someone so stern come up with something THIS crazy? Still, something didn't add up. Her parents couldn't be involved… it just wasn't like them. "Whoa lady… I don't know WHAT you are talking about, but my parents have something to do with this?"
McGonagall nodded slightly, "Well, if you will stop waving your arms around like a duck and actually try to listen to what I am telling you, you would understand it better. And I do suggest that we discuss this elsewhere."
As the woman said this, the bell signaling the end of the day rang and students began filing noisily out of classrooms. Aarien turned her attention back to where the woman was- well, had been standing. Looking around, she could find no sign of the woman, save a small note on the ground.
Picking up the piece of paper timidly, Aarien skimmed over the words: "I know this seems like too much to handle, but speak with your parents when you arrive home. They may seem unwilling at first to speak with you, but persist. You need to be informed of what they haven't told you and they know it. - Professor McGonagall."
As the other students filed in and took their seats, Aarien realized that their teacher wasn't there. "Odd," she mused aloud as she looked around the classroom. No, there was absolutely no sign of her teacher.
"Either I'm not the only one playing Misson: Impossible, or she's sick."
Aarien's observation was soon confirmed as a tall, thin woman strode into the classroom. She stood at least three inches taller than Aarien, and her stern face was highlighted by dark black hair pulled into a tight bun. Though she looked rather, well, mean, there was nothing too out of the ordinary about her… except for those flowing crimson robes she wore over a black, unfitted dress. Both swept the floor around her ankles and gave her the appearance that she was almost floating in mid-air.
Shuddering slightly with a sudden chill, Aarien allowed her eyes to follow the woman and she made her way to the front of the classroom. This was going to be their history substitute teacher?
Aarien gulped as she sat up straighter in her seat, suddenly wishing she had slipped quietly into one of the back seats. From where she was sitting, the teacher could easily watch her and keep her from sleeping, or worse, call on her to answer something from the textbook she hadn't read.
"Great," she muttered, "what a wonderful day to have not done my homework. If she calls on me, I'm gonna look like an idiot."
She sighed as she flipped the book open to the pages they were supposed to have read the night before and began to skim over them, retaining as much information as possible without actually reading it. It wasn't that she was a bad student, in fact, she made mostly A's and B's, it was just that around Fridays, she got into periods of laziness where she wouldn't do anything school-related, and then play catch-up over the weekend.
Just as she was scanning the bottom of the third page she was supposed to have already read, the substitute teacher spoke up, "Hello class, I will be covering for Mrs. Heath today as she had a family emergency and was unable to make it to your school today. I normally teach at another school, but I have been called here as a special favor to someone. I expect you should know you were supposed to have read chapter 23 last night and were supposed to be prepared for a quiz today, so please put away your books and take out a piece of paper and a pen."
Aarien slumped slightly and continued to scan the pages as she reached onto the floor beside her to pull a piece of paper free from a notebook. Still keeping her eyes glued to the page, she fumbled her hand around on the floor until she felt her pen and wrapped her hand around it, picking it up and dropping it onto the desk. Begrudgingly, she closed her book and dropped it the floor beside her desk, wincing slightly as it made a very loud "thud," on the tile.
She blushed sheepishly as the teacher gazed at her with a disapproving look on her face. Aarien breathed a slight sigh of relief as the teacher simply shook her head and turned to the desk, picking up a stack of papers off of it.
The teacher strode through the aisles of desks, laying a piece of paper on each without so much as cracking a smile. Once everyone had a paper on their desk, the teacher announced, "By the way, my name is Professor McGonagall if you need anything. You have until the end of the period to complete the quiz and your final will be tomorrow. Begin."
Aarien worked through the first six questions easily, regurgitating the answers from what she had just read, but as she reached number 7, she realized the quiz had gone beyond what she'd had a chance to read. Now she would have no choice but to resort to guessing, unless - A grin spread across her face. Yes, that is what she would do. When that Professor McGoney, McGongale, whatever her name was, wasn't looking, Aarien slid her book up to in front of her desk a little bit with her foot.
Checking to make sure she still wasn't watching, Aarien muttered under her breath, "Invisiblus Covrai." As if it were magic, the cover of her book as well as every page up until the one she needed were now transparent, allowing her to read every word crystal clearly. She smiled to herself and worked on finishing her test, every so often mumbling another page number under her breath.
She didn't want to get caught cheating, but the smile on her face was clearly visible from anywhere in the room. This was just too easy. She had figured it out on accident one day last semester in a situation similar to her current one. She had just started muttering random phrases she knew wouldn't work to help her cheat her way through the test and one, "Invisblus Covrai" had actually worked.
As Aarien neared the end of the test, she heard a very thin, stern voice, "Miss Jacobson! I would like to speak with you."
Her shoulders fell and she turned her concentration away from the book. Instantly, the cover returned to normal. Aarien looked up to see the substitute teacher standing beside her desk with her hands firmly on her hips. The teacher's eyes were glued to the book. She couldn't have known, could she? Nobody else had ever acted like they could see what was happening to the book…
Keeping her eyes on the floor, Aarien quietly slipped out of her desk and followed the professor out to the hallway, dragging her feet. Never before had she so dreaded speaking with a teacher. Usually she remained on their good sides, so they had little reason to scold her, but she could feel this one coming. She just had a feeling that the stern woman knew she had done something to the book.
As the teacher shut the door to the classroom behind them, she spoke, "Miss Jacobson, I must say I am indeed surprised in your behavior-"
Cutting off the teacher, Aarien quickly tried to explain herself, "I… I'm sorry! I didn't get a chance to read it last night and I thought, well, I didn't think anybody would know and I did know some of it! I didn't…I didn't mean to cheat!"
For the first time in nearly an hour, the stern woman cracked a very slightly smile, putting her hand gently on Aarien's shoulder, "Relax dear, I am not going to yell at you or reprimand you."
"But-…you said you were surprised by my behavior!"
The woman nodded, "I said I was surprised, not disappointed." The smile grew slightly wider, even allowing her teeth to just barely show. "I didn't expect to see you using magic."
Aarien stood there dumbfounded, giving the woman a look that clearly spelled confusion. Shaking her head, the woman sighed, "You really haven't been told anything, have you? I thought Dumbledore was exaggerating."
"Dumbledore? Who?" Aarien felt a creepy sensation overtake her. Her eyes widened as she realized she remembered that name… and McGonagall too. Those names were on those mysterious letters she had found all morning.
The woman sighed and fished inside the folds of her robes for something, pulling out what looked like a baseball card. She handed the card over to Aarien, who looked at it as if it might bite her, "What is this?"
McGonagall sighed, shaking her head, "Yes, I see we have a lot of work to do. That, my dear, is Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Aarien looked up from the card at the woman accusingly, "So it was YOU! You know, it's pretty cruel to play a joke like that. You had me believing in that mess for a moment! I'm just 16 and my mind is still moldable to a point, you shouldn't do stuff like this to a girl who has enough on her mind with finals coming up and everything!"
The woman took a step back from Aarien, obviously surprised by her outburst. Finding her voice, she shook her head, "My dear, I am afraid this is no joke. This is a very serious matter."
Aarien laughed unbelievingly at the woman, "Right… this is all real. And let me guess, you came here to explain to me how you got those letters in my locker and on the bus, and how you knew where I would be, right? Oh, and let me guess… you're also here to explain everything to me because you KNOW I don't believe you and you want to convince me that you're not crazy and that there really is some school to teach wackos how to flick a wand at things and make them move or turn into something else, right?"
McGonagall raised an eyebrow as she eyed Aarien curiously, but she didn't dare interrupt her.
When she got no response out of the woman, Aarien rolled her eyes and continued, "Oh this is crazy! And I thought my parents were weird. Agh! I knew I should stayed home from school today! This is nuts! I am officially going crazy…"
Trying to conceal a smile, McGonagall shook her head, "No dear, I am afraid you are not going crazy. This is all very real, and unfortunately, at the present time, very dangerous to you, which is why we have contacted you against your parents' will."
Aarien flung both arms up into air with a flair. This was all some very crazy story…so crazy that she almost believed the woman. After all, how could someone so stern come up with something THIS crazy? Still, something didn't add up. Her parents couldn't be involved… it just wasn't like them. "Whoa lady… I don't know WHAT you are talking about, but my parents have something to do with this?"
McGonagall nodded slightly, "Well, if you will stop waving your arms around like a duck and actually try to listen to what I am telling you, you would understand it better. And I do suggest that we discuss this elsewhere."
As the woman said this, the bell signaling the end of the day rang and students began filing noisily out of classrooms. Aarien turned her attention back to where the woman was- well, had been standing. Looking around, she could find no sign of the woman, save a small note on the ground.
Picking up the piece of paper timidly, Aarien skimmed over the words: "I know this seems like too much to handle, but speak with your parents when you arrive home. They may seem unwilling at first to speak with you, but persist. You need to be informed of what they haven't told you and they know it. - Professor McGonagall."