Part One: From Clouds to Sunshine
Harry
Potter sighed as he stared up at the ceiling of his room. As he counted down the hours to leaving the
dreary and loveless home of the Dursleys to Hogwarts School and his friends, he
could have sworn that the clock on his night table was counting backwards.
While the minutes ticked by,
Harry thought of all the wonderful adventures he'd had at School, with Ron and
Hermione. From the Quidditch
championships to the budding romance brewing between Ron and Hermione (though
they'd deny it like the plague), Harry couldn't imagine life being normal
anymore.
"Welcome back!" Dumbledore called
out among the crowd. They grew silent,
and sat watching him. He gave his
traditional welcoming speech, clarifying their duties and the traditions of
Hogwarts. "Finally, before the feast begins, I'd like to introduce our newest
student, Ms. Aleese Sundancer. Unlike
most of you, Aleese will be starting in her fifth year, as she's been taking
her classes by correspondence." He said, motioning for a girl to walk up and
stand in front of them.
Harry watched, interested as the
small figure walked to the front. She
was wearing an emerald green robe, with the hood hiding her face and hair. The
only thing distinguishable about her was her thin fingers and silver ring. Many people stood up and tried to get a
glimpse at her face, but they managed only to see her chin. She seemed to want to shrink into the table
behind her, her hands grasping it firmly.
"Why don't you take off your robe
and show us your face? Unless you're
ugly." Malfoy called out, laughing. His
goons laughed behind him. You could
tell that Aleese had grown nervous, her hands reflexively gripping the table
harder. Dumbledore threw Malfoy a
glare.
"Malfoy, that sort of thing isn't
welcome. If you'd like to continue, you
may leave now before the feast. Otherwise, I'd like to recommend that you sit
down and listen." He said, his voice lowered, but still friendly-like. He placed the Sorting Hat on her head. After a few moments of contemplation,
similar to what Harry had gone through, it yelled out "GRYFFINDOR". Her thin hands reached up and put the hat
down, not so much as moving the robe's hood.
She slowly made her way to the Gryffindor table, and sat down, all eyes
falling upon her.
"Aleese was cursed as a young
child, by a follower of Voldemort. The
curse, commonly called the 'fatal attraction' curse causes all members of the
opposite sex, that aren't strong wizards, to fall fatally attracted to the one
who's been cursed. The only way this
will occur is for them to see into the one who's been cursed eyes. While there are no preventative measures
beyond being covered and isolated have been powerful enough, we are very close
to finding one here in Hogwarts between Professor Snape and the Dark Arts
Teacher. For this reason, we would like
to ask you all to not attempt to look at Aleese's face, and to not disturb her
in her room, located close to my office.
We have been tutoring Aleese since the Fifth Years began, and we believe
that she is wise enough and the students are smart enough to let her learn in
the classroom environment. I trust each
one of you will be respectful and accepting of Aleese, since this is no doubt a
terrifying experience for her." He said, staring straight at Malfoy. Smiling, he seemed to shift moods. "Now, if everyone is as hungry as I am, I'd
like to welcome you all back, and ask for you all to enjoy a Feast!"
The first years gasped as the
empty dished in front of them filled with food, and the whole school dug into
their meals.
"I wonder what she's like." Ron
asked Hermione. Obviously not eager for
Ron to be looking at other women, she laughed lightly.
"I'm sure she's human, maybe with
two heads." She elbowed him.
"I bet its been hard for her, not
to have anyone see what she looks like, living under that cloak." Harry
whispered, as if talking only to himself.
"We should introduce ourselves."
Hermione seemed to be surprised
at Harry's reaction. Sighing lightly,
she called out her name. "Aleese!"
The cloak moved a bit, as if she
was looking up. "Yes?" a small voice called out.
"Come, eat at this end. There's
an empty spot." Hermione continued.
Aleese got up and sat down next to them.
"Thank you for…." She started,
nervously.
"There was an empty spot, we
figured you'd like to be down here with the other fifth years. Besides, we wanted to introduce ourselves."
Hermione continued, seeming to think nothing of it. Harry remained silent, his
eyes riveted to the pale chin under the cloak.
He could tell that Aleese was blushing and smiling, and he thought that
it looked good on her…chin. "I'm
Hermione Granger, this is Ron Weasley, and this is Harry Potter." She
introduced around the small group.
Aleese seemed to look at their
hands and reached up to shake them. "I'm Aleese, if you weren't paying attention."
She laughed lightly. "I'm…not used to
so much attention, I'm afraid that I might have a bit of a problem with the
boys at that table."
"We'll protect you from
Malfoy. Don't worry." Harry piped
up. She seemed to smile again.
"Thank you." She said, putting a
fork-full of food in her mouth. "I have a feeling that we'll be good friends."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I
know this isn't very good, but it's my best shot. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review, I promise it'll get
better! Please, don't give up on me yet. If I don't get a few reviews though, I'll be
hurt ** sniffle sniffle**. THANKS!
Aleese