JINX in JEOPARDY [fred w.]

ii. encounter & enchant !

ENCOUNTER & ENCHANT !

. . .

A tap dripping rhythmically into the sink every few seconds, the rustling of bed sheets and hushed whispers lingering in the air were responsible for awakening Avery Thornton. Her head felt as heavy as though it had been dropped on concrete from a four-floor building. Not that she could state she was familiar with that feeling. She spotted red figures dancing before her eyes, and furrowed her brows in puzzlement, before realising it was the back of her lids she'd been staring at.

The whispers were rushed and muffled, an altercation between multiple individuals who weren't too keen on filling others in on their argument.

If there was one thing Avery Thornton could not resist, it was listening in on conversations that were not meant to be overheard.

Naturally, she strained her ears to make out the words one of the partakers in the conversation was uttering.

'We simply cannot allow children that have not accepted their letter of admission to remain in this school, it is against basic house rules, professor. She should leave when she awakens.'

'We would be defying everything this school stands for if we were to deny this girl the warmth and comfort she so clearly seeks. Do you wish to discard our values so swiftly?'

'I beg your pardon, Albus, yet still, I do not see how we can permit ourselves to start housing stray dogs. You are as aware as I am that it will not be the first. Need I remind you how the former turned out?'

'Hogwarts will be home to any witch or wizard in need, Severus. You used to know that. Have you forgotten?'

Avery cautiously peeked through her lashes, just in time to catch the expression of Severus, the mysterious man in black she'd met earlier. His features were stiff and cold, his face untouched by the older man's words, but his eyes were betraying the act of a calm composure. A raw pain lay hidden in his pupils, a hint of sorrow stirring in them, mingled with an ache, never to be vocalized.

'Desolation shall fall over me the day I no longer call Hogwarts my home.'

He bowed his head one last time as a token of respect before marching away. It was as if he'd shrunk, she thought, his features hidden behind a curtain of greasy black hair, uncertainty evident in the cracks in the mask plastered on his face.

She felt for him.

The older man followed in his stead, significantly more serene and collected, but a mind filled with troubles of its own.

She finally felt it was safe for her to sit up, and she brushed her hair away from her face, alarm still heavy in her breath. She squinted against the light leaking through the see-through curtains, the feverish glow of her cheeks not yet subsiding.