It took the Weasley boys just under 24 hours to accost me. Strangely enough it was Professor Sprout who led to this moment. It was 1pm lunchtime at Hogwarts which was always my busiest time as the teachers didn't have students to distract them from needing something. I'd spent the day running up and down the Astronomy Tower replacing the Star Maps that had been caught up in a slight Niffler infestation. When I was alerted the new trowels had arrived from Hogsmeade I was grateful to have an excuse to escape Sinistra's histrionics.

Strolling along the expanse of the Hogwarts lawn, I relished being able to be outside in the middle of the day instead of hiding away from my fellow inhabitants. It was the last few days of Scottish summer and I vowed to try and enjoy it knowing that the weather would turn so quickly.

Knocking on the doors of Greenhouse No 1 I heard the muffled protestations of the Professor, "Now really this is unacceptable behaviour so early in the school year and so discourteous to others.".

I walked in ready to see a shamefaced student who had maybe got a little too excited on their first day. I did not expect to see Sprout literally entangled up in some 8 foot of tangling vines and grotesque orange bubbles that were periodically popping and coating the plant, Sprout and the greenhouse in foul smelling liquid. I promptly dropped my package of trowels.

"Professor, are you alright? Should I go and fetch someone?" I exclaimed in a slight panic. My first day could not include one of the professors being strangled in front of me.

Sprout laughed. "No, no don't be silly. Gerald here just got a little over eager for fertiliser. Pass me that watering can would you?"

I grasped the enormous rusty vessel on the floor and gingerly passed it through the vines. She was able to extract one hand to take it and gently poured the brown liquid over Gerald the plant.

"Now dear, you are fine. We don't need to be so silly do we. You know, I would never forget to give you what you need hmmm. Now we'll take it nice and slow and there's really no need for that silly carry on hmm." She half whispered as she dowsed the plant whose tangling vines eased back into itself and gently unwound around the desk and Professor. It was rather touching really.

As she was set free, Sprout turned around and beamed at me. "Thank you Elodie. Much appreciated. Now what can I do for you?"

I remembered the trowels and set the package down on the available desk space. "Just that these arrived today from Hogsmeade."

Sprout smiled and picked up the package and I turned to go. There was only a 20 minute window to go and get a quick sandwich and I was starving.

As I went to push the door she called back.

"Ahh, Elodie, quick question!"

I turned back; the hopes of lunch were evaporating quickly.

"It's a funny one but would you come down to the Hufflepuff common room and introduce yourself this evening?

What?

"It's just that you are the talk of the town. New Defense professors, well no disrespect to our new Mr Lupin but he's just the latest in a long line. Hogwarts personal assistant well that is new. The common room, yesterday evening, was cock-a-hoop with speculations and gossip so if you'd be able to come down and explain just to dispel all the gossip that would be much appreciated.

"Umm, sure of course I can"

I thought that was the end of it but of course Professor Sprout just had to open her mouth at dinner and of course Flitwick and McGonagall thought that was a fantastic idea so my speaking engagements quadrupled. Even Snape nodded when McGonagall pointedly asked him if he wanted me to go down. It could have been an involuntary spasm or twitch though.

Ravenclaw was first, it took me 10 minutes after I said I had not a clue of how the magic worked. One little girl did ask me if I was happy which took me by surprise but by the associated groans it was clear that Lola? Luna? Lana? had a history of funny questions. With the benefit of hindsight I know that little girl didn't ask funny questions she just asked the ones that no one else was asking. There's a difference. It just takes a while to understand the difference.

Hufflepuff was more demanding than I anticipated but quick. Slytherin scowled at me for the entire duration and were disgusted the needs of the Head Boy and Head Girl would take precedence over them. (A Weasley and a Muggle Born! Absolutely vile!) I would say that Snape does have excellent student management skills as with just a simple eyebrow raise he silenced sixty of the most obnoxious snobby children existent in Magical Britain and Ireland.

Then it was Gryffindor. My last stop. The one I was dreading and also the one I was most excited for. I gave the password and gingerly stepped into the loud busy Common Room. In contrast to the other houses, their Head of House was not yet present so I thought I'd be able to set up fairly discretely but that estimation did not count on George Weasley.

"Elodie!" He yelled from the furthest away sofa surrounded by his twin and various Gryffindor Quidditch team members. One of the girls nearly fell off her seat and there was a lot of confused looks as the Gryffindors began to clock my existence.

I simply blushed-curse of pale skin- and kept on setting up my board. As the Weasley twins positively bounded towards me I was saved by the Floo. McGonagall gracefully stepped out and within a minute or so (slower than Snape I should say) the Gryffindors were relatively quiet. I noticed with interest that unlike the other houses she did not take a register. Gryffindor's more laissez faire approach does include a much larger element of sink or swim. If you miss it- you've missed it and must rely on a mate. Rather sweetly I did notice the twin Weasleys uncharacteristically hushing the younger ones.

"Mr Creevey Senior, please refrain from pointing that camera in front of you at every opportunity. Miss Elodie the floor is yours."

A sea of red and gold students stared at me.

"Right…umm thank you Professor McGonagall...so just to remind you, my name is Elodie and I've recently taken up the new role as Hogwarts Personal Assistant."

I saw a 5th year about to open their mouths for the expected what question but before I could answer I noticed Fred giving them a whack around the head with a whispered "Shut it!"

I nodded my head at him and continued. "So basically if you don't know what that is, my job is to effectively assist Hogwarts in its day to day runnings. Your teachers and other staff (must not mention House elves) do this anyway but I'm here to make it more streamlined. You honestly won't notice me much but hopefully you'll start to see the effects."

The Twins and others were smiling at me. This was going ok! I continued, warming into my little talk, "So the main reason I'm here is to explain my kind of priority list and new implementations. My first priority is to assist Professor Dumbledore, he's a busy man then it's helping all your lovely Professors like Professor McGonagall (muffled giggles at this point) so that they can continue to teach all your classes so that you learn which is sort of the whole point of Hogwarts."

I was slightly beginning to waffle so took a deep breath.

"Then my next port of call is the Head boy and Head Girl (every Weasley grimaced at this point) and then finally it's yourselves the wider student community. (there were a few whoops there) So that's where this board comes in handy." As I gestured to my A3 size white board.

I could see a few confused glances so decided to have some fun with them.

"So can I have a volunteer please?... Ahh yes George Weasley." I could see McGonagall's lips pursing but she was also hiding a tiny smile as George came ambling up to the front. He even did a little bow.

"So, thank you Mr Weasley. So imagine, Mr Weasley here maybe he's lost his tie, or his trousers ripped just before Breakfast, or the bed's broken. Instead of struggling or waiting to tell his hardworking Professor as she's about to teach a class all he does is write it on this board. So Mr Weasley write it down." As I gave him the pen I could see a little confusion but he dutifully wrote

Lost tie

"Can I have a little more detail please like your name and year?" I gently teased.

George Weasley in fifth year has lost his tie.

"Excellent. As you can see there is a little charm which transcribes your words to my arm."

There were gasps as I showed the students how George's slightly messy handwriting was transposed onto my arm in red.

"So I can feel a slight tingle when someone writes on that so I'll be able to check my arm and see that and I will endeavour to sort it out. Please be aware you need to write small because I only have so much arm. Also if people write foolish stuff or abuse the board it's been agreed the whole House loses the board for a week after warnings."

McGonagall was nodding. "Yes, any perpetrators abusing Elodie's time will be losing points and going into detention. This is a privilege and not a right. Am I understood?"

"Yes Professor McGonagall." Was the subdued reply.

"So that's effectively it but the plan is-as agreed by Professor Dumbledore that in non-Hogsmeade weeks each house will have a day to order supplies as such and I'll go to collect them. So on a Thursday evening for Gryffindor you can write down your reasonable order. After dinner I will come and collect the money. Then I will bring it back on a Friday evening. Orders can't be excessive and you must have the money in advance."

That brought out an excited buzz which Professor McGonagall had to take a minute or so to calm.

"Yes it's all very exciting students. Again I will be incredibly disappointed if any of you dare to abuse this kind scheme."

"Thank you Professor McGonagall. I'm finished but any questions?" Hands shot up.

"What magic is that spell?" Came from a certain bushy haired student.

"Not a clue." Considerably less hands went down at at then they had in Ravenclaw.

"Does the spell hurt you?"

"No it's really only a tingle." Absolute fucking lies from me. I was fully prepared for my arm to be on fire half the time.

"How quickly will you answer the board?"

"Completely demands on my schedule but as soon as I can. I do check and see how important it is."

"Can we do Hogsmeade orders on other days?"

"No I'm busy and I'm doing other Houses on other days."

"Why do we call you by your first name?"

"I'm not a professor."

"Where were you before this? Did you go to Hogwarts?"

"No I did not and I've just been..around and about the place" I could hear a snort from the Weasley corner.

"If you can't do magic how did you get to work here. Are you a squib?" Came from a particularly pompous looking girl.

"Oi Vane! Shut it." Came from Fred Weasley.

"Mr Weasley! Miss Vane that was a highly unpleasant question. I'm waiting for an apology to Elodie." Was my defence from McGonagall.

I got a muffled sorry and an eyeroll back.

"Right if that's it. I'll be off. Thank you!"

I did a swift exit but from the corner of my eye I could see the twins trying to follow me but being stopped by McGonagall as it was now well past 9pm.

I'd see them soon.

About 45 minutes later, I was carrying an extra chair to Charms to avoid those two third year Ravenclaws sharing a seat again. I was accosted by that familiar ginger blur.

It was a deserted corridor so I sighed and laughed. Honestly they were simply irascible and I loved them for it. I was in for a bit of a questionnaire though.

"Ahh Elodie you have been keeping secrets. We had no idea you were such a eloquent speaker"

"But such a terrible liar."

"I can't! I can't tell them I was here before. Dumbledore would have my head."

"But why...Elodie… why are you just appearing out of the woodwork now?"

"I just was persistent enough." I laughed it off with a rather strained smile.

"But…"

"Look lads, I'm fine. It's all good now. I'm a member of staff. I'm even there at dinner. Just you can't let on you've known me for a little longer."

They scoffed and did that weird twin telepathy thing again obviously agreeing to drop it before changing tact.

"So Elodie… our most special acquaintance who we've known now…for what George…five years?"

"Ahh and what a delightful five years they've been my dear Elodie"

"What will you be able to do for us now you're finally out in the open and sharing your radiance with everyone?"

I rolled my eyes. "You already know where the bloody kitchen is. Look lads I can't do anything but obviously…you know…my unofficial priority list may just prioritise scrawny kids with ginger hair?"

"You can't do that to Ron! You don't even know him."

"Oh sorry of course I meant devilishly handsome young men with locks of flaming sunset?"

"Ahh Elodie, if my affections weren't already tied to the delightful Miss Johnson.. what could we do."

"Freddie, my idiotic distant relation, you're forgetting Elodie's other dashing acquaintance?"

What

"Ahh…our newest Professor Lupin. We did notice that you were looking rather comfortable at dinner with Mr RJ Lupin."

I tried to laugh it off. "We're colleagues. I barely know the man. Have you had him yet?"

"Yeah, he was 3rd period today. He loves a magical creature. Just a shame about those bloody Slytherins."

"What do you mean?"

"They're not a big fan of professors with holes in their socks. That idiot Montague was mouthing off."

The clock struck. It was midnight.

"Look lads you need to go. I'll walk you back."

We walked back managing to dodge the final patrols.

It was 1am before I made it to my own bed. The next morning I may have slightly ignored Cassius Montague's request when his broom went missing that morning. I do not have a clue how it ended up in Sprout's dung heap. Peeves must have had a grudge against oily tree branches. Equally I'm not sure how a dozen pairs of socks ended up in the Twilfitt and Tattings order but after explaining it to Professor Lupin he was happy to take his Welcome to Hogwarts gift in the form of socks.

The next few weeks went by in a blur. The boards in the common rooms had a few teething problems and Ravenclaw was the first to lose theirs for a week after some silly 2nd years decided to use my arm as a hangman arena but nothing major. I hadn't had any run ins with Dumbledore before one evening I was summoned to his office. When I arrived, it was clear he was in some meeting so I waited outside.

It was a welcome surprise to see Lupin also coming up to hover outside the office door. We'd had a few chats over dinner but both of us were busy so nothing really to report.

"Ahh Profess… Remus sorry. How is class going?"

"Elodie good to see you! I've just had a great time with my first years today. We've started to explore a little of the Grindylow and its habitats. Mr Creevey junior loves a fish. They're really starting to get the whole importance of…"

The man lit up so much when he discussed his classes. Remus Lupin was by no means perfect but no one not really Snape could deny teaching was his vocation. I've never seen someone take so much joy from importing knowledge. His patience and manner made many a student feel safe in his classroom which is no small feat when it comes to the typical Hogwarts classroom.

After a good fifteen minutes chat my arm was heating up. It was peak time post dinner and the requests were flooding in. The tricky thing with this curse was that once it filled up my arms it went on up my legs which did not have the same pain tolerance. I needed to sort out a few minor things to clear up the backlog but I knew if Dumbledore did not find me waiting to sort out every demand the repercussions wouldn't be worth it.

Despite my best efforts, Remus noted the wincing as the words began to encircle my ankle.

"Elodie, are you alright, are you in pain?"

I tried to brush him off but I suppose the werewolf senses were that bit too perceptive. He came over to me gently.

"Elodie you need to sit down. Just tell me what's happening love. Will I get Madame Pomphrey?"

I shook my head vigorously and for once in my life I was glad to see Dumbledore finally deign himself to relieve his waiting subordinates.

"Ahh Lupin, you come up on then." He beckoned to the office with an imperious air I was well used to but not accustomed to seeing it directed at a Professor. While he's a nasty bastard, he generally turns on the charm to the teachers. We swiftly scrambled into the office.

"Right, I've spent too much of this year in bloody meetings but it seems the idiots abroad have agreed Hogwarts will host the Triwizard next year."

Remus muffled a slight gasp of astonishment. I was just lost

"The Triwizard?"

Dumbledore snorted but Remus swooped in as my saviour.

"It's a tournament between the best individual students in the European Wizarding schools. It's not been a fixture for over 100 years as there was a lot of deaths. Professor are you quite serious in this?"

Dumbledore darkened at being questioned.

"Yes man, it'll be safe enough but I don't need you to be my safety official. I get enough from the bloody Ministry. Anyway, it's a big honour for Hogwarts but one must bite their tongue and hold their nose as it involves the bloody French. You'll know all about that eh Elodie." He leered this last rhetoric statement at me.

I kept silent trying to not to give him the satisfaction of a rise. It wouldn't fucking do anything anyways as I'd well learnt. Unfortunately this was not a lesson my poor Welsh colleague had learnt.

"Eh Professor, I must object.."

"Lupin, might I remind you of the strings that have been pulled for you."

The man was subdued once more.

"What a bloody waste of time," Dumbledore muttered. "Anyway, there's a whole heap of bloody bureaucracy that needs to go to the frogs. You both speak the language so that's a job for the pair of you. There's the paperwork. It's a lot of box ticking and compliance checking but unfortunately my trained Nifflers are engaged in more important business so it's up to the both of you."

The vast pile of parchment was sent nearly into Lupin.

"I don't need my office polluted by some French tart so you may both do this in Lupin's classroom. I need it back by the end of the month. Is that clear you both? Elodie will you cope with the simple task of reading."

I was so close to rolling my eyes but instead went to take my share of parchement.

Lupin was rather aghast at the whole exchamge but he rallied himself by glancing at the clock. "Look Elodie it's past 10pm so there's no point in making a start so we'll get a start on this tomorrow. Does 8pm tomorrow evening work for you?"

I nodded.

"Ahh how lovely staff unity." Dumbledore rolled his eyes. "Get out of my sight the pair of you. Actually Elodie get me a cup of tea."

I helped Remus get his parchment out the spiral staircases on my way to the kitchen.

"Elodie, look it's none of my business but you know the way he treats you is abhorrent don't you."

I simply shrugged at him.

"Anyway, he'll be raging if you don't get him that cuppa. I'll see you tomorrow?"

I smiled and nodded. I was on my way out as Lupin called back.

"Elodie, with that arm try a bit of Murtlap essence to heal the sting."

I smiled and rushed off to the kitchen to bring Dumbledore his bloody cup of tea with a little Firewhiskey added as per usual.

As I was setting it down in front of him and trying to leave as soon as possible Dumbledore spoke.

"You'll have fun with Lupin tomorrow. It's such a shame you know he doesn't recognise you but I suppose why would anyone remember a grubby kitchen chit. And of course you obviously can't tell him."

I just stood there trying not to let his words seep in.

"Ahh, poor Elodie, even the dirty halfbreed doesn't want a French tart. Have you noticed the office smells of wet dog after he's in it. The only reason I held my nose and offered the position to him was that bloody budget. Mandrakes are expensive. Desperate ramshackle werewolves come a lot cheaper. Anyway if that manaic Black comes near to the school he's easily expendable."

I turned on my heels and left. The only smell I could detect after the stench of that office was chocolate, old books and that same little undercurrent of sadness.

That's the thing with me and Remus. Everyone always thinks I loved him and I did but not like that. Anyway his heart had been reserved since he was seventeen years old. I loved him because he tried. He tried to save me as a little girl and tried again many a year later. History just disagrees on whether he succeeded.