Hibernaculum

Curious about their new arrival, the rest of the staff had arrived early to tea, so Elizabeth was the last one to enter Dumbledore\'s study.

Now composed, she seemed much older than the hysterical girl that had appeared before them the day before. Her face was pale and grave, her long, rich, brown hair, which had been tangled earlier, was up in a severe style, pulling it up and away from her face. She wore a plain black silk gown; the only decorations were buttons, which ended at the high collar and at her wrists. Her hands, like the rest of her, were small. The starkness of her appearance and the plainness of her dress were startling on such a young person, and Lupin bleakly wondered if they were in for a female version of Snape.

Dumbledore greeted the new arrival and, waving away apologies of any supposed lateness, introduced her to the rest of the staff. She greeted each person kindly, yet reserved, but when she was presented to Lupin, she couldn\'t meet his gaze. She nervously held out her hand, and when he smiled at her, she suddenly couldn\'t meet his eyes, and looked down. She hadn\'t been around a man near her own age since her time at Hogwarts, and she felt flustered and nervous.

While Albus Dumbledore escorted her to a bright purple chair with yellow spots, Lupin nervously observed that he was the only young male member of the staff present (who wasn\'t currently a dog), and felt his chest constrict as he saw the rest of the staff looking on with interest. \"Damn,\" he thought as his stomach trembled at the thought of becoming the staff\'s next matchmaking project. The dog grinned at him happily, and Remus found himself wishing Snape was present to come up with a suitably nasty concoction to lace his food with.

The staff\'s newest perspective victim sat down heavily and accepted his tea from a twinkling Dumbledore.

Elizabeth sat quietly throughout the informal tea, her back straight, never touching the back of the vivid chair. She spoke when addressed, and even then she was hesitant and deliberate in speaking. Her shyness could only be expected from years with little companionship. She was content to just observe quietly from her vivid colored chair, which contrasted wildly with the plainness of the lady who was sitting, silent in its overly stuffed cushions.

Sprout and McGonagall were whispering to each other and nodding their heads at Professor Lupin, who was glaring at them as he occasionally nudged the dog, none to gently, with his foot. The newly arrived Professor Trelawney was reading Professor Vector\'s palm with little success, as Professor Vector kept being struck by sudden fits, which seemed to Elizabeth to be represamusamusement. Madame Pomfrey and Hagrid were in the midst of a heated discussion, at least on Madame Pomfrey\'s part, over Hagrid\'s ordering a cockatrice for his upper years Care of Magical Creature\'s Class.

\"The creatures are impossible to control. The hospital wing will be full before the first day is even over!\" Pomfrey\'s body shook with rage, \"and I thought the skrewts were bad! This is ridiculous Hagrid, those creatures are dangerous!!\"

\"But how are they to get any experience handling creatures if they are just given the gentle ones?\" Hagrid sputtered, abashed in the face of the smaller witch\'s wrath. The giant glanced over to Lupin, hoping for rescue, but couldn\'t meet his eyes as Lupin was still glaring at the two witches in the corner.

\"Care of Magical Creatures should remain exactly that, **care** of them, not How To Avoid Getting Killed At School class!! Dark creatures should be a part of Defense Against the Darks Arts, and Lupin has been content to remain reasonable in choosing the creature\'s in his syllabus.\"

Lupin, finally distracted, chose his words carefully, \"I don\'t know, some teachers thought I was too easy on the students. The upper years will not be working with creatures in Defense much anyway. They are going to be spending most of their time working on dueling and quick curses, and counter curses. It is a bit exhausting and requires stamina, which will have to be built up. Dumbledore and I discussed arranging the schedules so they have a day in-between their Care of Magical creatures classes and their Defense Against the Dark Arts classes so they can rest.\"

He added, \"But I can\'t help thinking Hagrid may be right, with the war going on we need to be preparing them to defend themselves, a cockatrice might certainly keep them on their toes.\"

Pomfrey glared at the younger wizard and was about to speak when Dumbledore rescued the two men. \"Poppy, I know it will be trying for you, but I had some thoughts about something that could ease your load. I would like to add medi-wizardy to the courses this year, and have you take on students who may be interested in the field. I have also hired a nurse to help you while you work with the students. She should be here a week before the term begins. Now that Ms. Dupries is here, she can make the potions for you as Severus did, so you will not have to worry about that aspect any longer.\"

Pomfrey glowed at the thought, \"Students! It has been years since I have had an apprentice. It will be a challenge with more than one, but I am certain it could work, and if they choose medi-wizardy it could take some time off their apprenticeships.\"

Elizabeth couldn\'t help but be impressed with Dumbledore\'s mollifying the concerned witch. With thoughts of more assistance in the Hospital wing, much of her fears were laid to rest, and she was now happily humming with thoughts of who may choose to join her field.

\"It is also time for us to being strengthening the wards around the school. Professor Lupin, Hagrid and Professor McGonagall have been doing nightly patrols of the grounds, and I would like for the rest of the staff to join them. I would like everyone to pair up with a partner, and we will have one pair patrol in the air while another on foot.\"

Elizabeth looked up suddenly as Dumbledore stood by her chair. \"Ms Dupries, will be extremely busy preparing potions for the Hospital Wing, so I would rather she not join the rest of you until she has caught up with the low stock.\" She nodded in acceptance, though she would like to have explored the grounds a bit.

\"I am sure you all have things you would like to work on before dinner, so perhaps we should adjourn for now and we can discuss the pairings over dinner. Remus, if you and Ms Dupries could remain for a moment, I would like to speak with you before you go.\"

When the rest of the staff had gone, Dumbledore spoke, \"Ms Dupries, I wasn\'t certain you wished the other staff members to learn of your abilities so I thought it best if we discuss them a little more privately. Remus will need to know, as I plan for him to assist you should the need arise. Also, I would like to introduce you to someone. Snuffles, if you please?\"

Elizabeth gazed curiously at Remus\' ever-present companion, as the dog whimpered.

\"You will just have to trust my judgment in this Sirius.\"

The dog whimpered a bit more, but finally heaved a great sigh and suddenly turned into a man. He was tall and handsome, his tangled dark hair was past his shoulders, his black robes had a wrinkled slept in appearance, and his eyes were dark and weary.

\"Dumbledore, I am not really comfortable with this. I wish you had discussed it with me first.\" He sighed, running his hands through his hair in frustration, \"and you Mooney, the least you could do would be to brush me once in awhile.\"

Remus rolled his eyes, \"It was only one day, but now that Trelawney is here you will probably be in for longer stretches.\"

Sirius grinned at that and turned to Elizabeth, who was gazing at him coolly.

\"You must be the first person who didn\'t scream when they saw me.\"

\"I am not generally prone to hysterics Mr. Black.\"

He grinned again.

\"I wanted you to meet Ms. Dupries as I have a request for her, and I would like for the two of you to assist her. Ms Dupries. May I call you Elizabeth?\" at her nod he continued. \"As you are unregistered, I don\'t think anyone will notice you if you patrol in your animagus form.\" Ignoring the young men\'s surprised start, he explained, \"We will place tracking and other protection charms on you, if you agree, as you will have to patrol on your own. But, should anything happen, Sirius and Lupin will be on call to jump in and assist you.\"

\"Sir, if I may ask, how did you know?\"

Dumbledore smiled at her, \"I happened to get a copy of your Potions dissertation. It is restricted, but I have a bit of a pull. The Animagus Potion might prove to be very useful.\"

Sirius stared at her, \"You made a potion for that?\" he gasped, \"how does it work?\"

She looked uncomfortable at the mention of the restricted potion, but at Dumbledore\'s nod she replied, \"It allows one to attain the animagus ability with much less study and effort.\"

\"So you cheated!\" he grinned, obviously impressed.

She frowned, insulted, \"It took years to develop the potion, as long as many spend trying to become animagi. I knew I had some animagi somewhere back in my family line, but I do not have the strength in Transfigurations to have done it myself. I suppose you could call it cheating if you wish.\"

\"It wasn\'t an insult Madame, I was impressed at your resourcefulness, no wonder you were sorted into Gryffindor.\"

She smiled, \"I shall have to take that as a compliment Mr. Black.\"

Sirius ginned in reply, then shook his head, \"But I don\'t feel comfortable with her patrolling on her own Dumbledore, if she is an animagus, couldn\'t we just patrol together?\"

\"Not unless you are a flying dog, Mr. Black.\"

\"You can fly? No fair! What is your animagus form anyway?\"

\"Those that are animagi in my family tend to be falcons. I am no different.\" She said quietly.

Sirius frowned, \"If your family has a history of it, won\'t they be looking for it?\"

She shook her head, \"Not necessarily, the last few generations have been unregistered, and my father never even told me until I became one myself. They were very secretive.\"

\"You can think on the plan if you like Elizabeth,\" Dumbledore said gently. \"But if you agree, I can cast the charms and the three of you can have a few practice runs.\"

\"I don\'t require time to think about it sir, I would like to assist any way I can.\"

Dumbledore clapped his hands merrily, \"Wonderful! I couldn\'t be more pleased. Now, if you two would please stand back, I will cast the charms, and you can show her to the Astronomy tower. She can take off from there while you two keep watch with these omnioculars.\"

Ten minutes later, Elizabeth, Remus, and Snuffles the dog were on their way to the astronomy tower.

The trio made their way through the dark passages to the Astronomy Tower. Elizabeth glanced at the young graying man beside her, and wondered what troubles life must have dealt the kind man, that could have caused him to appear so tired and worn at such a young age.

She did not have to wonder for long as Lupin cleared his throat to speak, \"Ms. Dupries, I wished to speak with you about something. Professor Dumbledore would have spoken to you, but since it concerns me, I would rather bring it up to you myself.\" At her nod, he continued, \"There is a potion I require, and it is a difficult one to make. I wonder if it would be possible for you to make it for me.\"

She gazed at him curiously, \"I would be happy to assist you, Mr. Lupin. What is this potion?\"

\"The Wolfsbane Potion.\"

\"Wolfsbane? No! How did this happen?\" Her eyes flashed with concern.

\"I was just a boy, Ms. Dupries, and very careless.\" She nodded quietly in understanding.

\"I haven\'t had cause to make Wolfsbane Potion, Mr. Lupin, but I do believe I can. Perhaps the Headmaster would be willing to let me have Professor Snape\'s notes on the brewing of it. It takes some time to prepare, but if I start tomorrow, it should be ready in time for the next full moon.\"

\"Which is why I wanted to ask you as soon as I could.\" He said gratefully.

The Astronomy Tower is the tallest tower at Hogwarts. Gazing out from its heights, Elizabeth felt she could see for miles. The sunlight glittered on the cool water of the lake, and the trees of the Forbidden Forest seemed to go forever. She could almost see the forms of the buildings that made up Hogsmead, and she watched for a moment, the shimmering house flags that surrounded the Quidditch pitch.

The black shaggy dog watched her take everything in. Her eyes danced with amazement at the wonder of the grounds in the light, and her hair shone, the redness of the sunlight only emphasizing the mahogany color of her tresses. He shook himself to rid his mind of any such wondering and changed form.

\"If you want to look around during daylight, we really should get to ihe dhe day won\'t last much longer.\"

She smiled, and he wondered if any of her smiles ever reached her eyes, or if they would always be guarded.

She nodded, and suddenly before them was a large peregrine falcon. Grey with white plumage marked by the bars that are common in peregrines. She stretched her wings and flew up to the ledge of the Astronomy Tower. Her eyesight was much keener in this form, and she took in the subtleties of the leaves of the trees of the forbidden forest, and the gently waving grass of the lawn before it.

Stretching her wings, she took off. With her talons back against her tail feathers, she flapped her wings and soared above the trees of the Dark Forest. Flapping her wings again to gain more height, she watched the trees moving swiftly beneath her, the floor of the forest barely visible under the tangled vegetation.

The two men on the Astronomy tower watched her as she circled around, and flew back across the forest towards them. Her call deep and low, she suddenly flew higher and higher until they lost sight of her in the light, only to catch her again in time to see her powerful dive, that which had made the peregrines so prized among falconers.

Sirius heaved a deep sigh in envy, \"I wish my own form was a bird, it must be amazing to fly without a broom.\"

Lupin grinned, \"Yeah, but you would end up as some sort of peacock.\"

The group was silent on the descent back to the main levels of the castle.

Lupin led the way to the stairs leading down into the dungeons, \"We have a little time before dinner, and we can show you the Potions classroom if you like. An additional office has been added next to the room for your use. Professor Dumbledore can let you into Snape\'s office for any notes and schedules that you may requ\" h\" he explained.

The dank and moist air of the cool dungeons was a startling contrast to the bright, warm day. They entered the Potions classroom, and Elizabeth made her way down the rows of chairs and tables. A stone gargoyle sat in a corner, water pouring from its mouth into a basin on the floor. Knowing the need for water in case of mishaps, she checked the water and found it to be clean and cold.

\"It comes in filtered from the lake,\" said Lupin, noting her interest. \"It only comes on when someone is in the room.\"

As she opened the cabinet holding the ingredients, Elizabeth noted the rows of bottles glittering in the firelight. Their order was immaculate. Every bottle had a place, and they were organized first into type: animal, vegetable or mineral, and then alphabetical order. The bottles were color coded according to the volatility of their contents. This was obviously the student store.

He smiled, \"The staff made sure to put everything back exactly where it was found. We were afraid that Severus would return to find his potions in a mess, and hex us all into another plane. Sirius and I can help you do an inventory so you can order anything you need before the term starts.\"

\"I would appreciate the help, Mr. Lupin.\"

\"Remus\"

\"Of course, Remus, and would you please call me Elizabeth.\"

Sirius suddenly appeared where the dog had been, \"What about me?\" he whined pathetically.

She couldn\'t help but smile at his stricken expression. \"Of course Mr. Black.\" Then laughed as he looked even more tragicSiriSirius,\" she corrected.

Her office held only a desk, but Lupin and Sirius promised to show her where the furniture that wasn\'t being used was kept, and to help her move what she wanted into the room. Then they headed to the Great Hall for dinner.

Dinner was short and silent. Many of the staff members, annoyed at whom they had been partnered with, ate quickly and headed to their rooms. Elizabeth asked the Headmaster for Professor Snape\'s notes on the Wolfsbane potion, and the two of them headed back to the dungeons.

Professor Snape\'s office had an empty feeling to it. Though cleaned by the elves regularly, the air in it was still and musty. Books lined the shelves on one wall, and shelves on another contained preserving jars filled with creatures. A third wall contained what could only be Professor Snape\'s private stock. The private stores were covered in dust, and she gazed at them curiously. The ashwinder eggs had a particularly nasty ward on them she noted with amusement. Ashwinder eggs are a principal ingredient in love potions, and she couldn\'t blame him for wanting to keep a close eye on them. She wondered what he would have done had he found someone passed out on his floor in shock as the ward would have dictated.

\"The house elves refuse to touch his private stores,\' Dumbledore grinned. \"I can only imagine what he threatened them with to make them not want to actually clean something. Ie gie given them permission to dust, but they always start trying to ward away the evil eye whenever I mention it.\"

He added, \"The school will furnish your own private stores. Many of these were purchased by Severus, and I haven\'t sorted them out yet. Should you need anything, just let me know and it can be acquired for you.\"

\"Yes Sir,\" she said quietly.

The tall, black, leather chair behind the desk was well cared for; the leather was shining and looked soft though it hadn\'t been used for many months. The house elves, while not understanding the man, had respected the person who Dumbledore seemed to hold in such high regard. His quills sat unused in their receptacle, and the feared red ink, which he always used to mark papers, sat dry in its well. Two wooden uncomfortable looking chairs sat facing the table, obviously meant for students. She wondered if he had had many visitors outside the student body.

Dumbledore came to a section containing unmarked books, and pulled the last one from its shelf. It was a potions diary. Its black leather cover and silvery lettering were worn, and the pages whispered as he flipped through them. Elizabeth glanced at the dozens of similar books, amazed at the sheer volume that contained his life\'s work, and wondered not for the first time about the man who had written in them. Her fingers itched to touch them and devour their contents.

Dumbledore used a quick replicating spell to copy the information on the Wolfsbane potion, and very gently returned the book to its place. He brushed his eyes with his hand and they left the room. The Headmaster closed the door quietly behind him as if he feared disturbing someone\'s rest, whispered the locking spell, and they returned back to the main levels of the castle. Both deep in thought.