An American Professor

Erin stared defiantly at Dumbledore and he met her gaze. She took a deep breath and awaited her fate. "If this little outburst is any indication at all, it seems to me that you belong in Gryffindor." The twinkle had returned to Dumbledore's eyes. Erin gaped at him, and had the distinct feeling that she wasn't the only one in the room looking at him as such. This was hardly the result she had expected following her outburst.

Dumbledore began the applause and the room reluctantly joined in. At first, Erin's feet were rooted to the spot, but she gradually felt the feeling beginning to return to her feet. Making her way back to her seat quickly, she slid into her chair quietly. Her face was scalding hot and it seemed the pterodactyls had returned to her stomach.

Dumbledore stood again and said, "Please remember that although Professor Worhli will be attending your classes, you mustn't forget she is after all, still a professor." Afraid to look up at the room, she began to examine her plate with the utmost curiosity, even though there wasn't anything about her plate that was remotely interesting.

Erin tuned out the rest of Dumbledore's speech. He seemed to go on forever about something in the Dark Forest. Erin vaguely heard him mention something about the Defense Against the Dark Arts class being suspended until a permanent replacement was found. Then he finally uttered the phrase that brought Erin back to reality, "Let's eat!"

Erin watched in amazement as food magically filled the bowls in front of them in vast quantities. Mounds of mashed potatoes, sliced ham and turkey, vegetables in several varieties, and lots of food she didn't recognize, filled the table. She realized now that the sorting was over; it had been such a fiasco, and she wasn't a bit hungry anymore. Her last meal had been a bag of stale peanuts on the plane almost nine hours ago, so she felt like she should try to eat something. The food looked and smelled delicious, but she couldn't bring herself to eat any of it. She picked up a roll and began absentmindedly picking pieces off of it and chewing them slowly.

She reached for her golden goblet and found that it was empty. Unsure as to if she should ask for help after creating such a scene at the sorting, she weighed her options. She could go without anything to drink or she could just ask for help. Erin decided to go with the former. She set her goblet down and looked around trying to figure out how everyone else got their drinks. She tried not to think about being thirsty. She kept picking pieces off of her roll, but her thirst grew stronger, until it was all she could think about. Dammit, Erin, stop being so proud and just ask Flitwick how it works! With a red face she leaned over to Flitwick and whispered in his ear, "How do I get something to drink?"

He smiled and said, "Just ask it. You can get anything that you want."

"Oh!" she muttered under breath. She suddenly couldn't think of anything she wanted, even though she'd been so thirsty five seconds earlier. It was just because you couldn't have it, now that you can, you don't know what to have. She was still holding the goblet staring when she noticed Snape staring intently at her. Quickly, she muttered, "Red wine." It appeared in her goblet instantly. With a satisfied smile she took a deep drink from her goblet. She'd never been a fan of red wine, but this was actually really good, and, she rationalized, she needed to relax a little. Taking another sip, she looked around the room at the students enjoying their feast. The Gryffindor table seemed especially exuberant and she had the sudden urge to join them. She nibbled a little more on her roll and reached for another, deep in thought.

A voice tore into her thoughts, "Aren't you going to eat anything more than that?" Erin realized with a start that Snape was again staring at her. Deciding that she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of ruffling her again, she stared intently at the roll instead of looking at him. Downing the remaining wine in the goblet, Erin was beginning to feel rather relaxed and a little bolder.

"Why do you care what I do or don't eat?" she demanded flatly.

"Actually, I don't, but I don't want you to pass out at the table as you've seemed to already made quite a fool out of yourself today. It might embarrass Dumbledore and the other professors." He looked at Erin smugly. She felt rage bubbling up inside of her, but pushed it down.

She calmly shrugged and said, "As for embarrassing Dumbledore and the others, they can bite me. As for acting like a fool, well, I'm just trying to catch up to you, as you seem to be the resident ass around here." Erin saw his face twist in anger before picking her goblet up and turning to Flitwick, "Would you mind showing me to my room now, I'm rather jet-lagged."

Flitwick, who was eating while watching the two of them in interest, dropped his fork with a clang and stood. "Of course, follow me, please."

Erin muttered, "Red wine," filling her goblet once more before turning from the table in a hurry to follow Flitwick. She stalked out of the hall without a backwards glance at Snape.

As they walked down the stone corridors, Erin couldn't take in enough of her surroundings. The walls were covered in portraits of people she was sure were famous, but didn't have a single clue as to who they were. Several statues of odd creatures were scattered around the hallways. She walked in silence next to Flitwick until he suddenly stopped next to a statue of what appeared to be a goblin. "Alright, here's your room."

"My room? But there isn't a door." Erin looked around feeling very confused.

"Your room is behind the statue. Now, you'll have a bedchamber, sitting room, and lavatory. All you'll have to do is say the password and the entrance is revealed. Your office is down another corridor in the vicinity of your classroom. I'll show you that tomorrow as it's just down the hall from my own classroom and office." He handed her a roll of parchment, "these are the instructions on how to change your password. At this point, several of the other professors also know it, so you might want to consider doing that soon. You'll also find a schedule of the classes you'll be teaching. It's broken down by day and student's year and house. You'll get your full class roster tomorrow. As your class is an elective, you'll only have third years and up and they only take your class once a week. You'll notice that your schedule is not exactly packed for the same reason. This is helpful because those times when you are not teaching you'll be taking classes as Dumbledore has arranged. Your schedule for the classes you'll be taking is also included in that roll. You'll be starting out with the first years and then moving up as you progress. I suspect that by Christmas you'll be ready to move to the second year's classes, or perhaps sooner. I think you'll find that the first four years of schooling will come to you rather easily, but you'll of course be moving at your own pace."

Erin was beginning to feel completely overwhelmed by all of these instructions, and she couldn't help but peer around the statue to look for a door. Flitwick could tell she was getting antsy and so he continued, "Here, let's go into your sitting room so I can show you your books." Books! Erin hadn't even begun to think of all of the books she'd need for classes! "Chocolate Frogs," Flitwick muttered and Erin watched in amazement as the statue slid aside revealing a doorway. Flitwick gestured for her to enter, which she did and as he followed her the statue slid back into place.

She walked through a short foyer to a room that was beautifully lit. A fire was crackling invitingly in the stone fireplace, and several candles in antique sconces lighting the room. The room itself was charming, decorated in golden fabric with royal purple trimmings. Erin looked at the overstuffed chairs and sofa and longed to collapse into one of them. Her eyes swept through the room and became fixated on a huge bookcase occupying an entire wall.

She moved to examine it more closely, setting her goblet on an end table. Erin loved it immediately. She adored books, but she'd never had so many of her own. Flitwick followed her to the bookcase and broke into her thoughts. "Here you'll find any book for any class you'll be taking during your Hogwarts career, and then some. Just examine your class schedule and ask for the book or books written next to it. Go on, try it."

Erin looked at the list and said, "Standard Book of Spells, Grade One" the book pulled itself from its place on the shelf and flew into her hand. "Incredible," she whispered and put the book back on the shelf.

She felt Flitwick's eyes on her and she turned to catch him gazing at her intensely. His gaze made her feel rather uncomfortable and she sought uneasily to remedy the situation. Erin cleared her throat, "Uh, is there anything else because I'm pretty tired," she glanced at the clock over the mantle, 7:45.

Flitwick sighed, "I just wish you'd been placed in Ravenclaw. We could have spent so much time together." Remembering from her conversation with the others on the train that Flitwick was the head of the Ravenclaw house, Erin understood his glum look. Given the stellar impression she'd made on McGonagall earlier that night, she almost tended to wish she'd been placed in Ravenclaw as well. She quickly reached for his hand, took it in hers and gave it a reassuring pat with her other hand.

"I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other in class and all. Besides, being the head of Ravenclaw you must be super smart, so I'll probably have to ask you for help quite a bit." She didn't want to give him the wrong idea, but the look on his face had pulled at her heart. He'd really been the kindest of all of the professors she'd met thus far.

He cleared his throat and smiled broadly before he spoke. Erin thought with dread, I have given him the wrong idea, shit! "Well, I'll pick you up tomorrow morning so you can make it back to the Great Hall," he squeaked as he walked to the door with a bounce in his step.

Shit, shit, shit, now how am I going to fix this? Erin thought. "Thanks," she said feebly and plopped into a chair. She watched him disappear and she put her head in her hands. "What was I thinking coming here!?" she asked herself out loud.

A voice answered, "It seems apparent to me that you weren't thinking at all."

Erin jumped up to face the voice, "Who's there?" she demanded.

"It's just me," and she gaped in horror as Snape appeared from the foyer recently vacated by Flitwick.

"What in the hell do you want?" she asked feeling the anger and frustration boiling to the surface.

Taking a step back, as he must have read the fury in her face, he extended the object that had brought him to her rooms, as if it were a peace offering. "Here," he said thrusting her carry on towards her, "You left this in the Great Hall." Erin waited for him to continue his sentence, and insult her in some way. Such as, 'You must have been too drunk to remember it' 'Immaturity parallels with forgetfulness' or 'I searched it before I brought it to you, I figured it may have illegal contraband', but he didn't say anything more.

Erin walked towards him to take the bag from his grasp and having retrieved it stepped back quickly. "Oh! Well, um, thanks."

An awkward silence impregnated the air as the two stared at each other. Erin wondered if she should ask him to sit out of politeness, but didn't really want him to accept, so she didn't ask.

"Well…" she began eager to break the uncomfortable silence, but unsure of what to say.

Thankfully, he broke in and said, "I have to go. I've got to prepare for class," and with that he turned and left the room.

Erin felt like she should have asked him what his problem with her was, but at the same time she really didn't want to know. This man was such a bear. She hadn't even done anything to him and he already decided that he hated her. I won't let it bother me, she mused, it doesn't matter to me what he thinks of me. He's just one jerk in the entire school, those are pretty good odds. Well, then again, the other professors aren't too fond of me right now either, but I won't let this man and his terrible attitude get to me.

She decided that she should figure out which books she'd need for the next day. Taking out her schedules she saw that she was teaching at 9:30 and then she had a break until after lunch when she had Transfiguration and Charms. So, she summoned the two books she'd need for the classes and laid them on the table near the entranceway.

She turned and pushed a door open and found herself in the bathroom. It was decorated in a deep forest green. It was lavishly decorated with plush towels and a soft rug. Her attention was immediately drawn to the freestanding claw-foot. One of her vices was spending too much time soaking in the bathtub. She had always wanted a tub just like this one. Erin closed her eyes and wished that she had time to take a long, hot bubble bath now, but pushed the thought aside. She knew that there would be many long candlelit baths in her future this year. She also had a feeling that those baths were going to help her relieve a lot of her stress.

She walked through a second door in the bathroom to the bedroom. In the middle of the room was a huge cherry four-poster bed with deep blue velvet trimmings. She touched the down comforter and it was soft and pliant. The bed had several pillows and looked very luxurious and comfortable. The room had lit up by itself as she walked into it, so she was able to get a good look at her surroundings. She smiled thinking, a gal could get used to this magic stuff.

Her trunk was next to the enormous cherry wardrobe. She laughed as she remembered packing up her tiny apartment. She couldn't believe that all she owned fit into this trunk. When Dumbledore had sent it along with a note telling her to put everything into it, she hadn't believed it would all fit. But, after she realized it was an enchanted trunk, she had no trouble in packing it. She again marveled at how her former life fit so compactly inside of one trunk.

Erin turned to gaze out of her window. She sat down on the window seat and marveled about where she was. She'd always dreamed about living in a castle, and now she was. She turned her attention to the sites that beheld her out of the window. Her view was of the huge Hogwarts lawn leading up to the Dark Forest. On the edge of the forest was a cabin where Harry said Hagrid lived. It looked like he'd gone home after the feast. Through his windows she could see him bustling around. He seemed very content. He's content because he's home, she thought. She felt a pang of longing for her tiny apartment. It had been her first and only true home. Well, she reasoned, the only way I'll feel at home here is to unpack my things.

So, Erin set to work hanging her clothes in the spacious wardrobe (she briefly wondered if it was also bewitched to hold an infinite amount of clothes). She put her bubble bath and bath salts in the bathroom adding some of the candles that she had brought with her from the States. Next, she piled her Muggle books in the sitting room. She glanced at them as she put them up. She'd been such an avid reader of Anne Rice's books. She had the entire collection of the Vampire Chronicles. It was funny to know now that vampires do actually exist, just not in the romantic capacity that they had been portrayed in. She smiled at her collection of the Lives of the Mayfair Witches, she'd always loved reading those. She wondered briefly if Ms. Rice new about real witches and wizards.

As a finishing touch she put some little knickknacks that she had acquired over the years around the rooms. It was ten o'clock when she reached her CD player and collection of burned CDs. Erin wondered how many hours she'd spent transforming MP3s into music CDs. She loved to listen to music in the evenings to relax and was saddened by the idea that she might not ever be able to use these here. Hermione had informed her on the train that Muggle electrical appliances would not work at Hogwarts as there wasn't any electricity. This also meant her blow dryer and curling iron wouldn't work, but she didn't want to think about that just yet. She decided to do some research and find out how she might make them work.

After making sure that all of the candles were out in the sitting room, she took a quick shower and hopped into bed. It was warm and inviting and she barely had time to wonder how it could be before she fell into a much need sleep.