Disclaimer: Yeah… I wish!
Authors Notes: Sorry about the wait, work sucks and I have to get ready for my first year of college life (wish me luck!). And a great big Thank You to everyone who has reviewed and shown their support. Enjoy!
Pastures New
Chapter 6: Day One
When Elizabeth entered the Great Hall on the first day of classes the sun was already shining brightly though the stained glass windows and there were no clouds hanging in the blue sky of the Enchanted Ceiling. Most of the teachers were already seated at the High Table eating their breakfast but there were only a hand full of students seated at each of the House Tables. As Elizabeth ate her own breakfast the rest of the students began to file slowly into the Hall for the morning meal. The volume level had begun to rise as everyone started to wake up.
She ate less than she usually did because she couldn't help but feel slightly nervous about today. In fact she was very nervous. She noticed Professor McGonagall get up to leave and she checked the watch on her wrist; there was still more than a half an hour before classes began. Elizabeth rose from her seat leaving most of her breakfast uneaten on her golden plate to go to the Transfiguration room.
Minerva had stopped outside the Great Hall to talk to Madam Pomfry. By the time they were done speaking Elizabeth had stepped out into the Entrance Hall; she nodded to Madam Pomfry as the Medi-Witch continued on her way to the Great Hall.
"Good morning, Miss Parker," greeted Minerva with a small smile.
"Good morning, Professor McGonagall," Elizabeth replied. The corners of her mouth were turned up slightly into a polite smile. "Are you heading up to your class room, Professor?"
"Yes, I am, Miss Parker. Would you like to walk with me?" Minerva asked.
"If you don't mind the company Professor, yes I would." Elizabeth's smile when Minerva nodded her reply, but only slightly. Minerva would not have noticed it if had not been looking at her so closely. They climbed the stairs and walked to the Transfiguration room in silence.
Minerva began to write the morning's notes on the black board adjacent to and slightly behind her desk and Elizabeth gazed out the window down at the Lake. The Giant Squid's tentacles were poking out of the water soaking up the last of the warm weather. Minerva had finished with the notes and was looking over to Elizabeth, "Miss Parker are you alright? You look a thousand miles away."
"Not at all, Professor. I'm right here," she said in a small voice that Minerva had to strain to hear. She smiled shyly as she turned her attention from the window then cleared her throat before she continued in a more business-like tone, "Which years do we have first, Professor?"
"First off we have," Minerva read from the ledger that was open on her desk, "First Years; Hufflepuffs and Slytherins. Then Third Year Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. Last we have a double blocked class of Seventh Year NEWTs Level. There are only ten students in the class; a few from each House." Minerva glanced up from the list she was reading and noticed that Elizabeth looked deep in thought again as she read over the notes that were written on the chalk board. "Miss Parker, are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine, Professor." Elizabeth replied quickly. "Just… anxious I guess," she finished more hesitantly.
"This is my fifteenth year teaching, Miss Parker, and I still get a little anxious on the first day back. Although it has gotten much better since my first year." Minerva tried to reassure the girl. "I was a wreck my first day," she said as an after thought.
Somewhere over-head a bell sounded three times.
"Well, the students will be here soon. I'm going to go stand outside the door in case anyone needs directions. It always seems like the first week takes the longest." Minerva said as she walked to the back of her classroom.
"Professor?" Minerva turned around at the door and looked back at Elizabeth. "Would you mind if I just observed at first, before I'm introduced to the class?"
Minerva considered it for a second. It sounded like a good idea; Elizabeth could see how she ran her classes, what she expected from her students, and she could become more comfortable with the classes.
"What I mean-."
Minerva cut her off. "It sounds like a good idea, Miss Parker. Find place and get comfortable."
Elizabeth offered her a small smile, "Thank you, Professor."
Minerva continued out the door of her room but looked back in when she reached to corridor. On the corner of her large desk sat a small black cat as straight and still as a statue.
… … …
Young scared looking students started to file down the Transfiguration Corridor heading for Minerva's classroom. One small Hufflepuff offered Minerva a nervous smile and Minerva gave her a small one in return.
As the last two students walked quickly into the room the same bell sounded over-head three times. Minerva closed the door as the last bell sounded and she was not happy when she saw her class. Most were in there seats but she could see four girls from Hufflepuff standing in front of her desk. This was not the best way to start off a new year; especially not in Minerva McGonagall's classroom.
She made her way to the front of her room and one of the girls say something in a warning tone, "Maybe you should put it down. I don't think it likes you."
"Yeah," said another.
'This cannot be good,' Minerva thought. And she was right. Three of the girls heard their Professor coming and moved to take their seats. But the fourth stayed where she was.
"Your kitten isn't very nice, Professor," said the small Hufflepuff that had smiled at Minerva when she came in. Minerva looked from the face of the innocent looking little girl to the squirming kitten in shock. The black kitten in the Hufflepuffs arms was doing the best she could to try to get away, but the girl's hold was too tight on the poor thing.
"Stop manhandling that kitten." Minerva's voice was quiet but dangerous. She took the struggling kitten from the girl and held it gently but firmly against her chest. "Now go sit down."
Minerva was surprised that Elizabeth had not tried to get away from her. She glared at the young girl as she took her seat as she stroked the back of the kitten in her arms. Minerva rounded her desk to look at the class roster.
"Raise your hand when I call your name." Her voice was still rather cold, but it was far closer to her normal tone than it had been. She glanced up after each name she called out to look at the faces before her.
"Miss Noll?" Minerva looked up to see the scared looking Hufflepuff slowly raise her hand. 'Well at least she looks ashamed,' Minerva thought. She continued on with role call then placed Miss Parker, who had started to softly purr, down on her desk then went to stand in front of her desk to face her class.
"Transfiguration is a very complicated branch of Magic," she began, "and because of this, it can be very dangerous. You are expected to do all assignments to the best of your ability and come into my classroom ready to work. If I catch any of you, at any time, deliberately causing trouble in my classroom you will leave and you will not come back." Minerva's voice was at a normal volume but she had never had any trouble keeping a classes attention.
"Each day that you enter here you will be in your seats when the final bell rings. You will be silent. If at any time you wish to speak in my class you will raise your hand." Everyone was still looking at her, some with fear in their eyes.
"For right now we will be using inanimate objects for our Transfigurations, but in the future we will be using animals. If I see, at any time, anyone harming, manhandling, or causing them any unnecessary stress you will receive anything from a detention to dismissal from this class."
Minerva could see the shy Hufflepuff shrink down in her seat making herself look even smaller than she already was. Minerva's voice was warmer but as firm as ever, "Miss Noll?" The Hufflepuff raised her eyes to meet Minerva's. They looked scared and teary. "Because you did not yet know my policy you will not be receiving a detention, but ten points will be taken from Hufflepuff."
Miss Noll nodded in agreement to her punishment. She knew she should have left the kitten alone but she was not able to help herself. She had always loved cats and it had just looked so cute sitting there on Professor McGonagall's desk.
"It wont happen again, Professor," she said softly.
"I know it wont," Minerva said gently. "Now," her businesslike tone took over, "everyone take out a quill and parchment and copy down the notes on the board." Soft rustling was heard as everyone started to dig in their bags for their supplies. "When you are done, put your quills down and sit quietly. Then we will get started on you first lesson."
… … …
An hour later the bell sounded through out the corridors and Minerva dismissed her class. All in all, the lesson had gone well. One or two had almost completely Transformed their matchstick into a needle.
Minerva erased the board with a wave of her wand and sat down at her desk. The black kitten in front of her had turned around completely to face her.
"Are you alright Miss Parker?"
The kitten nodded.
"Okay." Minerva said with a nod of her own. "The Third Years are just going to review today. Do you wish to just observe this class as well?"
The kitten nodded once more. Some of the Third Years had begun to file into Minerva's room. One or two looked at her strangely.
"I understand, Miss Parker."
The last students walked in and quietly took their seats. Minerva closed her door with a flick of her wrist when the final bell sounded.
"Welcome back everyone."
… … … ... ...
After lunch in the Great Hall, Elizabeth and Minerva were once again walking to the Transfiguration classroom in silence.
"I was wondering, Miss Parker, if you would mind introducing yourself in the next class? There are a few students that I believe may have the potential of becoming Animagi if they have the desire. I think it might also encourage them to work harder in their studies if they see some one so advanced at such a young age."
"If you want me to, then I will, Professor." She responded softly. Silence set in once more.
"Umm, Professor?" Elizabeth turned to Minerva once they entered her classroom. "I wanted to thank you… for this morning. I tried to get away… but I didn't want to scratch Miss Noll, or startle her. I know she didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to tell you that I appreciated what you did, getting me away from her." Elizabeth gave her a small, embarrassed smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"That's quite all right, Miss Parker. The same thing has happened to me once or twice." Minerva smiled down at her.
Three bells sounded once more from over head.
"I will introduce you in the last few minutes of class, Miss Parker. The first half will be spent much like the Third Year's class. We'll be reviewing, handing in summer homework assignments, and then we'll go over the syllabus for this year." They discussed the Professor's lesson plan as they made their way to her desk. "So until then, you can just make yourself comfortable."
Elizabeth nodded, transformed into a small black cat, hopped gracefully onto the corner of Minerva's desk and sat as straight and still as before. The Seventh Years started to enter the classroom without a sound. Some smiled at Professor McGonagall but there were three, all Slytherins, who seemed to act superior to everyone in the room. They sat down next to one another towards the back. Minerva addressed her class the same way she had before, "Welcome back everyone."
… … …
After a thorough review and new homework assignments had been handed out Minerva was very proud of her Seventh Years. They had all turned in their summer assignments and seemed to actually retain most of what she had taught them in their previous years with her.
"Now," Minerva began as everyone started to pack up their books, "this year my class will be slightly different. This year I have an apprentice. She is a transfer student from Milgram Thorton Academy in America and she also attended Salem Western University. You will treat with the same amount of respect that you have shown me." The last statement was mostly said to the Slytherins sulking in the back.
"Would you like to meet her?" There was a collective murmur and nodding heads throughout the class. "Very well." Minerva turned to the Kitten sitting on her desk. "Class, I would like to introduce, Miss Elizabeth Parker."
Some students looked strangely at Minerva when her attention turned to the black kitten beside her. But soon they found out exactly what she was talking about. The small kitten made a graceful leap from where she sat and a young girl took its place before them. The class was silent as they looked between the two Animagi standing in front of them.
Finally, a Gyffindor in the front spoke. "But I thought you were a first year. Weren't you just Sorted last night? How old are you?"
"Yes, I was Sorted last night. And I'm thirteen years-."
"That's impossible. When did you register?" exclaimed a Slytherin.
"Mr. MinClair," Minerva said in a warning tone.
Elizabeth raised her brow at him, "I assure you it is possible. I registered when I was twelve-."
"How old were you when you started studying?" asked a Ravenclaw with her hand still in the air.
"Well, about ten, but-."
"I don't believe this," another Slytherin exclaimed. "Either you're trying to trick us," she pointed at Elizabeth, "or you are," she pointed to Minerva. "Now what's the catch?"
"Ten points from Slytherin, Miss Nott. And there is no 'catch.' Miss Parker is an Animagus." Professor McGonagall stated sternly.
"But Professor," said a Hufflepuff with a raised hand, "she's too young. I mean she's just a child. Who would train a ten year old to become an Animagus?"
"Miss Parker, would you like to answer that?" Minerva asked.
"I, uh… actually I didn't have someone to train me. I learned on my own."
"Isn't that dangerous?" asked a Ravenclaw.
"Yes it is," both Elizabeth and Minerva said at the same time. Minerva seemed a little taken aback at her apprentice's answer.
"It was foolish of me and I am lucky that I didn't do any permanent damage. I know that Professor McGonagall would agree with me when I say that you should only attempt the Animagus Transformation when you have completed all the necessary research and are trained by a Transfiguration Master or Mistress."
"But you didn't have any problems," a Gryffindor pointed out.
"No, I didn't. But as I said, I was very lucky."
"So if you're an Animagus, does that make you a Transfiguration Mistress?" asked a Huffelpuff.
"Not quiet. I still have a few things to do before then." There were collective nods around the room and silence began to take over. "So, then, if there is nothing else then I'll just-."
"What should we call you?" asked a shy looking Ravenclaw with her hand in the air. "Should we call you 'Professor', or 'Miss', or … what?"
Elizabeth looked to Minerva, partly for help and partly for an opinion on the matter, but was left with a look of 'It's up to you. I'm staying out of it.'
"Well," she continued, "I'm not a Professor, so I think 'Miss Parker' would be for the best."
… … …
The bell signaling the end of class rang, mercifully, soon after Miss Parker's introduction and the Seventh Years filed out of the room. Elizabeth let out a long slow breath that she was not aware she had been holding as the last student walked out. Minerva gave her a small smile and began gathering the summer assignments that she had collected at the beginning of her lessons.
"Well, that went… well?" Elizabeth finally broke the silence.
"I hope that wasn't too overwhelming, Miss Parker. To tell you the truth, I was a little worried about introducing you to the older classes too early, but I was hoping that meeting someone so advanced for her age would help some of them to focus a little more." Professor McGonagall explained once more.
"It was fine Professor." Elizabeth said with a shrug. "Do you need help with anything?"
Minerva smiled then handed her another stack of parchment that was sitting on her desk. Elizabeth made her way to the door when Minerva called her back,
"Why don't we take a short cut?"
Minerva walked over to a door at the corner of her classroom behind her desk that Elizabeth had assumed was a storage room. As she followed behind her Professor she found that the door actually hid a passageway that led to the Transfiguration Mistress' office. It was a spacious room in mostly scarlet and gold. Two of the walls were lined with over stuffed bookshelves and a fire was crackling in the hearth.
"You can just set those down there," Minerva pointed to an empty space on her desk, "and I will start marking them after dinner. Did you enjoy your first day Miss Parker?"
Elizabeth turned away from the shelves of books that she had been glancing through and addressed her Head of House. "It was fine Professor," she said with a shrug.
Minerva raised her brow. "Don't worry Miss Parker, things will get much more interesting after a few days. And, once the students are used to seeing you in the classroom they wont be afraid to ask for help; so you can say goodbye to spending your evenings doing nothing."
Elizabeth smiled softly. "Come along then Miss Parker, it's time for dinner."
… … ... ... ...
"You- whoo! Elizabeth! Hey Lizzy, you- whoo, over here!"
Elizabeth turned expecting to see someone intending to call another girl by the same name, but instead she saw Bridget with her hand waving in the air.
"Elizabeth, over here!" She called again. Anna was seated beside her and Elyse turned to wave her over as well. She made her way over to her dorm mates with mild surprise.
"There you are! We haven't seen you all day. You're an early riser, aren't you? Usually I'm the first one up but I noticed that your bed was already empty. We must have missed you at breakfast, lunch as well. Where were you today? You didn't get lost did you? I got lost on my first day. It was horrible! I asked Peeves for directions. Biggest mistake a First Year can make. Well, as any Year really. Anyway… Oh listen to me! I'm just babbling on and on; I haven't let you get a single word in, have I?"
Elyse gave a soft snort at the expression on Elizabeth's face. She hadn't moved a muscle since she sat down across from Bridget who really didn't seem to have an off switch. She seemed to have mastered the skill of speaking for a long period of time without needing to stop for breath. At the moment Elizabeth's eyes were slightly wider than normal and her mouth was hanging a bit agape. Anna and Elyse, who both seemed to be used to this behavior, had already filled their plates and had begun to eat.
"Sorry," Elizabeth said after a moment of awkward silence. "I've been with Professor McGonagall."
"Yeah, we know." Anna said, "We saw you come in with her. Did she need to talk with you or something?"
"What?" she paused. "Oh, no, I was with her all day. I'm her apprentice."
All three Gryffindors looked at her with wide eyes. "Her apprentice?" Bridget asked. "Wow, you must be really good. McGonagall's a tough teacher, so you must be really great at Transfiguration."
Elizabeth just shrugged as she placed a small amount of food on her plate. "That must be nice." Elyse said after a moment.
"What is?" Anna prompted.
"Well," she replied through bites, "being with one professor all day, not having to run from one class to another, and not having to sit through History of Magic with Professor Binns." She added with a wink at Anna.
"Oh, I hate that class!" Bridget exclaimed. "I always end up falling asleep. If he wasn't so boring it might be an interesting class."
"How can History class be interesting?" asked Elyse with a laugh.
"History can be very interesting," Bridget replied indignantly. "It was my favorite subject at my old school."
"You transferred from another school too?" Elizabeth asked.
"She means the muggle school she attended before she found out about Hogwarts and her parents told her she was a witch.' Anna informed her.
"My dad's a squib and my mom's a muggle. They didn't think it was possible for them to produce a witch so they just never told me, but then I received my letter. I thought my dad would be upset but he said that he was all right with it. Mom told me that he was really proud when he found out that I was a witch after all. My grandparents were thrilled. I never knew they were wizarding folk until dad fire-called them right after they explained everything to me."
"My parents are both Wizards," Anna told Elizabeth. "I always knew I would be coming to Hogwarts after I turned eleven." There was a slight hint of superiority laced through her voice.
"What about you Liz? Can we call you Liz?" asked Elyse.
"I always go by Elizabeth, if that's alright." She replied.
"Yeah, sure, sorry mate," Elyse continued. "Anyway, were your parents wizards? Did you always know you were a witch?"
Elizabeth hesitated for only a second without meeting anyone's eyes. "Yes," she said simply. "They were both wizards and I always knew I was a witch."
"Same with me." Elyse said. She noticed that Elizabeth, for some reason, found the topic uncomfortable and decided to try another. "So… do you like Quiditch?"
… … … ... ...
Elizabeth was sitting in front of the hearth of the Gryfindor Common Room in squashy overstuffed chairs with her dorm mates going over their Transfiguration assignments that were to be completed over the Summer Holiday. They had asked her to look them over and she had agreed, adding that she would, in no way, simply give them the correct answer if she found something wrong. She was almost finished reading through Elyse's work when Bridget voiced a concern.
"Anna, I think your cousin's coming over here."
"We can finish this in our room can't we?" Anna asked hurriedly. "It's starting to get crowded down here. Come on Elyse, Elizabeth."
"This is ridiculous, we were here first. She should find her own place." Elyse said through gritted teeth.
"Elyse, please don't cause problems so early in the year. Let's just go, we've been sitting around here long enough, and it is getting pretty late." Anna pleaded.
"Have I missed something? What's going on?" Elizabeth questioned.
"Can we please just move?" Anna whispered frantically.
"Well, if it isn't my dear little cousin Anna!" said a tall blond with such a sickly sweet voice that no one could doubt that it was false. "And your dear little friends as well. How nice to see you again. I trust that your summers were good. Oh, and how nice of you to save our seats. You can move along now."
"Yeah," Bridget replied with a nervous giggle, "we were just turning in actually. Weren't we girls?"
Anna nodded looking slightly relieved but it didn't last long as she noticed Elyse and Elizabeth had not moved from where they were seated. A few seconds of awkward silence passed before Anna's cousin spoke again, this time her voice had lost all its kindness.
"Look, I won't wait all night. Move it."
"Not to be rude or anything, but you know there are other places to sit in here?" Elyse pointed out. But the older girl ignored her and focused her attention on Elizabeth.
"I don't think my cousin has introduced us yet. My name is Arianna Foss, Seventh Year, and Chaser for Gryfindor. Who are you?"
"My name is Elizabeth Parker and I just-."
"Oh I know who you are!" she exclaimed in mock surprise. "You're that American know-it all, aren't you."
"I'm not sure about the 'know-it-all' part but, yes, I am American." Elizabeth replied with a raised brow.
"Well let me fill you in on something you may not know: These," she indicated the seats that Elizabeth and Elyse were sitting in, "are reserved for me and my friends. So you'll have to find another place to sit… NOW!" she yelled when didn't move.
"We were here first and there are plenty of other available seats in the Common Room." Elizabeth replied calmly.
Arianna bent down to where she was only an inch from Elizabeth's face. She spoke through gritted teeth in a harsh whisper, "Look, you little-."
"Ah, there you are. Just the witch I wanted to see," came the voice of a young man who had just come through the portrait hole. Arianna immediately straightened up and smoothed out her robes.
"Tommy! How are you? I haven't seen you all day. You must have been busy our first day back." Her voice had returned to its sweetest tone as she fixed a huge smile on her face.
"Oh, hi Foss. I'm fine thank you, and yourself?" he asked quickly.
"Oh, I'm doing great, Tommy! Thanks for asking."
"Thomas," he corrected.
Her face fell slightly, "Right-."
"Miss Parker, I was wondering if I could ask for your help. I don't know if you remember me, Thomas Anderson. I'm in the Seventh Year NEWT's course-."
Elizabeth nodded, "Yes, I remember. I believe that you were one of the few that didn't have much to say."
"Yes, well," he laughed, "it was a bit of a shock."
"Well, what can I help you with Mr. Anderson?" she asked with a polite smile.
"Well," he looked around and paused for a moment on Arianna. "Did you need something Foss?"
"Oh, no. I just wanted to… introduce myself to our new student." She smiled, "we were just leaving actually." She motioned for the three girls behind her to follow, "I'm sure that we will get to be great friends Lizzy."
"I'm sure we will too, Arial."
Elyse and Thomas both tried their best to hide their snorts of laughter while Bridget, Anna, and the three girls behind the Seventh Year looked horrified.
"Ha ha ha, ahh. Actually, my name is Arianna." She said clearly annoyed.
"And mine is Elizabeth. It was lovely meeting you, I'm sure I'll see you around."
"Oh, you will," she replied sweetly. "And congratulations again on getting Quiditch Captain, Thomas!"
He flashed her a cheesy smile as he waved goodbye. Bridget and Anna exchanged significant glances before they disappeared up the staircase to the Fourth Year dorm room. "I would be careful around Arianna Foss," Thomas advised. "She may try and act like a nice person, but if you so much as look at her in the wrong way she can make you regret it."
"Why don't we just focus on your problem? Have a seat and tell me what your having trouble with," she replied.
"Well," he said handing her a roll of parchment, "I read the assigned pages and was getting ready to start on my essay, but when I read through my notes, they just didn't make sense. Some of the things I read didn't match up with what I wrote. I was hoping you could tell me which one was wrong. I already tried Professor McGonagall's office, but she wasn't in. Then I thought of you."
"Do you have some ink and a quill on you?" she asked without looking up. His handwriting was atrocious and he seemed to have a problem with copying notes in general. He was able to hand her a small bottle of black ink quickly but was still rummaging around for a quill when Elizabeth looked up.
"Where did I put that quill?" he asked himself under his breath.
"Never mind Mr. Anderson," she said as she conjured up her own quill and began writing. He sat quietly for only a moment as he watched her work before he started up a conversation with Elyse, who was still seated on the other side on Elizabeth.
"Don't forget about the tryout this Saturday morning, Frome. Eight o'clock sharp." he told her.
"No problem, Captain." She responded right away. "Do you think we'll a have a better lot than last year?
"I should think so. So far the list looks pretty good; it maybe a hard decision."
"Okay," Elizabeth interrupted, "I found the problem. It looks as though you left out a few of the points that were listed on the board to copy down. I wrote them in and now your notes and text book should coincided."
He glanced at the parchment for a second. "Yeah, that makes more sense. Thank you."
"It's no problem Mr. Anderson. In the-."
"You call me Thomas… or Tom, which ever you prefer," he said. "The only people who call me 'Mr. Anderson' are the Professors."
"In the future," she continued, "try to not just copy down something quickly; you know, just to get it done with. Actually read through it, and make sure you understand it before you move on."
He gave her a blank look, "You sound like a Professor."
"I will take that as a compliment, Mr. Anderson." She gave him another small smile. "If there is nothing else, then I think I will turn in. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," both Elyse and Thomas called as she climbed the stir case.
When she interned the Fourth Year girls' room she saw that Bridget and Anna were in the middle of a conversation that was quickly ended upon her arrival. She bid them both a good night then climbed into her bed and pulled the crimson curtains around her. The whispers were soon forgotten after a Silencing Charm was placed within her curtains and the only sound she could hear was her own soft even breathing.
… … … … …
Dear Professor Orlando,
As Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry I am writing to you in regards to a newly transferred student, a Miss Elizabeth Parker. As one of her former Instructors at Milgram Thorton Academy I was hoping that you could lend some insight into this talented young lady. Unfortunately, due to the relocation of the Milgram Thorton Academy, Miss Parker's transcripts have yet to be forwarded to Hogwarts. I would greatly appreciate and information you could impart upon my staff and I concerning Miss Parker's educational, social, or family background. Thank you very much for you help.
Sincerely,
Headmaster Albus Dumbeldore
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
