A/N : Thank you so much for your positive reviews! I've had a pretty trying two days as we went out of town and returned home pretty late at night. Your reviews gave me the energy boost to knuckle down and bear with editing the story. Enjoy!
Chapter 6
In which Albus Dumbledore wondered what he'd done in the past life to deserve this.
Harriet was talking to Padma Patil and Su Li, her new housemates. She was rather intrigued about the different cultures and was discussing the different magical creatures that is local to their birth countries. They were both born abroad but immigrated with their families when they were young, as such, they still have families in India and China.
Su Li was describing the Great Zoo of China, a conservatory for their magical creatures that had been very successful in preventing the extinction of many species, much to Harriet's interest, when the headache started. She massages her aching scar and looks up to see a professor staring at her. As Padma was asking some questions to Su Li, she leaned to her other side, to an older girl named Penelope Clearwater who earlier introduced herself as a Prefect.
"Ms. Clearwater, who is the professor who was talking with Professor Quirell?" She asked.
Penelope looked up and said. "It's Professor Snape, he taught potions. He's very strict, so make sure to listen to him well and read ahead of his classes. He liked to give pop up quiz." Her eyes shone at the thought of quizes.
Harriet raised an eyebrow and nodded, then looked back at the professor. He was engaged in a serious discussion and she let it go since her scar stopped throbbing. Turning back to her friends, she listened intently at Padma's story of the Nagas of India.
After the feast ended with the School Song that hurt Harriet's ears, they followed Penelope to the Ravenclaw Tower. Penelope knocked with the door knocker and the eagle head of the knocker give them a riddle.
"Thirty white horses on a red hill, first they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still. "
Harriet lit up as she recognized the riddle. Penelope turns to the first years and smiled.
"Anyone wants to try?"
The other children shook their heads, so Harriet raised her hand. "Is it teeth? "
"That is correct! " The eagle said.
The door swings open then, letting them into the common room.
Penelope gathered them in one of the study areas filled with study desks. Harriet looked around in awe of the miniature library surrounding the area.
"The library is open to all of the students, however it was charmed by Professor Flitwick to be age appropriate. Meaning that if you're not of age to read the book, your hand will just pass through the covers, unable to take it out. Asking an older student to do so for you will yield the same result. In Ravenclaw, we encourage the pursuit of knowledge over the leanings of magic. The books in the library covered Light, Grey, Dark and Black Magic. Any of you want to donate any kind of book, we welcome it. Over there, we even have a collection of Muggle Books. Discretion is appreciated, but other than Light Magic Books and Muggle Books, they all have been cursed with a tongue-tying curse. You can't discuss the book in front of other Ravens, before and after graduating Hogwarts."
Penelope walked to a table in the corner.
"After you finish a book, drop it here. It will then be returned to the appropriate shelf by magic. We, The Prefects, took turns every night before bed. Any students wished to donate books can talk to the Prefect. Don't worry if you've seen another copy in the shelves, we took copy. Oh, I almost forgot. You can take the book to your room, but expected to drop it back here before 8 pm. After that, you have to pay two sickles a day, to be deposited in that jar."
They all stared at an empty giant jar she pointed at.
"We took donations too, of course. At the end of the year, the proceeds from the jar will be used to purchase the books from the wish list. " Penelope pointed to a scroll of parchment beside the jar. "Anyone is welcome to write what book they wanted to be added in the library. Any books are allowed, but remember that it's all charmed to be age appropriate. So if you wrote an obscure book you need to be aware that you might not be able to read it until your seventh year."
She motioned for them to follow her to the entrance of two separate halls. "Girls to the right, Boys to the left. Your name is on a plate on the door. There's a communal shower inside each room and individual rooms inside each door. Your room is your own space, so keep it clean and manageable. You're allowed to do potion in your room provided that you remember to air it out after you're done with your potion. Now, before I let you go to your room, here's a word from our Head of house, Professor Filius Flitwick"
The Prefect bowed and went to the side to let the diminutive professor welcome his newest Ravens.
On the other side of the castle, Severus Snape finished welcoming his new Snakes and sighed heavily as he closed the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. Squaring his shoulder, he walked to the Headmaster Office to deal with Professor Dumbledore.
In the Headmaster's Office, Albus Dumbledore was staring at a photo depicting a couple in their wedding attire, flanked by himself and Minerva McGonagall. He sniffled sadly.
"She's here, looking healthy and happy. I'm glad that your sister managed to overcome herself and care for her. She's a Raven, much to our surprises. Oh dear, I must prepare twenty galleons for Filius. " He laughed a little.
It just seemed like yesterday that James and Lily Potter, the couple in the picture, asked him to be a witness in their wedding. He leaned back and looked at the Sorting Hat, who looked tired, and absently wondered what caused that long a hat stall while sorting Ms. Potter.
The gargoyle statue in the middle of a pair of bookshelves announced Professor Severus Snape and he waved to let him in. The younger man plopped down on the chair in front of him and took a deep breath. He looked stressed.
"What is it Severus? Is it something to do with the summon you received this afternoon?" He asked as he pushed his bag of lemon drops to him.
"Err, I don't know how to break this to you… " The man looked dazed, but his clear eyes didn't show any magical interference as he had thought when the potion master entered.
"Start with why you were summoned, and by who? " Albus instructed calmly.
"Uh, Lucius Malfoy. He was straightening the Dark Lord's vaults and was ordered to clear the Dark Lord's debts, so he summoned me to pay me my wage for my services as the Dark Lord's potion master. " Severus answered.
Albus was deep in thought. It was unusual for a Dark Lord to suddenly grow conscience and pay his minions, after all. More importantly, since when did the Dark Lord acquired a vault? He'd been somewhat an outcast when he graduated, and if he owns a vault, he wouldn't be that desperate looking for a job that he worked for a minimum paying job at Borgin & Burkes. He told Severus so.
"Yeah, well, because his last name wasn't familiar, the older families that went to school with him didn't bother to tell him about taking a blood test. By the way, according to Lucius, the prophecy is a fake and HarrietPotterismarriedtotheDarkLordandLuciusandCorbanwantedyoutogivetheDarkLordtheHippogrifftalk. " Severus finished his words in a rush, hoping for a normal dismissal, without paying too much attention to what he said.
"I'm so sorry my dear boy, I didn't catch those last words. " Albus said, steepling his fingers as he watched the potion master intently.
"Harriet Potter is married to the Dark Lord. We figured that since he's an orphan, he never got 'The Talk', so Lucius and Corban Yaxley suggested you. " Severus massaged his aching temple.
Why was he worried again?
"The prophecy is false? But it manifested in the Department of Mystery! Or… " Albus' face turned contemplative.
"So, about the Talk… " Severus still needed his answer soon.
"Hmm… ? The Hippogriff talk? You do know that it is to be a tradition between fathers and sons? " Albus asked serenely while his brain was whirring, processing the information.
"Yes well, his father had died right!? So he needs to be guided about this! And also, it would be prudent to teach him to pleasure his wife."
"Severus" Albus stared at him seriously. "Harriet is eleven. Beyond that, I myself never had the pleasure of The Hippogriff talk with my father. But that is okay, I'm sure I could tell him something. Pleasuring a woman though, was completely beyond me as I've never found myself in such a situation. " his cheeks reddened at the thought.
Was the headmaster blushing? Severus decides to not pursue this line of thought. He decided that he didn't want to know. So he stood up and stretched.
"Lucky for you, we haven't found him yet, and you have until Harriet's seventeenth birthday to practice." He nodded to the Headmaster. "I still have some preparations for the first class."
Albus watched him left with trepidation. How in the world did the task of introducing the Dark Lord to the adult wizard's world get to fall to him? He thunked his head to the table and looked up to Fawkes shaking his fallen plume off as if laughing at him. He sighed heavily.
On a more pressing matters, maybe it was time to have a chat with Professor Trelawney. Oh dear. He grimaced at the thought. It's not going to be pleasant.