The first-year students stood outside the classroom, nervously twirling their hair and shifting their weight. This was going to be their first Transfiguration lesson at Hogwarts and many of them, especially the Muggle-borns who had never seen magic before today, were nervous.
The door swung open suddenly, startling those nearest the door. One of the girls dropped her books and scrambled to pick it up.
The witch who stood in the door was stunningly beautiful. Her long dark hair hung over her shoulder, and a golden headband gleamed like a tiara. Her dress was gauzy red, billowing down. A golden girdle ringed a slim waist and her dark eyes flashed. Her wand was long and slender.
But her smile was kind and when she spoke, it was gently accented. "Come in," she said, "Come in and have a seat."
The room was spacious and filled with books and cages of well-fed, healthy looking animals. When a few of the bolder students took a closer look, they were surprised to see that not all of the books were on spells. Shakespeare, Plato, and Euripides had found a place here.
On one of the walls hung a large painting. In it, a young witch with pale blonde hair was seated on a velvet chair. She wore a blue dress and had sparkling green eyes which smiled on the students below her. A tall girl stood behind the chair, her short brown hair tucked behind her ears. She also wore blue, but she seemed a little more critical in her examination of the new students. A tall boy with flaming red hair and a scarlet shirt grinned from beside her.
On the opposite wall, a portrait of a severe looking man with a trim white beard considered the room. He wore long black robes and stood against a royal purple backdrop. Occasionally he looked at the Professor and shook his head with a sort of bemused smile.
A large animal stirred near the desk. A few of the Muggle-borns gasped as the thing raised its head. It had all the appearance of a dog-sized ferret, who blinked sleepy eyes as it stretched.
"This lot doesn't look too bright," the creature spoke.
"Hush, Schmendrick," the woman scolded gently. "That isn't a very nice thing to say." She turned and smiled at her class.
"Welcome to transfiguration," she said softly. "I am Isabella Boot, your Professor. You may call me Miss or Professor Boot. Now, some would say Transfiguration is the most complex and demanding of the magics, but with hard work and a little practice, it can also be the most rewarding." She pointed at Schmendrick and the jarvey turned a violent shade of pink.
"Come off it!" he wailed. "Change me back!" She smiled and did so.
"There are many types of Transfiguartion," she explained. "That between two similar objects, say, a porcupine and a pincushion, will be the easiest. The hardest will be self transfiguration. Is everyone writing this down?"
After class, a few of the students stood outside in the courtyard for their break.
"I heard she's an animagus," one of them said
"What's that?" a girl asked timidly.
"It's when a wizard can change into an animal and back without a wand," the first one explained.
"Isn't she married to that man who works in Ollivander's?" another boy asked. "He makes and sells wands, ever since Ollivander retired."
"Yes, that's the one."
"Doesn't she have a daughter?"
"An adopted one. She goes to school in Italy. I heard that she's actually Professor Boot's cousin or something, but her parents died so the professor raised her."
"Professor Boot has a son, too. I saw him in Ollivander's," the girl insisted. "He's seven, with light brown hair and dark eyes. I think Mr. Boot called him Jason."
"That's enough chitter-chatter!" a prefect said, interrupting their conversation. "Go on to your classes, break is almost over."
A few floors above the courtyard, Professor Boot smiled as she closed the window.
"Cheeky blighters," Schmendrick said crossly.
"Oh, be quiet," Isabella told him, smiling to herself. "They don't know better."
The picture on her desk showed her and Terry with Beatrice and a small Jason. Another picture showed her with Alessandro in Hogsmede on her sixteenth birthday. The last picture was that of Isabella, Fred, George, Morgan, Alex, and Luna outside the castle.
Isabella slipped out of the classroom and wandered through the corridor, nodding at fellow professors and smiling at the students who scurried on to their other classes.
Finally, as the last classroom door swung shut and the other teachers settled down to giving yet another lecture, Professor Boot found herself at the top of the staircase of Ravenclaw Tower.
"What do you want?" the eagle knocker asked crossly.
"The truth," she replied casually. The eagle cocked its head at her and said at length:
"Many seek that, but few like the answer."
"Why me?" Isabella said. "I asked years ago: why me?" It was a question that Isabella wasn't quite sure the knocker could answer, but she asked it anyways. Why had Rowena chosen her to speak with? Why had the eagle knocker conversed only with Isabella, instead of the countless Ravenclaws who had gone before?
"I am part of ye, Lyon-Notte-Lyon," the knocker said, its voice changed to Rowena's musical tones. Switching back to its familiar sing-song cadence, the eagle continued, "Ravenclaws are chosen for their minds, and though you had great intelligence, that was not enough. You were made for Gryffindor, you the Lionheart. But wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure, and wit you possess.
"So Ravenclaw claimed you; that you might be clever enough to interpret the message, and brave enough to take action. You are the lion who is not a lion, the One Foretold to Rowena when Hogwarts was first founded.
"So Rowena made me, and crafted me with her mind, not only to guard the doorway but also to await the One Foretold. I knew your wit and recognized you. I saw the Lion when others saw the Gold Raven. So I spoke.
And that is why."
A/N: Another ending, my beloved readers. I must thank all of you, but especially those who reviewed. My deepest gratitude goes towards anyone who has been with Isabella since the beginning. You are the best readers a writer could ask for. - Elmethea