Little
Little minds let little games burn big old dreams with little flames,
and you don't think I understand.
Little holes in parachutes won't leave you falling,
if they do, it's because you want to land.
"No, tilt your wand down more, and don't flick as jerkily."
"Sorry, lassie."
She pulled away from him and snapped, "I told you not to call me that, you git. It makes me feel like that bloody Muggle dog."
"I'm not familiar," he whispered, concentrating hard.
When Professor McGonagall asked Vevila to tutor someone in Transfiguration she never imagined it'd be Grant O'Neil; the most obnoxious Irishman she knew. Not only was his happy-go-lucky attitude annoying, but the fact that he insisted on calling her 'lassie' or 'lass' was enough to push her over the edge.
"My name is Vevila, and if you call me lassie one more time I'll hex you."
"Is this correct?" he asked, pointing his wand at the table.
He looked up for her approval, and she smacked her forehead. "Not that down."
"Show me then," Grant insisted.
Vevila sighed; sometimes she felt like he over did things to annoy her. Regardless, she moved behind him and wrapped her arms around him. In this position she could better see at his height, but she suspected Grant liked it for other reasons. Holding his wand hand she directed it to face the grape. "You have to make sure you point your wand at the object you're transfiguring." Though smart, she could never teach. She lost her patience too quickly, and all the questions Grant asked seemed self-explanatory.
"Now think about what you're trying to transfigure it into… in this case it's a bottle of perfume."
"Can it smell like grape?"
"I don't care much what it smells like… Just make it pleasant or McGonagall will take off." She was loosing her patience and the feeling in her legs. Grant was sitting down and she was in an awkward position behind him, holding his wand hand steadily.
"Didn't she say she wanted it to smell like grape?"
Vevila sighed sharply, "I don't care what it smells like! Just transfigure it into a bottle of perfume!"
There was an explosion, and Grant jumped back, smacking into Vevila. She managed to catch her balance, saving Grant's at the same time. She batted the smoke away from the table, squinting to see if he'd finally succeeded. "Damn it, Grant!" She smacked the back of his head. "That's the sixteenth time, and we don't have any more grapes!"
"Sorry, lassie," he apologized, rubbing the back of his head.
She cast a threatening glance at him, then looked back to the table. She shook her head, and shoved her wand into the belt of her robes. "I've had enough for one day. We'll pick up lessons again tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Grant looked horrified, "But our test is tomorrow!"
Vevila shrugged her shoulders, and turned to leave. "It looks like you'll be failing then."
He grabbed her arm before she could leave and pleaded, "No… I promise I'll try harder. I can't afford to fail this exam… please?"
Vala nearly rejected him, but she couldn't. What was a little less sleep? The tutoring was, after all, another excuse to avoid Saxon. She wiped her forehead. "Fine, go get the grapes. I'll wait here for you."
Grant's face lightened up and he smiled graciously, "Thank you, thank you! You won't regret this, lassie!"
"And stop calling me lassie!" yelled at his retreating back. She glanced at her watch and cringed. It's going to be a long night…
~+~+~+~
"Make sure you're pointing directly at it… Okay, now say the spell and gently flick your wrist," Vala instructed.
Grant followed her carefully. "Point, speak, flick," he mumbled to himself. A small burst of smoke erupted, but quickly disappeared.
Vala couldn't help but cheer, "Yes! Excellent!" The grape had been successfully transfigured into a bottle of perfume. Grant leapt in the air cheering, and the two briefly engaged in a victory dance. "Okay, okay…" she said, the two ushering back to the table. "Now this time when you transfigure it concentrate hard on making the bottle red instead of purple. And instead of grape scented make it apple. Remember… not too strong or thick."
He pointed at a new grape, whispering to himself, "Point, speak, flick…" Red smoke enveloped the grape and when it disappeared the grape was exchanged for a small square bottle. Vala picked it up and sprayed it unto to herself. "Mmm… That smells excellent. Not too faint, not too strong… Just perfect," she complimented. She handed the bottle back to Grant, "Congratulations on your successfully transfigured grape. Now maybe you'll receive a passing grade."
Grant smiled broadly, his eyes twinkling with tears. He pulled Vala into a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you!" he whispered exuberantly into her hair. Words couldn't express the gratitude he felt towards her.
Vala was a bit shocked. She wasn't accustomed to such emotions. Awkwardly, she patted his back. "It was nothing… don't worry about it." She struggled to look at her watch without disrupting Grant's display of affection, but pushed him away when she spotted the time. "Merlin's beard! Grant, we have to go! It's O-Two-Hundred!"
"It's what?" he asked, tilting his head.
She hit his shoulder, "Two A.M.!"
Grant smacked his forehead, but turned back to the table and shoved all the grapes and disfigured perfume bottles into his bag. Vala slid her wand back into the belt of her robes, and tugged on his hand. "We have to go now!"
He threw his bag over his shoulder, and let Vala lead him from the room. "Okay, we'll make it to the painting of the warlock together, but at that point you'll have to escape down the staircase and to the dungeons while I sprint up the other to the third floor."
"Okay," he agreed.
The two walked briskly from the room, listening carefully, and holding hands. At each corner Vala would stop and make sure the coast was clear. They had two near run ins with Filch, but managed to sneak by unnoticed. At the painting of the warlock they wished each other luck and split.
Vala made it up the staircase safely, but just as she was turning the last corner she saw an unwelcoming sight: the back of Professor Severus Snape. She gasped, but she figured he hadn't noticed and she tried to slip back behind the corner.
"Out after hours I see, Miss. Amoureux."
Vala cringed. Snape had called her by her last name, and above all, he'd caught her. "It's pronounced Am-or-oh," she corrected, facing him slowly. It was a French name, and often mispronounced.
"I don't much care how it's pronounced," he snapped.
She never did understand Snape. She had never harmed in any way, or given him a reason to feel threatened. It was as if he simply didn't like her. "I'm horribly sorry, sir… You see, I was helping a student-"
"How very convenient," he cut her off. "And what may I ask were you really doing?"
"Honestly," she protested. "I was asked to tutor a student, and I was simply helping him to understand something."
"So late?" He rose an eyebrow skeptically, "I hadn't realized tutoring ran so late."
She'd always hated Snape in a certain light. He'd always taken advantage of his position in authority. She was sure that if Snape knew she was dating Saxon Malfoy, the Draco Malfoy of her day, that he'd let her off clean.
"Well," she began slowly, choosing her words carefully. "My close friend Grant O'Neil didn't quite understand a lesson in Transfiguration, and rather than let him fail the test we're having later on today I tutored him until he completely understood it. I don't know," she shrugged her shoulder, "I thought receiving a high grade and possibly even points for his House was more important than sleep." There always were advantages to having connections in the Slytherin House when it came to Snape.
"Is that so?" he asked, his fierceness dulling.
"Yes, it is," she replied, glancing at her watch. "It's a shame really that we ran so late… Saxon was hoping to speak with me. We do, after all, have some important issues to discuss." She sighed softly and lied, "He really is a wonderful man. I believe I could spend my life with him…" She looked back at Snape and waved a hand with a light laugh, "But why am I telling you all about this? Surely, you're not interested in Saxon and I."
"Very well then," he pointed at the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room. "Get back to your dorm, and don't let me catch you out this late again."
Vevila was cheering inside, but she would never let it show through. She always had been a remarkable actress, and she'd just made Snape believe she was in love with Saxon. She nodded her head, and walked up the last, short staircase. She whispered the password, and sighed softer to herself. It was sad really, she was marrying a man she didn't love. I guess we all make sacrifices for those we love…
~+~+~+~
"You poor thing."
Vala poked her head out from behind a corner and stared curiously at a girl. She rose an eyebrow and asked, "Who are you talking to?" The girl pointed to Mrs. Norris, who was sitting next to her on the steps. Vala stared at the girl. "Come again?"
"Mrs. Norris," she repeated.
"But… she's a cat." Vala stepped out from behind the corner.
Mrs. Norris glared at her, and the girl nodded, stroking the cat's silken head. "It's all right… She doesn't understand."
Vala stared at her a little more. "What's there to understand? She's just a dumb cat."
The girl rolled her eyes, and Vala finally noticed that she bore a Hufflepuff badge. Figures. "She's not a cat," the Hufflepuff defended.
"Oh really? Then what is she?"
"She's a Pillywiggan!"
"A Pilly-what?" Vala drew closer, taking a seat on the step next to the Hufflepuff.
"A Pillywiggan," she whispered. "It's a type of fairy… They're capable of size and color."
"So she's a fairy acting like a cat?"
"Not quite," the girl explained patiently. "She used to be the size of my thumb, but then she met a human and they fell in love." She turned to the cat, who sat listening at her elbow, and said, "Correct me if I'm wrong." The cat nodded and the girl continued, "Since she's a Pillywiggan she's capable of multiple sizes… so she took on the height of her lover. Her parents were angry with her, and they told her she was making a mistake, but she wouldn't listen and chose to live with him. She used to live inside flowers and such, and often missed them, but she loved him too much…"
Vala glanced at the cat and asked, "So who was this man she was in love with?"
The Hufflepuff smiled. "Argus Filch."
Vala was a little shocked. Of all people, she expected Filch to be the least romantic. "Filch? Wow… I never knew, but it certainly explains a lot."
The Hufflepuff nodded and continued, "Pillywiggans are also known for switching bodies with their cats. Raissa-"
"Wait," Vala interrupted, "Who's Raissa?"
"Raissa, Raissa Gener… That was Mrs. Norris' name before she was stuck inside a cat's body," the Hufflepuff explained as if it were common sense.
"Oh, okay… Go on."
"As I was saying, Raissa had a white cat. Now the thing is… when a Pillywiggan changes bodies with a cat, if the Pillywiggan damages that body in any way, shape, or form… she's stuck in that body forever." The Hufflepuff pointed to a small cut on the cat's ear; something Vala had failed to notice before. "We suspect the cat wanted out of her body and wanted the body of a fairy… however, since she's not a Pillywiggan her skin is permanently white and she'll remain the same size for as long as she lives. We believe the cat sabotaged Raissa by sending an Albatross after her… The bird, which could eat a cat, only managed to bite her ear. And though the damage was small, it was still damage, so Raissa's been stuck in this body ever since."
"But you said the cat was white, so why isn't she white?"
"Because Raissa is a Pillywiggan and can change her color according to her surroundings. She's almost always in the castle, and so her colors are blacks and grays," the Hufflepuff explained.
"Okay, but why is she called Mrs. Norris and not Raissa Gener?"
"Because Norris means caretaker, and she was supposed to marry Filch."
"Oh… and why are you telling me all this?"
The Hufflepuff looked to Raissa. "Well, she thought you should know."
Vala was perplexed. "Why did she want me to know?"
The Hufflepuff stood up. "I'm unsure… she couldn't really explain it to me." She offered a hand to Vala, "By the way… My name's Fae Mortel."
"Oh," she replied, taking Fae's hand. "My name's Vala Amoureux."
"Is that French?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Unfortunately."
Fae looked back to Raissa and waved, "I'll talk to you later. Take care of yourself." The cat bowed its head, and walked away, flicking its tail along the way.
"There's one more thing I don't understand," Vala admitted. "Why is she against the student body?"
Fae glanced at her. "She's not. She loves Filch, and wants to help him in any way that she can… She feels horrible that she ever got stuck in a cat's body. Kind of like she ruined their lives and now she has to make it up to him."
"Oh, but why did she ever switch bodies with the cat?"
Fae stopped walking and stood thoughtfully. "You know… She hasn't told me yet."