Winter Term 2006 Writing Workshop - Dialogue
Participants:

Dani Myrrdin "UH-OH, It's Majick!"
Lavinia Liadon, la301 "Summer at Whispering Rocks"
Rachel Sandersen, ra309 "To obey or not to obey..."
Sha Moseley, sh658 "Red Haired Princess"
Venefica vom Lehn, ve019 "What Matters"

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What Matters by Venefica vom Lehn

[Just as a side-note for those who are new to my “story” – Sam and Jakob are the same person. The guy’s called Jakob Samuel, but his first name’s only used when someone’s angry at him, people usually use the abbreviation of his middle name, Sam.]

“I’m so glad you’re here.” Lani even managed a small smile.
“Of course I am here. That’s what friends are for, isn’t it?” Sam smiled back at her. The orange light of her paper lamp cast a warm glow on her pale face on which he could read so plainly that something was deeply wrong with her.
“But didn’t you get into trouble for going out this late?”
“Nah… Not worth mentioning,” Jakob said dismissively, but his thoughts went back to the situation he had been in about fifteen minutes ago…

The door to the living room opened. A streak of light fell into the dark corridor and cast a grey shadow of Sam onto the floor.
“Where are you going?”
Sam froze in the midst of putting on his coat. He sighed inwardly. Why did his mother always hear every small noise whenever he tried his best to be quiet? “To see Lani,” he answered, trying to make it sound unimportant.
“At this time?” Her voice still sounded pretty neutral, but he knew her well enough to know that’d change soon.
Sam continued buttoning up his coat. “Sure, why not?”
“Because it’s already half ten and you’ve got school tomorrow!” Her voice now had an angry edge to it.
“So what?”
“So you stay here right now!” She now sounded determined, and yet they both knew they’d have to fight over it.
“I won’t,” his voice remained calm.
“Oh yes you will! You’ll go straight upstairs and back to your room. You’ve got school tomorrow, Jakob,” she exclaimed indignantly.
“Make me,” he challenged her while taking his scarf out of his pocket.
“Make you!” she laughed. A short silence followed in which Sam seemingly calmly prepared for his going-out, his mother searching for words, unsure of how to convince him.
“Stop acting like that or you’ll stay home all weekend! No going out, no meeting your friends, no nothing.”
For about ten seconds they both just stood there, glaring at each other, neither of them willing to give in. Then Sam shrugged and turned. “All right, if that’ll help you feel better.”
And with a small thud the door closed behind him.

Sitting opposite her on her bed, Sam examined his best friend’s face. Lani had called him about half an hour ago and asked if he could come over. She hadn’t said anything else, but he had already noticed that her voice had sounded strained, and not at all the way it usually did when she was talking to him. Knowing that something serious must have happened he had hurried to get to her as quickly as possible. His mother’s threat hadn’t bothered him much. Even if it really meant that he had to spend the weekend at home alone that was not enough to stop him from being there for his friend when she needed him. And he knew she would have done the same thing for him.
He still had no clue as to what had happened. They both hadn’t said much yet. It must have something to do with her mum as well, for Lani had successfully tried to smuggle him into her room without being noticed by her. But apart from that, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual as yet.
In the room next to them, they could hear Lani’s smaller brother Frederik talking to someone on the phone, then turn his music on. After a few seconds, Lani sighed and shook her head – she and her brother definitely did not share the same taste of music. She got up, went over to her hi-fi system and put a CD in, then she looked at Jakob questioningly. At recognising Apocalyptica, Sam nodded his approval, and Lani resumed her seat on the green bedspread. She still hadn’t said a word, but Sam knew her well enough to know she’d talk eventually.
When she finally spoke, she didn’t even look at him. “I’m scared for Katja.”
“For Katja? What for, what’s happened?” A picture of Lani’s girlfriend appeared in Sam’s mind – Katja with her colourful clothes as opposed to both Lani’s and Sam’s dark ones, Katja who seemed to smile whenever he saw her, Katja who had never had any real problems.
“She’s acting so strange. She doesn’t really look at me most of the time. She avoids answering directly when I ask her how she is. And I know there’ve been some arguments between her and her parents. Plus that she’s been very touchy over the last few weeks – even Ruth asked me if I knew what’s going on, but I have no idea.” She paused for a few seconds, unsure how to continue. “She’s never been like that before. She used to tell me everything. And now she’s partly avoiding me.”
By now, he could see tears in her eyes. “Come here”, Sam said quietly, and Lani accepted him laying his arms around her. With her head now leaning on his shoulder, she continued talking. “And when I got home today, I had a row with my mum. She still doesn’t accept it, doesn’t accept us. You’d think she’s gotten used to it, she’s really had quite some time. But no, even two months isn’t enough for my mother to accept that her daughter’s bisexual. She’s still appalled at the very thought – two girls together? Oh no, that can’t be… She tried to ‘make me see my errors’, again.” Lani snorted. “As if I’d be doing something horribly wrong. But it’s not like that. It’s nothing wrong. It’s just love.” Her voice sounded a bit exasperated, as if she’d told people a thousand times already and they still didn’t understand. Lani sat up and looked directly into Sam’s eyes. “I love Katja, I know that I do. And that’s what matters, not of what gender we are. I’ve never loved anyone like that before, and sometimes I’m even scared at the feeling. But it’s nothing wrong.”
A sad smile stole itself upon Sam’s features, “I know it isn’t. They just don’t see it – like so many things. If it’s not what’s been normal over the last few hundred years, it isn’t acceptable,” he rolled his eyes.
“Yeah,” her voice sounded bitter, “that’s what they tend to think.”

Red Haired Princess by Sha Moseley

“Best behavior, princess.”

A young girl of five nodded, and the man ruffled the young girl’s already disheveled red hair. Both father and daughter stood outside a door, painted blue to match the apartment’s whole blue color scheme. But the color was anything but calming.

Anieli Poole realized that it was wrong to keep his only daughter from his family until she had grown, and his pale freckled hand froze right above the chilly metal doorknob. Suddenly, he kneeled beside his daughter.

“Listen, Aure, I know you’re really excited about meeting my family, but you should listen to me first. Your uncle Theron might scare you a little bit. Just stay away from any presents from him that make noises, okay, Aure?” A pair of large amethyst eyes blinked back at him. “I don't want to have to rush you to hospital, and you don't want to have to stay at the hospital, do you, princess?”

Little Aure shook her head. Anieli kissed his daughter’s forehead, and stood up straight again. Aure placed her hand trustingly in her father’s, and Anieli opened the door.

Honestly, she had expected a flash of brilliant light, or maybe pink flamingoes, or a swirling vortex. Instead, she got bright colored confetti (red, green, blue, orange) shoved in her pale face. Noise--laughter and chattering--reached her ears.

She cleared her eyes of the unsymmetrical squares of color, and then saw more people than she had expected; not just the four (mother, father, sister, brother) she had imagined. She would have counted them if she had not forgotten, right at that moment, what came after five.

“Anieli!”

One shriek; and the whole room fell silent. Aure could hear her own heart beat, thumping violently against her little ribs. She could feel her father’s hand, which held her own, sweating in the strangest manner.

A tall woman, with Anieli and Aure’s dirty red hair came bounding up energetically to them. She had on huge glasses, which made her look like an owl. Aure pressed her lips together to keep herself from laughing, her father’s previous words resounding in her head. Best behaviour, princess.

The woman kneeled in front of Aure. Even though she kneeled she towered way above the little girl. Aure smelt flowers and freshly cut grass. The woman looked into Aure’s eyes.

“You must be Aurora,” the woman said confidently.

“No,” Anieli replied, his tone snappy, before he could help himself.

The woman looked up at him, questioning. But it was little Aure who answered.

“My name is Aure,” she said, loudly for a five-year-old.

“Of course, of course,” she said, laughing it off. “Aure, meaning breeze. I’m Nyx.”

At this, everyone else in the room started coming forward, and Aure lost view of her aunt Nyx. She felt Anieli let go of her hand reluctantly—other kids her age had enveloped her in their crowd, and were starting to talk.

“How come we haven’t seen you?”

“What is your name?”

“Where is your mom?”

Aure slipped away from the choking grasp of her cousins and into what she thought must’ve been the kitchen. It was a crazy night, she wasn’t really sure. She ended up crashing into a huge pair of legs, wearing dark denim trousers.

A moment her feet were firmly on the ground, and the next she was being spun around in the air. The bitter taste of vomit rose in her mouth. The huge man put her down just in time.

“Hello, Aure.”

Aure did not say anything.

“I’m Theron, your uncle Theron.”

At this, Aure backed away a few steps.

Theron must’ve been able to see Aure green, so he placed her on the kitchen counter, turned, and fetched for her a drink.

If you have nothing to say, just ask them what they like to do, Aure. My family won’t be able to resist that question.

“What do you do?” Aure asked weakly, sipping the water from the glass.

Her uncle Theron let out a horse-like laugh. “What do I do? What everybody else does, I suppose. I eat, sleep, work, play... What do you do, Aure?”

Nobody ever asked Aure what she did. “What do I do?” she repeated quietly. “I don't know. I do what daddy tells me to.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Theron said, in a secretive voice, sitting on the counter himself. “When your daddy tells you to do something, you don't have to do it. Ask him why; ‘Why, daddy?’. Just do whatever you want, Aure. It’s much more fun.”

Aure blinked. “Fun?” More blinking.

“Yes!” Theron replied. “And people will think you’re smart because you ask a lot of questions.”

“Smart? I want to be smart,” Aure said quickly.

“So do I.”

“But my daddy says not to listen to you.”

Theron laughed again. “You probably shouldn’t. I’m just saying this, what you do is up to you, isn’t it?”

“Probably, but daddy—“

“Enough about your daddy,” Theron said, rudely interrupting his niece.

Aure raised her eyebrows. Daddy said it was rude to interrupt people when they were talking.

“I have a present for you.”

Present?

Theron pulled out a tiny box from his pocket. It was rattling, but no noise came out. “Here, take it.”

Aure’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Sure!”

She reached out for it, and thanked her uncle profoundly. She was greeted with a strange grin. Slowly, savoring the moment, Aure pulled on one end of the red ribbon that was tied around the box, and slowly the box lay open in her palm. The next moment, a huge hairy spider scuttled in her hand.

Aure screamed and jumped up onto the counter, dropping the shaggy spider. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Anieli run into the kitchen at her scream, along with the rest of the family. Anieli took one look at his brother kneeling on the floor trying to capture the scandalized beast, and turned the scariest shade of maroon Aure had ever seen. Her daddy was usually an extremely calm person, and the change in his temperament surprised her.

“You just have to do that, don’t you?” Anieli asked angrily.

Theron looked up and glared at his younger brother. “I did not do anything wrong.”

“She’s five-years-old. And you gave her a tarantula.” Aure could see Anieli struggling to regain control of his temper. “How can that not be wrong? That’s why I kept her away, now I know I should never have taken her here.”

“Maybe you should never have,” Theron retorted, “You were never a part of the family.”

“Who wants to be in a family with freaks?” Anieli cried. His remark created a buzz within the watchers, but still nobody did anything but watch and listen. “You’ve never been my family.”

“You’re the one who’s been too busy with being the best to care about the rest of us,” Theron replied. “Families don’t work that way, Anieli.”

“And I don’t see how putting venomous spiders in my bed when I had the measles work, Theron.” Anieli’s voice was low and full of a childhood grudge.

“I said I was sorry,” was Theron’s unabashed reply.

“I nearly died,” Anieli hissed, “But you don’t learn, do you, Theron? You then do it to my daughter.”

Theron never got a chance to reply.

“That’s enough,” Anieli said, his voice back to its usual firm tone. He strode over to his daughter, and placed her on the floor.

Good thing the spider was gone.

Anieli picked up Aure from the counter and set her on the ground. He held her hand and led her to the door. Aure looked over her shoulder, even though Anieli did not.

Anieli slammed the door behind him. “Let’s go home, Aure.”

“Why, daddy?”

To obey or not to obey... by Rachel Sandersen

Minna looked up from the table where she sat in a corner of the inn. No one else was there, except for the innkeeper and an old man sitting by the open fire. Suddenly she heard steps from the stairs.
“Where are you going, Alan?”
“Out,” he answered and went towards the door. “No, you stay here!” He turned around as she rose from her chair. Minna frowned.
“Why?”
Alan tried to not meet her eyes. Instead he looked past her, at the fireplace.
“I, uh… I have something to do.”
He put his hand on the door knob. Minna took a few steps towards him.
“But it’s so boring here!” she whined. “Can’t I go with you?”
“No, you shouldn’t. I don’t want to put you in danger.”
He kept his voice down, and glanced warily at the innkeeper, who seemed not to even be aware of them. The limping man behind the bar just continued to wipe dust off his mugs. But Alan’s last sentence had really made Minna interested. She was tired of just sitting here and not doing anything. She wanted to go on an adventure!
“Danger?” she snorted. “Why can’t I take part in anything exciting?” She folded her arms and shot him a challenging stare. Taking his hand off the door handle, Alan sighed and turned around.
“You have such a weird idea about what’s exciting! This isn’t. This is dangerous.” His voice went firm. “And that’s why I won’t allow you to come.”
He turned his back to Minna again.
“Does Raestan know about this?”
Before Alan had time to answer, Raestan came down the stairs.
“Yes, I do. And Alan is right. You should stay here.” Minna opened her mouth to protest, but Raestan held up his hand to silence her. “Actually I have something for you to do as well. Our bags are upstairs in my room. Go and get them, and then make the horses ready. Stay in the stables until we get back, and then we have to leave.”
“But why can’t Alan do that?” she whined. None of them seemed to pay her any attention. Anger filling every part of her, Minna burst out: “You always treat me like a little child, just because I’m a girl!”
Still, neither Alan nor the old man looked at her. Raestan just put his hand on Alan’s shoulder.
“Come on, we’ve got to get going.”
He opened the door, and they were gone, hidden in the darkness of the night.
“I hate you,” Minna whispered at the closed door, her eyes filling up with tears of anger.

For a while she just stood there, as if the door would open and Alan would come back and tell her that of course she could come with them! But even though she wished so, that didn’t happen. So she turned to the stairs, kicking at a chair on her way there so it fell and made some noise, which made the innkeeper look up with a frown.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, and went up the stairs, two steps at a time.
She found all their things where Raestan had said they were, but Minna just sat down on the bed and looked at the bags. She didn’t like that people gave her orders. As she stood up to leave the room, her eyes fell on Alan’s bag, and she got curious. What did he carry with him? She went to the door and listened. No one was coming. Then she carefully opened the small bag to see what was inside it. But Minna got a bit disappointed. A wooden flute. That must be the one Raestan had made for him. Ordinary things like a small knife and things needed to make a fire. Nothing special at all. As she started putting the things back, her eyes fell on a small leather purse in the bottom of the bag. Looking around her, Minna picked it up and opened it slowly. But inside it were just a few stones in different colours. What would Alan use stones for? she wondered. And why did he hide them in the bottom of the bag? They’re just stones!

Minna threw everything back into the bag, and turned to leave the room. But then she hesitated. Raestan had said they would leave when they returned. And if she went to the stables with the bags, they could leave as soon as they were back. She sighed at the thought of Alan’s grinning face as he saw that she had done as they told her, but she grabbed the bags and carried them out to the stables anyway. She didn’t want to spend more time here than she had to!

The horses woke up and looked at her when she came into the stables.
“I’m sorry to disturb you,” Minna said, “but it’s not my fault. Raestan sent me here, so you shouldn’t be mad at me.” She put saddles and bridles on the horses and tied the bags behind one of the saddles. Then she sat down in the hay and waited.

Minna must’ve been close to sleeping, because she jumped when the stable door suddenly opened. She got ready to defend herself, but then realized it was just Raestan and Alan. Then instead she got ready to argue with Alan about whether she went down here because they had told her to, or if she had done it of her own free will. But he didn’t say anything. That surprised her, until she saw his sweaty face and the trace of fear in his eyes.
“What’s happened?” she asked, but Raestan just waved at her to be silent.
“Not now.” He led out the horses. “We have to go at once. There’s no time to lose.” He turned to Alan. “Are you alright, boy? Here’s your horse. Go on, we have to hurry.”
Alan just looked at Raestan for some seconds until he realized he was supposed to jump into the saddle. Minna frowned. That wasn’t how Alan used to behave. What had happened? But she didn’t get any more time to think about it, because Raestan lifted her up and put her in front of him. Then he reached out and took Alan’s reins too, while telling Alan to hold onto the horse’s mane. Then off they went. The cold wind played with Minna’s hair, and searched its way down her back, making every part of her freezing cold. Still wondering about what had happened to Alan, she pulled her cloak tighter around her and leaned towards Raestan, as they rode off into the night.

Summer at Whispering Rocks by Lavinia Liadon

Since this is an ongoing story, I have decided to include a brief summary to reduce too much confusion: Laken Forrester and her best friends from school were invited to spend two weeks of summer in Northern England where her pen pal, Katrina Willoughby, lives. Katrina is a lonely royalty who spends most of her time in the family-owned castle, writing poetry and playing the piano. She is homeschooled and does not socialize very much; Laken is her only true friend. The holiday sounded like a dream come true to Laken and her friends, but what started out as a wonderful adventure in a luxurious country soon turned sour when Katrina's piano instructor, Andrew Lynch, was murdered inside the castle. As Laken struggled to solve the mystery, she discovered a very shocking truth about Katrina's background and eventually revealed the ghastly tale behind the murder.

Note: This is a part (but not a continuation) of the story I submitted for the workshop last term under the same title: Summer at Whispering Rocks

Thank Yous: Thanks, Sha Moseley, for proofreading this snippet so quickly! It has been a pleasure knowing you and knowing Aure. You are such a talented writer and I wish you the best of luck on your story. *hug*

Story Text:

"Shall we proceed to the music room then, for coffee?"

Wiping her mouth graciously with her cream-colored napkin, Katrina smiled across the table at her guests. The girls accepted the offer almost immediately.

"Will you be joining us, Sebastian?" she asked the young man sitting on her left as she rolled away from the mahogany dining table.

Sebastian was Katrina's nineteen-year-old stepbrother. He had curly reddish brown hair and clear blue eyes, and that night he wore a pair of faded blue jeans that were ripped at the knees, a green t-shirt with a picture of a bubble-headed alien on the front, and a brown leather jacket that he did not take off during dinner. Laken had seen many pictures of Sebastian that Katrina had sent her, pictures of him with Katrina, with their parents, just Sebastian playing sports, or Sebastian being goofy. Up to that moment she had imagined Sebastian a sullen, moody, and temperamental boy, but that evening Laken had to admit he looked rather cute. Far from sullen and moody, he was apparently chatty and extremely social. He had cracked a few jokes throughout dinner and incidentally made fun of Katrina like any brother would his sister. He was a fun, happy-go-lucky kind of guy.

"Sure," came Sebastian's voice, easy and nonchalant. He looked up at his stepsister and grinned from ear to ear. "I don't have anything better to do tonight." Then he added to the girls, winking at them, "Besides, I have a nice bedtime story for you ladies to hear. It's about this castle - it's haunted."

"Ooh, I'm up for it!" chirped Francie jovially. "I loooove scary stories."

"And it's a true story, too." Sebastian smiled meaningfully at Francie, eliciting a loud giggle from the girl.

Katrina led the troupe out through the double doors and proceeded down the corridor which connected the large dining area with the parlor and the music room. Laken was just about to follow Gwen out the doors when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She found Sebastian standing behind her.

"Sooo," he started, crossing both hands behind his back and bowing a little, "you're Laken." His eyes were intrigued though his tone sounded amused.

"I'm Laken, yes," Laken replied with a smile. Gwen had just walked through the doors. She decided to stay behind. "Nice to meet you finally, Sebastian."

Sebastian extended one hand, which Laken shook lightly. "I've heard a lot about you. You are all Katrina ever talks about. Well, aside from her writing and poems and piano, of course."

Laken chuckled. "It's nice to be priority, though."

"What'd you hear about me?" Sebastian's eyes twinkled comically. Laken wondered if it was the trick of lights because his previously faint freckles suddenly colored.

Pompous and direct, is he?

"I can tell you that you do not at all appear the way I imagined you."

He raised an eyebrow for a second before stating as non-questioningly as possible, "You were imagining me."

Ah, and flirty, too, Laken thought. What a dangerous combination.

"Well, for example, I never imagined you as someone who would enjoy sitting at a formal dinner like the one we just had, being a motorbike rider and all. That pretty much surprised me. I thought you would not even hang out with us at all. I mean, who would want to join a bunch of giggly girls anyway, right?"

Sebastian smiled. "I wouldn't if the group of giggly girls did not include you. Katrina has spoken so highly of you almost every night that she made me want to meet the Laken Forrester in the flesh."

Laken could not help it - she blushed.

"I have to say, however, that whatever Katrina has told you about me is probably not always right."

"Oh, really? How would you know what Katrina told me?"

Sebastian's brows furrowed as if he were thinking seriously. He tapped a finger on his jaw and replied, "Well, let me see… she probably said I'm a rebel who rides his motorbike twelve hours a day, never does his homework, always hangs out until very late at night, does not behave like the fine gentleman I should be, whom I do not want to be, by the way. Oh, and she probably said that I eat her chocolate bars and that I'm stupid. Am I close?"

"Pretty accurate, yeah," Laken laughed. "But minus the stupid part."

"Contrary to popular belief, I do study. I also do house chores; I help the cook with meals and assist the maids when they're cleaning the house every once in a while. Bet you didn't know that."

"I'm impressed," Laken said. "You truly surprise me, Sebastian Willoughby."

"And I will continue to surprise you even more."

His enigmatic smile was charming, but Laken could not help feeling alert all of a sudden. She could hear a siren ringing inside her head. What did Sebastian mean by that? Before she could inquire about it, she heard Lyssa calling from the hallway. Sebastian gestured her towards the door and they both headed for the music room.

Katrina, rolling in her wheelchair at the front, led everyone into an oval-shaped room where a black grand piano stood in the middle, surrounded with elegant couches and chaises. All of the eight windows were covered in red velvet drapes. A thick, gold-colored Persian carpet covered the floor from wall to wall. The room had a high ceiling and from it hung a three-tier crystal chandelier. A long coffee table stood in one corner, laden with cookies, sticks of biscotti, minced pies, shortbread, and pots of tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. Plenty of plush beanbags were scattered around it.

The girls showed their appreciation with a series of ooh's and ahh's as they entered the room. Katrina beamed when she explained that the piano was a birthday gift from the royal family. Laken had not heard about the piano in the letters and it was not Katrina's habit to miss an important detail such as this; she wondered if it was given to her very recently.

She was about to ask when she felt Sebastian's hand around her wrist. He pulled her out of the music room and closed the doors behind him. When he turned to Laken, his expression was grave and his eyes were a much darker shade of blue. That siren inside Laken's head began to wail again.

Sebastian leaned forward and whispered, his voice low and cold. "You and your friends need to get out of here. Fast."

It was as if Sebastian had transformed into a different person in a matter of minutes. This was the person Laken had imagined him to be.

"Sebastian, what -- "

"It's not safe for you to be here," he continued, his breath was hot against Laken's ear and his grip around her wrist tightened. She fidgeted uncomfortably. He looked over his shoulder at the closed doors behind him as if worried anyone might hear him, then went on, "I know you've been friends with Katrina for a very long time and I know you two trust each other, but this time I need you to trust me. You girls can't be here, your lives are at stake."

UH-OH, It's Majick! by Dani Myrrdin

Surveying the scene before her, Kyrie smiled. The green grass lightly waved in the breeze over the gently rolling hills. The lake sparkled in the distance. Even the forest didn’t look so forbidding in the warm summer sun. It was a perfect day for riding--a luxury that would be severely limited when the school year started. The teachers were due back the next day and then the meetings would begin, and so she was taking full advantage of the last few days before Hogwarts opened for the new term.

Kyrie didn’t know what she would have done after her mother’s death had it not been for her horses and she was grateful that Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had understood just how important the pair were to her. He’d been very accommodating, and the groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, had been a great help. Although the horses were a bit tame for Hagrid’s tastes, she knew that Majick and Willow could be in no better hands than those of the half-giant. Kyrie grinned wider at the memory of her first encounter with Hagrid. It had been a shock to say the least, but Dumbledore had been right, he loved having the horses around… even if they weren’t dragons.

Everyone she’d met at Hogwarts had been friendly and helpful to her as she settled into her new life as the Muggle Studies professor. She couldn’t wait to meet the rest of the staff. She was most intrigued by the cryptic warnings she kept receiving about the resident Head of Slytherin House. And the house-elves had been a godsend, especially Dobby. Who knew how many times she’d gotten lost in the castle only to have a house-elf come to her rescue.

Kyrie gathered up the reins in her left hand as Majick, her black Arabian stallion, pranced in place. Gently running her right hand over his shiny black coat, she murmured softly, ‘Easy, big boy. We’ll be off soon.’ Then placing her left foot into the stirrup and grasping the saddle with her right hand, she swung up onto the gelding’s back. Once in the saddle, she laughed at the eagerness she felt from her mount. His muscles were bunched like a tightly coiled spring and she knew that with the merest word from her, he’d be off like a bullet, streaking across the grounds of Hogwarts.
Taking one last look around, Kyrie saw the headmaster disappearing into Hagrid’s hut. Making a mental note as to Dumbledore’s return, she continued to assess the landscape. The giant squid was basking in the shallows, but there wasn’t anything or anyone else to be seen. Satisfied that no one was in her path, Kyrie stroked Majick’s neck and then leaned down to whisper, ‘Let’s fly!’

Releasing the tension on the reins, Kyrie felt Majick spring forward into an immediate gallop. Laughing, she closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of the sun shining on her face and the wind rushing through her long, sable hair. There was no feeling, in her opinion, that could compare to being on the back of a horse. They could have the fastest brooms in the world; she’d take a horse any day. She much preferred this sense of flying to that of a broom anyhow.

Her joy was cut short, however, when she heard a faint pop that indicated someone had just apparated nearby. She didn’t think that she had ridden past the apparation boundary of the castle, but she must have. At the same time that Kyrie opened her eyes, she felt a jolt as Majick struck the person who’d suddenly appeared directly in his path, far too close for him to stop.

Following the collision, Kyrie felt Magic step on whomever he’d just knocked over and then she heard a sound that she would have preferred not to hear—the sound of a bone breaking under Majick’s weight. She looked down to see a tall, black haired man sprawled on the ground just as he snarled, ‘Get that foul beast off me!’

She didn’t recognize the man she’d hit, but judging from his tone of voice, he was none too happy. Of course, she couldn’t blame him, but really, there was no way she could have prevented the accident even if her eyes had been open.

Kyrie quickly dismounted and rushed to the man’s side. Distress etched in every line of her face, she said concernedly, ‘Merlin, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you.’

‘Perhaps,’ snapped the indignant man who was sitting up gingerly, ‘you’d have noticed me had you not been riding that beast with your eyes closed. Of all the foolish things…’

Kyrie grimaced. What a way to make a good impression on people… just run them down. Holding out her hand, Kyrie said, ‘We need to get you to the hospital wing. Here, let me give you a hand up and maybe we can get you onto Majick’s back so you can ride to the castle.’

‘I can stand on my own,’ growled the wizard, getting to his feet tentatively. ‘And there is no way in the name of all that’s good that you are getting me on that beast’s back. Who are you anyhow?’ he demanded.

‘Valkyrie Danielle Lamarck at your service. I’m the new Muggle Studies teacher,’ she said, flushing in embarrassment. ‘And this is Magick, one of my two Arabian horses.’

‘I don’t care what you call that beast,’ he snapped indignantly. ‘Just keep it away from me. It has done enough damage.’ With that he started to turn toward the castle, but his left leg gave out causing him to crumple back to the ground.

Kyrie’s eyes widened and she rushed to his side for a second time. ‘You’re hurt! I thought I heard something break. Please, won’t you let me help you?’ she asked in a pleading tone.

‘Just leave me be, woman! I’ll be fine,’ he said waspishly pushing her away.

‘I feel really bad. Won’t you at least let me help you to the hospital wing?’

‘So you can kill me on the way?’ he sneered. ‘I think not!’

Kyrie took a deep breath to calm herself. She didn’t know who this man was, but she was finding him very exasperating. ‘Look, I’m very sorry I ran into you. I was being careless, I admit. And it’s because of my carelessness, you’re hurt, so let me help you to the hospital wing. It’s the least I can do to make up for my stupidity.’

The mysterious wizard opened his mouth to speak, but what scathing remark he would have delivered, Kyrie would never know because the headmaster chose that moment to pass by on his way back to the castle. ‘Ah, Danielle, I see you’ve met our resident Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts Master--Severus Snape,’ said Albus genially. Then suddenly, as if just seeing Severus for the first time, he asked, ‘Severus, my dear boy, what are you doing on the ground?’

‘This irresponsible half-wit and her great beast ran me over,’ Severus snapped and Kyrie could tell that he was fast becoming aggravated.

She opened her mouth to respond to his uncalled for comments. She truly felt bad for the accident, but she wasn’t going to stand there while he talked about her like that. However, before she could utter one word, the headmaster continued.

‘Now, Severus, Danielle didn’t mean to hit you and she most certainly didn’t mean to harm you. There is no need to be so insulting,’ admonished the headmaster lightly.

Severus scowled, but this time, Kyrie had the feeling that he was scowling at himself and not at her or the headmaster… or perhaps she was just hoping that was the case. After a few moments of silence, she couldn’t stand it any longer and asked, ‘What have I done now?’

Still scowling, the dark haired man replied distractedly, ‘I don’t know you. I’ve never met you, yet I feel like I should apologize for being rude. Why? What makes you different from anybody else?’

Kyrie watched as she saw an idea form in his mind. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good because he looked up at her with narrowed eyes and snapped, ‘You cast a niceness spell on me, didn’t you? Counter it now!’

She rubbed her hands over her face and then taking a deep breath, replied, ‘I have cast no spell on you or anyone.’ And then, under her breath she muttered, ‘Yet.’

Severus turned to look into the twinkling eyes of the headmaster who held his hands up and said, ‘Don’t even think it, my boy. I’ve not cast any spells on anyone.’ Then, reaching into his robes and pulling out a tin, Dumbledore looked at the two people in front of him and asked, ‘Sherbet lemon?’
Kyrie watched as the wizard on the ground pinched the bridge of his nose as if trying to ward off a headache. Finally he looked up and said, ‘I’m sorry, Professor Lamarck. I’ve had a horrid day and I’ve just taken it out on you,’ said Severus.

‘The way I see it, we’re even. I ran you down and you gave me a verbal lashing,’ Kyrie said smiling ruefully. ‘But we still need to get you to the hospital wing.’

Albus smiled. ‘You’re quite right, my dear, and here comes the perfect person to assist Severus.’

Kyrie turned to see the half-giant walking towards the group. Then she turned to see a Severus close his eyes and rub them with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. It was a movement that clearly stated that he wasn’t happy about the idea of Hagrid helping him anywhere, but he probably realized, as did she, that it was absolutely pointless to try and argue with the headmaster.

‘Hagrid,’ Albus called, causing her to turn from the man still sitting on the ground. ‘Would you help Severus to the hospital wing? It seems that he’s hurt his leg and is in need of Poppy’s tender care.’

‘I’d be happy to, Professor Dumbledore, sir,’ boomed Hagrid.

‘Albus, I’ll be fine, really,’ said Severus quickly in what Kyrie could tell was a half-hearted attempt to foil the headmaster’s plan.

‘Now, now, my boy… Hagrid’s right here and ready to help. You just run along and let Madame Pomfrey patch you up,’ causing Severus to groan at the twinkling old man.

Kyrie helped Severus to stand and Hagrid swept him up into his arms. As Hagrid headed towards the castle, she could hear Severus giving him what for. She grinned and then turned back to the headmaster.

Albus looked at his new Muggle Studies teacher searchingly for a moment, and then said, ‘I feel I should warn you about Severus. He’s not the easiest man to get to know, but he’s a good man.’

‘I am truly sorry, Albus. I didn’t realize that he was there. I must have unknowingly ridden past the apparition barrier,’ she said miserably. ‘I hope Poppy can mend his leg.’

‘Not to worry, my dear. Poppy will have Severus back to his healthy, but grumpy old self,’ said Albus. Then he continued more gravely, ‘But apparently I do need to warn you. Severus can apparate inside the apparation barrier. It’s a secret that I would ask you to keep to yourself. These, as you will learn, are dark times and there have been a few necessary allowances made, but they are not for everyone to know. I only caution you so you don’t run him down again.’ The headmaster winked at her before adding, ‘So, where is that other horse of yours?’

And with that, Kyrie walked back to the stables to put Majick away and show Willow to the headmaster. But the entire time, her mind was occupied with the enigma that was Severus Snape.