Notes and Disclaimers: This story is about Eileen Pierce's summer between "Father Figure" and "Eternal Knight", she visits several of her friends and learns some interesting things about them in the meantime. Each chapter of this story will be about a different person she's staying with and the secrets they indulge. The characters starring in this short story are: Eileen (of course), Cheryl and Gregory Applegate, Artemis Prewett, Lucas, Page, and Roderick Beowulf, Fred and George Weasley, Remus Lupin, and Severus Snape. Special thanks to Starr and Otaku for helping me find my inner New Yawkah! XD Enjoy and make sure you read it, some of this might be referenced in the next story! ~_^
Chapter 4: Augury
The magical boat arrived in port a half-hour later, docking at a pier a few feet from the teachers entrance. As the passengers climbed out of the cabin onto the deck, a cool breeze met them that sent shivers through them, the weather surprisingly cool for this time of year. Awaiting the gangplank's descend to the dock, a cloaked man stood on the pier with a calm expression on his face as his hood fluttered around his head in the breeze.
"Welcome to Augury, travelers. If you'll follow me, the headmaster is waiting for you in his office." The man said, gesturing up the dock to the expansive school grounds.
Eileen stared in awe at the Victorian structure, tall turrets rising up from the intricately carved roofs, the mahogany and marble contrasts quite striking in the afternoon light. Rot iron fences wove around the parameter of the building giving it a more closed in feel than the wizarding school she was used to.
"Hogwarts is bigger." Cheryl hissed to Eileen as they walked down the wooden pier to shore, their escort glancing over his shoulder in acknowledgment of his hearing her comment. Cheryl coughed as she scratched her head and said loudly, "Wow, you guys sure did a great job fixing up the west wing! Looks better than before!"
The man merely grunted as Cheryl's father muttered to her not to mention the incident while they were there.
They walked up several flights of stairs before finally reaching the headmasters office at the top of the tallest tower. The man knocked and announced their arrival before leaving to attend to other duties, quickly descending the stairs while glancing over his shoulder with a disapproving stare.
The door creaked open and a tall man greeted them with a broad smile. He was not young but not terribly old either, or at least he had aged gracefully; his short-cropped curly red hair was flecked with gray and soft wrinkles accented his milky blue eyes.
"Ah, welcome! Right on time as always, Gregory. Come in, I just fixed a pot of tea." The headmaster said in a deep but gentle voice. He ushered his guests into the office and flicked his wand at a tray of drinks, bringing it over to his desk where he served the tea.
They sat in chairs around his desk and drank as the headmaster began to talk about the school with a great pride, going into detail about its founding and growth over the decades.
Eileen sipped slowly at her tea as she glanced up at the walls full of portraits like in Dumbledore's office. There weren't nearly as many, either meaning many of the teachers served very long terms as headmaster or the school wasn't as old as Hogwarts.
The faces on the walls stared down at her curiously, almost as if they were studying her; it made Eileen uncomfortable for some reason.
"...and so that brings it up to me as the current headmaster. Dear me, have I forgotten to introduce myself? My name is Professor Artemis Prewett, I've been headmaster of this school for the past 20 years." The headmaster said with a smile.
Eileen's attention immediately snapped back to the man talking at the mention of his name and she said, "Prewett? Are you of any relation to Molly Weasley?"
"Why yes, she's my niece. Do you know her?" the professor said in surprise.
Eileen glanced over at Cheryl who had let out a low groan before answering, "Yes, I'm good friends with her twins Fred and George. They never mentioned having a great uncle who lived in America."
"Ah, yes, well...we don't speak very often. There was a bit of a roe with the family and I'm afraid that's the reason I moved here. How are they?" He chuckled, looking slightly embarrassed as he scratched his head.
"They're getting along. I am curious to see the rest of the school, it's not often you get a chance to explore other wizarding schools." Eileen said coolly, trying to change the subject.
"Of course! Follow me, well start downstairs in the dining hall and work our way through." Professor Prewett said, leaping up from his perch on the edge of the desk and collecting all the drinks before magicking them away.
As they followed the seemingly absent-minded professor back down the staircase, Eileen whispered to Cheryl, "You never told me he was related to the Weasleys."
"I didn't know!" Cheryl hissed back, looking rather uneasy now knowing that she had escaped one school only to attend another with more Weasleys than she'd left behind.
"So that's why you don't like Fred and George?" Eileen cocked an eyebrow.
Cheryl pursed her lips before muttering, "Maybe."
Sighing, she turned her attention to the man rambling animatedly about the school and its activities.
"...and you'll find our school plays Quodpot, as opposed to the more internationally accepted game of Quidditch. They're similar games but Quodpot tends to be more violent, what with the exploding Quod and all..." the professor explained, "I was never much for the wizard sports, I wasn't on a team when I attended Hogwarts unlike most of my other relatives. Too busy studying for tests, I'm afraid!"
"Fred and George play Quidditch, they're quite good." Eileen noted.
"Are they? Well, that's good to hear! I think I'd like to see them play sometime if I weren't too busy with attending to the school's needs." He mused.
"I'll send you some pictures." Eileen offered with a smile.
"Would you? That's awfully kind of you, I think Id like that very much! Ah, there's our divination teacher Miss Dappling. Good afternoon, Lilith, how are you?" Professor Prewett called out to a black-haired witch strolling down the hallway toward them.
She began to wave when her gaze landed on Eileen, a look of shock crossing her face. Letting out a gasp, she uttered, "It's you!"
"Uh..." Cheryl frowned and glanced at Eileen who looked slightly surprised, "You know her?"
"Destroyer of man! Killer of beast! APOCOLYPSE!! DEMON CHILD!!" The witch wailed, making wild gestures with her hands as if trying to whisk her away with magic.
"Lilith, please! Calm yourself!!" Professor Prewett shouted over her screaming, going to her to ease the woman's sudden burst of insanity.
"Ugh, not again, she told me while I was in school here that I was going to 'aid the child of Satan in destroying the world'. Crazy old bat..." Cheryl scoffed before noticing that Eileen seemed to believe what the woman was saying.
In fact, Eileen stepped forward and said, "What are you talking about?"
"The prophecy, you will destroy us all!! The Prince of Darkness' child!" She screamed, pointing a crazed finger at her.
"Lilith, come now! What have I told you about drinking so early in the day. Away with you, back to your room!" Professor Prewett said sternly, guiding her toward the nearest set of stairs.
"You mustn't let her stay here, headmaster, she carries a curse with her that will kill anyone who gets close to her!" The witch exclaimed, whimpering as the headmaster patted her on the back.
"There there, Lilith, now go on up to your room and rest." Professor Prewett gave her a gentle push toward the stairs and waved her on up, waiting until she was out of sight to let out a frustrated sigh, "She's been going on for weeks about this demon child prophecy she claims to have seen. Honestly, I don't know why I don't fire her but the students seem to learn a lot from her classes."
"Perhaps we should leave, we've seen enough of the school for one day." Mr. Applegate suggested, glancing over at the girls with concern.
"Oh, don't like Lilith's behavior put you off. Come! You haven't seen the grounds yet! Our groundskeeper recently acquired a Pegasus foal that were planning on making a group project for the students in the coming years! Its quite adorable, doesn't take to me very much." The professor chuckled, leading his guests outside onto the vast grounds of the school. The entire property was on an island several hundred feet offshore, the surroundings being mostly that of a large lake.
"Where are we exactly?" Eileen asked, gazing around curiously.
"On an island, it's been made invisible to the Muggles so we're safe from any wandering boaters." The Professor explained.
"I see, so there's a Fidelius charm on this place, which is why you cannot speak of where we are precisely." Eileen noted matter-of-factly.
The headmaster chuckled and replied, "You're definitely a knowledgeable witch, not many your age know of such advanced magic."
"She's a real smarty pants sometimes, ain't she?" Cheryl laughed, catching Eileen in a headlock.
"Indeed. Let's head over to the woods, Gideon's waiting for us." Professor Prewett said, escorting them to the wooded area behind the school, which was small in comparison to the vastly sprawling forbidden forest of Hogwarts.
"Do you have any magical creatures living in your woods like centaurs or werewolves?" Eileen asked curiously.
"Dear me no, our woods are nothing like that of Hogwarts, though we do have the odd rogue creature that got loose during a class. It is rumored that a vampire lives in the deepest, darkest part of the woods that preys on students that venture too far into the darkness."
"They just tell that story to the 1st years to stave off their interest in going in there. It really makes them more curious so it's pretty much reverse psychology."
"Yes, I have heard that." Professor Prewett muttered, glancing back at her, "Some 1st years go in the second dinners finished instead of going to their dormitory."
"Eheh..." Cheryl scratched her head before looking around absently.
Suddenly, a gray owl swooped in from nowhere and dropped a letter in the headmasters hands, flying off again across the woods.
The man curiously opened it and quickly read the contents before sighing and saying, "It appears I'm needed at the ministry of magic. I am sorry for cutting the tour short but you're welcome to explore on your own."
"Thank you, Artemis." Mr. Applegate said. The wizard bowed his head to them before striding back to the school. Mr. Applegate turned to the girls and asked, "Well, do you want to check the place out some more before we leave?"
"We should probably leave lest we cross paths with that witch again." Eileen replied, glancing up at the school as if she could sense her gazing down on them.
"Perhaps your right, the Pegasus will have to wait for another day. Who's up for some pizza?" Mr. Applegate said with a smile.
"ME! Let's go!!" Cheryl hollered, taking off across the field toward the dock, "Last one back to the boat doesn't get a bread stick!"
"Hey, no fair!" Mr. Applegate complained, trying to keep up with the two spry girls but failing miserably.