Not Alone

The next morning Dean awoke with a nervous fluttering in his stomach; less like butterflies, more like bats. He sat up and looked at the sealed envelope containing his completed admissions test and wondered how he had done. He dressed quickly and picked up the envelope, intending to go and find Kaitlyn Close to give it to her.

He stepped out of his room into total chaos. If it had been busy yesterday, today was hell unleashed. There were people everywhere; the noise was incredible and the booths were much bigger and had much longer lines than yesterday.

He realised he was incredibly hungry, and then remembered he had asked Beth to have breakfast with him. His stomach clenched uncomfortably even while his heart soared. He wound his way through the crowds to her door and rapped on the door. She answered quickly; wrenching the door open and looking angry, startling Dean. Her features melted into a warm smile when she saw who it was.

"Sorry if I scared you; people have been banging on my door all morning."

"That's okay. Are you ready to go?"

"Sure." She closed the door behind her and tapped the handle with her wand before turning back to him. "Let's go."

They weaved their way down the corridor, darting around little huddles of students who were talking amongst themselves. Dean heard Beth call out from behind him. "Dean! Wait!"

She pushed her way past one group and reached out to grab the hand he offered her. Her touch sent little tingles all the way up his arm as he pulled her through the crowd. When she was back beside him, he waited a moment before letting go. They smiled at each other sheepishly.

"Come on." she said. "Let's go eat."

* ~ *

The dining hall was not nearly as busy as Dean expected it to be; then again most students were probably choosing to eat before they left home. They sat down at a table beside a window and placed their orders with the plates sitting there.

They talked some more about their ambitions.

"I'd like to specialise in Spell Damage, I think. My aunt did that for twenty years and loved it." Beth told him as she buttered her toast.

"I think I'd like to go into the Potion Research side of Healing. I wasn't that good at Potions while my first Potions teacher, Snape, was teaching. But the last one, Slughorn, really brought out the best in me. He said I had a natural grasp of what ingredients can do; thought I could invent some of my own some day."

"That's great, my Transfiguration teacher Professor Gibson told me I had an excellent chance of becoming an Animagus. I wonder what the teachers here will be like? Have you met any yet? When I got here yesterday there was a snappy bloke running the admissions desk and an American woman running the accommodation one."

"I didn't meet the American woman, but I know the bloke you're talking about - Freeman right? Takes Herbology?"

"Yep - with eyes like ice. The American woman seemed nice; she teaches Dark Arts Reversal. Her name was September Falls."

"Cool name. The woman I met teaches charms: Kaitlyn Close." Dean smiled a little. "My Dad had a crush on her at school."

Beth laughed. "How do you know that?"

Suddenly, Dean found himself telling her the whole story--at least the lighter parts first. He explained how he had found his father's yearbooks at Hogwarts and saw Kaitlyn's entry with the hearts. But Beth was too perceptive for him; when they were done laughing about the fact that Dean was going to be taking classes from the woman his Dad had a crush on, she came back to the subject.

"What were your Dad's yearbooks doing at the school?"

Dean hesitated, and Beth saw he wasn't comfortable.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to talk about it."

Dean felt a warm glow in his stomach. This girl is perfect.

"It's not that I don't want to... but it's a long story, and I have to go see Miss Close now with that test."

Beth smiled at him. "Okay, let's go then. I've had enough."

The crowd in the hallway had thinned out a little as people went to set up their rooms, though there were still long lines at both of the desks. Dean saw a wizard he hadn't met yet running the Admissions desk, and still another the Accommodation desk.

When they reached Beth's room, she turned to him after unlocking it. "So... want to go get a drink when you're done at the meeting?"

Dean noticed her cheeks had turned quite pink and felt the heat rise in his own face. "Um... yeah, that'd be great."

She smiled, looking relieved. "Okay, come and get me when you're done."

Dean just about managed to bite back the words "it's a date," knowing he'd probably pass out of embarrassment if they got out.

"Cool, I'll see you later Beth."

* ~ *

"Come in!"

Dean pushed open the door to a cosy office. Candles floated in mid air like at Hogwarts, casting a warm glow on the pine panelled walls and richly carpeted floor. Kaitlyn Close was sitting behind a large pine desk. She smiled at him and gestured to the seat in front of the desk. "Dean, isn't it? Sit down."

Dean sat down and handed her the envelope.

"Well, you're certainly keen; we weren't expecting them until tomorrow."

Dean smiled. "Figured I'd beat the crowd."

"Well, I'll get to marking this now, and I can plan out your programme of learning after that. You'll know later tonight; I'll send you an owl. Now, I need to tell you a few more basic things about the school. I'm sure by now you've found the dining hall. I'm sorry you had to go looking on your own; it's been chaos here since they brought in extra students. Don't you have an owl?"

"Yes, his name is Helios."

"Did you find the Owlery?" Dean nodded. "Well did you notice that the perches all have boxes up there?"

"No, were there? I wasn't paying much attention."

"Well, they're post boxes. Once Helios has chosen his spot, he will deliver all your mail into that box, which will have your name on it. You may have noticed that your bedroom windows don't open."

Dean had tried to open one that morning, unsuccessfully. He nodded at her.

"All the introductory classes will take place in room three-fourteen on level seven. Tomorrow, your first class will be Potions with Professor Willoughby. The second class is Transfiguration with Professor Holmes; then Charms with me; then Herbology with Professor Freeman, and finally Dark Arts Reversal with Professor Falls."

She settled back in her chair, playing with a pen in her left hand.

"There is a Professor who's in charge of all the student activity and she'll be your supervisor when you're helping out in the hospital wards. Her name is Healer Faith Kelly. She'll probably ask you to call her Kelly; she doesn't like being called 'Healer' all the time. I feel the same way; call me Katie. I'll never get used to being called 'Professor'."

She flashed Dean a warm smile, which he returned nervously. I'll never get used to calling teachers by their first name. I hope they don't all do that. His mind went back to Professor Freeman. He definitely won't.

Katie sat down again on her side of the desk. She picked up the envelope containing his test. The first page of the test had been a questionnaire about his basic education, and standard contact information. She appeared to be studying his name.

"You know, you look so familiar to me, but I don't recognise your name. You don't have any relatives in St Mungo's, do you?"

Dean's stomach contracted, knowing she was probably recognising his father in him. "No, I was raised by my mum and stepdad; didn't know I was a Wizard until I got my Hogwarts letter."

He felt guilty for not telling her, but he hadn't lied.

"All right, Dean, I'll send you your programme of study later tonight. This is the only test I've gotten so far. I think you're the first early admission student to arrive."

Dean left still feeling the guilt burning, but he had had no desire to explain to her how he recognised her. He also didn't want to have to tell the story of finding out about his real father to a woman on whom his father had once had a crush.

* ~ *

Dean and Beth found a little quiet pub down the street from St Mungo's called The Dragons Claw; it was the unofficial St Mungo's student pub, and looked like it. The upholstery was worn and the carpet had deep grooves in it between the tables and the bar. When Dean asked for two Butterbeers, the barman raised his eyebrows at him, but gave him the drinks.

Beth was laughing softly as they sat down. "I guess he doesn't get asked for Butterbeer very often, students tend to go for stronger stuff."

"I guess... I just don't feel up to it at eleven in the morning."

Beth laughed again; Dean loved how her eyes shone when she did.

"So, how did your meeting with Professor Close go?" she asked.

"Well for one thing she wants us to call her Katie, which is going to feel very weird to me. And for another - she recognised me."

Beth looked up sharply. "What? She knows who you are?"

"No, but I look familiar to her..."

Dean explained what Katie had said to him about looking familiar and that he would find out about his programme of study by that night.

"I'm still not too sure how this is going to work with some of us more behind than others. How are they going to teach us?" Dean wondered.

"I don't know, maybe they'll teach you one on one? Or maybe they'll split you into age groups - like put you in with your friend Ernie and anyone else from your year group?"

"You're lucky you've got the right qualifications."

"Actually, I don't. I wouldn't have gotten in if it wasn't for the early admissions programme. I only got an Acceptable in Charms, and I was only about two points off getting an A in Herbology. They're not being that fussy anymore, they can't afford to. They need the help in the hospital."

Dean felt an awkward question coming, but couldn't stop himself.

"What's the war like in Northern Ireland?"

Beth lowered her head, picking at the label on her bottle. "Not much different than here. The only thing is the Ministry has an easier job covering up; not all the stuff reported in the Muggle news is related to the Troubles."

She looked up at him again. "You were going to tell me about your father, I think?"

Dean noticed the abrupt change of subject, but didn't press the matter. Instead, he found himself telling her all about how he had discovered the truth about his father two years ago, without quite knowing why he would tell someone he hardly knew about something so personal. Beth listened attentively while he explained how he had realised who Gary Heaton was through photographs and documents in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts.

"And you had no idea?" Beth asked, looking stunned.

"None. I thought Mark was my dad."

"Must have been a hell of a shock."

"Oh it was. But I feel better for knowing the truth. Mark is my dad in every way that matters, and Gary is someone I have to thank for the life I have in the magical world and for giving me the idea of going to St Mungo's. It was his ambition, but then the first war started and he became an Auror." Dean lowered his eyes. "He never got the chance to go back."

Beth put a hand on his arm and he was reminded strongly of Ginny. It made him a little uncomfortable. He wasn't sure if he was ready to take the risk of being hurt like that again. He pulled away slightly and she lifted her hand to reach for her Butterbeer.

"So, you said you were a half-blood too? Was it your mother or your father who was a Muggle?"

"Me da, he didn't have any idea me ma was a witch until long after they were married. They didn't think I was a witch until I started doing uncontrolled magic. He accidentally cut my roses one day when I was seven. I cried a lot, sitting there at the flowerbed. When I reached out and touched them they grew again straight away. Nearly gave him a heart attack!"

"Why didn't your mum tell him?"

"She didn't want to until she'd seen if I was a witch or a squib. Don't know why she thought I wouldn't be a witch; Squibs are really rare. Still, it's great to grow up in both worlds, makes taking Muggle Studies so much easier."

"I didn't take it at all, didn't see the point."

Beth raised her eyebrows. "It was an elective at Hogwarts? We had to take it; it's part of the core curriculum. It ensures that all the students who leave know how to behave in the Muggle world. You leave knowing how to dress, work with Muggle money, and all about electricity. At N.E.W.T. level, you pick a foreign language to learn, too."

"You speak a foreign language?"

"Nope, didn't take the N.E.W.T., took the subjects I needed for Healer school. My best friend did; she's studying at a language school in Wales this year. She's learning to speak Muggle languages like Spanish and French, and magical languages. I think she said one of them was Gobbledegook." Beth glanced at her watch. "She was supposed to write to me today. I wonder if the post has come yet."

"Let's head back. I'll probably have a letter from my mum."

* ~ *

The roof of the hospital was bathed in hot August sunlight. There were a lot more owls now than there had been yesterday, all crowded near the bottom perches to avoid the sun. Lots of them were asleep, including Helios. Under his perch was a small wooden box that now had Dean's name stamped in gold on it. He reached into it and found three envelopes. He stroked the owl's sleeping head. "You've been busy."

The owl opened one sleepy eye and hooted very softly. Dean looked at the envelopes. He saw that one was indeed from his mother, another from Seamus, and one from Lee. He looked over at Beth and saw her clutching a few letters, too. She waved at him. "I'm gonna sit up here and read these. See you at dinner?"

"Cool, I'll see you up there later. I'm gonna go look for Ernie soon."

He waved goodbye to her and headed back to the lift.

Back in the privacy of his room, he opened the letters one by one. The one from his mother told him to write again at the weekend, but nothing really informative. The letter from Lee brought good news:

Dear Dean,

Guess what? Just got a job at the Ministry! Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It's an intern thing, so they'll probably shunt me between offices. Just as long as they don't send me to the Centaur Liaison Office!

Mum's going mental. She never thought I'd get a proper job; she thought I'd be helping Fred and George forever.

We'll have to meet up sometime. Is there a pub anywhere near you there?

Talk soon,

Lee

Dean quickly wrote a congratulatory reply and told him about the Dragon's Claw down the street. He moved on to Seamus' letter. Seamus had been working at the Ministry since June in the Department of Magical Transportation. His mother had not been happy with his decision to live in London, especially alone.

Hey Dean,

Doing anything on Saturday? Got a rare day off and thought you might like to meet up for a drink. How does the Leaky Cauldron sound to you?

Seamus

Well, short and sweet as always. Seamus never wrote long letters. Dean doubted he'd ever get a long letter from Seamus, even if they hadn't seen each other in a year. Dean wrote Seamus a quick note telling him he'd see him in the Leaky Cauldron around midday. The last envelope, the large one, was from Katie Close. It was his plan of study.

Dear Dean,

Enclosed are the details of how we're going to get you through this course without your N.E.W.T.s.

Your grades were such in your sixth year that I think we can get you through your Healing qualifications in four years. It will mean a lot of hard work this year. You will need to work on your own a lot with help from a personal tutor; in your case, me.

Your Potions grade and cover letter from Professor Slughorn are very promising, and the recommendations from your other teachers are excellent.

I look forward to working with you. I will see you in classes tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Katie.

Dean found a timetable for the next day in the envelope. Each introductory class lasted for an hour; Potions was first, followed by Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms, and finally Dark Arts Reversal. On Monday, they would be starting to work in the hospital. There would be a rota in the reception area to show which floor they'd be covering. There was a class and a shift of ward work lasting three hours per day; the rest of the time they'd be studying on their own. Dean had the feeling he'd be using every single spare minute catching up on the work he should have been doing at N.E.W.T. level, while trying to keep up with first year Healing coursework.

Someone knocked on his door, jarring him out of the creeping sense of fear about the work ahead.

"Come in."

The door opened, and there stood Ernie MacMillan and another girl who looked vaguely familiar.

"Hey Dean, you remember Su Li? She was a Ravenclaw in our year."

"No, but hi anyway!" Dean stood up and shook her hand, then clapped Ernie on the shoulder. "When did you get here?"

"Just got through the queues and unpacked, met Su in the line. You?"

"Yesterday. Did my test, got my study programme and everything."

"I have to do that tonight. Got time for a quick bite to eat?"

"Sure, you know where the dining hall is?"

Ernie looked at him quizzically. "Dining hall? Don't you use the kitchen?"

"Kitchen?"

* ~ *

"Wow... I had no idea!"

Ernie had taken him to one of many communal kitchens in the East Wing. "This is closest to me too, I'm in one twenty-five. We're supposed to share between about ten of us."

"Cool! Oh wait, crap; does that mean I have to learn how to cook?"

Ernie and Su laughed. "Never learn the cooking charms, Dean?" asked Su.

"Nope, no interest. My wand just doesn't like it. I'll have to tell Beth we don't have to go up to the dining hall every day."

Ernie looked puzzled. "Who's Beth?"

"Oh, she's starting here this year. She went to school in Ireland. Did you know there was a magic school in Ireland?"

"Yeah. Draíochta, right?"

"Yeah, I had no idea. I should go tell her; we were going to meet up for dinner."

Dean made his way down the corridor and knocked on Beth's door. She opened it almost immediately, quill in hand.

"Hi! Just finishing off replies to those letters, you're very early."

"Did you know there were kitchens for us to share?"

"No... Really? I'll have to try to cook sometime. I can't be bothered tonight, though."

Ernie and Su approached them, having gone to their rooms to collect letters to send.

"You must be Ernie; Dean told me he had a school friend here. I'm Beth. I'm just finishing up a letter. Give me a minute and we'll go send these, then get something to eat."

* ~ *

Dean couldn't remember enjoying a dinner so much since the leaving feast in third year at school. The former Hogwarts students swapped stories with Beth about Hogwarts. Ernie and Dean told stories about the D.A. from fifth year, leaving Su bitterly disappointed that she had not been a part of anything that made "that miserable old bitch angry." They told Beth about some of the legendary things that happened during their days; about the Philosophers Stone, the Chamber of Secrets, Sirius Black getting into the school, the Triwizard Tournament, the Ministry invasion, and the Weasley twins' flight to freedom.

Ernie was laughing uproariously. "That was incredible, that one. I'm sure they were heroes in the Gryffindor common room."

Dean wiped a tear of laughter from his eye, "Yeah, most of us were just disappointed we didn't get to go with them!"

"You're lucky they went. Didn't you start going out with Ginny at the end of that year? I'm sure it was bad enough with Ron's older brother bit."

Dean's eyes met Beth's briefly; he felt distinctly uncomfortable talking about Ginny in front of her. "Yeah, but Ron didn't find out until the train home. I only got the older brother bit at King's Cross. He never really said anything to me about it, though."

They also told her about the Death Eater break in. The atmosphere became much more subdued as they spoke about the death of their headmaster. Even Beth had heard of Dumbledore, such was his renown.

"Wasn't it a teacher who killed him?" she asked.

Dean answered darkly. "Yeah. Why do you think the school is closed now?"

Dean felt depression sinking in. Being at Healer College was something he had been looking forward to since fifth year. But he missed the castle and the dorm he shared with his friends, whom he missed terribly. He couldn't believe he'd never be there again. Beth seemed to notice the air of depression and changed the subject.

"Hey, you guys looking forward to classes tomorrow?"