The Chocolate Frog Cards of Love

My first stop was the States. A lovely little place called Salem. Of course, not the original Salem, but another old town of the same name, yet placed in the South. A state by the name of North Carolina if I\'m not mistaken.

Anyway, I\'m not sure how one of my chocolate frog cards ended up here. The house looked like nothing magical. I shrugged and took in all I could from my vantage point.

There was nothing really to see. A room with horrible carpet, mismatched furniture and lots of Muggle electronics. There was obviously a strong magical presence here, but very unfocused. No one appeared to be around, so I removed myself from that card. Untrained witches and wizards really were awful sometimes. Where would my next stop be?

Ah, yes. Sin City. Las Vegas. My card was perched on a shelf overlooking a tidy bedroom. There was a woman in the room, looking at some type of display. I watched her for a few moments. She was a witch. Definitely. She even had the cats to prove it.

When she turned, I was amazed. As I live and breathe, Morgana Le Fay! Well, maybe not her, but she was most assuredly a descendant. She looked at the card and smiled. \"Well, hello.\"

I tipped my hat. \"Good evening. I am sorry that I\'m intruding.\"

She shook her head. \"No intrusion. I\'ve always wondered where you go when you aren\'t in the frame.\"

I smiled. \"I have other commitments that keep me rather busy. Pardon my being blunt, but, you are a descendant of Morgana are you not?\"

The lovely lady smiled. \"As a matter of fact yes. Myself and several sisters as well.\"

I nodded. \"The resemblance is remarkable. With my knowledge of the Le Fay family, I know that your sisters and you are very powerful. Did you attend any sort of training school?\"

The lady shook her head. \"No. My sisters and I live apart from each other, spread from one end of the United States to another. What little training they received came from me when we were younger.\"

I stroked my beard. \"A very powerful family. It would be a pity if the knowledge died out. Alas, I must be off my dear. Duty calls.\"

She smiled and me and nodded. \"Of course. I wouldn\'t dream of keeping you. Please, feel free to visit again.\"

After a promise to do just that, I was gone.

The next stop was dark. It was musty too. And it smelled like....sandalwood? I sighed as I let my eyes adjust to the dark. The Dungeons. Of Hogwarts. I glanced around. The Potions Classroom. Why on earth would Severus have one of my cards?

I finally realized that I was actually underneath on of the desks. One of the students must have dropped the card. There really wasn\'t much to see here. A few dried ingredients clung to the bottom of the desk. Really Severus, couldn\'t you keep things in better condition?

I was getting ready to go to the next card, when I heard a noise. I stopped and became as quite as I possibly could. What was going on?

Then I knew. They were at it again. I wondered what had sparked the argument this time.

\"Absolutely not. \"

\"Honestly Severus, you are such a child.\"

\"That\'s rich coming from you.\"

\"I am not a child! I am a colleague. What would Albus say if he saw you acting this way.\"

\"Do not bring that codger into this. It is my personal laboratory. I will not have you invading my peace and quite.\"

I heard an exasperated sigh. \"Severus, look. I only need the space for two days a week. I don\'t want much. Just somewhere to test a theory.\"

\"Hermione need I remind you, you are not a Potions Mistress? You teach History of Magic. There are no theories that you need to test there. All of them have been proven.\"

I could tell by the tone of her voice she had her hands on her hips. \"I\'ll have you know that I was only a few hours work away from becoming a Potions Mistress. Had it not been for Voldemort and his stupid followers, I would have completed them. It is not my fault that I had to spend several months recovering after the Battle. Now please Severus. I only need a couple of hours a week.\"

Oh come on Severus, you old bat. Just let the girl have her space. It wouldn\'t kill you to have some company anyway.

Finally, his voice cut through the silence. \"Fine, you pushy know-it-all. I will allow you use of the lab on the weekends, but that is all. Do not touch anything that I may have set up because, as much as some of us miss Professor Binns, we do not need another ghost teaching History of Magic.\"

I could tell she had a smile on her face. \"Thank you Severus. I will abide by your rules.\"

\"I expect the lab to be exactly as you found it. You should supply your own ingredients as I will not finance your education.\"

She sighed. \"That is acceptable. I will get out of your hair now, you overgrown bat.\" With that, I heard the door shut behind her.

I waited around, wondering what Severus would do or say. I didn\'t have to wait long.

\"That infuriating Gryffindor. Why does she still torment me?\" I heard his chair squeak as he sat behind his desk. \"In my class for seven years and now a Professor here, aggravating me again.\"

I heard him stand and begin to pace the classroom. \"Why is it that out of everyone that lives in this castle that she is the only person who has the brain capacity to carry on an intelligent conversation? Of course, the Fates have decided to have a good laugh at my expense. Her, the pushy, know-it-all sidekick to \'The Boy Who Bloody Lived\', is the one person that I can actually stomach having around. Oh ho, I bet you\'re just laughing up a storm aren\'t you, you meddlesome, irritating crones!\"

I heard him mutter a few more derogatory remarks about the Fates and their hand in his situation before I vacated the frame. This was something I would have to keep an eye on. Now, how to get the card from the classroom into Severus\' personal laboratory?

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