The Web Wizard

Tara found her things laid out neatly an adjoining bathroom. The shower was all rock and it reminded her of when she had spent her honeymoon at The Madonna Inn in California where the room was decorated in stone and she had a waterfall shower. Way back when she was 20 and in love with her ex husband, James. She had been so young then, and so in love. They drove each other crazy and the marriage failed after only a year. He had remained in her thoughts and they still kept in touch, and he had remarried. Tara figured she never would marry again; once was enough!

Tara peeled off her night gown and turned on the water to warm it up. Henry had followed her in as he always did. He liked to sit in the sink and have the water on just a trickle; his imitation of her, she figured. She obliged him, and the 15 pound cat settled in the roundness of the sink and cleaned himself.

Tara stepped into the shower and let the water run over her face. As she closed her eyes, she saw James' face, and then, strangely, that dark guy, Snape! She realized they resembled each other, then quickly shook Snape's face out of her mind with disgust. She hoped he stayed in his dungeon so she didn't have to be around him. She had only been around him for a few minutes, but he absolutely unnerved her! She would have to see how her cats behaved around him; they were always excellent judges of character. If they didn't like someone she was dating, it always seemed that within a few weeks, she didn't like him either.

She finished up her shower and wrapped herself in one of her thick terrycloth robes she had brought. She noticed that she had a small refrigerator in her room, and yes, it was stocked with Diet Pepsi and California Wine! How nice! She grabbed a Pepsi, opened it, and threw down a fair amount, then opened her dresser. Her clothes were folded neatly inside. Wow, these people were great! She noticed an armoire, so she had to open that to see what was in it. Her portable CD player was in there, plus her mp3 player, a TV and clothes. But, the clothes that were there were not all hers; some of her dresses she had brought were there, but there were some long robes in royal blue, black, burgundy and jade green. Hmmm. Were those for her?

She noticed the time and slipped into a pair of jeans and one of her racing t shirts which she felt comfortable in. She found her sock drawer and put on a pair of Indy 500 anklets. She had about 4 pairs. She hoped they would let her go to the race that May...not a big deal using floo powder, except for the sleepy thing. Maybe she could go stay with her friend...but then how would she explain her strange entrance? These thoughts flew out of her head when Minerva knocked on the door.

"Coming," Tara said, tying her tennis shoes and grabbing her fanny pack. She put her cigarettes and a small hairbrush in and hoped she could sneak off somewhere to have one after breakfast. She opened the door and didn't see Minerva, but a gray striped cat sitting in front of the door looking up at her.

"Wow, are you here to visit Henry and Heidi?" she asked, giving the cat's head a rub. The cat walked back a few steps, and Tara couldn't believe what she saw next. The cat all of a sudden before Tara's wondering eyes became Minerva. Tara dropped to her knees in a dead faint.

"Oh dear," Minerva muttered, and turned to see if anyone was around to help her carry the poor muggle woman into her room again. She only saw one person in the corridor. "Severus! Come help me. She's fainted," Minerva said, and Snape came over to help Minerva.

"What happened?" he asked Minerva, as he lifted Tara's limp form, eyeing the jeans and t shirt curiously.

"I forgot. I wasn't my usual self when I came to get her..." Minerva began. Snape half smiled (about as much as he ever did), and set Tara on the bed. Minerva unfastened the stars and stripes fanny pack which was around Tara's slim waist.

"These muggles sure dress strangely, don't they?" she commented. Snape only smirked.

Snape went to the bathroom to get a cold cloth and brought it back to put on Tara's forehead. Minerva sat on the bed holding the cloth to her forehead while Henry and Heidi jumped on the bed to see what was wrong.

"She'll be okay, she's not used to our ways," Minerva told Henry, who meowed with concern. Henry looked up at Minerva with large green eyes, then looked at Snape and flattened his ears. Snape reached out gently and began stroking the large cat's head, sending him into loud, rolling purrs.

Tara opened her eyes, and her vision was blurred at first, like before she had her lasik surgery and would wake up blind in the morning. Something cold and wet was on her forehead, and she could hear Henry purring almost as loudly as he had purred as a kitten. Her vision cleared and she looked to see a large hand stroking Henry's head, then looked up to see who the hand belonged to and then squeezed her eyes shut again.

"I'm sorry, I forgot you're not used to things," Minerva said.

"So it wasn't a dream?"

"Nope. You fainted dead away," Minerva said gently.

Tara opened her eyes again and looked at Snape, right in the eyes and said, "I swear it's a bad dream." She took the cloth from her forehead and sat up slowly, then looked again at Henry who was eating up the wonderful massage Tara's nemesis was administering, then made a face at Snape.

"I guess he likes you. He never likes anyone," she commented. "I guess I'm ready to go. If that's the craziest shit I'm going to--excuse me, the craziest stuff I'm going to see today, then it's all uphill, right?"

"Perhaps," Snape said. He started to help her to her feet but she brushed him away.

"What's for breakfast?" she asked. Hopefully something normal...She picked up her stars and stripes fanny pack and looked up quickly to see Snape eyeing the bag. She gave him a dark look and fastened it around her waist.

"What would you like?" Minerva asked. They entered the corridor, Minerva and Tara walking side by side with Snape behind them.

"Eggs, bacon...is it possible? Or is it dragon eggs and bat wings or something?" Tara joked. Minerva smiled and squeezed her arm. She liked this muggle!

"I think we can come up with something you'll like," she told her. Tara smiled and took in the massive corridor. She had never been in a castle before. They descended the stairs as Minerva explained where things were, and the stairs changed, so be careful. Even more fascinating were the paintings. The people in them were moving about and visiting each other in other paintings. Tara was amazed, and stopped to stare at them.

"She's not going to faint again, is she?" Snape growled.

"No, I'm just looking," Tara snapped. Man this guy was getting on her last nerve and it was early in the day. Count to ten, count to ten, she told herself. They started walking again, and then went into a huge hall. Tara gasped when she saw the ceiling wasn't really a ceiling at all; it was the sky and clouds.

"What do you do when it rains?" she asked.

"It won't rain in here," Minerva said. There were endlessly long tables and a large table at the head of the hall. Dumbledore was seated in the middle of that table, and several other faculty members took notice of this obvious outsider coming up the aisle.

"Sheesh, take a picture it'll last longer," Tara muttered under her breath.

"They aren't used to having a muggle in their midst - certainly not one from the USA," Minerva whispered.

"Okay, I guess not. But do they have to stare so?"

Severus looked again at what this muggle was wearing and shook his head. Luckily, he was behind her so she did not see. She stuck out like a sore thumb among them. He dared not say anything to her; he knew he was clearly annoying her, and they did have to work together, so it was best to try to get along. There was something intriguing about her, that begged him to toy with her, to get her to say one of those retorts that Americans say so well. But he fought the temptation and won. For the moment...

Minerva rattled off names of the faculty members to Tara and introduced Tara, and struggled with her title. "Web - uh, mistress?" she asked.

"Web Master," Tara corrected, "and yes, I'm a muggle. Judging from my flat American accent, you know where I'm from. I've never been out of the USA before, and I'm pleased to be here."

One of the faculty members, a woman who looked about 10 years older than Tara and reminded her of a cat, smiled warmly. Tara returned the smile, feeling a little more at ease.

Tara was seated between this 'cat lady' and Minerva, and thankfully no where near Snape. Then all of a sudden, there was a flash and a breakfast materialized in front of Tara. She felt her heart skip a few beats and her jaw nearly hit her lap. Minerva noticed and put her hand on her wrist.

"I should have told you about this," she said, "you okay?" Tara nodded, and put her napkin in her lap. Just as she started eating, the door at the other end of the hall opened, and a huge animal bounded in.

"Sorry," the animal muttered, "I overslept!" As he drew closer, Tara saw that this was not an animal at all, but a very large man with a huge beard and lots of hair. He looked at Tara and smiled.

"Ah, yes, you must be our new muggle smart person," he said. There was something very warming about this man, as he took his place at the table.

"Tara Hall, this is Rubeus Hagrid. He is our games keeper, and also teaches Care of Magical Creatures," Dumbledore explained.

"Pleased to meet you," she said.

"Pleasure's mine. We don't get muggles here very often."

"That's what I understand."

They continued their breakfast, and Minerva outlined what would be happening when the students arrived, and that she should accompany Hagrid to the train station to photograph and take in the event.

After breakfast, Tara excused herself and slipped out the door for a smoke. The castle was magnificent and she knew she should have brought her digital camera from her room, but her room was way up on the 10th floor. She sighed, and wondered if she might go get it before Minerva gave her the grand tour. Lost in thought, the door to the hall swung open and Snape strode out into the corridor. He sniffed the air, looked at her and frowned.

"Nasty muggle habit of mine," she said, holding up her cigarette. His eyes bore into hers and he nodded, then strode away from her.

"Off to your dungeon then," she said under her breath. He turned around quickly, as if he heard her. Did these magical types have extra powerful senses, she wondered? He stared at her, in a way that should have turned her to stone, then turned and continued walking away. She stuck her tongue out at him, and again he stopped, and Tara's stomach leapt, but he didn't turn around. She thought she heard him mutter something but decided it would be best not to pursue it. He can turn me into a lamp....remember, he can turn me into a lamp...she told herself over and over...

Minerva soon came out of the hall. "Oh there you are," she said.

"Yes, just enjoying my awful muggle habit. Can I go upstairs to get my camera? I really should be taking photos before all of the students arrive, don't you think?"

"Good point. I'll meet you right here then? Can you find your way up to your room?"

"Um, now that I'm not sure. My sense of direction is so-so, but those changing staircases..."

They made the long trip up to the room and back. Henry and Heidi had feline visitors and were having a good time with each other, laying on the wide windowsill grooming each other. It was so strange to see them behave this way.

"I noticed some robes that are in my room. Are those for me to wear?" Tara asked Minerva, as they strode out onto a field that looked like a stadium of some sort.

"If you choose to. You've probably noticed that you're dressed a bit differently than we are," she said, as tactfully as possible. She didn't want to hurt Tara's feelings, but she did look very out of place.

"Okay I might do that. The way everyone was staring at me this morning..." Tara sighed heavily.

"By the way, what is on your shirt?" Minerva asked, smiling, "I just have to know..."

Tara looked down at her shirt which had the Indy 500 logo from that year and a race car.

"I go every year...it's a race. Held in Indianapolis, Indiana. These cars--" she pointed at the car on her shirt, "...they can go over 200 miles per hour, which in my world is FAST. They run 500 miles around an oval track. It's really fun, and a million people go to the race, and it's a blast. I do a team's web site so I get to be on the track with media credentials. It's great fun..." she sighed.

"When is it?" Minerva asked.

"May - Memorial day--oh wait this isn't the US. The last Sunday in May. I don't suppose I get to go this year."

"Why not?"

"I have to be here."

"Tara, we're not slave drivers. Take a holiday! Go! Perhaps I'd like to go with you, it sounds like great fun...if I can get away."

"That would be fun! So, what is this place? It looks like a stadium."

"It is. Here, we play Quidditch."

"Play what?"

Minerva smiled and began explaining a game played on broomstick called Quidditch.

"Wait a minute - on broomsticks?"

"Dumbledore didn't explain that part?"

"No. I guess he didn't explain a lot of things..."

"Well, there's a lot of ground to cover, so it's easy to take certain things for granted."

"I guess so!"

By the end of the day, Tara was fairly acquainted with the ways of Quidditch, and the courses that were taught to the students. At the feast, that night, she spoke to the 'cat woman' who was Madame Hooch, about Quidditch. She was the one who taught the students how to fly and refereed the Quidditch games there at the school, and Tara was fascinated by her.

After dinner, Tara went outside to smoke and watched the moon come up over the water. It was beautiful. She felt the hair on the back of her neck suddenly prickle as someone was coming up behind her. She already instinctively knew who it was.

"I see you found your robes," Severus purred.

Tara had chosen the royal blue one and it was very comfortable. She nodded and was tempted to just blurt out "WHADDYA WANT?" but held her tongue.

"It's a bit drafty underneath though," she said. She didn't know if she was supposed to wear anything under it except her underwear or not. The comment intrigued Severus and he had to chase certain mental images out of his mind.

"How was your first day?" he asked. Now why was he trying to make small talk with her? She turned around to face him, and exhaled.

"It was good. Interesting. Fascinating... Cigarette?" she asked, taunting him, holding out her pack to him. She just couldn't resist.

"I think not," was all he said with a scowl, his fathomless eyes penetrating her challenge. She looked away, uncomfortable, but she had enjoyed the moment of perhaps getting under his skin for a change.

"Good evening, Miss Hall."

"Good evening, Professor Snape."

He strode away from her and she was filled with all sorts of confused feelings. He really got her panties in a bunch, but at the same time, her knees felt weak. Man, I need therapy, she thought, crushing out her cigarette. She ascended the stairs to her room, figuring at this rate, she'd lose 20 lbs in 2 weeks going up and down all of those stair all day, every day.

Once in her room, she dressed for bed, and laid in her bed with her cats for a long time. So far from home, she felt homesick. She was making a mental list of things to do the next day - including hooking up her computer to check e-mail- when she drifted off.

Severus was in his room, putting the finishing touches on his curriculum for fifth year students when his mind drifted off to that American muggle. She was so intriguing and he enjoyed pissing her off. He waved the image out of his head so he could concentrate at the task at hand...

Chapter 5: Crash Course in Computing