Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Time Hollow
I open my eyes to another day.
To things that I have known,
Things that happen every day.
Chapter 1 - Of Emerald Rings and Soap
It all began on a calm Tuesday afternoon in late March. Leigh Kelson was making her way from Care of Magical Creatures just behind a fuming Harry Potter and his equally frustrated best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
"I can't believe the nerve of that woman!" Ron huffed. "Giving you detention again. For no good reason. You know, Harry, I think she's got it in for you."
"Wow," Hermione said dryly. "Brilliant observation there Ron."
Leigh had to stifle a giggle at her dorm mate's sarcasm. Hermione wasn't normally known as a bitter person, but she supposed everyone was on edge with Umbridge as the new Headmistress at Hogwarts. No one really liked her, except for maybe the Slytherins, and with her constant additions to the rules, everyone's patience was running low at the moment.
Hopefully, the DADA curse would continue through this year and Dolores Jane Umbridge would be gone by the end of the year. Leigh didn't know what she would do if she had to endure another year with the toad. School was hard enough in normal circumstances. Now, they had an insane witch from the ministry heading the school, refusing to teach them anything of use, Voldemort was back and only a handful of people were aware of the growing danger outside of the walls of their fortress, and to top it all off, in just two months, Leigh was expected to take and pass all of her OWL's.
As the three made their way to the changing staircases, most likely heading back to the Gryffindor common room, Leigh took a detour toward the great hall. She had skipped out on lunch in order to complete her transfiguration essay that was due next class and she was really hungry. Luckily for Leigh, Professor Dumbledore loved tea time, so he made sure there was a plentiful amount of tea and snacks in the great hall around tea time, which just so happened to be right at that moment.
A flash of light made Leigh turn her head moments before she entered the castle. Something shiny had been left or dropped in the grass just outside the courtyard. Leigh stopped and bent down to pick it up. Opening up her hand, she saw a tiny silver ring with a green gemstone. The design was simple, yet very elegant. She was captivated by the small piece of jewelry.
Before Leigh even knew what she was doing, she slipped the ring onto her finger, admiring how it shone in the sunlight. Tiny green dots appeared all over her skin as she moved the gem back and forth.
"Whatcha got there?"
Leigh just about jumped out of her skin as she turned around to face her best friend, Fay Dunbar. The two girls had been sorted into Gryffindor upon entering Hogwarts, and had become inseparable, despite their differences. Fay was into Quiddich and excelled at potions and pretty much every other subject there was, though she wasn't as bookish as Hermione. Leigh, on the other hand, disliked the sport very much. She hated heights, and even watching the players on brooms made her stomach queasy. She also hated potions, as Professor Snape was bitter and unfair toward all the other houses but his own. She was, however, proud to say that she had received better grades than Fay in both Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies throughout all five of her years at Hogwarts, though the latter was mostly due to the fact that Leigh was a half-blood.
Her father, a muggle, though supportive of both her and her younger sister being witches, had insisted the two be brought up in both worlds. When they were younger they had attended a muggle school instead of being homeschooled as most young witches and wizards were. Over Christmas break that year, right after Leigh had turned sixteen, her father had even taught her how to drive his car. She had only taken Muggle Studies in order to help Fay out, and so she could have one easy class in her OWL year.
"Fay, you scared me half to death," Leigh breathed. "I thought I was going to pee my pants."
Fay laughed, her dark brown ponytail bouncing side to side as she skipped up in front of Leigh to examine the ring. "That's really pretty, where did you get it?"
Leigh shrugged. "I found it. Right here. Someone must have dropped it."
The tall girl smiled at her friend. That was another thing different about the two. They looked nothing alike. Fay was tall, standing at about five feet, eleven inches, with long dark hair and brown eyes. She was skinny, but that was because she spent every second she wasn't in class, eating, or finishing homework, working out. Fay was hoping that next year, after the Weasley twins graduated, she would finally be able to realize her dream of becoming one of the next Gryffindor beaters.
Leigh was much smaller than Fay, by about at least eight inches, if not more. She had dark ginger hair, nowhere nearly as vibrant as the Weasley's, dark blue eyes, and surprisingly very few freckles. Leigh was also skinny, but that was due to her extremely high metabolism. No matter how much she ate, Leigh never seemed to gain any more than her already 110 pound self.
"Are you going to try and find out who it belongs to?" Fay asked as the two began walking again.
"Yeah, I probably should," Leigh sighed as she moved to take the ring off. Frowning, she tried again. "It's stuck."
Fay reached over and began to tug on the piece of jewelry.
"Ow, ow, OW!" Leigh shouted as she yanked her hand out of Fay's, the ring still in place. "That hurt."
"Sorry, Leigh. We can try and get it off later. Maybe Hermione will know a spell."
Leigh smiled at her friend. "Or we could try soap and warm water. That always works for Mum."
Fay laughed. "You and your strange muggle tricks. I should just learn to expect these kinds of things."
The ginger stuck her tongue out. "Hey. My muggle ways are no stranger than your family sitting around the living room playing chess with moving pieces and reading about rabbits and pots with feet."
The two girls burst out into a fit of giggles as they took a seat at the Gryffindor table, the ring entirely forgotten as they quelled their grumbling tummies.
"It's still not coming off!" Leigh yelled from the 5th year's bathroom. Fay poked her head in, a smudge of ink on her cheek.
"Want me to help?" she asked innocently.
"No!" Leigh shouted, slightly louder than she had planned. "With my luck, you'll rip my entire finger off."
"Probably."
Leigh smiled and attempted once more to soak her finger and slide the ring off. It still wouldn't budge.
"Why have you been washing your hands for so long?" Leigh turned around to see a girl with very bushy hair poking her head in beside the place where Fay was standing.
"I'm not, Hermione. I just got this ring stuck on my finger, that's all. I'm trying to get it off."
The girl frowned. "Why are you doing it that way? Just use magic to get it off."
Leigh sighed. "Hermione, you're a muggleborn. Surely you know that magic isn't the best bet in every situation. Why should I use it when this way will work perfectly fine?"
"Obviously it's not working so well there, Leigh," Fay pointed out, trying hard not to laugh. "Come on. Just let Hermione fix it for you."
Leigh scowled and reluctantly dried her hand off. She didn't understand why the soap hadn't worked. It hadn't even loosened the ring. For the first time, Leigh wondered if the ring had melded itself to her finger somehow. And if it had, how come she hadn't felt anything?
"Relashio," the girl murmured, pointing her wand at the ring. Nothing happened. Reaching out, Hermione gave it a slight tug. It was as stuck as ever.
"That's odd," Hermione murmured. "I did the spell right. That should have worked."
Fay reached out and gave the ring a tug herself. Leigh bit her lip and ignored the sharp pain as her best friend tugged harder. With a determined look on her face, she pulled back in the opposite direction, hoping a combined effort would work.
Suddenly the ring slipped out of Fay's fingers and Leigh went flying backward, smacking the back of her head on the wall.
Fay shrugged, walking over to where her friend was sprawled out on the ground. "Tough luck there, Leigh. Looks like you're stuck with it forever." Holding out her hand, she helped Leigh to her feet.
"Forever?" Leigh cried, rubbing the sore spot on her head. "I don't want to be stuck with it forever. Sure, it's pretty, but that doesn't mean I never want to take it off. What if it's cursed? What if it tries to strangle me while I'm sleeping?"
"Does it feel evil to you?" Hermione asked calmly. Leigh shook her head. "And is it hurting your finger?" Again, the ginger's response was a negative. "Then I suggest you go to bed and then go see Professor McGonagall about it tomorrow."
Leigh sighed. The bushy haired bookworm did have a point. "Alright. You're right." She reluctantly climbed into her bed and pulled her covers snugly around her, hoping that there was nothing she needed to be worried about.
A/N: Ok, so this story is based off one of my favorite video games of all time...Time Hollow! If you've played the game, then you'll sort of know what's coming next. If not, stay tuned! It gets pretty exciting. Oh, and review if you feel led. I really enjoy reading what people have to say.