Chapter Two
Treasure sat at the Slytherin table, her brother at the Gryffindor table. The tables of the two other houses, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, sat between them. The Great Hall was decorated for the Sorting Ceremony. Over each house table hung each houses' coat of arms: a lion with gold and red background for Gryffindor, a black raven with a blue and silver background for Ravenclaw, a badger with a yellow and black background for Hufflepuff and a serpent with a green and silver background for Slytherin. Minerva McGonagall, the Headmistress, sat in the center seat at the Head Table and the staff sat on either side of her, however one chair sat, empty. It was that of Deputy Headmistress Hermione Snape, who waited in the Entrance Hall for the students of Hogwarts to arrive: the upperclassmen by carriage and the first years by boat.
The staff waited for the arrival of the upperclassmen. Headmistress McGonagall checked her watch several times before, suddenly, standing and leaving the hall. Treasure looked up at her father. He looked just as confused as she. Remus walked over to the Slytherin table and sat beside his sister.
"What do you think is happening," the fourth year asked Treasure, his seventh year sister.
"Bugger off, pygmy," Treasure said harshly, "This isn't your table."
Remus looked extremely hurt. He had always admired his sister. They had gotten along decently well when they were younger, but because they were sorted into different houses and didn't see each other much if at all, they grew apart. The only people Treasure seemed to be able to stand were her father, whom she respected above all people, and her best friends Chris and Ani Riddle. Chris (short for Christina) and Ani (short for Anistasia) are both seventh year girls and identical twins. They both have black hair (Ani's falls to her waist where Chris' is cut just above the shoulder) and deep, forest green eyes. They are five feet, nine inches tall and 120 pounds. The only difference between the two of them is that Chris is in Slytherin and Ani was stashed into Gryffindor. This small difference (to them, it is small) doesn't stop them from being twins. They are easily the heartthrobs of their houses and both of them hold Keeper positions on their respectful house Quidditch teams. The three of them, Treasure, Chris and Ani, always eat lunch together in the courtyard.
Now, Treasure was waiting for the both of them to arrive and trying to get her brother back to his table. The train was almost forty-five minutes overdue. This was a worry factor because the train was never late. She, as all the rest of the people in the room, feared that there was something terribly wrong.
Headmistress McGonagall walked back into the room silently. All eyes were on her as she took her precious time walking up and taking a seat at the Head Table. She sat there, unmoving, for a time before Ginny got up enough courage to speak.
"What is the news, Minerva," she asked.
Hearing her name, McGonagall jumped. Once regaining herself, she replied:
"I am sorry, Mrs. Potter, but I have none. All I know is that the Hogwarts' Express has yet to arrive. I sent an owl to the Ministry for assistance."
"Do you truly think that owl will be quick enough," Professor Trelawney asked.
McGonagall shrugged, "It was my only option."
An owl flew into the hall a moment later and landed beside Treasure. She took the scroll from its talons and opened it. Immediately she recognized the untidy penmanship of Chris. Worried, she read:
Treasure,
The Hogwarts' Express has run off of the tracks. We are about fifty minutes away from the school. I don't know how everyone is doing and to go into details now would jeopardize the lives of several students. I only know that Ani and I are fine. Please, get help out to us.
~CR~
Treasure ran up to her father and shoved the scroll hastily into his hands. He read it and a look of sheer panic came over his face. He gave the headmistress the letter and stood.
"Madam Potter and Madam Pomfrey," he called, wrapping his large, back cloak around his shoulders, "Please gather medical supplies and meet me at the gates of the school."
"Why? What's wrong," Ginny asked.
"Daddy, I am coming, too," Treasure insisted, securing her cloak.
"No," Severus said to her sternly, "You are staying here. This crash area is no place for you. It is dangerous, I am sure I don't have to explain that to you."
"But, daddy ---"
"NO," he yelled.
The hall went silent as Severus' voice rang in the hidden hollows of the hall. Treasure looked up into her father's cold, black eyes. He had never yelled at her before. The feeling that ran through her at that moment was one that tore her to pieces. She blinked…just blinked, unmoving, like the rest of the hall before her.
"Treasure, I ---" Severus began in an apologetic tone.
Without waiting for his next words, Treasure stormed from the Great Hall. Severus watched her go in a whirlwind of hurt and anger. However much he wanted to, he had no time to make up with his daughter now. He walked by the Slytherin table and placed his hand on Remus' shoulder.
"Be good for your mother," Severus ordered tenderly, "I will be back soon."
Remus nodded and Severus walked out of the hall boldly, his robes billowing behind him. By this time, Hermione knew what was happening and ran towards him.
"Severus, what in the name of the Queen do you think you are doing? You can't go out there! This is not your affair! The Ministry will take care of it. Please, Severus…"
Severus took a hold of his wife's hands, "This is my affair. Students are trapped in a train crash. They are my students. Ii is my responsibility to do anything in my power to make sure they will be all right. I wouldn't go if this were not my affair. I love you, Hermione."
"Headmistress McGonagall can go ---"
Severus shook his head, "No, I can go. Minerva should stay here. There is much to do before the year begins, after all. Now, quiet. Let me remember you now, just as you are."
"Oh, but I look horribly stressed. You don't want to remember me this way ---"
He smiled a small smile as he placed his right index finger over her ruby red lips and kissed her hard and passionately. Then turned to leave the castle. Before Hermione could say anything to him, Severus was gone.
Treasure sat on the edge of her four-poster, the deep green velvet curtains drawn apart, in the Slytherin dungeons. She could only think of her father and the last thing that had happened between them as she sat alone in her room.
"Accio guitar," she mumbled.
The guitar lifted from its open case and flew into her hands. After a few chords, she began to sing.
"I'm young and I'm hopeless. I'm lost and I know this. I'm going nowhere fast, that's what they say. I'm troublesome, I've fallen. I'm angry at my father. It's me against this world and I don't care. I don't care." ~+~