Lindsay was numb by the time they returned to the school. The twins had tried to cast a warming charm on her, but it didn't work. They were both mystified as they had no trouble casting the charm on each other. Lindsay was shivering uncontrollably as she passed by Professor McGonagall who, along with Mr. Filch, was counting the returning students.
"Where is your coat, Miss Gray?"
"I gave it to a beggar."
"You did what?"
"There are a lot of poor people in the world, Professor."
"There are a lot of foolish ones too, Miss Gray. Get inside and warm yourself. I'll be having a talk with you later."
Lindsay avoided the Gryffindor common room and took the staircase that lead directly to both hers and McGonagall's quarters. There was a huge furor in the common room as Fred and George began handing out sweets. After what she saw in Honeydukes, and what the twins showed her in the Three Broomsticks, Lindsay had no desire to witness what the kids would be willing to do to themselves. She wrapped herself in a blanket and had just sat down in front of the fire when Professor McGonagall entered. "Would you like a cup of tea, Professor?"
"No, thank you." Her tone was stern and her body posture matched. Lindsay braced herself for a tongue-lashing as McGonagall took a seat next to her. "I can't believe you just walked all the way from Hogsmeade without a coat. I'll be shocked if you don't end up with pneumonia. You could've been frostbitten. I expect that even a Muggle-trained physician would know about frostbite. Just what were you thinking, giving away your coat in the middle of January?"
"There was this poor old man in the alley. He was dressed in rags. I assume he's homeless--"
"Was he bent in half? Did he have cloudy blue eyes and smelled like a dung-heap?"
"You know him, Professor?"
"His name is Itzal Grace. He's a ne'er-do-well, and quite a shady character."
"Even people who make mistakes in life deserve a little charity," said Lindsay. "He's much older than me and the cold can do him more harm."
"Generosity is an admirable quality, Miss Gray, but gullibility is not. I assure you that the one person Itzal can safeguard is himself."
"I left twenty galleons in the coat pocket."
"Oh dear, he'll be drunk for a month. On second thought, I think I will have that cup of tea."
Lindsay rose and began bustling around her kitchenette. McGonagall watched her carefully, noting that she preferred to do everything manually despite the ability to use very simple magic. Lindsay piled some scones onto a plate and set it on a tray that held her tea set. "The twins escorted me to the kitchen. The house-elves are adorable and...enthusiastic. They gave me much more than I needed to fill the cabinets, but Ron Weasley ate most of it so I have to go back for a few things. That kid has an impressive appetite." Lindsay set the tray in front of McGonagall who picked up a scone. She looked at the tray and frowned slightly as she reached for a second scone.
"You said Fred and George Weasley helped you?"
"Yes, why?"
"Have a look at this scone."
It seemed innocent enough to Lindsay's eyes, except that it had a slightly purple-hued glittery look to it. "How weird, it looks a little shiny."
"Don't eat it," warned McGonagall. "Set it aside somewhere safe."
"Neville warned me too. What do the twins do, put laxatives in everything?"
"If only," said McGonagall as she examined the tea steaming in the teapot, the sugar bowl, and the milk sitting in the creamer. "Everything looks alright. You must be very careful. Inspect everything before you eat or drink it. If it looks unusual in any way get rid of it, or you could find yourself sneezing marbles or growing pink fur on your knees." Lindsay laughed at the thought. "You won't find it amusing if it happens to you; and if it does, take yourself to the hospital wing and Madame Pomfrey will take care of you."
"Can I ask you something, Professor?"
"Of course," said McGonagall as she stirred her tea. Her expression and tone of voice had warmed considerably.
"Some of the kids have been telling me horror stories about Professor Snape. I spent a few hours with him last night. He doesn't seem very sociable."
"Severus can be a bit...harsh, but he is a very competent teacher. As for his sociability, he manages to be civil with his colleagues. Otherwise, he's intensely private and has been since he was a schoolboy."
"You were one of his teachers?"
"I was. He was a very clever student, though a bit backward."
"So is there any truth to the rumors, or are the kids just trying to scare me?"
McGonagall's eyes narrowed a little and the firmness returned to her voice. She was unsure if Lindsay was trying to garner favor with her, or was simply asking out of genuine concern for her own wellbeing. Since the Weasley twins seemed to have taken an interest in her, Minerva assumed that it was likely the latter. "I don't care for gossip, and I'll not criticize a colleague, Miss Gray. Obey school rules and you'll not run afoul of Severus or any of your other teachers."
"Understood, ma'am. I have one more question. It's about Professor Lupin. He looked unwell when I met him--"
"Remus has a chronic health condition, but I'll not disclose the nature of his illness."
"And I wouldn't ask, Professor. It would be crass of me to do so. I was just concerned."
"That's very considerate of you, Miss Gray." McGonagall patted Lindsay's hand. Her expression softened and warmth returned to her voice. "Remus has been sickly since he was a boy. It's a delicate subject for him." She sipped her tea a few times before speaking again. "I neglected to tell you this morning that you are technically a guest of Hogwarts, not a student. As such, you may eat your meals at the High Table; however, it's not a strict rule and you may eat with the students if you prefer." She set down her teacup and rose. "I must be going; I have some papers to grade. Thank you for the tea."
"Anytime, Professor, my door is always open."
Lindsay had just finished washing up when Hermione entered. "I was just going to spend a few hours in the library before dinner. Would you like to join me?"
"Sure, I finished all of my textbooks before I came to school. I could use some new reading material."
"Great! I know exactly what books you need to get you further along in your classes."
"I haven't really read much of the school handbook yet. Is it really that important? I thought I might just wing it."
"Oh, of course it is," answered Hermione, looking as if the question was bordering on offensive. "Professor McGonagall is a stickler for the rules, and Professor Snape is...worse. You should read 'Hogwarts: A History' too. It's really fascinating. I'll tell you about it on the way to the library."
The library was very quiet, except for the sound of a few quills scraping on parchment. There were only a handful of students in there, and most of them looked harassed like they were working on last-minute projects. A gaunt, prim-looking, older woman was keeping watch from behind a great oak desk. The woman shushed Lindsay when she tried to introduce herself. Hermione apologized for Lindsay, and dragged her to an unoccupied table that was out of the librarian's line of sight.
"That's Madam Pince," whispered Hermione. "She's very strict about enforcing library rules. You must be quiet and don't ever mark any of the books. She hates that. You stay here while I fetch a few things."
Lindsay was mystified as she watched books rise up from the tables next to her and put themselves away. The books already on the shelves moved aside to let the new ones in. She was sure that a few of them on the shelves behind her were having a hushed conversation. She began to wonder if Hermione had gotten lost when she reappeared carrying an enormous stack of books. The stack was so high that her face was totally obscured, only her bushy hair could be seen sticking out on either side of the book stack.
"Let me help you." Lindsay took a little more than half of the books. It wasn't until Hermione plopped the rest of the stack onto the able that Lindsay realized there was another, even larger, stack floating along behind Hermione. "You don't expect to be getting through all of these today, do you?"
"Well, we do have a few hours. Here are some good ones on potions. Sometimes Professor Snape likes to ask advanced questions just to stump us. Of course, I always know the answers, but most of the students don't, which makes him assign extra homework."
Lindsay picked up a book and began flipping through it. Hermione thought she was skimming through it, but she continued at the same pace even after Hermione had opened her own book. Lindsay set the book aside and reached for another.
"Did you actually read that?" asked Hermione.
"Sure did."
"I thought I could read fast."
"It's a skill," said Lindsay. "Anyone can learn it. Stop reading word by word, and start looking at blocks of words instead. The most important part is to shut off your internal voice, the one that you use to sound out words in your mind. It takes some practice, but once you can do that you'll read much faster and retain the information." Speed-reading techniques can take anywhere from weeks to months to learn, but Hermione was doing reasonably well within the first hour. She was undoubtedly spurred on by a strong intellectually competitive streak.
Hermione had brought four books pertaining to Potions, and Lindsay read every one. She was certain that her next Potions lesson was going to be more unpleasant than the first, and she wanted to be well prepared. She really didn't understand the concept of magical properties associated with magical potions, and was presently working verbatim from the textbook Professor McGonagall had told her to buy. The supplemental reading that Hermione recommended had considerably broadened her understanding. She read one very thick text on Herbology, one on Charms, and one on Transfiguration before her mind became data-overwhelmed.
"You're not going to read the rest?" asked Hermione.
"Are you trying to give me a migraine?"
"Um...no, of course not, I just thought with an eidetic memory, you could read them all..."
"My learning process isn't unlimited. I have accurate recall, but it isn't always instantaneous. My mind is a bit like a library. Everything has to be catalogued and put in its proper place so I can find it when I need to. If I collect too much information at once, it all gets cluttered up and takes me forever to sort it out."
"That's interesting, I hadn't thought about it that way," said Hermione. "Perhaps you could ask me some questions from my notes, if you wouldn't mind?"
"I'd love to."