Chapter 2: Arrival

Two weeks later, just one week before the start of term at Hogwarts, Ellexia was startled out of bed by a large tawny owl pecking at her bedroom window. She stumbled sleepily to the window squinting at the bright, early morning light. She pushed open the heavy window and let the owl into her room. Still not fully awake, she ignored the owl that was staring at her from the window sill waiting to get the package released from its leg. She walked back across the room and plopped back onto the bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She finally looked back over at the owl, which was still watching her patiently. Then realizing what the owl had brought her, Ellexia jumped off the bed and quickly ran over to the owl and freed it of the large envelope it was attached to. While telling it to wait there a minute, she ran out to the kitchen and retrieved the bird a piece of bread and a dish of water, to thank it for its troubles. Ellexia then quickly ripped open the envelope and dumped the contents out onto the bed. Lying there on the bed was a passport; Ellexia had never been out of the States before and didn't have one, a plane ticket to London, and a letter from the headmistress. She opened the letter and read:

Dear Miss Baine,

I hope you are fine traveling by muggle airplane; it was the most logical choice with you being underage and so far away. I will have Professor Snape meet you at the airport, he should be easy to pick out of the crowd; he highly dislikes muggle places and will look very angry and out of place. I am warning you now that he can come off quite harsh, but deep down he is caring and good hearted, so please don't take his mean nature to heart. He is like that to everyone. Be sure to know which classes you would like to take this term before arriving in London, Professor Snape will need to know. I hope all goes well. Take care.

Professor Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Ellexia sat there staring at the letter. She hadn't even noticed that the owl had left. "Well I had better start packing," Ellexia said to herself. "One more week and I will be out of this shit hole. No more Eagleseye, no more uncaring parents, just a fresh slate, and I'm ready. Nothing can be worse than what I have been through." Ellexia exhaled a large breath of relief and sliding the envelopes contents aside lied back on her bed and daydreamed about what here new future would be like.

The next week crept slowly by, she was so excited to be going far away from everything she associated with pain and hatred. She did manage to get her mother to get enough time off work that day in order to take her to the airport. It was a very quiet forty five minute drive, neither of her parents knew how to talk to her anymore and Ellexia could almost care less by now. But seeing as she was leaving the country for so long she figured her mother would try to muster up something to say to her only child. It wasn't until they had arrived in the drop off lane that the silence had been broken. Ellexia's mom turned to her and with watery eyes, almost in a whisper, said "I am so sorry, Elle. I love you." Ellexia reached across the center of the car and hugged her mother with an, "I love you too Mom." Then before either of them could break into tears Ellexia exited the car, and then grabbed her one piece of luggage, said one last "goodbye," then closed the door on her life as she knew it, and walked into the airport.

After the long flight, Ellexia felt relieved to finally be back onto the ground. It really wasn't the flying that bothered her; it was more of the whole being in a confined space, with no escape, crowded with people. She did manage to figure out what classes she wanted to take and thought a lot about what Hogwarts would be like, and whether or not she would make any friends there. Once the plane had landed and came to a stop, Ellexia stomach started feeling strange, her hands started shaking and her breathing had quickened. She hated when this happened because more often than not these feelings would lead to an anxiety attack. She stayed in her seat, slowly taking deep calming breaths, hoping the anxiety would pass. After most of the passengers had emptied the plane Ellexia got up and exited the plane, knowing she had to leave sooner or later and figured waiting any longer would just be more torture on her already shattered nerves.

Ellexia calmed slightly stepping into the very large airport, thankful for the openness and less crowded space. She looked up at the sign signaling toward the baggage claim and turned in its direction. About twenty feet in front of her, standing next to large column, as far away as possible from the crowd of passengers searching for their luggage, stood a tall dark haired man. His hair was somewhat long and a little greasy. He wore a long black cloak and had a look of total disgust, glaring at anybody that gave him more than a very quick glance.

This has to be him, thought Ellexia to herself. He's kind of sexy in a dark, mysterious, and slightly scary kind of way. She had a thing for older men and long dark hair too. She liked the slight Goth look to him. She quickly shook these thoughts out of her head and warily walked toward the man, hoping he would talk first. Even though her anxiety had started to pass, some was still lingering. Between that and the flight, her face had become flushed and her body was slightly shaky after fighting off the anxiousness.

Now only a few feet away from the man, he had noticed her walking toward him and looked in her direction. She felt a cold chill snake up her spine as his cold black eyes met hers. Stopping in front of him she still didn't say a word, after what seemed like an hour he spoke with a cold drawling tone, "Miss Baine, I presume?"

"Uh-huh," Ellexia nervously replied, still staring at the blackness in his eyes.

"A more acceptable response to that question would be, 'Yes, Professor,' didn't they teach you how to properly address your superiors at your previous school, Miss Baine?"

Ellexia cleared her throat slightly with the prospects of having to say more than one word in answering his question, "Probably," Ellexia muttered. "I never really talked to the teachers there." Snape glared, waiting for a proper end to her reply. "Uhhhh... Professor?" Ellexia trailed, hoping she had salvaged the situation.

Snape released his glare ready to escape the swarms of muggles in the airport. "Lets go." Snape spat.

"Um... I just need to get my bag." Ellexia blurted, ran to the baggage claim, and tried to retrieve her suitcase as fast as possible.

Before she even fully reached him he uttered, "Follow me, and stay close." Then turned on his heel and glided quickly toward the exit. Ellexia followed at a slight jog to keep up.

Once outside Snape took a sharp turn and followed the edge of the building. They walked away from the airport and didn't slow or stop until they reached a place away from passerby. Snape stepped into a small space between two buildings and finally stopped. Turning to face Ellexia he asked. "I assume you haven't learned to apparate?" Then he waited for Ellexia to shake her head. "Have you ever side along apparated before?"

"No," Ellexia quickly replied. Then after seeing a glare start to erupt from her professor's eyes, she hastily added, "Professor."

Holding out his left arm, he instructed Ellexia, "Grab my arm and hold on tight, I will take care of the rest." Mere seconds after she grabbed a hold of Professor Snape's arm, she felt an alarming sensation throughout her body, one as if being pulled through a tiny hole, by a string tied through her belly button. Even with how uncomfortable this feeling felt, she still managed to think about how muscular his arms felt as she held on for life. All of a sudden she hit the ground with her feet, the shock of it pulling her to the ground, painfully bending Snape down toward her by the arm she was grasping so tightly.

"You may release me now Miss Baine," Snape spat agitatedly.

Ellexia quickly let go of his arm and laid her head back onto the cool, hard brick ground. She could hardly breathe, and her head was spinning. The apparition had taken the last of her strength that she had been using to hold back the anxiety. She started hyperventilating and tears began to flood from her eyes as she was losing control of herself.

"What are you on about, Miss Baine?" Snape said, in a cold tone, but also with slight concern in his eyes.

Ellexia wasn't able to think; she just laid there with her hands over her face, and tried unsuccessfully to control her breathing. Professor Snape reached his long thin fingers into a pocket on the inside of his cloak. When he drew them out they held a small glass bottle. Snape bent down over her and with one hand removed hers from her tear stained face. He then put his hand under her head and gently raised it off the ground. While uncapping the small bottle with his thumb, he instructed her with a soft calming tone, "Drink this, it is a calming drought, Professor McGonagall had foreseen that you might need some and instructed me to keep a bottle on hand." Ellexia opened her mouth slightly, and allowed him to empty the contents of the bottle into her mouth. Shortly after swallowing the potion her breathing had slowed and a warm sense of calm overtook her body. With his hand still supporting her head, Snape helped her sit up. Still crouching in front of her and looking into her beautiful bright green eyes, which was even more noticeable with the redness invading the whites of her eyes, he uncharacteristically asked, "Are you feeling better, Dear?" in a somewhat worried tone. He had never seen such a horrible panic attack before, and actually felt a little sorry for the poor girl.

AN: Please review, I'm planning on keeping this story going and would like to hear your opinions. Do you like where this is going? Am I moving things along too slowly? Please let me know what you think. All opinions welcome.

Thanx for reading! Phoenix Bride : )

Chapter 2 revised… on to three….