Chapter 5

Jöran Ulvaeus, having more or less guaranteed for himself that he was unlikely to be jostled or bullied by being invited into any games by the first who had decided to ostracise him as though he had something contagious , found himself largely ignored, which mostly suited him save that he had then nobody to show off his ability to because nobody cared.

"You will wish you had seen my early sketches when I am famous" he said loudly.

Reaz glanced over.

"Why then have you bothered to bring your early sketches?" he asked. "Is not the specialist teacher going to want to see what you are doing now?"

"This IS what I am doing now, you ignorant…"

"Careful" said Paul "Or I might have to report you for racism and bullying."

Jöran flushed.

"He is obviously ignorant however" he said.

"Well I know when perspective looks right and when people are drawn in proportion and when their joints articulate properly" said Reaz.

"I am but eleven years old; I am refining my style!" said Jöran.

"Funny how Paul's drawing do have almost working perspective and pretty good proportions and almost always articulate when he's only eleven and claims not to be good enough to have a style to refine" said Reaz.

Paul had to admit that though there was promise to Jöran's work it was very stilted.

"Huh, you know nothing" said Jöran "I should like to know who painted the leopard though; it is very good" he pointed to a framed watercolour of Stripy on the wall that dangled purring from a tree branch.

"It's one of mine" said Paul quietly "Thank you for the compliment."

"You LIAR!" gasped Jöran "A boy your age could not produce something that lifelike!"

"How DARE you?" Paul was sick of being pleasant to him "You will apologise for calling me a liar; or the entire form – because we'll tell the girls – will send you to Coventry, that is not talk to you or help you out in any way!"

"I will not retract! You cannot have painted that! Besides, it must have been painted from life; where would you see a leopard?"

"Usually in the Beech tree" said Reaz. "For the record to you five others; I watched Paul paint that; he was watching the school leopard sleeping and half falling off the branch as she went too deeply asleep; it's an inspired piece and the best he's ever done and I asked if we couldn't have it framed in our dorm. He's not as good as Randolph perhaps, but he has his moments."

Paul nodded; the realistic assessment of his friend pleased him more than empty ignorant praise because Reaz had gone to the trouble of learning what was good art and what was bad to be a true critic for Paul.

"This Rutabaga has no honour" said Gabiden.

"This howmany?" asked Paul.

"Excuse, I have the term wrong? I thought that he had a country that was the name in English of a root vegetable?"

"Swede" said Paul

"But Rutabaga is the American name for it; and I like it" said Wilhelm "He has as much artistic ability also as a rutabaga."

"He has raw talent in plenty" said Paul "But he has allowed himself to be so filled with pride from the extravagant and foolish expressions of admiration of family at an early age, I suspect, that he has stayed at the level of ability at which that praise began for he has convinced himself that he is already a boy wonder and has nothing more to learn. Sad, but it's his loss. I wager Professor Prince will sling him out of his class if he won't at least try and won't listen to constructive criticism. It's really in his hands and if you oiks have finished unpacking shall we go to supper? I want my food and I want to know who's head of the school and hoping none of the Pree's have had a brainstorm and elected Emily who's a great games captain but quite likely to schedule a match every weekend if she was head girl because the power might just go to her head."

"Oiks?" queried Serrik.

"Generic term for people; also types. Nothing derogatory involved" said Paul. "Like calling someone a baboon isn't necessarily insulting or at least not fighting words level of insulting, it's like calling someone silly."

"Thank you; our English slang still unlearned is" said Serrik.

"And I am fortunate to grow up in Austria so I am bilingual in slang; I'm deficient in French colloquialisms" said Paul "We can switch to German if you prefer?"

"Much nicer" said Wilhelm.

oOoOo

The Head called the school to order.

"It is my pleasure to announce the Head of School is Irmi Luytens" he said; and waited for the cheering to die down. Irmi was popular. "Her deputy is Darryl Zabini and though I appreciate the rest of the boys and their efforts I have to say he IS the least scatty of you" he went on.

Darryl grinned at Irmi.

"The head does surely know how to turn a backhanded compliment, doesn't he, oh glorious leader?"

"If you call me that as a matter of course I'll forget I'm head girl and evacuate your nostrils with flying mammals" said Irmi, smiling sweetly.

Darryl gave her a beautiful bow then did one for Severus as Irmi curtseyed deeply.

"I'll do my best to live up to those who have gone before me, Domine" said Irmi. "I have a proposal to make to the school if I may; that I was going to put to whoever was elected but as it's me it cuts out the middleman."

"Go ahead" said Severus.

"In Hogwarts school, Erica Malfoy is right now trying to raise interest in getting the pupils to help the Society to Aid Marginalised Females; by making things to personalise rooms in hostels for girls who have nowhere to go and no-one to look after them who want to avoid prostitution" said Irmi "And that's very laudable, but in Germany and I think actually on a lot of the continent the situation is worse. Especially for children of half blood; Jade's sort of stolen an orphanage a little bit – those of you who remember Jade Snape as head girl won't be all that surprised – and the half blood and more mixed blood kids are treated like criminals as a matter of course. I vote we put aside leisure time to help make life more pleasant for orphans with pretty things like patchwork quilts or painted boxes and stuff; anyway, I thought if we thought about it and anyone was interested we could do it" she said.

"I think it's a jolly good idea" said Darryl "Perhaps the artists in the school might do little paintings that make people feel good, of unicorns or something; and I wish now I'd studied metalcrafting when I had the opportunity in Hogwarts to make music boxes. You younger ones get to do that sort of thing from next year" he added. "Guess I'll stick to transfiguration to turn blocks of wood into boxes."

"Make the excess rabbit population in to slippers!" called out Rory, who liked gardening and who waged an ongoing war with rabbits.

"Talk sense, Jade would turn me inside out for upsetting bunnies; she'd rather they were honestly shot and eaten!" said Darryl.

"And before you get onto the peculiarity of Jade's moral code DO remember that her mum's sitting on the staff table" said Emily.

That conversation went no further; but there was a buzz of interest over making something nice for orphans.

"There is now a sewing room and a woodworking room" said Severus "As adjuncts to those who wish to pursue art, since the field is to be left deliberately broad. There is a loom in the sewing room and two small table looms. The craft rooms are not to be used unsupervised by those below the fourth; the junior and junior middles need a sixth former or staff member to supervise them. And any trouble arising from unsupervised use by older students will mean a review of the privileges as a whole. I can't see that children of fourteen and above OUGHT to need supervising with simple tools; but I add a further stipulation that the lathes are only to be used with two or more people present. Nasty accidents CAN happen with chisels on rapidly rotating machinery. We have a local turner who will be giving lessons on the weekends; and Madam Malfoy will teach any who want to learn to use the sewing machines."

"Machines for sewing? Is it a new invention sir?" asked Prudence.

"Not at all my dear; but we now own a factory in which we can copy the clever hand-cranked and foot-powered machines invented by muggles something over a hundred years ago before they used electricity for anything more than sending messages" said Severus "And the treadle lathes are based on the same principle. I thought that hobby rooms would be a nice idea, as well as the equipment being available for more esoteric expressions of artistic endeavour, no Mr Lowther, the idea of turning a certain person on a lathe and then sewing sundry things to him is NOT a worthy thought for someone your age even in jest. You may write me the entire of 'La Belle Dame sans Merci' because I know you don't like it. Lord! and then I have to trawl through it AND in your handwriting" he added in disgust. "I rather thought that some of you lads might have a go at making your own wizarding chess sets; and using enchanting classes to get them enchanted."

"Brilliant!" said Siegfried, eyes shining.

"Well someone is happy" said Severus. "Well it is good to have you all back; I hope it will be a productive term. We have our furthest flung pupil yet in the person of Gabiden Kim from Kazakhstan; and I have a packet of chocolate frogs for the first junior who can draw on a blank map where Kazakhstan is; there are blank world maps in a pile outside my office and a box for your entries and a pencil to mark your efforts and – most important – put your name on. In the event of a tie I shall buy more chocolate frogs but you are NOT to confer nor ask Gabiden. If you have done so already you will score for having the courtesy and interest to ask. Gabiden, to make it fair, I've a few chocolate frogs for you as you may obviously NOT compete."

Gabiden gave a shy grin; this was not what he thought school would be like, but as Saula said nobody at Durmstrang had any idea where they came from this was a constructive way of remedying the matter in the English school!

And juniors crowded round for blank maps as soon as supper was over!

It might keep them occupied over the weekend until lessons proper started!

oOoOo

The children of the first broke up into four distinct groups; the would-be marauders, consisting of Zhenga, Fyra, Wilhelm, Serrik, Bruno and Alrik; the other girls, which was Bertha and Lydia; Paul, Reaz and Gabiden who was getting over his lack of knowledge of goblins by reflecting that Reaz had more dignity and class of manner than such as Jöran; and Jöran who formed a group of one in solitary and ostracised splendour. He was the only one who did not turn out for the MSHG; and Gabiden was prepared for this because his sister had told him how the English devised boring sounding societies to fool dark wizards that made no end of difference to your performance in school. Gabiden was keen; and he was also quick, and rapidly took the message that showing off was not considered good class, and that went for social prominence as much as any talent. He told his friends that at home it was considered proper to make boast about your family and how prominent they were because this was a way of proving that you were fit to stand for any office, to speak of the deeds of ancestors and claim how true their blood ran in you.

"That's cool" said Reaz "Different people have different ways; Germans feel a need to show off a Von in their name if they have it; it's all the same thing. The English reckon that you should be able to tell how good class a man is by his modest manner and the way he speaks. And many who do not understand this underestimate Professor Snape because he is quiet in manner, and who is a close friend of most of the High Council and related to significant numbers of them too one way or another. Until you go out of your way to hack him off; then he is truly awesome in his rage, beginning with the opening salvos of vocabulary and building to a crescendo of insult that usually makes enemies go for their wand and then he defeats them without word or wand in a non fatal and humiliating way just to show he can. And he is also brave enough that he pretended to be Voldemort's ally for years, knowing that a false move would bring his horridly painful death while the dark items that are sort of only glossed over what they are in the game got found for real to stop Voldemort becoming immortal; and don't ask me about them because I don't know, only what I've overheard. I s'pose" he came up for air as he thought about it "In England, there are certain names that are just the works; Malfoy, Potter, Weasley, Prince – which is to say too Snape – and such. Black's another. Which mean more than Von. Only when they reformed the government they could have crowned Harry Potter as prince and his closest followers Lord and the people would have taken it; but he's just Mr Potter and so is everyone else just 'Mr'. It's like the English think that too many titles are a bit vulgar; mind you after LORD Voldemort and Prince Gerhardt I suppose one can see why; when it's an old title – like your princess – that's all right because it's sort of tradition. But new titles are like if you say you're good at art people will think you are a bit full of it."

"I think he's summed up the British fairly well" said Paul. "And I'm sorry I got rather cross with you wanting to know what my class is. And actually I really don't know; or care. I have a skill that will pay my way as an artist, or I will be able to teach; I have a brother who's a potioneer; actually he's a quality tester with the ministry; my next brother's taking OWLs this year and he's thinking of becoming a quidditch coach; and Lucy is only in the third and is torn between being a healer and marrying someone with really cool flying horses. Girls, you know" he added. "I guess Severus would always find something for us to do here if we couldn't get a job but it's nice to be independent. Life is what you make of it; and Mr Lucius Malfoy, for all his wealth, was as miserable as could be when he was under a compulsion by Voldemort who made it so he couldn't show his own son that he loved him because Voldemort was such a little tyke that he could not bear for anyone to be important to one of the people he tricked into following him except himself. And Lucius Malfoy is exceptional because he's one of the few who realised it was a trick and broke away; so that he was happier in the same fear of discovery as Severus because it gave him the love of his son back than he had been since he was thirteen when Voldemort put his first compulsions on him. Even kids are not safe from dark wizards. And I guess that's another reason for the British not to be effusive; being cautious until you know people is safer. And when they go out of their way to throw back any attempts to explain how it's done in your face and drop into a big dose of poor prunery it makes us back off no end."

"For such a show of er, poor prunery it is enough to make anyone back off" said Gabiden. "One who whines for authority over every minor reverse is a sad and cowardly thing and one who accuses others of lying surely has no honour himself that he sees in others but a reflection of his own sad soul."

"I say! That's a jolly good way of putting it" said Paul.

They had escaped Jöran by convening in a box room – it was raining – because the marauders had taken over the attics looking for secret passages. The furry model of the painting that had started the trouble was lying on her back between them purring and demanding tummy rubs; and Paul had explained to Gabiden that she had been given the disposition of a domestic cat when Jade Snape had produced her for her Transfiguration NEWT only the thing was that when she had enough of being tickled, she might have a pussycat sized disposition but she still had leopard sized paws and claws and you had to watch out. Stripy knew to be gentle; Jade had trained her. But gentle in a big cat could still be a nasty bruise and a laceration. Only Flo Visick was permitted to take real liberties with Stripy and might be found burying her face in the big cat's tummy as a good night ritual; as it was on Flo's bed that Stripy slept for preference.

Unless she wanted a change when she would sit outside the dormitory she had chosen and sing until she was let in, which as her volume was considerable was usually fairly quickly.

oOoOo

Zhenga was a very happy little girl; she was getting an education! Well she would be when lessons started. And nobody stared at her at all; neither humans nor goblins. And she was going to be a marauder; and her dad had told her something about it because he had been told a bit; and it would involve blood magic. Only it was good blood magic and was not scary but wonderful. And she would too be answering in class with a real surname; because she had a daddy and he was the best daddy in the world and he and mummy were going to get her more little brothers and sisters than their darling baby girl too because mummy was happy and that was the best. And she Zhenga had friends who were friends because they wanted to be friends, not because they wanted something; and they were a mix of human, goblin and half goblin; and it didn't matter what they were because they were people first. And they had all pooled ideas about pranks to play and then decided that they would be better once they had learned a little more; though Wilhelm HAD shared the dirigible fart curse with them and the fluorescent fart curse and he told them that their very own charms teacher, Professor Parnassus had invented it when she was at school because Frau Baronin Von Luytens had told him!

Frau Baronin Von Luytens had taught Zhenga as well as Fyra and Alrik the Shield charm that was cast without word or wand; and something called the bat bogey hex. And they had entered the competition to guess where Gabiden came from – which was a long way east of Hungary, Zhenga knew that much – and now they were knocking on panels and poking around chimney breasts in the hopes of finding secret passages.

It was as good a way to spend a wet Sunday as any; and the important thing was they were doing it together!

oOoOo

It had not taken long for the Bee Marauders to decide that the passionate and just little spirit of Johanna Schiff was perfect for their group and they held a blooding without ado. After all, as Yrdl said, why wait?

And Johanna grinned at Hette and Vava. She had been ready to like goblin children because if her father despised them it was a good reason to feel the opposite; and anyone could see that Gennic was just crazy about wonderful Franziska and wanted to care for her. And now she had goblin blood kin – and elves she realised – whose blood sang with hers and were no different.

They fell to discussing the new layer aspiring to maraud; and declared them a game seeming bunch who would bear watching and would probably do.

"Especially as Fyra and Alrik are already blooded so Jade could protect them" said Yrdl.

"Well they'll have picked people who felt right then" said BaHH. "Pass the pumpkin juice."

oOoOo

The Bee Marauders felt they should celebrate such joint events as welcoming a new member and starting a new term – indeed year – with some kind of jollification or jape. It was now five years since Prince Peak had become Prince Peak – well, it would be later in the school year – and BaHH pointed this out.

"It's also a whole holidays worth since we had the opportunity to get together and plot" said Batty. "I say, nobody invited you in here to our plotting, Zalmoxes" she added as the filmy and insubstantial figure of Zalmoxes Von Finsternacht, the second castle ghost, drifted through the wall.

"Fie! And who gave you leave to be free with my personal name, wench?" said Zalmoxes.

"It ain't half so free as calling someone 'wench' fellow" said Crow. "You are SO going to have to get over the idea of refusing to accept girls and goblins as scholars you know; you're here on sufferance and some of us know the insubstantial tickling curse and aren't afraid of you walking through them rudely" he added as the ghost barged through him.

It was a most unpleasant experience but Crow gritted his teeth and tried not to show that he disliked it; and was hit with warmth from the others.

"Oh go and rub your chain with crumbs" said Yrdl, having discovered more of Shakespeare when doing an impot.

Zalmoxes did wear a modest chain with his scholar's robes; it was an apposite quote.

"Alas when even female goblins mock me; woe that my homecoming is so mean and ill respected" he said.

"If you weren't so ruddy rude to people as a matter of course we might greet you with a little more sympathy and friendliness" said BaHH.

The Grey Scholar – as Zalmoxes liked to be known – retired through the wall in a huff.

"Bet there's a passage there; ghosts tend to travel down places they knew in life, not only pop through walls" said Yrdl.

"Tap and see if it sounds hollow" suggested BaHH.

"It might only be Zalmoxes' head if so" giggled Vava.

It took them a while to find the passage; which was little more than a plastered over doorway that lead down a short passage to another of the attic rooms; a little disappointing for all their assiduous demolitions work but at least was the finding of SOMETHING.

They returned to decide what to do to celebrate and came up with an idea.

They slid down all the banisters in order to get downstairs quickly to implement it – and for fun – and proceeded to enchant every carved head on the bosses of the double hammer beams in the great hall to sing grand opera on command. As none of them were particularly musical it was slightly off key grand opera; but as BaHH said, with all that twaddle, who'd notice anyway.

oOoOo

It may be said that when the command word was spoken and Severus was serenaded as he came in to supper, ALL the musical among staff and pupils noticed it; and Severus, wincing, put an abrupt stop to it.

"Whilst I appreciate the efforts some of you have been to, may I beg and pray you NOT to turn your undoubted magical talents to music for such an excruciating cacophony" he said.

"I thought you LIKED Opera, sir" said BaHH.

"I do, Mr Hellibore; which is why I dislike that travesty of disharmonious dissonant discord" said Severus.

"Hear hear!" said several of the musical.

"Well we TRIED" said BaHH

"Yes, Mr Hellibore; THAT is why I thanked you as well as removing the source of distress to the eardrums" said Severus. "Did we owe your efforts to anything particular?"

"Yes sir; we have a new marauder in Johanna AND it's been a proper school for five years now" said BaHH "And it's Sunday and we felt like it."

"Devastatingly honest" said Severus "Strictly speaking the school has not been under new management for the full five years yet but I suppose it's as good an excuse as any. Welcome to the Marauders, Johanna, try not to let this bunch of reprobates lead you too far astray."

Johanna beamed at him; she could feel his blood singing with hers and knew that when he welcomed her to the marauders it was as a marauder himself.

She was so happy!

And as her little sisters came into the school she would look out for them; and too any cousins she had from the branch that had married muggles.

And of course her mother was a muggle too; being a village girl who had been ordered to her scumbag of a father's bed, like the mothers of all her little sisters; but at that their mothers got discarded when HE got bored and did not have to be married to him like Franziska's mother did.

And her other married big sister Stefanie had been kind to her when she brought her husband and children to stay; and Stafanie knew too about Franziska and Gennic. And Franziska was going to tell her mother and see if she would give her tacit support; and Johanna hoped that she would. Lady Adalheid was a kind enough woman in a rather stern way and had sighed when greeting her own mother and her without making censorious comment; she KNEW whose fault it was. Johanna hoped she loved her own daughter more than she cared for convention! Or at least wanted to cock a snoot at Herr Gustav Schiff whom she would NOT think of as 'father'. She had been glad to come to school; he had chucked her beneath the chin and told her she would grow up to be a pretty one in a few years; and had fled thankfully when Franziska had dismissed her firmly in her capacity as maid; though she had heard her sister ask if her father planned to add incest to his other indiscretions. He had not even KNOWN that she was his daughter!

And here it did not matter; she was accepted just because. And she had family closer than family as well as her dear sisters!

oOoOo

Term was ready to start with a swing; even if of the new ones Jöran Ulvaeus was less swinging than some.

oOoOo

Severus had also had the minor headache that was Therese Appeltrath to sort out; which on top of the Swedish boy's histrionics he could have done without.

He had heard her story and used legilimensy; and found her to have been desperate enough – as well as hating her supervisor and her would-be boss enough – to be putty in the hands of a clever thief. Severus had chanted over her and she had gasped as she felt the strength surge into her body.

"The ill effects of the illness have now left you" said Severus "You will have some weakness that is a general lack of muscle tone; you should join in gentle games; we play soft ball hurley indoors and cricket in appropriate season; I doubt you'll manage quidditch; muggles cannot get brooms to fly. We also dance through the winter, formally and country dances. This school caters to delicate children as well as those with particular talent."

"You mean magic?" asked Therese.

"No, not normal magic; any school worth its salt can train a witch or wizard. We deal with those who are high flyers, or who are artistic or musical or have any off the wall and oddball talent; it's a small school and prepared to fit in the unusual. I take it by the way that you are quitting your previous life and are considering spending at least some time in the wizarding world?"

"I'll be honest, er, sir, I would not have considered the wizarding world had I known about it; it's scary" said Therese.

"I thought you were handling it rather well actually, all things considered" said Severus "The monkey house, otherwise known as the school train, is a rather excessive introduction to the world. It's a semi sanctioned way for them to let out all their high spirits at being permitted the use of wands again – it's forbidden under age except in designated schools – and to practise jinxes in case we have to deal with any more wizarding Nazis. We're going through an age of social reform and some reactionary old fools don't like it" he added. "I can arrange for you to have a set of new papers and dump you out in the muggle world that's appropriate to the papers you carry; or if you prefer you can start a new life by learning about our world, perhaps if you will study those qualifications that need no magic – Arithmancy for example, very much like muggle mathematics – and perhaps consider teaching in the future to witches and wizards what muggles are like. Most children, brought up secluded and sequestered, have very little idea; I fear a few even believe that muggles are non sentient. Getting THAT message across is one of the social reforms some of us are deeply concerned with; and the more that can be taught that muggles are normal people too the better. If you wish to stay for a while and decide, you may do so; only I will ask you to apologise to Miss Luytens for pulling a knife on her; I see in your thoughts that it was out of fear and desperation; but you should not give any witch the idea that muggles are ready to do violence as their first reaction. It is counterproductive."

"I AM sorry; I was sorry to have to frighten her – mind you she frightened me a whole lot more with what she did – and I would have wished I could have thought of another way."

"Did it never occur to you that the truth might actually have appealed to the romantic soul of a schoolgirl?" said Severus.

"Occur? I was past thinking" said Therese. "I – I should like to stay; at least for a while. I do not know what to do with my future."

"Then I shall tell the school that you are here to take the good Alpine air as you have been ill – true enough – and that you are considering studying in our post-graduate section to teach muggle studies. They need to know you are a muggle, so as not to play what would be to a witch harmless tricks that might catch you" he added "And that you were mistakenly under the impression that our post graduate students have to wear uniform too. It is a mistake anyone MIGHT make; and a muggle without access to our literature might be thought to do so more readily because you cannot be expected to know the customs of our world; any more than many know the customs of yours" he smiled. "You will find those above the first fairly knowledgeable about muggles; it's a study I take seriously and it is taught here by a young man who did not develop magical powers until he was seventeen – an adult in our world. He has wizarding blood in his family; indeed his young cousin has just started school at Hogwarts, the main English school."

"Why did his cousin not come here?" asked Therese

"Because, largely, she had made friends with a number of people planning to go to Hogwarts; and too she, like one of those friends, is the descendant of one of the founders of that school. We count familial ties very strongly in the wizarding world, and Bryony wanted to have the chance to be in the school house dedicated to her ancestor. We have too an unofficial policy of sending our children – when we may – to schools where relatives are not members of staff. Two of my daughters and one of my sons are consequently in Hogwarts right now; where the Headmaster is but a spare sort of brother, having been my ward, rather than having a father for the headmaster. The previous head retired and picked David Fraser; the first muggleborn headmaster. Both his parents were muggles."

"Were they killed to make him be adopted as a wizard then?" asked Therese.

"Certainly not!" said Severus "WHAT an idea; though one I suppose you can be forgiven for having. His parents and baby sister died as the result of a drunk driver; he was in an orphanage. Normally we try to explain to muggle parents about their child's gift; and often there have been….manifestations. Usually they accept it with bemusement; sometimes they reject it with fear and brainwash their unfortunate child into eschewing their talent. Once we have had a child told he must commit suicide to drive out the devil. Such things are to be avoided; and now it has happened once we can another time watch, and see to confund – confuse the minds of – any parents taking so evil a course. We use a lot of confundment and memory charms so we are not noticed; because it is the way of people who fear – as you yourself know – to react with violence. And one of our children here was almost killed through such reactions of muggle children when his magic first started showing and it has caused him many problems. I should like to see muggles and wizards living side by side in full knowledge and understanding of each other; but it isn't going to happen. I should know" he added with a rueful face "My father was a muggle and my mother was – still is for all I know – a witch. We don't get on" he added. "Never have done. Sometimes it's the way life pans out; we respect family but there is no point being hypocritical and pretending that all is sweet in the garden when it is not."

"I never got on with my stepfather and it made a breach between me and my mother" said Therese "It's why I came to the city."

"Sad, but sometimes inevitable" shrugged Severus "And a fault in OUR world that such things are often hidden. Well then, I shall enrol you as a post NEWT student and you shall find your feet and decide on your long term course of action."

oOoOo

Fraulein Appeltrath had been duly introduced with the other senior students and the children warned to be careful because she WAS a muggle; and Therese had received several shy comments that she was very brave to come and live in the wizarding world without so much as a shield charm.

And she HAD apologised to Irmi; who had accepted with a nod and a smile and a handshake with the suggestion that they start over.

They were nice kids here; and they didn't expect impossible things of her nor want to use her; for if she became a teacher it would be with pay and as an independent person.

She might just stay!