The picture and the painting
After sending a letter ahead to Hogwarts, Arundel took the night bus from Borgin and Burkes to Hogsmeade. She arrived in the early hours of the morning and unwilling to walk the distance between the bus stop and the Hogshead tavern she flew and levitated her trunk in front of her. Ever grateful that she had learned unassisted flight, despite how cold it was, she alighted on the doorstep knowing that as soon as she knocked she would be waking up the proprietor and upsetting him no end. She reached up for the knocker but the door swung in as if somebody had been waiting for her. The Barman peered out from the depths of the pub, his striking blue eyes shone from a mass of wiry grey hair and beard. He puffed out his cheeks and bristled in his beard, then opened the door wider. "Albus said you might decide to stay here."
"Hello Alberforth."
"You came on the night bus?"
Arundel nodded and moved past the tall old man into a very dirty little bar. The sawdust crinkled under her feet as she dragged her trunk behind her.
"You staying long?"
"Depends on Albus," Arundel told him.
"Always does."
Arundel nodded to a painting hanging behind the bar, "Nice goat."
The proprietor nodded agreement, "One of the finest." He motioned for her to follow him upstairs. "I would offer you a drink but it's very early in the morning and I've turned off the tap. There's firewhisky if you want, just help yourself and I'll settle up with you when you go." Aberforth sounded exhausted, as soon as Arundel was in her room he turned and went to bed.
The next hour was spent killing bedbugs. Arundel's magic was fine for large acts, but being wandless it was harder for her to conduct subtle small spells. She treated it as an exercise, but by the time she was satisfied that everything was dead, the sun had started to come up across the valley. She slept until lunchtime and then busied herself with shopping and exploring Hogsmeade. It had been a long time since she last came to this village, she didn't really like being so close to Hogwart; school hadn't been fun. She'd never liked how hard it was to remain unnoticed, Slughorn had wanted to collect her in his gifted club, the teachers were constantly going on at her about her talent, people had expectations and all she wanted was to be overlooked. Even before Hogwarts she'd been leading a double life, her father had taught her well in that respect, to always know what other people wanted, to always know their price, their shame, their loves. To be the silent partner.
At lunch, she ate in the Three Broomsticks and observed from a secluded bay window how the professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Snape all came in together. They moved to the bar to buy drinks. McGonagall had a butterbeer, she sipped it with the grace of the cat she could morph into, her hat was under one arm, and her hair was in a tight bun. Flitwick levitated himself high enough to be able to collect his pint, and Snape paid for them, evidently, the professors were hoping to stay for three rounds at least.
They came to a table close enough for her to hear what they were saying. Snape sat facing her and he saw her instantaneously. She smiled and waved, and went back to her newspaper, enjoying how uncomfortable he must have felt.
"The new cohort won't get top OWLS," Flitwick was insisting. "If we can't raise their progress we'll have nobody sitting the NEWT's."
"Don't have such low expectations," McGonagall told him. "We say this every year, and every year the students panic and they study and they do marginally better than we expected."
Snape slid his eyes across to the toilets and back. When Arundel failed to move and sat looking at him with a politely bemused smile he got up as if to leave.
"You alright Severus?" Flitwick asked.
"I must visit the toilet, not that you need to know the regularity of my bladder, Flitwick."
The little charms master sniggered and McGonagall took a sip of her butterbeer and studied him with amusement over the top of her glasses.
Snape lingered, "I don't see what you find so amusing. We all do it."
"I suppose it's just the idea of you doing it. Doing anything remotely human actually Severus," Flitwick turned red and hiccuped, he was drinking firewhisky and it had gone to his head. "All I can picture you doing is, well, working on 'Very Important' things."
"We all urinate." Snape sighed "Even those of us who spend our time on 'very important things.'"
Arundel got up and headed through the door to the toilets, quite fed up with listening to Severus' colleagues discussing his toilet habits. A moment later the door banged, Snape grabbed her arm and frogmarched her past the toilets and through a backdoor into the street. "Why are you here?" he demanded.
Arundel looked down at his hand and back up to him. He let her go and took a step away from her, searching up and down the street for observers. When he found none he shoved his hands in his pockets and asked her again, "Why are you here?" this time it sounded softer.
"You wanted to talk, Severus," it was too obvious a half-truth to escape him.
"No, don't use that spider's web with me Arun, I know you too well."
She bit her lip and tilted her head up to the week sky, "I'm hunting for artefacts. At Hogwarts."
For a moment she thought Severus would attack her, he recoiled and ran a hand down his face whilst studied her like she was a bomb, then he moved in so close they were practically nose to nose. "Are you mad?" he hissed.
"You of all people-"
"Stop talking," Snape commended. "Before you say something you will regret."
"We need to talk."
"And we will Arun," He took her hand, and the uncharacteristic show of affection rendered him mute for a moment. "Apparate to Spinner's End tonight and we'll talk properly."
"I can't I need to stick around to have a job interview."
"You're going for the Care of Magical Creatures Job?" Snape started to laugh. "You?"
Arun smiled at him, "I think it's time I had a career change, don't you?"
Snape turned to look back at the pub, "I need to go back."
She nodded, "There will be an opportunity for us to speak," she assured him. "I'm not going to suddenly disappear."
That night Albus called at the Hogshead, Aberforth grumbled as the tall old man came in through the door, "She's upstairs," he told the headmaster, and in doing so alerted Arundel to Albus' presence. The headmaster took the stairs without hesitation and knocked quietly. Arun called enter and he came in, stooping as he did and he studied the small room, then he looked at the pictures on the walls and asked them to leave their frames.
"So often," he said. "Do people forget that they listen."
"It's remarkable, isn't it," Arundel agreed. "Thank you for seeing me, Headmaster."
"I must say, I'm surprised you are here."
"How so? Times are hard. You refused to buy the sword and I can't afford to continue to operate in this climate, everybody is selling and nobody's buying. If you won't buy the sword, you can at least pay me to work for you."
That tickled Albus Dumbledore. "Well," he sighed. "What knowledge of magical creatures have you?"
"I have an extensive knowledge of them, as you well know."
"I know you have extensive knowledge of their worth, as a hunter would have. But we teach protection of the species, we teach respect for them and cohabitation."
"I have great respect for conservation, Albus, most hunters have." She knew it was a contradiction but she enjoyed saying it for the reaction.
Albus pouted, "it will be a temporary job, until the end of the year."
"That's fine with me."
Albus' eyes glittered a piercing blue, Arundel knew he couldn't read her but he could still make a good guess at what she was about. She was sure he had dropped this job into the conversation on purpose back at Burke's. Knowing his history with Grindelwald, Albus wasn't above playing little games to see how people would react.
"You have never taught before."
"Untrue, actually, I taught a group of Arabian Death Eaters how to wordlessly deflect disarming curses. I taught the same skill to the Arabian Ministry of Magic. It was quite funny to watch the battle that followed. They called it the battle of the silent night."
"Children should be easy compared to that achievement," Dumbledore congratulated her, or mocked her. She wasn't sure which."Hopefully, your ability to install order is as effective as your ability to create chaos. I'll have Professor McGonagall mentor you whilst you are with us."
Arundel swallowed annoyance, but she nodded agreement. It would be much harder to hunt for the grants artefacts with that old bat watching, "Does this mean you are going to give me the job?"
"It does miss Granville, don't squander it on petty opportunities to get rich, of which there will be many." Albus stood up, "I will expect you in the morning at seven thirty, Filch will meet you at the gate and show you around, you will have the day to yourself and work will commence on Wednesday." he tipped his hat and left.
The Scottish weather boasted a wind that made her hair a mess and a fine rain that managed to get in between all the layers of her clothes. She wished she had put her waterproof cloak on, but it was so early in the morning that she rolled out of bed and got to the castle as quickly as she could without much thought for good first impressions. The road up to the castle lead through the forbidden forest and numerous fields and she ended up apperating outside the gates rather than walk the whole way. It was impossible, of course, to apparate into the school grounds, and luckily Filch was waiting for her at the gates with a lantern.
"Miss Granville," he muttered. "I've been told to watch out for you." He gave her a look that suggested a double meaning.
"You look well," Arundel told him, but he was still as disgusting as he had been when she was a student here. Still the same lank hair, bulbous nose and puffy, yet hollow skin. Water hung off him in droplets, mixing with the grease from his hair.
"I must say I'm surprised they let you come back here, after all the trouble you caused us before."
"Dumbledore works in mysterious ways," Arundel agreed. "Still no revoke on Educational Decree number Twenty- Nine?"
"No, but I live in hope. I keep my manacles shiny Miss Granville. I do indeed. They lack respect these days, children. They wouldn't dare do half the things they do if they knew I'd be waiting to give em' a lashing."
Arundel thought the idea of a grown man lashing out at a child was a bit desperate. She pulled a face and laughed inwardly, but Filch thought she was agreeing with him.
"I can see you'll not take their nonsense, Professor."
The first time he'd used 'professor,' she noted, and so must be growing in his esteem.
"Tell me about your cat Filch, Mrs Norris."
"What's to tell, she's a good creature, loyal to the bone. I got her as a baby. Uncommonly fine cat…"
The bonding exercise with the unpleasant caretaker took her up to the doors of Hogwarts itself, by the time they entered the castle Arundel thought he would talk to her about anything. Filch was a gossip, and very happy to have somebody to talk to. She could see why people didn't like him, in everything he said and did a meanness ran through that made her feel incredibly uncomfortable.
"Do you want a map?" Filch asked her as they walked through the lower floor corridors. "It's easy to get lost and there are a number of places out of bounds at the moment."
"I'm sure I'll be ok, I'll need you to show me to my rooms though Filch."
"They're attached to your office." Filch made no move to show her, now he was back inside the castle he seemed itching to be elsewhere. "I read your mother's book," he told her.
Arundel winced, "Oh?"
"I think she's right. Bad blood will out you know."
"Oh." She hadn't expected that from a squib. "I'm sure she will keep writing, perhaps I can get you a signed copy. She may even like to interview you one day."
Filch's eyes widened in delight and he grew a few feet in his pride, "I'd like that, I really would." Filch's cat appeared around the corner, "I must go, professor, if you leave your trunk by the door the houseleves will take it to your room."
Filch practically skipped away and chuckling to herself Arundel levitated her trunk and set off up to the fourth floor to the care of magical creatures classroom, she knew that her office must be somewhere close.