44Holy Crackers; we're in Hogwarts!
Twenty- four year old Tabitha Haley Reynolds laughed to herself as she sat on her bed in her room. She lived in a small but decent apartment in Dothan, Alabama and had recently gotten her degree in secondary Education. She was qualified to teach high school now! She was currently job searching however.
It was late at night and she was on her laptop speaking with her cousin from India. The two girls didn't get to see each other often but both had laptops and web cameras so they instant messaged and chatted as much as they could.
"Oh gosh Penny I think I should get off," Haley blinked as her head snapped to the nearby window.
"Why?" Penny asked.
"I just saw lightening flash like really close to the building…weird too it was sort of purplish," Haley answered staring at the window.
"Well that works since it'll match your blanket," Penny laughed.
"Hardy har har," Haley scoffed.
"Yeah I thought it was funny," Penny chuckled.
Haley rolled her eyes and moved to shut off her computer when the lightening struck outside and traveled through the computer shocking her as everything went black!
Her eyes shot opened and she gasped as she sat up and looked around her. She was on bright green grass with a dark almost black lake jutting out from her, a huge castle loomed behind her, and a dark forest was to her right.
Her laptop was sitting by her and so was someone else.
"Penny…what happened?" Haley asked as she grabbed her computer and stood.
"Beats me," Penny said shaking her head and standing with her own computer, "but I think we're in Hogwarts."
"Don't be silly," Haley laughed as they started walking toward the castle.
"I'm not. Seriously how many castles do you see in a life time that looks like this!?" Penny exclaimed.
Haley was about to retort when they saw a tall pale man with greasy hair and a hooked nose come out of the forest. He was dressed in all black and holding a basket of herbs.
"Holy Crackers Penny we are at Hogwarts!" Haley exclaimed.
"Duh!" Penny said rolling her eyes.
"Oh shut it," Haley snapped as the man walked up to them scowling.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Severus Snape snapped staring at the two girls.
One looked to be from India and had shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes with black square shaped glasses. Her complexion was fair with a slim slender figure.
Severus had been to India but never seen such glitter and joy. He supposed she had a fiery personality like a person who didn't much care for snobbish people and who might have a short temper. This girl reminded him of Lily except that she was different in looks and maybe had a bit more bite to her. Plus for some godforsaken reason which he had no idea why; she reminded him of Minerva McGonagall.
He quickly whipped that thought out of his head when he saw her clothing. This girl was wearing shorts that fell above her knees and a long loose t-shirt which had Coldplay written on it along with four men playing different muggle musical instruments. Her hair was tied into a messy pony tail and she had a big hair band.
The other Severus supposed was American. Her skin had a brilliant sun kissed glow and her complexion was phenomenal. Her hair went to her middle back and was brown with red and blonde highlights running through it. She was wearing it in two braids with silver square framed glasses keeping her chocolate eyes safe. Her teeth were white and wonderfully straight. She was wearing red and white plaid pajama shorts and a red tank top holding some sort of black and purple square. She was short but had good proportions.
"Haley Reynolds is my name and this is my cousin. If I knew how I got here I'd have left already. Where's the headmaster?" Haley snapped.
Severus stared at her. For looking so young she seemed un-intimidated by his best glare.
"This way Miss Reynolds… Miss"
"Just calls me Penny," she grinned.
"Right. Follow me," Severus drawled as they entered the castle.
Albus sat in his chair staring at the two young beauties with his fingers steepled together. Severus had just told him how he'd happened upon the girls. The girls in turn explained where they hailed from and that as far as they knew this whole world was a story.
Haley sat with her legs and arms crossed as she stared at him. Anyone would think she was trying to stare him down but her cousin knew she was daydreaming about her fan fiction stories. Albus just knew she wasn't really seeing him.
Penny sat by her sort of slumped in her chair but her eyes were eagerly taking in everything. She was beyond excited to be in Hogwarts; she loved it so much.
"Well Albus what do you suggest we do with them?" Severus asked.
"We are not things you can do something to we are normal humans like you but unlike you." Penny said indignantly to Severus who glared at her in return.
"We need to call Minerva," Albus finally answered.
Whatever world she had been in; Haley snapped out of it when she heard that sentence.
"Minerva McGonagall!? She's my favorite!" Haley exclaimed.
"Why Minerva?" argued Severus a little frustrated.
"She's such a pretty cat animagus," Haley chatted.
"Why don't you just listen to the headmaster," Penny said with a smirk.
"No one asked you to butt in," replied Severus rudely.
"She kicks butt in the last book. I love when the desks charge!" Haley exclaimed. Albus was listening intently to her. Haley reminded him of Minerva when she was in school; her curosity and excitement of everything.
"Well I felt like it," said Penny haughtily.
"I always thought she was pretty too. Maggie Smith does such a great job in the movies," Haley continued. It was quite clear to Albus that Haley could entertain herself for hours and never realize people were in the room. That was when he finally snapped back into Severus' and Penny's argument.
"Well then why don't you-"
"Severus just retrieve Minerva," said Albus cutting Severus' sentence. Snape nodded leaving the room; mumbling under his breath.
"OH I can't wait to meet her!" Haley exclaimed.
Albus chuckled pushing a small dish toward the girls. "Lemon Drop ladies?" he asked.
Haley looked to her cousin and grinned as they both took one of the candies and popped them in their mouth sucking and wondering why Albus liked them so much.
Forty minutes later Minerva and Severus strolled into the office.
The girls were upstairs taking turns looking through the telescope. For being in their early twenties the girls had the tendency to act like young children.
"All right Albus what is it? I'm very busy," Minerva sighed.
"Girls please come down and meet Professor McGonagall," Albus called smiling.
Minerva and Severus looked up to see the girls hurry to the banister and peer over. At seeing the professor the American squealed excitedly and jumped up and down. The girl from India laughed and grabbed her cousin's hand as they hurried down the stairs.
Albus watched in silent intrigue, confusion, and worry as he watched the deputy's expression.
Minerva's face had shown annoyance at the display, then worry as the girls headed down the stairs, and finally it showed a mixture of relief, fear, and anxiousness as the girls reached the bottom step.
"Oh Merlin," Minerva gasped clutching her throat, "Tabitha? Sabrina?"
"Well I suppose," Haley shrugged, "At least by birth certificate says that…though mom refuses to call me by it. I do; however, like to be called Tabby."
"I like being called Rina," Penny nodded.
"I thought I'd never see you two again dears," Minerva cried pulling the girls into a tight embrace.
All the others in the office looked on, Severus's eyebrows had dissapperd into his hairline as he looked at Albus in confusion. Albus for the first time in a long time looked as confused as Snape. Did Minerva have daughters!?