Previously…
i The DADA teacher turned to the Headmaster, "Would you allow me to bring in a vampire for that class? Or at the very least, a dhampyr?"
"Albus! You wouldn't let her bring such a creature into a school!" Minerva was horrified. Brethany frowned in surprise.
"How are they to learn if they don't know what they are looking for?" she asked rhetorically. "And it's not such a danger as you seem to think, Minerva. There are several colonies of vampires in Scotland, alone, two of which are within a couple hundred miles of here." This didn't seem to make any of the teachers feel any better. "Have none of you ever met a vampire?" she asked curiously, and was slightly surprised to see that this was true of almost all of them. /i
And Now…
"So, Albus, do I have your permission?" Brethany looked at the old man eagerly, her eyes following him as he moved to stroke his phoenix, Fawkes. Close by, the four Heads of House waited for the Headmaster's answer as well.
"Are you honestly thinking of permitting i children /i to go among vampires?!" Pamona Sprout was aghast, and Minerva looked just as pleased. "Albus, that is- that's i daft /i !"
"It's perfectly safe," Brethany huffed, "And I only want to take the fifth through seventh years to the colony. It would be highly educational for them, and perhaps rid them of some of the ridiculous misconceptions about vampires that most of Britain seems to have about them." Her gaze was slightly accusing. "Besides, there would be at least five other adults besides myself in my group."
"Who might they be," Minerva asked shortly, highly reluctant to endorse what was, in
her mind, utter foolishness.
"Hagrid, for one," the young DADA teacher began listing, "Miss Zabini's father; Mr. William Weasley; Miss Hermes, who graduated from here some five years ago and is now, I believe, attending Wizarding University in Dublin. I have others on my list, but those are the only ones whom I have actually contacted."
"You seem quite confident that your idea will be carried out," Snape said sardonically, his black eyes glittering. Brethany grinned half-heartedly, then turned to Dumbledore once more.
"Master de Sordante would actually be quite pleased to host a field trip in his colony. Granted, much of his eagerness is because of the political ramifications it would have, but that is just further guarantee that no one would be harmed there. Pierre de Sordante is too much of a politician to allow such an opportunity to be ruined in i his /i territory."
"He is a i vampire /i ," the Head of Hufflepuff exclaimed in disbelief. "How can you speak as though he were just an ordinary i man /i !"
"Madam Sprout," Brethany spoke stiffly, "Pierre i is /i a man. He is egotistical, obnoxious, and condescending to women of both Vampiric and mortal descent, but I know many men who are like that. My father vouches for his trustworthiness so long as I carry a large enough purse into his colony, which makes Master de Sordante just as human as Minister Fudge." There was a small moment of silence as the young woman thought over what she had just said. "We can just pretend that I didn't say that," she said softly, flushing slightly even as she tried not to grin at the amused expressions of the other teachers.
"I do not think that it would be wise to permit the fifth through seventh years to take such a trip," Dumbledore spoke slowly, and Brethany's jaw stiffened visibly. "However, the two upper years might be permitted to go, provided they are either of age or have the consent of their guardians." His blue eyes twinkled at the DADA professor's obvious excitement. "And I would like Severus to accompany you, if at all possible." The Potions Master instantly moved to protest, but the Headmaster gestured for him to be still. "This is to provide reassurance to parents that there will be qualified teachers there to handle any dangers that may arise. The people you have contacted already are very well chosen, and I am sure that the students can be assured of their safety."
"Of course, Albus," Brethany nodded, struggling to contain herself from bouncing in glee. Really, it was almost exactly what she had expected.
"What sort of reactions do you think the students will have to such a proposal," Minerva raised a curious eyebrow in sarcastic question. "They will think you are mad to even think of such a thing!" She threw her hands in disgust. "Pomona is correct, Albus; you i are /i daft!"
"Of course, Minerva," the old wizard agreed with her calmly. "Would you like a lemon drop, my dear?"
The Transfiguration professor stared at the offered sweets disdainfully. "Thank you, Albus, but I must go. I have work to do, and I may as well begin writing apologies to parents for permitting their children to be devoured by i vampires /i ." She stormed out of the Headmaster's office, closely followed by Pomona Sprout.
Brethany seated herself with a huff, alternately excited and annoyed by the responses to her proposal. "I would have thought Minerva would be slightly less prejudiced about magical peoples," she muttered quietly. "After all, she taught Remus Lupin, and likes him just fine."
"Lupin is not typical of what most well-known werewolves are," Snape spoke disdainfully. "And very few would consider vampires and werewolves to be 'magical peoples'. The term is Dark Creatures."
Brethany frowned. "Only here in Europe. Fortunately, in America, weres and the undead are not viewed in such a bad light. Actually," she continued brightly, "Vampires are usually not viewed in much light at all. They tend to come out only at night, you know." Her grin wilted slightly under Snape's vitriolic look. "I know, that was a truly bad joke, but my mouth sometimes gets the better of myself before I have time to censor it."
"Indeed." Snape's acerbic tone spoke volumes. Dumbledore watched this altercation with a small smile, absently stroking Fawkes' brilliant plumage.
"So, Brethany, when do you plan on making the trip?" Filius Flitwick asked curiously, twiddling his beard. Brethany grinned, once again high on her excitement.
"Over Christmas break," she bounced on her feet gleefully as she spoke. "The students who come would arrive back here on the twenty-ninth, and we would be back on the fifth. I want the students to get a chance to see how some people observe the New Year." Snape raised an eyebrow.
"With a great deal of bloodshed and disgusting practices, I presume," he sneered, halting in surprise when the young woman laughed.
"Oh, please, Professor Snape, spare me the melodrama of normal wizarding misconceptions," she said scornfully. "Wizards have lost a great deal of the old traditions they once held to. Many of the elder Vampires, however, have never ceased those practices, and teach the traditions to the younger generations of their kind. As for the rites of the New Year, well, you will just have to wait and see when you come on the trip." Brethany grinned at the scowl the Potions professor sent at her. Oh, it would be amusing, indeed, to see Snape pitted against the scathing sarcasm of a vampire with centuries' worth of experience. Amusing, indeed.
"Professor Lewis! Professor Lewis!" The cry echoed down the stone corridors, reaching clearly to Brethany's ears as she sat in her office grading tests. Her head whipped up, and her hand reached reflexively for her wand, then relaxed. That had been an exclamation of excitement, not of fear or anger. In fact, that had been the voice of an extremely excited teenage boy, a sound she was quite familiar with. True to her thoughts, a quick knock had barely sounded on her door before she had two energetic and eager teenagers in her office, both talking excitedly at the same time.
"Wait, you two, hold on! I can't listen to you both at the same time!" Brethany laughed as the two boys quieted slightly. "Now, i what /i are you both trying to say?" Harry and his best friend, the Weasley boy, exchanged glances.
"Is it true that you're taking the sixth and seventh years to visit a vampire colony," Harry asked eagerly, and the redhead beside him fastened large brown eyes on their teacher.
"Well, yes," Brethany told them, somewhat surprised, "But I haven't announced it yet, and I've only talked about it with Professors Snape, Sprout, Flitwick and McGonagall. As well as the Headmaster, of course. How did you two find out about it?" The boys exchanged slightly guilty glances. "All right, Harry, who did you eavesdrop on," Brethany asked in amusement, recognizing the expression. "Let me guess, you were listening to your Head of House talking, or rather hollering at Professor Snape about this trip." The two exchanged glances again.
"Actually," Harry started slowly, "It wasn't us. Hermione and Neville were in Greenhouse 7, and they heard Professor Sprout talking with Professor McGonagall. You are right, though, neither of them were very happy about it." Brethany had to chuckle. No, she was quite aware of just how unhappy Minerva and Pamona were with her.
"Cor," Ron Weasley breathed in wonder, staring at her. "You really i are /i taking them to a vampire colony!"
"Not 'them', Mr. Weasley," the DADA teacher corrected him, "You will be coming as well. You are a sixth year, after all. Your older brother Bill will be coming as well to help keep the peace, so I'm quite certain your parents should have little problem with you going on a small field trip." The gangly boy paled beneath his freckles, obviously uncomfortable with the idea of meeting vampires. "Harry, the Headmaster has taken it upon himself on behalf of your guardians to provide permission to come on the trip. Miss Granger, as I understand it, will reach her majority before then, and will not need parental permission, so I fully expect all three of you to sign up for the trip." Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Did you want to know something else, guys? I have to grade these tests, and I doubt that you really want your sister's bad grade on your head, Mr. Weasley." Both boys nodded, small grins on their faces.
"Can I just peak at-" Harry started mischievously, reaching for the pile of papers. Brethany swatted at his hand.
"None of that! Ah-ah! Harry, get your filthy paws out of Miss Lovegood's papers! Out! Out, both of you! I'll see you at supper, and the announcement about the trip will be made tomorrow in class. Don't dare tell anyone else, now! I want it to be a surprise. Tell Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom not to share the news around, would you? Now, out!"
Word Count: 1683