The first night with the students passed quietly, a fact Katrina was immensely grateful for. Nevertheless, she slept poorly as she kept envisioning Severus turning his back on her and walking away. She rose before her alarm went off, showered, and was pacing around her living room as she heard the noises of waking students above her. She descended to the basement and began setting out some of the things she had purchased the previous afternoon.
There were a handful of toasters, a couple hot-plates on which someone could cook an egg if they wished, and a small fridge which contained assorted juices. She put out some fruit and pastries as well as a couple loaves of fresh bread. She brewed up a pot each of coffee and tea. Part of her lessons included the students learning how to fend for themselves in a muggle environment.
She grabbed a pastry and a glass of orange juice for herself and settled back, mentally planning the lessons for today. As she ate, she watched the students trickling downstairs. She watched as the bushy-haired girl showed yet-another student how to use the toaster. She smiled slightly, deciding that the girl had obviously been raised in a muggle home.
Katrina was seated at one of the round tables around the basement. She watched them slowly filling up as more students came down to eat. Hermione finally found a break to grab her own breakfast and Katrina was surprised when the girl came to her table.
"May I sit with you, Professor Smith?" the girl asked quietly.
"Of course, Miss Granger," Katrina replied with a smile. She watched the girl's two friends stumble into the room together.
"May Harry and Ron join us?" Hermione asked.
"It appears that they will have no choice. I fear the other tables are full now."
Indeed, the boys seemed to just have come to that realization themselves as they slowly carried their plates and glasses to the table.
"Please, have a seat, boys," Katrina said, gesturing to the empty seats.
"Professor, what are we going to be studying today?" Hermione asked.
"Well, first on tap is going to be kitchen survival, I think," Katrina said with a small laugh that was echoed by Hermione. "Then we-" she was interrupted by the ringing of her doorbell. She frowned for a moment, who the heck would be at her door this early? "If you'll excuse me a moment…" she rose and hurried upstairs and to the monitor by her door. She glanced at it and slowly hit the button to unlock the door. Severus and an unfamiliar woman stood there.
Her mind took a moment to process what she had seen, then she remembered the parchment she had forgotten all about. She sighed as she opened the front door and watched the pair enter. Severus looked decidedly sullen as he glanced everywhere but at Katrina.
"Ah," the strange woman said, glancing around nervously as if uncomfortable in the muggle surroundings she found herself in. "You must be Professor Kat Smith," she said, reaching into her handbag and pulling out a large notepad.
"Yes, I am. And you are…"
The woman ignored her for a moment as she glanced around, making notes on her notepad. The woman turned back to Katrina, "My name is Dolores Umbridge and I'm with the Ministry of Magic. I'm here to evaluate your class for the ministry."
Katrina's eyes narrowed slightly, but she quickly composed herself before turning to Severus. "Good morning Professor Snape," she said politely, as if addressing a complete stranger.
He finally spared her a brief glance and a small nod, "Professor Smith."
Oh yes, Katrina thought, this is off to a good start… She quickly revised her lesson plans for the day. She had no desire to be cooped up with this ministry official, nor the brooding man determined to ignore her. Ok, a lesson on public transportation and normal behavior in public seemed like a good alternative. "Well, my class does not begin until 9AM. You are welcome to wait here or you can return then. The students are currently having their breakfast." She glanced between them, "Can I offer either of you something to eat or drink?"
Severus pointedly ignored her and Katrina could tell that this was the last place he wanted to be. Umbridge on the other hand… The woman wouldn't stop scratching notes.
"Some tea would be delightful," Umbridge replied as she suddenly tucked her muggle pen and pad away in her bag.
Katrina smiled slightly, "If you will follow me, then?" She led them into the small kitchen on the ground floor. She had hoped that Maggie would have finished her breakfast, but her daughter was still working on her cereal. "Good morning, Maggie. You remember Professor Snape? And this is Miss Umbridge."
Maggie stood up to greet their guests. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Umbridge. Good morning Professor Snape." She turned to her mother, "Should I go finish my breakfast upstairs, mum?"
"No, sweetie, you're fine. We're just going to have some tea." She smiled at her daughter, "Once you finish, can you please go down and tell the students that we will be going out today and that they are to dress appropriately?"
Maggie nodded and smiled, "Can I come along, mum?"
"Of course, dear. I know how much you love going to the zoo."
Maggie's smile widened and she attacked her cereal with a new gusto as Katrina gestured for her guests to sit. She moved to the stove to put some water on before pulling out a box of her best tea and measuring out a quantity of leaves into her teapot. She brought out three cups and placed them before her guests. She also brought out some cream and sugar. From her cabinet, she brought a small assortment of cookies which she placed on a plate and added to the table.
Maggie finished eating as the water began to boil. "If you will excuse me," she said quietly as she placed her bowl into the sink and hurried off.
Katrina poured the water into the teapot and carried it to the table. The silence was quickly becoming oppressive. She wondered why Severus was here. He was obviously angry about being here. Studying Umbridge, who was still glancing around at everything, she guessed the woman was nervous about coming to a muggle home on her own. It wouldn't surprise Katrina in the least. She knew most pure-blooded families avoided contact with muggles entirely. Even many half-blood families limited their interactions with the muggle world.
Katrina herself came from a pure-blood family – a family which was highly intolerant of muggles. Before she had cast that spell and changed her life forever, she herself had been of the same mind. It had come as a surprise, then, when she had been placed in Gryffindor. She had fully expected to be placed in Slytherin, where the majority were full-blooded.
"So, Professor Smith," Umbridge said, "What is the topic of today's lesson?"
"The first portion will be muggle transportation. And will transition into the second, which is proper behavior among muggles. The students will learn how not to draw attention to themselves."
"I see," she said slowly, her eyes narrowed, "And Dumbledore considered this to be vital knowledge for the students to have?"
Katrina smiled sweetly, refusing to be ruffled in her own kitchen, "Well, he did indeed. After all, some of the students out there may find themselves interacting with muggle society at some point in the future. They need to know how to work within, and around, that world. The wizarding world is large, but it is not the only world out there."
The older woman's eyes narrowed even more, "And how is it that you know so much about the wizarding world?"
Katrina smiled and tilted her head slightly, "You could say I had some very good teachers." She caught a glare from Severus which she ignored, still watching Umbridge.
"Were you parents part of the wizarding world?" Umbridge asked, frowning.
Katrina laughed lightly, "They were indeed."
"Ah, I see," Umbridge responded, pulling her notepad out and scratching down some more quick notes.
The remainder of their tea was drunk in strained silence, Katrina glancing repeatedly at the wall clock, willing it to move faster. Finally, at five minutes to nine, she rose, "I need to go get my things. You may wait in the living room, if you wish."
Katrina left the kitchen with a sigh and walked out into the living room to find most of the students ready to go. She silently passed them, went to her room, and shrugged on a jacket. It was early May and the wind still had a bite to it. Grabbing her purse, she glanced in the mirror and tucked a couple unruly strands of hair behind her ear. Opening her wallet, she made sure her special credit card was there. The card operated like any other, but the funds were withdrawn from a special account at Gringott's bank, the wizarding world's bank.
She left her room and went to Maggie's and knocked on her door before opening it. "Sweetie, you all set to go?"
"Yeah, mum," her daughter replied, shrugging into her jacket.
"I'm going to need your help keeping an eye on all of the students, okay? You need to remember they will be capable of doing magic once we're away so-"
"Mom," Maggie cut her off softly, "I know. You're going to tell me to be careful."
Katrina smiled at her daughter, "Sorry, dear, but it's my job to worry about you."
"Uh, mum? Can I ask you something?"
"Anything, sweetie, you know that."
"Well, I was just wondering how you knew Professor Snape? I mean, it's obvious he knew you and I was just wondering…"
Katrina wasn't expecting that question, though she should have been. She hadn't had time to talk to Maggie yesterday evening. "We met many years ago, before you were even born. I'll tell you about it someday, but right now we need to go."
Maggie smiled, "Ok, mum."
They descended the stairs and Katrina did a quick headcount. All of the students were seated in the living room. She grabbed her handheld computer and placed it into her purse. "Right, then. Today I will teach you how to use what is known as Public Transportation. We will be taking a bus and then the underground. Before we leave, let me review a couple things. As you all know, magic is not to be done by any of you outside of school. I cannot stress this enough. If I even suspect that you have used magic, you will immediately lose 200 points from your house. That is in addition to whatever punishment the Ministry of Magic," she nodded slightly towards Umbridge, "may level upon you. Secondly, is the use of the word 'muggle.' From now until we get back, I don't want to hear it. You are to replace it with 'people.' The point of today's lesson is to learn normal behavior in non-magical society.
"You are all to stay with me. Do not wander off. This is another point I cannot stress enough. My world can be as dangerous, if not more so, than your own.
"Also, as you will be marked on this class, you are to listen to me. I will be asking you to write a paper on the proper way to use transportation for your homework tonight, so I advise you pay attention." She stopped and glanced around. "Are there any questions?"
The boy with the bleach-blond hair raised his hand, "Yeah, I have a question."
Katrina racked her brain for the boy's name, "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Why are we learning this stuff anyways? When are we ever going to use it?"
She smiled serenely. In five years of teaching this course she had come to expect this question, and always from someone in Slytherin. "Well, Mr. Malfoy, when are you ever going to use anything you learn in your History of Magic class? Never, right? Yet you learn it in order to get a better understanding of the world you live in and the forces which have shaped it. The same is true for Muggle Studies. Oh, you may never need to use anything which I teach you, but you will have a better understanding of the larger world." She glanced around, "Did that answer your question, Mr. Malfoy?"
He scowled but nodded slightly, Umbridge was making notes, and Severus was pointedly ignoring her again. "If there are no other questions…" no one raised their hands or spoke. "Ok, let's go."
She led the class, with the adults trailing behind, out of the house and onto the street. She locked her house behind them and then it was off to the bus stop. Glad to see the stop empty, she spoke just loudly enough so they could all hear her, "This is called a bus stop. Here," she gestured to a wall with a map and a list of times on it, "is the schedule. This tells you what time the bus will stop here and where it is going." She traced a red line on the map, "This is the bus which we will be taking today. We will take it to an Underground station. When the bus comes, get on and find a seat. Now, were you taking the bus by yourselves, you would hand the driver the appropriate amount of money. In order to know how much the fare will cost, you need to look at the schedule."
She glanced away from the schedule as a bus pulled to a stop. "This is our bus, class." The bus doors opened and she ushered them inside, stopping to hand the driver some bills to cover their fares. She was glad to see the bus had enough empty seats for all of them to sit, though she frowned slightly when she realized the only empty seat was next to Severus. She had expected Umbridge to sit with him, but she was seated next to Draco Malfoy. She glanced around, saw Maggie seated next to Harry Potter and her eyes narrowed slightly.
Sighing, she made her way over to Severus and silently took a seat. It's only twenty minutes, then we will be on the Underground, she told herself as she glanced around at the students. She looked over at Severus again and found herself meeting his eyes. Startled, her eyes widened and she gave him a small smile. Quietly, so as not to be overheard, she asked, "Have you ever been to a zoo, Severus?"
He blinked, as though surprised she had spoken, "No, I have not."
"Maggie and I go to the zoo rather often. She is quite fascinated by animals and reads anything she can get her hands on pertaining to them."
"So," he began, "She is an intelligent girl?"
"Extremely. She takes after her father, I think. She is very serious about all of her studies and she receives the highest marks," Katrina remarked casually, glancing up at the sign which displayed the next stop. She glanced back at him to see he had turned to look out the window.
She looked around again, seeing her daughter laughing and joking with Harry, Hermione, and Ron. The other students were all chatting quietly and staring out of the windows. Malfoy had turned around to speak with his classmates seated behind him. He was obviously trying his best to ignore Umbridge. Turning back to the front, she read the sign and saw that their stop was next. She grabbed the hanging hand-grip above her seat as she stood, "Class, this is our stop. Stay seated until the bus stops, please."
The bus stopped and she led the way off the bus, taking a headcount as she did so. Severus and Umbridge brought up the rear and satisfied that all of the students had exited the bus, she led them into the Underground station.
Katrina was glad it was a Sunday as she glanced around at the nearly-empty station. She led them first to a large map covered in different colored lines. "Now, this is the Underground map. It looks much more confusing than it really is. Here," she pointed to a yellow star on the map, "Is where we are. Now, we want to get to here," she pointed to a square designating their stop. "Can anyone tell me how we get from here to there by using this map?"
Hermione's hand shot up and Katrina quickly realized she would be the only volunteer, "Ok, Miss Granger?"
Hermione stepped up to the map, "We are here, at New Cross station. We need to take the East London line up to Whitechapel, where we will switch to the Hammersmith & city line. That will take us right to Baker Street station."
"Very good, Miss Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor. Now, we need to purchase tickets and then we will be on our way."
Ten minutes later, once every student had a ticket and they had all passed through the turns dials, they were standing on the proper platform, waiting for their train to arrive. The train arrived and Katrina hurriedly ushered students and professors alike aboard. "Hurry now, before the doors close," she said as she got the last student aboard and slipped through the closing doors herself. Slightly dismayed at the lack of seats, she again quietly addressed her students, "Hold on to something as the train moves."
She grinned as a couple stubborn Slytherins stumbled and hurriedly grabbed the handrails as the train began to move. That will teach them, she thought. Sometimes experience really was the best teacher. She didn't miss the fact that Maggie was again hanging out with the trio of Gryffindors. She sighed slightly, telling herself it was only 5 more days and then she would have the students from the other two houses. Hopefully things would be less complicated then.
The change of trains went smoothly and it was with a sense of relief that she ushered them out of Baker Street station and along the road to the zoo. She purchased the tickets for the group and handed them out. "Now, class. You are to stay together. If you should somehow become separated from the group, you are to stay where you are and I will come find you." She glanced around, her eyes narrowed, "You are almost adults and I expect you to act that way." Relaxing slightly, she smiled, "Come along now."