(A piece of fanfic writing...this is part of the background story for a character I was creating for a Harry Potter forum RPG. I'm not sure I'll go through with playing on that game, but I really like the character I have..so eventually, there'll be more to come.)

Tai’ma stepped out of the coach and moved away from it as she dropped the small duffle bag she was carrying onto the ground. She stretched out her back with a small yawn, then glanced over her shoulder to the coachman. She waved at him and smiled pleasantly. He waved back and gathered up the reigns before setting off. The gentle clopping of the horses’ hooves against the cobbled driveway marked the coach’s departure as Tai’ma turned her gaze forward and placed her hands on her hips, stretching a little again.

Well, I hadn’t expected to ever come back here, she thought to herself as she studied the sprawling building complex before her. Tai’ma bent over and picked up her bag again, shouldering it as she started the walk towards the building. She glanced up to see a dark spot circling above her, following her as she walked across the courtyard leading to the front entrance of the large school. Tai’ma smiled.

I thought you said you weren’t coming, old friend.

A bird’s cry rang out sharply in the still air. The dark shape above swooped down towards her, and Tai’ma stopped moving. As it neared, the shape and colouring of a large raven was easy to distinguish. Its wings flapped steadily as the raven slowed to land on her shoulder. She reached her hand up to stroke the top of the bird’s head as he folded his wings.

And I am not allowed to change my mind? An intelligent eye fixed its gaze upon Tai’ma as the raven questioned her, and she couldn’t keep her smile from broadening. She was, as always, grateful for the company of faithful Nil-Chi-Tso, the raven that had chosen to become her familiar.

“Thank you,” she whispered quietly. She kissed the tip of the raven’s beak and looked forward once more. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then started to walk again. “Well, let’s get on with this.”

Tai’ma approached the school with an air of caution. It had been nearly twenty years since she had last crossed the courtyard, and the memories of the life she had led once before rose to the fore of her mind. By giving up the path that had been laid out for her so many years ago, Tai’ma had thought that she would never wander the world of wizards again. That, however, had proven to be incorrect time and time again since her training had ended. In fact, Tai’ma often joked that she had somehow managed to find herself more firmly involved in the wizarding world in the years since she had become a tribal shaman. She no longer walked the path of a traditional user of magic, and yet, Tai’ma found herself back where it had all started for her, the Jefferson School of Magic.

It’s not so impressive, the raven, Nichi for short, muttered into her mind. I thought you said it was bigger.

Tai’ma chuckled at her friend’s remark. You forget, Nichi, the last time I saw this place was as a young, impressionable teenager. Many things have changed since then.

She had originally come to this school to learn the ways of magic, only to leave when she realized that the wizard calling was not for her. And now, twenty years later, she returned to the place that had started her upon the path of Magic, not as an innocent student full of wide-eyed wonder and curiosity, but as a fully trained shaman of notable healing abilities and acknowledged skill. As Tai’ma continued to approach, the main double doors were thrown open, and a small, and yet somehow still imposing, figure stood in the doorway. Tai’ma focused her eyes on the form in the shadowed doorway, then smiled. It hadn’t taken more than a moment for her to recognize one of her favourite former professors. She quickened her pace a little as the figure in the doorway headed out to meet her. Her unruly gray hair was pulled back into a bun, and her smallish frame was covered by a thick cloak, but there was no mistaking who she was when Tai’ma caught the woman’s gaze.

“Night Hawk!” the elderly woman cried out as she waved enthusiastically. The woman stopped and lifted her hand to cover her mouth, a look of shock on her face. “Oh, I’m so sorry Ms. Stormwind, I forgot…”

Tai’ma smiled as she came up to the older woman’s side. She shook the outstretched hand of the other woman companionably, chuckling a little at the slightly flustered look on the professor’s face. She remembered her professor as being stern and a little on the uptight side, not the gentle appearing woman that stood before her now.

“Please, don’t worry about it, Professor Adams. I still answer to Night Hawk, but Tai’ma would be preferred.”

Professor Adams smiled up at the former student of hers that now towered above her. “Yes, of course, Tai’ma,” she repeated pleasantly. “I’m so glad you agreed to meet with me.”

“The message I received said you had something for me, and besides, I thought it might be nice to visit my old school. Though, I have to admit, it doesn’t seem quite the same without hundreds of students running around.”

“Yes, Jefferson does get to be a little empty during the summer months,” Professor Adams agreed as she looked around. “It will be August soon, though, and then the school will be bustling. Oh, excuse me, where are my manners! Please, come inside, Tai’ma.”

Professor Adams gestured towards the entrance she had exited only moments before, and the two women walked into the main hall of the school. The elder woman took the lead and made her way through several hallways towards her office, and Tai’ma followed along behind. She glanced around as she walked, surveying her surroundings. Not a whole lot has changed.

“Right in here,” Professor Adams said, opening up a door and gesturing for Tai’ma to enter. She walked into a busy and cluttered office, and her former professor closed the door behind them before walking towards the large desk in the corner of the room.

“Have a seat, Tai’ma,” the professor said as she sat down behind her own desk. As Tai’ma seated herself, Professor Adams reached for a pair of spectacles and set them on the bridge of her nose. She then proceeded to shuffle through some paperwork, transforming her into the busy, completely professional teacher Tai’ma remembered from years ago. “Ah, here we go,” the older woman murmured as she separated a piece of paper from the stack of sheets she held in her hands. Professor Adams adjusted her spectacles and peered over the top of them at Tai’ma.

“I’m sure you’ve been wondering just why I asked you to come back to your old school.”

“The thought had crossed my mind a time or two,” Tai’ma responded.

“Well, I received a message and an envelope via transatlantic owl post several weeks ago,” Professor Adams said as she lowered her gaze to the letter she held before her and cleared her throat. “Dear Professor Adams,” she began reading the letter out loud, “I would like you to contact a woman by the name of Tai’ma Stormwind. I believe she is the former student of yours once known as Night Hawk Santiagen. She is now a shaman of renown, and I am sure you have heard of her. If you could, please deliver to Ms. Stormwind the envelope enclosed with this letter. It would be greatly appreciated. Much thanks for your help, sincerely, Albus Dumbledore.”

Professor Adams finished reading the letter and set it down. She reached for one of the drawers of her desk and pulled it open, then picked up an envelope from inside it. She started to lean over and hand it to Tai’ma when she paused.

“I had no idea that the young student who just disappeared twenty years ago was you,” she said with a smile as she handed the envelope to Tai’ma. “I always knew you’d make it all right.”

Tai’ma smiled back at her professor as she took the envelope from her. She cleared her throat awkwardly before speaking up. “Thank you, Professor. Er…did you say Albus Dumbledore?” she questioned as she looked away from Professor Adams to study the envelope she now held in her hand. It was manila in colour, and her name was penned in green ink with a scrolled hand on the front. She glanced up at her former professor. “Isn’t he the headmaster for one of the schools overseas?”

The other woman seemed vaguely surprised. “Why, yes. Professor Dumbledore is the headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in England. So you have heard of him?”

Nichi ruffled his feathers as Tai’ma made a small gesture with her hand. She turned the envelope over and ran a finger over the Hogwarts seal. “Yes ma’am, I have heard of him,” she answered. Her voice was ever quiet, and it had a low, soothing timbre to it. “Many rumors and tales from overseas have reached my ears lately. There is much going on over there.” Professor Adams merely nodded as Tai’ma slid her finger beneath the flap of the envelope and broke the seal. She reached into the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper which Tai’ma unfolded before reading.

Dear Ms. Tai’ma Stormwind,

Albus Dumbledore

Tai’ma read the letter two more times before setting it down in her lap. She seemed rather shocked by the whole idea at first, and it took Professor Adams’ gentle shaking of her shoulder to remind her of where she was. Tai’ma looked up at the professor and focused her gray eyes on her. In that moment, Tai’ma made her decision.

“What is it, Tai’ma?” the elderly woman asked curiously.

“I’m going to England.”

Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts, and the Potterverse © JKRowling

Story and Tai'ma Stormwind © Juliana Davila, 2002