Fake Truth

II

Large sunglasses sat in her nose;covering her eyes, a long cotton drab-style top that reached mid thigh with black boots. She was skipping down the streets, head high, arms swinging by her sides. People didn't bother to even cast a glance at the poor girl as she tripped over a loose stone one the ground. Brushing herself off she started to skip again, watching more carefully at where she placed her feet.
She was lost in her own trance until,"Miss. Rose?!"
Valerie could hear some shout her name from across the street, she did not think that anybody would be able to still recognise her still, so she walked out of her house without a hat or a pair of sunglasses to mask her appearance. She turned, moving her head to where she thought she heard the sound coming from. She waited a second befor she hear that same voice call out: "Miss. Rose?!"
She waited patiently, leaning against a brick wall belonging to a shop on that side of the street, after all Rose was a common name both first and last. Why would they be calling for her, for no one has called out her name for the past two years? Again they called out "Miss. Rose?!" And she then knew it was her that they wanted to speak to.
Pushing through the crowds of people that populate the streets no matter what time of the day she reached the other side; but only after a few shoves and incoherent words mumbled other many peoples breaths including her own.
A tall figure, adorned in deep purple robes with velvet linings stood against the doorway of a deserted cafe, her hood covered up half of her face and Valerie: who was not wearing what people would class as "appropriate" attire felt quite self conscious and a little bare.
"Miss. Rose?" The strange woman interrupted her chain of thought, "It's a pleasure to meet you again, I haven't seen you in-what- two years now? Though I guess we never really got on did we? Please do correct me if I am mistaken. How have you been Miss. Rose? Can I call you that? Is it still Miss?"
This woman is weird, Valerie thought as she twiddled her thumbs.
"Yeah, I guess so. But sorry I don't recognise you, Miss-" She mumbled,no one had ever asked her if they could call her by a specific title before.
The lady before her went to remove her hood to show grey hair tied up quite securely and surely very tight in a neat bun high upon her head whilst slight wrinkles covered her face.
Valerie stepped back, her left hand gripped onto the metal post behind her "professor McGonagall!" She exclaimed before crashing into the professor's open arms.
"Yes, hello to you too, Valerie." She gave off a light laugh and held the girl from her shoulders at arms length, a now stern look took control over her face.
"You need to come with me," she started to walk back up the path and Valerie ran to keep up with her steady fast moving pace.
"Stop." Valerie tugged on the sleeve of the taller woman, forcing her to stop and turn to look at the smaller young woman who was on her right a confused look on her pale face.
"Yes, Miss. Rose?"
"Where are we going?"
"Hogwarts."
"Why?"
"How old are you, Miss.Rose?"
"20."
"Well I don't even have these sorts of conversations with the first years! Honestly Valerie, what is with all the questions today?!"
Valerie knew better than to reply to that question, but she turned brisk on the heels of he solidly built black boots and walked back down the way she came.
For some odd reason the professor seemed like she was in a bad mood ad was on a tight schedule, though that didn't stop Valerie. 'How dare she take me to Hogwarts without even asking me in advance if I was free to go?' She thought.
Minerva McGonagall just stood there laughing before apperating almost directly inform of the young witch's way.
Valerie huffed, arms crossing over her chest and her bottom lip jutted out. Her eyes showed the pure anger of a three year old when they weren't getting their own way with everything.
Minerva took Valerie's wrist and led her back up to the hill they had once already started to walk up.
That was it, after that there was little pleasant conversation on the way to Hogwarts and Valerie didn't understand why Professor McGonagall couldn't just apperate there instead of all of this walking.
Though she wasn't really complaining, the air was light and breezy and the sun was high in the sky. A perfect early afternoon on a Monday.Valerie hadn't dare step out of her house all summer until today when she realised her ingredients cabinet was running dangerously low. "Never let your ingredients cabinets go bare." This was the last thing she heard from Professor Snape before she left, as had alway followed by this rule.
"Professor McGonagall, is professor Snape still teaching at Hogwarts?"
"He is dead." Grim words reaped at her soul as she imagined a pale Severus lying on the floor. Tears pooled in her eyes.
"How long?"
"Two years."
That was enough to set her off in a wail. Large salty tears streamed down her face taking her mascara down with them.
"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" The grey haired woman went to stroke Valerie's hair out of her face. "Cheer up, he's still at Hogwarts, down in the dungeons, at the back of the potions classroom. A beautiful pictures, large too!" Minerva went on and on about this picture until they caught sight of the castle.
It hadn't changed, or at least to Valerie's eyes. Reading through the Daily Prophet there was a many articles about the work done to Hogwarts over the last two years, though she could not have seen any sort of change.
Once the pair were nearing the front of the castle a blue spark appeared out from nowhere and burst, causing Dumbledore: who was a little disheveled too appear.
The thick tension only grew as no one said a word to each other for quite some time until a stern voice rang out "Come, we haven't got all day Miss.Rose, Dumbledore, I believe he should be arriving in less time than the clock shall strike the next hour."
'What time was it now? Who is this other strange person they keep talking about? Why am I here? What have I done?'
These thoughts took up so much of Valerie's mind that she didn't even remember the trip up to Dumbledore's office. Only when she arrived did her focus regain but only with the extreme help of a certain shadowed figure that stood straight, an elbow resting against the bookshelf that adorned the walls of the office.