An Interesting Beginning

The farewells next morning were fonder than Amelia had expected, having only met the Weasleys the day before. Giving her hand an extra squeeze as they stood on the platform, Molly reminded her of her earlier offer.

"It's really no trouble, dear, if you need to talk." Amelia wondered if the presence of so many rambunctious males got to her friend at times.

As they boarded the train she noticed Harry duck out from behind a pillar with Arthur close behind him, both looking grim. It didn't take much thought to guess what they'd been discussing; from Molly's expression she held similar suspicions.

Hermione was riding with her friends as usual, so she waded through the hordes of children and, nodding to her cousin, had quickly found herself a seat in the front carriage next to a large friendly woman who had in her charge a rickety trolley piled high with some of the most unusual sweets Amelia had ever seen. She and Elspeth, who, Amelia discovered, was the wife of the driver, spent a long and pleasant morning discussing everything from the current state of the ministry to the intricacies of village life in Hogsmeade. Mel had managed to follow most of the conversation, but her lack of experience in the wizarding world was beginning to tax her and she was mildly relieved when around lunchtime Elspeth announced that she must sell her wares to the chatting, laughing and – Mel suspected – generally misbehaving children inhabiting the compartments of the train and trundled off, the wheels of her trolley skittering madly as the tracks headed into a tunnel. She'd tried a pumpkin pastry upon her return, hoping to supplement the dreary Muggle train station sandwich she'd bought earlier but hadn't been convinced. Elspeth had settled down for what she termed a 'restorative' nap and Amelia had taken the opportunity to enjoy the countryside outside her window in solitude.

She'd always enjoyed travelling, walking, riding, singing along to the radio in a car, sitting with a book in the rumbling carriage of a train – it made no difference. It was as if time operated on different rules – time could stand still for those precious hours while she hurtled towards a new town, a new home, a new world. Her time to be herself: a little oasis of peace before the hustle and bustle of life took over. It was one of the reasons for her rather eclectic collection of previous jobs, stretching from archaeologist to ranger to roadie; teaching, she reflected, would probably be the most static post she'd ever held.

She was still staring out at the now rain-soaked world when she noticed that the train was slowing; excitedly, thinking that they must have reached their destination, she stood and pressed her hand to the glass.

Strange, she thought, that the rain should turn what had been such a muggy day so cold; her head snapped back as she reached for her jacket: something was moving outside the carriage, something dark. Behind her Elspeth awoke with a start as the train ground to a halt, spilling her pastries and cakes across the floor, her breathing loud in the unaccustomed quiet, they heard the sound of compartment doors opening as students tried to see why the train had stopped. Then, as if the darkness outside had reached inside the train, all the lights in the carriage went out; Elspeth gave a loud gasp and a point of light appeared next to Amelia – the older witch had got out her wand. Hurriedly, Amelia followed suit; even as she did ice covered the glass that her breath was now clouding over.

With a soft click, the driver's door opened and a middle aged wizard backed towards his wife, whimpering; Elspeth gave a strangled sob, her eyes and those of her husband affixed on the door to the carriage. There, in the half-light, was a shrouded figure, tall and thin and moving towards them. For a moment, Amelia felt sure that the creature, with its icy countenance and rasping breath was going to kill them, but it stopped before them, as if searching for something before moving off down the train. As it passed her Amelia had the sudden impression of bodies in rubble; running in the dark; the taste of plaster dust and smoke in her mouth; Hermione's anguished cries behind her. As the creature left them behind she was aware of sobbing – she turned to find Elspeth sat on the floor of the carriage amongst her ruined confectionary; her husband was knelt beside her, though he too was white as a sheet. Shaking, she lifted her hand to her face to wipe away the tears that she hadn't realised she'd shed.

The lights began to come back on, weakly at first, suggesting that the creatures had finished their unpleasant business within the train; the feeling of dread left her more slowly. She helped the driver, a short, hairy wizard named Horace, clear up the carriage and checked that Elspeth would be alright as the train shuddered back to life, glancing up at the door as she did so.

"Go on dear, I'll be fine", the older witch said, motioning Amelia along the train.

Slowly, due to the confusion of frightened children in the corridor, Amelia moved along the train, wand still out.

"What's going on Miss?"

"What was it Miss?"

"Is it coming back?"

Not used to authority, Amelia faltered at first before remembering that she was responsible for these children.

"Back into the compartments, please. Everything's OK now. We're nearly at Hogwarts – robes on everyone. No, it's not coming back," she answered as she made her way along the train. At least I bloody hope it's not, she thought, fervently.

She hadn't really expected it to work, but the Voice and the robes appeared to do the trick, imbuing her with the expectation of command.

In the last carriage she found the compartment that she'd been searching for, its occupants looking badly shaken. Inside were five kids, and one adult; she assessed them rapidly as twelve eyes turned to take her in. Harry looked up at her, a little dazed – he didn't look well; next to him Ron was clutching Scabbers, his familiar, in his top pocket. Ginny was holding her brother's arm tightly, eyes wide with fear; she was next to a boy with dark, floppy hair, already in his robes, who was staring at the goal of Amelia's search, who chose this moment to fling herself at Mel. She caught her cousin in a tight hug.

Breaking the embrace but holding onto the girl's arms Mel stared at her:

"Jesus, Hermione, are you ok?"

Hermione nodded, then glanced around in mild embarrassment.

Sensing this, the only adult in the compartment, a scruffy looking brown haired wizard in his mid thirties took his leave to speak to the driver; he handed Harry a large piece of chocolate. Harry was, Amelia noted, worryingly pale. He paused by the door and looked at her questioningly; she was quite pretty, he noted.

"My cousin," she said, by way of explanation.

"Oh, of course," he replied, allowing her to pass him before disappearing further along the train.

Blushing slightly, Hermione sat back down and said

"Er, Neville, this is my cousin Amelia", this was met by one intrigued glance and several weak smiles, "Mel, this is Neville Longbottom, he's in our year."

"Hi" nodded Mel as he peered at her; sitting down, she glanced at Harry and said "You look a bit peaky, I take it those floaty bas- things came down this way too", dismissing Hermione's shock at her near bad language with a look and putting a comforting arm around Ginny, who was gently vibrating with fear. "You all ok?"

Harry, who looked to be the least OK of everyone, nodded.

"Are you sure you're OK, Harry?" said Hermione, watching him anxiously.

"I don't get it… what happened?" said Harry, wiping the sweat off his face.

"Well – that thing – the Dementor – stood there and looked around (I mean, I think it did, I couldn't see its face) – and you – you –"

"I thought you were having a fit or something," said Ron, who still looked scared. "You went sort of rigid and fell out of your seat and started twitching –"

"And Professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked towards the Dementor, and pulled out his wand," said Hermione. "And he said, 'None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go.' But the Dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at it, and it turned around and sort of glided away…"

"It was horrible," said Neville in a strangely high voice. "Did you feel how cold it went when it came in?"

"I felt weird," said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. "Like I'd never be cheerful again…"

Ginny, who was huddled between Ron and Amelia looking nearly as bad as Harry did, gave a small sob. Amelia gave her shoulders another squeeze.

"But didn't any of you – fall off your seats?" said Harry, awkwardly.

"No," said Ron, looking anxiously at Harry again. "Ginny was shaking like mad, though…"

Amelia felt for the boy.

"Elspeth, the trolley witch, had a bit of a funny turn up front," she said. "And to be honest, I didn't feel all that fabulous."

"Er," said Neville, looking curiously from Hermione to Amelia, "How come you're –"

"On a train full of witches?" Amelia finished, smiling. "I'm joining the teaching staff this year – Muggle Studies".

He frowned slightly. "But I thought Hermione said that she was the only witch in the family."

Mel and Hermione's eyes met briefly "It's a long story."

They looked up as the compartment door slid open: Professor Lupin had come back. He paused as he entered, looked around and said, with a small smile, I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know…"

Harry took a bite and some of his colour returned; Amelia was mildly impressed.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes," said Professor Lupin. "Are you all right, Harry?"

"I'm fine," he muttered, clearly embarrassed

0o0o0o0

They didn't talk much during the remainder of the journey, Amelia choosing to stay with her cousin and Ginny. At long last the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a great scramble to get out; owls hooted, cats miaowed, and Neville's pet toad croaked loudly from under his hat, earning a surprised look from Amelia. The boy hurried away, blushing. It was freezing on the tiny platform; rain was driving down in icy sheets.

Amelia and the dilapidated professor hung back to avoid the crush. Shifting his suitcase, he offered his hand, saying "Professor Remus Lupin."

"Amelia Brown," she replied, as they shook. "I suppose I'm a Professor too, now."

His smile broadened.

"New?" he asked, and she nodded. "Me too. Defence Against the Dark Arts, you?"

"Muggle Studies," she replied, smiling back.

"Shall we?"

The crush outside the train appeared to be thinning. Hoisting her bag onto her shoulders, Amelia followed the Professor out of the train, where their luggage was removed for transport. Her new colleague nodded courteously at the greasy-haired man overseeing the chaos.

"Coaches again, Argus?"

The man scowled and waved them onto a muddy track where several hundred coaches were waiting to take the students up to the castle. The coaches were being pulled by some of the strangest creatures Amelia had ever seen; a kind of cross between a horse, a dragon and a corpse. The nearest one whinnied at her in greeting.

"Miss Brown?" Starting, Mel realised she'd been staring at the beasts and that Lupin was holding the door of the nearest coach open for her. Mentally shaking herself she apologised to her new colleague and allowed him to pull her up into the coach, which set off with a lurch. Noticing his curious look, Amelia enquired:

"What were those things?"

"Pulling the coaches?"

"Yeah. They're a little creepy."

Lupin nodded.

"Not everyone can see them, only those who've witnessed death. They're called Thestrals."

"Oh," she said, and thought for a moment. "But you can see them too?"

Lupin nodded and smiled a little sadly. Amelia looked away then, feeling she'd crossed some sort of line. They sat in silence for a few minutes, but Mel could feel his eyes on her. He was taking in her freshly tailored robes, smart(ish) appearance, authoritative air and incongruously messy blonde hair; he noticed the flash of a green scarf under her robes. It appeared to have skulls on it.

She was quite pretty, he mused, if a little odd.

Amelia glanced back at him as he turned to look out of the window. He was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizards' robes, which had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though he seemed quite young, his light-brown hair was already flecked with silver. He was quite handsome, she decided, in a bookish kind of way. Besides, she thought, I've turned up for work like that for much of the past decade.

He looked back at her then, and she saw that none of the outward appearance of tiredness had reached his blue-grey eyes. She smiled, embarrassed and looked once more out of the window. She'd been about to turn back again when the turrets of a great castle slipped into view from behind the trees, tiny golden lights shining into the darkness. She gasped.

"It's beautiful!" Lupin looked out at the castle and then back at his new colleague.

"You didn't study here?" he asked, perplexed.

"Er, no," said Amelia, tearing her eyes from the castle to look at Lupin. "I – it's a long story," she said, and filled him in on her mother's no-nonsense approach. She took off her dark purple gloves as she spoke and stowed them in her pocket, revealing nails painted an unlikely shade of blue.

He smiled at her. "You're one interesting witch, Professor Brown."

"Thank you Professor Lupin, but as we're going to be working together, perhaps you could call me Amelia."

He inclined his head.

"In which case Amelia, I would be delighted if you would call me Remus."

Amelia grinned at him as their carriage rolled to a halt. Remus got out of the coach before her and offered his hand for support as she climbed down. As their hands touched, Mel's mind flashed in that perplexing way it sometimes did on contact. She could see the full moon through the trees, as though she was moving at speed; could feel heat and sweat and pain; could taste the hot iron tang of blood in her mouth. As soon as she's felt it the sensation was gone and she was stood, staring at a bewildered Remus.

Mel realised that she was still holding his hand and snatched it back from him as if burnt. He was about to ask if she was alright when they heard raised voices from the carriage in front of them. She stared at him as he dismissed a spiteful looking blond teenager, who had been abusing Hermione and her friends, along. There was no doubt about it. She could see it in the way he moved, like a shadow clinging to him. Even his half-smile was a little wolfish as he turned back to Amelia.

She forced a smile and joined him in the crowd pressing towards the castle doors. As he led her up the steps she reflected that his condition could be perfectly ordinary in this world and decided not to hold it against such an apparently kind man. At the top of the stairs he turned to look at her, a little worriedly, but his new friend was smiling broadly once more. Encouraged, he smiled back.

"This is the Great Hall – we'll be eating up at the top table I imagine. The ceiling's enchanted of course…"

Amelia glanced up at the ceiling which was, sure enough, a perfect reflection of the storms outside. The Great Hall was magnificent, she thought. Forgetting herself for a moment, she mused: "How on Earth do the candles stay up?"

Remus looked at her in obvious amusement.

"Did no one tell you? We can do magic here."

She glared a little at his playful smile, but the corners of her mouth twitched upwards all the same.

0o0

A familiar elderly yet surprisingly spry wizard approached the two of them as they made their way up the hall.

"Ah Remus, it's good to see you again. You're up by Severus and Filius. Amelia, if you'll follow me, I'll introduce you to Pomona. I trust you had a pleasant journey – yes I heard about the Dementors."

"It was certainly eventful, Sir," she replied, a little shyly, smiling at the twinkle in the Headmaster's blue eyes.

"Please, call me Albus. This is Pomona Sprout – Herbology," he said, indicating a cheerfully rotund witch of about fifty, who offered her hand to Amelia. "Pomona, this is Amelia Brown, our new Muggle Studies Professor. You'll be between Pomona and Minerva – she'll be along in a moment." With that he swept to the middle of the table, a vision in deep purple. Pomona looked her new acquaintance up and down and apparently approved of what she saw, slapping Mel on the back and laughing heartily as she indicated the chair to her left.

"Try not to look so worried, lass," she said as Amelia unbuckled her travelling cloak and sat down.

"First day of school," Amelia said. "Always did this to me."

Pomona smiled, warmly, and offered her a glass of damson wine, which she gratefully accepted.

"Just stand up when Albus says your name and give a little bow. You can worry about everything else tomorrow."

Amelia reflected that this was probably the best approach as Dumbledore stood up and called for silence.

"I would like to introduce: the Sorting Hat!"

A three-legged stool was sat in front of the high table, on top of which was perched an old and battered wizard's hat. Amelia leaned forwards eagerly; Hermione's description of the sorting had been intriguing. The staff watched as the first years were led into the Great Hall, sorted into the four noble houses and took their seats with evident relief. As a tiny wizard with a shock of dark hair carried the hat and stool out of the hall, Amelia saw Harry and Hermione take their seats, the latter giving her cousin a reassuring smile. She looked up as an austere looking witch took her seat beside Amelia, smiling slightly at her new colleague.

Dumbledore stood once more to address the hall; Amelia smiled as the first years stared at his curious appearance. He had several feet of long silver hair and beard, half-moon spectacles and an extremely crooked nose. He had, she'd noticed, an extraordinary capacity for putting people at their ease.

"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"

Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued. "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused, and Amelia remembered what Arthur had said about Dumbledore not being happy with the Dementors guarding the school.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises – or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added, blandly. Out of the corner of her eye, Amelia saw Harry and Ron exchange a glance. "It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the Prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs foul of the Dementors.

Percy Weasley, sat in the middle of the Gryffindor table, puffed out his chest and stared around impressively; Amelia rolled her eyes, then fervently hoped that no one had noticed. Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the Great Hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued. "I am pleased to welcome three new teachers to our ranks this year.

"Firstly, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic, applause. Only those who had been in the compartment on the train with him clapped hard, Amelia among them. Lupin looked particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in their best robes.

"Secondly, Professor Brown, who has agreed to join us as Muggle Studies teacher."

To her surprise, Amelia received a somewhat warmer reception than Lupin – particularly from the Weasley family – but mostly from the male half of the room, much to her amusement. Several of the older girls glared at her.

"As to our third new appointment," Dumbledore continued. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other that Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching role in addition to his game-keeping duties."

The applause for Hagrid was tumultuous. Amelia glanced along the table to see an enormous, enormously hairy man turn bright red and grin into his beard. She grinned, from what Hermione had told her, he'd be perfect for the job.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"

The golden plates and goblets before them filled suddenly with food and drink, all of it delicious. The hall soon echoed with talk, laughter and the clatter of knives and forks. As she ate, Amelia chatted with Minerva and Pomona and soon found herself relaxing into her position at the top table. This might not be too bad after all.

As the plates were cleared away – magically again, Amelia noticed – Hermione and her friends picked their way over to Hagrid in order to congratulate him. Hermione called over to her cousin while the three of them were shooed away by Minerva.

"I'll see you tomorrow – good luck!" she gave Mel a big grin.

On Pomona's questioning look she explained, "Hermione's my cousin – I'm keeping an eye on her."