Wanda Garyson loved muggle shops. It was fun to quietly browse around, watching the muggles and their children. It was pretty amazing to see how well they got along without magic. All the electronics they had were so puzzling, but absolutely fascinating. Wanda found it a little disappointing that all the gadgets went haywire around magic, because she would have dearly loved to try a cellphone, which seemed so much more efficient, if less personal, than Owl Post.

Wanda continued browsing a rack of knit sweaters, gasping with delight when she found what she was looking for: a dark red sweater with the silhouette of a dog on the chest. The little dog looked just like her patronus! AND IT WAS IN HER SIZE! She draped the sweater over her arm and was about to check that she had the right muggle money counted out, when the bell over the store door jingled. She turned a little, her curious nature driving her to look at the door.

Two men walked in. One of them, the shorter, light haired one, was holding a tiny dark haired boy. The other man, tall, with a distinctive hooked nose and long black hair, caught her attention.

I know him...why?

She studied him out of the corner of her eye, and all of a sudden, it hit her. The Potion Journals!

Snape looked at the signs hanging from the ceiling, trying to find the children's section. He started when someone called his name, and quickly turned, shoving Lupin and Harry towards the Children's Clothing and surreptitiously checking for his wand.

A woman stood a few feet away from him. She had short dark brown hair that was spiked. She wore a simple dark blue shirt, and had a long white skirt with a navy hem. A red sweater was draped over her arm, and she was smiling at him brightly. When she spoke again, Snape was surprised by her American accent.

"Mr. Snape, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Wanda Garyson, and I find your Potions research fascinating. I was never very good at potions myself, but I love reading about the developments made by people such as yourself."

Snape smiled, trying to hide his nerves.

"Well, thank you. It's nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Garyson. Where about in America are you from?"

"Is it that easy to tell? I'm most recently out of New Jersey, moved here after I decided to quit my job at Ilvermorny. I needed a change of scenery after my husband died."

Snape tried to relax, keeping his posture and tone open and polite.

"I'm sorry to hear about your husband. I hope Britain has been the change of scene you wanted?"

The woman smiled warmly.

"Yes, it has, thank you. Although I do miss teaching. I was the No-Maj studies teacher, and I was also the Instrumental Magic and Spell Songs instructor. Ilvermorny tries to offer a range of electives that other magic schools don't. We find it helps the students be less stressed during LAMP test times."

Snape blinked in surprise.

"I'm sorry, LAMP tests? We have OWLs and NEWTs tests here."

"Ah yes, I'd forgotten. Rather than the Ordinary Wizarding Levels or the slightly horrible sounding Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, at Ilvermorny, we have the Levels of Aptitude in Magical Performance, or LAMP tests. Based on those scores in the 5th year, students are placed in field specific classes for the remainder of their time at school, and are ready to enter the workforce when they graduate."

Snape quietly approved of this approach to schooling, it sounded less focused on testing, which was something that irked him about teaching at Hogwarts. And Dumbledore had been the driving force behind removing most of the electives that had been offered at Hogwarts, the few that were left were meant to continue the house rivalries, like Quidditch.

"I was actually hoping to start a small study group for younger children, to prepare them to start at Hogwarts or whatever wizarding school they attend. Unfortunately, a certain Albus Dumbledore caught wind of my intentions, and immediately made it clear to any potential families that signing up with an American witch would damage their children's chances at Hogwarts, since Ilvermorny is an inferior school, having been partially founded by a No-Maj. What that has to do with anything, I'll never know…"

Snape smirked, an idea whirring in his head.

"Miss Garyson…"

"Wanda, please."

"Wanda, I wonder if you would be interested in forming a study group with myself and a friend of mine. We have a young boy who would greatly benefit from a magical teacher. I may also be able to find a few other children who would participate as well."

Wanda smiled widely, her eyes glowing.

"I would be delighted, of course!"

She pulled a scrap of paper from her pocket.

"Here is my contact information. You can call me by floo or owl me anytime, and we can set up an evaluation time and go over what you want taught."

Remus and Harry appeared just then, Lupin carrying several shopping bags, and Harry holding a large stuffed Snowy Owl. Snape gestured them over.

"Remus, this is Mrs. Wanda Garyson, of America. She's a certified teacher for young witches and wizards. She's been hoping to sign up a few students, and wants to help teach Evan. Wanda, this is my friend Remus Lupin and our ward, Evan."

Remus blinked at the name switch Snape had pulled, but Harry took it in stride, waving at the new witch from behind Lupin's legs. She waved back, and got down on his level.

"Hello, sweetheart. I love your owl. What's its name?"

Harry hugged the owl tightly, and answered very quietly.

"I think I'm going to call her Pretty Girl. She's smiling, so she looks pretty."

Wanda smiled gently.

"Indeed she does. It's very nice to meet you, Evan. I'm Wanda. Do you like animals?"

Harry nodded shyly.

"Well, if your ok with it, when I come to see you, I could bring my pet bird, Amos. Would you like that?"

Harry nodded eagerly.

"Good! I look forward to it!"

Standing, she turned back to Snape and Lupin.

"Let me know when you want to set up the first meeting. It's been a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Snape. Mr. Lupin, I hope to get to know you better sometime. I'll be seeing you, Evan!"

And with that, the American witch went to the counter, paid for her sweater, and left with a cheery wave and smile. Once she was out of sight, Snape turned to Harry.

"Did you like her?"

Harry looked at him happily.

"She's so nice! I can't wait to meet her bird!"

Both Remus and Severus were relieved that the little boy was starting to come out of his shell a bit. Leaving the shop, Snape encouraged Harry to choose somewhere to get lunch. After a little thought and a small walk, Harry chose Wimpy. The three of them had some delicious burgers and chips, and for dessert, they all split a Knickerbocker Glory, as none of them had tried one, although Harry said that his uncle and cousin both liked them very much.

After lunch, Snape found a secluded alley and they portkeyed back to Spinner's End.

Hello! I hope you all like the intro to Madame Wanda Garyson. She is a sort of tribute to my late Grandpa Gary, and his wife, Wanda. They owned a 20+ year old cockatiel named Amos, and we took care of him during the last year and a half of his long life, after they both passed. Both deaths were a little unexpected, so I coped by creating this character.