Disclaimer:I'm not J.K. Rowling. I don't own what she owns... I own Lindy & Annabelle.
Warning: Mention of AD/MM. Will occur further in later chapters, but this fic will be featuring on Minerva & her young charge more than anything else. R & R :)
Minerva grinned as they arrived at the manor and Annabelle sat still, clutching her stomach. "You're doing very well for your first time side-along apparating. Most people would have emptied their stomachs all over my carpet on the first time." She then smiled and gestured toward the sitting area. "Please, make yourself comfortable. Would you like a cup of tea?" Minerva grinned openly, no longer plagued by the thoughts of silly muggles.
Annabelle quickly nodded. She was so hungry, but she didn't dare tell the professor that. She looked around, comforted by the warm shades of maroon and gold spread throughout the room. The fire place was accompanied by a beautiful mantel that had all sorts of nick nacks and picture frames spread across it. The fire place was huge, with more than enough room for a person to walk right into it. This caused Annabelle to giggle as images of a rather rotund man falling down the chimney came to mind. Her mood was quickly dampened as she remembered the reason that she'd never believed in Saint Nicholas. He supposedly came to visit all the good little boys and girls, yet no matter how good she was, he never came. Eventually, she figured out what was going on and she simply waited until everyone else figured it out as well. It took a lot longer for the kids who had loving parents, but she didn't blame them. After all, it wasn't their fault that they were loved and she wasn't.
Minerva poked her head into the room again only to find Miss Wyte lost in thought. Somehow, she felt like she was intruding on the girl's moment of solitude, so she made her way back into the kitchen. Remembering that her husband would be home soon, she flicked her wand, casting her patronous and giving it orders to go find her husband and warn him that they had a visitor. They'd have to discuss why she was here later, but she'd wait to speak with him in person about that. For now, she just wanted to make sure Annabelle was okay. She then picked up both mugs of tea and offered one to her charge. "Here you go, lass."
Annebelle smiled at her Scottish brogue, which was much like her own. "Thank you." She moved to sip the tea when a thought suddenly occurred to her. This witch could have easily put something in her cup. As she pondered this thought for a moment, she realized that it couldn't be any worse than going back home, so she took a sip. It was earl grey tea in all of its magnificence. She inhaled deeply as the tendrils of smoke met her nostrils.
"Now, I must warn you that my husband will be home in a matter of hours. I'm sure he will be pleased to see you, but you don't have to speak with him if you don't want. I expect you'll be staying with us until term starts about a week from now. Until then, you'll be staying in one of our guest bedrooms. Would you rather see that now or after you've finished your tea? Either way is fine." Minerva smiled and took a hearty drink of her own tea, savoring the taste as the hot liquid dripped down her throat.
Annabelle pondered her options for a moment. She would really like to see her temporary room, but she'd also like to finish her tea. She supposed that finding her new hiding place would be a good idea and she concluded that the tea might still be there when she got back. "Can I see the room please?" She didn't dare call it hers when speaking about it to the professor. She didn't want the professor to correct her because if she did, it would diminish all thoughts of the room being hers.
"Of course." Minerva stood up, stretching and groaning as old joints popped. "Right this way, lass." Minerva was inwardly kicking herself for being so informal around the girl, but she couldn't seem to help it. She led the way up a set of stairs and then pointed to the door at the end of the hallway. "That's mine and Albus' room. If you ever need something during the night, that's where you'll find us." She then turned and walked straight across from the stairs, opening up the door to her room. "This is where you'll be staying. There's a bathroom attached through that door," She pointed to the one to their left." And the closet is through the door to our right." She grinned at the girl's awestruck face. She didn't really think the room was really all that great, but she did grow up in it, so her view was slightly biased. "Now, if you need anything, you can also feel free to call upon the house elves. Lindy will be at your service for the week. Lindy!"
Annabelle didn't have a moment to question the witch before a loud 'pop' was heard, not unlike the pop they made as they apparated away from her home. She then looked around as she heard a small voice speak. "Yes, Mistress?" before it piped up and just about shouted, "Oh! Mistress brought home a little miss! How may I be of service Miss?" The little creature was practically squirming in front of her as it she waited for a command.
Seeing the girl's confused, overwhelmed expression, Minerva stepped in to help again. "Annabelle, Lindy, here, is a house elf. She will be here to aid you during the week when I cannot help you, or when you'd rather her company. All you have to do is say her name and she will come to you." Minerva then directed her charge's gaze back to the short, floppy-eared, creature who just happened to be nodding at her statement. "Now, I will leave you two to finish unpacking." She again, wordlessly levitated the trunk and enlarged it, letting it come to sit at the end of the queen sized bed. "Lunch will be ready in a few hours, but Lindy can help you if you're hungry before then." She gave the elf a quick wink before heading downstairs to read for a bit.
Annabelle looked around the room, still shocked by how well the older witch was treating her. She was steadily working to unpack her trunk when Lindy snapped her fingers and everything flew to its correct spot. "Is little miss hungry? Can Lindy help little miss with anything?"
Shaking her head, Annabelle plopped on the bed, only to have her stomach betray her by giving a loud growl. She groaned and covered her face with a pillow, not wanting to let the elf see her reddened face. By doing this, she missed the soft 'pops' that happened, one after another, as Lindy went to the kitchen to retrieve some food.
Lindy set a platter on the bed and looked on at the embarrassed witch. "Miss, Lindy brought some food for you."
Annabelle slowly lifted the pillow off of her face, letting herself relish in the smells of delightful food. Lindy had also brought a pot of tea, which Annabelle was even more pleased with. She threw herself on the floor and wrapped her arms around the small elf. "Thank you, Lindy."
Lindy wrapped her short, little arms around the witch and smiled. Her Mistress did a wonderful job at picking which student to bring home with her. This one was so nice to Lindy. Yes, she be very nice to Lindy. Lindy only hoped that Master would like little miss too. Maybe they could keep little miss. Oh, Lindy hoped that they could keep her.
Eventually, little miss pulled back and wiped a tear away as she climbed back on the bed, quickly digging in to the food and gulping down tea. She felt so famished and the food was so good. When she finally finished eating, she asked Lindy to take the tray back to the kitchen and she laid down on the bed. After curling up, she found she was falling asleep within minutes.
When Lindy reappeared, she smiled at the sight before her. Little miss was asleep in Mistress' old bed. Lindy remembered tucking Mistress in when she was only a little miss. That had been years ago and Lindy missed having a little one to help take care of. She then snapped her fingers and apparated into the study where she knew Mistress would be reading. She bowed deeply and waited to be recognized.
Minerva heard the loud 'crack,' signaling that someone had apparated into the room. Upon looking up, she saw a smiling Lindy and shook her head. That elf never did learn. She didn't have to bow to Minerva, and she hadn't for years and years. "Yes, Lindy? Is Miss Wyte alright?" She asked this as concern seeped into her voice a little as her Scottish accent intensified.
"Oh, yes, Mistress. Little miss is wonderful." Lindy nodded her head vigorously as her ears flopped all over the place. "Little miss ate and then fell asleep. I think she liked the Gryffindor colors. Is she a lion?" The little elf had learned a lot about Hogwarts from working there during the school year, as well as serving the deputy headmistress on a regular basis. She hoped the young one followed in her Mistress' footsteps.
"Well, Lindy, she's going to be a first year. I don't know whether she will be a Gryffindor or not. You see, she could be from any house at all. She might not be mine." Minerva sighed, thinking that she'd seen traits from every house except Slytherin in the young girl. Minerva's face fell a little at this, but she forced herself not to dwell on it any further. She couldn't really get attached. "Thank you for all your help Lindy. You're dismissed unless Miss Wyte needs you any further."
With another 'pop,' Minerva was left alone to her worries, again berating herself for caring about this young girl so much.
It's just because she's one of my cubs, a student, right?