Chapter 5
Spending time with Severus was perfect for her plan.
She was beginning to reconsider this notion, as eight o’clock drew closer. She’d tried to choose her outfit carefully. As she was leaving the sanctuary of her rooms for the first time, she needed armour to keep her protected, and proper clothes should serve that. An off-white shirt with puffy sleeves. A deep green ankle length skirt with straps going over her shoulders. The black boots with straps and silver snake buckles from her first meeting with Dumbledore and Severus. A red ribbon tied around her collar, because she liked the way the red brought out the green in her skirt. She was rather busty, so she let the ribbon hang loosely to not overcrowd her chest area. The last piece was a woollen cape-like cloak, black with a green and red vine decoration around the hem, fastened at the neck with a clasp that once closed would look like two serpents intertwined. She’d chosen not to add a decoration to her hair or any pieces of jewellery. She loved the outfit to bits; it was perfect for a first impression in the Great Hall.
She wanted to give the illusion of a Slytherin without trying to claim to be one. Considering most of these teachers would have taught her as well if she had attended Hogwarts, it wouldn’t do to claim she had graduated from their lovely school. Instead, she’d try to put forward an idea of being home-schooled in the magical arts. It wasn’t something that was done outside of pureblood families, but maybe she could present her Muggle customs as her parents’ eccentricity that way.
When she was satisfied with how she was going to present herself, she hesitated with her hand over the bowl of Floo powder. He was going to bite her head off for daring to Floo call him, but she needed to run her story through someone. And really, he wasn’t expecting that someone to be Dumbledore, was he? Maybe he wasn’t expecting it to be anyone at all. Maybe he wasn’t at all interested in the story she fabricated to make her position at Hogwarts believable. Fuck this! Grab a fucking pinch of Floo and just do this!
“Severus Snape’s office, Hogwarts!” she cried out, maybe a little too loudly. She inhaled slowly, counting to four, then exhaled slowly, counting to five, as she waited for him to answer.
“Miss Spencer, to what do I owe this interruption?” his voice seemed a bit strained and surprised. Of course, it would be, why would he want to speak to her before he had to?
“Professor Snape, good morning. I have a few issues about my backstory. I wish to discuss them with you before we go to breakfast this morning.” She rushed to say, before he decided this wasn’t worth his time.
“I see.” The pause that followed felt like an eternity, but Almathea waited patiently to discover the decision Severus came to. “Please come through, then, Miss Spencer.” He said and the flames started to shimmer.
“Umm, how exactly do I do that, sir?” Why the hell was she calling him sir?
“Since the call is already open, all you have to do is walk through the flames, of course.” Why was he implying she was an idiot for not figuring that out on her own? It wasn’t obvious, was it? It couldn’t be obvious. Almathea straightened and took a deep breath before stepping into the flames.
It felt like a blur, like something was rushing over her and through her and around her all at once. Like she was falling upwards and downwards at the same time. The rush was dizzying and she stumbled from the fireplace on the other side. Strong arms caught her before she fell and broke something. She wanted to vomit. Please, God, don't let her vomit on Severus Snape. Who the hell was hyperventilating so much?
Oh, right, it was her. Her vision was still blurry and her legs gave way. She crumpled on the floor, the arms let go of her as she steadied herself with her own hands on the floor. Her vision was dark around the edges and her fingers began to prickle. Was this a normal reaction to Floo travel, her addled brain wondered, or was this just because she was a Muggle? Please let this not be a usual reaction, because if using the Floo was this awful, she was never doing it again. Breathe in, hold for five seconds, she told her muddled brain – she only managed two. Breathe out, hold for five seconds – she managed three, but it was better than two. She kept it up, she wasn’t sure for how long, until she began to see a little bit more than shifty dots in front of her eyes. The prickle in her fingers was diminishing as well, and then she could see them and she felt a little relieved.
The strong hands returned and brought a vial of something in front of her eyes. A potion. Oh good, a potion. She raised her eyes slowly, as the nausea came back with the motion of her head. Her fingers were shaking as she reached for the vial, but Severus’ fingers brushed hers gently aside and he approached the vial to her lips.
“Open.” He said and Almathea obeyed. It tasted like shit, of course, all medicine tastes like shit. That was why Muggles used tablet forms to administer it. But a warmth in her belly spread and the nausea subsided. An anti-emetic potion, so useful. A second vial came into her field of vision and Severus motioned it to her lips again. She obediently downed the second potion as well. The effect was immediate, her vision cleared, her fingers stopped tingling, her breathing eased and she finally managed a five-five inhale-exhale. Calming draught, maybe? She’d have to ask later. Potions, how had she survived without them until now? Nothing Muggles made had this kind of immediate effect.
She straightened slightly and flexed her fingers, as Severus gave her some space. They were both still kneeling on the floor in front of his fireplace, the flames gently crackling behind Almathea. She sat on her haunches and brought her hands in her lap as she closed her eyes and continued her controlled five-five breathing exercise, grateful that Severus was not rushing her through it. Finally, when the last of the nausea subsided and she felt her cheeks were a natural colour again, Almathea opened her eyes on an inhale and was met with Severus’ intense dark ones. She breathed out her exhale and his eyes glowed under the light in the fireplace. Yes, you snarky bastard, I can do simple breathing exercises to ease anxiety. But your Calming Draught did help though.
“Thank you, sir.” She murmured gently. He inclined his head and extended a hand to help her up. He released her as soon as she was on her feet and motioned her toward the chair in front of his desk. Alma took in her surroundings for the first time. It was a small office, just Severus’ desk, his chair and two others in the space. Also, the blasted fireplace that she was never using ever again. So, this wasn’t his Professor study, this was his personal office. Well then, how kind of him to welcome her into this space. “Well.” She began. “That was different.”
“Indeed.” His expression was neutral, but Alma thought he may be quite amused after her little suffering episode. Honestly, if her discomfort was such a diversion, then he’d have a blast over their whole acquaintance. “Tell me, Miss Spencer, do you usually suffer from motion sickness?”
“Is that what that was?” Alma wondered aloud. “Not on the regular. I do have the occasional bout of nausea when I go to the mountain in a car, but never anything like this. Should I expect more of the same when I travel over magical means?”
“Perhaps. It could be a good idea to carry a soothing potion at all times.” Severus said sagely.
“Alternatively, I could avoid using the Floo, Apparition and portkeys altogether.” Almathea offered.
“You may find them to be unavoidable at times.” He smirked. The right bastard actually smirked. “Especially since you expect animosity and chaos in the coming years, as you have hinted in our previous discussions. You should speak to Poppy about a potion, just to be safe.”
Of course. Why would he offer to give her more potions from his stores when he could just send her off to the infirmary, like a good little child? Alma brought her hands together in her lap and stared at them as she felt her cheeks colour again.
“You mentioned you wished to discuss the backstory you’ve concocted, Miss Spencer.” He offered with a raised eyebrow. “Proceed.”
“I’ve been trying to figure it out since last night. I’ve been on a time crunch, so I’m not sure I’ve come up with anything useful, but I can’t very well show up in the Great Hall without a story to my name. I can’t really see myself as attending any of the magical schools that exist in the world, I don’t have sufficient knowledge about them to make that believable. I definitely can’t have attended Hogwarts, because most of the teachers currently here would have taught me, and of course our time at Hogwarts would have overlapped. So, I was wondering if it wouldn’t be more prudent to pass myself off as a home-schooled child. I know the practice is or was common in pureblood families, I don’t really know if it’s all that favoured anymore.”
“You wish to pass yourself off as a pureblood offspring?” Severus scoffed. “You realise that pureblood families have strict, monitored backgrounds on each and every child born within the bloodline. It would be nearly impossible to find a family that you could pass as your own.”
“I figured that. I know about self-adapting family trees and all that, but I was wondering if it wouldn’t be plausible to present the idea of Muggle parents that didn’t want their child to attend a magical school and abandon the Muggle world.”
Almathea paused to run through the story in her head one more time. “Or maybe one Muggle parent. Perhaps I am a half-blood. My Muggle mother married a Muggleborn wizard who wanted to return to the Muggle world. They knew there was a chance I could be magical, but they also knew they wanted me to be raised in the Muggle world, exposed to it and home-schooled in magical practices. My father never told me which school he attended, so I don’t know anything about it, I won’t have to answer questions about that consequently. He took over my magical education, while I attended Muggle school and lived a Muggle life in all other aspects. I lost my father ten years ago in the first war during a Death Eater raid. My mother, my sister and I were portkeyed to safety, but my father stayed behind to keep the Death Eaters from following us. Since then, I’ve finished my education in the Muggle word and decided to honour my father by attempting a Mastery in the magical world.”
“You have a sister? Another magical sister living with your Muggle mother in the Muggle world?” Severus inquired with a raised eyebrow and pursed lips.
“No, my sister would not be magical. Would she be a Muggle or a squib in this case?” she asked.
“I believe she would qualify as a squib, given that she has at least one magical parent. What are the names of your family members?”
“My father was Harrison Spencer; my mother is Adriana Spencer and my sister is Anne Marie Spencer. We live in a small town tucked in between Liverpool and Manchester, but I was born in Manchester and lived there until my father’s death.” She ran through the story one more time and she felt she had covered all aspects. “Would that be believable? Consider the fact that I was born in an era of conflict, and my hypothetical wizard father may have seen or lived through the war with Grindelwald, which may have culminated in his decision to leave the magical world behind.”
“You wish to make it seem as if your father was in hiding?” Severus posited as he seemed to consider her story. “That he was raised in a time of war, perhaps was orphaned because of it, and so decided to leave it behind hoping to not lose any more loved ones in magical conflict?”
“That would be the general idea. And since my parents would thus not be a part of magical society, I can use their real names without anyone being the wiser.”
Severus nodded in understanding, seeming to agree with this. “How did you come to Hogwarts and how did you manage to begin a Mastery when you’ve never passed your OWLs and NEWTs?”
“Who says I haven’t? I could say I took my exams at the Ministry?”
“The results are public information. Upon suspicion, a simple inquire could be made in the Magical Education department on the accusation of academic result forgery. Your cover would be blown.” Severus countered.
“Then I haven’t taken them, but I wrote letters to various masters asking for advice.” Almathea continued. “One of them was to Professor Dumbledore, and he invited me to Hogwarts to speak about my studies and qualifications, then introduced me to you.” Severus raised an eyebrow and Almathea pushed forward regardless of his condescension. “I assume the headmaster expects us to work together on my Mastery and magic, so it could make sense.”
There was silence for a few seconds as Severus seemed to look for holes in her story. His eyes closed and he gave an exasperated sigh as he pushed a piece of parchment towards her. “You should practice the details of the story in private, in case you receive further inquiries. But it seems to be quite sound. The headmaster is the kind of person to recognise ability and prowess regardless of academic achievements, therefore it will not come as a surprise to anyone that he has chosen to invite you here in order to further your magical education. It will also not surprise anyone that you are working with me in this endeavour, as most of the staff know that Professor Dumbledore often gives me tasks that I loathe.”
“Really, Professor, loathing is quite a charged feeling.” Almathea smiled at him. “At the very least, you wouldn’t know me well enough yet to loathe me. We’re at the stage of a general dislike.”
She continued to smile as Severus’ scowl deepened. In the meantime, she picked up the piece of parchment he’d placed on the desk in front of her. It was a list of books written in a spidery script. “Is this my homework?” she asked gently and risked looking in Severus’ eyes again. Luckily, he’d brought himself under control again, enough to not burn a whole in her forehead.
“Indeed. It is a comprehensive list of materials that regard magical enhancement and the theory behind strengthening magical cores. I believe you will find them enlightening, in light of the regimen you have begun this week.”
“Thank you.” She smiled sincerely. “Any chance I could convince you to walk me to the library so I can get an idea where it is?”
His dislike was almost palpable in the room as he shifted another piece of parchment toward her. This one seemed to be a folded layout of Hogwarts. There were no markings on it whatsoever. So, Almathea decided to not ask for further instructions and took out her wand, touched it to the parchment. “Point me to the library.” She said, only about eighty percent sure it would work. But of course, it did. Her instincts were still sound. A small green line drew itself on the parchment between two red dots, one of whom was glowing. She showed the parchment to Severus and pointed to the glowing dot. “I am here, right?”
Severus nodded, obviously displeased she had figured it out on her own. “Neat.” Almathea smiled. “I had no idea that would work until I did it, you know? Nobody ever talks about how first years navigate the castle, only that most of them get lost amongst the corridors and the moving staircases. At least I don’t have to use the Floo for the time being.” She got up and moved toward the office door, turning to Severus when she placed her hand on the handle. “Thank you for your time, professor. I look forward to our lessons together. Please be kind to me during our association.” She grasped her hands in front of her body and did a half bow, then exited.
She leaned against the door when she was outside and breathed out a sigh of relief. That went better than she had hoped. She lifted the parchment with her map and followed her glowing dot to the library. Time to meet Madam Pince.
It was Monday morning before she heard from either Severus or Dumbledore. She’d found the library alright on Saturday morning and had a nice chat with Irma Pince, the librarian, telling her all about her Mastery program and her theory behind strengthening magical cores. She’d happily helped her find the books on Severus’ list and gave her pointers on a few other books she could use to begin to understand Magical Theory.
Almathea had spent all of Saturday skimming the material, figuring out relevant chapters to her study, practicing a few techniques illustrated inside. It was neat stuff, the basics behind magic building and spell crafting, things far more advanced than she’d expected. Everything worked rather well for her, she’d even started journaling her experiments and monitoring her energy levels throughout the day, to see if her magic was getting stronger while practicing.
Eggy had stopped by with lunch and dinner and she’d planned to update Severus on her progress through a Floo call, but she became ensconced in a particularly interesting chapter on the manipulation of magical energy in nature and binding it to magical cores, and by the time she had resurfaced it was midnight and she had a few good pages of theory on the subject.
She took advantage of an early morning rise and took a walk on the grounds, on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. It was very early, so she didn’t meet anyone as she chose a tree and knelt against it to meditate, her notes open in front of her as she reviewed everything before getting into the meditative state described in the book. She didn’t feel much this time around, just a soft tingling around her hands, it could have just as well been the cold, but she figured it was a good experiment nonetheless. Her knees were frozen by the time she rose and she used a light warming charm on them. Magic was so useful, she had smiled the whole way back to the castle.
She had breakfast in her rooms, editing most of her experiment on the grounds into her notebook. She spent more time in her bedroom, meditating, trying to channel the magic in the castle into herself, trying to see if she could sense it at least. It was a bit of a failure, but she wasn’t discouraged because she remembered that the magic that governed Hogwarts was dependent upon the headmaster, so no one could control it apart from him. She was so exhausted after that she lay down for a nap and ended up sleeping until morning.
As she came out to tea and cakes for breakfast that Eggy had provided in her sitting room, her Floo blazed to life and she nearly dropped the mug she was holding.
“Good morning, Miss Spencer.” Dumbledore sounded from the flames, his face kind as he smiled. “Might I be able to convince you to step through for a chat?”
“I’m not sure that is such a good idea, headmaster.” Alma frowned. “I had a rather bad experience with the Floo just Saturday morning and I’m not all that excited to try it again.”
“Yes, Severus has informed me of your rather severe motion sickness. But you needn’t worry, he is here with me and prepared with potions to aid you.” Dumbledore’s figure stepped away from the flames and Almathea saw this as a definite invitation to step through. She debated refusing a second time and telling him she’d simply walk to his office, but she figured the sooner she got the chat with him over with, the better she could return to her own research.
She took a few deep, fortifying breaths, and stepped through the flames. The same rush assaulted her and she again landed on her knees in front of the fireplace, strong hands holding her shoulders, pushing potion vials into her field of vision. Fucking shitty means of travel, did nobody just walk anywhere anymore, or was that just reserved for students? When she was done hyperventilating, she raised determined eyes towards Dumbledore.
“I’m seriously considering never Flooing anywhere ever anymore. It’s not worth it.” She took in the room. Severus was still kneeling in front of her, as before, watching her hands gathered in her lap. Dumbledore was taking in the picture she made, as if this had been an experiment entirely, like he’d wanted to see her reaction for himself. Behind him, Almathea noticed the presence of three more individuals. She raised herself off the ground as gracefully as possible, grasped her hands in front of herself and offered a bow. “Good morning. My name is Almathea Spencer. I’m sorry for my rather unhappy incident with the Floo.”
“Miss Spencer, allow me to introduce our other Heads of House.” Dumbledore motioned to each of them as he spoke. “Professor of Transfiguration, Minerva McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor. Professor of Herbology, Pomona Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff. Professor of Charms, Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw. And of course, you already know Severus.” He ended with a smile and each of the professors offered her a polite nod.
“Head of Slytherin, yes.” Almathea offered a smile in Severus’ direction. “I’ve already had the pleasure of Professor Snape’s support in my study, headmaster Dumbledore. He and Irma have been quite helpful recommending books that may help me.”
“Your theory is moving along well?” Dumbledore asked, and Almathea knew full well he’d tried to get an update from Severus, but she hadn’t provided one to him either.
“Yes, but rather more slowly than I imagined. My Muggle side is proving to be a bit of a hindrance.” She went for a sheepish smile, knowing full well that all the attention on her was colouring her cheeks rather nicely. “But I am determined to push through.”
She politely turned to everyone that had been excluded so far from the conversation and bowed again. “I’m very happy to meet all of you. I hope I have the chance to work with such talented professors in my theoretical pursuits. Headmaster Dumbledore has assured me I will find no better professionals over so many fields gathered all in one place.”
Severus raised an eyebrow as if to say 'laying it on a bit thick, aren't you?'. Snarky bastard. Schmoozing teachers was what she did best. He should just let her Slytherin show and stop questioning it. She continued to smile as Dumbledore explained her pursuit of a Mastery in Magical Theory, with occasional glances by the professors in her direction. As he finished, McGonagall turned to her sternly and looked her over.
“You’ve not attended Hogwarts, I gather?” Vaguely, Almathea wondered if she expected her to name a different school she had attended, and which of the ones Almathea knew about would raise eyebrows. Mahoutokoro, maybe? Almathea figured that Japanese culture and magical history probably provided knowledge far removed from the rigid British norms. She was so glad she had opted for home-schooling.
“I attended Muggle public school; then high school and I have a university degree in economics and accounting. I was home-schooled by my father in magical practices until I was 14, and after his death I self-studied reading his books. And of course, when I finished those, I bought some more. I’m very proficient in self-study.”
“I am sorry for the loss of your father. He was your sole magical parent?” Professor Sprout asked, her genuine smile actually comforting Almathea’s nerves over her story.
“He was my only magical anything. We lived in the Muggle world. My mother is Muggle and my sister wasn’t born with magic.” She was hit with a wave of longing as she mentioned them, and she averted her gaze toward the bookcase.
Had it only been a week since she’d seen them? A week since she’d blown the candles on her birthday cake, hoping for a change in her life? She expected more on the live side of things, not being transported in an alternate universe with magic.
Was her mother worried about her? Would she ever see her again? Was her sister’s anxiety acting up? Was her father causing trouble? Jesus, her sister was still underage, her father could remove her from Mum’s care now that Almathea was missing.
She felt the panic wash over her before her thoughts dove further. She closed her eyes and took a deliberate long breath in, long breath out. Not the time for wandering thoughts. She turned her attention back to the room and her eyes locked with Severus, who was looking at her strangely. She couldn’t name the exact look he was giving her, but it seemed to hold concern for her. Her eyes were probably playing tricks on her.
“I’m sorry, it’s always difficult to discuss him.” She paused again as she felt a few tears gather. She controlled them, but let them show because they would help push her point across. “My father wanted nothing more to do with the magical world, so he chose to abandon it to the Muggle world. He hoped for non-magical children, but he didn’t make me deny my powers when I showed them. He just didn’t feel that a traditional magical education could bring me anything of value.” She conjured a handkerchief from thin air, figuring a light use of wordless, wandless and practical magic would further her point. She used it to dab at her eyes, turning her face away from everyone gathered again. She could almost hear Severus snort with her blatant display. “I’ve been trying to come to terms with a Muggle life, but I’ve always felt there was more to the wizarding world to learn and to experience. My mother encouraged me to honour my father’s legacy and write letters to people he had talked about during our conversations. One of them was professor Dumbledore and now here I am.”
“I am intrigued with the nature of your experimentation in Magical Theory.” Professor Flitwick offered. “Professor Dumbledore mentioned it concerned strengthening magical cores.”
“And magical stamina, yes. That is my general idea. Since I haven’t been exposed to magic on a regular basis, or used it more than sparingly across my life, I tire easily with simple spells. I’m hoping the practices I’ve found and the one I am trying to develop are going to help me in the long-term channel and control my magical ability.”
“You plan to remain at the castle for the duration of your studies?” professor McGonagall asked.
“Until such time as professor Dumbledore deems it necessary.” She smiled a bit brighter at this. “I am actually a bit excited about being here. The castle has been a wonder for me ever since I arrived. You will laugh at me, but it’s just so full of magic everywhere. I’ve never been anywhere like this before.”
“My, Albus, she’s a regular first year, isn’t she?” McGonagall was definitely still apprehensive about her, but Flitwick was smiling kindly and Sprout was definitely of her mindset. She’d have a better time getting McGonagall on her side than Severus, so she wasn’t worried. At least McGonagall was suspicious, but not aware of the true nature of her being here. Severus was and he was also aware she had more of his secrets that they hadn’t discussed yet.
Almathea blushed and smiled sheepishly. “I know I have the reactions of one, but you have to understand I haven’t been exposed this long to magic before. The occasional trip to Diagon Alley doesn’t provide nearly enough of an experience.”
“Perhaps, in the interest of giving you the full experience, we could arrange for you to attend some classes, without disrupting, of course.” Dumbledore suggested with that twinkle in his eye.
All the teachers save Sprout sighed. Almathea was sure Severus would have groaned had he been in different company. Sprout came next to her and extended a hand, which Alma grabbed, her heart full of warmth. “I’m sure we’d all be delighted.” She said shaking her hand. “It must have been very lonely for you the last few years, with no one to practice magic with and no one to talk to about it.”
Almathea was taken aback and her eyes widened, a few of the tears she had tried to hide slipping. She turned her head away and wiped at the corner of her eyes. “It has… been an adjustment, especially since… I never know if when I do magic, I do it right. There’s no one there to correct me, or to help. So, I’d be very grateful to have all your help.” She extracted her hand from Sprout’s and clasped her hands in front of herself again, bowing slightly. “I hope to prove a competent student and not cause any sort of inconvenience.”
“I’m sure you’ll be quite adequate.” McGonagall said, and Alma was happy to see a softening in her expression. “We’ve not had an adult student living in the castle since… Oh, it must be ten years ago. We may be a bit out of practice, but we’ll not treat you like a first year, don’t you worry.”
The professors exchanged their final pleasantries with Dumbledore and each other and Almathea watched them all file out of the office, until only Severus was left. As he paused before his exit, he turned and locked eyes with Almathea. “Please, do remember, Miss Spencer, that for one to not be treated as a first year, one must actually apply themselves to their studies dutifully.” He gave a curt nod and left her alone with Dumbledore.
Snarky bastard! She’d show him!