Checkmate

Checkmate

1.

They didn't get many cars in that part of the world. As Vivian slammed the car door shut a crowd of bats rose from the nearby trees in a frightened cloud, and vanished into the turbulent darkness. Vivian looked curiously around her, but all that could be seen through the torrential rain was the dark outline of Hogwarts.

"Come on," called Vivian's cousin Lucy, who had managed to heave Vivian's trunk out of the car boot, "they're waiting for us."

It was true: by the Hogwarts gates stood a tall figure wrapped in a cape. Vivian realised with a surge of excitement that it was Dumbledore, whose face she recognised from a picture in one of her books on great magical achievements. Having spent much of her life lying ill in bed, Vivian had had little else to do but read, with a result that she was something of a bookworm. Before their deaths, her mother and father had amassed a huge library of books, which were her most prized possessions.

As Vivian stood regardless of the rain, staring a Dumbledore, Lucy had slammed the car boot shut and had been trying to drag the trunk across the drive, but Dumbledore strode over and put a hand on her arm.

"Allow me," he shouted through the shriek of the wind. He muttered some words under his breath and the trunk was suddenly as light as air. Lucy gave a gasp of delighted amazement, which was lost in the wind. Dumbledore smiled cheerfully at them through the sheet of rain, and lead them up through the gates and into the school. They followed him up a moving stairway and into a warm room, which they realized must be his office. Dumbledore removed his dripping cloak and said,

"Welcome, welcome. You must be exhausted!"

Lucy shook his proffered hand.

"I'm Lucy Slane, Vivian's guardian."

Dumbledore suppressed a smile at her efficient tone, which contrasted oddly with her young appearance. Lucy was taller than Vivian, but she could not have been more than nineteen or twenty at the most. Although outwardly calm, Vivian knew she was bursting with excitement. Lucy had no magic powers herself, but she was wildly enthusiastic about everything connected with the wizarding world, and a trip to Hogwarts was like a dream come true for her.

"You look after Vivian alone?" asked Dumbledore.

"Well.... since the tragedy," replied Lucy, with a cautious look at Vivian, who pretended to be tying her shoelace. She found it irritating, the way people tiptoed around her when mentioning her parents' deaths, as if the mention of it was going to make her burst into tears or try to throw herself out of a window. "I'm a music teacher," Lucy continued, "so it's quite easy for me to work from home."

"Of course" said Dumbledore. "I'm very pleased to see you at last, Vivian," he added, "I was glad to hear of your recovery."

"Thank you," replied Vivian, feeling suddenly shy. She was somewhat in awe of Dumbledore, having read all about his achievements, although he seemed nothing like the dignified wizard she had pictured.

"We have an accomplished potions master at Hogwarts, who will be able to make up your healing draught each evening," continued Dumbledore, "I'm sure after a term here your cousin won't recognise you!"

Vivian sincerely doubted this. The years as an invalid had left her with a keen scepticism about ever recovering. Lucy smiled distractedly, Vivian could tell she was memorising the details of Dumbledore's office, and certainly there were enough curious and beautiful things to catch anyone's eye. Suddenly Vivian remembered something.

"Um, excuse me Sir," she said, "do you think I could try on the sorting hat?"

She had learned of the custom of sorting new students in front of the entire school some weeks before, and it had been worrying her ever since. Vivian had no intention of submitting herself to the ordeal if she could avoid it.

"Yes of course," said Dumbledore cheerfully, "You don't have to call me sir by the way, in a few weeks you'll be calling me an old codger like the rest of the students - and some of the teachers if truth be known."

Vivian laughed nervously, and crossed to the other side of the room, where the battered sorting hat lay. At once she heard a buzzing voice in her ear.

"Well, if it isn't Vivian Leroux..." said the hat cheerfully. "Now what do we have here? Brains, good lord yes. Courage? Hmm...well, nobody's perfect...You're very ambitious though, I must say. So where shall I put you?"

Instantly Vivian saw herself in Slytherin. She felt the familiar surge of longing, to access the power which lay within her. How tempting it was...Not Slytherin, She though resolutely.

"Not Slytherin? Are you sure? You have that power you know," buzzed the hat. I'd better not, Vivian thought, I don't want to go tempting fate.

"Suit yourself then, it'd better be RAVENCLAW."

Vivian removed the hat. Dumbledore and Lucy were watching her proudly, as if she had survived some kind of trial.

"I'll show you to your dormitory, as everyone seems to be asleep," said Dumbledore. "I've invited your cousin to stay the night here, seeing how terrible the weather is," he added with a smile.

So that was what Lucy was looking so pleased about. At this rate she might actually be able to see some magic. Vivian grinned to herself as Dumbledore showed them down the labyrinth of corridors to the Ravenclaw common room, a cheerful, pentagonal shaped room, with a fireplace in four of the five walls.

Vivian stared around her with a sense of disbelief. She was finally coming to Hogwarts! She had dreamed about it for years, and now she was finally here. As the two girls climbed the staircase, Vivian vowed fiercely to herself that she would never, ever let her body become as weak as it had been. She was going to get stronger, and she was going to stay at Hogwarts and make a success of it. She would even make friends, she decided. Which would be easier said than done, Vivian thought grimly; even when she had been able to go to Muggle school as a young child, she had never been popular, and it seemed unlikely that many people would be interested in spending time with a peculiar looking and socially inept invalid.

Well, she would just have to deal with that when the time came.

When she finally reached her dormitory, which had clean beds ready for her and Lucy, Vivian fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow, and for once she was untroubled by nightmares.