Chapter Nine--Anticipation
Once again, JK Rowling = owns stuff = genius = don't sue
Several hours later, Georgie was in a funk. She was drinking Diet Coke while lying spread out on her couch with her feet up, a fire was burning bright in the fireplace and the room was cozy, but that didn't reflect in Georgie. She had gone completely through her new guitar music book, but she hadn't liked any of the new songs anyway. It was well past midnight, but it felt odd going to sleep so early, she tried to convince herself.
She sat up and shifted her back so that it soaked up the warmth from the fire evenly. She strummed slowly as she sang lowly and melancholically:
Sing me to sleep,
Sing me to sleep;
I'm tired and I
I want to go to bed.
Sing me to sleep,
Sing me to sleep,
And then leave me alone.
Don't try to wake me in the morning,
'Cause I will be gone.
Don't feel bad for me,
I want you to know,
Deep in the cell of my heart,
I will feel so glad to go.
Sing me to sleep,
Sing me to sleep,
I don't want to wake up,
On my own anymore.
Sing to me, Sing to me
I don't want to wake up
On my own anymore.
Don't feel bad for me
I want you to know
Deep in the cell of my heart
I really want to go.
There is another world
There is a better world
Well, there must be,
Well, there must be...
She stopped suddenly and ran her hands absently through her hair.
She jumped and gave a cry when she heard a voice behind her. "That's a nice song." She twisted around to see Snape standing behind her, in front of the fireplace.
Heaving a sigh of relief, she nodded. "I'm a poor singer. It's a bit depressing I think." She turned from him. He stepped further into the room.
"You should try and make noise when you walk, you know," as she yawned.
"Walking silently has saved my life on more than one occasion." She grimaced at his casual speaking.
"Why are you still up?" He asked suspiciously.
"Couldn't sleep." That was true to some degree. He looked at her like she was lying to him, so she glared at him. Then ignoring him, she strummed lightly on her strings.
"I must go to Dumbledore immediately, so if you'll excuse me, I'll bid you goodnight."
"Goodnight," she echoed almost lazily.
At the door, the tall dark figure turned and said slowly and deliberately, "It's nice having someone waiting up for you."
She didn't look up as she responded lamely without thinking, "And it's nice waiting up for someone." With that, he left.
She stood up and collected her things from the room and headed off to bed. She was just glad he wasn't bleeding or worse, she felt a hundred times lighter. He'd gone out twice that week and there were more and more reports of killings and tortures that she couldn't stand to read the paper any longer. She left the fire going though, so it'd be warm when he returned. Her eyes had barely closed, when she fell immediately into a deep sleep.
Georgie woke the next morning with not a thought on her mind of what had transpired last night, but thought only of the fact that the students were arriving that very night. What fun and potential and craziness there was to be had. She bounded across the room and picked out a clean and especially striking outfit, she wanted to make a good first impression. She grabbed a towel and danced off to the shower, humming lowly to herself.
On returning, she rummaged through the piles of her clothing and bags and boxes and found the enchanted necklace she had bought with Minerva in Diagon Alley. She slipped that on loosely and tied to her large wrist a wooden Tiki bracelet. For luck she told herself, though she didn't believe in luck. She liked to wear it to confuse ignorant people who thought she looked like one who might dabble in Voodoo magick. She brushed her hair in front of the tiny mirror hanging on her wall until the top at least was flattened down, but the unruly curls still fell down her neck. She stuck her wand to her head and uttered a Holding charm on her hair. Looking herself over as she slipped her robes on, she nodded in acceptance.
At least it's an improvement, she thought, though no one would mistake her for someone who was gorgeous, but at least not grotesque. She sighed as she reasoned with herself, No, it wasn't that she had low self-esteem or anything, it was just she saw it as fact. People excel in different things. Her thing wasn't beauty, but she was content enough with the gifts she had so she didn't harp on it for too long.
She bustled out into the lounge to see if Snape was ready for Breakfast. He was sitting on the couch reading his paper, which he set down when she came out.
"You took longer than usual." He stared her down without expression.
"Sorry."
"You're wearing jewelry." He noted with what sounded like dissatisfaction.
"Sorry." Geesh, he sounded like her own father.
"You did something with your hair." His gaze didn't brake off.
"Sorry again." This was a pointless conversation; she was losing patience quickly.
"Perfume?"
"Ha! Nope, not wearing perfume!" She grinned, trying to sever the tension. "Gotcha!" She winked at him. "Now, come on, let's get going." She whined.
He stood and followed her out into the Common Room then out into the corridor.
She almost started skipping as he soon out-paced her with his strides, but she was spinning and hopping anxiously and clasping and unclasping her hands.
"Excited about something?" He sneered at her.
"Duh! How can you not be!? In just a few hours these halls will be full of students whose brains are just aching to be filled with your knowledge. There's going to be excitement, mishaps, arguments, crushes, hopes, failures-all of it starts tonight! Isn't it awesome!" She drawled.
Snape looked forward, "After 15 years of teaching, I cannot get as easily worked up as you can."
"Well, just think of it like this. There'll be new Slytherins to look after, there'll be heaps of empty heads who don't know a whit about Potions that you can transform into veritable gods at the craft, plus there'll be the House Competition and Quidditch to keep you on your toes." She knew she'd gotten through. Snape secretly adored Quidditch, though he wouldn't let on to anyone he was fond of such a childish endeavor.
The walked on in silence, his tall, thin, pale form stepping with purpose while the shorter, dark and broad figure next to him danced and pranced as if it were springtime.
They entered through the doors and Georgie was pleased to see the other Professors had also dressed with more care that day. She stuck her tongue out at him discretely as he stepped away from her to his seat, as to rub it in. Minerva looked especially grand as her hair was twisted up into an intricate coif unfortunately hidden under her hat.
Hagrid was already started on his food, but he plucked her sleeve when she sat down and leaned in towards her. "Ya wanna go with me to meet the Hogwarts Express tonight? I asked Dumbledore and he said it'd be fine by 'im, if you were up to it." He looked at her and she grinned broadly and thanked him profusely.
Lupin looked slightly healthier than he had looked the past few days too, which was a miracle in and of itself, she giggled. He was pretty cute, she thought offhandedly and when he wasn't looking, to be wasting away. Then as if someone could read her thoughts, she felt her face burning and twittered with slight embarrassment. No one seemed to notice as she swept the table for eyes, so she was safe. Geesh, Paranoid Georgie! No one can read your thoughts! She considered the possibility that she were going mental.
He wasn't as old as her father or mother--they were quite old when she was born and went to them, but still it'd be a big enough age jump that she didn't even want to think twice about the possibility. 15 years wasn't really such a big deal for her, but she felt that deep down in her heart that it was just being silly, that Remus was just a friend and that there was no way in hell he would look on her as otherwise. But she smiled at the secret information nonetheless.
Breakfast ended much to quickly; time seemed to simply drag on. She wondered how she'd last until the evening. She wandered through the castle's hallways alone directly after the meal. She ran into Peeves the Poltergeist at the end of a shadowy hallway and ran whooping and hollering back from whence she came as he started to hurl several potted plants that had formerly lined the walls right at her. She explored corridors and open galleries for what seemed like hours. She had never seen so many of these rooms. Of course she knew Hogwarts was enchanted, and staircases and rooms were always moving about, but it amazed her that there were so many she hadn't come across. She had discovered a passageway that lead from the corridor right outside of the kitchen to almost directly in front of the Hufflepuff Common room. Unfortunate she wasn't a Hufflepuff, she lamented.
She slowly meandered back to the Dungeons and let herself in. Snape was sitting on the coach and didn't look up. Man, she was bored! She plunked herself down on the couch and sighed heavily. She twisted her face up into a deep grimace. What to do? She had a full day, but she couldn't go anywhere, and she didn't have any work to do. She could always read, but it was such a lovely day.
She twisted in her seat so that her head was now where her feet ought to be and her feet rested nicely on the back cushions of the couch. She kicked her shoes off and behind the couch and they landed with a loud clank. Her robes were falling down over her face, and she fussed to keep them pushed up.
Snape finally stole a glance at his companion and glowered. "Why do you always do that? It you look almost indecent."
"Snape, damnit," rolling her eyes in annoyance. "I'm wearing pants and a shirt; I'm not freaking naked. It's only you and me here you know. You're such a prude."
He shot her a 'drop-dead' look and returned to his paper.
"I'm going into Hogsmeade. Need anything?" She righted herself, with only a slight light-headedness. It was fun.
"No." He said flatly.
"Okily, see you later then." Georgie stood up and slipped back into her shoes. She mounted the first of many staircases up to the Gryffindor tower. She was going to ask Minerva if she wanted to tag along.
Before she knew it Minerva and Georgie were passing by the far end of the lake and ambling out the great gates of Hogwarts. Minerva daintily maneuvered the railroad tracks as Georgie barely noticed their presence. It turned out Minerva wanted a book from Dervish and Banges, a well-stocked wizarding supply store, plus she'd never turn down a look at the latest styles Gladrags offered. Georgie knew that Minerva had an obsession with nice clothing and shoes--she didn't know anyone else in the world with Minerva's collection of footwear.
Georgie wanted to attack Honeydukes with the fury of a tornado, but she compromised and only bought two bags of sweets. She loved their fudge and had bought a huge hunk of the stuff.
Georgie was complimenting her on her choice of attire that day, but Minerva wanted something new for the new school year. Georgie knew that Minerva probably had already bought several robes for the new school year, but she just smiled knowingly to herself. At Gladrags Minerva and Georgie took turns trying on different colors and styles of robes and modeling them. Minerva looked fab in a gray robe made of some soft stuff, it made the austere women look a bit warmer. Georgie slightly pressured her to buy it, but didn't feel too bad about it. She would look perfect in the color and sleeves were ever so slightly feminine. And Minerva didn't really need her arm twisted to get her to buy anything.
Georgie bought a robe of a forest green color, very simply made up, but Minerva said it made her look more golden and less exotic. Georgie wondered at that statement--what was wrong with looking like she looked anyway? But she liked the robe for it's own sake and hell, she was a Slytherin....
They missed Lunch, but spent the rest of the afternoon in Dervish and Banges, Minerva taken captive by the book section and Georgie perusing the potion ingredient section. She frowned slightly, as the prices were a tad bit higher than in Diagon, but what could one expect from a smaller shop.
She was examining a drawer-full of dragon-scales set next to basilisk-scales, when a voice spoke over her shoulder, "Basilisk scales are cheaper." She didn't avert her eyes as she replied, "Yeah, but I need Dragon-scales and nothing less for what I'm doing.
Snape leaned forward and into her line of sight, "What are you doing?"
"Can't tell, would have to kill you if I divulged..."
"Probably illegal," he tried to draw it out from her.
"Probably," she grinned. "What're you doing here?"
"Needed something."
"I asked if you needed anything. You said no. Didn't you trust me, or has something dire come up within the past few hours?"
"I trust you, and nothing dire has come up." He turned around and leaned against the counter she looking over. He eyed her parcels disdainfully. "Having a good time shopping?"
"Oh course!" She laughed cordially. "How could I not, Minerva's great company and I love parting with my money for things I don't even need."
"Typical female." He sneered and pushed off the counter and stepped back.
She rolled her eyes blatantly, "Typical male to say that."
"Now if you'll excuse me," he bowed out.
Turning back to her scales and creepy things. Hm, that was weird, she allowed before bringing a jar of tubeworms up to her eye-level for inspection "Yick!"
Georgie paid for her purchases and sought out Minerva who was just about to purchase her books. She spied Snape scanning the bookshelves for something or other...Dancing up to Minerva's side she shifted her parcel's about in her arms, making it easier to handle. "You alright?"
"Yes, let me just take care of these, then we can hike on back to the castle." She smiled down on Georgie and Georgie winked at her and poked through a box of decorative charms on a side counter with her free hand. She held one up to the light that was a round Celtic knot inlaid with silver. It looked very old, but was kinda cool anyway. Georgie studied it, then set it down. Ah, shopping! And with Minerva it felt like shopping with her mother had felt: fun and chatty and girly. Georgie guessed the woman to be about her mother's age, but there weren't many other similarities. Georgie's mother was a bit high-strung, but also a little dizzy at the same time. Her mother'd lose her head if it weren't fastened on correctly.
Minerva seemed younger somehow, like she were still a daughter to someone and not a mother. So even when Georgie felt that Minerva might be looking down on her for being young or inexperienced, Georgie always thought of her more as a friend than as one of the 'adults' she used to war against in her adolescence.
The woman paid for her books, and received them back over the counter all wrapped up. She gave the younger woman a short smile and they both swept out the door. They strolled down the main street and began to clamber up the incline to the castle. Minerva was strict where safety and decorum was involved, but she had a sense of humor every bit as sharp as Georgie's and the reveled all the way up and into the entryway, where they parted: Georgie scuttled down one set of stairs while Minerva ascended an opposite set.
After putting away her new prizes she set down on the couch after snatching up a book. She was reading up on the Multiverse Theory when Snape burst in the door, balancing a long parcel in his hands, curious.... "Need a hand with that Snape?" He stopped in his tracks, shook his head sharply and continued on into his room.
"Can't say I didn't try," under her breath as she picked up her book again. She just had to wait until Hagrid came for her and then they'd be going down to the Hogsmeade, but it was going to be hard to concentrate.
Snape returned after some time in his room. He'd changed from his usual black robes into...Different black robes. Georgie fought the urge to laugh outright at this. Creative bugger, wasn't he?
"Wow," she sort of played it up. "You look almost good. See, you do care about the students."
"I'm not going to acknowledge that comment because it's absurd." Ah, Snape cares, how sweet, she taunted in her head.
"And your hair's all brushed and stuff. What's that I see? Oh my goodness! Someone grab a camera! I do believe his robes aren't black--they are off-black!" She nearly raved.
He shot her a look as he flicked his wand and brought a fire to life.
"It's not even sunset yet, you goober!"
"It will be quite late when we return, the feast runs longer than usual meals do and we have a house meeting...." He explained condescendingly.
"Ah, I see. So, you're dressing to impress the Slytherins? Must be..."
"Think what you will, I don't care," He said tiredly as he leaned back and shut his eyes.
"You're tired?" She ventured after a few moments.
"Extremelly. How observant of you."
"Well, take some Sleeping Potion tonight." As soon as she said that, she wished she could take it back, He had probably already resolved to do so, it was obvious. That was Georgie--Speak first, think later.
"I'm out. Madam Pomfrey cleaned me out right after you left this morning. It appears Sprout has had some difficulty sleeping this past week as Peeves has taken to terrorizing her doorstep apparently. I'll have to brew some up tomorrow." He brought his hands up to his temples.
"Screw that. It's simple, I'll do it for ya after the feast, no prob."
"No, don't do that."
"Why the hell shouldn't I?" She demanded.
"No need, really. It's only me and it's dangerous."
"Well you're out, so you need it anyway. Plus, I'm going to do it whether you like it or not. It's easy for me. It's only potions involving blood, like immortality and necromancy potions that I have trouble with..."
His eyes shot open in alarm at that. "Joking," She smiled. He glared at her and went back to massaging his temples.
She jumped to her feet and grabbed up her cauldron and the ingredients she would need and dropped them off in the classroom she would use. She returned in no time flat and she highly suspected Snape hadn't realized she'd even left.
"Snape?" She asked after several moments of staring off into space.
"What?"
"Could you kill Voldemort?"
He lowered his eyes to see her clearly. She was looking doleful out the window when she asked.
"I don't know," He answered truthfully. "I know I want to. I hope that when the time comes it won't be me, but instead someone surer of his abilities," He frowned. "Ministry people have long believed only Potter could do it--him having some sort of connection...." He rubbed his left forearm absently.
Georgie pitied him immensely at that moment and wanted to hug him or something, but she couldn't and wouldn't do that. She felt sick at the mention of anyone having to fight Voldemort. Most who did, didn't live to tell about it. And Harry was a just a child still. The war was hitting too close to home once again.
"Do you sometimes think you might die out there?" She feared she was asking too much now, and held her breath to await his answer or rebuttal.
"All the time. When I was younger I welcomed it--did risky and daring things. But I was driven by a wish to die--to atone for my deeds, I wanted to die for the right side and just be over with it. Penance. Now, I'm forced to complete the same tasks, but I must live to watch out for Potter and now that I have some semblance of a life now, I find that I'm not eager to go out yet. It...." He paused, "Scares me to know that now I'm like everyone else who doesn't want to die, but risks everything anyway. So much time wasted, so much not said and done in life..." he seemed to forget she was in the room as his eyes took a far off look to them.
She felt like blubbering but wouldn't allow herself to show the weakness. She tried to look elsewhere as Snape's eyes slowly refocused and sought hers. She looked miserable, Snape noted.
"Severus?" He nodded slowly without leaving her eyes.
"Don't die okay?" She meant that in all seriousness but it probably came out wrong. She didn't want to lose her friend, and she was feeling uncomfortable with all the seriousness.
"I'm not trying to Georgie." The corners of his mouth twitched up into a half-smile. "Don't look so down. I'm not dying anytime soon." She broke into a smile at this but was not laughing at his attempt at humor.
"Good, 'cuz if you died, I'd have to hunt you down, resurrect you and then murder you myself."
"Counter-productive, but do what you must." His eyes twinkled. "Now, how about some music?"
"Only if you promise to say nothing about my voice." She was already to the door of her room.
She came back, guitar in hand, "You know you should really learn to play. You've got good taste in music and you say it soothes you. It's not that difficult." She sat the guitar over her knees and plucked the strings as she tuned the instrument.
"I have no need to so long as you're here." He smirked.
"Oh, so that's all I'm good for--your entertainment?" She laughed.
"Yes." He agreed.
"So, shall it be a comedy or a tragedy tonight? --You know," she interrupted herself. "If we had a TV we could watch films and things on video. Then Georgie wouldn't have to play and get calluses on her fingers?"
"You have calluses on your fingers from this?" he asked alarmedly.
"Nah, " she partly lied. "I just wanted to freak ya out." They weren't only from the guitar, she reasoned.
"Back to your original question, how about a relaxing comedy? With barbaric overtones." He challenged.
"Oh yeah, I've got just the one..." and she shot him a look. "Where the hell do you come up with this crap? 'Barbaric?' Sometimes..." She shook her head.
She strummed for a few minutes, then suddenly, her head popped up and she announced, "I've got one though it's not nearly barbaric enough for your tastes, I'd venture." Pausing for one more minute: "Ah, screw it, haven't a clue what to sing."
Green grow the rushes, O
Green grow the rushes, O
The sweetest hours that ever I spent
Are spent among the lassies, O
There's naught but care on every hand
In every hour that passes, O
What signifies the life of man
If it were not for the lassies, O
The worldly race may riches chase
And riches still may fly them, O
And though at last they catch them fast
Their hearts can ne'er enjoy them, O
Give me a cannie hour at e'en
My arms around my dearie, O
The wisest man the world e'er saw
He dearly loved the lassies, O
Old nature swears the lovely dears
Her noblest work she classes, O
Her apprentice hand she tried on man
And then she made the lassies, O
Snape looked deep in thought at the end of the song. She continued strumming a new song with no words, then she asked him if he liked it.
"I think that's slightly ribald, but I liked it nonetheless."
"You did?!" she prodded cuttingly. "One always has to be careful of the quiet ones..."
"Georgie?"
"Yeah."
"Shut-up."
"Gladly." She leered.
An hour later, after Georgie began the childish Huki-lau song and wouldn't cease until Snape was pointing his wand at her, there was a knock.
"Hagrid!" She leapt up and an astonished Snape watched her as she and her guitar flew off to her room which happened to be in the opposite direction of Hagrid's knocking. Snape, sighed, and rose to his feet and opened the door to Hagrid. Hagrid grinned down at the beanpole of a man and wished him a good evening. Hagrid stepped inside momentarily, "Ya know, Fang's been missin' ya sumthin' awful, Severus."
"I assure you that the feeling's not mutual. Last time I visited he drooled on my knees the entire time."
Hagrid, puffed up his chest, defending his boarhound. "He's just friendly. Nuthin' wrong with bein' friendly! He likes ya though, and that's no small matter!"
"Lucky me..." He began, but was interrupted by Georgie tearing out of her room and across to where they were standing by the door. "Ready?" She asked excitedly of Hagrid, her eyes were sparkling.
The rest of the evening swept by in a blur. They had only been standing at the station for about 15 minutes when the train pulled in. Hagrid scowled and looked at his watch. "Early," he muttered.
He boomed for the first years to follow him, but not before he turned his large frame around as some boy called out his name. It was Harry Potter and crew. Hagrid introduced them all in turn and she shook their hands warmly, before Hagrid pushed them off in the other direction.
She had followed Hagrid into boat with two cowering first year students, where she tried to smile at them to reassure them. The boats had taken them across automatically and the new students stayed huddled together: either for warmth or out of fear. No offense to her friend Hagrid, but he did pose a striking picture, enough to scare any small child--even though she knew he wouldn't hurt a fly, the students didn't yet know that. Even Georgie towered above the crowd, she felt oddly like a nursery-school teacher.
How they ended up out of the boats and at the great doors, Georgie never did figure out. She was too overwhelmed, swept up in the moment. She was trying to place herself in the new students' shoes--arriving here at nighttime when everything was lit up. It was spectacular, she admitted.
Hagrid pounded down the doors and Minerva answered them looking stern once again, she directed the first-years to wait in the ante-chamber for a few moments. Georgie knew they were going to be sorted so she remained with Hagrid. She tapped Minerva on the shoulder just as she was about to return to the antechamber, "Um, where should I sit?" She hissed a whisper.
"With the staff of course," she smiled at her unease. "Don't worry so, Georgie. You look terrified." She twittered off.
Hagrid offered her his arm and the swept into the Great Hall and up to the high Table. It felt totally different now that there were hundreds of students there and their eyes all seemed to be on the new girl walking with Hagrid up to the table. She sat down uneasily and fidgeted in her seat.
The sorting was fascinating for her in an admittedly sick way. The students were terrified, but everyone watching got some satisfaction in knowing that their time was over and done with, so now they could sit back and watch others suffer publicly. Georgie refrained from hooting for the newly announced Slytherins. She was often at odds with understanding what was proper and respectable here and what was not. At the institute one spoke and did what one felt, it was a very liberating policy, but it had gotten her in trouble heaps of times also.
After the sorting had ended, Dumbledore stood and the hall was silent. He welcomed the students back, shared a few words ("I didn't know 'cattawhumpus' was a word" aside to Hagrid), then lead the school song.
Georgie thankfully didn't know it, nor could she see the words written in the air, so was spared the embarrassment of singing the awful song, she grimaced when the last solo voice broke off. And she was always putting her voice down!?
Dumbledore turned then and smiled right at her. Oh no, she thought mournfully. "And this year we are pleased to introduce a new student to out ranks. Miss Flaing joins us from The Institute in Poland where she has been studying advanced magic, but is now transferring here. She will be in Slytherin." She didn't know whether to stand up or not, but Hagrid resolved this by almost lifting her out of her chair and onto her feet. "She will attend some classes, but as she has already graduated and is a full-fledged witch, she will spend much of her time with independent study and assisting Professors with teaching. Please extend to her the same courtesy you would to all of your Professors and your fellow students." She heard a few sniggers, and feeling all eyes on her she was grateful to take her seat once more.
Dumbledore then concluded with a warning to stay out of the Forbidden Forest and then instructed everyone to eat. Right before her very eyes the table was suddenly topped with mountains of glorious food. "Good thing I skipped lunch," she spoke aside to Hagrid who grinned as he helped himself to potatoes.
Georgie loved food--it showed too--but it was a good thing, because if an ordinary person had tried to cram down as much as she did they wouldn't have wanted to look at anything edible for at least a week. It was different now up here, the din of the voices echoing throughout the hall, having eyes staring at her, being under scrutiny--it'd take some getting used to.
She resolved that sometime next week she'd sit down with the Slytherins and try to get to know some of them. Hagrid warned that this might be a bit hasty of an idea, but she shrugged it off rationalizing that she and Snape were both Slytherin--so what could be that bad? Then she stopped and laughed as she imagined possible gruesome outcomes.
At the end of the meal Snape motioned for her to get up and follow him. They walked side by side to the dungeons. The Prefects were delivering everyone to the common room and he wanted her to be there so everyone could get a good look at her.
"Why? So they'll know what I looked like before I get hexed?"
"No, so they'll not try anything with you and so they'll see that you are above them by standing up with me."
"Snape's gonna kick your ass, Snape's gonna kick your ass..." She sang, poking fun at him.
Looking around the room at the Slytherins she wondered how in the world she'd ended up here. There were a few sweet-faced kids, but most of them looked surly and mean, and she could imagine quite a few of them inflicting harm upon others. Snape had everyone mesmerized by his voice and no one said anything as he laid down the rules and explained the term for them. She wondered if Dumbledore was playing a joke and had bewitched the Sorting hat to stick her in here. Yes, she was ambitious, but she hoped she was brave and kind and smart also. Compared to half of these kids she was probably as un-Slytherin as you could get, she mulled over in her mind.
When that was over Snape went back to their lounge and Georgie took off in the opposite direction for the classroom where her cauldron was set up in waiting. She quickly started a fire beneath it and tossed in the first ingredients, then stood over it stirring lightly. She was slightly baffled at this. Now she was coming to understand Hagrid's warnings and Minerva's pursed lips whenever she spoke of the Slytherins. How could Dumbledore have such a scary House, year after year? She understood from the scientific point of view how having the whole spectrum, made for a better balance, but she couldn't come to see why if they continually churned out bad wizards they kept it up. And why was she here?
She without realizing it dumped in the two last ingredients and finished up the potion. She snapped out of her mind wanderings and set to bottling the stuff up. She'd made quite a lot actually, but she dexterously filled and stoppered the bottles, then with a wave of her hand cleaned the entire area up.
Padding back inside, she almost jumped with the many bottles in her arms when she was surprised by there still being quite a few students milling about in the Common Room. She met the eyes of a few of them as they turned and stared at her as she brushed through, and she smiled lightly at them. She had forgotten to expect them--yes, things would take a few days to get used to.
Snape was lying out on his couch. She tossed a bottle into his lap and set the rest upon the top of a bookshelf by the door--he could deal with them in the morning.
She yawned as plodded across the room and collapsed into a heap on the couch, tucking her legs up under her.
"You could take a bottle too." Snape called to her.
"No, I have no problem sleeping--it's the waking up part I don't particularly like." She mumbled dryly.
"Go to bed, Snape." She had looked over and he looked to be almost asleep.
"I can't until I've made my rounds." He grimaced.
"Well, make 'em already. Or better still, teach me where to go and stuff, so I can help. Apprentice learning from the master and all that..."
"I don't think you realize what you're asking. They're tedious."
"Nifty. Shall we get started then." She figured she could take over when he was out, him doing things she didn't want to think about....
He stood and sighed, "Yes I suppose."
It was quite late already, and Snape doubted too many students would venture abroad on the first night back--most were still catching up with their fellow House members and friends that they hadn't seen all summer.
Snape outlined where most students were caught, what sort of punishments were usually dolled out, how to get to Dumbledore's office if there was a serious problem, which passages lead where--a very thorough tour, Georgie grinned. She wished he'd told her some of this the first night.
An hour and half later, Snape queried if she felt comfortable with the procedure and she consented that it was 'cake.' So they both made a beeline back down to the dungeons. Snape wasn't looking so menacing, so she figured he was about to pass out from exhaustion. She left him once inside the door explaining she needed something from the kitchens, and bid him goodnight. She laughed, as she doubted he had taken in any of the last bit of conversation.
She nearly ran down to the kitchens, thanking the house elves for their lovely job on the Start-of-Term feast and picking up some wonderful herbal tea they'd gotten for her. Holding the mug tightly in her hands she raced back to the dungeons, sipping it lightly so it didn't slosh about as she walked.
She hummed as she entered the Common Room and was pleased to see the last of them had gone off to bed. She entered their lounge and almost dropped her mug. Snape had fallen asleep on the couch, his hand still clutching the bottle of unused Sleep Potion. She chuckled to herself: how ironic. She set her mug down on the table in the center of the room and stood over him regarding. She killed the fire cackling in it's fireplace, then sat on the table, pushing her mug aside. What to do, what to do?
If she left him there, he might be uncomfortable, he might get cold, he might miss his alarm clock--if he wakes to one, she didn't know. He might be embarrassed at being left out here. But on the other hand he was too heavy to lift, and she couldn't try and maneuver him through the door in the dark. She smiled a little at the thought of 'accidentally' smashing his nose into the doorframe, but put that away quickly.
She reached over and gently pried his fingers off the bottle and set it down beside her. She stood and taking her wand from her robes, she barely whispered "Alevitecorpus." He would be lighter now, and she would be able to lift him easier. She leaned over him and reached her arms around his side and held on for dear life, but to her amazement he really was a great deal lighter, but she still didn't want him smashing his nose either.
She lifted him up to her height, and then inched him up even higher so he wouldn't drag his feet. It was awkward, but at least he wasn't weighing her down. She silently prayed he wouldn't wake up and freak out at finding himself being carried off to his bedchamber or thinking something repulsive. She took slow and deliberate steps and had to pause at his door to try and turn the doorknob while not dropping the man. Then she had to turn sideways to get them both through the doorway one at a time.
She glanced quickly around his room using the light coming from the open door, and she paused a second as she realized she'd never actually been in here. It was actually two connected rooms-quite a bit larger than she own were, she reminded herself to grumble about that later. There were books from the floor to the ceiling, a sizable four-poster bed and bottles lining the bookshelves and cabinets. A desk was pushed up underneath a window and there were tapestries hanging on the wall-heaps of other nice stuff too. Not too shabby Snape, she thought approvingly to herself as she brought them both over to the bed. Sure, it wasn't a manor house, but it seemed to fit him still.
Leaning him against her she yanked back the coverlet with one hand and sat Snape down on the bed. She used one hand to steady him while with the other she slipped off his shoes; big stinky feet, she grinned. She then spun him and lay his head on the pillows and brought the covers up to his chest. He was dead to the world and she hoped he'd already set his alarm because there was no way in hell she'd find it in this darkness.
Convinced he was okay, she stopped before exiting, kissed two of her fingers and brought them down on his forehead. "'Night Severus." She gruffly stalked from the room, and shut the door quietly behind her, then shut her own bedroom door shut behind her. At the second sound one of Snape's eyes slowly opened then shut again, he wasn't sure if he'd dreamt that or not....
A/N: Hullo, just a warning, I'm going to drag this story on for as long as I think I can and as long as I still have fun humiliating the characters, so beware there may be dry times ahead. Sorry, but this is all for my own personal enjoyment.
Fact of the Chapter: The guy who owns the Guinness brewery got the lease for the next 9,000 years at £45. I read it on that thing the waitress sets the glass down on. Ha!
Once again, JK Rowling = owns stuff = genius = don't sue
Several hours later, Georgie was in a funk. She was drinking Diet Coke while lying spread out on her couch with her feet up, a fire was burning bright in the fireplace and the room was cozy, but that didn't reflect in Georgie. She had gone completely through her new guitar music book, but she hadn't liked any of the new songs anyway. It was well past midnight, but it felt odd going to sleep so early, she tried to convince herself.
She sat up and shifted her back so that it soaked up the warmth from the fire evenly. She strummed slowly as she sang lowly and melancholically:
Sing me to sleep,
Sing me to sleep;
I'm tired and I
I want to go to bed.
Sing me to sleep,
Sing me to sleep,
And then leave me alone.
Don't try to wake me in the morning,
'Cause I will be gone.
Don't feel bad for me,
I want you to know,
Deep in the cell of my heart,
I will feel so glad to go.
Sing me to sleep,
Sing me to sleep,
I don't want to wake up,
On my own anymore.
Sing to me, Sing to me
I don't want to wake up
On my own anymore.
Don't feel bad for me
I want you to know
Deep in the cell of my heart
I really want to go.
There is another world
There is a better world
Well, there must be,
Well, there must be...
She stopped suddenly and ran her hands absently through her hair.
She jumped and gave a cry when she heard a voice behind her. "That's a nice song." She twisted around to see Snape standing behind her, in front of the fireplace.
Heaving a sigh of relief, she nodded. "I'm a poor singer. It's a bit depressing I think." She turned from him. He stepped further into the room.
"You should try and make noise when you walk, you know," as she yawned.
"Walking silently has saved my life on more than one occasion." She grimaced at his casual speaking.
"Why are you still up?" He asked suspiciously.
"Couldn't sleep." That was true to some degree. He looked at her like she was lying to him, so she glared at him. Then ignoring him, she strummed lightly on her strings.
"I must go to Dumbledore immediately, so if you'll excuse me, I'll bid you goodnight."
"Goodnight," she echoed almost lazily.
At the door, the tall dark figure turned and said slowly and deliberately, "It's nice having someone waiting up for you."
She didn't look up as she responded lamely without thinking, "And it's nice waiting up for someone." With that, he left.
She stood up and collected her things from the room and headed off to bed. She was just glad he wasn't bleeding or worse, she felt a hundred times lighter. He'd gone out twice that week and there were more and more reports of killings and tortures that she couldn't stand to read the paper any longer. She left the fire going though, so it'd be warm when he returned. Her eyes had barely closed, when she fell immediately into a deep sleep.
Georgie woke the next morning with not a thought on her mind of what had transpired last night, but thought only of the fact that the students were arriving that very night. What fun and potential and craziness there was to be had. She bounded across the room and picked out a clean and especially striking outfit, she wanted to make a good first impression. She grabbed a towel and danced off to the shower, humming lowly to herself.
On returning, she rummaged through the piles of her clothing and bags and boxes and found the enchanted necklace she had bought with Minerva in Diagon Alley. She slipped that on loosely and tied to her large wrist a wooden Tiki bracelet. For luck she told herself, though she didn't believe in luck. She liked to wear it to confuse ignorant people who thought she looked like one who might dabble in Voodoo magick. She brushed her hair in front of the tiny mirror hanging on her wall until the top at least was flattened down, but the unruly curls still fell down her neck. She stuck her wand to her head and uttered a Holding charm on her hair. Looking herself over as she slipped her robes on, she nodded in acceptance.
At least it's an improvement, she thought, though no one would mistake her for someone who was gorgeous, but at least not grotesque. She sighed as she reasoned with herself, No, it wasn't that she had low self-esteem or anything, it was just she saw it as fact. People excel in different things. Her thing wasn't beauty, but she was content enough with the gifts she had so she didn't harp on it for too long.
She bustled out into the lounge to see if Snape was ready for Breakfast. He was sitting on the couch reading his paper, which he set down when she came out.
"You took longer than usual." He stared her down without expression.
"Sorry."
"You're wearing jewelry." He noted with what sounded like dissatisfaction.
"Sorry." Geesh, he sounded like her own father.
"You did something with your hair." His gaze didn't brake off.
"Sorry again." This was a pointless conversation; she was losing patience quickly.
"Perfume?"
"Ha! Nope, not wearing perfume!" She grinned, trying to sever the tension. "Gotcha!" She winked at him. "Now, come on, let's get going." She whined.
He stood and followed her out into the Common Room then out into the corridor.
She almost started skipping as he soon out-paced her with his strides, but she was spinning and hopping anxiously and clasping and unclasping her hands.
"Excited about something?" He sneered at her.
"Duh! How can you not be!? In just a few hours these halls will be full of students whose brains are just aching to be filled with your knowledge. There's going to be excitement, mishaps, arguments, crushes, hopes, failures-all of it starts tonight! Isn't it awesome!" She drawled.
Snape looked forward, "After 15 years of teaching, I cannot get as easily worked up as you can."
"Well, just think of it like this. There'll be new Slytherins to look after, there'll be heaps of empty heads who don't know a whit about Potions that you can transform into veritable gods at the craft, plus there'll be the House Competition and Quidditch to keep you on your toes." She knew she'd gotten through. Snape secretly adored Quidditch, though he wouldn't let on to anyone he was fond of such a childish endeavor.
The walked on in silence, his tall, thin, pale form stepping with purpose while the shorter, dark and broad figure next to him danced and pranced as if it were springtime.
They entered through the doors and Georgie was pleased to see the other Professors had also dressed with more care that day. She stuck her tongue out at him discretely as he stepped away from her to his seat, as to rub it in. Minerva looked especially grand as her hair was twisted up into an intricate coif unfortunately hidden under her hat.
Hagrid was already started on his food, but he plucked her sleeve when she sat down and leaned in towards her. "Ya wanna go with me to meet the Hogwarts Express tonight? I asked Dumbledore and he said it'd be fine by 'im, if you were up to it." He looked at her and she grinned broadly and thanked him profusely.
Lupin looked slightly healthier than he had looked the past few days too, which was a miracle in and of itself, she giggled. He was pretty cute, she thought offhandedly and when he wasn't looking, to be wasting away. Then as if someone could read her thoughts, she felt her face burning and twittered with slight embarrassment. No one seemed to notice as she swept the table for eyes, so she was safe. Geesh, Paranoid Georgie! No one can read your thoughts! She considered the possibility that she were going mental.
He wasn't as old as her father or mother--they were quite old when she was born and went to them, but still it'd be a big enough age jump that she didn't even want to think twice about the possibility. 15 years wasn't really such a big deal for her, but she felt that deep down in her heart that it was just being silly, that Remus was just a friend and that there was no way in hell he would look on her as otherwise. But she smiled at the secret information nonetheless.
Breakfast ended much to quickly; time seemed to simply drag on. She wondered how she'd last until the evening. She wandered through the castle's hallways alone directly after the meal. She ran into Peeves the Poltergeist at the end of a shadowy hallway and ran whooping and hollering back from whence she came as he started to hurl several potted plants that had formerly lined the walls right at her. She explored corridors and open galleries for what seemed like hours. She had never seen so many of these rooms. Of course she knew Hogwarts was enchanted, and staircases and rooms were always moving about, but it amazed her that there were so many she hadn't come across. She had discovered a passageway that lead from the corridor right outside of the kitchen to almost directly in front of the Hufflepuff Common room. Unfortunate she wasn't a Hufflepuff, she lamented.
She slowly meandered back to the Dungeons and let herself in. Snape was sitting on the coach and didn't look up. Man, she was bored! She plunked herself down on the couch and sighed heavily. She twisted her face up into a deep grimace. What to do? She had a full day, but she couldn't go anywhere, and she didn't have any work to do. She could always read, but it was such a lovely day.
She twisted in her seat so that her head was now where her feet ought to be and her feet rested nicely on the back cushions of the couch. She kicked her shoes off and behind the couch and they landed with a loud clank. Her robes were falling down over her face, and she fussed to keep them pushed up.
Snape finally stole a glance at his companion and glowered. "Why do you always do that? It you look almost indecent."
"Snape, damnit," rolling her eyes in annoyance. "I'm wearing pants and a shirt; I'm not freaking naked. It's only you and me here you know. You're such a prude."
He shot her a 'drop-dead' look and returned to his paper.
"I'm going into Hogsmeade. Need anything?" She righted herself, with only a slight light-headedness. It was fun.
"No." He said flatly.
"Okily, see you later then." Georgie stood up and slipped back into her shoes. She mounted the first of many staircases up to the Gryffindor tower. She was going to ask Minerva if she wanted to tag along.
Before she knew it Minerva and Georgie were passing by the far end of the lake and ambling out the great gates of Hogwarts. Minerva daintily maneuvered the railroad tracks as Georgie barely noticed their presence. It turned out Minerva wanted a book from Dervish and Banges, a well-stocked wizarding supply store, plus she'd never turn down a look at the latest styles Gladrags offered. Georgie knew that Minerva had an obsession with nice clothing and shoes--she didn't know anyone else in the world with Minerva's collection of footwear.
Georgie wanted to attack Honeydukes with the fury of a tornado, but she compromised and only bought two bags of sweets. She loved their fudge and had bought a huge hunk of the stuff.
Georgie was complimenting her on her choice of attire that day, but Minerva wanted something new for the new school year. Georgie knew that Minerva probably had already bought several robes for the new school year, but she just smiled knowingly to herself. At Gladrags Minerva and Georgie took turns trying on different colors and styles of robes and modeling them. Minerva looked fab in a gray robe made of some soft stuff, it made the austere women look a bit warmer. Georgie slightly pressured her to buy it, but didn't feel too bad about it. She would look perfect in the color and sleeves were ever so slightly feminine. And Minerva didn't really need her arm twisted to get her to buy anything.
Georgie bought a robe of a forest green color, very simply made up, but Minerva said it made her look more golden and less exotic. Georgie wondered at that statement--what was wrong with looking like she looked anyway? But she liked the robe for it's own sake and hell, she was a Slytherin....
They missed Lunch, but spent the rest of the afternoon in Dervish and Banges, Minerva taken captive by the book section and Georgie perusing the potion ingredient section. She frowned slightly, as the prices were a tad bit higher than in Diagon, but what could one expect from a smaller shop.
She was examining a drawer-full of dragon-scales set next to basilisk-scales, when a voice spoke over her shoulder, "Basilisk scales are cheaper." She didn't avert her eyes as she replied, "Yeah, but I need Dragon-scales and nothing less for what I'm doing.
Snape leaned forward and into her line of sight, "What are you doing?"
"Can't tell, would have to kill you if I divulged..."
"Probably illegal," he tried to draw it out from her.
"Probably," she grinned. "What're you doing here?"
"Needed something."
"I asked if you needed anything. You said no. Didn't you trust me, or has something dire come up within the past few hours?"
"I trust you, and nothing dire has come up." He turned around and leaned against the counter she looking over. He eyed her parcels disdainfully. "Having a good time shopping?"
"Oh course!" She laughed cordially. "How could I not, Minerva's great company and I love parting with my money for things I don't even need."
"Typical female." He sneered and pushed off the counter and stepped back.
She rolled her eyes blatantly, "Typical male to say that."
"Now if you'll excuse me," he bowed out.
Turning back to her scales and creepy things. Hm, that was weird, she allowed before bringing a jar of tubeworms up to her eye-level for inspection "Yick!"
Georgie paid for her purchases and sought out Minerva who was just about to purchase her books. She spied Snape scanning the bookshelves for something or other...Dancing up to Minerva's side she shifted her parcel's about in her arms, making it easier to handle. "You alright?"
"Yes, let me just take care of these, then we can hike on back to the castle." She smiled down on Georgie and Georgie winked at her and poked through a box of decorative charms on a side counter with her free hand. She held one up to the light that was a round Celtic knot inlaid with silver. It looked very old, but was kinda cool anyway. Georgie studied it, then set it down. Ah, shopping! And with Minerva it felt like shopping with her mother had felt: fun and chatty and girly. Georgie guessed the woman to be about her mother's age, but there weren't many other similarities. Georgie's mother was a bit high-strung, but also a little dizzy at the same time. Her mother'd lose her head if it weren't fastened on correctly.
Minerva seemed younger somehow, like she were still a daughter to someone and not a mother. So even when Georgie felt that Minerva might be looking down on her for being young or inexperienced, Georgie always thought of her more as a friend than as one of the 'adults' she used to war against in her adolescence.
The woman paid for her books, and received them back over the counter all wrapped up. She gave the younger woman a short smile and they both swept out the door. They strolled down the main street and began to clamber up the incline to the castle. Minerva was strict where safety and decorum was involved, but she had a sense of humor every bit as sharp as Georgie's and the reveled all the way up and into the entryway, where they parted: Georgie scuttled down one set of stairs while Minerva ascended an opposite set.
After putting away her new prizes she set down on the couch after snatching up a book. She was reading up on the Multiverse Theory when Snape burst in the door, balancing a long parcel in his hands, curious.... "Need a hand with that Snape?" He stopped in his tracks, shook his head sharply and continued on into his room.
"Can't say I didn't try," under her breath as she picked up her book again. She just had to wait until Hagrid came for her and then they'd be going down to the Hogsmeade, but it was going to be hard to concentrate.
Snape returned after some time in his room. He'd changed from his usual black robes into...Different black robes. Georgie fought the urge to laugh outright at this. Creative bugger, wasn't he?
"Wow," she sort of played it up. "You look almost good. See, you do care about the students."
"I'm not going to acknowledge that comment because it's absurd." Ah, Snape cares, how sweet, she taunted in her head.
"And your hair's all brushed and stuff. What's that I see? Oh my goodness! Someone grab a camera! I do believe his robes aren't black--they are off-black!" She nearly raved.
He shot her a look as he flicked his wand and brought a fire to life.
"It's not even sunset yet, you goober!"
"It will be quite late when we return, the feast runs longer than usual meals do and we have a house meeting...." He explained condescendingly.
"Ah, I see. So, you're dressing to impress the Slytherins? Must be..."
"Think what you will, I don't care," He said tiredly as he leaned back and shut his eyes.
"You're tired?" She ventured after a few moments.
"Extremelly. How observant of you."
"Well, take some Sleeping Potion tonight." As soon as she said that, she wished she could take it back, He had probably already resolved to do so, it was obvious. That was Georgie--Speak first, think later.
"I'm out. Madam Pomfrey cleaned me out right after you left this morning. It appears Sprout has had some difficulty sleeping this past week as Peeves has taken to terrorizing her doorstep apparently. I'll have to brew some up tomorrow." He brought his hands up to his temples.
"Screw that. It's simple, I'll do it for ya after the feast, no prob."
"No, don't do that."
"Why the hell shouldn't I?" She demanded.
"No need, really. It's only me and it's dangerous."
"Well you're out, so you need it anyway. Plus, I'm going to do it whether you like it or not. It's easy for me. It's only potions involving blood, like immortality and necromancy potions that I have trouble with..."
His eyes shot open in alarm at that. "Joking," She smiled. He glared at her and went back to massaging his temples.
She jumped to her feet and grabbed up her cauldron and the ingredients she would need and dropped them off in the classroom she would use. She returned in no time flat and she highly suspected Snape hadn't realized she'd even left.
"Snape?" She asked after several moments of staring off into space.
"What?"
"Could you kill Voldemort?"
He lowered his eyes to see her clearly. She was looking doleful out the window when she asked.
"I don't know," He answered truthfully. "I know I want to. I hope that when the time comes it won't be me, but instead someone surer of his abilities," He frowned. "Ministry people have long believed only Potter could do it--him having some sort of connection...." He rubbed his left forearm absently.
Georgie pitied him immensely at that moment and wanted to hug him or something, but she couldn't and wouldn't do that. She felt sick at the mention of anyone having to fight Voldemort. Most who did, didn't live to tell about it. And Harry was a just a child still. The war was hitting too close to home once again.
"Do you sometimes think you might die out there?" She feared she was asking too much now, and held her breath to await his answer or rebuttal.
"All the time. When I was younger I welcomed it--did risky and daring things. But I was driven by a wish to die--to atone for my deeds, I wanted to die for the right side and just be over with it. Penance. Now, I'm forced to complete the same tasks, but I must live to watch out for Potter and now that I have some semblance of a life now, I find that I'm not eager to go out yet. It...." He paused, "Scares me to know that now I'm like everyone else who doesn't want to die, but risks everything anyway. So much time wasted, so much not said and done in life..." he seemed to forget she was in the room as his eyes took a far off look to them.
She felt like blubbering but wouldn't allow herself to show the weakness. She tried to look elsewhere as Snape's eyes slowly refocused and sought hers. She looked miserable, Snape noted.
"Severus?" He nodded slowly without leaving her eyes.
"Don't die okay?" She meant that in all seriousness but it probably came out wrong. She didn't want to lose her friend, and she was feeling uncomfortable with all the seriousness.
"I'm not trying to Georgie." The corners of his mouth twitched up into a half-smile. "Don't look so down. I'm not dying anytime soon." She broke into a smile at this but was not laughing at his attempt at humor.
"Good, 'cuz if you died, I'd have to hunt you down, resurrect you and then murder you myself."
"Counter-productive, but do what you must." His eyes twinkled. "Now, how about some music?"
"Only if you promise to say nothing about my voice." She was already to the door of her room.
She came back, guitar in hand, "You know you should really learn to play. You've got good taste in music and you say it soothes you. It's not that difficult." She sat the guitar over her knees and plucked the strings as she tuned the instrument.
"I have no need to so long as you're here." He smirked.
"Oh, so that's all I'm good for--your entertainment?" She laughed.
"Yes." He agreed.
"So, shall it be a comedy or a tragedy tonight? --You know," she interrupted herself. "If we had a TV we could watch films and things on video. Then Georgie wouldn't have to play and get calluses on her fingers?"
"You have calluses on your fingers from this?" he asked alarmedly.
"Nah, " she partly lied. "I just wanted to freak ya out." They weren't only from the guitar, she reasoned.
"Back to your original question, how about a relaxing comedy? With barbaric overtones." He challenged.
"Oh yeah, I've got just the one..." and she shot him a look. "Where the hell do you come up with this crap? 'Barbaric?' Sometimes..." She shook her head.
She strummed for a few minutes, then suddenly, her head popped up and she announced, "I've got one though it's not nearly barbaric enough for your tastes, I'd venture." Pausing for one more minute: "Ah, screw it, haven't a clue what to sing."
Green grow the rushes, O
Green grow the rushes, O
The sweetest hours that ever I spent
Are spent among the lassies, O
There's naught but care on every hand
In every hour that passes, O
What signifies the life of man
If it were not for the lassies, O
The worldly race may riches chase
And riches still may fly them, O
And though at last they catch them fast
Their hearts can ne'er enjoy them, O
Give me a cannie hour at e'en
My arms around my dearie, O
The wisest man the world e'er saw
He dearly loved the lassies, O
Old nature swears the lovely dears
Her noblest work she classes, O
Her apprentice hand she tried on man
And then she made the lassies, O
Snape looked deep in thought at the end of the song. She continued strumming a new song with no words, then she asked him if he liked it.
"I think that's slightly ribald, but I liked it nonetheless."
"You did?!" she prodded cuttingly. "One always has to be careful of the quiet ones..."
"Georgie?"
"Yeah."
"Shut-up."
"Gladly." She leered.
An hour later, after Georgie began the childish Huki-lau song and wouldn't cease until Snape was pointing his wand at her, there was a knock.
"Hagrid!" She leapt up and an astonished Snape watched her as she and her guitar flew off to her room which happened to be in the opposite direction of Hagrid's knocking. Snape, sighed, and rose to his feet and opened the door to Hagrid. Hagrid grinned down at the beanpole of a man and wished him a good evening. Hagrid stepped inside momentarily, "Ya know, Fang's been missin' ya sumthin' awful, Severus."
"I assure you that the feeling's not mutual. Last time I visited he drooled on my knees the entire time."
Hagrid, puffed up his chest, defending his boarhound. "He's just friendly. Nuthin' wrong with bein' friendly! He likes ya though, and that's no small matter!"
"Lucky me..." He began, but was interrupted by Georgie tearing out of her room and across to where they were standing by the door. "Ready?" She asked excitedly of Hagrid, her eyes were sparkling.
The rest of the evening swept by in a blur. They had only been standing at the station for about 15 minutes when the train pulled in. Hagrid scowled and looked at his watch. "Early," he muttered.
He boomed for the first years to follow him, but not before he turned his large frame around as some boy called out his name. It was Harry Potter and crew. Hagrid introduced them all in turn and she shook their hands warmly, before Hagrid pushed them off in the other direction.
She had followed Hagrid into boat with two cowering first year students, where she tried to smile at them to reassure them. The boats had taken them across automatically and the new students stayed huddled together: either for warmth or out of fear. No offense to her friend Hagrid, but he did pose a striking picture, enough to scare any small child--even though she knew he wouldn't hurt a fly, the students didn't yet know that. Even Georgie towered above the crowd, she felt oddly like a nursery-school teacher.
How they ended up out of the boats and at the great doors, Georgie never did figure out. She was too overwhelmed, swept up in the moment. She was trying to place herself in the new students' shoes--arriving here at nighttime when everything was lit up. It was spectacular, she admitted.
Hagrid pounded down the doors and Minerva answered them looking stern once again, she directed the first-years to wait in the ante-chamber for a few moments. Georgie knew they were going to be sorted so she remained with Hagrid. She tapped Minerva on the shoulder just as she was about to return to the antechamber, "Um, where should I sit?" She hissed a whisper.
"With the staff of course," she smiled at her unease. "Don't worry so, Georgie. You look terrified." She twittered off.
Hagrid offered her his arm and the swept into the Great Hall and up to the high Table. It felt totally different now that there were hundreds of students there and their eyes all seemed to be on the new girl walking with Hagrid up to the table. She sat down uneasily and fidgeted in her seat.
The sorting was fascinating for her in an admittedly sick way. The students were terrified, but everyone watching got some satisfaction in knowing that their time was over and done with, so now they could sit back and watch others suffer publicly. Georgie refrained from hooting for the newly announced Slytherins. She was often at odds with understanding what was proper and respectable here and what was not. At the institute one spoke and did what one felt, it was a very liberating policy, but it had gotten her in trouble heaps of times also.
After the sorting had ended, Dumbledore stood and the hall was silent. He welcomed the students back, shared a few words ("I didn't know 'cattawhumpus' was a word" aside to Hagrid), then lead the school song.
Georgie thankfully didn't know it, nor could she see the words written in the air, so was spared the embarrassment of singing the awful song, she grimaced when the last solo voice broke off. And she was always putting her voice down!?
Dumbledore turned then and smiled right at her. Oh no, she thought mournfully. "And this year we are pleased to introduce a new student to out ranks. Miss Flaing joins us from The Institute in Poland where she has been studying advanced magic, but is now transferring here. She will be in Slytherin." She didn't know whether to stand up or not, but Hagrid resolved this by almost lifting her out of her chair and onto her feet. "She will attend some classes, but as she has already graduated and is a full-fledged witch, she will spend much of her time with independent study and assisting Professors with teaching. Please extend to her the same courtesy you would to all of your Professors and your fellow students." She heard a few sniggers, and feeling all eyes on her she was grateful to take her seat once more.
Dumbledore then concluded with a warning to stay out of the Forbidden Forest and then instructed everyone to eat. Right before her very eyes the table was suddenly topped with mountains of glorious food. "Good thing I skipped lunch," she spoke aside to Hagrid who grinned as he helped himself to potatoes.
Georgie loved food--it showed too--but it was a good thing, because if an ordinary person had tried to cram down as much as she did they wouldn't have wanted to look at anything edible for at least a week. It was different now up here, the din of the voices echoing throughout the hall, having eyes staring at her, being under scrutiny--it'd take some getting used to.
She resolved that sometime next week she'd sit down with the Slytherins and try to get to know some of them. Hagrid warned that this might be a bit hasty of an idea, but she shrugged it off rationalizing that she and Snape were both Slytherin--so what could be that bad? Then she stopped and laughed as she imagined possible gruesome outcomes.
At the end of the meal Snape motioned for her to get up and follow him. They walked side by side to the dungeons. The Prefects were delivering everyone to the common room and he wanted her to be there so everyone could get a good look at her.
"Why? So they'll know what I looked like before I get hexed?"
"No, so they'll not try anything with you and so they'll see that you are above them by standing up with me."
"Snape's gonna kick your ass, Snape's gonna kick your ass..." She sang, poking fun at him.
Looking around the room at the Slytherins she wondered how in the world she'd ended up here. There were a few sweet-faced kids, but most of them looked surly and mean, and she could imagine quite a few of them inflicting harm upon others. Snape had everyone mesmerized by his voice and no one said anything as he laid down the rules and explained the term for them. She wondered if Dumbledore was playing a joke and had bewitched the Sorting hat to stick her in here. Yes, she was ambitious, but she hoped she was brave and kind and smart also. Compared to half of these kids she was probably as un-Slytherin as you could get, she mulled over in her mind.
When that was over Snape went back to their lounge and Georgie took off in the opposite direction for the classroom where her cauldron was set up in waiting. She quickly started a fire beneath it and tossed in the first ingredients, then stood over it stirring lightly. She was slightly baffled at this. Now she was coming to understand Hagrid's warnings and Minerva's pursed lips whenever she spoke of the Slytherins. How could Dumbledore have such a scary House, year after year? She understood from the scientific point of view how having the whole spectrum, made for a better balance, but she couldn't come to see why if they continually churned out bad wizards they kept it up. And why was she here?
She without realizing it dumped in the two last ingredients and finished up the potion. She snapped out of her mind wanderings and set to bottling the stuff up. She'd made quite a lot actually, but she dexterously filled and stoppered the bottles, then with a wave of her hand cleaned the entire area up.
Padding back inside, she almost jumped with the many bottles in her arms when she was surprised by there still being quite a few students milling about in the Common Room. She met the eyes of a few of them as they turned and stared at her as she brushed through, and she smiled lightly at them. She had forgotten to expect them--yes, things would take a few days to get used to.
Snape was lying out on his couch. She tossed a bottle into his lap and set the rest upon the top of a bookshelf by the door--he could deal with them in the morning.
She yawned as plodded across the room and collapsed into a heap on the couch, tucking her legs up under her.
"You could take a bottle too." Snape called to her.
"No, I have no problem sleeping--it's the waking up part I don't particularly like." She mumbled dryly.
"Go to bed, Snape." She had looked over and he looked to be almost asleep.
"I can't until I've made my rounds." He grimaced.
"Well, make 'em already. Or better still, teach me where to go and stuff, so I can help. Apprentice learning from the master and all that..."
"I don't think you realize what you're asking. They're tedious."
"Nifty. Shall we get started then." She figured she could take over when he was out, him doing things she didn't want to think about....
He stood and sighed, "Yes I suppose."
It was quite late already, and Snape doubted too many students would venture abroad on the first night back--most were still catching up with their fellow House members and friends that they hadn't seen all summer.
Snape outlined where most students were caught, what sort of punishments were usually dolled out, how to get to Dumbledore's office if there was a serious problem, which passages lead where--a very thorough tour, Georgie grinned. She wished he'd told her some of this the first night.
An hour and half later, Snape queried if she felt comfortable with the procedure and she consented that it was 'cake.' So they both made a beeline back down to the dungeons. Snape wasn't looking so menacing, so she figured he was about to pass out from exhaustion. She left him once inside the door explaining she needed something from the kitchens, and bid him goodnight. She laughed, as she doubted he had taken in any of the last bit of conversation.
She nearly ran down to the kitchens, thanking the house elves for their lovely job on the Start-of-Term feast and picking up some wonderful herbal tea they'd gotten for her. Holding the mug tightly in her hands she raced back to the dungeons, sipping it lightly so it didn't slosh about as she walked.
She hummed as she entered the Common Room and was pleased to see the last of them had gone off to bed. She entered their lounge and almost dropped her mug. Snape had fallen asleep on the couch, his hand still clutching the bottle of unused Sleep Potion. She chuckled to herself: how ironic. She set her mug down on the table in the center of the room and stood over him regarding. She killed the fire cackling in it's fireplace, then sat on the table, pushing her mug aside. What to do, what to do?
If she left him there, he might be uncomfortable, he might get cold, he might miss his alarm clock--if he wakes to one, she didn't know. He might be embarrassed at being left out here. But on the other hand he was too heavy to lift, and she couldn't try and maneuver him through the door in the dark. She smiled a little at the thought of 'accidentally' smashing his nose into the doorframe, but put that away quickly.
She reached over and gently pried his fingers off the bottle and set it down beside her. She stood and taking her wand from her robes, she barely whispered "Alevitecorpus." He would be lighter now, and she would be able to lift him easier. She leaned over him and reached her arms around his side and held on for dear life, but to her amazement he really was a great deal lighter, but she still didn't want him smashing his nose either.
She lifted him up to her height, and then inched him up even higher so he wouldn't drag his feet. It was awkward, but at least he wasn't weighing her down. She silently prayed he wouldn't wake up and freak out at finding himself being carried off to his bedchamber or thinking something repulsive. She took slow and deliberate steps and had to pause at his door to try and turn the doorknob while not dropping the man. Then she had to turn sideways to get them both through the doorway one at a time.
She glanced quickly around his room using the light coming from the open door, and she paused a second as she realized she'd never actually been in here. It was actually two connected rooms-quite a bit larger than she own were, she reminded herself to grumble about that later. There were books from the floor to the ceiling, a sizable four-poster bed and bottles lining the bookshelves and cabinets. A desk was pushed up underneath a window and there were tapestries hanging on the wall-heaps of other nice stuff too. Not too shabby Snape, she thought approvingly to herself as she brought them both over to the bed. Sure, it wasn't a manor house, but it seemed to fit him still.
Leaning him against her she yanked back the coverlet with one hand and sat Snape down on the bed. She used one hand to steady him while with the other she slipped off his shoes; big stinky feet, she grinned. She then spun him and lay his head on the pillows and brought the covers up to his chest. He was dead to the world and she hoped he'd already set his alarm because there was no way in hell she'd find it in this darkness.
Convinced he was okay, she stopped before exiting, kissed two of her fingers and brought them down on his forehead. "'Night Severus." She gruffly stalked from the room, and shut the door quietly behind her, then shut her own bedroom door shut behind her. At the second sound one of Snape's eyes slowly opened then shut again, he wasn't sure if he'd dreamt that or not....
A/N: Hullo, just a warning, I'm going to drag this story on for as long as I think I can and as long as I still have fun humiliating the characters, so beware there may be dry times ahead. Sorry, but this is all for my own personal enjoyment.
Fact of the Chapter: The guy who owns the Guinness brewery got the lease for the next 9,000 years at £45. I read it on that thing the waitress sets the glass down on. Ha!