Gwen stuck to herself for the first weekend of the term. She worked further on her proposal for the Ouranian Barbaric project, graded more homework (Professor Smith was more than happy to hand out essays every night of the week; his students were less than happy to complete them on time) and spent several hours flying about on her broom. Flying was still the best way to relax she thought.
The sky was hazy blue, the grounds bright green. She floated about, just enjoying the lick of the wind ruffling her hair. She knew she�d be spending about three hours later than evening trying to untangle it, but it didn�t matter at the very moment. She was free in the air, breathing it deeply into her lungs, just trying to appreciate the beautiful blue world.
Two weeks of lessons later and Gwen had absolutely no time to contemplate what was going on outside of Hogwarts, let alone her own personal problems. That was the nice thing (and the drawback all at once) about being in a secluded school like this. The world beyond the grounds did not concern you until it knocked on your front door.
The world climate was still shaky, people had taken to locking their doors in neighborhoods where no one had thought to do so before. She knew that there was some Order activity going on, but she was not asked to participate. She figured it was just as well. Putting that on top of all her other work would have been suicide.
The rest of the faculty seemed a bit bogged down as well. Minerva took her daily tea with Gwen, but they had been cutting their visits very short. Professor Smith was either sleeping or working on Order projects so he was completely unavailable. Dumbledore was so busy he was only ever seen once a day, at the head table for dinner. And Professor Snape had taken a leave of absence, something Gwen thought was highly peculiar so early in the term. But, she sighed, all of the other faculty is in the Order, why not him?
A small throat clearing from her office door interrupted her thoughts.
Standing there was a tiny second year student. Gwen recognized her immediately. She was the quiet one in class, who never dared to raise her hand or speak. She didn�t do so well on the last homework assignment. Gwen had been meaning to speak to her. She thought it best to attend to students having trouble right from the start, nip it in the bud before it became a real problem. The timid Hufflepuff girl looked at her nervously.
�Is there something you�d like Abigail?�
�Yes Miss LeFey.� She spluttered.
�It�s ok.� She said with an encouraging smile. �Why don�t you take a seat?�
The girl stumbled to one of the oak chairs and plunked down. She craned her neck around to take in her surroundings. Gwen noticed how observant the girl seemed to be, if not a bit overwhelmed. When she looked back to the desk she noticed that Gwen was looking back at her waiting.
�I uh. I�m not doing very well am I?� She asked barely above a whisper.
�You�re last homework assignment wasn�t very clear.� Gwen said honestly. �Perhaps you can buddy up with another student and work together?� She suggested.
�I would Miss LeFey, but�� She sighed, big tears swelling in her eyes.
Gwen walked around the desk, took the seat next to Abigail and put an arm around the girl as she began to weep loudly. �It�s ok.� She soothed. �Get it all out.�
�It�s just that *sob* I *sob* don�t know anyone.� She wailed.
Gwen was reminded vaguely of a banshee�s ear splitting, bone chilling cries. She sighed. Teaching was not an easy job, she knew that heading into this. But she never expected a screaming twelve year old in her office.
When the girl had managed to stifle her moans and blew her nose several times with the handkerchief Gwen offered her, she tried to speak again, only to find that her voice was raw from all the wailing she�d just done.
Gwen started the conversation again, giving her time to rest her vocal cords. �How is it that you don�t know anyone yet? This is your second year isn�t it?�
�Yes.� Abigail said miserably. �It�s just hard to get to know people.�
Gwen smiled at her sympathetically. �It is, but you get better at it the more you practice. Why don�t I help you?� She said.
�How?� The girl whimpered.
�I could introduce you to someone from your class, ask someone to tutor you. Then you�ll have an excuse to get to know each other. Who knows, maybe you could meet some of their friends and hang out, go watch Quidditch together.�
Abigail�s bottom lip trembled. She couldn�t believe that a teacher could be so kind. She fought to keep back another wave of tears and jumped up to hug Gwen, who was a bit put off by the girl�s sudden display of affection.
After Abigail left she went through the list of second year Hufflepuff students. She wanted to find a student who was not only smart enough to tutor but someone who would be kind and friendly to her.
She paused on Colby Morrison. He was bright, very advanced, but he seemed a bit stand offish in the classroom. Next she thought of Andrea Wilke. Andrea was very sweet and had the same timid tendencies as Abigail, but mixing timid with timid wouldn�t necessarily help the girl to pop out of her shell. Ann Temple was too boisterous, she might frighten the girl away. Sean Williams was too �by the book.� He would easily get frustrated with her.
Finally she found the perfect student. Rose McGill. She was bright, popular and very friendly. Her classroom behavior was exemplary, always offering to help others. She was exactly the kind of student who would volunteer to tutor someone who needed help. And she was Abigail Burns� ticket to friendship.