1: Blast From the Past
Gwen arrived home on time. She had gone up to the sixties concrete shopping centre up the road before returning home to give her time to clear her head; and also make it look like she hadn't been sent home early. She had her week's allowance burning a hole in her blazer pocket so she bought some trashy teen magazines and a huge supply of tacky pic'n'mix hoping to drown her sorrows. Ignoring the looks of the cashiers, no doubt suspecting her of truancy, she paid and went in search of something to make her feel better within the glossy pages.
Meanwhile, Janice was taking two paracetamol with her tea. She was an intelligent woman. She knew what this was all about, and she had hoped that what had happened in the past wouldn't catch up with her. She was wrong, of course. Hazily, she began to remember that fateful day...
She had been younger then, much much younger. Thick, dark brown hair reached her waist, her slim figure was as yet untainted by the birth of a child and she was undeniably attractive. However, the attraction of the opposite sex to her was not entirely due to the way she looked, she was in no illusion that she was the best looking of her friends, but there was a burning passion within her; a passion to break free of her working class background and achieve her full potential. She possessed one of the greatest minds her school had ever seen and this was made all the more potent by her drive and ambition. But one thing held her back. Her father. Stuck back in a time when women knew their place, he refused to let her go to University, he didn't want her to make anything of her life. It was unnatural, he said, for a woman to work amongst men as an equal. She would make a mess of things. She wasn't capable.
Janice indented the paper where she was trying to write a report for the medical council as she thought about her father. The stupid old fool. If only he knew what she was capable of.
In a fit of uncontrollable rage she had stormed from the house, striking her mother down as she tried to stop her, pleading for her to stay. There was somebody waiting for her outside. She recognised him from the betting shop she worked in on Sundays. He spoke to her. She remembered him describing how awful it would be to live in a cage. To have your potential overlooked. She had told him her situation. He had taken her under his wing, taught her things, shown her things.
Janice's hand shook violently and she dropped her pen, trying to fight back the images which were now crowding into the front of her mind.
Of course, she had relished the way he made her feel powerful, but she refused to do any harm to others. Weak he had called her. He had given her so much, couldn't she even do this one thing in return? His voice was seductive, it wore away at her until she could deny him no longer. Finally, things came to a head. She had seen the terror she had helped to cause, old fires had risen within her. This wasn't who she was, she didn't want this, she never had. She left him. But he found her. Found her and made her do one last thing. Deliver the most precious of packages...
A key fumbling in the lock made her jump from her seat. A thin sheen of sweat had formed on her face. Hastily she splashed cold water on her skin, cleaned her hands and wiped her eyes as her daughter shuffled in dragging her school bag behind her.
Gwen noticed the cream envelope on the dresser as she entered the hallway of their large suburban home. Letting her bag and blazer slip to the floor, she idly flipped it over and opened the seal. Curious, she read.
Of course, the wax seal and thick paper should have set the alarm bells ringing, but today was not a good day for being perceptive. She re-read it. Okay...She didn't really know how to feel. Was it a prank? No, too original to be one of her cousin's and too good to be one of her friends. Silently she sent a prayer to whoever was up there asking for this to be real as ridiculous as it was. After all, she no longer had a school to go to, and her mother need not find out about her expulsion if she just accepted. Relief washed over her so fast she didn't realise her mum slipping into the hall to watch her. "Hello darling. Good day at school?" Gwen whirled around a huge grin threatening to take over her face.
"Have you seen this mum? A School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and they want me!"
"I take it you want to go then?" A teasing glint came into her mother's glittering eyes.
Two days later Gwen was standing on platform nine at Kings Cross. She was loaded down with her entire wardrobe, about twenty paperbacks, a huge box of cosmetics, a dozen or so hugely heavy hard back text books and reams of thick cream paper, not to mention all the snacks that her mother had given her in case she didn't like the food there. She felt adult, independent and like making a fresh start.
She felt nervous.
The station was just normal. Where were all the other pupils? Sometimes she saw what looked like another student but when she looked again they were gone. Her mother had left some time ago, wanting to leave before she burst out crying in front of her only daughter and made her feel even worse than she already did.
The letter had told Gwen that she should wait on the bench on platform nine, and someone would come to meet her. She and her mother arrived a quarter of an hour early and even after many elaborate farewells there was still no sign of her escort. Eventually her mother had had to leave. Gwen glanced around, spotted a chocolate dispenser and got a fruit and nut. Returning to her seat she sat down to wait. Her sense of elation was beginning to fade. She checked her pockets and realised she didn't have enough money for a return fare home.
Harry and Ron arrived at Kings Cross Station, excited about their fifth year at Hogwarts but nervous about the looming OWLs. Harry was anxious about what the new year would bring after the events of the last. Mrs Weasley bustled them all onto the platform, reminding them insistently about keeping warm and eating properly.
Ron tugged at Harry's sleeve, "What's he doing here?" he gestured in the direction of a tall dark haired man in black muggle clothes striding towards them. Harry looked worriedly in the direction of the other Weasley's; they couldn't be in trouble already surely? But then again, knowing Snape they probably were. The two friends ducked behind a pillar before the man had a chance to spot them.
Severus Snape was muttering obscenely under his breath. Dumbledore knew he hated going out in muggle clothes. Why did he have to deal with the obnoxious little brat? He could see her, of course. Totally oblivious to what was going on around her. Stuffing her fat little face with chocolate. Snape shuddered at the thought of another annoying pupil to deal with. Hufflepuff, most probably, by the look of her.
As he got closer he could see that she was patently wearing the school uniform for the whole world to see. He was just about to make a scathing comment when she glanced up and saw him. Damn, he must be losing his ability to creep silently up on people, he thought.
Gwen noticed him striding towards her because he was so obviously different to everyone else on the platform. There was something compelling about his dark eyes and she felt a shiver go down her spine as she looked at his long- fingered hands and sultry mouth. As he drew nearer she looked up to get a better look at him. Tight black jeans and lose black cotton shirt made him look even leaner. Gwen felt slightly guilty about giving an older man the once over but that didn't stop her from taking a good look. His nose was a big too large for comfort.
"Miss Silverine?" his silky voice broke into her thoughts, "I am Professor Snape. Do you want to sit here staring all day or shall we board the train?" Gwen felt her face heat up, she was checking out a teacher! Oh well. She gave him a charming smile and got up to follow him thinking that this was perhaps not the best first impression one could make.
Snape looked disgustedly at her piles of luggage and promptly shrank it to the size of a matchbox. Blinking in shock, Gwen picked it up and put it into her blue clutch bag with the box her mother's visitor had left. This was not going exactly as she had expected.
Ron had his confused face on again. Harry shrugged; he had no idea what was going on either. They had just seen Snape go up to a girl in the Hogwarts uniform and escort her onto platform 9¾. She was new, which was odd because they didn't think that Dumbledore accepted people other than first years, let alone halfway through the year. Harry was grinning slightly, after Cho had turned him down last year his ego had taken a severe knock, but now it was mysteriously inflating again.
Ron jabbed him sharply in the ribs, turning he noticed Mrs. Weasley giving him an exasperated look and tapping her watchless wrist in impatience.
Platform 9 ¾ was a hive of activity. Students of all shapes and sizes were scurrying frantically between piles of luggage, parents and boarding friends, emotions ranging from the ecstatic to the positively miserable.
Gwen looked to the man at her side. He was regarding the scene with a considerable amount of distaste. She grinned; he was cute when he scowled. She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts; this was not the time to be mooning over a teacher.
Snape, drawn out of his thoughts by the whip of hair against his arm, turned sharply towards the girl by his side. Before speaking he took a moment to regard the girl who Dumbledore no doubt had some mysterious reason for making him pick up. Unextraordinary looking; shoulder length dark blonde hair, china blue eyes, cherry snubbed up nose, trim curvy figure...not exactly ugly but not head turning either, certainly nothing out of the ordinary. But there was something, something almost radiating from her that spoke of control and power. An ease with who she was, unfathomable complexities that on a closer look made her...Snape released a breath he did know he had been holding. She reminded him of someone. There was a slight twitch at her lips; Snape felt that he could feel her mind working as her eyes flickered to and fro, taking everything in like he so often did. An outsider giving her nothing more than a glance would consider her ordinary and perhaps slightly naïve. Snape thought no such thing.
"Take your bags to a porter and board the train with as little fuss as possible." He spoke under his breath as though not wanting to attract attention. He propelled Gwen in the direction of an elderly, shrunken porter before heading off in the direction of a tall man with long flaxen hair.
"Charming." Thought Gwen as she regarded the short, slightly orange man before her who looked like he had just spent two weeks in the bath. He looked no more capable of looking after her luggage than touching his elbow with his tongue. She shrugged at him and patted the matchbox-sized cases in her bag apologetically before boarding.
Once on board Gwen wasted no time finding a compartment to sit in. Most were full of at least four students but one had only one occupant.
She was a girl of around Gwen's age. She had waist length mahogany hair and hazel almond eyes. Her complexion looked slightly Mediterranean and she was lying on a seat flicking through a magazine. Gwen entered hoping she wouldn't mind sharing.
"Hi. I'm Gwen..."
"S-susan." She took her feet hastily off of the chair as if she was being rude. The two girls looked at each other. An awkward silence built up, the other girl was clearly very shy. She half concealed her face behind the magazine and Gwen stared out of the window. It seemed as though she didn't quite fit in here.
Once off the train, Gwen found herself drowning in a mass of students all either greeting friends they hadn't been able to find on the train or hurrying off in different directions. There was a cacophony of sound, everyone was pushing, everyone knew where he or she was going. Gwen felt herself being drawn further and further into the crowd.
"Good afternoon Miss Silverine." She jumped, Snape was practically on top of her; she had not heard him approach in the crowd. He held a hand out to her, "Please follow me, the headmaster wishes to speak to you before dinner."
Gwen inclined her head at him and gracefully placed her hand in his, feeling very much like a little lost child in the street who had just been found by a policeman. Anyone who may have been observing this exchange would have assumed aliens had visited Snape in the night because as far as they were concerned he was acting uncharacteristically pleasant.
Gwen arrived home on time. She had gone up to the sixties concrete shopping centre up the road before returning home to give her time to clear her head; and also make it look like she hadn't been sent home early. She had her week's allowance burning a hole in her blazer pocket so she bought some trashy teen magazines and a huge supply of tacky pic'n'mix hoping to drown her sorrows. Ignoring the looks of the cashiers, no doubt suspecting her of truancy, she paid and went in search of something to make her feel better within the glossy pages.
Meanwhile, Janice was taking two paracetamol with her tea. She was an intelligent woman. She knew what this was all about, and she had hoped that what had happened in the past wouldn't catch up with her. She was wrong, of course. Hazily, she began to remember that fateful day...
She had been younger then, much much younger. Thick, dark brown hair reached her waist, her slim figure was as yet untainted by the birth of a child and she was undeniably attractive. However, the attraction of the opposite sex to her was not entirely due to the way she looked, she was in no illusion that she was the best looking of her friends, but there was a burning passion within her; a passion to break free of her working class background and achieve her full potential. She possessed one of the greatest minds her school had ever seen and this was made all the more potent by her drive and ambition. But one thing held her back. Her father. Stuck back in a time when women knew their place, he refused to let her go to University, he didn't want her to make anything of her life. It was unnatural, he said, for a woman to work amongst men as an equal. She would make a mess of things. She wasn't capable.
Janice indented the paper where she was trying to write a report for the medical council as she thought about her father. The stupid old fool. If only he knew what she was capable of.
In a fit of uncontrollable rage she had stormed from the house, striking her mother down as she tried to stop her, pleading for her to stay. There was somebody waiting for her outside. She recognised him from the betting shop she worked in on Sundays. He spoke to her. She remembered him describing how awful it would be to live in a cage. To have your potential overlooked. She had told him her situation. He had taken her under his wing, taught her things, shown her things.
Janice's hand shook violently and she dropped her pen, trying to fight back the images which were now crowding into the front of her mind.
Of course, she had relished the way he made her feel powerful, but she refused to do any harm to others. Weak he had called her. He had given her so much, couldn't she even do this one thing in return? His voice was seductive, it wore away at her until she could deny him no longer. Finally, things came to a head. She had seen the terror she had helped to cause, old fires had risen within her. This wasn't who she was, she didn't want this, she never had. She left him. But he found her. Found her and made her do one last thing. Deliver the most precious of packages...
A key fumbling in the lock made her jump from her seat. A thin sheen of sweat had formed on her face. Hastily she splashed cold water on her skin, cleaned her hands and wiped her eyes as her daughter shuffled in dragging her school bag behind her.
Gwen noticed the cream envelope on the dresser as she entered the hallway of their large suburban home. Letting her bag and blazer slip to the floor, she idly flipped it over and opened the seal. Curious, she read.
Of course, the wax seal and thick paper should have set the alarm bells ringing, but today was not a good day for being perceptive. She re-read it. Okay...She didn't really know how to feel. Was it a prank? No, too original to be one of her cousin's and too good to be one of her friends. Silently she sent a prayer to whoever was up there asking for this to be real as ridiculous as it was. After all, she no longer had a school to go to, and her mother need not find out about her expulsion if she just accepted. Relief washed over her so fast she didn't realise her mum slipping into the hall to watch her. "Hello darling. Good day at school?" Gwen whirled around a huge grin threatening to take over her face.
"Have you seen this mum? A School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and they want me!"
"I take it you want to go then?" A teasing glint came into her mother's glittering eyes.
Two days later Gwen was standing on platform nine at Kings Cross. She was loaded down with her entire wardrobe, about twenty paperbacks, a huge box of cosmetics, a dozen or so hugely heavy hard back text books and reams of thick cream paper, not to mention all the snacks that her mother had given her in case she didn't like the food there. She felt adult, independent and like making a fresh start.
She felt nervous.
The station was just normal. Where were all the other pupils? Sometimes she saw what looked like another student but when she looked again they were gone. Her mother had left some time ago, wanting to leave before she burst out crying in front of her only daughter and made her feel even worse than she already did.
The letter had told Gwen that she should wait on the bench on platform nine, and someone would come to meet her. She and her mother arrived a quarter of an hour early and even after many elaborate farewells there was still no sign of her escort. Eventually her mother had had to leave. Gwen glanced around, spotted a chocolate dispenser and got a fruit and nut. Returning to her seat she sat down to wait. Her sense of elation was beginning to fade. She checked her pockets and realised she didn't have enough money for a return fare home.
Harry and Ron arrived at Kings Cross Station, excited about their fifth year at Hogwarts but nervous about the looming OWLs. Harry was anxious about what the new year would bring after the events of the last. Mrs Weasley bustled them all onto the platform, reminding them insistently about keeping warm and eating properly.
Ron tugged at Harry's sleeve, "What's he doing here?" he gestured in the direction of a tall dark haired man in black muggle clothes striding towards them. Harry looked worriedly in the direction of the other Weasley's; they couldn't be in trouble already surely? But then again, knowing Snape they probably were. The two friends ducked behind a pillar before the man had a chance to spot them.
Severus Snape was muttering obscenely under his breath. Dumbledore knew he hated going out in muggle clothes. Why did he have to deal with the obnoxious little brat? He could see her, of course. Totally oblivious to what was going on around her. Stuffing her fat little face with chocolate. Snape shuddered at the thought of another annoying pupil to deal with. Hufflepuff, most probably, by the look of her.
As he got closer he could see that she was patently wearing the school uniform for the whole world to see. He was just about to make a scathing comment when she glanced up and saw him. Damn, he must be losing his ability to creep silently up on people, he thought.
Gwen noticed him striding towards her because he was so obviously different to everyone else on the platform. There was something compelling about his dark eyes and she felt a shiver go down her spine as she looked at his long- fingered hands and sultry mouth. As he drew nearer she looked up to get a better look at him. Tight black jeans and lose black cotton shirt made him look even leaner. Gwen felt slightly guilty about giving an older man the once over but that didn't stop her from taking a good look. His nose was a big too large for comfort.
"Miss Silverine?" his silky voice broke into her thoughts, "I am Professor Snape. Do you want to sit here staring all day or shall we board the train?" Gwen felt her face heat up, she was checking out a teacher! Oh well. She gave him a charming smile and got up to follow him thinking that this was perhaps not the best first impression one could make.
Snape looked disgustedly at her piles of luggage and promptly shrank it to the size of a matchbox. Blinking in shock, Gwen picked it up and put it into her blue clutch bag with the box her mother's visitor had left. This was not going exactly as she had expected.
Ron had his confused face on again. Harry shrugged; he had no idea what was going on either. They had just seen Snape go up to a girl in the Hogwarts uniform and escort her onto platform 9¾. She was new, which was odd because they didn't think that Dumbledore accepted people other than first years, let alone halfway through the year. Harry was grinning slightly, after Cho had turned him down last year his ego had taken a severe knock, but now it was mysteriously inflating again.
Ron jabbed him sharply in the ribs, turning he noticed Mrs. Weasley giving him an exasperated look and tapping her watchless wrist in impatience.
Platform 9 ¾ was a hive of activity. Students of all shapes and sizes were scurrying frantically between piles of luggage, parents and boarding friends, emotions ranging from the ecstatic to the positively miserable.
Gwen looked to the man at her side. He was regarding the scene with a considerable amount of distaste. She grinned; he was cute when he scowled. She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts; this was not the time to be mooning over a teacher.
Snape, drawn out of his thoughts by the whip of hair against his arm, turned sharply towards the girl by his side. Before speaking he took a moment to regard the girl who Dumbledore no doubt had some mysterious reason for making him pick up. Unextraordinary looking; shoulder length dark blonde hair, china blue eyes, cherry snubbed up nose, trim curvy figure...not exactly ugly but not head turning either, certainly nothing out of the ordinary. But there was something, something almost radiating from her that spoke of control and power. An ease with who she was, unfathomable complexities that on a closer look made her...Snape released a breath he did know he had been holding. She reminded him of someone. There was a slight twitch at her lips; Snape felt that he could feel her mind working as her eyes flickered to and fro, taking everything in like he so often did. An outsider giving her nothing more than a glance would consider her ordinary and perhaps slightly naïve. Snape thought no such thing.
"Take your bags to a porter and board the train with as little fuss as possible." He spoke under his breath as though not wanting to attract attention. He propelled Gwen in the direction of an elderly, shrunken porter before heading off in the direction of a tall man with long flaxen hair.
"Charming." Thought Gwen as she regarded the short, slightly orange man before her who looked like he had just spent two weeks in the bath. He looked no more capable of looking after her luggage than touching his elbow with his tongue. She shrugged at him and patted the matchbox-sized cases in her bag apologetically before boarding.
Once on board Gwen wasted no time finding a compartment to sit in. Most were full of at least four students but one had only one occupant.
She was a girl of around Gwen's age. She had waist length mahogany hair and hazel almond eyes. Her complexion looked slightly Mediterranean and she was lying on a seat flicking through a magazine. Gwen entered hoping she wouldn't mind sharing.
"Hi. I'm Gwen..."
"S-susan." She took her feet hastily off of the chair as if she was being rude. The two girls looked at each other. An awkward silence built up, the other girl was clearly very shy. She half concealed her face behind the magazine and Gwen stared out of the window. It seemed as though she didn't quite fit in here.
Once off the train, Gwen found herself drowning in a mass of students all either greeting friends they hadn't been able to find on the train or hurrying off in different directions. There was a cacophony of sound, everyone was pushing, everyone knew where he or she was going. Gwen felt herself being drawn further and further into the crowd.
"Good afternoon Miss Silverine." She jumped, Snape was practically on top of her; she had not heard him approach in the crowd. He held a hand out to her, "Please follow me, the headmaster wishes to speak to you before dinner."
Gwen inclined her head at him and gracefully placed her hand in his, feeling very much like a little lost child in the street who had just been found by a policeman. Anyone who may have been observing this exchange would have assumed aliens had visited Snape in the night because as far as they were concerned he was acting uncharacteristically pleasant.