 caffeine princess ♬ lunchbox adventurer ❀ little rose
Hogwarts: August 18, 1996
Every night for the remainder of the summer was spent as follows- at promptly six thirty, three house-elves would come up from the kitchens with their dinner. From then until about seven thirty, Ava and Professor Dumbledore would sit at a round table in one of the rooms at the top of the stairs and talk while they ate. They talked about her mother mostly, and Ava would try to fish out answers about her father.
"What's he like?" she would ask, and Dumbledore would chuckle.
"Well what's anybody like?" And his answers would leave her to ponder as the man changed the subject to quidditch, or something of the like.
After dinner, the house-elves would come to take away the dishes and the Headmaster would head off to his study. Which left Ava sitting on the four-poster in her room, trying to figure out how to get the box open. She tried everything.
First, the girl tried forcing it open to no avail. Then throwing it at the wall. The box itself seemed indestructible, however she was not sure about its contents. She tried cutting the lid off with a knife. She tried cutting the lid off using magic. She tried simple spells- alohamora, reducto, diffindo, etc.- all with no effect, except in making the box rattle and shake before sitting completely unharmed.
The only spell showing any effect on the box at all was Lumos, which caused the letters of Ava's name to burn in bright silver and then fade rapidly, some letters faster than others.
Two weeks before school started, the Professors returned to Hogwarts. Instead of eating by themselves, Ava and Professor Dumbledore joined the others at the staff table in the Great Hall. This year they were joined by Professor Horace Slughorn.
"Professor Dumbledore! It's good to see you again," he greeted at their first dinner altogether. "But I can't say I know this one," he added, indicating Ava.
The other Professors exchanged glances nervously, looking at each other in a way that implied they knew exactly why she was here and that Horace had crossed some sort of unspoken boundary. "Ah, yes," Dumbledore answered. "Miss Pierce has been staying with us due to the unfortunate passing of her mother. Special arrangements," he said calmly.
And as if taking the hint, Professor Slughorn said no more except, "Well then it's certainly a pleasure to meet you. Perhaps you can come by my office sometime for a chat." |