Serenity Silverwing & The Hogwarts Five

Chapter Thirteen

New Teachers

Last Seen: Tradrin Fatespirit made is spotlight debut and Serenity might as well have slammed the door in his face. BTW, any guesses on what Lauren was going on about at the end of the chapter? Temporarily switching focus from Serenity to Harry and the Troupe as they make their way back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Don´t forget to R! E! V! I! E! W! (What´s that spell?) REVIEW!!! Tah now!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry, Ron and Hermione were relaxing in their compartment. Thus far, Malfoy and his goonies hadn´t come around looking for trouble and the talk was amiably centered on Quidditch, the Cup in particular and simply in general.

Ron and Harry were starting to argue over a call the referee had made when Diana opened the door and stumbled in, crying.

"Diana, what´s wrong?" Hermione asks, gesturing the girl to take the seat beside her.

"Serenity doesn´t love me." Diana sobs, curling up on the seat and leaning against Hermione.

"What gives you that idea?" Hermione asks, consoling Diana as best she could.

"She said that she didn´t want me with her in Slytherin and she won´t tell me why. She doesn´t understand! I need to be with her!" Diana says, her voice choked with sobs.

"Shh Diana. It´s alright, I´m sure she only wants what´s best for you," Hermione says, wiping away a tear that was trailing down the younger girl´s face.

"That´s easy for you to say," Diana says with a sniff. "You´re a Gryffindor. Gryffindor hates Slytherin."

"That´s not entirely true," Hermione says. Ron snorts derisively, distinctly saying otherwise.

"Besides, there´s no guarantee you would be in Slytherin anyways." Hermione continues, brushing a lock of her hair out of her face. "You´re much to nice for Slytherin. Hufflepuff, I´ll wager. Maybe even Gryffindor."

"But I want to be with Serenity," Diana protests.

"Shh, now. Serenity will still be your sister, no matter what House you´re sorted to, and she´ll always love you," Hermione says, sounding like something out of a storybook.

"But..." Diana starts, but Hermione cuts her off.

"How about this. If you´re in Gryffindor, I´ll be your sister. Not you´re real one of course but we look enough alike to fool even Professor McGonagall." Hermione suggests, managing to coax a grin and a chuckle from the First-Year.

"All right then," Diana agrees. Ron rolls his eyes at the sappy display of estrogen and resumes his Quidditch argument with Harry. Hermione pulls out one of her old Transfiguration books and shows Diana how to work some of the basics.

* * * * *

Serenity sighs as she meanders down the train´s main corridor. Serenity, you unbelievable, unmitigated prat, you could´ve told her just why you didn´t want her in Slytherin and you wouldn´t have to hide why you hate your House so much! She thinks derisively, throwing open a compartment door and coming face-to-face with a woman shorter than herself. However, the physical build of the woman set off all sorts of mental alarms in Serenity´s brain.

"FILCH!" Serenity exclaims, slamming the door shut and darting into the empty compartment one down.

"You did it again, Amanda. I don´t know how you do it," a rich velveteen voice says with exasperation. Serenity thought she recognized the voice but shook it off.

"And you think I do? Honestly, every student I´ve run into has screamed Filch and run off like I was a ghost of some sort. First, it was those jarheads with that pale boy. After that, it was those two red-heads that were getting themselves into mischief and now that girl!" replies a light soprano, equally exasperated.

"M´girl?" It was the soprano Velvet had called Amanda. There was a knock on the door to the compartment Serenity was hiding in. "Come out. We´re only teachers, for Merlin´s sake."

Serenity slides the door open a bit and peers out the door. The short, red-haired woman with sparkling light gray eyes was peering back at her.

"If you don´t mind, who are you?" Serenity asks, not opening the door much wider.

"Come with me. I´ll explain," Amanda says. Serenity slowly opens the door, steps into the hall and closes the door. Amanda leads Serenity into the next compartment, where Serenity´s jaw hit the floor.

"Madam McCloud?! What are you doing here?" Serenity asks incredulously.

"Well... I´ll be spying for Lucius Malfoy while teaching a few classes," Madam McCloud says with a falsely serious face. Serenity laughs slightly.

"Did you see Medea?" Madam McCloud asks Amanda, gesturing Serenity to take a seat.

"Yes. She´s up front. She said she didn´t want to bother you." Amanda answers. Madam McCloud sighs exasperatedly.

"She´s my friend! Sure, she´s made a few mistakes but that doesn´t mean I hate her," Madam McCloud says.

"Even when she trusted Maur-" Amanda starts, getting interrupted by Madam McCloud´s, "Amanda Filch!" Her admonition was accompanied with a meaningful glance at Serenity.

"Oh... Right," Amanda says, blushing. "Sorry, Rosa."

"It´s as well. She hasn´t been herself since mid-July. It´s like she´s turned into someone completely foreign." Rosa sighs, sitting across from Serenity. "So... Serenity... I understand you´ve been getting yourself into more trouble than you did at Artene."

"Not all of it is my fault," Serenity says indignantly. Rosa laughs.

"Of course dear," Rosa says with a thin smile. "I´ve knees to set a knocking, so I do."

Serenity pales at the prospect of her favorite teacher of all time telling off Slytherin House. I´d be in for it for sure! Serenity thinks in a panic.

"I´ve managed quite well enough, thanks anyway." Serenity manages quietly.

"Well enough that you wound up carried to the hospital wing?" Rosa retorts.

Amanda looks slightly uncomfortable as she slips out the door and says, "You know what? I´ll just go sit with Medea for a while and let you two catch up."

"It was my fault for flying so late." Serenity argues, faltering to get a good reason for the blame to be on her. "I didn´t see the Willow."

"Serenity Shaman! Don´t dare let me hear you talking like that again!" Rosa scolds. "I know as well as you do that the tree is well enough lit to fly by. Oh they have beaten you in, haven´t they?" Rosa, abruptly sympathetic, stands and sits beside Serenity, who was staring at her hands in her lap.

"My dear Mercury, you´ve been stronger than anyone ever expected you to. Slytherin is a rare, but not unheard of, house in the Shaman line."

"Same with Coyote," Serenity says quietly.

"Yes. The same goes for Coyote at Artene and Retris. You do surprise us every time," Rosa says with a small smile, "and you scare us most of the time. QS, you scare us each time. You always seem to choose the path well hidden from our view.

"With Coyote, we knew the reputation and the penchants required for you to have pulled your topaz from the satchel. And with Slytherin, well... You knew its reputation for the darker side of magic yet you still were Sorted there. I´ve known only one person of the Shaman line that tread the same path before you and he..." Rosa pauses, hesitating as though she´d said too much. "Just keep your eyes open for pitfalls... It´s easy to be tempted into the night... Even nature has its dark side. Remember that, will you Quicksilver?"

Serenity nods mutely, her mind trying to stretch itself around the speech the Herbal Medicines mistress had given.

"Good. Now, don´t let me hear a breath of your trouble happening this year or I´m transferring you to Beauxbatons," Rosa says, now mock scolding as she stands. "Your trouble that you like causing, on the other hand, is quite welcome. Don´t think I´ll ever get used to a normal year now I´ve taught you and your sister. I´m going to go check on Amanda and Medea now... They´re Professor Filch and Jeminy to you, missy. You can stay here until I get back." And Rosa left, closing the compartment door quietly.

Another Shaman was a Coyote? And then a Slytherin as well? Serenity thinks, submerging herself into the comforting solitude of the safe room. Could I really belong in Slytherin? Maybe... No... I hate it there, even if I do fit the bill. And I can´t belong in a place I hate... Can I?

Disclaimer & Authoress´s Note: Okay... Short I know but there´s not much I can put in here w/o going into the next chapter. I own (in order of appearance this chapter): Diana Featheredmoon, Serenity "Mercury/QS/Quicksilver" Silverwing, Amanda Filch (sans surname), Rosa McCloud, Medea Jeminy, and the mystery Shaman predecessor. ^_^

I´m evil, malicious and cruel for leaving you hanging like that, huh? Well guess what... I DON´T CARE! Well... I care in so much as I want you to review but not enough that I´ll stop doing cliffies. ^_~>

Okay. All characters not mentioned above are property of J.K. Rowling-sama and/or Warner Bros. I don´t have any characters that have honorable mentions this chapter but all of them will be back next chapter. I guarantee it!

Tah now!

~Empress Tessandrilene Wendracon de Sanyochisei