Limpin' along...(Matilda Nordstrom)

1 September 1920
After the Opening Feast

Roufas groaned as he took in the sight of the stairs before him. He had over done it at the Opening of Term Feast, eating SO many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The house elves may not have been able to magically prepare the usual feast they’d otherwise have put on, but they made one heck of a sandwich. There had also been goblet after goblet of perfectly chilled milk to wash it down, and a smorgasbord of snack cakes and pastries. He had happily stuffed himself beyond capacity, forgetting the trip up the many stairs the castle boasted that awaited him.

Stepping onto the first-floor landing, Roufas made his way up the steps, and rounded the corner to the second-floor landing, frowning as he saw what looked to him to possibly be the only person more miserable to be tackling the stairs than himself. It was a fourth-year girl, one he wasn’t immediately familiar with yet. How could he be? He had only just accepted the teaching position this year. He did remember the Hospital wing sending him an owl, something about some sort of injury in the Amazon, but the name escaped him. What was it again? Milly? Or maybe it was Lilly, he wondered to himself silently as he approached.

“Miss, did you uh, need a hand,” He asked in a rich southern drawl, not at all common place in Hogwarts. He extended an arm of offered support to the girl, as she seemed she might collapse at any second. “You shoulda asked for some help, kid,” He chided her. There was a bit of distance between them and Gryffindor tower yet.

Roufas grimaced slightly, turning to offer a hand again, this time in greeting. “Forgive my bad manners, ma’am. Professor Roufas Bourne, at your service,” he said cordially, even though he had been introduced to the entirety of the student body just earlier at the not a feast he had gorged himself at.

From the moment Matilda had convinced Bram to let her return at the start of term, this had been her fear. Not the classes. Not the magical mishaps. No, her fear had been the stairs. Still on crutches to help support her while walking, her right leg not bearing weight as it should, she knew that the hundreds of stairs would be a problem. She just chose to ignore it.

Well, that had come back to bite her in the ass.

One flight done, the rest of the Gryffindor’s already up the stairs and through the portrait no doubt. It would take hours. Maybe if she just sat down and scooted up on her butt?

“Miss, did you uh, need a hand,” said a voice coming up behind her. So lost in thought she didn’t even hear the footsteps. The man standing before her looked nice enough, but his accent was so out of place she couldn’t quite figure out where it was from. ”Oh, sorry. I guess…” Matilda let her sentence die on her tongue. She wasn’t sure what to say.

“You shoulda asked for some help, kid.” Asking for help was admitting defeat, and the last person she wanted to show weakness too was her new Head of House.Her cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment. This was not how the term was supposed to start.

He grimaced and held out his hand in greeting, “Forgive my bad manners, ma’am. Professor Roufas Bourne, at your service.” A small smile graced her lips. Moving the crutch under her right arm, holding it with her left, she extended her right hand to shake that of the man standing before her. ”Matilda Nordstrom. It’s nice to meet you. I really don’t want to accept any help, but I’m so tired, I think I need to admit defeat. What do you think would be best? Short of me sleeping on the stairs?”

"I really don’t want to accept any help, but I’m so tired, I think I need to admit defeat. What do you think would be best? Short of me sleeping on the stairs?” The girl asked in what Roufas thought was a pleading tone.

Roufas smiled a small, wistful smile, lifting his cane in a conciliatory gesture."Hey, kid, stairs are my nemesis too. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Knowing when you need it is a sign of strength," Roufas advised matter of factly. He twisted the silver dragon's head of his cane, drawing his wand and regarding the girl sympathetically. He waved his wand muttering a familiar incantation. "Wingardium Leviosa," he incanted and the girl gently began to hover off the stairs, his wand precisely controlling her movements as Roufas shuffled up the steps with a bit more difficulty, his limp now more pronounced as he drew the girl up the flight of steps.

"It's a good thing all your bags were brought up during the feast, Miss Matilda," Roufas said as he walked up the steps at a leisurely pace. "Can you imagine the chore this would be if I had to carry your luggage too?" Roufas joked, his small attempt to lift the girl's spirits. She had a proud bearing about her, and he could tell she wasn't one for relying upon the kindness of strangers. Frankly, he didn't give a damn though. She should have known better. After all, what if her pride caused her to aggravate her injury and slow the healing? That simply wouldn't do, he thought, but dismissed his minor irritation, continuing to guide Matilda up the flights of stairs. They'd made it to the fourth floor landing. Only three more flights to go.

"I'd bet, you young ladies don't exactly pack light, either, do ya?" Roufas said jokingly.

At times like this, when Matilda was utterly exhausted and over exerting herself, the scar on her leg throbbed with pain. It wasn’t sharp and stabby, but a dull burn that pulsed throughout her entire calf. Talking to her new Head of House about it was not on her agenda for day one, but he had probably been alerted. Bram would have made sure of that. Daily trips to the Hospital Wing for her potion to help fight the lingering traces of the neurotoxin. The crutches. It was a lot.

"Hey, kid, stairs are my nemesis too. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Knowing when you need it is a sign of strength," Professor Bourne said, also showing off his cane. Both wearing their war wounds for all to see, although his were probably from the actual war.

“Strength. Right.” She sighed. "Wingardium Leviosa.”

Matilda squealed as she was suddenly levitating up the stairs. It was an odd feeling, but thankfully not painful and they were headed up towards the common room far faster than before.

"It's a good thing all your bags were brought up during the feast, Miss Matilda, can you imagine the chore this would be if I had to carry your luggage too?" She chuckled, because he had no idea. "I'd bet, you young ladies don't exactly pack light, either, do ya?"

With that he got a real laugh. “Well, you’re not wrong,” she said laughing. Bram had scolded her for the weight of her trunk, it was honestly ridiculous, but there was just so much she needed to bring with her.

With only a few more flights of stairs to go, and an awkward silence filling the air, it was time for questions. “So, Professor Bourne, I’m guessing America? Where are you from exactly?”

Roufas chuckled, genuinely happy to see a little genuine mirth on the girl's face as he levitated her up another flight of stairs His pace wasn't as brisk as it might have been if he had the full use of his cane, and he also had to pay mind to the girl as he helped her along to the common room. It wouldn't help matters if he sent the girl back to the hospital wing with cranial trauma.

“So, Professor Bourne, I’m guessing America? Where are you from exactly?” She asked him.

Roufas got a sense that the girl's curiosity was genuine, and not just to spread the gossip around the school about the new American Professor." Am I that obvious? What gave it away, kid? Wait, don't tell me...it's the boots ain't it?" Roufas asked, jokingly, as the pair rounded another staircase onto the landing of the seventh floor. Roufas continued towards the corridor down to where the portrait of the Fat Lady and entrance to Gryffindor House would be. Roufas was not in the habit of volunteering too much information about himself and also enjoyed a degree of privacy, but he felt like nothing would be served by shutting out his students, so he sighed and turned to Matilda.

" My family lives in Wyoming, in the Wind River Mountains. We have the biggest dragon refuge and ranch in all of the United States. Grew up in those mountains, but our family's roots here in Britain meant my brothers and I all had spots here at Hogwarts. Worked the ranch for a few years after graduation...until the Auror Office at MACUSA recruited me," Roufas explained. "After I retired, I was invited to teach. Some friends at the Ministry felt that my various areas of...expertise might benefit the school," Roufas told her. He was sure that given the recent chaos that had upset things at Hogwarts during the last term, there were any number of rumors flying about the school about any number of things, himself included. A little counter intel might not be a bad thing before classes got started.

"Am I that obvious? What gave it away, kid? Wait, don't tell me...it's the boots ain't it?" Still floating up the stairs, Tilly snorted at her New Head of Houses question. “Yep, totally the boots. Had nothing to do with the accent at all.” She chuckled. There was no denying his American twang.

Matilda hung on his every word. The way he strung together the sentences with the southern drawl, emphasizing words and syllables differently than the traditional British version. Wait… Did he say Dragon’s? She had not expected that. Interesting…

“Dragon’s? SERIOUSLY? Wow, that’s pretty amazing. I’ve never seen one in real life. Had my fair share of run-ins with rabid plantlife, so… you know… totally the same thing.” She shrugged, trying to make a joke. Although, a plant did almost kill her, so there was some truth to the statement.

With only a couple levels to go, she tried to keep the conversation flowing, not wanting awkward silence to fall over them. “Did I hear the Head Mistress correctly? Will you be teaching Charms? It’s one of my favorite subjects, so it will be nice to have a new take on the subject. The last Professor left a lot to be desired. Well, most of the staff fell into that category. This term will be weird with almost an entire new staff, but I’m looking forward to it.” This was almost like an entire new castle with all the staff changing, most now taking up residence in Azkaban. She had felt that something was wrong, but had no idea just how bad it had gotten.

“I guess as your Prefect if you need anything, let me know. Especially plant related. As long as it’s the ‘not eat a human variety.’ I think I will stick to the safe and sane variety for awhile.” They were getting closer now, almost to the top of the staircases and the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, which would be a welcome site, she was utterly exhausted.

Roufas guided his student carefully towards the portrait, patiently listening to each question she posed. She seemed to have quite a few. She was a funny, bright girl he could tell as they went along. Giving the password, Roufas levitated her into the common room and brought her to rest upon a large sofa near the fireplace, taking a seat of his own in a large and over stuffed arm chair across, locking his wand into the socket at the top of his cane and coming to rest. Not having the benefit of the cane for support had made the trip one of considerable exertion for him, but he did his best not to let it show as he took a breather.

"Yeah, growing up surrounded by dragons is a unique experience. Smart creatures, some friendly, some not so much. All of them are wild, no matter how well you know them," Roufas advised her with mock seriousness. "I will be teaching Charms, but its going to be maybe a bit different than you and your classmates are used to. There are going to be more hands on elements," he informed her.

With that, Roufas stood to take his leave. It had been a long day so far and there was a bottle of bourbon calling his name in his quarters. It would help to dull the ache in his legs, his bones feeling as if they were smoldering embers inside his legs. He winced a bit, leaning heavily on the cane and turned to go.

“I guess as your Prefect if you need anything, let me know. Especially plant related. As long as it’s the ‘not eat a human variety.’ I think I will stick to the safe and sane variety for awhile.”

"A generous offer Miss Nordstrom. Rest, get feeling better. Do your best to ensure the first years are well settled and have all their questions answered. I don't wanna give you too much too soon. We wouldn't wanna start your term off on the...wrong foot, now would we," he asked, gently poking fun at the girl with a good natured grin as he turned and disappeared back through the portrait, eager for some rest and relaxation of his own as well as, he thought, a drink.

"A generous offer Miss Nordstrom. Rest, get feeling better. Do your best to ensure the first years are well settled and have all their questions answered. I don't wanna give you too much too soon. We wouldn't wanna start your term off on the...wrong foot, now would we.”

She had to snort at his well placed joke. “No, we definitely don’t want to start off on the wrong foot, especially when I only have one that works worth a damn.”

Finally cresting the last of the stairs and standing in front of the Fat Lady portrait, Tilly felt the weight of her exhaustion. No, she wasn’t the one wielding the magic. That had been Professor Bourne, making her float up the endless stairs. It had been months since she had been awake for so long, while not just resting.

Waking early, she had finished packing her trunk, then came traveling to Kings Cross. Then the train ride, where she was able to rest and sleep, but when she woke she still felt weakness and exhaustion. Then the feast and now to finally heading into the dorm. It felt like a week ago since she woke to leave.

“Well, thanks again, I will go check on the firsties. I imagine Rosie has made sure they are settled, but I will help with what I can. Have a good night Professor.”

Placing her crutches under her arms, swinging towards the Fat Lady, Matilda gave the password and waited for the portrait to swing open. Once the doorway greeted her, she finally felt like she was home. The smell of the wood burning in the fireplace. The chatter of students, young and old, reconnecting and meeting new housemates. Entering into the common room, Tilly had a huge smile on her face. She was finally home.