Stacey Jackson - The Elixir of Power

Chapter Four: Hogwarts

I woke up at 8:30 the next morning. I ate a quick breakfast, and then I took a shower. I magically permed my hair again, and then I got dressed in my favorite denim skirt (hip-hugger style, with four slightly hidden khaki-colored pleats and two small pockets) that went down to my knees, my favorite red peasant-top, decorated with flower patterns, with long sleeves so it covered my scar, and my favorite platform boots that zipped up on the inner sides, and went up to one inch above my ankles. I slid on my power-bead bracelet (my favorite, and only bracelet, since it was once my mom's), I put on my favorite silver necklace, and I put on my favorite matching pierced earrings.

At ten, my father and I left Remus' house, and we took a Portkey to Hogwarts. We landed right outside the gates, flanked by statues of wild boars. My father walked up to them, and looked around. Then we saw a house-elf come running down a path. It was a male, and he wore soccer (or football) shorts, a tie patterned with horseshoes over his bare chest, and a tea cozy for a hat, upon which he'd pinned a number of bright badges, and two completely different socks: one was black, and the other one was red and decorated with golden Snitches.

"Dobby is sorry he wasn't here on time," the elf, obviously Dobby, said, apologizing profusely. "Dobby is very sorry." He opened the gate to let us in.

"It's all right," I said kindly to him. He looked up at me, and smiled.

"You reminds Dobby of Harry Potter, miss," he said.

"Really? How?" I asked.

"You is very kind, miss," Dobby said as we walked up the path to Hogwarts. I stared at it. The school was enormous, with many towers and turrets.

"What? Oh, thanks," I said faintly.

"Miss has never seen Hogwarts before?" Dobby asked. I nodded.

"Meridianis, the school I went to in America, was nowhere near this big or grand," I said. "It was okay, but this-" I gestured to the school, the grounds, the lake, the forest and the Quidditch stadium "-is absolutely amazing."

Dobby led us into the school. The entrance hall was really big. I looked around in amazement as Dobby led us up to Dumbledore's office. We stopped in front of a gargoyle statue, and Dobby said, "Peppermint Humbug." The statue came to life and jumped aside, revealing a moving staircase.

"Dobby will see Miss Jackson later?" Dobby asked hopefully. I nodded. Dobby grinned toothily, and then he scurried off. My father stepped onto the staircase with me following him. It took us way up, spiralling all the while. Then I saw a door with a Gryffin for a door knocker. My father and I stepped off the staircase, and my father used the knocker to knock on the door.

"Come in," came a slightly feeble voice that held warmth and a strength most men didn't have. My father opened the door, and I followed him into the office.

It was a circular room, with pictures of previous headmasters and headmistresses, all sleeping contentedly. A phoenix sat on a perch beside the door. There were some curious objects on pedestals around the room, each of them whirring and letting off puffs of smoke. I knew them to be relaxers. My mom had owned a few herself. There was a large glass case, containing an old, patched and frayed hat, a sword with a gold handle with rubies on it, and some other items. I also noticed a wooden cabinet, through which I could just make out a Pensive, or a bowl in which one siphons their thoughts so that they can examine them and make out patterns. And then, there was Dumbledore himself.

He sat at an old, wooden desk that still shone brightly. He had long, white hair and a beard that he could easily tuck into his belt, half-moon spectacles, dark purple robes with silver stars on them, and bright, twinkling blue eyes. He looked through his glasses at me, and I felt as though I was being X-rayed. This man could see things most couldn't.

"Ah, Don Jackson, I presume," Dumbledore said, standing up to shake my father's hand. "And this must be your daughter, Stacey." He smiled warmly at me, and I returned the smile as he shook my hand.

Dumbledore sat down, and so did we. He looked between the two of us, and then he said, "I'm sure you're aware of all the rules?"

"Yes, of course," my father answered at once. "Although I am not quite so sure about Stacey-"

"I'm aware of the rules," I said. I had read them at least ten times. Who could possibly forget them? "I'm just not the best at following them," I added a little sadly. Dumbledore smiled.

"Not to worry," he said. "Quite a few of the students here do it anyway."

"You must be joking," my father said, obviously shocked.

"I'm not," Dumbledore said. "Many of the students in Gryffindor house do it quite often. There's one boy who's been in the Forbidden Forest twice, off the school grounds without permission, in other forbidden areas and so forth." His eyes twinkled. "Of course, now he's off with Muggle relatives, but he's very much like his parents."

"What happened to his parents?" I asked before I could stop myself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't've asked that."

"No matter," Dumbledore said with a wave of his hand. "His parents were murdered."

"Oh." I stared at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"Not to worry," Dumbledore said. Then he started questioning us about all sorts of things. I only answered when the question was directed at me. Otherwise, I let my father do the talking.

After a while, my hair decided to get into my face again. I reached up with my right arm and-

"Ow!" I yelped, yanking my arm down. The stupid scar was hurting again. I slapped my left hand onto my arm, and held it tightly.

"What's wrong?" Dumbledore with concern. I looked up. My father was glaring at me, whereas Dumbledore was concerned and confused. I bit my lip.

"It's nothing," I said, taking my hand off my arm and ignoring the stabbing pains.

"An 'ow' of that intensity is most certainly nothing," Dumbledore said. "Would you please show me what's hurting you?"

I was totally freaked out. My father was so totally going to kill me for this, but I'd never disobeyed a headmaster or headmistress. I gulped, stood up, and walked around to Dumbledore.

"It's this," I said, lifting up my sleeve so that he could clearly see the scar. He gently took my arm, and looked at it closely. My father realized what he was looking at.

"That thing? Stacey, I thought I told you to get rid of it."

"I can't," I said. "For God's sake, the thing is real! Why won't anyone besides Remus believe me?" I didn't mention Sirius mainly because of my father, who rolled his eyes.

"Stacey, I thought I told you to stop lying."

"I don't lie either," I said hotly. "You just don't see what's right in front of your face."

My father looked like he was going to explode, but fortunately, Dumbledore interrupted.

"Stacey, perhaps you'd like to look around the school," he said. I nodded, and he let go of my arm. "and please be back in two hours."

"Of course," I said, pulling my sleeve down. Then I left.

When I got back into the hallway, I pulled out my map, and I tapped it, saying, "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," and the map revealed itself. So, I set off to explore.

First, I decided to check out the common rooms for the four houses of Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. I started out with Gryffindor. A fat lady in a pink dress guarded the entrance. I gave her the password, and then I climbed through the portrait hole into the common room. It was seriously like walking back in time, with the furniture, the wall decorations, the fireplace, and the dormitories. I went into every one of them, amazed by the small differences each room had. I stopped in the one for the Gryffindor fifth-years. Each bed had something by it that showed who occupied it during the school year.

One bed had a picture of the West Ham Soccer or Football team. It was one of those Muggle pictures. It definitely belonged to a Muggle-born wizard. Another one had a roset from the Quidditch World Cup last year in the shape of a four-leaf clover. This person was most definitely Irish.

The next bed had a stray book by it, about water herbs and fungi. The bed was also kind of lumpy, as though someone a little overweight slept in it. This person probably did very well in Herbology.

Next to that one was another bed, with the curtains on it looking slightly eaten. Most likely a rat. Then I realized this was Ron Weasley's bed. I smiled. This meant that the last bed by the small window seat was Harry Potter's.

I sat on it, trying to imagine what Harry must've felt his first time here, or during the Triwizard Tournament, or during any other circumstance. I got the feeling that Harry was a person with the weight of the world on his shoulders. I hoped I was wrong about that. Someone as young as him shouldn't be pressured like that.

I left that room and explored the other ones. Then I left, and headed off to the Ravenclaw common room. This place was decorated with dark blue and bronze furniture, wall coverings and so forth. The dorms were pretty much the same as Gryffindors' were, but this place wasn't quite as comfy. Were the Ravenclaws uptight or something? I sure didn't know, but I still liked the place, mainly because my favorite color is blue.

Then I went to the Hufflepuff common room. This was a brighter, and yet darker place, with contrasting colors of yellow and black. It was a little too strange for me, so I didn't take as long to explore it.

Then I went into the Great Hall. I stared around, amazed. The ceiling was bewitched to look like the sky outside, and it showed a beautiful blue day out there. There was four long tables that the houses probably sat at, and the staff table was on the other side of the room. I spotted a door that led to the dungeons, and so I went through it.

Thanks to my map, I didn't get lost. I found the Slytherin room, and I absolutely hated it. Stone, dark green lanterns, uncomfortable chairs, and other problems of the like bothered me. The place held a sense of immense darkness. I looked through it very quickly, and then I left. I preferred Hufflepuff to this place.

I went to the third floor. It was a somewhat broad level, and I noticed a door at the end of a hallway that was tightly locked. The door said, "Danger, do not enter."

Well, danger was my middle name at the time, so I went over to the door. I unlocked it with a wave of my hand, and I poked my head inside.

The first thing I saw was three heads. They belonged to dogs. But this was one dog. I glanced down at my map, and the thing was marked as being named Fluffy.

"What kind of name is that?" I asked myself out loud. I looked back at the dog, and it started growling. I bit my lip.

"You'd like me to leave, wouldn't you?" I asked, smiling shakily. "Well, I think I will." I shut the door just as the three-headed dog launched itself at me. I locked the door, and I leaned against it, breathing heavily. "Fluffy," I muttered, walking away. "What a weird name."

I went back to the Entrance Hall to find a poltergeist playing tennis against the wall. He was a somewhat comic figure, dressed in strange, bright clothing. I stared until he noticed me. Then the tennis ball hit him on his head.

"Ow!" he yelped, clapping a hand to his head. He glared at me. "Who are you?"

"I'd ask the same of you," I said. His eyes narrowed.

"I am Peeves," he said. "And you?"

"Stacey Jackson," I said. "I'm from America, and my father is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher here. I'm his assistant."

"Yeah, right," Peeves said. "You're not very old. You're young enough to be a fifth year."

"I graduated early," I said. This guy was annoying. "But why am I telling you this? You're just a stupid poltergeist." I'd said the wrong thing. Peeves swelled up.

"Stupid, huh?" he said. "Well, I'll show you stupid." And he flung his tennis ball right at me.

I reacted instantly. I held up my right arm as though I was going to catch the speeding thing, but with my fingers spread out. The ball stopped, and with a wave of my hand, it went right back at Peeves, who got hit with it again. He started swearing, so I took off through a door that led to some lower levels.

I found the kitchens in this hallway, so I decided to check it out. After all, my chances of eating with the other adults and students with my father around were slim to none, so I went in.

House Elves were scurrying around, getting the teacher's lunch ready. I figured that they must spend their summer's here as well. Others were cleaning, some were doing laundry, and one rushed past me to go clean some other room with a quick "Excuse me, miss."

I looked around. The place was around the size of the Great Hall, and the House Elves all wore outfits something like Dobby's, only with no real clothing, as was the custom of House Elves in slavery.

I'd always considered it slavery, even though the poor little creatures seemed to enjoy it. But Dobby, he must've hated it. Maybe he was one of the more rare ones with freedom and pay.

"Stacey Jackson, miss!" came Dobby's voice from the other side of the room. I saw Dobby, smiled and waved. Then I walked over to him.

He and another House Elf, a girl, were washing pots and pans. The girl wore a neat little skirt and blouse, with a matching hat.

"Hey Dobby," I said. "Who's your friend?"

"I is Winky, miss," said the girl.

"Oh. Uh, did you both come from other families?" I asked. Dobby nodded.

"Dobby used to work for Malfoys," he said. "Malfoy's were mean to Dobby, so Harry Potter helped to free Dobby." He pointed at the black sock. "This sock freed Dobby, thanks to Harry Potter, miss."

"Really," I said. I turned to Winky. "What about you?"

"Winky used to work for Mr. Crouch, miss." I knew that Mr. Crouch had been a power wizard in the Ministry, until his son murdered him. "I was a bad house-elf, so he freed me, miss." Just thinking about it seemed to make her sad.

"What'd you do?" I asked.

"Winky disobeyed Mr. Crouch," Winky said as she continued to scrub the pan she was holding. "Winky had to stay in tent at World Cup when Death Eaters started being mean to the Muggles. Winky didn't want Barty, Mr. Crouch's son, to use Harry Potter's wand to do bad things, so Winky took him from tent, miss."

"Wait. He used Harry's wand to conjure the Dark Mark?" I asked. Winky nodded.

"Mr. Crouch told Winky to stay in tent, but Winky couldn't because of Barty. Winky was bad."

"Oh, Winky," I said, being sure to be careful of my words, "I know he didn't think that was right, but I would've done the same thing too. I mean, safety is actually more important than obeying rules. Did you know that?" Winky shook her head, her ears flapping. "I'm sure that Mr. Crouch forgives you for what happened, even though he is gone. Besides, we're always supposed to forgive, no matter how hard it may be."

"Really, miss?" Winky asked. I smiled and nodded. Then I glanced at my watch.

"Oh, it 11:30. I need to be going," I said. "I'll see you two later." And then I left, but not before accepting some pastries from the other House Elves. Their cooking, after, is the best.

I ran into a ghost on the second floor, and trust me, it was very cold when I did. This ghost was a man with a very decorative ruff around his neck.

"I'm most sorry about that," the ghost said politely.

"No problem," I said. "It was my fault for not paying attention. Uh, you are?"

"Oh, yes," the ghost said. "I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. Resident ghost of Gryffindor."

"Oh." I bit my lip. "Uh, is there any nick-name you go by? Sir Nicholas de Whatsit-Porpingthingy is kinda hard to remember."

"Ah, I can understand that," the ghost said sadly. "Well, to everyone else, I'm know as Nearly-Headless Nick."

"Where'd that come from?" I asked. He smiled, and grabbed his left ear. Then he pulled it. I gasped. His head was only held onto his head by one inch of sinew and whatnot. He flipped his head back and said, "I believe you are Stacey Jackson?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, still shocked. "My father is the Dark Arts teacher." Nick laughed.

"What?"

"I've never had anyone in shock for as long as you've been," he said. I smiled.

"Well, I've only seen ones with their head either on or off. Both totally and completely," I said. I said good-bye, and then I headed back up to Dumbledore's office. As the stairs took me up, I pulled out my wand, tapped my map, and muttered "Mischief managed." The map went blank, and I shoved both into my bag.

My father was leaving to go explore the school when I got up to the top. He nodded curtly at me, and then I went into Dumbledore's office again.

I shut the door, and then I sat down nervously. Dumbledore fixed me with his bright blue gaze again. It made a little uncomfortable, but I lived with it.

"Your father says that you are a fan of Harry, and that's why you have a scar on your arm," he said. I sighed.

"The scar is real," I said. "And besides, how can I be a fan of someone I've never met?"

"I asked your father the same question," Dumbledore said. "He didn't have an answer."

"Well, that's a first," I said. Dumbledore smiled.

"Well, how did you get it then?" he asked. I proceeded to tell him the whole story.

"... And only Remus Lupin believes me," I finished. Dumbledore looked at me even more intensely.

"I believe you and your father are staying at Remus' house?" I nodded.

"Tell me, how is Sirius Black doing?"

"Oh! You know about him?" Dumbledore nodded.

"I asked him to stay there the night that Voldemort rose again." I noticed that Dumbledore, like myself, didn't call him You-Know-Who. "Does he believe you?"

"Yeah," I replied. "I told him about it my first day here."

"And what of the power you used to stop the Killing Curse?"

"Oh, uh, I still have it," I said. Dumbledore's eyebrows rose.

"Really? Would you be willing to show me a demonstration?" I nodded, and we both stood up and went to opposite sides of the room.

Dumbledore pulled out his wand, pointed it at me, and said, "Stupefy!"

Most people would try to dodge it, but I just did the same thing as I did with Peeves, except this time, I made the jinx just disappear. Dumbledore nodded, impressed, and then we sat down again.

"You have a very impressive power, Stace," he said, using my nickname. I nodded. "What else can you do beside stopping curses and jinxes?"

"I can stop anything," I said. "And, if I were to tell you that you wouldn't be able to read something, then you wouldn't be able to. I think I can do most anything, but I've never really tried. Mainly because the person I showed my power to before Remus and Sirius freaked out and almost told everyone. I had to put a Memory charm on him to keep his mouth shut. So, I only show really responsible people."

Then, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Dumbledore called. The door opened, and there stood a really tall man. I figured that he must be Hagrid from Sirius' description of the ten-foot-tall half-giant.

"Lunch is ready, sir," he said. Dumbledore nodded.

"Would you and your father care to join us, Stacey?" he asked me. I nodded, and we left.

During lunch, I met Professor Minerva McGonagall, the stern Transfiguration teacher with her wits about her, Professor Flitwick, the short Charms teacher with a nice, long beard, Professor Severus Snape, the bad-tempered Slytherin teacher with greasy, black hair, and black eyes with no warth. He was the meanest person I'd ever met, after my father, that is.

There was several other teachers, and each of them seemed to adore me. Then, there was Sibyl Trelawney. Minerva had mentioned to me that was the Divination teacher, and "a right old fraud." The old woman wore a beaded shawl, tons of bracelets, and large spectacles that made her look like some weirdo dragonfly. She stared intently at me as I introduced myself.

"You are different," she said. "Far more different from anyone I've ever met."

"Really. How so?" I asked, not particularly curious.

"You have, I believe, a scar on your right forearm," she said. I stared.

"Uh, yeah," I said. "That's right."

"You also have a special gift," Sibyl continued. "You do not need a wand to do magic, I believe."

Okay. This lady was seriously freaking me out. But there was something in her eyes that told me she knew more than Dumbledore did about me, or anyone else.

"That's right," I said. "Uh, what else do you know?"

"You are from a lineage of mapmakers," she continued. "Special mapmakers that make maps that only they and those they choose can read."

"What-"

"Stacey." It was my father. "We need to leave now."

"All right," I said. I turned back to Sybil and said, "Maybe we can talk another time."

The old woman nodded. I smiled, and then I left with my father to go back to Remus' house.

**********************

That night, I sat on my bed, thinking about everything. What had Sybil meant? Was she really an old fraud like Minerva said she was? What if she wasn't? Then what? I have to admit, I was very confused. And I don't get confused all that often as it is.

I sighed, and flopped down on my back. I had no idea then, but this was the beginning, the real beginning, of my destiny. But right then, all I cared about was what Sibyl had meant. And whatever it was, I knew that I would find out exactly what it was. There was no denying that. Ever.