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Big Big World

Chapter 7 Okay, could somebody tell me what's going on?

Sunlight was pouring through the windows, but this didn't seem to be a problem for Allison. She had woken up already.

She was looking around her. She was sure that THIS was not Hermione's home. THIS was not London either. No way. More importantly, what was this place?! There was no use for her sitting in the bed, trying to find out merely by thinking. She got out of the bed, and bent down to put on her shoes, so she didn't realize Madam Pomfrey coming in..

"Miss Lowe, you are awake." Poppy said, walking towards her. Allison looked up automatically, and colour drained from her face when she saw Poppy. She almost slipped off the edge of the bed.

Poppy was a bit shocked to see her reaction. She was sure she didn't scare her, but Allison's face had become so pale when she saw her. "Are you alright, Miss Lowe? Is there something wrong?" Poppy approached her carefully, and put one hand on her shoulder as an attempt at calming her down.

"Are you... but this can't be possible... I must be dreaming..." Allison was totally confused. This couldn't be real.

"What do you mean? Calm down, and ask your questions one by one." Poppy chuckled a bit. The young woman's reaction was obviously not one of fear, but of amazement. 'Alice in Wonderland' was what came into her mind to describe Allison's amazement.

"Are you Madam Pomfrey? Is this Hogwarts?" Allison held her breath.

Poppy was a bit surprised that she knew about her, but she was more surprised to learn that she knew about Hogwarts. "Yes. I am Poppy Pomfrey, and this is Hogwarts."

Allison was obviously relieved to hear the answer. She thought she was going crazy again. "But I remembered that I was at Hermione's place..."

"Miss Lowe, you are at Hogwarts because Hermione took you here." In came Dumbledore, followed by Snape and Minerva.

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Snape tried hard to suppress a smile --- the way she looked at Dumbledore. She behaved like a child who saw characters from fairy tales come alive. He was sure that Minerva had smiled.

"Are... you Professor Dumbledore?" Oh God! Dumbledore! The one on Bianca's photos! She had finally met him. She knew him through what Blanche had told her. She could swear to God it was the first time she respected someone without having actually met the person before.

"Yes, Allison. I think you have seen me in your sister's photos before?" Dumbledore replied, chuckling a bit at her response. She looked elegant and experienced, and her reaction stood in sharp contrast to this dignified exterior.

"Yes, but why am I here?" She looked at Dumbledore and Poppy for answer. "Could somebody tell me what's going on? I remembered that I was at Hermione's place, and then woke up here."

Dumbledore gestured for her to stand up first, then turned to Poppy, "Is she well enough to leave?"

Poppy nodded. "Yes, but I would like her to come back later today to have a check-up again."

"May I suggest, then, that we continue in my office?"

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She was really precautious. This was what Snape had concluded. She was interested in everything she encountered on their way to Dumbledore's office, but she was not at all surprised. It seemed more likely that she was observing the environment not for fun, but for safety. This was the reaction of someone who didn't like sudden changes. It was also a sign of her sensibility. Snape was glad to see this kind of caution in her. She was going to need it a lot in order to survive the following months.

On the other hand, Minerva had liked her from the first time she saw her. She couldn't explain why, but there was this attitude in her that attracted people. She was like light. It was a strange metaphor, but it was true. She attracted people, but whether by the feeling of like or dislike was another matter.

When they had finally settled in Dumbledore's office, the Headmaster introduced Snape and Minerva to Allison. "This is Professor Minerva McGonagall, deputy headmistress of Hogwarts. She is Transfiguration Professor and Head of Gryffindor." She nodded at Minerva, and got a smile in reply. "This is Professor Severus Snape, Potion master and Head of Slytherin."

Severus Snape?! Head of Slytherin?! The only thing that was still in her mind was shock. Hermione had told her before that she had a professor named Snape... She looked back at Dumbledore in shock. "He... Hermione... professor... witch..." She was so shocked that she couldn't form any full sentence.

Snape was quite troubled by the way she expressed her feelings, but was clear enough to understand what she was trying to ask. "Miss Lowe, I am Miss Granger's professor. Miss Granger is a witch, and she is in Gryffindor." Snape smirked, "Please close your mouth. I don't want to see any saliva of yours dripping onto the floor."

Allison closed her mouth immediately, and shot Snape a glare. If a glare could kill, this was the one. "Well, it's not my fault. After listening to all those stories about you, you can't expect anyone to have a 'standard' reaction." Allison turned her head, refusing to waste even one more second on this man she had heard about so many times and so many years from Hermione.

Dumbledore started by taking out the wooden box from the drawer of his desk. "I believe that it is easier to start from here. Allison, Hermione told me that you can read from this book?" Colour started to drain from her face again, but she nodded. "This tome is a magical artifact." Dumbledore opened the box and took out the book.

He touched the cover briefly and put it back into the box. Then he handed it back to Allison. "This tome is made by magic, and that's the reason why your friend could only prove its age but nothing more. This book is really precious to the wizarding world, and I am glad that your friend knows you well enough to threaten you not to hand it over to the British Museum." Dumbledore lightened up the atmosphere a bit by referring to the note Stephanie had sent her. Allison could only blush in reply. "But unfortunately, it seems that you are the only one we know who can read this book. This gets you into a really dangerous situation."

Oh, no. She didn't like the sound of it. "What kind of dangerous situation?"

"We are in the middle of a war, Allison. The information in this book could possibly decide its result. The other side is desperate to get this information, and they would stop at nothing." Dumbledore hated to break the bad news to her like this. "Whether you are willing to help us is another thing. You ought to be under our protection until..."

"... the end." Allison said, "So I have to stay here until the end?" It was answered by a nod from Dumbledore.

Allison couldn't help but press her fingers against her temples. What kind of trouble had Stephanie got her into this time? "Okay, so what about my shop? I can't just leave it like that."

"Erm... we will get someone to stand in for you." Dumbledore replied.

She hated to act so paranoid and restless to the kind headmaster, but it was not as easy as he said. "It's not that easy. You don't know how much work has to be done to run the shop. You can't just ask somebody to stand in for me. All my contacts, and old customers..."

"Or are you too afraid to take up the task?"

Allison had totally forgotten that there were two other people in the same room with her. She turned her head and saw that it was Snape who had spoken. She didn't know what to make of him. The only thing she could say was dark. Dark was his nature. She also noticed one thing --- he was not someone she should have any involvement with. He was too dark, and his darkness meant danger. She was not going to make the same mistake again. She would get away from him as far as she could.

"Severus," came Dumbledore's voice in disagreement. "This is her choice."

"I just don't understand why she would want to risk her life on this." Snape kept a straight face, although it was rather weird of him to have said that, but he was afraid she didn't see the whole situation clearly.

Allison had enough of it. "Sir, although I don't 'really' know you, you are way too superficial in judging this matter . I have spent ten years running this bookstore, and I know extremely well how much work is needed to keep it running. You can't just ask me to dump it to someone I don't know and hide somewhere?!"

Snape arched his eyebrow. "From my knowledge of muggle business, there are cases where the owner of a shop would just keep contact with his staff, running it from distance. If you claim that this business of yours is so 'important' to you, you can do the same."

"But... " She would like it to be that easy too, but she ran the shop all on her own! Who was she going to ask to replace her? Archer? Well, she would be lucky if the shop still existed after a week. Stephanie? Fayanna would do, but she wouldn't be back from Australia until December. Selena? She was good at management, but Allison doubted whether she had enough patience to deal with the customers too. She doubted she could do better than Archer. Eammon? He would be the best candidate, but she didn't want to create any more wrong expectations.

"Or are you scared?"

Allison had never been criticized like that. Although her reason told her not to let herself be provoked , her emotions took control. "Headmaster, I'll stay here until the end of 'it' and I will also give you whatever information I can about the book, but I want to be in permanent contact with the outside world, so I may continue running my business." She knew she was going to regret her decision all the same, but there was no way back.

"Splendid. I'll acquire a... what's that called... mobile phone for you as soon as possible. Any other things you might need?" Dumbledore replied.

"My laptop. I have all my accounts stored in it. I'll need it to keep track of my business. And my contact book."

"I think Miss Granger had already packed that for you." Dumbledore nodded. "So the next item on my list would be to arrange a guide and accommodation for you."

TBC

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