Disclaimer: If I was JKR, I wouldn't be writing this.
Chapter 3 – The Headmaster's proposal
-----------------------------------
Beka's POV
She was in deep shit and she knew it. It was dinnertime and she hadn't calm down since the morning. Everyone in the Great Hall was eating and chatting with friends while she was angrily looking at her plate, wanting to punch someone, something, just hit, and hard. She was angry at Malfoy for making her fell on the ground, angry at herself for loosing control and used magic on him, angry for getting caught using magic, angry at Professor Snape for giving her a detention and for acting like a bastard toward her. 'He can't not have notice it. I have the same last name for God's sake.'
Her day, which had started bad enough, had only gone worst. She was so mad that during Charm Class, instead of changing the color of the quill into bright red, she made it explode. It was a stupid error, to much energy behind the spell. She wasn't used at using a wand for using her magic. So, she was also angry with herself for messing up in Charm Class. Then, she went to her History of Magic Class. 'That was one boring class.' The professor didn't even present himself. He just past trough the wall – he was a ghost- and started talking about the start of wizarding traditions in Ancient Egypt. Her thought kind of drift out at that point and she found herself thinking about her dad and her mom. 'Why hadn't she told her he was teaching here?'She wrote her mom a letter during the afternoon that the first-years had open because they had Astronomy Class that night. She had thought more about her dad then. Even if he hadn't recognized her, her last name should have made him clicked in some way. She really wanted to hit someone. 'That Malfoy guy should do it' she thought.
After her trick that morning all the students of the other Houses had praised her, but Malfoy, or the ferret-boy as Hermione kept naming him, had taken the lunch hour to pull out revenge. He sent a snake on her, how original for a Slytherin, and if it hadn't been for Harry hearing it and talking to it, she would have been bitten. She really, really, really wanted to hit him. That was out of idea though. She would probably get caught and she already had enough problems with the Headmaster for now. 'I wonder why he wants to see me though. It can't only be for some stupid school rules.' She couldn't do anything about that for now. It was best to concentrate on a plan to humiliate ferret-boy. 'God, I like that name. It suits him so well. To bad I can't transform him into a ferret.' She then remembered her Charm Class. 'That will do it.' She would need to be careful not to get caught. The best was to wait tomorrow morning, during breakfast. She could then cast a spell unnoticed.
While she was wandering in her thoughts, dinner had finish and it was time to head up for the Headmaster's office. She was heading toward the second floor, when Malfoy stopped in front of her.
"Well, well. The mudblood is going to get expelled." He said, smirking.
"Go to Hell, Malfoy." She answered and tried to duck him.
"Now. Little girls shouldn't use bad language."
"And polite boys shouldn't push students on the floor. So we're even Malfoy." She was trying to sound annoyed, but she was getting scared now. That guy wasn't really known for his gentleness. She had heard a lot of stories about him during the day. "You know, for someone who wants to see me expelled, you're acting a strange way."
"What do you mean, Mudblood?"
"First, my name is Beka. And second, I'll get expelled faster if you would let me go the Headmaster's office."
The teenager looked flabbergast and finally let her pass, bringing his two bodyguards along. She continued to walk and arrived in front of the gargoyle. Taking a deep breath and trying to ignore the panic she was starting to feel, she said the password and stepped onto what seemed to be the wizard's escalator. The stone steps were moving in spiral toward the wooden door. When she opened the door, she saw that her Head of House, Professor McGonagall, was there also, but, to her relief, Professor Snape was no where to be seen. She would probably have started yelling if she had had to face him just now.
"Good evening, Miss Mitchell. Would you please take a seat?" He was gesturing toward a chair facing his desk. "Would you like lemon drop?"
"No, thanks professor. I just ate."
"Well then we will go straight to the matter. I supposed you know why I asked you to come to my office?"
"Yes, sir." Seeing he wasn't talking, she continued. "I used magic on another student and broke school rules."
Looking at the Headmaster, she saw twinkles in his blue eyes and remarked he was trying to hide his smile. She scowled, not seeing anything funny and trying to understand what was making the professor so cheerful.
"While it is true that it is your behavior of this morning that brought you here, I think you were already enough punished by Professor Snape. What I want to discuss with you is the magical ability you have proven this morning."
"Magical ability? Well, I'm a witch, so it's normal I use magic. I mean... I wouldn't be here if it hasn't been for that."
"You misunderstood me, miss Mitchell. I was meaning that no first-years, not even fifth-years for that, could conjure an object not talking without using their wand. Would you mind to explain to us where you learned that kind of magic?"
"By myself, sir" she said looking carefully at her shoes. She wasn't sure anymore if it had been a good idea to teach herself how to control her magic when she was young.
"Would you mind to extend?" asked patiently the old man. The eleven year-old girl lifted her head and looked straight at the Headmaster.
"The first time I did intentional magic, I was five. My mom wanted me to finish my vegetables, but I really didn't want. I remembered that sometimes, when I really wanted something –like a toy out of reach- it would come to me, so that time I wished them very hard to vanish. They did, not very far though," she smiled then remembering the face her mom has made, "they reappeared in my mom's plate. I was punished after."
"For making magic?" It was the first time professor McGonagall had spoken up, but Beka heard the concern in her teacher's voice.
"No, for not eating my vegetables. My mom always made it very clear that I wasn't punish for my magic, but for my behavior."
"Your mom is a Muggle, no?" It was the Headmaster again. "How did she know about magic?"
"My dad was a wizard."
"What has happened to him? When we send the letter, there were no adult wizards with you, because I sent a letter to explain magic to your parents." The Deputy Headmistress asked.
"My biological dad left before my birth. My mom and my foster dad raised me."
She couldn't help, but show some bitterness in her voice. Knowing her dad was so close, but didn't even try to talk to her made her want to hide in a corner and cry. She could also see the sadness in the two adult's eyes.
"Miss Mitchell, as I was saying, your magical abilities are well beyond that are usual for first-years and I have a suggestion for you. While you will continue to attend first-year classes, you will have evening class on the second year program. You will also have some classes on weekend."
"Why can't I just skip my first-year and do the second-year program right away?"
"While you are a powerful witch, there is a lot of things you do not know about the magical world. Classes such as History of Magic, Potions or Herbology are required and you don't know about them yet."
Beka tried to think all about it. It was hard to decide on the spot.
"Can I have one week to think about it, sir?"
"I wouldn't have thought you would have agreed right now, miss Mitchell. Also, as you are not of age yet, we need to send a letter to your parents to make sure they also agree."
That night, Beka went to bed with her head full of thought. It was well beyond midnight when she finally drifted to sleep.
