A/N: Ah, so things are heating up now. Now that everyone's at the school, things are really going to get interesting.
Disclaimer: If I owned any of this, I would be rich. As it is, you don't want my student debt…trust me, Shakespeare is too dead to care.
Yay reviews! Oh, how I love my precious reviewers!
Lady Morrison: Glad I managed the unexpected. But remember: Puck is female in my fic. This is an important fact to keep in mind. Hope you enjoy the rest!
Crossbow: Thanks for the correction. I've yet to find a reliable beta reader, so mistakes are probably going to be made. Please point them out to me so that I can fix them. Other than that, I hope you like what you see.
anotherblastedromantic: I cannot tell you how much your reviews mean to me. Thank you so much for the reviews that have jump-started this story. I can't say whether or not Robin will hook up with anyone, though I can say most likely not. Think about it: she's hundreds of years old, how attracted is she really gonna be to a thirteen year-old? However, I can say that the friendship between Robin and the trio will be rather heartwarming. And, yes, Draco had better watch his back—Robin is certainly intrigued with the idea of tormenting the nasty boy. And he's not the only one who'd better watch out…
And with that, enjoy the show. And remember: save a muse, send a review!
Chapter 3: Arrival and a Feast
As the train neared Hogwarts, a light drizzle began to fall. By the time the Hogwarts Express rolled to a stop, it had become a full-fledged storm. The children exited the train as quickly as possible, the first-years following Hagrid to the boats and the older children filing away into carriages that whisked them off in the direction of the great castle that housed Hogwarts.
Robin stared out the rain-streaked window of the carriage, gazing up at the castle illuminated on the hillside. The old-fashioned setting warmed her heart—it had been far too long since she'd gazed upon a building of the ancients. As the carriages pulled up to the steps of the castle, the quartet exited quickly, following the crowd into the great hall. Everyone filed into their respective houses with excited chatter, and Robin kept close to Harry and the others as they slid into the benches that lined the Gryffindor table.
A hush fell over the gathered students as the giant doors to the hall swung open and Professor McGonagall led the first-year students to the front of the hall. The nervous new students cluttered together as the woman took her post beside the Sorting Hat and began reading out the names. Robin found herself glad that Oberon had found a way to get her in the right house without her having to be under that ridiculous hat. The disguised sprite listened to the Hat's song and rhymes with mirth, but was grateful that she'd avoided its snare—there was no telling what it might have been capable of seeing. Soon the new students were sorted into their respected houses, and Headmaster Dumbledore stood to welcome everyone back to Hogwarts.
Robin paid only idle attention to the great wizard's speech; she'd never been one for ceremony. But she did notice that as Dumbledore concluded his speech and gave the order for the feast to begin, food seemed to magically appear on the table. The sprite smiled in spite of herself—she saw through the magic of her cousins, the house elves. Robin quickly made a mental note to visit the kitchens at some point to pop in on the hobs. Perhaps they had seen or heard something that would give her master some clue as to where to look for Illyria.
At some point amid the chatter of the feast, Ron looked over at Harry and Robin sitting across from him and noticed something odd about the new girl's plate. "Oy, Robin," he called. She looked at him expectantly. "Why aren't you eating any meat?"
"Oh," Robin said. She glanced at her plate, then back at Ron. "I'm a vegetarian."
The red-headed boy nodded with only a slight look of confusion, and turned his attention back to his own plate. But his comment had caught Hermione's attention, and she to took notice of the new girl's choice of food. "But you're only eating vegetables. I understand being a vegetarian, but what could you possibly have against potatoes?"
This time Robin was caught off-guard. Unintentionally she had filled her plate with leafy green foods, not taking any interest in the meats or starches that lined the table. After a quick glance to the mortals' plates, she gathered that this was unusual behavior for a mortal child in these times. "Yes, well…" the sprite's quick mind stumbled for an answer, before she remembered something she'd noticed the last time she was in the mortal realm. "This is really all I'm used to. My mother isn't very big on carbs and the like." With a big smile Robin stuffed a big forkful of spinach leaves into her mouth.
The trio wore similar strange looks on their faces at the new girl's behavior; but then, nothing about her had seemed quite normal so far. With a shrug, the conversation moved on to other things, with much of it being filled with the sharing of information about the school with Robin. At some point however, the boys got off talking about Quidditch scores and games from over the summer, so the sprite allowed her attention to wander. The group of teachers on the platform caught her eye, and she studied them carefully, trying to discern if any of them would create a problem, or perhaps even be in league with the evil faerie herself.
Robin pondered over the teachers carefully. 'The half-giant Hagrid…hmm…no, he shouldn't present a problem,' she mused. The man was friendly to animals, which earned him favor in the fey's mind, and beside, Harry had greeted him warmly when they had first arrived. From there, Robin's gaze traveled slowly down the line, dismissing the adult wizards as potential threats until one in particular caught her attention. She poked Harry in the side to catch his attention.
"Who's that teacher there?" she asked, pointing to the stern-looking man in question. "The one with the dark hair that looks so…serious." Harry turned in his seat and followed her gaze to where Severus Snape sat in his chair, looking as though he'd eaten nothing but lemons all summer. With a sigh of disgust, Harry turned back around.
"Snape," he answered, his tone bordering between loathing and something else, some darker emotion that Robin couldn't put her finger on. At the sound of the teacher's name, Ron and Hermione also fell silent and glanced in the teacher's direction.
"He's the Potions teacher," Harry went on to explain. "But he hates everyone who's not in Slytherin."
"And he hates Harry in particular," Ron added helpfully. Robin looked at him, curious.
"He hates everyone," Hermione said, lowering her voice and leaning over, closer to Robin. "Snape is the head of Slytherin house. That's why he favors them so much."
"And why he treats everyone else so badly," Harry finished. He took a gulp from his goblet before turning and giving Robin a serious look. "Best to just stay out of his way," he cautioned.
Robin nodded in understanding, and the trio seemed to dismiss the subject. But the sprite glanced back up at the greasy-looking teacher once more, an inkling of a smile in her eyes. Oh, she could have fun with this one…
Most of the other teachers Robin dismissed with little more than a thought. Minerva McGonagall was a wise one; she'd have to watch her tricks around the mortal shapeshifter. As for Albus Dumbledore…the sprite let her gaze rest on the Headmaster for a long moment. Dumbledore was the reason that Oberon wouldn't step foot on the school's campus. It wasn't that the old wizard posed an actual threat to the Fairy King, but simply that a wizard that great would certainly be able to detect the presence of a fey as powerful as Oberon. Her lord had even warned Robin to shy away from the Headmaster whenever she could, for fear that he would see through her guise. Though the more she studied the wizard, the more she was certain that he would not object to the aid of the fey in the matter of protecting his students.
Suddenly, Robin found her eyes locked with that of the elderly wizard. With a nervous smile, she looked away quickly, appearing embarrassed at being caught staring, despite the Headmaster's kind grin. Oh yes, she would have to be wary of him.
A/N: Okay, sorry if it's a bit short. But now that everyone's where they need to be, the real fun can begin!
Preview of Chapter 4: Potions mischief abounds…
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