Disclaimer: The only things I own are any characters that aren't recognizable from the Harry Potter franchise. All else belongs to JK Rowling.
The Headmaster
Nicole's POV
"Woah." I couldn't help the look of awe that I was sure was crossing my face as I stared up at the enormous structure imposed behind the large iron gates. A huge castle stood in the distance, looking magnificent and majestic. It looked fit for a king, with towers and spirals shooting off from the towers. It loomed overhead, seated on a large cliffside that dangled high above a large lake. Looking off to the right I could see a huge Willow tree, larger than any I had ever seen, with slightly malformed branches. A hut rested several hundred feet from it, nearer to us than the Willow, set back at the edge of a large forest. A hand clamped down on my shoulder, grasp gentle yet firm. I looked to my left to see Snape watching me, expression guarded. "It's beautiful. Is this-"
"Hogwarts? Yes, this is Hogwarts. This castle is home to one of the finest schools for witchcraft and wizardry in Europe," he replied, taking in the grounds. "It's splendor is something that shall never fade, no matter the number of times you look upon its countenance or wander its halls," he explained further, a slight smile crossing his features. "It will be your home for the next seven years. You'll spend more time here than anywhere else," he added, glancing to me. His guard returned and his face closed off, emotion gone. "Come. The Headmaster is waiting for us," he added before he set off at a brisk pace, walking through the gates as they magically swung open. I jogged to catch up to him before falling in line, keeping up with his brisk pace.
"Well, while I'm still thinking about it, what was that before? How'd we get here? I mean, I know it's magic, but what was it?" I asked, considering the form of magical teleportation we had undergone to arrive here.
"It's called Apparition. It's a form of wizarding transportation," he replied, staring straight ahead.
"Sounds cool. How's it work?"
"Well, firstly, you need a wand," he told me, causing me to deflate slightly. It sounded like I wouldn't be able to apparate at least until I acquired a wand. "Secondly, it involves a great deal of control, discipline, and focus. This is something that eleven year olds do not possess enough of. Thirdly, you can't acquire an apparition license until you pass your test at the age of seventeen." I frowned even more at this, deflating completely. It sounded like I wouldn't be able to do that for quite a long time.
"Well, that stinks. Anyway, you never answered my question. How does it work?"
"It's magic," he replied, rolling his eyes. "It involves channeling your magic through your wand and focusing on your destination. There are three important steps to apparation, which include fixing your mind on your destination. You should be determined, step two, to occupy a set space which you should visualize. Thirdly, you invoke the magic by turning sharply on the spot and deliberately moving forward to your destination." I grinned at the explanation, taking in the information and processing it.
"Sounds a lot like teleportation if you ask me. Only more… magical," I replied with a small grin. He rolled his eyes slightly.
"I do suppose that the muggle concept of teleportation is very similar to disapparation. I wouldn't be surprised if the concept of teleportation stemmed from a muggle witnessing a wizard disapparating," he replied as we walked through large wooden doors, entering what appeared to be the entrance hall of the castle. I paused for a moment, staring around in wonder at the large stone structure before realizing that he had kept walking. I jogged once more to catch up to him, falling back into our pace rhythm, keeping thoughts of the castle from my head. After all, I'd have seven years to explore and marvel at it. I couldn't afford to be lost now.
"Muggle," I muttered, refocusing on the conversation at hand as I tasted the word in my mouth. "You've mentioned it before. I'm just going by the context, but does it mean someone without magic?"
"That's exactly what it means," he replied, a hint of a smile on his face. "You're a rare muggle raised student indeed. Most choose to bother me with inane questions, not choosing to search for the answer themselves." I smiled at this as we began climbing one of the many large staircases. I looked up to see that the stairs continued for several flights, some of which were moving. I could feel my eyes widen at this, causing my feet to spurn forwards to keep up with Professor Snape. After all, I did not want to be caught on the staircase should it decide to move.
"Well, I'm glad to have your approval. I do have another question: why couldn't you apparate us any closer? I find this walk to be extraordinary, but quite tiring," I commented to him, pausing slightly in my step. "Wait, don't answer that. It's because you couldn't, right?"
"Correct. Hogwarts has many forms of protection spells around it, one of which disables wizards from apparating on these grounds. Anywhere inside the gates is touched by an anti-disapparition jinx that keeps witches and wizards from disapparating on the premises." I nodded in response as we entered another hallway, the staircases long behind us. I paused slightly, looking ahead to see that the hallway ended in a dead end. A large gargoyle stood at the end, taking up a good portion of the wall.
"I take it that's our destination?" I asked as I followed him closer to the statue. I didn't receive an answer as we approached the gargoyle, soon stopping in front of it. The statue blinked, causing me to jump back in surprise.
"Acidpops," the professor spoke, not even giving the gargoyle time to say or do anything. It bowed its head, stepping to the side to reveal a moving stone staircase. It reminded me of an escalator, only made of stone. I quickly mastered the look of surprise on my face as I followed him onto the staircase. A loud crack of stone on stone sounded behind me, and so I turned to see the Gargoyle had slid back into place, blocking the entrance. I turned back to look in front of me, carefully stepping off the staircase when we reached the top. I took in a deep breath, feeling nervous at the prospect of meeting my future headmaster, while Snape took a step forward and knocked on the door three times.
"Enter," came a deep but aged voice from the other side of the door. I pushed away my nerves, which had doubled, at the voice that I could only describe as wise and weathered. I could tell the man on the other side was one to be respected, clearly having been through more than my own eleven years of experience. Snape pushed the door open to reveal a large circular room with a large wooden desk set in front of stairs leading to a second level. My eyes took in the man seated opposite us at the desk.
He appeared to be tall, though I couldn't really tell as he was seated. He was elderly, looking to be well into his nineties, though he didn't look frail. In fact, he looked strong for his age, and I figured that he was hardly a man to be trifled with. If anything, his crooked nose, indicating it had been broken at least twice, was a testament to his experiences in altercations. The most notable of his appearance, however, were his eyes. His eyes were a piercing blue that seemed to open the windows, gazing into your very soul. I felt as if I was being inspected as I moved forwards, as if he was seeing all that was and ever would be of my life. I stood still for a moment, gazing back at the man in front of me, waiting for some sort of sign of approval.
"Please, sit down," he said after several beats of silence, arm sweeping to indicate the chair across from me. I nodded, moving forward to take a seat across from him. He sat silently, continuing to study me, allowing me time to take in his office, using my peripheral vision so to aid my quest without seeming overly interested. A large portrait took up space on the wall behind his desk, a man seen sleeping in the portrait. To my alarm, though I tried to hide it, his nose wrinkled, the arm of the portrait moving up to scratch his nose. The man before me turned, briefly looking at the portrait that caught my attention, before looking at me once more. "Ah, yes. That would be a magical portrait of Armando Dippet, the headmaster to come directly before myself. I imagine this portrait is quite different to those you've seen in the muggle world, is it not?"
"Indeed," I replied, with a nod. "It reminds me very much of a video. Moving muggle pictures, though it would seem you are familiar," I replied, smiling at the older man. He smiled in return, nodding briefly before steepling his hands together.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Nicole. I've been waiting to speak with you. My name is Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts," he told me with another smile, his eyes becoming softer now that the examination was over, or so it seemed. His eyes held a twinkle that made him seem much more approachable and kind.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Headmaster," I replied, smiling in return. He seemed nice enough and sure was likable. "I am curious, however, as to why you've been waiting to speak with me. As far as I'm aware, you remain unaware of my current living conditions."
"Well, aren't you a well spoken one," he commented with a smile. "I suppose it was to be expected," he added, mouth twitching and eyes flickering briefly. The emotion had gone as soon as it came, so I didn't have enough time to register it. I did decide to store the conversation in my memory palace for further analyzing at a later time. "While I do remain, on the whole, unaware of the circumstances surrounding your home life, I was informed of the potential trouble. Beyond that though, you are someone we've been eager to meet."
"Eager sir? Why would that be?" I asked, choosing to skip the conversation of my home life for the time being. The longer I could put off discussing it, the better.
"As you see, you were raised by muggles, though both your parents were magical. It was an interest to me to meet you," he explained, piquing my interest. He had known of my parents, if not directly known them. Perhaps he could tell me something of them- even if it were only their names.
"You seem to know of my parents. I, sadly, know nothing. Could you- could you tell me about them?" I asked cautiously. I heard a cough from behind me and turned to see Snape shaking his head slightly. Turning my attention back to Professor Dumbledore, I noticed that he smiled sadly.
"I am sad to say that I can't tell you much of them. I knew them as students when they attended and walked through these very halls. Their names were Tom Riddle and Alexis Lune. Beyond that, I can't tell you much of them. I could tell you, at a later point, about their school life," he told me with a small smile.
"I would very much appreciate that sir," I told him, filled with happiness. I had the feeling he wasn't being entirely truthful, but I couldn't seem to find it in me to care. After all, he had told me more about them than I had previously known, and he had given an open invitation to talk more about them later.
"Now, on to business. Severus, I take it you must've found a number of disturbing truths to have returned so early," he commented, the twinkle in his eyes leaving to give him a more somber and grave countenance. Snape stepped forward then, seating himself in the chair beside me, leaning forward to brace himself on his elbows.
"Indeed. It would appear that her home life is, in no way, satisfactory. The scene I happened upon was disturbing indeed. Perhaps, if you would like to witness yourself…" he trailed off there, leaving the invitation open to Professor Dumbledore, who nodded.
"Yes, that would be for the best," he said, standing to move towards a cabinet, opening it to reveal a stone basin. He lifted it, moving it to the desk, before turning to Snape. "If you would be so kind," he added, gesturing to the basin. Snape in turn raised his wand to his temple before pulling it away, leaving a silvery strand of… something attached to his wand. He flicked the strand into the basin before moving back and allowing Professor Dumbledore to step up to the basin. "Severus, please wait here with Miss Riddle while I view these memories," he added before pressing his nose to the surface of the liquid. With a jerk, his body lifted before diving into the liquid, disappearing altogether. I looked back to Snape, shock clearly registered on my face.
"It's called a pensieve," he explained quickly, moving to take the seat next to me as we wait. "It allows wizards to view memories of past events. The silver strand you saw was my memory of today's events, which I removed so he could watch what happened." I nodded in response to this, watching the basin that he had literally just been sucked up into.
"Well, magic truly is amazing," I commented, receiving a nod of acknowledgement from him as we waited for Professor Dumbledore to return from his stroll down Snape's memory lane. "So… what's going to happen now?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.
"When Professor Dumbledore returns, he will evaluate the severity of your situation, which, is undeniably dire. In these cases, when a home is no longer deemed suitable for a student, the student is typically adopted by a relative or family member. In your case, where there is no such living relative, an adopter needs to be found in the magical world, which is difficult as we don't have orphanages in our world. However, according to Educational Statue 223, a student may be adopted by a professor in such a case. Being that you are about to start your schooling here, this is the route I foresee Professor Dumbledore taking." I nodded, soaking up the information as butterflies began roaming freely in my stomach. While I wanted to be away from my adoptive parents, I was nervous at the prospect of being adopted by a future teacher. Not only would it be slightly awkward in classes and stuff, but I wasn't certain about being sent to live with a stranger.
Thankfully, Professor Dumbledore returned then, being spat out of the basin in reverse of how he entered it. He turned around, his expression grave, and he moved to sit down in his chair. He removed his glasses, running his hand across his face, before replacing them and steepling his fingers. He looked across at us, a serious expression in place.
"Not that I doubted either of you for a moment, but the situation is dire indeed," he commented, looking between the two of us. I shifted slightly, uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was going. I wasn't pleased with the idea of my weaknesses being exposed, though I knew it to be necessary in order to ensure my continued survival. "You are not going to return to that couple," he told me after a moment. This reassured me, allowing me to release a breath I hardly knew had been caught in my lungs.
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," I muttered, trying to smile.
"You thought we would send you back there?" I heard Snape scoff. I turned to look at him to see a fury settled in his eyes that I had only seen earlier at my house when he took in my injuries. "As if. The thought of sending a child back to that is deplorable," he added, glaring slightly. My eyes widened as I quickly backtracked.
"I didn't mean any disrespect. It's just a relief to hear, even if I already suspected it," I told them quickly. Dumbledore smiled slightly, bowing his head.
"It's quite alright, Nicole. We understand that this has been very stressful on you. We only are interested in what is best for you. As such, I think it's time to discuss your options. Has Severus spoken to you about this?" He asked, causing me to nod.
"Yes sir. He told me that my options were limited, not having any living relatives. He mentioned an Educational Statue-"
"Yes. Educational Statue 223. I think it safe to assume he explained it to you?" He asked, to which I nodded. "I believe this to be your best and only option, however stressful or uncomfortable it may seem to you."
"It seems to be the only option left for me," I replied, frowning slightly as I looked down at the desk before meeting his eyes once more. "I'm willing to go with what you both deem best in this situation. Who would I stay with?" I asked him. He paused at this, considering what he was about to say.
"Considering the circumstances… I can only see one person on the staff that is adequate to both take care of you and aid you in adjusting. You need someone who will understand your circumstance and someone who can help you heal," he told me, looking away. I followed his gaze to see it resting on Snape, who looked up in surprise at Dumbledore.
"Albus! Surely you can't be serious," he replied, looking shell shocked. I resisted the urge to flinch, forcing back my disappointment. Of course I was a little upset at the fact he didn't want me, though I couldn't exactly blame him. After all, who would want to take care of a child carrying so much baggage.
"I am completely serious, Severus," Professor Dumbledore replied calmly. "You are more than capable for the job, and her situation is imperative," he replied, staring at Snape meaningfully. I shifted back in my seat, becoming uncomfortable.
"Albus-"
"Professor, it's fine," I interrupted, shifting again in my seat. "I understand. It's a huge turn of events and it's not something you can exactly force on someone, especially not someone who isn't used to kids."
"How do you-," Snape started but I interrupted him again with a sigh.
"It's obvious that you're used to teaching children, not living with them," I replied, looking back to Professor Dumbledore, feeling uncomfortable once more. "Really, sir," I told him, looking away from Professor Dumbledore to Professor Snape. "I don't want you to feel forced into anything," I told him honestly, maintaining eye contact while trying to seem calm and level headed. Besides, I thought bitterly, I'm used to not being wanted. I saw Snape look to Dumbledore, making eye contact. They seemed to have a few silent words before he turned back to me.
"It's not that… I don't want to. I am unused to children and I am not sure if it is best for you. If I did think so- If I was absolutely certain-"
"It's settled then," Dumbledore cut in, clapping his hands and smiling. I spun around to look at him, frowning.
"What's settled?" Snape and I asked at the same time, pausing to glance at each other before looking back to Dumbledore.
"You said so yourself Severus that you would take her if you were certain. Well, I'm certain that this will be an arrangement that will benefit you both in the long run. Nicole needs somewhere to be safe. She needs stability and safety. You could use something or someone to care for. This will be for the best. For you both," he told us with a smile. I glanced at Snape again to see him doing the same thing before he sighed.
"If you believe it is for the best, then I shall trust your judgment, Albus," Snape replied, shaking his head. "I'd be… pleased to adopt you, Nicole," he added, turning to me. I smiled in return and couldn't help the surge of happiness that flooded my system. I was elated. Someone actually wanted me. For once, I felt as if I might have somewhere to belong. And I can tell you this- it was the most wonderful feeling in the world.
"Thank you, sir. If you're sure, then I'd be thankful and am very appreciative of your generous offer," I told him with a smile. I thought about Dumbledore's words for a moment and realized that Snape may be exactly what I needed. I needed someone that wasn't overly emotional, especially since I wouldn't know what to do with that sort of affection. But, I needed someone that did care. I needed someone who could help me and could understand my predicament. I looked back to Dumbledore to see him grinning in return.
"Excellent. In this case, I'll have the necessary papers drawn up. In the meantime, Severus, I believe you should take Nicole to Diagon Alley to fetch her supplies. Unless there was something else you wished to discuss…" Dumbledore spoke, leaving the remainder of his sentence hanging in the air.
"Nothing that can't be discussed at a later time," Snape replied as he stood. "When should we return?"
"As soon as you return from fetching her supplies," Dumbledore replied with a warm smile, turning to me. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Nicole. I shall see you when you return."
"Thank you, headmaster," I told him before following Snape out the door and down the stairs. When we were almost to the bottom, the gargoyle leapt out of the way, allowing us to pass. I followed Snape back down the hall, retracing our steps from earlier, all the while leaving me to try and remember my way. After all, I'd need to learn my way around a huge castle such as this. We walked in silence through the building as I thought about the recent events. It wasn't until we were exiting the entrance hall that I decided to speak.
"I just wanted to… thank you, sir. I know this situation isn't ideal, but I want to thank you for agreeing to take me in," I told him honestly as we headed down the path towards the gate. He glanced sideways at me, lip twitching upwards.
"It is not a problem, Nicole. The situation isn't ideal, but it's something we shall both strive to make the best of. If the Headmaster believes we can make it work, then I'm sure we can," he told me, looking ahead once again. "And please don't feel the need to call me sir. As I'll be your guardian from now on, it is perfectly acceptable to call me Severus outside of the classroom." I smiled in return, thinking it over.
"Alright… Severus," I told him, trying out the name. I decided that I liked it, though it would take some time getting used to. "Where are we going?" I asked as we stepped outside the gates.
"Diagon Alley," he told me, holding out his arm. "It's in London. We'll be apparating into the garden behind the Leakey Cauldron. That's a pub that witches and wizards can access from the Muggle World. It's used as a gateway to access Diagon Alley," he told me. I nodded, taking a deep breath as I readied myself for more apparition. I then took his arm and, moments later, he spun on his heel, sending us back into what felt to be a wormhole. I closed my eyes, keeping a firm grip on his arm, and he on mine.
A/N: This story has been updated on 2/23/16 to account for minor spelling and grammar changes. I don't believe anything has changed in these earlier chapters, but I did change a few things around later on.
