I do not own Harry Potter. Many of the concepts in this may come or be
adapted from other sources. No property infringement is intended.
Thanks so much for those that reviewed. I got a much greater response to this than I though that I would.
As I said, I'm writing this in a similar fashion to a Greek Tragedy. While I am not writing this in play form, each chapter will be a scene. As such, each scene has only one setting; that is that this chapter, for example, takes place exclusively in Dumbledore's office. As such, some chapters may be as short as a couple hundred words; others may be as many as long as a couple thousand.
As for the information in the previous chapter, the top section is what you have to know to understand this fic; the bottom allows you to know MORE than the characters, thus introducing a sense of irony.
This will be almost two fics. One for those that read the bottom section, and one for those that did. For example, if you didn't read the bottom section, you will have no idea who 'the shadow girl' is for quite some time. If you did, you should know her immediately.
*
*
Act One, Scene One: Eleanor's Disappearance
*
Setting: Dumbledore's Office
*
She had regained consciousness just in time to hear the doctor tell her parents that she may never wake up. True to form, the first thing she did was laugh. Idiot doctors, think they know everything! Only problem was, no one heard her. Even as she sat up, she got no reaction from her parents, or even the nurses and doctors attending to her. Her parents continued to stare at the pillow where her head had been.
By chance, she looked at the pillow where her head had been, and found herself staring at her motionless self.
In a flash, the events of game came back to her. She had followed the snitch high in the air, higher than she had ever been before during a game. She had stayed on it, just behind, as the snitch switched directions and dropped toward the ground. She sped toward the glittering ball, going at ridiculous speeds, strait down.
She was still a good hundred feet in the air when it happened. First, she caught the snitch. Less then an instant later, in an almost choreographed precision, the blugers slammed into her. One hit her in the center of her back, the other hitting her broom from the side, snapping it.
Not only did she fall, but also she continued toward the ground at the speed she had been flying. If she had simply been knocked off her broom, the hundred feet would have been enough for the six levitation charms that hit her to stop her descent all together. However, by the time the words came out of the caster's mouth, she had already slammed into the floor of the quiditch pitch. She had won the game.
By this point she was confused. She remembered being about to hit the ground, snitch in hand. Then she was sitting up in bed, looking at herself.
Now, after nearly a day of trying to get her parents attention, she was getting ready to give up. She had stayed with them in the hospital wing, answering them as they talked to her still body. She had followed as they wandered the halls, as they asked themselves how it could happen.
She knew the prophecy as well as they did. She was destined to be one of the two, so nothing could stop that. Because of this destiny, she had been taking risks for years, knowing that nothing could kill her.
But this was different. Somehow, she could feel the unmovable future changing. She wasn't so sure of her self anymore.
Currently, she was standing in the headmaster's office. Bored of following her parents, she had tried Dumbledore. He almost seemed to sense her a few times. At last he had summoned her parents.
Sure that she had got some message across, she did not pay enough attention to what he was actually saying, or what her parents were saying. When she did start to hear the conversation, she became worried, and shocked. It was her mother talking about the proof that she was, indeed, the First Born that the prophecy spoke of.
"We did everything for her! We even gave her younger brother up for adoption so that we could raise her to be . . ."
That news startled her. She didn't know that she had a younger brother. Also, the flare of the fire in the hearth behind Dumbledore showed that he was startled as well. However, the flames didn't go down. He wasn't just startled, he was angry. Angry enough to subconsciously maintain flames with wandless magic. Wandless magic like that simply didn't happen unless the wizard was beyond angry. He was furious.
This time, she listened attentively.
"You had a son, and gave him up?"
Dumbledore's voice was horribly calm considering the fury displayed by the flames. Something was about to happen. Even Eleanor, who could be oblivious enough to not realize a class had started until the teacher dismissed students, could tell that what was about to be said would not bode well for the Potters.
Lilly and James also noticed this, and therefore simply nodded.
"And you are sure that all the conditions of the prophecy speak of your offspring?"
Where was this going? Surely he wouldn't be this mad at the Potters simply because they had overheard a private conversation. Something was terribly wrong.
Once again, the parents of Eleanor simply nodded.
There was a pause. One moment, stretched out to last forever. It was one calm, serene moment. It was also the proverbial calm before the storm.
Suddenly the moment was shattered. The flames flared up even more, leaving the hearth and enveloping the entire wall. Shadow seemed to build up behind the headmaster.
"THEN YOU MIGHTY FOOLS, LET US HOPE THAT IT IS NOT TO LATE TO STOP YOUR FIRST BORN FROM BECOMING THE DARK KNIGHT! ATLANTEANS DID NOT CONSIDER WOMEN AS EVEN HUMAN, THEREFORE FIRST BORN MEANS FIRST BORN SON!"
Eleanor was convinced, even as she sunk to her knees and the fire returned to the hearth, that every human on the planet had heard the screaming headmaster.
More importantly, however, was the fact that she wasn't the First Born. Now she was sure that she was doomed to death, or at least an eternity stuck as a ghost that none could see or hear, while her body clung to an unending sleep.
"But I can hear you."
Turning to the voice, she found the source.
Shadow and light blurred together, in the hearth, forming a ghostly human face. Slowly, the face drew closer, and by the time it left the hearth, a whole body was visible, but only barely. It was hard to tell, the figure was nothing but patches, some areas lighter than the wall of stone behind it, some darker. Nothing, that is, save for the hair and eyes. Both were made of fire.
"Do you want to be back in your body, alive?"
The voice and the hair were the only things that made the figure female. The voice was soft and gentle, vaguely reminding her of one she had heard before, but could not place it.
However, now she was too excited, and failed to listen to the shadow girl's words. She heard the price of life, what the girl offered, but was not listening to know it.
Agreeing to terms that she had ignored completely, Eleanor disappeared from Hogwarts, both body and spirit.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Well, what did you think of the first chapter? I hope you liked it!
As I said, each chapter will be in one setting, flashbacks not withstanding. This leads to some short and some long chapters. I'd call this a medium chapter. I also will try to get the next up as soon as possible.
If you didn't read the bottom of the first chapter, feel free to make guesses as to whom the shadow girl was. If you did, then you know who it was.
The more updates I get, the more likely (not definite, but likely) the chance of daily updates. I do promise absolutely no less than one chapter a week. If I break this, then I will ask for requests for some way to make it up to you.
Thanks so much for those that reviewed. I got a much greater response to this than I though that I would.
As I said, I'm writing this in a similar fashion to a Greek Tragedy. While I am not writing this in play form, each chapter will be a scene. As such, each scene has only one setting; that is that this chapter, for example, takes place exclusively in Dumbledore's office. As such, some chapters may be as short as a couple hundred words; others may be as many as long as a couple thousand.
As for the information in the previous chapter, the top section is what you have to know to understand this fic; the bottom allows you to know MORE than the characters, thus introducing a sense of irony.
This will be almost two fics. One for those that read the bottom section, and one for those that did. For example, if you didn't read the bottom section, you will have no idea who 'the shadow girl' is for quite some time. If you did, you should know her immediately.
*
*
Act One, Scene One: Eleanor's Disappearance
*
Setting: Dumbledore's Office
*
She had regained consciousness just in time to hear the doctor tell her parents that she may never wake up. True to form, the first thing she did was laugh. Idiot doctors, think they know everything! Only problem was, no one heard her. Even as she sat up, she got no reaction from her parents, or even the nurses and doctors attending to her. Her parents continued to stare at the pillow where her head had been.
By chance, she looked at the pillow where her head had been, and found herself staring at her motionless self.
In a flash, the events of game came back to her. She had followed the snitch high in the air, higher than she had ever been before during a game. She had stayed on it, just behind, as the snitch switched directions and dropped toward the ground. She sped toward the glittering ball, going at ridiculous speeds, strait down.
She was still a good hundred feet in the air when it happened. First, she caught the snitch. Less then an instant later, in an almost choreographed precision, the blugers slammed into her. One hit her in the center of her back, the other hitting her broom from the side, snapping it.
Not only did she fall, but also she continued toward the ground at the speed she had been flying. If she had simply been knocked off her broom, the hundred feet would have been enough for the six levitation charms that hit her to stop her descent all together. However, by the time the words came out of the caster's mouth, she had already slammed into the floor of the quiditch pitch. She had won the game.
By this point she was confused. She remembered being about to hit the ground, snitch in hand. Then she was sitting up in bed, looking at herself.
Now, after nearly a day of trying to get her parents attention, she was getting ready to give up. She had stayed with them in the hospital wing, answering them as they talked to her still body. She had followed as they wandered the halls, as they asked themselves how it could happen.
She knew the prophecy as well as they did. She was destined to be one of the two, so nothing could stop that. Because of this destiny, she had been taking risks for years, knowing that nothing could kill her.
But this was different. Somehow, she could feel the unmovable future changing. She wasn't so sure of her self anymore.
Currently, she was standing in the headmaster's office. Bored of following her parents, she had tried Dumbledore. He almost seemed to sense her a few times. At last he had summoned her parents.
Sure that she had got some message across, she did not pay enough attention to what he was actually saying, or what her parents were saying. When she did start to hear the conversation, she became worried, and shocked. It was her mother talking about the proof that she was, indeed, the First Born that the prophecy spoke of.
"We did everything for her! We even gave her younger brother up for adoption so that we could raise her to be . . ."
That news startled her. She didn't know that she had a younger brother. Also, the flare of the fire in the hearth behind Dumbledore showed that he was startled as well. However, the flames didn't go down. He wasn't just startled, he was angry. Angry enough to subconsciously maintain flames with wandless magic. Wandless magic like that simply didn't happen unless the wizard was beyond angry. He was furious.
This time, she listened attentively.
"You had a son, and gave him up?"
Dumbledore's voice was horribly calm considering the fury displayed by the flames. Something was about to happen. Even Eleanor, who could be oblivious enough to not realize a class had started until the teacher dismissed students, could tell that what was about to be said would not bode well for the Potters.
Lilly and James also noticed this, and therefore simply nodded.
"And you are sure that all the conditions of the prophecy speak of your offspring?"
Where was this going? Surely he wouldn't be this mad at the Potters simply because they had overheard a private conversation. Something was terribly wrong.
Once again, the parents of Eleanor simply nodded.
There was a pause. One moment, stretched out to last forever. It was one calm, serene moment. It was also the proverbial calm before the storm.
Suddenly the moment was shattered. The flames flared up even more, leaving the hearth and enveloping the entire wall. Shadow seemed to build up behind the headmaster.
"THEN YOU MIGHTY FOOLS, LET US HOPE THAT IT IS NOT TO LATE TO STOP YOUR FIRST BORN FROM BECOMING THE DARK KNIGHT! ATLANTEANS DID NOT CONSIDER WOMEN AS EVEN HUMAN, THEREFORE FIRST BORN MEANS FIRST BORN SON!"
Eleanor was convinced, even as she sunk to her knees and the fire returned to the hearth, that every human on the planet had heard the screaming headmaster.
More importantly, however, was the fact that she wasn't the First Born. Now she was sure that she was doomed to death, or at least an eternity stuck as a ghost that none could see or hear, while her body clung to an unending sleep.
"But I can hear you."
Turning to the voice, she found the source.
Shadow and light blurred together, in the hearth, forming a ghostly human face. Slowly, the face drew closer, and by the time it left the hearth, a whole body was visible, but only barely. It was hard to tell, the figure was nothing but patches, some areas lighter than the wall of stone behind it, some darker. Nothing, that is, save for the hair and eyes. Both were made of fire.
"Do you want to be back in your body, alive?"
The voice and the hair were the only things that made the figure female. The voice was soft and gentle, vaguely reminding her of one she had heard before, but could not place it.
However, now she was too excited, and failed to listen to the shadow girl's words. She heard the price of life, what the girl offered, but was not listening to know it.
Agreeing to terms that she had ignored completely, Eleanor disappeared from Hogwarts, both body and spirit.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Well, what did you think of the first chapter? I hope you liked it!
As I said, each chapter will be in one setting, flashbacks not withstanding. This leads to some short and some long chapters. I'd call this a medium chapter. I also will try to get the next up as soon as possible.
If you didn't read the bottom of the first chapter, feel free to make guesses as to whom the shadow girl was. If you did, then you know who it was.
The more updates I get, the more likely (not definite, but likely) the chance of daily updates. I do promise absolutely no less than one chapter a week. If I break this, then I will ask for requests for some way to make it up to you.