Author's notes: Still here and writing. I do hope to finish the story
before the new book comes out. Partially because a lot of things I just
made up or speculated/guessed about in this story will be proven incorrect;
but also because I'm going to be spending my free time reading!
Thank you's to all who reviewed my story. Even the ones who didn't like it.
I know my grammar and sentence structure needs work. What do I do? Put the story up now, flaws and all, and then re-do it when I feel I can do a better job? Or, just sit on the idea until I have the time to really devote to re-learning all that groovy writing stuff that trickled out of my brain in the years since my 1989 Intro to Literature and Composition class? I choose the former. I can always go back and re-write it when I get better.
The plot is old and has been done every which way. True, guilty as charged. But if you look around the literary world, there are an awful lot of variations on the same theme. Just look at the demand for mystery novels involving cats, food, and bed and breakfast inns. What's tired and overdone to one, is a favorite theme to another. Just a matter of personal taste. It all doesn't have to be an innovative masterpiece, just entertaining to its audience.
Ron is struggling with his identity and coming of age in the wizarding world. I am writing him as being very insecure. He's less privileged than his friends, he's not studious like Hermione, and he's not a celebrity like Harry. Life is very "unfair" to Ron. He doesn't like Mira because he despises Professor Snape, and doesn't trust him because he is tremendously unfair to him and his friends.
The story is going to go quite dark and angsty at the end. No major deaths, romantic split-ups, etc. but fair warning.
Disclaimers: Nothing recognizable from the books or movies belongs to me. Sad, but unfortunately true.
Chapter 50: Eloise's Robe
Sunday morning, Mira woke to bright sunshine streaming in through the enchanted canopy overhead. Again, she found herself alone in the large guest-chamber bed. The professor was an early riser, and he often worked on into the wee hours of the morning. As a man who had lived a precarious existence, lazing in bed was an unaccustomed waste of time.
Mira crawled out from behind the warm heavy bed-curtains and found her day- robe freshly cleaned and pressed hanging on the outside of the armoire. She dressed, tied the ribbon with the brooch around her neck, and brushed her hair out. There was a note from the professor on her dressing table. He would be supervising his students' detention until noontime, and it would be best if Mira had a house-elf lead her to the Potions wing of the dungeons instead of using the shortcut.
Mira went into the sitting room and rang the little bell. A hidden door beside the fireplace opened and a bright-eyed house-elf stepped out.
"How is it that I can help you missus? Would you wishing for me to bring you a lovely breakfast?"
Mira remembered the house-elves penchant for over-serving meals, and decided that she could hold off until lunchtime.
"Thank you, but no. What I need, is for you to help me find the Potions classroom. I'm afraid I've never been into the dungeons on my own, and the map the headmaster gave me is quite confusing in places."
The little house elf led her down into the dungeon level of the school, down several creepy and damp corridors, until they came to the door to the Potions classroom. Mira turned to thank the elf, but he had simply vanished. She knocked on the oversized wooden door, and heard the professor's voice booming out from within.
"I will get the door Goyle! You just keep working on those toads!"
Professor Snape threw the heavy door open, causing Mira to jump back a step.
"Sorry, I didn't expect you so early."
He turned and shot a stern look over his shoulder at the two boys who were working over a pair of large basins; and then stepped out into the corridor, shutting the door behind him. He gave Mira a gentle kiss, and asked her if she had eaten breakfast yet.
"No, the house-elf offered, but I figured I could just wait."
"Very well, my students should be finished with their task by noontime. If you wish, you can come sit and keep me company until they're finished. Then I can arrange for lunch to be served in my chambers."
Mira followed him into the classroom, past the boys, who were sitting in the back working on their detention task. She gave an involuntary shudder of revulsion at the sight of the barrel of disemboweled toad carcasses sitting beside the table. She averted her eyes from the basins that the boys were depositing the entrails into, grateful that the professor's desk was situated completely across the room from the gruesome display. And conveniently out of earshot when talking in a restrained voice.
"Did you sleep well? Some people have unpleasant side effects after using relaxation resin."
"No, I slept very soundly. Dreamlessly as a matter of fact."
The professor became quite tense and shuffled some scrolls around on his desk, eager to change the subject.
"Have you arranged a meeting place with Miss Granger, for your tutoring lesson?"
"Oh, hell. I knew I was forgetting to do something this morning. I remember she said that she would try and reserve a private meeting room at the Three Broomsticks for us."
"The Three Broomsticks?"
"Yeah, she said that the landlady was very friendly to her and her friends, and it shouldn't be a problem. By the way, can I borrow a quill and a piece of parchment, I need to send her an owl before I forget."
The professor handed Mira a blank piece of parchment from his desk drawer and a quill and inkwell from the side of his desk. She sat down in the front row of worktables and dashed off a quick letter to Hermione. She carried the scroll to the professor's desk, and he rang for a house-elf to dispatch it via owl.
"So, what is your first lesson going to be about?"
"Transfiguration. I'm supposed to turn a matchstick into a needle and then back again, and have the match still be functional. I think I can do it; I've practiced a little on my own and have managed a very sharp piece of wood. I have changed the color of thread and the size of buttons before. But not actually changed one thing into another."
They made small talk and discussed what skills Mira should concentrate on studying. They also discussed the New Year's weekend, and the Twelfth Night ball. Mira had tentative plans the days surrounding New Year's, with her cousin and Tricia. It would be her only chance to spend any real time with the girl before she had to return to Beauxabatons for the spring term. She didn't think she would be free New Year's Eve, and told the professor that she would owl him when she knew for sure. One of the boys serving detention cleared his throat loudly to get Snape's attention.
"Professor! We've finished up with the toads! Can we go now?"
"Have you bottled up the entrails yet?"
"Uh, no sir."
"Then you aren't finished, are you Mister Crabbe?"
"Uh, no sir. What do we bottle them in?"
"There is a funnel and a row of pint size bottles behind you on the supply shelf. You will use those bottles, and please label them properly. They are marsh toad entrails, not frog guts."
"Yes sir."
The professor kept a wary eye on the boys to make sure that they followed directions, before returning to his conversation with Mira. Mira talked about how her cousin's daughter was doing much better at Beauxbatons. She had finally started to take her studies a little more seriously. Most likely because the Continental wizarding schools still employed corporal punishment in the case of rule-breaking, and Tricia was not at all eager to experience what she heard whispered about by her classmates firsthand.
"Professor! We've finished bottling the frog guts. I mean the marsh toad entrails! Can we go now?"
"Carry the barrel of toad carcasses to Hagrid, and tell him that they're a belated Christmas present from me. He'll be ecstatic to have such an out of season treat for that menagerie of beasts he calls his pets. Once you've delivered the barrel to Hagrid, you are free to do whatever it is that you wish to do, barring any rule breaking and troublemaking."
"Yes sir!"
The two large boys each grabbed a handle of the barrel and awkwardly carried it out of the classroom. Professor Snape got up from his desk and watched them as they stumbled towards the staircase.
"And be careful! If I find so much as one stray toad carcass in the corridors, the pair of you will be scrubbing cauldrons for a week!"
With an exasperated sigh, he shut the door behind them, and returned to Mira.
"Thank Merlin that's over with. Shall we retire to my private chambers, and have the house-elves send down some lunch?"
"Sounds lovely, lead the way."
The couple went into the professor's private chambers. He conjured up a second chair and motioned for Mira to sit at the little dining room table. He rang for a house elf, which appeared through a small hidden door next to the fireplace. Within moments of the elf's departure, a lavish meal appeared on the table. After their meal, the professor conjured a second armchair in front of the fireplace, and they sat together for a while, enjoying each other's company before Mira had to head return to her home in Hogsmeade.
As the students were gone, the professor escorted Mira back through the magical passageway and sat with her while she gathered up the few things she had brought with her for her visit. After she finished packing, Professor Snape rang for a house elf and asked it to dispatch a carriage to the main entrance.
"I had a brief word with the headmaster this morning at breakfast. He apologizes for not being able to see you off personally, but sends his regards. He wanted me to tell you that you are more than welcome to arrive early for the Twelfth Night ball and use these chambers to get ready; and you are more than welcome to stay on through the weekend as well."
"Tell him that his hospitality is most kind, and I will definitely plan to arrive early and stay here at least the night of the ball."
A house elf entered through the little hidden door next to the fireplace and announced that the carriage had arrived and was waiting. The professor told it to take Mira's bag on to the carriage; they would follow shortly. The house elf picked up her bag, slung it onto its back, and headed towards the little fireplace door. He realized the bag was too large to fit through the little doorway, so he snapped his fingers and vanished.
"Well then. I suppose I should escort you on to your carriage now."
"Wait. I wanted to thank you again for inviting me to spend the holiday with you. It was nice to spend some more time here at Hogwarts, under more pleasant circumstances."
"It was my pleasure, Mira. I regret that we live so close to each other yet don't have the chance to see each other more often. I've spoken with the headmaster, and I will have one weekend free per month to spend away from the school. I have also started the process of liquidating my family estate. Unfortunately there's a clause in the deed to the property, which states that the land the house was built on must remain in the family until the last surviving member dies. I'm currently working with an attorney in Diagon Alley, to see if the land may be sold to a distant relation or leased to a tenant. Frankly, I have no desire to rebuild the house or live on that piece of land ever again."
"I don't blame you one bit. I don't spend much time in New Orleans anymore because of memories. It's good for a retreat, especially since I remodeled quite a bit and found tenants. But I could never really call it my permanent home again. I'm hoping that after I'm gone, Tricia will want the building. If not, she can sell it and use the money to do whatever she wishes."
"I've decided that if the land cannot be sold or leased, I will have the ruins torn down, and Nature can take what's left. I'm also in the process of searching for a small cottage or flat; where I can create a home of my own, away from the school. Of course, I'm still contractually obligated to remain at the school during the fall and spring terms, because I'm a head of house. But my contract does not tie me to the school during the Christmas and summer holidays. But we can talk more about this another time; your carriage is waiting. Come."
He took her by the hand and escorted her down the hallway to the main entrance, where a pair of house-elves stood huddled inside the heavy wooden doors. It wasn't snowing, but the wind was whipping an icy cold blast of air up off of the lake. Professor Snape helped Mira up into the carriage, and leaned in the door to give her a farewell kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, already missing him, even though she had not yet left. He pulled back and started to shut the door of the carriage.
"Oh, I almost forgot! I still have the key to the guest chambers."
Mira fumbled around in the pockets of her day-robe, looking for the key.
"No, keep it. Those are your chambers whenever you're here at Hogwarts. It'll be kept just as you left it. Don't ask me how these things work, but it'll be there the next time that key in your pocket is inserted in the lock on that door."
"Oh, okay."
"You best be going, it looks as if another snowstorm is heading down from the hills. Owl me when you find out if you will be free New Year's Eve."
"I will."
The carriage door closed and it started to roll slowly forward. Mira turned and looked out the back window of the carriage. The house elves had retreated into the warmth of the school, but the professor stayed at the foot of the steps, robe wrapped tightly around his chest, until the carriage disappeared around the curve that skirted the lake.
At the train station, Mira grabbed up her bag, and hurried down the street to the shop. She disengaged the security wards and unlocked the door. Waiting for her was a stack of scrolls and Christmas cards. Susan and Tricia had been by the shop earlier in the day, apparently on their way home from Eloise's cottage. There was a very large box, not wrapped like a gift though, sitting on the counter with a note from Susan tied to it. Next to it was a basket with all manner of holiday treats left over from the Christmas feast. Mira was grateful that at least she wouldn't have to cook or venture out to the café for a meal. She levitated the large box up the stairs, carrying her basket of food, the owl post, and the bag she had taken to the school.
She dumped the scrolls and basket of food on her dining table, and set the large box on the tea table. She started a fire in the fireplace, and went to her bedroom to unpack her bag. Bag unpacked, she changed into a lounging robe and put the kettle on the stove to heat. She sat and drank hot tea and ate Christmas cookies and a kind of roast goose and vegetable pie for supper. The cookies came from a bakery in Diagon Alley, she recognized them. They must have been Susan's contribution to the feast. But the meat pie was all Eloise's. "Waste not, want not" was one of the old woman's favorite sayings, the pie had inevitably been made from the leftovers of the Christmas Day feast.
Mira made a mental note to send a long-distance owl to her grandmother and thank her for sending her a care package. She opened the scrolls, and separated them into two piles. One pile for business correspondence, the other one for personal correspondence. Hermione had in fact managed to book the small private dining room at the Three Broomsticks, and would see her the following evening just after six. The widower who Susan was trying to set her up with had sent her a note, asking if she liked the chocolates, and to extend an invitation to a New Year's Eve reception at his home outside of London. Mira rolled that scroll back up and put it aside. She would have to write him and let him know that she was flattered but not interested, being already courted by another man. She didn't look forward to writing the man; it would inevitably spark another confrontation with Susan.
After she finished eating, Mira put the leftover treats and her dishes away in the kitchen and decided to see what was in the box from Susan. She thought it would probably be something for the shop, maybe new samples to put in the front window. She untied the scroll and read the note from her cousin.
"During the course of Christmas dinner, your name came up in conversation. Tricia mentioned that you would be attending the Hogwarts Masquerade Ball with that professor you've been consorting with. Needless to say, Eloise was very interested to hear all about it. This is actually from her. Where and when she acquired it, I have no idea; but she wanted you to have it and asked that I drop it by the store with some leftovers on the way back home. Will be in touch with you early on in the week regarding your day with Tricia and New Year's Eve. Warmest holiday regards, Susan."
Mira untied the box and found an exquisite fancy dress robe folded up within. It had to be from the time of Eloise's youth, as it was made with a quality of handiwork not seen in decades. Mira held it up to get a better look. It was made of slinky black silk satin with thousands of tiny iridescent beads sewn onto the body, in shades of dark green and bronze. The sleeves were very long and full and covered in embroidery and beading as well, but in shades of dark blue, teal, and violet. It was a butterfly robe. The front and back panels of the body of the robe were designed to resemble the body of the butterfly; the long hanging sleeves were the wings. Packed underneath the robe was a kind of diadem or tiara that would be worn just off the forehead, and which resembled curving glittering antennae. It was very Parisian, very art deco. Yes, it must have been Eloise's fancy dress robe from many years ago. Tucked underneath the headdress was a small folded piece of parchment; Mira recognized Eloise's perfume on the letter.
"Mirabelle, chere. When I heard from Patricia that you would be attending this Hogwarts fancy dress ball, I knew that I had to send this to you. It was bought for me by my grandmother; from a witch couturier in Paris. I wore it on my eighteenth birthday, to a coming-out ball held for several young witches who had come of age that season. You may need to tinker with the fit here and there, but as everything that which once was old becomes new again, you should be the belle of the ball in it. Consider it my Christmas gift to you chere. I do hope to have the chance to visit with you soon, maybe some weekend with your beloved professor? France is truly lovely in springtime, especially for the young lovers. Joyeux Noel ma chere, and please think of me when you wear my robe to the ball. Love to you, Eloise."
Mira carried the robe and diadem to her bedchamber, hung the heavy robe on a hanger, and hooked it to the outside of her wardrobe. It certainly would need lengthening and letting out here and there, but nothing the tailor elves couldn't do with their special magic. Once they were through with it, the robe would look as if it had been made for Mira and Mira alone.
Mira read her transfiguration textbook for a couple of hours and decided to call it a night and get some sleep. She changed from her lounging robe into a night-chemise and cast the appropriate security wards on the building. Professor Snape had been worried about her living alone, and taught her an advanced charm to protect against somebody apparating into the building when the wards were activated. Mira thought of it as a kind of magical alarm system, and slept much more soundly with the wards in place.
However, that night it was a false sense of security. As soon as the lights were out and she drifted off to sleep, the small glowing glass orb floated up the stairs and hovered around her bedchamber for several minutes. The orb settled itself down on the top edge of the curtains, hidden in a fold of fabric. From this vantage point, it could take in the entire bedchamber and bathroom suite. The orb glowed softly in the curtains for some time, and gently faded out to near transparency.
Thank you's to all who reviewed my story. Even the ones who didn't like it.
I know my grammar and sentence structure needs work. What do I do? Put the story up now, flaws and all, and then re-do it when I feel I can do a better job? Or, just sit on the idea until I have the time to really devote to re-learning all that groovy writing stuff that trickled out of my brain in the years since my 1989 Intro to Literature and Composition class? I choose the former. I can always go back and re-write it when I get better.
The plot is old and has been done every which way. True, guilty as charged. But if you look around the literary world, there are an awful lot of variations on the same theme. Just look at the demand for mystery novels involving cats, food, and bed and breakfast inns. What's tired and overdone to one, is a favorite theme to another. Just a matter of personal taste. It all doesn't have to be an innovative masterpiece, just entertaining to its audience.
Ron is struggling with his identity and coming of age in the wizarding world. I am writing him as being very insecure. He's less privileged than his friends, he's not studious like Hermione, and he's not a celebrity like Harry. Life is very "unfair" to Ron. He doesn't like Mira because he despises Professor Snape, and doesn't trust him because he is tremendously unfair to him and his friends.
The story is going to go quite dark and angsty at the end. No major deaths, romantic split-ups, etc. but fair warning.
Disclaimers: Nothing recognizable from the books or movies belongs to me. Sad, but unfortunately true.
Chapter 50: Eloise's Robe
Sunday morning, Mira woke to bright sunshine streaming in through the enchanted canopy overhead. Again, she found herself alone in the large guest-chamber bed. The professor was an early riser, and he often worked on into the wee hours of the morning. As a man who had lived a precarious existence, lazing in bed was an unaccustomed waste of time.
Mira crawled out from behind the warm heavy bed-curtains and found her day- robe freshly cleaned and pressed hanging on the outside of the armoire. She dressed, tied the ribbon with the brooch around her neck, and brushed her hair out. There was a note from the professor on her dressing table. He would be supervising his students' detention until noontime, and it would be best if Mira had a house-elf lead her to the Potions wing of the dungeons instead of using the shortcut.
Mira went into the sitting room and rang the little bell. A hidden door beside the fireplace opened and a bright-eyed house-elf stepped out.
"How is it that I can help you missus? Would you wishing for me to bring you a lovely breakfast?"
Mira remembered the house-elves penchant for over-serving meals, and decided that she could hold off until lunchtime.
"Thank you, but no. What I need, is for you to help me find the Potions classroom. I'm afraid I've never been into the dungeons on my own, and the map the headmaster gave me is quite confusing in places."
The little house elf led her down into the dungeon level of the school, down several creepy and damp corridors, until they came to the door to the Potions classroom. Mira turned to thank the elf, but he had simply vanished. She knocked on the oversized wooden door, and heard the professor's voice booming out from within.
"I will get the door Goyle! You just keep working on those toads!"
Professor Snape threw the heavy door open, causing Mira to jump back a step.
"Sorry, I didn't expect you so early."
He turned and shot a stern look over his shoulder at the two boys who were working over a pair of large basins; and then stepped out into the corridor, shutting the door behind him. He gave Mira a gentle kiss, and asked her if she had eaten breakfast yet.
"No, the house-elf offered, but I figured I could just wait."
"Very well, my students should be finished with their task by noontime. If you wish, you can come sit and keep me company until they're finished. Then I can arrange for lunch to be served in my chambers."
Mira followed him into the classroom, past the boys, who were sitting in the back working on their detention task. She gave an involuntary shudder of revulsion at the sight of the barrel of disemboweled toad carcasses sitting beside the table. She averted her eyes from the basins that the boys were depositing the entrails into, grateful that the professor's desk was situated completely across the room from the gruesome display. And conveniently out of earshot when talking in a restrained voice.
"Did you sleep well? Some people have unpleasant side effects after using relaxation resin."
"No, I slept very soundly. Dreamlessly as a matter of fact."
The professor became quite tense and shuffled some scrolls around on his desk, eager to change the subject.
"Have you arranged a meeting place with Miss Granger, for your tutoring lesson?"
"Oh, hell. I knew I was forgetting to do something this morning. I remember she said that she would try and reserve a private meeting room at the Three Broomsticks for us."
"The Three Broomsticks?"
"Yeah, she said that the landlady was very friendly to her and her friends, and it shouldn't be a problem. By the way, can I borrow a quill and a piece of parchment, I need to send her an owl before I forget."
The professor handed Mira a blank piece of parchment from his desk drawer and a quill and inkwell from the side of his desk. She sat down in the front row of worktables and dashed off a quick letter to Hermione. She carried the scroll to the professor's desk, and he rang for a house-elf to dispatch it via owl.
"So, what is your first lesson going to be about?"
"Transfiguration. I'm supposed to turn a matchstick into a needle and then back again, and have the match still be functional. I think I can do it; I've practiced a little on my own and have managed a very sharp piece of wood. I have changed the color of thread and the size of buttons before. But not actually changed one thing into another."
They made small talk and discussed what skills Mira should concentrate on studying. They also discussed the New Year's weekend, and the Twelfth Night ball. Mira had tentative plans the days surrounding New Year's, with her cousin and Tricia. It would be her only chance to spend any real time with the girl before she had to return to Beauxabatons for the spring term. She didn't think she would be free New Year's Eve, and told the professor that she would owl him when she knew for sure. One of the boys serving detention cleared his throat loudly to get Snape's attention.
"Professor! We've finished up with the toads! Can we go now?"
"Have you bottled up the entrails yet?"
"Uh, no sir."
"Then you aren't finished, are you Mister Crabbe?"
"Uh, no sir. What do we bottle them in?"
"There is a funnel and a row of pint size bottles behind you on the supply shelf. You will use those bottles, and please label them properly. They are marsh toad entrails, not frog guts."
"Yes sir."
The professor kept a wary eye on the boys to make sure that they followed directions, before returning to his conversation with Mira. Mira talked about how her cousin's daughter was doing much better at Beauxbatons. She had finally started to take her studies a little more seriously. Most likely because the Continental wizarding schools still employed corporal punishment in the case of rule-breaking, and Tricia was not at all eager to experience what she heard whispered about by her classmates firsthand.
"Professor! We've finished bottling the frog guts. I mean the marsh toad entrails! Can we go now?"
"Carry the barrel of toad carcasses to Hagrid, and tell him that they're a belated Christmas present from me. He'll be ecstatic to have such an out of season treat for that menagerie of beasts he calls his pets. Once you've delivered the barrel to Hagrid, you are free to do whatever it is that you wish to do, barring any rule breaking and troublemaking."
"Yes sir!"
The two large boys each grabbed a handle of the barrel and awkwardly carried it out of the classroom. Professor Snape got up from his desk and watched them as they stumbled towards the staircase.
"And be careful! If I find so much as one stray toad carcass in the corridors, the pair of you will be scrubbing cauldrons for a week!"
With an exasperated sigh, he shut the door behind them, and returned to Mira.
"Thank Merlin that's over with. Shall we retire to my private chambers, and have the house-elves send down some lunch?"
"Sounds lovely, lead the way."
The couple went into the professor's private chambers. He conjured up a second chair and motioned for Mira to sit at the little dining room table. He rang for a house elf, which appeared through a small hidden door next to the fireplace. Within moments of the elf's departure, a lavish meal appeared on the table. After their meal, the professor conjured a second armchair in front of the fireplace, and they sat together for a while, enjoying each other's company before Mira had to head return to her home in Hogsmeade.
As the students were gone, the professor escorted Mira back through the magical passageway and sat with her while she gathered up the few things she had brought with her for her visit. After she finished packing, Professor Snape rang for a house elf and asked it to dispatch a carriage to the main entrance.
"I had a brief word with the headmaster this morning at breakfast. He apologizes for not being able to see you off personally, but sends his regards. He wanted me to tell you that you are more than welcome to arrive early for the Twelfth Night ball and use these chambers to get ready; and you are more than welcome to stay on through the weekend as well."
"Tell him that his hospitality is most kind, and I will definitely plan to arrive early and stay here at least the night of the ball."
A house elf entered through the little hidden door next to the fireplace and announced that the carriage had arrived and was waiting. The professor told it to take Mira's bag on to the carriage; they would follow shortly. The house elf picked up her bag, slung it onto its back, and headed towards the little fireplace door. He realized the bag was too large to fit through the little doorway, so he snapped his fingers and vanished.
"Well then. I suppose I should escort you on to your carriage now."
"Wait. I wanted to thank you again for inviting me to spend the holiday with you. It was nice to spend some more time here at Hogwarts, under more pleasant circumstances."
"It was my pleasure, Mira. I regret that we live so close to each other yet don't have the chance to see each other more often. I've spoken with the headmaster, and I will have one weekend free per month to spend away from the school. I have also started the process of liquidating my family estate. Unfortunately there's a clause in the deed to the property, which states that the land the house was built on must remain in the family until the last surviving member dies. I'm currently working with an attorney in Diagon Alley, to see if the land may be sold to a distant relation or leased to a tenant. Frankly, I have no desire to rebuild the house or live on that piece of land ever again."
"I don't blame you one bit. I don't spend much time in New Orleans anymore because of memories. It's good for a retreat, especially since I remodeled quite a bit and found tenants. But I could never really call it my permanent home again. I'm hoping that after I'm gone, Tricia will want the building. If not, she can sell it and use the money to do whatever she wishes."
"I've decided that if the land cannot be sold or leased, I will have the ruins torn down, and Nature can take what's left. I'm also in the process of searching for a small cottage or flat; where I can create a home of my own, away from the school. Of course, I'm still contractually obligated to remain at the school during the fall and spring terms, because I'm a head of house. But my contract does not tie me to the school during the Christmas and summer holidays. But we can talk more about this another time; your carriage is waiting. Come."
He took her by the hand and escorted her down the hallway to the main entrance, where a pair of house-elves stood huddled inside the heavy wooden doors. It wasn't snowing, but the wind was whipping an icy cold blast of air up off of the lake. Professor Snape helped Mira up into the carriage, and leaned in the door to give her a farewell kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, already missing him, even though she had not yet left. He pulled back and started to shut the door of the carriage.
"Oh, I almost forgot! I still have the key to the guest chambers."
Mira fumbled around in the pockets of her day-robe, looking for the key.
"No, keep it. Those are your chambers whenever you're here at Hogwarts. It'll be kept just as you left it. Don't ask me how these things work, but it'll be there the next time that key in your pocket is inserted in the lock on that door."
"Oh, okay."
"You best be going, it looks as if another snowstorm is heading down from the hills. Owl me when you find out if you will be free New Year's Eve."
"I will."
The carriage door closed and it started to roll slowly forward. Mira turned and looked out the back window of the carriage. The house elves had retreated into the warmth of the school, but the professor stayed at the foot of the steps, robe wrapped tightly around his chest, until the carriage disappeared around the curve that skirted the lake.
At the train station, Mira grabbed up her bag, and hurried down the street to the shop. She disengaged the security wards and unlocked the door. Waiting for her was a stack of scrolls and Christmas cards. Susan and Tricia had been by the shop earlier in the day, apparently on their way home from Eloise's cottage. There was a very large box, not wrapped like a gift though, sitting on the counter with a note from Susan tied to it. Next to it was a basket with all manner of holiday treats left over from the Christmas feast. Mira was grateful that at least she wouldn't have to cook or venture out to the café for a meal. She levitated the large box up the stairs, carrying her basket of food, the owl post, and the bag she had taken to the school.
She dumped the scrolls and basket of food on her dining table, and set the large box on the tea table. She started a fire in the fireplace, and went to her bedroom to unpack her bag. Bag unpacked, she changed into a lounging robe and put the kettle on the stove to heat. She sat and drank hot tea and ate Christmas cookies and a kind of roast goose and vegetable pie for supper. The cookies came from a bakery in Diagon Alley, she recognized them. They must have been Susan's contribution to the feast. But the meat pie was all Eloise's. "Waste not, want not" was one of the old woman's favorite sayings, the pie had inevitably been made from the leftovers of the Christmas Day feast.
Mira made a mental note to send a long-distance owl to her grandmother and thank her for sending her a care package. She opened the scrolls, and separated them into two piles. One pile for business correspondence, the other one for personal correspondence. Hermione had in fact managed to book the small private dining room at the Three Broomsticks, and would see her the following evening just after six. The widower who Susan was trying to set her up with had sent her a note, asking if she liked the chocolates, and to extend an invitation to a New Year's Eve reception at his home outside of London. Mira rolled that scroll back up and put it aside. She would have to write him and let him know that she was flattered but not interested, being already courted by another man. She didn't look forward to writing the man; it would inevitably spark another confrontation with Susan.
After she finished eating, Mira put the leftover treats and her dishes away in the kitchen and decided to see what was in the box from Susan. She thought it would probably be something for the shop, maybe new samples to put in the front window. She untied the scroll and read the note from her cousin.
"During the course of Christmas dinner, your name came up in conversation. Tricia mentioned that you would be attending the Hogwarts Masquerade Ball with that professor you've been consorting with. Needless to say, Eloise was very interested to hear all about it. This is actually from her. Where and when she acquired it, I have no idea; but she wanted you to have it and asked that I drop it by the store with some leftovers on the way back home. Will be in touch with you early on in the week regarding your day with Tricia and New Year's Eve. Warmest holiday regards, Susan."
Mira untied the box and found an exquisite fancy dress robe folded up within. It had to be from the time of Eloise's youth, as it was made with a quality of handiwork not seen in decades. Mira held it up to get a better look. It was made of slinky black silk satin with thousands of tiny iridescent beads sewn onto the body, in shades of dark green and bronze. The sleeves were very long and full and covered in embroidery and beading as well, but in shades of dark blue, teal, and violet. It was a butterfly robe. The front and back panels of the body of the robe were designed to resemble the body of the butterfly; the long hanging sleeves were the wings. Packed underneath the robe was a kind of diadem or tiara that would be worn just off the forehead, and which resembled curving glittering antennae. It was very Parisian, very art deco. Yes, it must have been Eloise's fancy dress robe from many years ago. Tucked underneath the headdress was a small folded piece of parchment; Mira recognized Eloise's perfume on the letter.
"Mirabelle, chere. When I heard from Patricia that you would be attending this Hogwarts fancy dress ball, I knew that I had to send this to you. It was bought for me by my grandmother; from a witch couturier in Paris. I wore it on my eighteenth birthday, to a coming-out ball held for several young witches who had come of age that season. You may need to tinker with the fit here and there, but as everything that which once was old becomes new again, you should be the belle of the ball in it. Consider it my Christmas gift to you chere. I do hope to have the chance to visit with you soon, maybe some weekend with your beloved professor? France is truly lovely in springtime, especially for the young lovers. Joyeux Noel ma chere, and please think of me when you wear my robe to the ball. Love to you, Eloise."
Mira carried the robe and diadem to her bedchamber, hung the heavy robe on a hanger, and hooked it to the outside of her wardrobe. It certainly would need lengthening and letting out here and there, but nothing the tailor elves couldn't do with their special magic. Once they were through with it, the robe would look as if it had been made for Mira and Mira alone.
Mira read her transfiguration textbook for a couple of hours and decided to call it a night and get some sleep. She changed from her lounging robe into a night-chemise and cast the appropriate security wards on the building. Professor Snape had been worried about her living alone, and taught her an advanced charm to protect against somebody apparating into the building when the wards were activated. Mira thought of it as a kind of magical alarm system, and slept much more soundly with the wards in place.
However, that night it was a false sense of security. As soon as the lights were out and she drifted off to sleep, the small glowing glass orb floated up the stairs and hovered around her bedchamber for several minutes. The orb settled itself down on the top edge of the curtains, hidden in a fold of fabric. From this vantage point, it could take in the entire bedchamber and bathroom suite. The orb glowed softly in the curtains for some time, and gently faded out to near transparency.