"You're crazy, you know that? It's no wonder they locked you up when you were a kid."
Marian stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. She was an ordinary woman, wearing jeans and a worn tee-shirt, who just happened to be crazier than a loon. Three weeks she'd spent torturing herself, arguing with herself, and eventually bribing herself. Two weeks of wondering what was wrong with her day in and day out. Three weeks answering letters from people she hadn't seen in years
She leaned her head against the small mirror. Those letters had to have been the strangest thing to happen to her outside her own personal nervous breakdown. People she hadn't seen for over five years had all written to her at once, asking how she was doing, if she was all right. Cheryl had even come right out and asked if she was in the hospital again. Apparently, someone had been checking up on her, asking questions about her. She guessed it was the same people who'd kidnapped her. But why would you research someone, kidnap them, then let them go?
"I'm cracked," she muttered, walking into her living room. "Abso-fucking-lutely cracked."
Marian examined the quill carefully. She didn't know what type of feather it was made out of, but it had to have been dyed. She didn't know of any bird large enough to have feathers with that shade of vibrant red. It had a silver nib that was covered in flowers and vines. It looked old, and probably worth more than she could make in a lifetime. But then why would they give her something this valuable?
If you want to return to Hogwarts, use this to write 'magic' on anything, and someone will be by to pick you up… Remember to only use the quill if you are serious about devoting yourself to our world.
Marian looked down at the sheet of paper in front of her. She couldn't believe she was actually doing this. This proved that she was really crazy. She'd spent the better part of the past two weeks trying to locate the Leaky Cauldron. She'd searched castle registries, but almost all of them were now used as tourist attractions, and those few that weren't were private residence or hotels. She would have given up and written if off as a particularly long hallucination if it hadn't been for the quill.
And her hair.
I think I would remember something like dying my hair, she thought, only it hadn't been as simple as that. She'd first noticed it when she'd gotten home from work. Her hair, usually a dull brown, had looked different, but she couldn't place it. Don had even commented on how she was doing something different with herself. When she washed it a few days later, it was confirmed. It was like she'd washed out brown hair dye, leaving her hair a deep auburn that glinted gold in the sunlight. It was the kind of hair color that couldn't be achieved without a dye, and no matter how many times she'd washed it since then, it refused to come out. Her eyes were different now too, more silver than gray, and it scared her. People didn't change like she was in their thirties. This kind of things happened to infants, not full grown women. That's when she started believing that, even if they weren't wizards, they'd done something to her, and she needed to find out what.
So she'd packed her few belongings into suitcases, given Don notice, and was now sitting, trying to gather up the courage to actually see if she wasn't as dumb as she felt. At least she wasn't serious enough to tell her landlady, or else she'd be out of a place to live too.
The sad thing was that she really didn't have that much to pack. The majority of it was her books, which sat in three large boxes next to the couch, along with another box full of linen and towels. All in all, her world could collapse into four large boxes, a large suitcase, a very large snake, a pile of plants, and a small carryall.
It was very depressing.
"Ready Missy?" she asked. Missy was curled up next to her, and looked like she was sleeping.
Ready? she asked herself, and kissed the pendant she was wearing before tucking it back into her shirt. She picked up the quill, and wrote 'magic' as clearly as she could.
Nothing happened. No clap of thunder, no flash of lightening, no fanfare.
Nothing.
"Yep, absolutely cracked," she said to the bare apartment.
"Your masters certifiable, you know that?" she asked Missy, then started pacing around the apartment. She was out of a job, with little prospects of finding another one, and she was talking to her pet python that she let roam around her apartment at will after four in the morning.
Certifiable was too tame.
"Oh, your ready I see. Good."
She spun around. Merlin was standing in her living room, wearing the same dark blue robe as before. "How did you-?"
He turned around and gestured to the small gas fireplace. " I had you connected to the flue network, in case you decided to take us up on our offer."
Marian blinked. "You're telling me you got in here through my fireplace?"
The man smiled. "You'll understand everything in time. Is this all you plan on taking with you?" he nodded towards her piled things.
"Um, yeah," she said, then froze. "One more thing. I'll be right back," she picked up a small envelope and walked downstairs to her landlady's apartment. She sighed, then shoved it under the front door face up. It contained the last month's rent, and a letter telling her that she was leaving.
When she got back she stopped. Everything was gone. There was no way he could have walked past her without her seeing anything, and that had been too much for one man to carry. Her apartment, her home for the past four years looked empty. Even Missy was gone.
"Are you ready, Marian?" he asked.
She nodded, hand clutching her pendant. It was the only thing that she ever felt really belonged to her. It was the only thing that she'd been found with as an infant. "Yeah…Dumbledore?"
He smiled. "You remembered my name. Yes, if you will," he extended his arm.
Calling herself all kinds of fools, she walked over to him.
"Here you go," he said, dropping a pile of ash into her hand. "I need you to say, 'The summer room of Hogwarts' very clearly. Then throw the powder into the fireplace and dive on in."
She stared down at her hand. Dive into her fireplace? She'd get a concussion, and then she'd have to explain how she got it. "Dive?"
He nodded. "It's rather small, so you'll have to if you want to fit. When you get to the other side, please step into the room. Go on then," he added, as if she were a child.
Marian took a deep breath. It was now or never. "The summer room of Hogwarts," she said as clearly as possible, and then threw the ashes into the fireplace.
Immediately, green flames roared up and danced there, as if waiting. "Go on," Dumbledore said again. I'll be right behind you."
Okay, in for a penny, in for a pound, she said to herself before she took a flying leap.
It was a definite relief, not to feel her head smashing into the back of the fireplace, but she didn't have time to think about that. She felt like a fish caught on a hook. Something was dragging her along at high speed, and she closed her eyes against green blur.
Then she slammed into something, and she stood there, breathing harder than she had in a long time.
"Miss is here! Please miss, come in!"
A small hand grabbed hers, and she was lead away from where she had landed. The person pulling was way shorter than she was, so she guessed it was either some kind of midget, or a very small child.
"Miss can open her eyes now, she has arrived."
Marian decided to take the chance and opened her eyes. She was staring at what had to be the biggest bed she'd ever seen. It was a wooden canopy bed, draped with heavy dark blur curtains, with a spread of the same color. Slowly, she let her eyes travel along the room. Her plants were sitting happily in a window, some of the larger ones suspended in midair by what she guessed was fishing line. The boxes were nowhere to be seen, neither was her suitcase. Missy, on the other hand had claimed that bed, which was about twice the size of her queen size, for herself. The only thing she didn't like was all the blue. In actuality, she hated blue, with a passion. Nothing in her apartment had been blue. She even went as far as to reupholster the couch to get rid of it.
"I hope it is to your liking."
Marian jumped. Dumbledore was right behind her, his eyes twinkling behind his glasses. "Professor Snape informed us that you had a great love of blue."
He would, vindictive bastard, she thought. She took one step, and then another. The room was larger than her living room at home. The walls were bare, showing the stonework beneath, but that just made it even more real.
"Miss likes her room?"
Marian looked down. "Holy-!"
"It's quite all right," Dumbledore said from behind her. "This is Binky, one of our house elves."
Standing in front of her was an honest to goodness elf. The small creature couldn't have been more than three feet tall, with only a wisp of hair on her head and large purple eyes. It was wrapped in an odd looking towel, a clash of orange, red, green and silver. To top it all of were her ears, two large protrusions at the top of her head that twitched excitedly.
"Is there something wrong with Binky, Miss?" the elf asked, looking from her to Dumbledore.
Marian shook her head. "No-no!" she kneeled down, so she was eye level with Binky. "My names Marian, Binky," she extended her hand.
The house elf looked like it was about to burst. "Pleased to meet you Miss." it said with a small curtsy.
She extended her hand. "Marian," she corrected.
Timidly, the house elf shook her hand. "Marian," she repeated. "Would Mis- Marian like anything today?"
Marian shook her head. "I'm fine, Binky."
The elf nodded. "Then Binky will be going back to the kitchens," she announced, and with a loud 'pop', she was gone.
"I believe you will find all your possessions put away," Dumbledore said, gesturing to a large armoire. "The bathroom is through there," he pointed to a heavy looking door. "Please try to sleep. I will not think to awaken you for breakfast, which is in a little more than four hours. Would you like to be summoned for lunch?"
Marian stood up, and nodded quietly. She still couldn't believe this. She was really here.
"Then, if that is all, I will leave you to get your rest," the man turned and headed for the door.
"This is really real, isn't it?" she asked, taking a small step towards him.
Dumbledore turned around and smiled gently. For a moment he looked like the very picture of a caring grandfather. "My dear, this is more real than anything else," with that, he left.
Marian stood, staring at the fireplace. The large fireplace, she corrected herself, which at the moment was filled with a cheerfully crackling fire. She could have stood in the thing without a problem. In fact, she had. She guessed that they were that big to accommodate the flue network thing Dumbledore had been talking about earlier. As a method of transportation, it had the Tube beat hands down.
She practically skipped over to the closet, to find all her clothes neatly hung or folded. The house elf had been busy then, she couldn't have been more than a minute or two behind her things. "Wonder what else the little thing got up to," she muttered, examining the room more.
On the nightstand next to the bed was a light. At least, she thought it was a light. It was a globe, that hung there serenely over the dark wood. "Okay," Marian said aloud, and ran her hand under the globe. Nothing. she cupped her hands and ran then around it, but encountered nothing. She'd wait until later to figure out how to close that. All that was left was the bathroom. She half expected to see a hole in the floor, which lead to this place's moat, but nothing prepared her for what she saw when she opened the door.
It was warm, surprisingly so after the slight chill of her room. The room itself was white and blue tile, in the middle of which was a pond, that was the only name she could think of for it. She walked into the room, wincing as the cold tile burned her feet. This room was almost as big as her bedroom. Against a far wall was a large mirror hung over a single sink. Another door lead to what she guessed was the toilet. The fixtures looked like blue stonework, as did a cushioned bench against one wall. Stacked on the bench were her ratty old towels, next to a pile of towels that had to have come straight out of a hedonists dream. She ran a hand over them, and sighed. That had to be the softest material she'd ever felt. A large bank of windows revealed that it was still dark outside. The only thing that broke the illusion of the bathroom was a woven basket, seated discreetly in one corner.
"I've died and gone to heaven," she said, and did a twirl in the middle of the room before walking over to inspect the bathtub. It was at least eight feet long and ten feet across, and she guessed that she could have stood up in it and the water would only come to the base of her neck. There were four spigots, one on each side, and each was shaped a little differently. "Guess it makes filling you up easier."
Curious, it was already filled with crystal clear, warm water. She turned one of the handles, and laughed when purple bubbles began pouring out. The smell of lilac permeated the room.
Marian sighed to herself and decided what the hell, and began stripping off her clothes. In no time she was immersed in the water, floating lazily on her back. "If this is a dream, I'm gonna be real pissed when my alarm clock goes off," she muttered, and rolled onto her stomach to do a few laps. Doing laps in a bathtub, amazing!
She didn't know how long she'd spent in the bathtub, but the fact that the sky wasn't looking as dark as it used to was enough of a warning for her. She climbed out of the bathtub and yanked one of Dumbledore's towels. Towel? You could call it a blanket. She wrapped it around her, anticipating the cold. She dried off as much as she could before opening the door and running to the closet. She was dressed in record time and slid under the covers with a sigh. The curtains were already pulled, and she snuggled into the smooth sheets.
Yep, she was really gonna be pissed when she woke up.
"This really is for your own good, Marian."
Marian tried not to cry as the wheeled her into the room. She knew what was coming. It was Thursday, and that meant that it was the day. Despite herself she felt a tear leak out the corner of her eye as they moved her onto another table. Orderly Kirkpatrick smiled at her sadly, he always did on the day, and patted her on the knee. "You'll be fine, sweetie," he said calmly before moving away.
She fought the urge to struggle. If she did that they'd just drug her up, and then she wouldn't know what was happening to her. It wasn't her fault that the ghost on her floor kept bugging her, teasing her, yelling at her every time she tried to sleep. She hadn't meant to tear down that picture, she just wanted that little boy to stop making faces at her and whispering to her. She told Dr. Peter but he didn't believe her. He just recommended more medication, different medication, then sent her back to her little white cell.
Marian jerked as the straps were tightened around her stomach, and tried to imagine she was somewhere else. She thought of her parents, imagined they were these smiling, blond people who would hug her and tell her stories. They hadn't abandoned her, they hadn't left her wrapped in a coat on the side of a road in Arizona.
"Okay, now Marian, just relax," Nurse Honnas said as she spread the gel over her temples. The first time they did this she asked why, and one of the nurses said it was to keep her from getting burned.
"Open up," one of the orderlies was holding the bit, and she thought for a moment about not letting them put it in, but she knew better now. Any trouble, and she'd be drugged. Any resistance, and that needle would come out and take away her will. Obediently, she opened her mouth and let them slip the piece of plastic in.
Then she felt it, a jolt that locked all her muscles, she couldn't see, she couldn't breathe, she could think of anything but the fact that it felt like she was about to shatter into a million pieces…
She woke sitting up in bed, damn near hyperventilating and covered in sweat. She hadn't had a dream about Shady Hill in years.
As her breathing steadied out, she looked around. She wasn't in her bedroom, it was too dark. She put out a hand, felt material, and pulled it to the side. Light came streaming in through the crack and she gasped. She was in the room she'd fallen asleep in, complete with Missy dozing in a patch of sunlight.
She hadn't been dreaming.
"Holy shit in a hand basket," she said, jumping out of bed and running to the window. She had a view of a forest, which was still in gloom despite the brightness of the day. She could see the edge of what looked like a huge birdcage, and could barely make out the shapes of people as they milled along the grounds.
Someone knocked at the door, and she looked down at herself. It probably wouldn't be the best thing to open a door wearing a spaghetti strap top and boxer shorts. "Um, hang on," she yelled, hoping they could hear her as she dashed to the closet. She pulled out her robe and grimaced. Good way to make a great impression. The robe had been a gift from Don that he'd bought back with him from his last trip to Korea. It was black silk, with heavy silver embroidery and a giant silver dragon on the back. Steeling herself, she opened the door.
Thankfully, there was a woman on the other side. She was wearing an ornate green robe with an amber cameo, her gray hair in a severe bun. "Ms. Elvbow?" she asked, giving her a quick once over.
"Yeah. Hi," she answered, brushing her hair out of her face and feeling like an idiot.
The woman didn't look impressed by her friendliness. "I am Professor McGonagall. Professor Dumbledore sent me to make sure you would be up in time for lunch."
"Oh, yeah, come in," she opened the door, and McGonagall walked in.
She brushed her hair out of her face again, the stuff seemed to have a mind of its own. "I'm Marian, by the way," she said awkwardly, extending her hand. The Professor took it, smiling a little at her discomfort.
"Minerva," she said. "Well, you have perhaps twenty minutes before noon. Professor Dumbledore thought it would be best if you two ate in private."
The man was an angel. "Thank you," Marian walked to her closet and began poking around. After a minute she turned around, and she knew she was blushing. "Um, what should I wear?"
McGonagall laughed. "Anything you like, child. I'll wait in the hall while you dress," with that she swept out of the room.
Marian pulled out a pair of pants and an old red sweater that was about five sizes too big and went clear to her knees. She washed and dressed in record time and was at the door in less than four minutes.
Professor McGonagall, for her part, looked a little stunned at her speed. "I expected to be kept longer, but no matter. This way please."
Marian was stunned at the place. It looked like the whole thing was made up of stone. "So this really is a school," she mused.
"Hogwarts was built over a thousand years ago, Ms. Elvbow," McGonagall said as the walked. "Originally, it was a castle, and over time it has changed to fit the needs of the students and faculty."
Marian was already drifting again. They walked up stairs, down stairs, past colonnades with ornate scrollwork. A few times they were passed by groups of children wearing black robes, some of which were open to reveal their shirts and pants beneath. All of them stopped to stare at her as they walked by.
"Have I grown another head or something?" she asked after a young girl walked into a wall.
Professor McGonagall laughed. "Most of the children here are used to seeing adults in robes. Your outfit is something of a shock."
"Wait until they see me in a bikini."
"A bikini, Ms. Elvbow? What is a bikini?"
Marian stared at the other woman for a minute, but she hadn't been joking. "Nothing," she answered, "I'll explain it to you later."
Finally, they came to a stop at a dead in. The only thing in sight was the statue of a griffin, wings raised.
"Sassafras bars," McGonagall said.
The statue moved, revealing a door behind it. "This is Professor Dumbledore's office," she said. "He is waiting for you," with that, she turned around and left.
Marian fought the urge to gulp as she turned the handle and walked into the office. The first thing she noticed were pictures, dozens of them, probably hundreds, each holding a different person. Most of them looked like they were sleeping. As she watched, some of them started moving.
She blinked, and blinked again. They were definitely moving. Some were staring at her in open curiosity, while others seemed to disappear in their frames and reappear in others. For a split second she was back in the Arizona Museum of Art, and that little boy was jumping from picture to picture, sticking his tongue out at her, making raspberries, teasing her…
"I understand that they can be quite disturbing for a Muggle."
To her credit, she didn't jump. She had the distinct impression that he liked making people jump, which was why he snuck up on her all the time. "Is it real?"
Dumbledore smiled. "Yes. Magical pictures contain something of the person they are made of. In an exceptional painting it can be an exact double of the person, including their habits, personality, pet peeves."
Tentatively, she reached out and touched one of the canvases. It felt just like any other canvas, hard, dry. She watched as a little old man reached on and put his hand on hers. She recoiled when she felt something push against her.
"They're quite harmless, Marian," he reassured her. "Come, I believe Binky has set out an excellent lunch."
Binky had really outdone herself, at least in Marian's opinion. Lunch consisted of a pile of roast beef sandwiches, French fries, punch, and a stack of what looked like glazed muffins. There was no way the elf could expect the two of them to finish it all.
"I believe you must have many questions to ask me," Dumbledore said after they had polished off their first sandwiches.
Marian nodded. "Professor Mcgonagall told me a little about the history of this place, but I wasn't really paying attention."
Dumbledore nodded. "Hogwarts was built over a thousand years ago by the greatest wizards of the age. It was designed to be a place where young people could go to master their abilities before being let back into society. At the time there was a great stigma attached to anything that concerned magic, so boarding students soon became their parents only defense against suspicion from their neighbors."
Marian thought back to her limited history classes. "You're talking about the Crusades, right?"
His face went grave. "And the inquisitions. There were times when our small communities grew so large that they couldn't keep themselves hidden from Muggles - that's a wizarding term for non-magic users. A child floating over someone's house would be a dead giveaway. So, Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and --- Hufflepuff began Hogwarts. Children were sorted into four different houses according to their personalities, strengths, and weaknesses, and they would learn the basic tenants of magic."
She looked around, this place was way too huge to just be missed by people.
"You're wondering how this castle remains hidden from Muggles? There are several charms on this place. A Muggle who just came upon it would see and experience little more than a ruined castle, one that is deemed unsafe. If that didn't fool them, they would feel a need to leave the area, remember a meeting or another important function. A variation of such a charm was used on you."
"Me?" she looked down at herself.
"Yes. It is known as a Contatis charm. It is designed to be a warning, nothing more. But it was also not designed to be used on people. In you, the charm produced pain whenever you came near something magical. When you were brought here, we removed the charm."
Marian thought back. Usually she had a few twinges at least once a day, nothing serious. But since waking up in her apartment, she hadn't felt anything. Not a single twinge. "You mean I'm cured?"
"Yes," Dumbledore smiled. "I believe you have already started figuring out some other things for yourself."
For a long time Marian couldn't speak. She was cured. No more having to drug herself up just to get some sleep. Then she thought of something else. She remembered the ghost woman, the pictures moving. She wasn't crazy. There was nothing wrong with her at all. This was real, she wasn't hallucinating. At that moment she'd never felt happier. She barely restrained herself from kissing Dumbledore.
"Which brings us to yet another issue, Marian. When you were given the quill, you were asked to only use it if you were willing to commit yourself to our world. Are you?"
Marian nodded. "Even if I wasn't, I don't have anything else to go back to. I quit my job, everything I own is in my room."
"My next question is what you plan on doing. You were born in America, or at least that's where you spent the majority of your life. You have the choice of returning to the States for your training, or you can choose to remain here. I understand that you were in the middle of changing your citizenship in the muggle world."
"Yeah, I lived and worked in London, and there was nothing for me in the US," she reached up and began playing with her pendant through her sweater. "I guess that means you're stuck with me."
"Excellent!" Dumbledore rose. "Then welcome to Hogwarts, Marian Elvbow."
Marian smiled. "It's good to be here," then she frowned. "Everyone I've seen here is about fifteen. Will I be taking classes with kids?"
"I don't think so, unless you would like to. There are some classes that can be given to adults, but those are painfully limited. If you like, you can read through the material and receive help where you need it."
She grinned. "No wizard night school?"
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for reading this!!!! Special candy coated thanks goes out to Nataly Ravenlock, Fate's Child and readerw for the great reviews!!!!
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