“Whatever for?” Dierna asked as she eyed the stack of books skeptically, “you’re not turning into a Ravenclaw on me, are you?”
“Of course not. It’s just that our discussion about Aagensen got me thinking… I wanted to see what I could find on her.”
“Go on then!” Dierna sat up excitedly, eager to see what her twin had found.
Serena flipped open the top book from the haphazard stack and flipped to the middle, “she was a Hufflepuff…”
“Of course, otherwise she wouldn’t be the Head of Hufflepuff,” Dierna couldn’t keep the exasperation out of her voice.
“Let me finish!” Serena said irritably, “I thought it was very odd that she was in Hufflepuff, that she attended Hogwarts at all, as the school records list her as being from Norway.”
Dierna frowned, “shouldn’t she have gone to Durmstrang then?”
“Exactly.”
“Hmmm… I wonder why… could it have been an effort by her parents to keep her out of a school where the Dark Arts are stressed? She would have been a student back when Voldemort was around for a second time.”
“That’s what I thought, but after doing a little bit of snooping into the school records…”
“How in Merlin’s name did you get access to school records?!” Dierna demanded.
Serena had enough good grace to look the slightest bit guilty. “Well… let’s just say that I’m really glad we have the Marauder’s Map, otherwise it would have been impossible. And I’m definitely not planning on every breaking into the records room again. Far too dangerous and not worth the nerves it cost me. I swore I was going to get caught.”
“What did her records say?!” Dierna leaned forward in anticipation, glad that the rest of their dorm mates were still down in the Common Room celebrating, or actually bemoaning, the start of another school year.
“Well, it’s rather funny actually…”
“Stop stalling!”
“I’m not stalling!”
“Now you’re doing it just to irritate me!” Dierna looked thoroughly put out.
Serena rolled her eyes, “fine, if you don’t want to know…”
“Alright, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, just tell me already!”
“The things is,” Serena leaned forward and dropped her voice down to a whisper even though no one else was present, “Durmstrang wouldn’t admit her.”
“Why?” Dierna subconsciously also dropped her voice.
“That’s just it, it doesn’t say.”
Dierna sat back up and frowned as she tried to reason her way through this odd turn of events, “Dumbledore would have been Headmaster then… from what I’ve heard he was always one for giving people second chances…”
“Maybe Aagensen had done something horrible and Dumbledore was willing to take her in even though Durmstrang wouldn’t,” Serena suggested.”
“I don’t think so, how could anyone do something that horrible by the time they were eleven? That doesn’t seem to fit.”
“Maybe something to do with her family then?”
“Possibly, maybe the whole lot of them were death eaters. Even Durmstrang would have had to have been careful about that back then.”
Serena frowned, “I think she’s hiding something, and I don’t like it.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“Is she sound asleep, just like I told you she would be?”
“Yes,” Morgan said, grateful that everything was fine, just as Severus had assured her it would be, but slightly irritated by the smug and superior look on her husband’s face.
“You worry too much.”
Morgan could have thrown that exact same sentiment right back at her husband. But she found she wasn’t in the mood for the argument, or the even worse stony silence that would most likely follow it.
“Are you going to stand there all evening?” Severus asked as Morgan continued to stand in middle of the living room, a rather distant look on her face.
Morgan mentally shook herself, “quite possibly,” she responded sassily.
Severus snorted, “come sit with me,” he ordered as he gestured to the empty spot next to him on the couch.
Morgan tossed her hair over her shoulder but remained where she was.
“If I have to come over there and get you myself you will be very sorry,” he threatened silkily.
Morgan rolled her eyes, but made her way over to where her husband was and allowed him to pull her down onto his lap, “did you ever think that perhaps I wanted to sit next to you, not on top of you?” she couldn’t help asking, an impish smile falling into place.
“I would rather have you here,” Severus assured her.
“I love you.”
“And I you.” Morgan wriggled a bit and buried her face in her husband’s neck, “how can I teach a class tomorrow knowing that my students may be forced to fight for their very lives a short time from now?”
“You will do so because you must. Because we all must.”
“How can you bear it?”
“Because it is necessary.”
“You are so steadfast, I don’t know how you do it.”
“Years of practice,” Severus responded dryly.
Morgan smiled at that, “you’ve also had years of practice at being the overgrown bat of the dungeons,” she pointed out.
“That impertinent tongue is going to land you in a world of trouble some day.”
Morgan was tempted to make another pert response and opened her mouth to do so.
“I would advise against that,” Severus cautioned her.
Morgan settled for a kiss instead, loving how Severus was forceful without being forcing.
“I should stop by the Common Room to make sure nothing is being destroyed,” Severus finally said, detaching himself regretfully from his wife.
“Will you be too long?”
“Hopefully not, but do not count on me being back for at least an hour or two.”
“I’ll wait up.”
“Go to bed if you are tired Morgan,” Severus said gently as he gave his wife one last kiss.
“I want to wait up,” Morgan assured him.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Sophia had quickly penned a note to Remus and Kalliope telling them about the Sorting Ceremony. Until she received a reply all she could do was wait nervously to see what Remus’ reaction would be.
In an attempt to calm the older girl’s nerves Brandon Potter had borrowed a chess set and was now going over the board and the pieces with her.
“What is this piece called again?” Sophia asked as she peered at the chess piece in her hand while the younger boy tried to explain the game to her.
“It’s a rook, and see it moves like this,” Brandon was in the middle of a demonstration when the Common Room door opened. Every head in the room turned to see their Head of House standing there. “Come on,” Brandon quickly grabbed Sophia’s hand and dragged her towards the open middle of the Common Room where the rest of the House was congregating.
Sophia allowed Brandon to drag her, practically at a run to where the rest of the Slytherins were lining up. She found herself in between Brandon and Mark in one line, facing the other row of Slytherins. She was thoroughly confused. She had spent enough time in Gryffindor tower last year to know that they had never lined up like this when their Head of House showed up. She wondered if this was a start of the year formality or an everyday practice. And she found herself feeling rather nervous as Snape walked in between the two rows, not saying anything.
“How was your summer sir?” Kay Parkinson, asked as Snape passed her. There was an immediate effort by fully half the students in line to hide smiles and scattered laughs that were turned into coughs.
Snape paused mid step and turned on his heel to face the girl, “Miss Parkinson, as… touched…” there was more muffled laughter, “as I was by your personal inquiries into the state of my health and well-being this summer, I found it quite unnecessary for you to write every week. I also found the efforts of your Housemates to do the exact same thing, put up to it by you no doubt, to be utterly appalling.”
“Sorry sir, but you are our Head of House after all, can you blame us for showing concern for you?”
“Miss Parkinson,” Snape continued in his classroom voice, looking very stern indeed, “I would like to remind you that starting immediately the teaching staff will start watching, very closely, the candidates for next year’s Head Girl. Should you wish for my recommendation I suggest you watch yourself.” He leaned down so that his face was directly above hers, an act that would have sent any Gryffindor into tears of fear, “and if there are any more enquiries as to my health or how I spent my summer I will hold you responsible and a trip to my office is guaranteed. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal, sir,” Kay replied, although she was obviously grinning, and did not appear at all intimidated.
Snape resumed his trek between the two rows of Slytherins, “Mr. McKean, I hope your chess game has improved.”
“Significantly sir,” Mark replied from his spot in line next to Sophia.
“Hmpf… we shall have to see about that.”
Sophia watched in wonder as Snape continued to walk up and down between the lines several more times, addressing several of the students. After viewing Marcus, Agrippa, and Posthumous’ smirks he cuffed them each on the back of the head with an order to, “see if you can’t behave yourselves this year Misters Bulstrode,” and snorted when they told him that their Aunt Milly sent her fondest regards. He spent several minutes talking to a third year further down in the opposite row. Sophia looked down when Brandon nudged her in the ribs.
“Her parents were both killed last year,” he whispered so softly that Sophia almost didn’t catch it, “she’s a ward of the school now.”
Sophia gave half a nod and turned back to watch Snape’s progress. He spent a minute discussing professional quidditch with two sixth years, and then patted the two second year girls rather absently on the head, causing them to grin widely, as he passed them on his way back to the top of the lines. She sincerely doubted that this was the Snape the Gryffindors saw and complained bitterly about in the classroom.
