It was two weeks since she had been admitted to the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts, and she was enduring her final inspection from Madam Ringgold.
"Your free to go, dearie," Madam Ringgold said cheerfully, pinching her cheek. She smiled. All her fears had melted away from all of the kindness she had received from everyone.
"Thank you, Madam Ringgold," she said.
"Any time, dear. As a matter of fact, you'll be in her again soon enough if you continue to hang around James Potter and his friends," Madam Ringgold replied with a mischievous wink.She laughed as she hopped off the bed, and waved appreciatively to Madam Ringgold as she exited the Hospital Wing.
Madam Ringgold was magic. Not just her healing abilities, but her personality. She had liked the nurse instantly. Her remedies had cured her broken bones, most of her bruises and had effectively banished her headache and muscle pain. She had only made one request, that her clothing be cleaned. She still felt ill every time she caught sight of the deep brown that had stained her robes.
James and Lily had visited her as often as their beginning-of-the-year schedules allowed, and were rather surprised at her odd request to bring their assignments to her everyday. She would copy them down, and write her own, trying to see how much she remembered when she learned the material. It never seemed surprising, this impulse to do work. It felt rather natural, and James would always go bug-eyed just looking at how much she had done.
"That's three times as much as mine and Lily's put together!" he exclaimed once, when looking at an essay she had written about griffins. More than once he actually asked to borrow them to enhance his own homework. Once, James had brought his friends to meet her. The only words she could use to describe it were embarrassing and awkward. It would not have been so if not for the hitch of her not having a name. Other than that, the visit was pleasant, but she caught the fat little tag-along looking boy staring openly at one of the purple bruises on her arm. She had quickly pulled her sleeve over it, but nonetheless it was embarrassing.
Now let's see... what were those boys names again? The round, timid, (and she thought ill-bred) boy was... Peter! Yes! That was it. The kind, intellectual looking boy was named after some myth. Was it Remus? She's have to wait and see what his friends called him. Although they did seem to call each other nothing but funny little nicknames... Then there was the handsome, dark one. Oh, yes. She had liked him immensely. He was rather humorous, always making sarcastic little comments to James, or slipping in some sardonic little tid-bit. Perhaps he was a bit childish, but she liked his playful nature. Oh, what was his name?!
"Sirius!" she exclaimed as she ran into the man himself. She braced herself to fall on the floor, squeezing her eyes shut tightly, but two hands caught her wrists; they steadied her before she could, once again, collide with the floor.
"Thank you," she whispered. He looked at her curiously, scanning her eyes. It was plainly written on her face that she was afraid. Not of him, but of what had almost happened. After just recovering from a painful week in the Hospital from a fall, it was natural she should be frightened of having an accident. She gave a weak sort of laugh, as she removed her hands from him.
"History really must repeat itself," she said. He smirked in appreciation of her little joke.
"You okay?" he asked her. She nodded. How kind and considerate he was!
"I'm fine, really. I was just released." The two stared at each other for a few moments before she interrupted the silence.
"I'm sorry, but could you show me to the Headmaster's office? I need to speak with him." Sirius raised an eyebrow in amusement, a laugh dancing in his grey eyes.
"I do believe that I could help you out there, seeing as I've been there often enough," he said, putting on a mock, smug expression. She laughed.
"On what terms were you there, pray tell," she teased, stepping into stride with him.
"Oh, terms of buisness to be sure," he remarked pompously.
"I'm intruiged. Do tell of your 'buisness'."
Sirius suddenly looked, (in an incredibley exaggerated manner) very grave, indeed.
"I'm sorry, miss, but the detentions of other students are highly confidential, and therefore cannot be disclosed." She could not restrain the giggles which now freely tumbled from her mouth. When she finally stopped laughing, she spoke genuinely to him.
"Thank you very much. I don't believe I've truly felt like laughing since I found myself here. It's a very difficult buisness not remembering who you are. And all the worries that come with it! Such as all the family and friends that must be worried about you, and... I just... thank you." Sirius didn't quite know what to say. She found this evident, and blushing, faced forward again. They walked in silence aside from the small talk they made.
"Here we are! Let's see... it's always a sweet. I'm trying to remember what he switched it to... Oh, yeah! Fizzing Whizbee!" As the gargoyle jumped aside, he answered her unspoken question.
"Professor Dumbledore is... well, some say he's bonkers," she giggled, "but I prefer the more polite term of eccentric. He always makes his password a sweet of some sort, and they're typically odd. Fizzing Whizbees are this peculiar new type of sweet that levitate you off the ground. You ought to try one sometime."
"Thank you very much for showing me here, and going out of your own way."
"Don't mention it. I'll see you at dinner. Just because you aren't a student doesn't mean that they won't let you eat! Just come over and sit with the Marauders and Lily." She wondered at his term "Marauders" but decided she had better ask him later. She waved at his retreating form, before plodding up the stone steps to the Headmaster's office. She gave a polite rap on the door, and entered when a kind voice called to her,
"Come in."
She turned the handle and admitted herself. The room was spacious for an office, but then again, she thought, he does live here. Strange silver objects that looked like puzzlingly like a cross between medical instruments and children's toys were scattered about, many placed on top of piles of books with odd titles, such as "Bewingle's Bulbous Bee Sting" and "The Day My Goose Was Cooked" that looked much perused. Behind the gleaming, cherry desk was a wise yet exuberant elderly man in a plush, wingback chair, stroking a marvelous bird of scarlet and gold plummage.
"Hello, Professore Dumbledore," she said politely, shutting the door behind herself.
"Ah, yes. Madam Ringgold informed me that you would be released this morning. Please, do take a seat," the Professor answered kindly, gesturing toward the chair opposite himself. She moved swiftly across the room, and sat down in it, tucking her robes under her.
"Now, I understand that the circumstances under which you arrived are rather grey, aren't they?"
"Yes, Professor," she answered, fiddling with the edge of her robe.
"And you do not recall anything from your life?"
"No, sir. I do remember spells, and facts and such, but nothing else." He pondered her statement for a minute and seemed so oblivious to her presence she started to feel uncomfortable. His sudden speaking startled her, and she jolted a little when he did.
"Ah, yes," he said, twisting his greying beard around a long finger. "You see, friends and family and memories are taken for granted by us all, as we never expect to lose them, so they float absently throughout our mind and daily lives, while facts and information are engraved in our brains," he mused. She nodded her head in agreement, and gave an indistinct sound for reply, but was rather confused about how this applied to her sitting across from him in his office making decisions about her future.
"I will trouble you no more with philosophy of any nature, now. I have considered very carefully and meticulously your present situation, and understand its gravity. It is with great thought that I have formulated an idea for your path," he now remarked.
"I understand from what you and Madam Ringgold have told me that you are still knowledgeable of the magic you've learned. I have therefore decided it best, if you are agreeable, to be a student here." He now paused to view her reaction. She smiled, letting out a sigh of relief.
"My primary reason is that because you do not, to our knowledge or yours, know anyone, your future safety, and happiness, I believe, lie here at the school, until you are reacquainted enough with the world to be out in it."
She nodded. This was just what she had hoped for. She had secretly been dreading the possibility that she would be forced to leave Hogwarts and go out into the unknown to fend for herself.
"There are a few matters to be settled, as you are agreeable. As you do not remember your name, it is highly adviseable for you to select one for use. Would you, please...?" he let the question dangle as he watched her with twinkling eyes.
A name. Oh, how she had wanted one these many days! She musn't pick anything common. She'd heard Lily talk of people, and she'd often had to clarify between which Emma she meant or which house Loraine was in. Hmm. Something that wasn't plain, but also was simple. She needed a name that stood for something, something strong...
"Rose Bennet," she said proudly. What a beautiful name!
"Excellent, Miss Bennet. There is then, the matter of your house," he added. He now rose, and retrieved a shabby hat from a shelf behind his desk. She eyed it curiously.
"Do not be alarmed," he warned her, placing it snugly over her eyes. Do not be alarmed? She soon found cause to be.
"Ahh! Another difficult one!" This hat was talking to her! She clutched her heart, leaning back into her chair, faintness swooping over her.
"Slytherin? No, no... you're cunning to be sure, but too honest and good for that house. Perhaps, then, Hufflepuff? No, that won't do either. There is a greatness of mind here that would make you very good in Ravenclaw. Ah. But you are so noble, so incredibly brave. I do believe that the only place that you will really belong is-
GRYFFINDOR!"
Professor Dumbledore removed the hat and replaced it on the shelf, "Well done, Miss Bennet. It was, once, you know, my house. Rose was still trying to steady her rapidly beating heart.
"There is now, only the matter of acquiring your uniform and supplies, which shall be of no consequence. Hogwarts has a fund for those wh cannot afford their own. And of course I shall sign a Hogsmeade permission form so that you may visit the village on the designated days. There will, of course, be a small amount of pocket money for you," he finished. Ruth could hardly express her gratitude at this last speech.
"Thank you so very much, Professor. You have removed so many of my burdens in this one visit. I am extremely grateful to you," she said earnestly.
"You're quite welcome. Though, you are giving back much in return. I do believe that Hogwarts has acquired a very valuable student."
AN: Hey! I really hope that you're enjoying it so far. Because she doesn't know her name, I don't want to use it, so any "she's" that confuse you, mean Hermione. I'm looking forward to the next chapter. Please review! They mean a lot to me, because being an authoress is what I am looking forward to doing for my career. This chapter was not my particular favortie, because I could not simply make statements and had to use too many filllers. When I get around to it, I'll rework it (the Sorting Hat part was inexusably dull). Thanks!! LHC