Chapter 3
Needles and Matchsticks
The first class of the next day was double potions with the Slytherins (as always). This was the first time that Harry didn't mind though. Even though Elizabeth was placed in the Slytherin house, he really wanted to see her. He found that he'd grown quite fond of her quirky personality (and anyone who slammed Malfoy's fingers in a doorway was a friend of Harry's). As he walked down into the dungeon, he could hear the Slytherins talking. Then the Gryffindors entered. Elizabeth smiled when she saw Harry, and she waved to him. Harry waved back nervously and sat in one of the middle rows with Hermione and Ron. Snape wasn't in the class yet.
Harry looked behind him and saw that Malfoy was in class though, and his hand was bandaged up. He was saying something to Elizabeth, and Harry could tell that whatever it was he was saying, she didn't like it at all. Harry almost wanted to see Elizabeth make the heavy spell book go flying up towards Malfoy's nose, and then he'd have another broken bone, but he also knew that if she got into too much trouble, she would be expelled for beating on Snape's favourite student.
And then Snape arrived. It was the first time he was actually late, and everyone was surprised once they realised it. He didn't waste any time though. He began role call, and went through it very quickly...until he called Elizabeth's name.
"Elizabeth...Woodside..."he said, but his voice trailed off. He was staring at the parchment with all the names on it.
"Here," Elizabeth called. Snape didn't respond, nor did he go onto the next student's name. He just stared and started muttering softly to himself.
"Why does that name sound so familiar?" he asked himself, seeming to forget that thirty-five students were watching him.
"Professor," Elizabeth uttered in an annoyed tone. Snape didn't respond. It was as though someone had put him in a trance.
Hermione, Harry, and Ron looked at each other, nervously. Never had they seen Snape act so strangely before. Maybe weird, but not this strange.
"Professor!" Elizabeth shouted. Snape's eyes widened and he looked over at Elizabeth. "I'm here," she said, changing her irritated tone into a smile.
"Oh...yes, you are. Sorry about that."
He called the last student as though nothing strange had happened, and then went about the normal class routine.
"Did you see that?" Ron whispered to Harry. "She didn't even get in trouble!"
"It's because she's a Slytherin," Harry said. "Any other house, and Snape would've taken her to Dumbledore for disrespect."
"Potter. Weasly," Snape growled. "Is there something the two of you would like to share with the rest of class?"
Harry and Ron shook their heads quickly, but Snape knew better.
"Five points from Gryffindor. You boys aren't getting off to a very good start now, are you?" He smirked, and went back to going over the general lesson plan.
"We'll begin today with a simple potion for curing headaches. I know we went over one of these last year, but this one is more potent and a bit more complicated. It will most likely take everyone about two weeks to complete it, though for some it may take more." He made the last comment staring directly at Neville.
It was the strangest potions class Harry had had so far. Snape stayed at his desk most of the time, not even bothering to get up when Neville's potion exploded all over his table. Harry kept looking up at Snape, but Snape seemed to want nothing to do with the class. He was focused on a page in a book. Harry couldn't see what book it was though, but every now and then, Snape would look up at Elizabeth with a strange, wondering look in his eyes.
"If I didn't know better," said Ron in a whisper, "I'd say Snape is checking out your new friend."
"That's just wrong in so many ways," Hermione said, annoyed. Her potion already looked halfway done just as the bell rang. Snape slammed his book shut as everyone began to exit.
"Miss Granger, Miss Woodside, would you two stay here please." Harry and Ron exchanged glances, and left the dungeon.
Hermione and Elizabeth approached Snape with completely different looks on their faces. Hermione looked scared, as though she had done something wrong by nearly completing her potion, but Elizabeth looked irritated.
"Professor, I really need to talk to you about that blonde, son-of a-" but Snape quickly interrupted Elizabeth.
"Right now, I need to talk to the two of you," Snape said, ignoring Elizabeth's plea. "It appears that this is your first year here at Hogwarts?" Snape asked Elizabeth. She nodded. "Yet you're placed with the seventh years. You know you'll have a lot of catching up to do."
"I actually think I'll be fine," Elizabeth said.
"I'm sure you do, but just to be certain, I'm going to assign Hermione as your temporary tutor."
"What!" Hermione shouted. Snape glared at her.
"Hermione, I've noticed that you're at the top of the school, and since you enjoy showing off so much, I thought it would benefit the two of you."
"But why can't you assign someone from her house?" Hermione argued.
"That's ten points from Gryffindor and there will be no more discussion about it."
"Professor, I really don't think I need a tutor for this class-"
"I don't want you falling behind in your other classes though. Remember that I'm the head of your house, and I think it would be best if Miss Granger here helped you get started."
"I don't like working with people," Elizabeth snapped. Snape just glared at her, but he didn't take any points off (he rarely took points off of other Slytherins).
"I'm not asking you two to work together," he began. "I'm telling you." He then looked down and sighed. "Miss Granger, if you work with Elizabeth, I will give Gryffindor fifteen points. That would account for what's been lost today. Does that seem fair?"
Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing. Snape was actually trying to be fair? She didn't want to argue anymore. He was actually making an attempt at something good.
"Okay," she said, reluctantly, but surely.
"Thank you for cooperating. Can you two meet in the Gryffindor common room around eight tonight? That would probably be better for you, Granger." Hermione nodded, not really wanting to argue. "All right. I'll give Elizabeth a pass then. You can go, Granger. I still need to speak with Elizabeth."
Hermione nodded and waved to Elizabeth, and then she left. Elizabeth was left standing face to face with Snape.
"I need to talk to you about a little incident on the train," he began. "Have a seat if you'd like." Elizabeth took a seat by his desk. Snape pulled out a piece of parchment.
"It says here that Mr. Malfoy was sent to the hospital wing with all of his fingers on his left hand broken."
"Really!" Elizabeth said, excitedly, but soon changed her tone, "err...really?"
"Yes, really. He claims that you somehow slammed the door on his hand, is that right?"
"Oh, no," Elizabeth lied. "His hand was in the doorway, and when the train shifted, the doors slammed on his fingers."
"I don't believe you, but I think it'll be safe to let you off with a warning this time. Don't break anymore students' bones, even if you don't get along with Malfoy."
"It seems a lot of people don't really like him," Elizabeth blurted. Snape sighed.
"This is true, and it's starting to show now that his father's lost power, but that's irrelevant right now." Snape stood up in his chair and walked over to Elizabeth. "Just try not to hurt anyone like that, all right?" Elizabeth nodded.
"I can try," she said in an unconvincing tone.
Snape glared at her but shook it off as he wrote her a pass to her next class: Advanced Charms.
Hermione waited outside of the Gryffindor common room at eight o'clock. Not a minute later, a dark shadow appeared from the corridor, and Hermione quickly recognised it to be Elizabeth, donned in her regular black clothes. She could probably go through classes without her regular uniform, and no one would take a second glance.
"Sorry about all of this," Elizabeth said. Hermione shrugged.
"It's all right. Let me just-"
Hermione was about to say the password to the portrait of the fat lady, but before she said anything, the painting shifted, revealing the door to the Gryffindor common room.
"Hey!" the lady yelled, but Elizabeth just walked right through. Hermione watched in amazement, but then she went after her.
"How did you do that?" she asked in astonishment. Elizabeth just shrugged.
"I'm a witch, aren't I?"
"Well, yes, but...do you know the password?" Elizabeth looked back.
"Err, no...why?"
Hermione decided it was best just to ignore the strange events and she walked with Elizabeth over to one of the burgundy sofas. Elizabeth kept looking around the room, amazed.
"Wow, your common room is great," she said. "Mine is freezing, and Malfoy's always there, so I tend to stay in my dorm room alone."
"Well, let me see your course schedule," Hermione said as she settled herself comfortably into the cushions. A few people eyed Elizabeth with an unwelcome glare, but Elizabeth didn't seem to notice. Instead, she pulled out the parchment with all of her classes and handed it to Hermione. Hermione looked over it in disbelief.
Elizabeth was taking Advanced Divination, Advanced Charms, Faeries, Veela, and Sirens, Advanced Transfiguration, and Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts. The only standard classes she was put in was potions, a History of Magic, and herbology, and there wasn't an advanced course for History! Hermione felt a tinge of jealousy. How could a girl who transferred into Hogwarts straight from the muggle world possibly know so much already? Even Hermione wasn't allowed to take Faeries, Veela, and Sirens.
"How did you get into these classes?" Hermione asked.
"I guess I scored high on the placement or something," Elizabeth responded. "I really like the class about faeries though. I'd always been interested in those, but I never knew they were real. And there are so many different kinds of them!"
"How's divination?"
"That's tomorrow. Harry said Professor Trelawney would love me or something." Hermione scoffed. Divination was her only bad subject if you subtracted potions (which was only bad because of Snape).
"Well, maybe we could get started on Transfiguration," Hermione said, trying to change the subject. "And just to see where you are, lets try something simple." Elizabeth nodded as Hermione pulled out a box of matches and handed them to Elizabeth. "Now, I want you to turn these into needles. The spell for that should be on page..."
But has Hermione was flipping through the spellbook, Elizabeth opened the box of matches and dumped out twenty needles onto the sofa. Hermione slowly looked up from the book. Her eyes first went on the needles, then the match box, and then Elizabeth. Elizabeth had a look in her eyes that told Hermione she had done that millions of times.
"How did you do that?" Hermione asked.
"It's easy. I just think about it really hard. Watch," she began as she picked up each needle, "I can change them back."
Once each needle was in her hand, Elizabeth closed her fist, and then opened it again. In her palm were twenty wooden matches, and Hermione noticed that in black letters, "Liz Was Here" was engraved on each one. Hermione couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"All right. I give up. The thing with the portrait was one thing, but all these classes, and the needles, and the matchsticks, and your message...how can you do that!" Hermione found she was now shouting.
"I...really don't know," Elizabeth stuttered. "It's something I've just always been able to do."
"But you need a spell. And you wand! Where's your wand!"
"I left it in my room."
"Well how do you expect-"
But Hermione stopped herself in mid-sentence. If this girl could already change things with no real magic experience, no spells, and no wand, Hermione wondered what else Elizabeth could do.
"Can you...do more?" Hermione asked, hesitantly.
Suddenly, the book jumped out of Hermione's hand and quickly shut. Hermione jumped back as it floated to the floor. Obviously, Elizabeth could do more. She carefully took Hermione's hands and looked into her brown eyes.
"I want you to look into my eyes," Elizabeth instructed. "I don't usually tell people to do that, but I'm giving you a free chance."
Hermione didn't know how to respond, but she decided to listen to Elizabeth. Hermione looked into Elizabeth's icy blue eyes, and stared without blinking for what seemed to be the longest time. She wasn't sure what exactly was happening. When Elizabeth let go of Hermione's hands, she awaited to know what had just happened.
"Have you ever heard the expression that the eyes are a 'window to the soul'?" Elizabeth asked. Hermione nodded. "Well, I like to think that I just looked into your soul. I can see your thoughts, even the ones you don't want me to see- don't worry. I didn't look that deep."
"So you can read my mind?"
"Something like that. It worked really well for you. You're an emitter. That means I can retrieve more things from you than I would from most people. That also means you can't receive information like I do though."
"That would explain why I was so terrible in Divination."
"Probably, but I've noticed that every person has a different energy as far as that goes. Anyway, let me tell you what I saw.
"You grew up in a...muggle home, you call it? Your parents are dentists." Hermione nodded. "You strive to excel in everything and I did see that Divination wasn't your strong point. It seems you left it quite...abruptly."
"I walked right out of class," Hermione responded.
"You also think I'm creepy." Hermione's face went red, but Elizabeth just smiled. "Don't worry. I don't need to read most people to see that. It's pretty easy to figure out, though I kind of bring it upon myself."
Hermione smiled, and Elizabeth got up to gather her books.
"Well, I think that's enough for tonight?" she asked. Hermione nodded.
"Maybe, but...if you still want to, you're welcome to come here, as long as Professor McGonagall knows you have permission."
Elizabeth scoffed.
"I don't care what they say, as long as you're okay with it."
"You're going to get in so much trouble with you house."
Elizabeth began walking to the door, but she looked back at Hermione with a bog grin on her face.
"Well, if that wasn't an accurate prediction, I don't know what is."
And then she left.
