Thames rushed upstairs to grab her black-and-white tartan cloak. It looked a bit like a raincoat, if she were to be honest.
She threw it over her Muggle clothes. Then she grabbed her satchel, always filled with her "outdoor essentials": a book, a leather pouch which always contained her money and a scarf just in case. She gripped onto Severus's arm, excited, for side-along Apparition. Severus didn't even need to spin, which was normally required for wizards and witches.
And there they were, at the gates of the Hogsmeade village. "I will pick you up in The Three Broomsticks at ten," said Severus, and he headed towards the greater gates of Hogwarts.
I'm going there next year, Thames thought enthusiastically to herself. Which house would she be sorted into? She hoped it wouldn't be Gryffindor. They were far too noisy and reckless, in her opinion.
But now probably wasn't time to worry about that. She still had a whole year, after all. She raced along the crowded streets and round a corner. After she turned there was barely a person there, however. She walked along and turned again at a nook. There stood a shabby cottage that almost blended in with others, except it had smoke coming from its chimney. "Hog's Head" was stamped across the wall.
"Aberforth?" Thames asked as she creaked open the door. An old man behind the counter looked up and glared. "Why are you here, girl?" "Severus has gone to meet Albus," Thames said. There was a moment of hesitation inside her head; Aberforth didn't really appreciate his brother because of an incident that happened in their youth, but Thames didn't get the chance to ask further.
Just like Thames guessed, Aberforth huffed in disagreement. "Well, girl, what do you want?" "Ariana's portrait. I've got something to discuss with Peeves." Aberforth eyed her. Then he headed through a door to walk on a set of steep, narrow staircase. Thames skipped to follow. "Do your own business," said Aberforth upon entering the room, pouring himself a cup of tea and sinking into the dusty armchair.
Thames smiled as she approached the portrait of Ariana Dumbledore. She was a beautiful girl, to be honest. Thames wondered where she was now as neither Dumbledore brothers talk about her often, nor had Thames ever seen her anywhere. The portrait swung forward and a little tunnel behind came into view. "Thanks, Ariana," Thames whispered as she crawled into the tunnel.
The tunnel was pretty dark. Perhaps she should take a torch next time. Thames felt that she nearly stepped onto something, something furry. "What is it?" she mumbled to herself, and crouched down. If only I could perform some charm, Thames thought as she touched the unknown creature. Annoyed with herself, she muttered "Lumos" with sarcasm and irony in her voice. To her surprise, her fingertip lit up. "Whoa-- okay… that's weird." Because as far as she'd known, normal wizards and witches don't do that with their fingertips.
But she couldn't be distracted. She looked down and saw a baby Niffler. She dropped her jaw and wondered how she could have nearly squashed such a cute little creature with her boot. "Oh, here, here," she said, her other palm reaching out to the Niffler. "Gosh. Let's stay in there. It's warmer than here outside." The Niffler was dripping wet and shivering as thames gently put it inside her pocket. She stared at her finger. "...Nox?" the beam slowly dimmed on her finger. Thames shrugged and continued her way.
When she came out, she was in the Room of Requirements. The end of the tunnel was always in the Room of Requirements.Thames slowly pushed the heavy door open, looking out for any passerby. She remembered the shivering fur ball in her pocket, so she closed the door, waited for it to vanish, and walked back and forth in front of it three times, focusing on needing a place to make the Niffler better.
When she pushed the door again, she saw a fireplace and a cabinet filled with towels. The room had become rather small, which wasn't a bad thing as the room could become warmer than if it was bigger.
Thames set the petite Niffler onto one of the fluffy towels and moved it to near the fire. The Niffler made a squeaking sound and Thames stared at it fondly.
"Do you think Severus will let me keep you? As a pet?" she wondered to the Niffler, now rolling around to dry itself. It stared at her, then leapt to grab something.
"Stop it!" Thames giggled as she pulled the Niffler off her shoes' metallic buckles.
She absent-mindedly stroked the drying Niffler as she continued to wonder what happened to Ariana Dumbledore. She had known Aberforth Dumbledore rather by accident, when she was eavesdropping on a gang of teenagers planning on egging houses, and, unfortunately, was found out. Her tiny figure wove in and out of cottages while the teenagers shot stunnig spells and her, several missing her by an ear and most hitting random surrondings of her.
Then a tall teen 'got tired of this bullshit' (as he said) and Apparated in front of Thames. (He obviously didn't have a license, and left an eyebrow behind, but he didn't care that much.)
"Expelliarmus!" he screamed, and the spell hit her fair and square. But there was nothing to disarm Thames of, really. She staggered back a bit, and dashed to the nearest door she saw.
Long story short, Aberforth scared the teenagers away. No one would like to talk about how he did that. And that, was how Thames met Aberforth.
Thames turned her attention back to the Niffler. He looked definitely better than in that dark muddy tunnel. "Alright, so let's go, shall we?" Thames said cheerfully, picking up the Niffler.
She had come inside to roam in Hogwarts for a while, after all. The Niffler was just a surprise she found. It is her goal to explore every corner of Hogwarts.