A/N : Well, this chapter is more of an information chapter, I'm trying to portray the feel of Hogwarts through Gillian's eyes. Next chapter we'll have more action. So bear with me!
-AN ESCAPE COME TRUE
CHAPTER 2: The first day
Gillian woke up to with a start, looking around with her heart beating so fast she thought it was going to jump right out of her chest. After realizing she was still there, she felt a rush of relief and leaned against the headboard of her bed.
She had been afraid to fall asleep, thinking she would be back when she woke up, but fortunately she was in Ravenclaw's dorm room. It was all still sinking in and she felt like at any moment, she would be taken away from all that and be back to her awful life. She shuddered at the thought and gazed out of the blue curtains surrounding her four poster bed. All the other girls were still sleeping. She wondered what time it was and thought it was probably early morning. Deciding to go ahead and get ready, she slipped out of bed and opened her curtains. The room was half dark and her eyes were thankfully adjusted to it.
She remembered the events of last night with a smile. The head girl was none other than Padma Patil, Parvati's twin sister. Gillian didn't really take notice of who she was at first, she was so taken by everything that she barely looked at the girl. It was only when Padma introduced herself that she really looked at her. Padma was tall and skinny, her eyes were dark and expressive, and her braided black hair went all the way down to her waist. Her skin was dark as Gillian had imagined in the book.
They headed for Ravenclaw tower, on the west side of the castle. The halls looked a lot alike, and she wondered how she would be able to find her way in there. She had climbed a couple of stairs, making a few turns and had no idea where she was or how to go back. Not to mention the moving stairs, she had a feeling she was going to get caught in them just like Neville Longbottom. When she thought her lungs were going to burst, after walking for what seemed like forever in that huge place, they stopped in front of a large portrait. A blonde lady, holding a basket of blue flowers was snoring loudly, sitting on a cut tree trunk. When Padma said the password, she just stirred a bit, but continued in her deep sleep.
"FLOBBERWORM!" Padma yelled this time.
The blond lady jumped, dropping her basket and scattering the flowers around her. With a indignant look, she opened the entrance to the common room. The place was deserted because it was late, but Padma took the time to explain to her where everything was. While she did, Gillian walked slowly looking at everything, excitement building up by the second. There was a huge stone fireplace on one side, with a tapestry showing the symbol of the house over the mantel. There was no fire burning and the light was very dim. In front of it, she saw a comfortable looking sofa in blue and bronze colors and two wooden tables rounded with chairs, for study, on opposite corners of the room. There were large windows trailing the walls, showing the starry night outside of the castle. What wasn't covered by a window, was covered by more portraits and tapestries. The floor was made of stone as was everything in the whole place, but it was mostly covered by detailed oriental rugs with the predominant blue and bronze colors. There were two stairways, also in opposite sides, facing each other from across the room.
Padma explained the one on the left was the boys' dormitory and obviously the one on the right was the girls'. They climbed the stairs, and Gillian was taken to the seventh year's dorm.
Padma showed her bed and asked her to wait there, she sat quietly, trying not to wake the other occupants of the room. Minutes later Padma returned with a school robe as well as the complete Ravenclaw uniform, and a night shirt. She instructed her to go to the Great Hall in the morning and she would later take her back to the Headmaster's office.
Gillian was happy she knew most of the routine that went on the school, because of the books, but she hadn't realized how little she knew of her surroundings, being there for real.
Gillian was brought back from her musings once she stepped in the bathroom, clutching her uniform. She took a quick shower and got dressed. It was interesting how the clothes seemed large and awkward, and she was sure it wouldn't fit, but as she put it on, she felt the clothes instantly adjusting around her body.
She looked at herself in the mirror and loosed her tie a bit, she wasn't used to those things and it really annoyed her to have something tucked around her neck. She put her dark framed glasses back and looked at her hair with a frown. What was she going to do about that mop? She found herself thinking she'd rather have Hermione's bushy hair, than that thing she used to call hair. She tied it in a tight pony tail, that way no one could see how horrid it really was, at least until it grew more and she could so something about it.
She left the bath to find the other roommates already up and looking curiously at her. She decided she would have to introduce herself and tell the story Dumbledore told her to. To her surprise the girls weren't half as bad as her old school acquaintances, but she could tell by the way they looked at her, that they thought she was strange. Of course it wouldn't be different here. No matter where she went, she was still the same. She was Gillian, the weird one.
The only difference here was that she could hex them now. She smirked at the thought and followed the other students to the Great Hall. As she neared it, the thought of seeing Professor Snape got ahold of her and she could feel her anxiety increasing at a screaming rate. She hadn't seen almost any of the staff, but she would today and she was truly scared.
The students were coming from every part of the castle, carrying their backpacks and talking happily. Gillian was just amazed by everything, the portraits still freaked her out, it was like being constantly watched and it would take time for her to adjust to that.
The smell of the castle was something she hadn't thought about before, it smelled ancient... it smelled of dark dank places. If this was how it smelled up here, she couldn't begin to imagine the dungeons. It wasn't bad really, but it wasn't what she expected either. She supposed one got used to it after some time.
The Great Hall on the other hand, had a pleasant food smell and as she walked through the great doors, her jaw literarily dropped. It was huge and very bright too, the enchanted ceiling wasn't like she had seen in the movie, it sort of had an infinite depth to it, like there weren't borders... although she knew the walls stopped when the illusion of the sky began, try as she might, she couldn't see where it started. It was like the magic didn't allow her eyes to focus on it. Very strange.
She scanned the room and found the Ravenclaw table. She walked slowly and a little self-conscious, as the others started to notice she was a new student. After she sat, the first thing she did was look at the head table. The long wooden table had a few professors along with Dumbledore. She saw an older woman with a tight bun and small glasses who was wearing dark plum robes and from that distance and the ugly hat, she could tell it was McGonagall. She didn't look anything like Maggie Smith, but then again she knew no one would look like the actors in the movie.
She saw a tiny old man with wild white hair and a pointed nose. 'Duh,' she thought. 'Flitwick, of course!'
Looking further she saw another old woman who was frowning and looking at her own plate. She was dressed in grey robes and had a grey crooked hat. It was probably Madam Pince. Looking along the rest of the table, she saw no one else. Professor Snape wasn't there and she was utterly disappointed. She really didn't know what to expect really, it was a little scary to imagine Snape as described in the book and not be a little uneasy. The reality of it was that she was terrified, now that she thought about it.
The food magically appeared in front of her and she noticed it had a little sound to it, almost imperceptible, but every time a plate appeared on the table, she could hear this sound. It was indescribable, but she realized, all magic had a different sound.
While eating, Gillian tried to see if she could recognize anyone, but it was hard with that many people in one room. She saw lots of faces but they meant nothing to her. At some point, when she was finishing her breakfast, she saw some students leaving the Slytherin table and she let out a snort at the sight of three boys in their seventeens. Two of them were chubby and ugly, but mostly they had that glazed look in their eyes, the kind of brainless look she had seen in some of the students in her school. She could tell an idiot from miles away. Walking in the middle of the two, she could see a tall blonde boy, when he gazed in her direction, she saw the long pointed face and the snob demeanor. Malfoy and his croonies . She couldn't help but laugh at the fact that Draco Malfoy was not good looking at all and he was so frail for a boy his age, that one could knock him out with a simple push.
"No wonder he needs those two monkeys around him," she said, realizing she was talking to herself and could feel the looks from the others in her table. If she stopped to think, she would have perceived that no one had attempted to talk to her, and sat very far, which was no surprise, but she wasn't willing to think about it and was glad to see Padma standing behind her.
"Are you ready to go see Professor Dumbledore?" Padma asked.
"Sure," Gillian said already getting up.
The two girls walked the long Hallway, until they were facing the gargoyles again. In minutes she was sitting in front of Dumbledore and Flitwick.
"Good morning Miss Field, I trust you were able to sleep well?" Dumbledore inquired with a warm smile.
She immediately smiled back, it was impossible not to, the man had a knack to make others comfortable when he wanted to.
"Yes sir," she answered and looked at Flitwick.
He was even tinier than she thought and was surprised to see that his voice not only was squeaky, but it was loud and too cheery for her to bear. He was a strange looking man and she was having too much fun imagining how the other teachers would look like.
"Hello Miss Field, it's a pleasure to meet you and to have you at Ravenclaw!" squeaked Flitwick.
"Thank you sir," she said shortly. She wasn't much of a talker, she usually observed a lot but said very little.
"Well Miss Field, Professor Flitwick here is your Head of House and he, as well as all Professors, are aware of your... situation. So he'll provide you with one of the spare wands we keep at the school in case of emergencies. This sort of wand is not made specifically for one person, which makes it possible for anyone to use them. However, they're not very effective. You will practice with one until we feel you're ready to get your own wand at Diagon Alley." Dumbledore stood up and got a parchment from one of the shelves near his desk.
"This is a permission for your scholarship. It's not common for Hogwarts to provide such scholarships, but it has been done before. You'll have all the money you need to finish your education and support you with your books and needs. You'll have a vault at Gringots in your name. Any questions?" He finished and reclined in his chair studying her with twinkly eyes.
"Thank you so much sir, I don't know what to say..."
"You already thanked me and that's all you need to say," he said. "You probably need to buy yourself clothes and personal things, so I'll ask Minerva to accompany you to Hogsmeade tomorrow."
She couldn't believe this was happening! She was waiting for the catch. She wasn't that lucky...
"Sir, How am I going to follow the classes? I am way behind and that's really an understatement," she asked.
"The Professors know that, and will provide you with all that's necessary for you to follow the classes. Also you'll need tutoring, which I think Miss Granger is perfect for the job." He stood up and she had a feeling she was being dismissed.
Dumbledore told Flitwick to provide with her wand and the schedule for her classes.
To her absolute panic, Advanced Double Potions was her first class and she knew how unfair Snape could be. She doubted that he would be condescending with her. Not Snape. And this was an advanced class, how on earth would she follow it?At the same time she couldn't help being elated to meet the one character she admired most in this magic world.
She followed Flitwick's directions to get to the dungeons and thankfully it wasn't that hard. She climbed down the stairs into a dark corridor. It was narrow and more rustic than the rest of the castle. There were no portraits or anything but a few torches along the wall, which made weird shadows throughout the way. She was glad to see some students wearing the blue and bronze ties standing in front of a wooden door. She also saw some Hufflepuffs leaning against the wall.
She sighed and did the same. Nobody seemed to notice her there and she was happy that way, better ignored than humiliated.
A barely audible click sounded at the door and it slowly opened with a creepy creak.
The students proceeded to enter and take their seats. She waited to see where the Ravenclaws would sit and took one of the seats in the back. She settled in front of a cauldron, putting down the parchment and quill her Head of House had given her.
She gazed to the dais where Snape's desk was located. He wasn't there yet, so she took the time to look at the rest of the room. It was so much darker than she had imagined. The room smelled of rotten wood and herbs, very unpleasant. The table and bench in which she was seated was made of very dark wood, but it wasn't polished as the ones in the Great Hall, they were dull and opaque, with dark stains of prossible spilled potions. She saw Padma and a red haired girl walk into the room and sit together near the front. Padma looked back at her and gave her a light smile, before she turned back to her cauldron.
It wasn't long before the class was filled and the door closed slowly with a similar click. She could feel butterflies in her stomach by now, and kept looking at the door, waiting for Snape to burst in dramatically at any moment.
She heard the a noise coming from another door on the far right side of the room, near the dais. It flew open and the murmur from the students ceased immediately, she could feel the tension around her. It felt as if a cold cloud had descended on their heads. She shuddered uncomfortably and was absolutely terrified when he walked in.
..................................................................................................................................................
Thanks :
vizzy-vicky-lou - Thank you so much I hope you like this chapter as well!
Jojo - ya come to think of it, it's my dream too LOL yum to meet Snape LOL anyway, thank you for reviewing!
harryptaxd204 - Thanks!
FabioandtheDuck - Thank you so much, I'm happy you enjoyed the details and all. I'm hoping to show it as real as possible.
Jessalin - Thank you for reviewing and well, all those questions will be answered with time. As for Snape, well it depends on who your parents friends are LOL I would love if my parents had friends like him ;-)
moviebuff101 - Thank you!
Mercurial1 - Thank you so much for reviewing. She was found in a broom closet but not in the dungeons. About the castle, my vision of a medieval castle is dark and gloomy even during the day. These places are normally dark. Ya I thought Ravenclaw would be different but it doesn't keep her from meeting the trio. And yes, Snape is her goal from the beginning ;-)
-AN ESCAPE COME TRUE
CHAPTER 2: The first day
Gillian woke up to with a start, looking around with her heart beating so fast she thought it was going to jump right out of her chest. After realizing she was still there, she felt a rush of relief and leaned against the headboard of her bed.
She had been afraid to fall asleep, thinking she would be back when she woke up, but fortunately she was in Ravenclaw's dorm room. It was all still sinking in and she felt like at any moment, she would be taken away from all that and be back to her awful life. She shuddered at the thought and gazed out of the blue curtains surrounding her four poster bed. All the other girls were still sleeping. She wondered what time it was and thought it was probably early morning. Deciding to go ahead and get ready, she slipped out of bed and opened her curtains. The room was half dark and her eyes were thankfully adjusted to it.
She remembered the events of last night with a smile. The head girl was none other than Padma Patil, Parvati's twin sister. Gillian didn't really take notice of who she was at first, she was so taken by everything that she barely looked at the girl. It was only when Padma introduced herself that she really looked at her. Padma was tall and skinny, her eyes were dark and expressive, and her braided black hair went all the way down to her waist. Her skin was dark as Gillian had imagined in the book.
They headed for Ravenclaw tower, on the west side of the castle. The halls looked a lot alike, and she wondered how she would be able to find her way in there. She had climbed a couple of stairs, making a few turns and had no idea where she was or how to go back. Not to mention the moving stairs, she had a feeling she was going to get caught in them just like Neville Longbottom. When she thought her lungs were going to burst, after walking for what seemed like forever in that huge place, they stopped in front of a large portrait. A blonde lady, holding a basket of blue flowers was snoring loudly, sitting on a cut tree trunk. When Padma said the password, she just stirred a bit, but continued in her deep sleep.
"FLOBBERWORM!" Padma yelled this time.
The blond lady jumped, dropping her basket and scattering the flowers around her. With a indignant look, she opened the entrance to the common room. The place was deserted because it was late, but Padma took the time to explain to her where everything was. While she did, Gillian walked slowly looking at everything, excitement building up by the second. There was a huge stone fireplace on one side, with a tapestry showing the symbol of the house over the mantel. There was no fire burning and the light was very dim. In front of it, she saw a comfortable looking sofa in blue and bronze colors and two wooden tables rounded with chairs, for study, on opposite corners of the room. There were large windows trailing the walls, showing the starry night outside of the castle. What wasn't covered by a window, was covered by more portraits and tapestries. The floor was made of stone as was everything in the whole place, but it was mostly covered by detailed oriental rugs with the predominant blue and bronze colors. There were two stairways, also in opposite sides, facing each other from across the room.
Padma explained the one on the left was the boys' dormitory and obviously the one on the right was the girls'. They climbed the stairs, and Gillian was taken to the seventh year's dorm.
Padma showed her bed and asked her to wait there, she sat quietly, trying not to wake the other occupants of the room. Minutes later Padma returned with a school robe as well as the complete Ravenclaw uniform, and a night shirt. She instructed her to go to the Great Hall in the morning and she would later take her back to the Headmaster's office.
Gillian was happy she knew most of the routine that went on the school, because of the books, but she hadn't realized how little she knew of her surroundings, being there for real.
Gillian was brought back from her musings once she stepped in the bathroom, clutching her uniform. She took a quick shower and got dressed. It was interesting how the clothes seemed large and awkward, and she was sure it wouldn't fit, but as she put it on, she felt the clothes instantly adjusting around her body.
She looked at herself in the mirror and loosed her tie a bit, she wasn't used to those things and it really annoyed her to have something tucked around her neck. She put her dark framed glasses back and looked at her hair with a frown. What was she going to do about that mop? She found herself thinking she'd rather have Hermione's bushy hair, than that thing she used to call hair. She tied it in a tight pony tail, that way no one could see how horrid it really was, at least until it grew more and she could so something about it.
She left the bath to find the other roommates already up and looking curiously at her. She decided she would have to introduce herself and tell the story Dumbledore told her to. To her surprise the girls weren't half as bad as her old school acquaintances, but she could tell by the way they looked at her, that they thought she was strange. Of course it wouldn't be different here. No matter where she went, she was still the same. She was Gillian, the weird one.
The only difference here was that she could hex them now. She smirked at the thought and followed the other students to the Great Hall. As she neared it, the thought of seeing Professor Snape got ahold of her and she could feel her anxiety increasing at a screaming rate. She hadn't seen almost any of the staff, but she would today and she was truly scared.
The students were coming from every part of the castle, carrying their backpacks and talking happily. Gillian was just amazed by everything, the portraits still freaked her out, it was like being constantly watched and it would take time for her to adjust to that.
The smell of the castle was something she hadn't thought about before, it smelled ancient... it smelled of dark dank places. If this was how it smelled up here, she couldn't begin to imagine the dungeons. It wasn't bad really, but it wasn't what she expected either. She supposed one got used to it after some time.
The Great Hall on the other hand, had a pleasant food smell and as she walked through the great doors, her jaw literarily dropped. It was huge and very bright too, the enchanted ceiling wasn't like she had seen in the movie, it sort of had an infinite depth to it, like there weren't borders... although she knew the walls stopped when the illusion of the sky began, try as she might, she couldn't see where it started. It was like the magic didn't allow her eyes to focus on it. Very strange.
She scanned the room and found the Ravenclaw table. She walked slowly and a little self-conscious, as the others started to notice she was a new student. After she sat, the first thing she did was look at the head table. The long wooden table had a few professors along with Dumbledore. She saw an older woman with a tight bun and small glasses who was wearing dark plum robes and from that distance and the ugly hat, she could tell it was McGonagall. She didn't look anything like Maggie Smith, but then again she knew no one would look like the actors in the movie.
She saw a tiny old man with wild white hair and a pointed nose. 'Duh,' she thought. 'Flitwick, of course!'
Looking further she saw another old woman who was frowning and looking at her own plate. She was dressed in grey robes and had a grey crooked hat. It was probably Madam Pince. Looking along the rest of the table, she saw no one else. Professor Snape wasn't there and she was utterly disappointed. She really didn't know what to expect really, it was a little scary to imagine Snape as described in the book and not be a little uneasy. The reality of it was that she was terrified, now that she thought about it.
The food magically appeared in front of her and she noticed it had a little sound to it, almost imperceptible, but every time a plate appeared on the table, she could hear this sound. It was indescribable, but she realized, all magic had a different sound.
While eating, Gillian tried to see if she could recognize anyone, but it was hard with that many people in one room. She saw lots of faces but they meant nothing to her. At some point, when she was finishing her breakfast, she saw some students leaving the Slytherin table and she let out a snort at the sight of three boys in their seventeens. Two of them were chubby and ugly, but mostly they had that glazed look in their eyes, the kind of brainless look she had seen in some of the students in her school. She could tell an idiot from miles away. Walking in the middle of the two, she could see a tall blonde boy, when he gazed in her direction, she saw the long pointed face and the snob demeanor. Malfoy and his croonies . She couldn't help but laugh at the fact that Draco Malfoy was not good looking at all and he was so frail for a boy his age, that one could knock him out with a simple push.
"No wonder he needs those two monkeys around him," she said, realizing she was talking to herself and could feel the looks from the others in her table. If she stopped to think, she would have perceived that no one had attempted to talk to her, and sat very far, which was no surprise, but she wasn't willing to think about it and was glad to see Padma standing behind her.
"Are you ready to go see Professor Dumbledore?" Padma asked.
"Sure," Gillian said already getting up.
The two girls walked the long Hallway, until they were facing the gargoyles again. In minutes she was sitting in front of Dumbledore and Flitwick.
"Good morning Miss Field, I trust you were able to sleep well?" Dumbledore inquired with a warm smile.
She immediately smiled back, it was impossible not to, the man had a knack to make others comfortable when he wanted to.
"Yes sir," she answered and looked at Flitwick.
He was even tinier than she thought and was surprised to see that his voice not only was squeaky, but it was loud and too cheery for her to bear. He was a strange looking man and she was having too much fun imagining how the other teachers would look like.
"Hello Miss Field, it's a pleasure to meet you and to have you at Ravenclaw!" squeaked Flitwick.
"Thank you sir," she said shortly. She wasn't much of a talker, she usually observed a lot but said very little.
"Well Miss Field, Professor Flitwick here is your Head of House and he, as well as all Professors, are aware of your... situation. So he'll provide you with one of the spare wands we keep at the school in case of emergencies. This sort of wand is not made specifically for one person, which makes it possible for anyone to use them. However, they're not very effective. You will practice with one until we feel you're ready to get your own wand at Diagon Alley." Dumbledore stood up and got a parchment from one of the shelves near his desk.
"This is a permission for your scholarship. It's not common for Hogwarts to provide such scholarships, but it has been done before. You'll have all the money you need to finish your education and support you with your books and needs. You'll have a vault at Gringots in your name. Any questions?" He finished and reclined in his chair studying her with twinkly eyes.
"Thank you so much sir, I don't know what to say..."
"You already thanked me and that's all you need to say," he said. "You probably need to buy yourself clothes and personal things, so I'll ask Minerva to accompany you to Hogsmeade tomorrow."
She couldn't believe this was happening! She was waiting for the catch. She wasn't that lucky...
"Sir, How am I going to follow the classes? I am way behind and that's really an understatement," she asked.
"The Professors know that, and will provide you with all that's necessary for you to follow the classes. Also you'll need tutoring, which I think Miss Granger is perfect for the job." He stood up and she had a feeling she was being dismissed.
Dumbledore told Flitwick to provide with her wand and the schedule for her classes.
To her absolute panic, Advanced Double Potions was her first class and she knew how unfair Snape could be. She doubted that he would be condescending with her. Not Snape. And this was an advanced class, how on earth would she follow it?At the same time she couldn't help being elated to meet the one character she admired most in this magic world.
She followed Flitwick's directions to get to the dungeons and thankfully it wasn't that hard. She climbed down the stairs into a dark corridor. It was narrow and more rustic than the rest of the castle. There were no portraits or anything but a few torches along the wall, which made weird shadows throughout the way. She was glad to see some students wearing the blue and bronze ties standing in front of a wooden door. She also saw some Hufflepuffs leaning against the wall.
She sighed and did the same. Nobody seemed to notice her there and she was happy that way, better ignored than humiliated.
A barely audible click sounded at the door and it slowly opened with a creepy creak.
The students proceeded to enter and take their seats. She waited to see where the Ravenclaws would sit and took one of the seats in the back. She settled in front of a cauldron, putting down the parchment and quill her Head of House had given her.
She gazed to the dais where Snape's desk was located. He wasn't there yet, so she took the time to look at the rest of the room. It was so much darker than she had imagined. The room smelled of rotten wood and herbs, very unpleasant. The table and bench in which she was seated was made of very dark wood, but it wasn't polished as the ones in the Great Hall, they were dull and opaque, with dark stains of prossible spilled potions. She saw Padma and a red haired girl walk into the room and sit together near the front. Padma looked back at her and gave her a light smile, before she turned back to her cauldron.
It wasn't long before the class was filled and the door closed slowly with a similar click. She could feel butterflies in her stomach by now, and kept looking at the door, waiting for Snape to burst in dramatically at any moment.
She heard the a noise coming from another door on the far right side of the room, near the dais. It flew open and the murmur from the students ceased immediately, she could feel the tension around her. It felt as if a cold cloud had descended on their heads. She shuddered uncomfortably and was absolutely terrified when he walked in.
..................................................................................................................................................
Thanks :
vizzy-vicky-lou - Thank you so much I hope you like this chapter as well!
Jojo - ya come to think of it, it's my dream too LOL yum to meet Snape LOL anyway, thank you for reviewing!
harryptaxd204 - Thanks!
FabioandtheDuck - Thank you so much, I'm happy you enjoyed the details and all. I'm hoping to show it as real as possible.
Jessalin - Thank you for reviewing and well, all those questions will be answered with time. As for Snape, well it depends on who your parents friends are LOL I would love if my parents had friends like him ;-)
moviebuff101 - Thank you!
Mercurial1 - Thank you so much for reviewing. She was found in a broom closet but not in the dungeons. About the castle, my vision of a medieval castle is dark and gloomy even during the day. These places are normally dark. Ya I thought Ravenclaw would be different but it doesn't keep her from meeting the trio. And yes, Snape is her goal from the beginning ;-)