Author's Note: The Grey Lady is the Ravenclaw ghost, according to the Harry Potter Lexicon. She was very picky when it came to men, and never married because she couldn't find anyone that met her standards.
Chapter Sixteen
Draco needed to talk to Mr. Filch about all the detentions he had to serve for his little "prank" on Harry Potter, and so I ended up being escorted to dinner in the Great Hall by the Ravenclaw ghost. I tried not to shiver with cold as she floated beside me. She had been a very tall woman who was obviously a great intellectual.
"Professor Dumbledore told me that Harry Potter was supposed to show me around," I told her. "But I haven't seen him."
"Which just goes to show you, that a woman cannot rely too much on men, even those among the living," The Grey Lady told me with a sniff. "Mr. Potter is no doubt attempting to deal with the aftermath of that article in the Daily Prophet. Sir Nicholas told me that the other students have been teasing him mercilessly about it all afternoon. By the way, my dear," The ghost lowered her voice. "The choice of men at this school is positively dismal. Not a true intellect among them."
"What about Severus Snape?" I couldn't help but ask.
After considering my question, the ghost replied. "He does have a brilliant mind when it comes to potions. He is cruel to his students, especially the Gryffindors. However, in my conversations with him, he has been most reasonable. His tastes in books run mostly toward potions and history, but he has a secret fondness for the Muggle romantic poets. Especially Keats and Wordsworth. It isn't something he wants advertised. No doubt he feels it would ruin his image." The ghost smiled slightly.
I sighed. Severus must have a sensitive side, if he liked that kind of poetry.
"But I must inform you, my dear." The Grey Lady continued. "That any kind of romantic relationship between students and professors is strictly prohibited. Even if the student was of age, Dumbledore would simply not permit such a thing to continue."
I felt a sharp stab of disappointment. I had always suffered from crushes on older men, even in high school. From the self-help books I had read, I knew that it probably had something to do with the fact that I'd never had a father. Knowing that didn't make it any easier, however.
The ghost took me through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. It was a truly amazing place, and its ceiling was full of clouds lit up by a pink and gold sunset. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables. The tables were laid with golden plates and goblets. Hundreds of kids were sitting down, talking, laughing and jostling each other. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. My eyes immediately searched for Severus, and I saw him sitting with a petite witch with short, dark hair. They talked intensely together, and she kept leaning in toward him and smiling as though she had been reunited with a very old friend.
"Who's that?" I asked the ghost.
"Oh, it looks like we have a new teacher," The Grey Lady said. "The previous one must have made good on her threats to quit. Don't gawk, dear. You'll sit at the Ravenclaw table, up front with the seventh years."
As I walked along, the students stopped what they were doing to stare at me. I was easy to spot, as I was the only person in the room dressed in green instead of black school robes. A rustle of whispers followed me. I heard snatches of their conversations. "...Potter's girlfriend. ...From the Daily Prophet. ...Is she really engaged to Malfoy? ...Bet she's a snob." There were a few whistles from the Gryffindor table. My face burning, I searched through the students to find Ron glaring at me. The girl, who I'd since learned was named Hermione, actually looked like she pitied me. Harry stared miserably down at his empty plate, trying to ignore the laughing students around him. I sat down as quickly as I could.
"Welcome back to Hogwarts," Professor Dumbledore said, standing up at a podium in front of the room. "I trust that all of you have had a pleasant Spring break. I have a few announcements to make." He turned toward me and smiled.
Oh no! He was going to introduce me! I felt all the blood rush to my face, and I wanted to crawl under the table. Why were the seventh years at the front of the room?
"We have a new student here this year. May I introduce Miss Miriel Silverthorn, from the charming state of Louisiana? She has just discovered that she is a witch. I know that all of you will help her to feel comfortable here at Hogwarts, and that you will provide her with whatever help she needs." The headmaster motioned for me to stand.
I stood and tried to smile as the students applauded. There were more whistles. Someone (no doubt an American) even yelled "Yeah, baby!"
"I can't tell you how pleased I am with your enthusiasm, Mr. Garland." Professor Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at a boy sitting at the Gryffindor table and smiled. "I am also pleased to announce the arrival of our new Muggle studies teacher, Professor Circe Lovelace. She is a witch, but has spent many years living among Muggles. She is also quite skillful at deflecting hexes." Here he looked pointedly over at the Slytherin table, and a few students laughed.
The small witch rose from the table. From the thunderous applause, I guessed that the previous teacher had been extremely unpopular among all the students.
"There has been much controversy over the work of British Muggle literature that our previous professor had chosen for the sixth and seventh years," Professor Dumbledore continued. "But in order to avoid confusion, Professor Lovelace has agreed to continue with Tolkien's novel until the end of the school year. I realize that it is a long and complex work, but it is rich in lessons of mercy, heroism and valor. In these dark and troubled times, all of us could stand to learn a bit more about these virtues."
"It sounds like he just wants to turn us all into Gryffindors," A girl at my table muttered to the boy next to her.
I glanced over at the Slytherin table. They did not look happy, to say the least.
After the food magically appeared on the table, I ate, only half-listening to the students around me. I glanced up again where the new teacher sat, only to find her staring directly at me. It seemed that she recognized me. Her face was stricken with a look of concern, as if she knew me quite well. Severus looked up from his plate and caught her gazing at me. He touched her arm and said something to get her attention, because she started and immediately turned toward him again. I watched them for awhile. They glanced at me from time to time, until it became obvious that they were talking about me.
I didn't remember ever having met this woman. For a moment I wished that I was sitting at the teachers' tables, and could hear what they were saying.
After dinner a few of the Ravenclaws visited, but their conversations were about things I didn't understand, such as magical theory and various wizarding writers. I soon found myself lost in the conversation. I went back to my apartment. Somehow being around all those people I didn't know made me feel lonely and out-of-sorts.
My quarters had turned out to be warm and welcoming, which was a big relief. It didn't look like it belonged in a dungeon at all. There was a large fireplace against one long wall, flanked with ample bookcases, and a long, comfortable looking sofa with matching chairs. There was even a row of diamond-paned windows up near the ceiling, so that I knew I wasn't entirely underground. There was even a small kitchen area that the house elves had stocked with tea and snacks.
I opened up my cedar chest that I had brought from New Orleans, and took out my books for the shelves. I found a framed photo of my mother and me standing on the deck of a steamboat. She didn't really look too much like me. She had the same slender build, but the hair that swung around her heart-shaped face was reddish brown. She was very pretty, with a generous mouth that was a little too wide for her face, wide-set blue eyes, and a slim, perfect nose. She didn't have to wear much makeup, but she always looked classy and put-together. I remember teasing her that she should be a catalog model.
I kept hearing Mr. Malfoy's words running through my mind. I knew it would probably drive me crazy if I thought about it too much. To see my mother again...If Professor Dumbledore had the Mirror of Emit hidden away from the Ministry of Magic, how in the world could I find it? His comment in his office about people who would do anything to see their loved ones again hit too close to home. I had a horrible thought- what if the headmaster could read my mind, too? I made a mental note to ask someone about it.
I was brewing some tea with the enchanted teapot, when someone knocked at the door. It was Draco, who immediately swung me up in his arms and carried me toward the sofa.
"What are you doing?" I shrieked.
"Welcoming you to Hogwarts, properly, of course." He set me down on the sofa and kissed me until I was breathless.
"You're in a good mood," I finally said, when he came up for air. "I thought you had to plan out all kinds of nasty things to do for Mr. Filch."
"Yeah, but Potter and Weasley got detention, too, for unjustly hexing my poor, innocent, Muggle-raised cousin. I think they covered up for Weasley's sister. Typical Gryffindors." He looked around my room approvingly. "How did you luck out and get a place like this? I'm a prefect, and even my room isn't this nice. I love it in here. Lots of privacy. This will be our little love nest." He wriggled his eyebrows.
This made me smile, in spite of my somber mood. "I don't know about all that. Severus, um, Professor Snape gave me a lecture on his privacy. He probably won't want anyone down here too much."
"You'll be down here in the dungeons with Snape, huh? Alone. Together. How convenient."
I looked sharply at Draco, expecting to see a jealous expression, but all I saw was a strange, dreamy smile.
"You'll be spending a lot of time with Snape. The cauldrons will be bubbling," He continued dramatically. "The air will be all hot and steamy. You'll be wearing those little, Muggle clothes to cool off. The sexual tension will be mounting..." He closed his eyes in bliss. "Snape will be ready to snap. And then...you'll owl me and we'll have a threesome..."
"I do not want to hear this!" I laughed so hard that I choked. I wasn't sure if it was hilarious or horrifying. Draco could really be funny when he wanted to be.
"That's every Slytherin student's fantasy," He said, grinning. "Didn't you know that? Oh, I forgot, you're in Ravenclaw. Well, maybe you Ravenclaws have your own little fantasies involving Professor Flitwick..."
"Ugh. Shut up!" I gasped, laughing even more. "I do not need those kinds of images in my brain." When I finally got myself under control, I asked, "You don't have any kind of fantasies involving Harry Potter that I need to know about, do you?"
Draco's face immediately pulled into a scowl. "Yeah, but my fantasies about him involve the unforgivables. If that stupid git comes anywhere near you, I'll use the Avada Kedavra on him."
"Don't even joke about things like that," I said. "I was, um, wondering...if you aggravate Harry because the Dark Lord likes to hear about it."
Draco sat up straighter on the sofa. "Who told you that?"
"I overheard Professor Snape talking about it."
Draco sighed. "I guess so. That's part of it, anyway. For awhile I acted like a wimp, too. I had the stupid idea that maybe the Dark Lord would think I was unworthy to be a death eater. He really values servants like my father, who have a lot of discipline and control, and who won't back down from anything. I don't think it worked too well, though, because the Dark Lord is expecting me to become a Death Eater once I'm seventeen. Once that happens, I won't be able to do anything without the Dark Lord's permission. I won't be able to have my own life."
For a moment I wondered who the real Draco was. How much of his behavior at school was just an act, and had the act become so much of a habit that it even appeared real to him? "What would you do," I finally asked him. "If you didn't have to worry about the Dark Lord or your dad? If you could do anything?"
"I would travel. Like when we were in New Orleans and we did stuff. I'd travel everywhere, even to all the Muggle places. This sounds silly, but when I was little I liked to draw a lot. I wanted to be an artist, you know, and paint those kinds of portraits that hang up at Hogwarts. But my father thought it was a waste of time. He wouldn't let me have art lessons."
We talked until it became quite late, and then I heard another knock on the door. When I opened it, Professor Snape stood there. "I would like to remind both of you that I cherish living in the dungeons because of the silence. Mr. Malfoy, you obviously feel you are exempt from curfew tonight. I will not tolerate any little slumber parties." Strangely enough, Professor Snape's face lacked the hardness it showed when he was irritated. Even though his tone was serious, he glanced at Draco almost as though he were fond of him. "I hope you are prepared for class tomorrow?"
"Yes, sir." Draco slipped off the couch with a sigh.
"Professor Snape," I said, before they had the chance to leave. "Do you happen to know the new Muggles studies professor? Tonight at dinner, it seemed like she knew me from somewhere."
"I don't see how, Miss Silverthorn. I have only met her this evening, myself." His eyes were unreadable, but I sensed that he was resistant to discussing it further.
I finally went to bed late that night, my head spinning with all my thoughts. I wondered about the Mirror of Emit. I wondered about Severus and the new teacher. I wondered if I was ever going to fit in at Hogwarts.
The next day, I arrived at Professor Snape's classroom a little earlier than he had asked me to. The classroom used for potions was kind of creepy, I had to admit. It was deeper into the dungeons, and so it was chilly. I avoided looking too closely at the jars of pickled animals that lined the room. Locked behind a glass cabinet I found the stone-imps inside some kind of glass terrarium.
"Miss Silverthorn." The words came low, and as soft as a caress.
I jumped. One thing that was a bit disconcerting about Professor Snape was that he didn't just walk like ordinary people. He swooped, swished and swirled around, quite silently at times.
"Hi, Professor."
With his long fingers he pulled my wand out of my coiled braids. "This is a wand, Miss Silverthorn, not a fashion accessory. Anyone could easily grab it and use it against you. You would be wise to place it in the pocket of your robe."
The wand caught the dim light of the dungeon and broke it into a thousand shards of color.
"It could also distract the class." He turned the wand and the tiny dots of light whirled around on his robe. "This wand belongs in a disco," He muttered.
I snorted. "A disco? How long has it been since you've been out in the Muggle world?" An image of Severus dressed in a white pantsuit from the seventies flashed into my mind and I laughed.
He glared at me as if I had lost every shred of sanity I possessed. "Whatever is the matter with you, you silly girl?"
I cleared my throat. "What are you planning to do with the stone-imps? Mr. Malfoy told me that you put their wings in potions."
"They are quite repellant to hexes and curses. I am doing further research to determine the reason behind this. They are one of the only known creatures that are immune to the unforgivable curses. So far, however, I have only been able to utilize that trait in potions that repel minor hexes. Perhaps you may assist me on this project this summer."
"I wasn't very good at chemistry," I told him apologetically. "I hope I do better at potions."
"Chemistry is but a miniscule part of potion making. The art of potion making is a combination of the technical, such as measuring ingredients, and intuition. As one evolves in the skill, intuition begins to take over. I'm afraid I can teach my students the more mundane part, but magical intuition is an inherited skill and cannot be taught." The Professor waved his hand toward a table covered with jars. "Come this way Miss Silverthorn, and I will demonstrate what I mean."
He indicated a row of jars filled with various herbs, leaves and other plants I didn't recognize. "I would like to make a mild tranquilizing potion. Tell me, Miss Silverthorn, which of these jars hold the main ingredient of such a solution?"
"I don't know. I don't even know what any of these things are."
"You don't need to think. You just need to know." Severus stood there waiting. "And time is essential, Miss Silverthorn. The students will begin to fill this classroom soon."
"What am I supposed to do? Use the Force or something?" I muttered under my breath. I reached out a hand toward the jars, and a strange thing happened. I felt invisible currents of power press against my hand. Was it my imagination? I wanted to touch a jar of dried herbs. Finally, I pointed my finger toward it.
"Valerian. Excellent." The Professor said. "Most students do not have anywhere near that level of intuition."
I ended up standing in back of Professor Snape, as he lectured the class about the de-aging and beautifying potion. Evidently, it was only a mild potion, used for temporary cosmetic changes. The fresher the virgin's blood, the stronger the potion and the longer it would work. Each student had to add three drops of blood to their potions at just the right time, before they added the crushed sunstone and rose petals.
When the students realized that I was the virgin to provide the blood, a few of the Slytherins smiled slyly and snickered. I heard hissing and whispers between a pug-faced girl and another girl sitting near Draco. Draco frowned at them, but it didn't do much good. I tried not to blush, but it was uncomfortable standing there. I glanced at Harry Potter, but he was obviously avoiding eye contact. He was really beginning to annoy me.
"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Longbottom," Professor Snape snarled. "Miss Granger, try to let Mr. Longbottom at least attempt one unaided action this year. It would be too much to expect him to actually achieve anything, but we should perhaps give him the opportunity to try."
I gasped. I couldn't believe how mean that was.
"Do you have something you wish to say, Miss Silverthorn?" Professor Snape asked me, his black eyes narrowed in warning.
I shook my head hastily.
"You had better sit down for this," The teacher told me. "We don't want you fainting." He used the normal, Muggle method for drawing blood. His hands were quite deft, and I hardly felt the needle, but still, it made me feel queasy. Sweat broke out on my face. He filled each student's vial with enough blood for the potion, and I tried not to look.
About fifteen minutes later, I jumped at a loud explosion, and a fountain of potion sprayed everywhere. Professor Snape stepped in front of me, attempting to protect me with his robe. I heard him bellow, "Longbottom, you idiot! What did you do?"
Instead of Neville Longbottom, there was a small child of about five or six, completely drenched in the potion. He had Neville's chubby face, brown hair and freckles. His school robes hung around him like a black tent. He immediately looked around and began to howl and cry with fear. Everyone began talking and laughing at once. I realized that Neville wasn't the only one to transform. At least five other students had been transformed into children.
"Silence," Professor Snape growled.
"Oh look at Draco." A girl's voice rose over the confusion. "Isn't he adorable? He looks like a baby angel."
A five year old Draco looked around him in terror and confusion. He bolted out the door of the classroom and ran down the corridor, tripping over his huge robes.
"Wait! Draco!" I ran after him.
I picked him up off the floor and he shrieked.
"What's wrong?" I asked him.
"Get off! I want my mum!"
I discovered quite quickly that he had no memory of me, the potions class, or of ever attending Hogwarts. His memory was stuck from when he'd had his fifth birthday. In his mind, he had just been to Diagon Alley, where his father had bought him a huge, magical, jewel-encrusted toad as a pet.
"It's okay, honey." I tried to calm him down. This was really bad. It was frightening how wrong a de-aging potion could go. Surely the effects would only be temporary.
Back in the classroom, Snape dismissed the entire class, keeping some volunteers to take the children to the infirmary. The children were all crying and frightened. It was clear that they all believed they should be back home with their parents.
"And you wondered why I was in a bad mood. It's times like these, Miss Silverthorn, when I consider taking an early retirement." Professor Snape glared at poor Neville Longbottom. "And going on an extended vacation."
BTW- Just to get into the whole Harry Potter spirit of things for the movie, I got a small box of those Harry Potter Jelly Bellies, that are supposed to be like Bertie Botts every-flavored beans. They were gross! I almost barfed. The grass flavored beans were okay, but the sardine, soap, spinach, black pepper, dirt, booger and vomit flavored ones were horrible. The worse one was flavored earthworm. It tasted exactly how I would imagine an earthworm to taste. How the heck do they come up with these things? More importantly, why did I allow curiosity to drive me to eat them? I'm a sick woman!!!
Many thanks to all my reviewers!
Thanks to Shadowstar21 and Dragonwing
Arsinoe de Blassenville- Thanks for the great review. Being an introvert myself (I'm an INFP on the Myers-Briggs personality sorter) I tend to appreciate more introverted characters, such as Hermione. Living with the Weasleys would be torturous! I love your story. Hurry up and get to work! ;-)
Rycca Wolfbane- Okay, you know you can't live in your own little Snapey- dreamland forever! What did you think of Professor Lupin and Dumbledore?
Annie- Thanks for all your great compliments. Yeah, I was concerned about Miriel being a Mary Sue, as well. I thought she had to have a great lineage and be very powerful, or Lucius wouldn't be so desperate for her to get hitched to Draco. It sounds as though immigrating was very rough for you. I hadn't thought of Miriel as immigrating, and I'm glad you brought that up so that I will think about how she feels. Yes, Draco was a big super-weenie in the movie. I didn't get why he ran screaming from Hermione when she hit him.
Escaped- I'm glad you liked my sorting hat. I thought it would be funny if it seemed really different when it wasn't talking to the kiddies. Have you seen the POA movie yet? Please say yes! I don't want you and Grunnarc the Loaf to expire from the torture of it all. Please tell me what you thought of Professor Lupin and Albus Dumbledore. Enquiring minds are dying to know!
MerryDay- Thanks, my summer is going okay, except for the fact that I'm poor and in desperate need of a job. Thank you so much for reading my story!
Arabella Minerva- Thank you so much for the compliments! Actually, I think Escaped's story is way more exciting than mine. She has lots more sex and dungeons and stuff.
