Chapter I
It was a new year at Hogwarts and every single student in the Great Hall was buzzing with excitement. Everyone except Isabel Firelyte. 'Belle', as she was known to everyone, was feeling rather downbeat as it was her final year at Hogwarts and she wasn't ready to let go just yet. She'd had such a great time during her previous 6 years at Hogwarts and couldn't bear thinking about having to leave at the end of the academic year. She sat there in her own little world of thoughts while aimlessly poking the food on her plate.
Belle was usually a very confident, upbeat girl. Her confidence brewed from her father, who was a typical brave, courageous Gryffindor. He was as confident as they come and passed these all these traits down to his daughter. Belle's mother, on the other hand, was a textbook Slytherin. She was cunning, revengeful and had always thought through every outcome of any situation. Naturally, Belle possessed each one of her traits as well so it wasn't surprising that the Sorting Hat took his time in sorting her.
"Aha, Miss Firelyte... I was particularly looking forward to sorting you. Your parents had such strong characters and were extremely easy to sort. You, however, are a complete cocktail of your parents' traits. Hmm... You are mischievous like your mother but also brave like your father. Aha, I can see you're already thinking what life would be like in either house, just like your mother did when I sat upon her head. In that case... SLYTHERIN!"
Belle may well have been a Slytherin, but because of her mixed personality she had close friends in Gryffindor as well as her own house. No Gryffindor more close though than her best friend Xander.
Alexander Strapp was a Seventh Year who was not short on confidence. In fact he was so confident many would see it as arrogance. He was a complete ladies man, and was usually seen charming his way into some poor girl's affections.
He was a womaniser, always looking for his next conquest. He had been through most of the older girls in Hogwarts and left plenty of girls scorned around the school. In fact, try as he might to avoid them all, rarely a day goes by without Xander getting a good slap across the face.
Xander and Belle's relationship was an interesting one to say the least. They were renowned for being the best of friends one day and the worst of enemies the next. Though lately, they had been friends for probably the longest time in the last few years. Xander thought this was probably due to the fact that he hadn't tried hitting on her for a long time. That was the main cause for their disagreements, but the arguments were always intensified by Belle's fiery temper.
Belle was still in a world of her own when a hand waved in front of her face. She snapped out of her daze and looked up to see the hand had come from across the table, where her other best friend Kaija Läine was sat. Kaija and Belle had been friends since they were little, growing up together in Finland. They each had one parent that was English so naturally were fluent in both English and Finnish. Kaija was the only one with a Scandinavian accent though, as Belle was extremely close to her father and picked up his English accent.
"Are you okay, Belle?" Kaija said looking concerned. "Yeah, I'm fine" replied Belle, "I'm just disappointed it's our last year." Belle then noticed Xander in the corner of her eye, crouched over; scoffing down his food like there was no tomorrow. Xander looked up and noticed that Belle and Kaija were looking over and giggling to themselves so he quickly sat up straight, brushed the crumbs off of his face and smiled with embarrassment. It was a well known fact between the three of them that Xander had a huge crush on Kaija; she was the only girl that he was too nervous to hit on.
Suddenly, the doors of the Great Hall burst open and a fleet of owls swooped in and dropped small pieces of paper in front of everyone. Kaija jumped in shock and Belle laughed and said "You do this every year! You should know by now that the owls come in with our timetables at 8pm on the dot!" Belle's smile soon turned to a frown as she realised she had Herbology all day on Mondays.
Herbology had never been Belle's interest or strong point; she was much more proficient in Transfiguration. Transfiguration was Belle's talent; her teacher had often said she was the best he had ever seen. Belle's favourite pastime was to transform items belonging to First Years just to confuse them, which pleased her no end, and whenever she was caught by a teacher, she got herself out of trouble by explaining that she was getting them used to life in Hogwarts.
The feast had ended and Xander ran out of the Great Hall to catch up with Belle and Kaija. He often ran after them just so he could spend time with them as he was a Gryffindor and couldn't hang out with them in the Slytherin common room. Belle and Kaija preferred being outside in their free time anyway, but of course it was getting late so every student was slinking off to their respective dorms or common rooms. There was a place though that the three of them spent a lot of time during the evening, a secret place, a place that not even the teachers knew about.
Just as the three of them approached the Slytherin dungeon, they stood around and pretended to chat when really they were waiting for everyone to head off down into the Dungeon. Once the coast was clear, they sneaked over to the side of the stairwell, where there was a bookcase that led to a secret room. Bookcases were completely stereotyped as being secret passages, but no-one ever touched them anymore as the Headmaster had stated a few years before that all the secret bookcase passages had been sealed. This one, however, had been forgotten as it was tucked right underneath the stairwell. The three of them referred to it as the 'Laatikko'. Translated from Finnish this meant 'Box', Belle and Kaija had deliberately called it that so even if someone could understand Finnish or had used a translating spell, they still wouldn't understand. This was one of the very limited number of Finnish phrases that Xander knew.
They went in and sat down on the sofas that Belle had transformed from some old stools they had found and had a good catch up about their individual exploits during the summer. After what seemed like about half an hour of catching up, Kaija looked at her watch and exclaimed "Voi paska!" Xander knew this was along the lines of "Oh crap!" as Kaija was very forgetful and had said it rather often. Xander said "What's the problem?" and Kaija just stared at her watch. Belle looked over and noticed that Kaija's watch said "2.16am" and said "Voi paska indeed!" Xander looked puzzled so Belle explained that it was gone 2 in the morning and so they exited the Laatikko and carefully but quickly headed towards their dorms. Belle and Kaija ran quickly down the Dungeon, narrowly avoiding the Head of House stalking the corridors. They made it to the dorms undetected and quickly got into bed.
Chapter II
Morning had broken and Belle rose from her deep slumber to find that Kaija was already up and applying her make-up. One of the perks of being a Seventh Year was that they had their own double room, which was lucky for Kaija as she had a tendency to sing in the mornings. Belle sat on the edge of her bed and stared into the mirror and muttered "Flipping heck..." Her usually pristine dark red hair was sticking out all over the place, and Belle looked at it in disgust. "Rough night?" joked Kaija, who was now brushing her wavy, so-blonde-it-was-almost-white hair. "I look like the Jaffa Cake monster..." replied Belle and went to her drawer to get out her hair straighteners.
As she walked over to her chest of drawers, she noticed a small envelope on the top. "When did this get here?" asked Belle. Kaija just shrugged and said "No idea." The letter was addressed as 'Isabel." Belle gulped and Kaija came over, noticed the word 'Isabel' and laughed. They both knew that the only time Belle was called 'Isabel' was when she was in serious trouble. Belle knew exactly what she was holding in her hands. It was a Howler. Belle braced herself as she slowly opened it while Kaija looked on in anticipation.
"ISABEL LOVIISA FIRELYTE!" screeched Belle's mother, Belle's hair blowing back like she was in a gale force wind.
"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO TRANSFORM YOUR BROTHER'S THINGS? HIS NEW ROBES, BROOMSTICK AND WAND ARE NOW WALKING AROUND AS A BLOODY SCARECROW! HE MISSED THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS THANKS TO YOU! YOUR FATHER HAD TO STAY HOME TO SORT THIS MESS OUT AND BRING HIM TO HOGWARTS HIMSELF! YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH THE MINISTRY DON'T LIKE HIM TAKING DAYS OFF! YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT YOUR TRIP TO WATCH FINLAND'S QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP QUALIFIER, I FORBID YOU TO GO AFTER THIS STUNT YOU'VE PULLED!
The Howler then screwed its self up, burst into flames and instantly turned to ashes. Kaija couldn't contain her laughter as Belle, with hair more messed up than she had ever seen before, stood up fists coiled and turned as red as her hair. "Sillä vittu tähden!" screamed Belle while kicking her chest of drawers. "Language Belle!" said Kaija who immediately backed off when Belle looked at her furiously. "How can this Monday get any worse?" Kaija pointed at the timetable taped onto the wall and then to Belle's reflection in the mirror. "Oh, bloody hell..." moaned Belle.
Chapter III
"Herbology on niin tylsää, en tarvitse sitä elämääni. Kirkastumisen on kaikki mitä tarvitsen..." Belle muttered to herself as she changed out of her robes into her trademark leather jeans and corset. You could usually tell what kind of mood she was in depending on what language she was speaking. She spoke Finnish usually when she was in a bad mood, as her mother's traits would be more prominent. She also spoke Finnish when she was feeling mischievous or revengeful, either speaking to herself but usually with Kaija as her mischief was fuelled by Kaija's own animosity. Kaija might well have been beautiful and sweet, but there was a reason why she was in Slytherin.
Belle exited the main gate and set off into the school grounds. She was tired of the Herbology professor keeping on at her to study harder, and having a whole day of it just grated on her hour after hour. But Belle had to keep a clear, calm head if she was going to progress with her Animagus training.
Ever since she discovered that her father was a registered Animagus, Belle began training to become one too. Her undying interest in Transfiguration ultimately led to this decision, and her father encouraged the idea. He wrote down a lot of training advice and pointers into a notebook, and gave it to Belle for her 12th birthday. This became her most treasured possession and she always had it on her at all times. If anyone dared touch it, she would transform them into a rat and let her jet black cat, Obsidian, chase them.
She found a quiet spot by the lake, sat down cross-legged and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She started to empty her mind and concentrate on transforming, relaying her father's advice in her head.
"Concentrate on one body part only. Then once you've mastered that one, go for another. Keep going until you have mastered them all before trying the full transformation."
Belle knew exactly what animal she would transform into as soon as she mastered her first body part. It had been a late summer evening at the end of her fourth year when she finally transformed for the first time. She had been practicing all through the year, and was determined to progress to a new area before the end of the academic year. She concentrated really hard, focusing on producing a tail, and a tail she did produce. It was bushy and a vivid shade of copper. It had a pointy, white tip and when she looked around she shrieked with joy and exclaimed "Heehee! I'm a fox!" She had always imagined she would be a fox, as she knew she was as cunning as they come but also fearless at the same time. The trouble was, she hadn't quite mastered how to transform back, and spent the whole summer with a big, bushy fox tail.
Since then Belle had mastered her two front paws and her ears as well and was now concentrating on the snout. Previous times she always managed the little black nose, the whiskers or the teeth but had never managed all three in one go. She concentrated really hard, focusing on the snout, picturing it in her mind. She felt a transformation and quickly looked into the lake to check her reflection. "Damn it..." she muttered as she noticed she had only managed to change her teeth, and was now bearing some sharp and fierce-looking canines. Suddenly she heard footsteps coming and she jumped up quickly. "Oh Xander, you scared the life out of me, you big lummox..." she said as she noticed him appear from behind a tree.
It was no secret that Xander hated vampires and werewolves, and Belle knew this more than anyone. He had always despised the way they thought they were better than anyone else. He also was extremely wary of how dangerous they could be, especially the Slytherin ones, as he'd found out once while hanging out with Belle and Kaija. Belle said "What are you doing out here then?" trying to hide her sharp canines but not really succeeding.
"I was looking for something, or someone, to do" explained Xander, as he took a drag on his cigarette. "I saw a girl on her own by the lake and you know me, anyone is fair game as far as I'm concerned." Belle was not amused. "You know how I feel about you hitting on me so I suggest you stop, Alexander..." but Xander quickly explained that he didn't realise it was her until he got closer. Belle believed him, she had realised that Xander had been making the effort lately to be just a friend rather than trying to get her into bed as well.
Xander noticed that Belle was trying to hide something, after coming a bit closer his face fell in horror. He had spotted her canines and all he could think about was that Belle had done something stupid and got herself bitten. He started to take tentative steps backwards and was smiling nervously.
"Xander, please..." Belle said reassuringly, "It's OK, I haven't been bitten, I swear." Xander was still very unsure and wary; vampires had a habit of lying to get a bite. Belle was pleading with him to believe her, and edged ever so slightly closer to him as he stepped back not realising he was about to trip over a tree root. Belle shouted "Xander!", but it was too late. He tripped over backwards, landing on his arse, cigarette flying out of his mouth to the ground.
Belle chuckled and offered Xander a hand up. He was hesitant, but soon came to the conclusion that if Belle wanted to bite someone, she'd be likely to hunt a lonely little First or Second Year rather than attempting to attack the 'mighty' Xander. Belle helped him up, brushed him down and said "No-one must know..." She started walking back towards the main gate quietly until Xander grabbed her shoulder and said "Wait. Come on you can tell me. I won't breathe a word." Belle gave him a quick smile to show her trust in him and said "Ok."
They walked slowly along the edge of the lake as Belle told Xander the story of how her father is a registered Animagus and how her dream is to become one too. Xander looked as if he was actually interested in something she had to say for once, and this made Belle feel happy. She thought it was almost as if Xander had actually stopped trying to get her into bed and she appreciated that.
As they reached the other side of the lake, Belle decided she would try the snout again just to prove she was telling the truth. She sat down, cleared her mind and focused on the snout again. She felt the transformation occur and looked at Xander in a "Did it work?" kind of way. He chuckled and shook his head and she pulled out her compact mirror to check he wasn't just fooling around. She heaved a big, disappointed sigh as she noticed she'd only managed to produce the sharp canines again.
She could sense Xander was starting to doubt her again so she quickly exclaimed "I'm not a vamp or a werewolf, I swear!" She shut her eyes again and quickly produced her tail along with her front paws and ears and jumped up saying "See! See! I'm not a vampire!" and Xander Burst out laughing at the sight of his best friend looking half-fox. Belle tried to transform back to fully human but noticed a problem, her ears were yet to transform back again and she let out a frustrated noise. Xander was biting his lip trying not to laugh at her and she sent a burning, displeased look his way. Belle walked up to him and said "You try transforming, bitch."
Belle had transformed him so many times over the years that he thought it was only fair that he took her up on her challenge. He whipped out his wand and swiftly waved it while uttering the word "Snufflifors!" turning Belle into a small mouse. He smiled down at her as she ran around, but when she started gnawing on his flashy, expensive shoes he immediately changed her back.
"Oi, these are brand new!" he said as she stood up, but to his amusement her fox ears were still there. He started to giggle as Belle hit him in the arm and said "Hey! Hey! I thought it would fix you!" He suggested they should probably head to the Infirmary to see what the nurse could do about it. She put her jacket hood up to hide the ears and they set off.
As they walked back along the lake towards the main gate, Belle heard a high pitched squeaking that she instantly recognised. She put her arm in front of Xander to stop him in his tracks so she could hear the noise more clearly.
"It can't be..." she said, leaving Xander looking confused. Then out from the bushes hopped out a small Puffskein and a broad smile appeared on Belle's face. It was a lot smaller than your average Puffskein, around the size of a grapefruit. "Widget!" she exclaimed as she crouched down and the little fuzzy ball hopped towards her faster and faster before jumping into her arms. Belle gave it a big hug, Xander still looking just as puzzled.
"Xander, this is Widget." Belle said as she turned towards him, letting him take a closer look at the little fuzzball. Xander didn't say a word so Belle with a hint of surprise in her voice, asked "Have you never seen a Puffskein before?" Xander cracked a joke about its size and Belle looked at him in a very displeased manner. "I love Widget! She was my pet up until my Third Year when some prick in Seventh Year stole her and let her go in the Forbidden Forest. I just assumed some sort of creature had eaten her. OHHH I'm so happy!"
Belle could tell Xander couldn't care less about her fluffy little blob but she didn't care. She had her Widget back and was on top of the world. She told Xander she had to go back to her dorm to make sure Obsidian was okay and to get Widget settled again. She told him to wait for her outside the Slytherin common room, but she thought to herself that she wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't there when she got back.
Chapter IV
As Belle came down the stairs after making sure Widget was settled, she chuckled and muttered "Typical..." to herself as she saw Xander hitting on a Sixth Year Slytherin girl. Then a light bulb went off inside her head. She was feeling mischievous. She walked up to Xander and said "Hey babe!" and gave him a big smacker of a kiss, square on the lips. The girl looked at Xander in disgust and stormed off down the dungeon and into the Slytherin common room. Xander chased after her but to no avail as of course he was Gryffindor so had no idea of the common room password.
As Xander walked slowly back to Belle she could hardly contain herself through laughter. Xander opened his arms in a "What did you do that for?" fashion, when Belle noticed the Slytherin girl emerging from behind the common room portrait. Still feeling mischievous, she grabbed Xander around his middle in a ferocious hug, making sure Xander could see the girl by the common room. As soon as she had clocked this wild embrace, she went back in the common room so Xander sighed and threw his hands up in the air as if to say "Oh I give up..." He tapped Belle on the shoulder indicating they should get a move on and they set off for the Infirmary.
As they walked down the corridor alone, Belle could feel a slight breeze drift by. She then put her hand over Xander's mouth to shut him up and sniffed around, her smell drastically improved because technically she was still part fox. She then slowly reached down into her boot and whipped out her wand.
She started skulking around and sniffed the air as if she had picked up on a trail of some sort. The cold breeze rushed past Xander again and Belle rapidly fired a Jinx at it. Xander flinched as it flew towards him but the Jinx seemed to hit an invisible object just in front of his face. Belle callously said "Gotcha..." and slipped her wand back into her boot. Xander had a look of bewilderment on his face as he had no clue what Belle had smelt or why the Jinx stopped in mid air. Then all the confusion was cleared away as a high pitched giggle echoed around the corridor. The unmistakable laugh of the resident poltergeist... Peeves.
"Peeves, I'd recognise that stench anywhere. You should know by now never to mess with me..." Belle said as his wide eyed, Cheshire cat grin appeared in front of her. "You'll never be able to prank me. I've owned you every single time. I even owned you as a First Year. Now that's gotta be a first for you now, right?" Peeves trademark grin soon turned into a frown.
"Belle, so bold, can make a 'geist quiver, yet Xander, so cold can make you all shiver. Belle so conniving who does rule the roost, Xander makes sure every girl is seduced. Together a pair they're really quite magic, it's just a shame both their faces are tragic! Aieeeeeheheheheheheheheeeeee!"
And with that, he disappeared and his echoing laugh drained out of the corridor and out of earshot.
Xander knocked on the Infirmary door and stepped inside. He was greeted by the Nurse who sternly said "Yes? Can I help you?" Xander started fumbling over his own words until he was interrupted abruptly by the nurse as she spotted Belle. "Ah, Miss Firelyte, Animagus training again I see." Xander stared back at Belle bemused and she said with a look of embarrassment "This isn't the first time..."
The nurse went to her cupboard and said "You're just in luck, Miss Firelyte; I made a fresh batch of Animagus Tonic yesterday. I sensed I would need some now you were back in school." She handed a small tumbler of Tonic to Belle and Xander wretched at the vile smell of the purple liquid.
"How can you drink that stuff Belle?" he said as she downed the potion as fast as she could. "You get used to it" she spluttered as she handed the glass tumbler back to the nurse. "Used to it?" Xander asked as he watched Belle's fox ears slowly disappear, "Why, how many times have you been here before?" Belle said "I'm not sure actually..." when the nurse shouted from inside the cupboard, "Twenty four." Xander looked at Belle in shock and Belle shrugged and said "It's tough work, training to be an Animagus." She thanked the nurse and said "Come on Xander, Kaija will be wondering where we are."
Chapter V
It wasn't until Thursday afternoon when Belle first saw her First Year brother, Tyyko. She had been trying to avoid him as much as possible because of the trick she had played before she left for Hogwarts. She thought turning his brand new Hogwarts supplies into a live scarecrow had not gone down well with any of her family, especially not with Ty. Luckily Ty hadn't noticed her, but she knew it was only a matter of time.
Belle knew Ty was just as revengeful as she was, so she was getting edgy when she was around the Dungeon and the Slytherin common room. She hadn't tried her Animagus training as she suspected Ty knew she trained by the lake. She tried doing some training in the Laatikko, but to no avail as people walked up and down the stairs often, so it was nowhere near quiet enough.
Later that night, Belle was sat up in bed, and had completely zoned out. Kaija looked over, concerned that Belle was not yet asleep. "Belle, you're paran-" but before she could finish Belle sharply said "I'm not paranoid!" Kaija was even more concerned about Belle's mental state and asked "Tyyko can't be that bad, surely?" Belle turned her head quickly and said to Kaija "He's just as bad as me when it comes to revenge..." Kaija's jaw dropped and said "Oh..."
Belle was renowned around the whole of Hogwarts for her well thought out revenge plans. Many a time had a bitchy rival felt the wrath of Belle's vengeance. Her most vindictive act of revenge though was when her ex-boyfriend, Carston Darkward, cheated on her with two other girls. Not only that, he had actually forced himself onto Kaija, who was then mentally scarred by her ordeal. Naturally, Belle was incredibly furious; she exuded so much power she managed to cause Hogwarts to shake down to the very foundations. The rage and hatred built up inside Belle so strong, she hatched the most evil, hate-filled revenge she could possibly think of.
It was around 8 months ago when she had found out about Carston, her serious boyfriend of 14 months, had been cheating on her and had forced himself on Kaija in such a way, Kaija was left incredibly distressed and disturbed for months.
She lured him into the Forbidden Forest by using Polyjuice potion to transform into the worst offender of his two mistresses, Matilda Shuckweed. But she made sure the effects wore off while they were in the Forbidden Forest. While still under the effects of the Polyjuice potion, she pushed Carston to the ground, as he thought he was going to get pleasured in some way. She then pulled out her wand, and with a swift wrist motion shouted "Crucio!" and he started wriggling and writhing in excruciating pain. Belle stood there, laughing, with the most malevolent grin you could ever imagine.
Belle then froze as she spotted Xander by the entrance to the forest. He was looking directly at her in horror. Belle was overcome with fear; she thought she'd been caught and lost her best friend as he ran out of the forest horrified. She pulled out her compact mirror and slowly opened it with her eyes firmly closed. She quickly opened one eye and breathed a huge sigh of relief as she saw she was still under the Polyjuice potion's effects.
Carston was screaming in agony and then was completely stunned when Belle transformed back to her usual self. "YOU!" he blurted out, and rolled around in pain while screaming "YOU FUCKING BITCH!" She then crouched over him and said "Ha. You have no idea how much I am enjoying this. I will lift the curse under one condition. Say Avada Kedavra." Carston shouted "Is that it?" and Belle just nodded. He croaked out the word 'Okay', his voice nearly destroyed by the Cruciatus Curse.
She broke the spell and Carston grabbed Belle around the throat and slammed her against a tree. Belle just grinned as he clenched her neck tightly.
"Go on. Do your worst."
He squeezed her throat even tighter and growled 'Avada Kedavra...' Belle giggled and said "Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." By this time Carston was shaking with fury, a huge vein throbbing on his forehead. He screamed "AVADA KEDAVRA!" and then threw Belle to the ground. Belle smiled as she watched him storm out of the forest.
Belle sat on the ground and pulled out a Dictaphone from her pocket. She pressed 'play' and started laughing maniacally as she had caught him shouting the most evil incantation known to the wizarding world.
Belle knew that Xander had told the Headmaster what thought he'd seen in the forest, and Matilda Duckweed was immediately expelled for use of the Cruciatus Curse. Belle also knew that a student had gone missing in the Forbidden Forest some weeks before, but the Ministry had presumed he had been killed by one of the many dark creatures in the forest.
Belle had an idea. A dark and twisted idea. She sneaked into the Headmaster's office and planted the Dictaphone on his desk. A few hours later, Dementors came and whisked Carston off to Azkaban, awaiting trial. He was charged with the murder of the student lost in the forest and as much as he pleaded his innocence, the fact was he had been recorded shouting the incantation 'Avada Kedavra'. So the Ministry of Magic had no choice but to lock him up in Azkaban for life.
Before this terrible event, Kaija had been a sweet, friendly little Hufflepuff. She had been so traumatised by what had happened, something snapped deep inside her. She started to change, she became more spiteful to the point she was becoming a danger to all the other Hufflepuffs. The Head of Hufflepuff made a request to the Headmaster to expel her, but the Headmaster declined as there were no grounds for an expulsion. Instead, he suggested she moved to Slytherin, to which both she and Kaija reluctantly agreed.
Since being in Slytherin, Kaija's vindictive side had calmed down considerably, and she was almost back to her Hufflepuff self. But she remained in Slytherin as she got up to a lot of mischief alongside Belle, and was happy to be a Slytherin.
Belle got up and walked to the window and just gazed out into the night. She watched the fireflies darting around outside and listened to the slight breeze that was brushing against the trees. She had no remorse or guilt for what she had done, so that wasn't what kept her awake. What was really troubling her was that she knew that if her brother looked deep inside himself and found the same malevolence that Belle possessed, then she would be in deep trouble.
After a couple of hours of deep contemplation, Belle had thought to herself that she had never been that vindictive before. She believed her pure hatred for that pathetic excuse for a man had taken over her. She also thought she would never be that malicious again, so she thanked Merlin that no-one knew about this diabolical vengeance. She got back into bed and had no trouble getting off to sleep now she had convinced herself that Tyyko's revenge wouldn't be that bad.
Chapter VI
Several weeks had passed and still no sign of revenge from Ty. Belle's paranoia had disappeared, and she smiled to herself as she thought it had been forgotten. She went to the Quidditch pitch and watched as her brother was being taught how to fly on his broomstick. After his lesson had finished she stood by the gate and said "Hey Ty. Enjoying your first year?" He smiled and said "Yeah it's good, but flying scares the life out of me!" Belle replied "You soon get used to it."
Tyyko was fairly tall and mature for his age; almost as tall and mature as Belle. He had often been mistaken as Belle's twin brother outside of school. He had messy, dark copper-coloured hair which he never really took any care of. He always showed good intelligence as well as strong ambition, so he was also in Slytherin alongside his older sister.
Belle knew that if Tyyko was angry, he would have made a deal of it by now. The fact was, it had been 6 weeks since her little stunt, but she thought there was no harm in asking how he felt about the situation.
"Oh that?" said Ty, "I loved it! I thought it was hilarious! Mum and Dad were the ones fuming. They told me off for laughing!" Belle gave a huge sigh of relief and said "Thank Merlin for that!" Tyyko laughed and said "You haven't been worried about it, have you?" Belle looked around sheepishly and said "No... Course not..." and Tyyko laughed again.
"Belle, you utter numbnut... Oh yeah, I heard you got a Howler. How bad was it?" asked Tyyko. "Oh flipping heck, it's horrendous! Luckily it was in my room so only Kaija heard it. I mean, you see other people receive Howlers and it's so funny to watch. But when it's addressed to you, it's terrifying!" Tyyko laughed at her again so she grabbed him in a headlock, and scrubbed her knuckles into his crown.
"Get off Belle! I won't give you your present!" Tyyko said as he struggled to break free. Belle loved presents so she immediately let him go and started jumping on the spot, rubbing her hands together. "What is it? What is it?" she asked excitedly, like a young child at Christmas.
"Well after the scarecrow business, Mum offered Finland's Quidditch Qualifier tickets to me. Well you know I'm not a huge Quidditch fan but I took them anyway because I thought it was harsh. I knew how much you, Kaija and Xander wanted to go. So here they are."
Tyyko pulled the tickets out of his robe pocket and Belle snatched them from his hand, threw her arms around him and said "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Belle skipped off happily as Tyyko watched on smiling. She ran to the Laatikko to tell Xander the good news, burst in and exclaimed "Xander! Xander! Look what I g- WHAAA?"
Belle stood there frozen in shock as she found Kaija half naked lying on top of a shirtless Xander. They had been kissing intimately but quickly sat up in shock when Belle came in. Kaija covered herself up with Xander's shirt and went as red as Belle's hair. She said "Umm. I thought you were watching Tyyko with his extra broomstick lessons..." Belle replied "I thought you were revising for Charms in the Library..."
Belle, still shocked, mumbled something no-one could understand. Xander and Kaija looked at each other puzzled, and Belle slapped her own face to get herself out of her stunned daze. She shook her head and said "Wait. What?" Belle could not get her head around the fact that her two best friends were romantically involved.
Kaija could see Belle was struggling with what she had discovered. "Um. Yeah. Um... Me and Xander... We are sort of seeing each other..." Belle couldn't quite believe it. Xander put his arm around Kaija and said "It's true. We've been secretly seeing each other for a couple of weeks." Kaija walked over to the dumbstruck Belle and hugged her while saying "I'm so sorry you found out this way. We were gonna tell you very soon. We didn't want to jinx it."
A tear rolled down Belle's cheek so Xander put his arms around her and said "Hey, don't be sad, don't cry..." Belle suddenly pushed them both away and said "I am crying, but I'm not sad... I'M BLOODY ECSTATIC!" Belle grabbed them both and gave them a ferocious hug for what felt like an eternity until Xander said "Okay, you can put us down now, Belle." Belle said "Oh sorry! I'm just so excited for you both! When, what, who, where, why?" and Xander just said "Um, can we get dressed first?" Belle, overcome with joy and dazed with excitement had forgotten they were half naked and said "Oh yeah, of course!"
After Kaija and Xander had dressed, the three of them sat on the sofas, Belle bouncing with excitement. Kaija started the story of how they ended up together.
It was two weeks ago and the three of them were in the Laatikko until Belle left to carry on her Animagus training. Xander was looking nervous as he was alone with Kaija so she asked him what was up. With a shaky, high-pitched voice he squeaked "Oh noth-" He quickly cleared his throat and forced his voice deeper than normal and said "Err... Nothing..."
Kaija giggled and said "Relax kultaseni." She often called Xander this but he had no clue what it meant. He plucked up the courage to stand up and go and sit next to her. Kaija chuckled as the usually confident, arrogant ladies-man was shuffling nervously towards her.
Xander put his hand on her knee and said "I've got something to tell you." Kaija smiled. "Oh yeah? What's that then?" knowing full well what he was about to say. Xander shuffled a bit closer. "For the past year or so I've felt something. Something I haven't felt before. It's hard to explain. Umm, how can I put this? Well, umm... What I'm trying to say is... Is... Err... It's like Quidditch... You know, when you see the Golden Snitch and you're chasing after it, longing to hold it your hand. You know that feeling?"
Kaija could barely contain her laughter at this analogy and Xander didn't look too impressed. Kaija held his hands and said "Just ask me out Xander!" Xander looked at her, his face revealing his complete surprise at this remark.
"What? You... You knew? You knew I really liked you?"
Kaija laughed and said "Me and Belle have known for months. It was so obvious!" Xander sat back in part disbelief, part embarrassment. Kaija giggled and said "You okay, kultaseni?" "Yeah... Answer me this though. What does 'kultaseni' mean?" Kaija smiled and said "It's Finnish. It means sweetheart."
"Sweetheart?" asked Xander, with his trademark bemused look on his face. "Yeah, sweetheart" said Kaija. "For the past couple of months you have really grown on me, Xander."
His bemused look soon turned to a beaming smile and he hugged Kaija and asked "Does this mean...?" Kaija nodded and kissed him softly. Xander couldn't believe it and hugged Kaija again. She laughed and said "Aww, you kultaseni. My kultaseni."
Chapter VII
It was the beginning of the Christmas holidays and the snow was falling as an ice-cold breeze blew around the last of the autumn leaves. Belle had completely forgotten to tell Kaija and Xander about the Quidditch tickets, as she was far too excited about the new revelation of Xander and Kaija becoming an item.
Belle was in her room rooting around her drawer looking for some spare Sickles and Galleons to take down to Honeydukes. She didn't fancy going to Gringotts first as she hated going around on the mine cart. As she was rummaging, she found the Quidditch tickets and realised she hadn't told Xander and Kaija the good news.
She quickly ran down to find Xander and Kaija who were waiting at the gate for her. As she ran down the stairs she slipped on the compacted snow and fell to the ground, tickets flying through the air. Belle looked on in horror as they got caught in the wind and started floating towards the cliff edge. Kaija quickly whipped out her wand but it slipped out of her hand as her fingers were too cold to grip it.
The tickets were floating well over the edge of the cliff now when the wind suddenly stopped and they started falling. Suddenly someone shouted "WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!" and saved the tickets by charming them back to Belle's hand. She turned to where the voice had come from and said "Thank y-".
She stopped mid sentence as her legs collapsed and a feeling of dread took over her body. Kaija ran over to see if she was okay, but when she got her she froze in fear too. Xander was worried so ran over to help. That was when he noticed why the girls were so horrified.
"Hello Isabel. Hello Kaija."
Belle was speechless. Kaija dropped to her knees. They saw a tall, dark haired man in jet-black robes. It was Carston Darkward. Xander stood up slowly and raised his wand.
"Darkward. You bastard." Xander raised his wand to strike but before he had the chance, Carston quickly flung his arm out and shouted "EXPELLIARMUS!" Xander was thrown back and slammed against the wall, knocking him out cold. Kaija ran over to try to revive him.
Belle somehow managed to find the strength to speak but could only let out a single word.
"H-How?"
Carston laughed and said "The missing student eventually turned up again so the Ministry reviewed my case and there was one little flaw in your plan. You see, you may have recorded me saying the words 'Avada Kedavra', but you forgot one thing. You didn't stop the recording."
"So, no wand sounds after the incantation, no dead body thudding on the ground. Just a small whispered 'Yes!' from a young girl. They released me straight away."
Belle was struck dumb. She couldn't move. She had been so meticulous over the plot for revenge she figured she had actions ready for all possibilities. But she realised she never actually played through the whole tape.
Carston said, with a dark tone to his voice, "Goodbye Belle. Goodbye Kaija. Tell Xander I said goodbye when he comes around." With that he slinked into the shadows and disappeared. Belle burst into tears and ran off back inside Hogwarts, Kaija decided to stay with Xander until he came back around.
Chapter VIII
Belle was sat on her bed crying, when Kaija walked in. Belle asked "How is he?" but Kaija ignored her. "Well?" Kaija snubbed her again and Belle got up and shouted "FINE. Haista paska." Belle stormed out and ran off down the corridor. As she ran around the corner she crashed into Tyyko and sent him crashing to the ground.
"Belle? What's wrong?" he shouted down the corridor but it was no use. Belle was in no mood to talk to anyone.
She broke into the Gryffindor dorms and was confronted by a Gryffindor Prefect. He soon realised who he was dealing with so he backed off and Belle yelled "WHERE IS XANDER STRAPP'S ROOM?" The Prefect slowly pointed to a door at the end of the corridor, his hand shaking in fear.
Belle thundered down to Xander's door and slammed it open. Xander fell off the bed in shock. Belle threw a chair against the wall and as it smashed on impact, Xander hid behind his bed post.
"What the hell, Belle?"
Belle was stood in the centre of the room, breathing heavily in fury, angrier than Xander had ever seen.
"Why is Kaija ignoring me?" Belle said angrily. Xander looked at the floor and said "You better ask her, I told her I wasn't going to side with anyone." "Side with anyone? What are you on about Xander?" Xander, still looking at the floor muttered "Ask her..." Belle grabbed under his chin and jerked his head up, forcing him to look her in the eye. "What did you say?" Belle growled through her gritted teeth. Xander pushed Belle's arm away from his face and looked Belle straight in the eye and said "ASK HER." Belle made a frustrated noise and stormed out of the Gryffindor dorms.
She marched back furiously to her room where Kaija was sat clenching her stress ball with all her strength, her fingers pummelling at the rubber with great force. Belle sat opposite her on a chair but Kaija turned away from her. Belle picked up the chair and moved to the other side of Kaija's bed and straddled the chair backwards, arms leaning on the back of the chair. Kaija turned away again and Belle shot up and pushed the chair over in anger.
Belle walked slowly towards Kaija, fists clenched in rage. She raised her right fist and was about to grab Kaija when Xander burst in and shouted "Belle, no!" He grabbed her wrist and as Belle struggled to break free he pulled her over to her bed and sat her down. He sat down beside her, looking her in the eye, waiting for her temper to calm.
Kaija wasn't too happy about this. "Oh yeah, take her side why don't you..." to which Belle replied "Oh! It speaks!" Xander stood up, head in his hands.
"WILL YOU BOTH JUST SHUT UP?"
Kaija and Belle pouted and slumped back against their headboards, like two children being told off by their parents. Xander started pacing up and down.
"Right. Let's sort this out. Belle, what is your problem?"
"My problem? My problem is that she won't talk to me or acknowledge my existence!" snapped Belle, pointing at Kaija. Kaija folded her arms and turned her head so Xander walked over and said "Kaija, help me understand what is going on. Why are you ignoring Belle?"
Kaija looked in Xander's eyes and could see this was tearing him up inside. She stroked his cheek, and simply said "She abandoned you."
Xander and Belle looked at each other, both of their faces full of confusion. Xander asked "What do you mean, abandoned?" Kaija looked at him like he should know what she meant but realised Xander was absolutely clueless. Kaija got up and walked to the window.
"The other day, when Carst-"
"DON'T SAY THAT NAME!" screeched Belle. "The 'C' word chills my bones to the core."
"Okay then, when Darkw-"
"OR THAT!" Belle tore up her pillow in rage and Xander held her shoulders to calm her down. Kaija ran over and grabbed Xander and said "What are you doing? You're siding with her again?" Xander walked to the door and yelled "I'M NOT ON ANYONE'S SIDE!" Kaija slumped back onto her bed again and Xander asked her to continue.
"Well, the other day when he disappeared after slamming you into the wall, Belle just ran off and left you laying there, no concern whatsoever."
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" screamed Belle, tipping up her bedside table as she jumped to her feet.
"OH YEAH? What pathetic excuse have you got lined up then?" Kaija thought she had Belle right where she wanted her, ready for her to admit she was wrong. But what Kaija hadn't counted on was the truth. Belle's horrifying truth.
Chapter IX
Belle ran to the door, thinking she had no chance in convincing Kaija otherwise without telling the truth about what had happened. Xander blocked the door and folded his arms, waiting for Belle to speak up. Belle resigned to the fact that she had to tell the truth.
"Okay, I gotta tell you something. It's bad. Really bad. I completely understand if you want nothing to do with me after I tell you."
Xander looked concerned but Kaija kept up the facade of being mad even though she was dying to know what Belle was about to say. Xander put his hand on her shoulder and said "It's okay, whatever you've done; we will still love you, right Kaija?" Kaija shrugged and mumbled something that neither Xander nor Belle could understand.
Belle sat down and took a deep breath.
"I'm the reason he went to Azkaban. I'm the reason Matilda Shuckweed was expelled."
Xander and Kaija were puzzled. "What do you mean?" "Well, I took him to the forest and used the Cruciatus Curse..." Xander raised his hand to stop her. "No... I saw it, it was Matilda Shuckweed." Belle shook her head and said "Nope. Polyjuice potion."
Xander was shocked. "Okay then, I admit that is pretty bad Belle but it's not bad enough to get us to hate you." Belle gulped. "Umm, that's not all I did."
"I recorded him shouting 'Avada Kedavra' and planted the recording in the Headmaster's office. I framed him for a murder that never happened. That's why when hecame back, I ran off crying. I'm sorry if it looked like I was abandoning you, Xander."
Kaija couldn't quite believe it. "I know we hate himbut even so, that is seriously twisted. I don't believe you." Kaija then jumped at Belle and grabbed her arms.
"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!"
Belle burst into tears and held Kaija's face. "Why do you think he was talking about the recording not being good enough evidence?"
Xander split the two up and said "Girls, don't let him get between us." Kaija nodded and said "Okay. I need time to get my head around this." With that she walked out and set off alone.
Xander hugged Belle and reassured her. "She'll be okay, she'll realise that what hedid to her is far, far worse than what you did to him."
Belle kissed his cheek. "Thanks Xander. I just don't know what he will have planned for me." Xander hugged Belle tighter. "Well, whatever he tries to do, I will protect my girls."
Belle smiled and Xander walked towards the door. He turned and smiled.
"I love you both too much to let himget to you."