Title: Slytherin's Angel
Author: Slytherin Angel
E-mail: Slytherin_Angel@schnoogle.com
Category: Romance, Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama
Keywords: Julia, Draco, snogging, Harry, Ron, Hermione, snogging, new girl, snogging
Spoilers: All Books
Rating: R
Summary: Julia Riley is the new girl at Hogwarts. Adopted as a toddler, she comes to Hogwarts at age fifteen with her adopted mother Lynn. Romance, snogging, confusion, snogging, and unknown family find our five main characters as Voldemort returns. This time, he has help…
Disclaimer: I own Julia and Lynn, and probably anything else you don't recognize. All other Harry Potter things/people belong to J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note: Okay, this is all of the genres all smooshed into one big story. It's kinda dumb, but it's a lot more serious than Ginny's Sixth Year, and much better written. For those of you who really want me to continue that one, it'll be postponed even more, sorry! This is going to be my first 'dedicated' fic, which in my world means that I'll be spending every waking (and possibly sleeping) moment trying to give you guys this story.
I got really jealous the other day when I was reading this story, and I looked up and saw that it had 1,120 something reviews! The most I've ever gotten is close to twenty or thirty. With this one, my goal is to try and get at least 100, kay? But I need your help! Thank you! Please review!!!
Chapter One: Julia
Julia boarded the Hogwarts Express. After finally figuring out how to get across the barrier, she had thought that there would be no room for her on the train. Being almost completely alone in the wizarding world, Julia was a witch from New York. Her parents had left her alone at age two, leaving her on her own to find food and shelter. A woman had seen Julia wandering down the street as a toddler, and after having found no parents, adopted her.
Julia had grown up with her adopted mother, Lynn, who was a woman from England. Lynn had moved to New York when she was eighteen, and found Julia only a year after she moved there. Julia knew little of Lynn's past, only that she had been sent to a boarding school when she was eleven, and that she had a sister who still lived in Britain. Julia had never asked anything more of Lynn's mysterious past - thinking that perhaps it was a touchy subject not to be mentioned.
Well, anyway, Julia was now a witch. A jet-lagged witch, to be more precise. She and Lynn had flown five hours on a plane just to arrive in London (they had been flying from Boston), and not to mention the time difference was killing her.
"Come on, Jules, they're boarding now." Lynn's voice came from behind her. She showed her up to the train and down the corridor, and then to an empty compartment. "Isn't it amazing Jules? All this magic and excitement! Aren't you excited to go to Hogwarts?"
"Er…Well, I'm a little scared - I guess. There's just so much happening! I mean, what if I get there and it turns out that I'm not magical at all? Or what if it turns out that it was all a mistake? What if I don't fit in or what if I don't make any friends? There's so much that can happen, and I'm sort of afraid." Julia looked out the window of the compartment. The sky was slightly dark, and there was fog mixing with the steam from the train that was starting to warm up.
Then the two girls heard a woman's voice say in a hurry, "Hurry up, Ron. Come on Fred! George, this is no time to be playing tricks! Oh, where's Ginny! There you are dearest, hurry up now. Train's about to take off. Up you go Harry, Hermione. Don't forget to send me an owl, now! Keep in touch!"
"Don't worry, Mum!" There were some muffled noises outside of Julia and Lynn's compartment. "Ow! Watch it there, Harry."
"Sorry, Ron."
"Ronniekins, do move up! I'd like to get to a couple of girls, who shall remain nameless, and do some very important business-"
"Oh shut up Fred! We all know you snog Angelina every chance you get. Try this compartment, guys." The compartment door opened, and three people stood framed in the doorway; two boys and a girl. The first boy had red hair and brown eyes, and, Julia noted, seemed close to six feet tall. The girl was probably half a foot shorter than the redheaded boy was; she had long slick brown hair and hazel green eyes. The last boy was tall also, but he had raven black hair and bright, sparkling green eyes.
"You new here?" The red-haired boy asked.
"Er, yeah. Name's Julia Riley. It's my first year here. Oh, you can sit here, if you want," She added, noticing the three glancing at the empty seats.
"I'm Hermione Granger." The girl said, holding out her hand. Julia took it and Hermione sat down next to her.
"Ron Weasley." The tallest boy shook her hand also, and took the seat across from her, next to Lynn.
"Harry Potter." The other boy said. Lynn sucked in her breath audibly.
"Erm, you wouldn't have a Professor Lupin on board the train, would you?" Lynn asked, wringing her hands together.
"I saw him get on in the front of the train. They'd probably let you up there." Hermione said helpfully.
"Thanks. Jules, you'll be okay here, I expect. Have fun! I'll see you at Hogwarts." Lynn left the compartment and shut the door behind her.
"So where are you from?" Hermione asked.
"New York." Julia said with a sad smile. "I miss my girls over there. We had a lot of fun."
"How did you do your hair like that?" Hermione asked, fingering the end of a couple of braids that decorated Julia's whole head. "It looks good, like Alicia Keys."
"My best friend did it for me before I left." Julia smacked her gum. "Yo, do C.D. players work in here? I got the new Linkin Park and I gotta listen to it. My girl said it was really good."
"Oh my god, you got the Linkin Park? We'll have to enchant it so we can listen to it. Nothing muggle can be used in Hogwarts or on the train. Well, maybe on the train, you'd have to see. Can you get it out?" Julia popped her gum and pulled a c.d. and a c.d. player out of her backpack. She plopped the headphones over her ears and pushed the play button. However, the c.d. just crackled loudly in her ear.
"Damn that's loud!" Julia yanked off the headphones and clapped her hands over her ears. "Well, so much for that. Cheeka, did you say you like Linkin Park? I only know two girls who ain't those BSB chicks."
"I love Linkin Park! They're the best! And I wouldn't have guessed you liked that stuff."
"Girlie, look what I'm wearing." Julia stood up, revealing fishnet stockings, short blue socks, leather boots, leather mini skirt, and a leather mini jacket over a tight black strapless belly shirt. She was also wearing dark purple lipstick, blue and silver eye shadow, and a silver heavy looking dragon chain. "Would I not like Linkin Park?"
"Well, well, well, look what the hooker dragged in." A sneering girl's voice came from their compartment door. They looked over to see Pansy Parkinson standing in the doorway. Still dressed in muggle clothing, she sported almost the same thing as Julia.
"Shut the hell up, Pansy. No one wants to hear you complaining." Hermione said. Ron's jaw dropped open in amazement that she had actually said a bad word.
Pansy sneered, but for some reason, she didn't say anything else, and left.
By the time lunch rolled around, Hermione could tell that Julia wasn't the easiest person to talk to. She suspected everyone, but of course, Hermione reasoned, growing up in the Bronx, it wasn't surprising that Julia kept her shield up.
Ron and Harry were good company, Julia thought as she laughed at something Ron had just said. Hermione seemed like a bookworm, and Julia hoped that she loosened up as they got to Hogwarts. There was a lot to talk about as the four ate their way through pumpkin pasties and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Julia discovered about Harry's parents and Voldemort and his past, and felt sympathetic. She told Harry that she had never known her parents either, and that the closest thing she had to a family was Lynn.
"Surely Lynn is married, or has a boyfriend." Hermione insisted. Now that Julia looked back, Lynn never brought a guy home. In all the time she had known Lynn and lived with her, Julia couldn't think of a single man that could be classified as a boyfriend or lover. Julia just shrugged it off, mentally reminding herself to ask Lynn about it later, and turned her attention back to Ron, who was ranting on about someone named Viktor Krum.
Just as Hermione gave up on Ron, the compartment door swung open. A tall, pale, silver-haired boy stood in the doorway. Julia noticed that he had liquid grey eyes and a perfected sneer. She wondered briefly if he had ever really smiled in his life. She was about to ask him when she suddenly realized that she didn't feel good. Maybe it was because of all the sweets she ate.
The boy looked at her strangly - could it be in recognition? - but regained his composure as if nothing happened at all. He smirked. "So, Potter, another mudblood to add to your obscene group? Don't worry, I'm sure the Dark Lord will have the heart to kill them first. We all know that you'd like to be the last one dead; want to make sure that all the people know you 'fought bravely in battle'." He started talking about something, but Julia tuned him out. Something strange was happening. Something in her skull. It felt like her skull was being ripped in half, as though something was trying to escape. That was the last thing she remembered before she passed out.
***
Something was tingling in her fingers. She tried to move them but it hurt too much. Her eyelids felt heavy on her eyes, but she tried to open them anyway. The white light pierced her eyes and she groaned. It hurt so bad! She opened her eyes again. Oh, the light was agony to her dark eyes!
"Her-Hermione? What happened? Where am I?" Julia asked groggily, holding her head steady with her hand. "Are we still on the train?"
Hermione pushed her back onto the bed and said softly, "We're in the Hospital Wing. We were on the train when Malfoy came in, and then you clutched at your head at started screaming. Well, at first you were kind of whispering something, - moaning, I guess, - and then you got louder until you were chanting something. Then you finally screamed and fainted." She looked slightly worried. "Harry reckoned it was a prediction, you know, like of the future, because he saw our Divination professor do the same thing. So he made me write it down on a piece of parchment, and when we came back, the headmaster wanted to see it." Just as Hermione finished, a worn-out looking woman came up to the bed.
"Miss Granger, I'd appreciate you leaving and let Miss Ma - Riley, get some rest. Off you go now." The woman shooed Hermione out of the room, and was about to say something else when the door opened. There was a tall old man walking toward her bed. He had moon-shaped glasses and sparkling blue eyes.
"Poppy, I need to talk to the child. If you wouldn't mind, Severus has a potion he would like your assistance on." He turned to Julia as the woman bustled off in a huff. "You do not know who I am, but I am the headmaster of this fine school, Professor Dumbledore. It seems that you had a premonition, can I say? You seem to have looked into the future. Mr. Potter was very wise in having Miss Granger copy it down. But it is your best interest that I do not show it to you yet.
"On a lighter note, you missed the sorting, so you will be able to be sorted in private. Just toss this on, and in a few moments, it will shout out your house." He handed her a battered old black hat, and she put it on.
"Ah, yes, Miss Julia. How long I have waited to sort this fine mind! What is this? Ooh, very interesting! Definitely not Hufflepuff, never would I sort you into Ravenclaw! But which house? Slytherin or Gryffindor? Slytherin would make you powerful, oh yes, most powerful. You're almost as difficult to sort as your brother, you know. Loads of talent, you two've got. And your uncle and mother, must run in the family." The hat chuckled a bit. "So now where to sort you…hmmm…very difficult, very very difficult. I don't think you know about enough of the houses to want to choose, do you? Well, slip me off and let me talk to the headmaster." Julia slipped it off and handed it to Professor Dumbledore who was looking very interested.
"Hmm…Oh really?…Yes, yes I see…Really? There? Do you think so?" The old professor was talking to the hat and nodding his head. "Yes? Split alliances? Really?…Well, if you insist…No, I don't think she wants to talk to you again. Nothing personal, you see…No, no, you are a very nice hat…Yes, yes." He took off the hat. "Well it seems as though our sorting hat couldn't decide. It said you had split alliances, you see, and couldn't decide whether to put you into Gryffindor or Slytherin. Our choice will be to give you a room of your own, and let you go to classes with your friends. I suppose you'll be wanting to be in Gryffindor classes with Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Potter? Well, Poppy will show you to your room tomorrow, and give you your class schedule in the morning." He got up to leave, but Julia had a few questions to ask first.
"Er, Professor Dumbledore, the hat said I had a brother. It said that I was just as hard to sort. What did it mean? I'm an only child."
The old man sat down in the chair again. "Sometimes, dear girl, things are not as they may seem. True, you do have a brother, but you both are blind to it. Only when you see each other for a second time will you know. Is that all?"
"No, sir." Julia sat up on her pillows. "Why did you say I had split alliances? I don't know anyone in Slytherin."
"Alas, child, you do. Even though you might not realize it, the truth will come out in your second month here. A short time to be keeping such a secret, but we cannot control what we say. Wait patiently for just a while, dear, and then we'll see what happens. Anything else?"
"Just one thing. What did I say, on the train I mean? When can I see it?"
"I thought you had said one." The old professor chuckled. "You'll know when the time is right. Don't look at me like that, I don't like to say it, but I can't give you the paper now. I've talked to your friends, and they are to say nothing of it. I'll summon you to my office when I feel you need to know. Get some rest now, Julia. You have a long day tomorrow." He patted her on the head and blew out the candle on her bedside table. Julia turned over under her warm blankets.
Tomorrow was a new day, and she'd do everything she could to catch up.
***
The morning rolled around and Madame Pomfrey was shaking her to get up. "Come on, dearie, time to get up. You have to shower and change and get your schedule, and I have to show you to your room. Up you go. Up, up!" Julia groaned and forced her eyes open.
"Madame Pomfrey, it's still dark out, let me go back to sleep." She rolled over but the nurse threw the covers off of her.
"No it's not, the shades are down. Now get up before I dump your water jug over your head!" Julia made herself get out of bed and into the shower. The warm water was enough to put her back to sleep, and she must have been in there for a long time because the water suddenly turned cold. Her eyes snapped open and she yelled.
"Cold cold cold cold! It's freezing cold!" She searched for her towel and wrapped it around her. "Ahh, nice and warm." She tugged her jeans and tee shirt over her head, and then slipped on her school robes. They were black and billowy, and she wondered if she looked like a giant black marshmallow.
Madame Pomfrey gave her the schedule for the day, and she realized that she didn't know where any of her classes were. This was squashed immediately because the nurse then noticed that Julia didn't have her room yet. They hurried up the staircase in the Entrance Hall, down a corridor, down another corridor, and finally arrived at a painting of a fairy. She had see-through purple-blue wings, long purple hair, a dark blue skirt, and a dark blue top. Julia thought it looked similar to Jane's in the Disney movie of Tarzan.
"Luna," Poppy said, and the fairy's painting opened. Julia stepped in, and found her self in a two roomed apartment type of dormitory. The room that she was in had a fireplace, lots of cushiony chairs, and a desk for doing you homework on. She moved into the other room, and found that it had a four poster bed and a dresser for her clothes.
"Come on, classes start in fifteen minutes and you haven't eaten yet." Madame Pomfrey said. "Leave all of the books you don't need in here. If you loose your way, just come to me or the headmaster and we'll show you back." Julia dropped her useless books on the desk, and was led out the portrait hole and down to the Great Hall again. "Eat your breakfast and go to class with your friends." The nurse bustled off down the hall, and Julia looked in to see only a few people still eating. Three of them were luckily Ron, Harry, and Hermione.
"Hey guys! Waz up?" Julia ran over to them. "I'm starved." She shoveled in some toast and drank her pumpkin juice in less than sixty seconds then plopped next to Hermione. "So what do we have today?"
Hermione checked her schedule and groaned. " Double Potions with the Slytherins."
"Every year, they torture us like that. It's not fair! What've we ever done to the teachers to make them be so abominably evil?" Ron cried, throwing his hands in the air.
"What's so bad? I was almost sorted into Slytherin." Hermione's fork clattered onto her plate.
"You what?!" Ron bellowed.
"Well, the sorting hat said something like, 'You and your brother are very hard to sort. Slytherin…blah blah blah…Very difficult.' You know, stuff like that. Then it told Dumbledore that I had 'Split alliances' or something. It was all really strange."
"But you got sorted into Gryffindor, right?" Hermione asked. "I mean, you have classes with us."
"No, I didn't get sorted at all. I have my own private room and everything. I just get to choose who I want to have classes with. By the way, shouldn't we be going? We have about five minutes before classes start."
The four ran down to the dungeons and barely made it before the bell rang. Professor Snape didn't seem to like Julia at all. She thought he wasn't all bad, a little mean and nasty, but not all bad. She didn't think the Slytherins were that bad either. Well, the girls were awful, but the boys were just as stupid as a turkey in the rain. Malfoy seemed to be the major one for trouble, though. He was smart and witty, and most definitely the most handsome boy she'd seen in her life. But he seemed to infuriate Harry and Ron just by mentioning his name.
Potions hadn't been a total disaster; Julia found that this was very easy, and it became her favorite class. Of course, it had been her only class at Hogwarts so far.
So the day moved on, and she had found that maybe being a witch wasn't so bad after all.
***
The days turned into weeks, the weeks turned into months, and soon it was hard to believe that Julia had been at Hogwarts for only two months. Her schedule was easier for her to deal with now that she'd been to the classes and seen what the teachers were like. Ron and Harry still couldn't believe that her favorite class was potions. One reason, she had told Hermione one night, was because there was no other class that let you stare at hours on end at Draco Malfoy.
One day, early on in her first month at Hogwarts, however, Hermione noticed that Julia wasn't wearing as much make-up as before, not as strange clothes, and had definitely started gaining an accent.
It was Monday, and time for potions. Julia looked forward to this, not only because of Draco Malfoy, but because she enjoyed infuriating Professor Snape. Julia had done a good job of it, too. One time, she had sent a firework into Professor Snape's desk, and it somehow managed to make it's way into his robes. Another time, she had charmed his hair bright pink and made a sign that said, "I'm Thick, Kick Me," floating over his head for the whole day. Needless to say, Professor Snape didn't think of her as his favorite student.
But it was her second month here at school, and it was on this morning that she remembered what Professor Dumbledore had said to her when she first arrived.
"Even though you might not realize it, the truth will come out in your second month here," came the memory. Julia wished dearly that it would just happen. She was dying to know about all of this split alliances and brother stuff.
"Time for potions!" She said with a grin. "We've got to get there a little early, though. I have a couple of dungbombs who would just love to meet Professor Snot in person." Julia had proclaimed Professor Snape Professor Snot the first couple of lesson they had had. "His hair's too greasy." She had said. "Like snot."
"Riiight," Ron said with a frightened look in his eyes. "I really don't want to see that." Julia muttered something that sounded vaguely like, "Chicken!" before running down into the dungeons. However, on the way to the Potions room, her bag split open and sent the whole Entrance Hall reeking of dungbombs. "Whoops!" Julia muttered with a smile, and ran down to the dungeon.
"Don't tell me you did that on purpose, Jules." Hermione said with raised eyebrows.
"I didn't. My bag split and the bombs fell out and went off. I was completely innocent."
"Yeah, as innocent as Fred and George." Harry laughed.
Potions started just then, and some how Julia got inspiration on what to do to Snape. She licked her lips and muttered something under her breath. The potion's master was walking up and down the rows giving people frightening glares. He was just giving a lecture to poor Neville Longbottom, when there was a loud pop and a cloud of purple smoke. People looked around but couldn't find the professor anywhere. Then a small voice, like that of someone who's just swallowed helium, came from the ground.
"Hey! Who did that! Why am I so small! Twenty points from Gryffindor! Five points from Slytherin! Turn me back! Draco, Draco, turn me back! Twelve points from Hufflepuff!" The professor was on the ground, and he was only as tall as Julia's forefinger. He was hopping up and down screaming for someone to turn him back. Finally, Draco Malfoy did, and there was some more smoke, and Professor Snape was back to his normal size.
"Who did that?" He hissed. The class went dead silent. "Who did that?" Julia couldn't help it anymore. The sight of a three-inch tall professor was etched in her mind.
"I did!" She said between her laughing. "I did it!" Snape lost it. It was the last straw. Julia had done everything in her power to make him mad and she had done it. No one had seen Snape this mad in their whole time of going to Hogwarts.
He strode right up to her desk, banged his palms flat on the desk surface, and said in a deadly voice, "Ah, yes, our dear Mrs. Malfoy has decided to test my limits. Well, I can tell you right now, fifty points from Gryffindor and detention for two weeks! Class dismissed!"
Julia left the class in a daze. Mrs. Malfoy? Well, it sounded like he had said Miss Malfoy, but she somehow doubted that's what he meant. Hermione, Ron, and Harry could only stare at her in shock. They didn't know it would come as a shock to her too. Then very suddenly, Julia felt angry. She felt angry at everything. At her parents for deserting her, at Professor Snape for saying that, at Professor Dumbledore for not explaining, and at Lynn for not telling her. She wanted to punch something - hard.
She was snapped out of her trance by a someone grabbing her shoulder rather roughly. Julia spun around to see Draco Malfoy standing right behind (well, in front of) her.
"What do you want, Malfoy." She spat.
"To talk to you," He said through clenched teeth, then seeing Ron, Hermione, and Harry added, "in private." Julia nodded to the others to go on without her, and turned back to Malfoy. He grabbed her arm and pulled her down the corridor and into an empty classroom. After shutting the door behind them, Malfoy turned to her.
"Why did Snape say - what he said?" He asked once again through clenched teeth.
"Look, Malfoy, I don't know what drugs Snape is on, but I have no idea, okay? Look, the only I know is what Professor Dumbledore told me. He only said that there was a secret, and that I would find out in the second month. That's it. I don't know anything else, because I would really like an explanation too. This something about split alliances and Harry-" She broke off with a look of revelation dawning on her face.
How could she not have seen it before? Her uncle, her brother, and her mother! Of course! It all made sense now! Her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth a bit. Then suddenly, she smiled and turned back to Malfoy. Julia wanted to study him; to know his face better than what she had seen only in class.
Draco Malfoy was tall, almost as tall as Ron, if not taller. He was leaning against the door with his arms folded across his chest, and his face was looking very smug. He had a pointed nose and a pale face - much paler than any normal human being should be. His hair was silver. Not blonde, she noted, but silver, like moonlight on the lake down on the grounds at midnight. And his eyes were silver too, silver like liquid. Like lead, but…silver. Just pools of silver, that if you weren't careful enough, were most likely to suck you in and drown you. His lips were pale red, almost pink if she hadn't known better, and she wondered how to make them redder.
Julia shook her head mentally. It wasn't a good time to be thinking like that.
***
Meanwhile, as Julia was studying Draco, he was just as equally interested in her. She had raven black hair and bright green eyes - almost like Potter, if he had to say. But this girl was most definitely not Potter. She was medium hight - not too short, not too tall - and looked as though she had been thin and gangly when she was little. Small, thin framed glasses rested on a small little nose, and below that nose…
Draco had never seen lips like hers. Naturally red and full and - suddenly, he had an overwhelming urge to kiss her. His mental self was beating him up. Kiss her? No, he couldn't.
***
And then somehow, the two had gotten closer to each other. Julia looked up into Draco's eyes and saw nothing but burning passion. Now they were nearly standing on each other's feet. Draco's right hand drifted up and started to stroke her left arm. Still keeping her eyes locked with his, Julia moved her right hand onto his cheek. Draco closed his eyes and took his other hand to keep her hand on his cheek. He turned his head and kissed the inside of her palm, sending shivers up and down her spine. That, and the way his other hand was moving up her arm to hold her neck was almost enough to drive her crazy.
"Draco," She whispered with reluctance, "what if someone comes in? Maybe - Maybe we should stop." Her breath was coming harder to her now.
"Maybe we should but do you want to?" Draco whispered with just as much passion.
Before they knew it, Draco's lips were on hers and they were kissing desperately. Both lost all sense of time, being, and place as they tried to memorize every crevice of the other's mouth. Julia slipped her arms around his neck and buried her hands in Draco's silky, silvery hair. Draco wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Then he moved his mouth to her cheek, her chin, her neck, and then down to the base of her throat. Julia nearly died when she felt his tongue lick a trail up her neck and to her jaw. She pulled his lips back up to hers, and once again the two were kissing with a passion unknown to man.
Julia knew they had to stop. Hermione or someone would be coming soon to find her, and she couldn't be seen like this with her friend's worst enemy. Reluctantly, she pulled away, resting her hands on his chest.
Pressing her forehead to his, she whispered huskily, "Not here, not now. Meet me tonight in the Astronomy Tower. I have to talk to Professor Dumbledore - maybe he'll tell me about Snape. Tonight at eleven o'clock in the Astronomy Tower, don't forget." She kissed his lips tenderly one last time before straightening out her robes as she ran out the door.
Author: Slytherin Angel
E-mail: Slytherin_Angel@schnoogle.com
Category: Romance, Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama
Keywords: Julia, Draco, snogging, Harry, Ron, Hermione, snogging, new girl, snogging
Spoilers: All Books
Rating: R
Summary: Julia Riley is the new girl at Hogwarts. Adopted as a toddler, she comes to Hogwarts at age fifteen with her adopted mother Lynn. Romance, snogging, confusion, snogging, and unknown family find our five main characters as Voldemort returns. This time, he has help…
Disclaimer: I own Julia and Lynn, and probably anything else you don't recognize. All other Harry Potter things/people belong to J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note: Okay, this is all of the genres all smooshed into one big story. It's kinda dumb, but it's a lot more serious than Ginny's Sixth Year, and much better written. For those of you who really want me to continue that one, it'll be postponed even more, sorry! This is going to be my first 'dedicated' fic, which in my world means that I'll be spending every waking (and possibly sleeping) moment trying to give you guys this story.
I got really jealous the other day when I was reading this story, and I looked up and saw that it had 1,120 something reviews! The most I've ever gotten is close to twenty or thirty. With this one, my goal is to try and get at least 100, kay? But I need your help! Thank you! Please review!!!
Chapter One: Julia
Julia boarded the Hogwarts Express. After finally figuring out how to get across the barrier, she had thought that there would be no room for her on the train. Being almost completely alone in the wizarding world, Julia was a witch from New York. Her parents had left her alone at age two, leaving her on her own to find food and shelter. A woman had seen Julia wandering down the street as a toddler, and after having found no parents, adopted her.
Julia had grown up with her adopted mother, Lynn, who was a woman from England. Lynn had moved to New York when she was eighteen, and found Julia only a year after she moved there. Julia knew little of Lynn's past, only that she had been sent to a boarding school when she was eleven, and that she had a sister who still lived in Britain. Julia had never asked anything more of Lynn's mysterious past - thinking that perhaps it was a touchy subject not to be mentioned.
Well, anyway, Julia was now a witch. A jet-lagged witch, to be more precise. She and Lynn had flown five hours on a plane just to arrive in London (they had been flying from Boston), and not to mention the time difference was killing her.
"Come on, Jules, they're boarding now." Lynn's voice came from behind her. She showed her up to the train and down the corridor, and then to an empty compartment. "Isn't it amazing Jules? All this magic and excitement! Aren't you excited to go to Hogwarts?"
"Er…Well, I'm a little scared - I guess. There's just so much happening! I mean, what if I get there and it turns out that I'm not magical at all? Or what if it turns out that it was all a mistake? What if I don't fit in or what if I don't make any friends? There's so much that can happen, and I'm sort of afraid." Julia looked out the window of the compartment. The sky was slightly dark, and there was fog mixing with the steam from the train that was starting to warm up.
Then the two girls heard a woman's voice say in a hurry, "Hurry up, Ron. Come on Fred! George, this is no time to be playing tricks! Oh, where's Ginny! There you are dearest, hurry up now. Train's about to take off. Up you go Harry, Hermione. Don't forget to send me an owl, now! Keep in touch!"
"Don't worry, Mum!" There were some muffled noises outside of Julia and Lynn's compartment. "Ow! Watch it there, Harry."
"Sorry, Ron."
"Ronniekins, do move up! I'd like to get to a couple of girls, who shall remain nameless, and do some very important business-"
"Oh shut up Fred! We all know you snog Angelina every chance you get. Try this compartment, guys." The compartment door opened, and three people stood framed in the doorway; two boys and a girl. The first boy had red hair and brown eyes, and, Julia noted, seemed close to six feet tall. The girl was probably half a foot shorter than the redheaded boy was; she had long slick brown hair and hazel green eyes. The last boy was tall also, but he had raven black hair and bright, sparkling green eyes.
"You new here?" The red-haired boy asked.
"Er, yeah. Name's Julia Riley. It's my first year here. Oh, you can sit here, if you want," She added, noticing the three glancing at the empty seats.
"I'm Hermione Granger." The girl said, holding out her hand. Julia took it and Hermione sat down next to her.
"Ron Weasley." The tallest boy shook her hand also, and took the seat across from her, next to Lynn.
"Harry Potter." The other boy said. Lynn sucked in her breath audibly.
"Erm, you wouldn't have a Professor Lupin on board the train, would you?" Lynn asked, wringing her hands together.
"I saw him get on in the front of the train. They'd probably let you up there." Hermione said helpfully.
"Thanks. Jules, you'll be okay here, I expect. Have fun! I'll see you at Hogwarts." Lynn left the compartment and shut the door behind her.
"So where are you from?" Hermione asked.
"New York." Julia said with a sad smile. "I miss my girls over there. We had a lot of fun."
"How did you do your hair like that?" Hermione asked, fingering the end of a couple of braids that decorated Julia's whole head. "It looks good, like Alicia Keys."
"My best friend did it for me before I left." Julia smacked her gum. "Yo, do C.D. players work in here? I got the new Linkin Park and I gotta listen to it. My girl said it was really good."
"Oh my god, you got the Linkin Park? We'll have to enchant it so we can listen to it. Nothing muggle can be used in Hogwarts or on the train. Well, maybe on the train, you'd have to see. Can you get it out?" Julia popped her gum and pulled a c.d. and a c.d. player out of her backpack. She plopped the headphones over her ears and pushed the play button. However, the c.d. just crackled loudly in her ear.
"Damn that's loud!" Julia yanked off the headphones and clapped her hands over her ears. "Well, so much for that. Cheeka, did you say you like Linkin Park? I only know two girls who ain't those BSB chicks."
"I love Linkin Park! They're the best! And I wouldn't have guessed you liked that stuff."
"Girlie, look what I'm wearing." Julia stood up, revealing fishnet stockings, short blue socks, leather boots, leather mini skirt, and a leather mini jacket over a tight black strapless belly shirt. She was also wearing dark purple lipstick, blue and silver eye shadow, and a silver heavy looking dragon chain. "Would I not like Linkin Park?"
"Well, well, well, look what the hooker dragged in." A sneering girl's voice came from their compartment door. They looked over to see Pansy Parkinson standing in the doorway. Still dressed in muggle clothing, she sported almost the same thing as Julia.
"Shut the hell up, Pansy. No one wants to hear you complaining." Hermione said. Ron's jaw dropped open in amazement that she had actually said a bad word.
Pansy sneered, but for some reason, she didn't say anything else, and left.
By the time lunch rolled around, Hermione could tell that Julia wasn't the easiest person to talk to. She suspected everyone, but of course, Hermione reasoned, growing up in the Bronx, it wasn't surprising that Julia kept her shield up.
Ron and Harry were good company, Julia thought as she laughed at something Ron had just said. Hermione seemed like a bookworm, and Julia hoped that she loosened up as they got to Hogwarts. There was a lot to talk about as the four ate their way through pumpkin pasties and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Julia discovered about Harry's parents and Voldemort and his past, and felt sympathetic. She told Harry that she had never known her parents either, and that the closest thing she had to a family was Lynn.
"Surely Lynn is married, or has a boyfriend." Hermione insisted. Now that Julia looked back, Lynn never brought a guy home. In all the time she had known Lynn and lived with her, Julia couldn't think of a single man that could be classified as a boyfriend or lover. Julia just shrugged it off, mentally reminding herself to ask Lynn about it later, and turned her attention back to Ron, who was ranting on about someone named Viktor Krum.
Just as Hermione gave up on Ron, the compartment door swung open. A tall, pale, silver-haired boy stood in the doorway. Julia noticed that he had liquid grey eyes and a perfected sneer. She wondered briefly if he had ever really smiled in his life. She was about to ask him when she suddenly realized that she didn't feel good. Maybe it was because of all the sweets she ate.
The boy looked at her strangly - could it be in recognition? - but regained his composure as if nothing happened at all. He smirked. "So, Potter, another mudblood to add to your obscene group? Don't worry, I'm sure the Dark Lord will have the heart to kill them first. We all know that you'd like to be the last one dead; want to make sure that all the people know you 'fought bravely in battle'." He started talking about something, but Julia tuned him out. Something strange was happening. Something in her skull. It felt like her skull was being ripped in half, as though something was trying to escape. That was the last thing she remembered before she passed out.
***
Something was tingling in her fingers. She tried to move them but it hurt too much. Her eyelids felt heavy on her eyes, but she tried to open them anyway. The white light pierced her eyes and she groaned. It hurt so bad! She opened her eyes again. Oh, the light was agony to her dark eyes!
"Her-Hermione? What happened? Where am I?" Julia asked groggily, holding her head steady with her hand. "Are we still on the train?"
Hermione pushed her back onto the bed and said softly, "We're in the Hospital Wing. We were on the train when Malfoy came in, and then you clutched at your head at started screaming. Well, at first you were kind of whispering something, - moaning, I guess, - and then you got louder until you were chanting something. Then you finally screamed and fainted." She looked slightly worried. "Harry reckoned it was a prediction, you know, like of the future, because he saw our Divination professor do the same thing. So he made me write it down on a piece of parchment, and when we came back, the headmaster wanted to see it." Just as Hermione finished, a worn-out looking woman came up to the bed.
"Miss Granger, I'd appreciate you leaving and let Miss Ma - Riley, get some rest. Off you go now." The woman shooed Hermione out of the room, and was about to say something else when the door opened. There was a tall old man walking toward her bed. He had moon-shaped glasses and sparkling blue eyes.
"Poppy, I need to talk to the child. If you wouldn't mind, Severus has a potion he would like your assistance on." He turned to Julia as the woman bustled off in a huff. "You do not know who I am, but I am the headmaster of this fine school, Professor Dumbledore. It seems that you had a premonition, can I say? You seem to have looked into the future. Mr. Potter was very wise in having Miss Granger copy it down. But it is your best interest that I do not show it to you yet.
"On a lighter note, you missed the sorting, so you will be able to be sorted in private. Just toss this on, and in a few moments, it will shout out your house." He handed her a battered old black hat, and she put it on.
"Ah, yes, Miss Julia. How long I have waited to sort this fine mind! What is this? Ooh, very interesting! Definitely not Hufflepuff, never would I sort you into Ravenclaw! But which house? Slytherin or Gryffindor? Slytherin would make you powerful, oh yes, most powerful. You're almost as difficult to sort as your brother, you know. Loads of talent, you two've got. And your uncle and mother, must run in the family." The hat chuckled a bit. "So now where to sort you…hmmm…very difficult, very very difficult. I don't think you know about enough of the houses to want to choose, do you? Well, slip me off and let me talk to the headmaster." Julia slipped it off and handed it to Professor Dumbledore who was looking very interested.
"Hmm…Oh really?…Yes, yes I see…Really? There? Do you think so?" The old professor was talking to the hat and nodding his head. "Yes? Split alliances? Really?…Well, if you insist…No, I don't think she wants to talk to you again. Nothing personal, you see…No, no, you are a very nice hat…Yes, yes." He took off the hat. "Well it seems as though our sorting hat couldn't decide. It said you had split alliances, you see, and couldn't decide whether to put you into Gryffindor or Slytherin. Our choice will be to give you a room of your own, and let you go to classes with your friends. I suppose you'll be wanting to be in Gryffindor classes with Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Potter? Well, Poppy will show you to your room tomorrow, and give you your class schedule in the morning." He got up to leave, but Julia had a few questions to ask first.
"Er, Professor Dumbledore, the hat said I had a brother. It said that I was just as hard to sort. What did it mean? I'm an only child."
The old man sat down in the chair again. "Sometimes, dear girl, things are not as they may seem. True, you do have a brother, but you both are blind to it. Only when you see each other for a second time will you know. Is that all?"
"No, sir." Julia sat up on her pillows. "Why did you say I had split alliances? I don't know anyone in Slytherin."
"Alas, child, you do. Even though you might not realize it, the truth will come out in your second month here. A short time to be keeping such a secret, but we cannot control what we say. Wait patiently for just a while, dear, and then we'll see what happens. Anything else?"
"Just one thing. What did I say, on the train I mean? When can I see it?"
"I thought you had said one." The old professor chuckled. "You'll know when the time is right. Don't look at me like that, I don't like to say it, but I can't give you the paper now. I've talked to your friends, and they are to say nothing of it. I'll summon you to my office when I feel you need to know. Get some rest now, Julia. You have a long day tomorrow." He patted her on the head and blew out the candle on her bedside table. Julia turned over under her warm blankets.
Tomorrow was a new day, and she'd do everything she could to catch up.
***
The morning rolled around and Madame Pomfrey was shaking her to get up. "Come on, dearie, time to get up. You have to shower and change and get your schedule, and I have to show you to your room. Up you go. Up, up!" Julia groaned and forced her eyes open.
"Madame Pomfrey, it's still dark out, let me go back to sleep." She rolled over but the nurse threw the covers off of her.
"No it's not, the shades are down. Now get up before I dump your water jug over your head!" Julia made herself get out of bed and into the shower. The warm water was enough to put her back to sleep, and she must have been in there for a long time because the water suddenly turned cold. Her eyes snapped open and she yelled.
"Cold cold cold cold! It's freezing cold!" She searched for her towel and wrapped it around her. "Ahh, nice and warm." She tugged her jeans and tee shirt over her head, and then slipped on her school robes. They were black and billowy, and she wondered if she looked like a giant black marshmallow.
Madame Pomfrey gave her the schedule for the day, and she realized that she didn't know where any of her classes were. This was squashed immediately because the nurse then noticed that Julia didn't have her room yet. They hurried up the staircase in the Entrance Hall, down a corridor, down another corridor, and finally arrived at a painting of a fairy. She had see-through purple-blue wings, long purple hair, a dark blue skirt, and a dark blue top. Julia thought it looked similar to Jane's in the Disney movie of Tarzan.
"Luna," Poppy said, and the fairy's painting opened. Julia stepped in, and found her self in a two roomed apartment type of dormitory. The room that she was in had a fireplace, lots of cushiony chairs, and a desk for doing you homework on. She moved into the other room, and found that it had a four poster bed and a dresser for her clothes.
"Come on, classes start in fifteen minutes and you haven't eaten yet." Madame Pomfrey said. "Leave all of the books you don't need in here. If you loose your way, just come to me or the headmaster and we'll show you back." Julia dropped her useless books on the desk, and was led out the portrait hole and down to the Great Hall again. "Eat your breakfast and go to class with your friends." The nurse bustled off down the hall, and Julia looked in to see only a few people still eating. Three of them were luckily Ron, Harry, and Hermione.
"Hey guys! Waz up?" Julia ran over to them. "I'm starved." She shoveled in some toast and drank her pumpkin juice in less than sixty seconds then plopped next to Hermione. "So what do we have today?"
Hermione checked her schedule and groaned. " Double Potions with the Slytherins."
"Every year, they torture us like that. It's not fair! What've we ever done to the teachers to make them be so abominably evil?" Ron cried, throwing his hands in the air.
"What's so bad? I was almost sorted into Slytherin." Hermione's fork clattered onto her plate.
"You what?!" Ron bellowed.
"Well, the sorting hat said something like, 'You and your brother are very hard to sort. Slytherin…blah blah blah…Very difficult.' You know, stuff like that. Then it told Dumbledore that I had 'Split alliances' or something. It was all really strange."
"But you got sorted into Gryffindor, right?" Hermione asked. "I mean, you have classes with us."
"No, I didn't get sorted at all. I have my own private room and everything. I just get to choose who I want to have classes with. By the way, shouldn't we be going? We have about five minutes before classes start."
The four ran down to the dungeons and barely made it before the bell rang. Professor Snape didn't seem to like Julia at all. She thought he wasn't all bad, a little mean and nasty, but not all bad. She didn't think the Slytherins were that bad either. Well, the girls were awful, but the boys were just as stupid as a turkey in the rain. Malfoy seemed to be the major one for trouble, though. He was smart and witty, and most definitely the most handsome boy she'd seen in her life. But he seemed to infuriate Harry and Ron just by mentioning his name.
Potions hadn't been a total disaster; Julia found that this was very easy, and it became her favorite class. Of course, it had been her only class at Hogwarts so far.
So the day moved on, and she had found that maybe being a witch wasn't so bad after all.
***
The days turned into weeks, the weeks turned into months, and soon it was hard to believe that Julia had been at Hogwarts for only two months. Her schedule was easier for her to deal with now that she'd been to the classes and seen what the teachers were like. Ron and Harry still couldn't believe that her favorite class was potions. One reason, she had told Hermione one night, was because there was no other class that let you stare at hours on end at Draco Malfoy.
One day, early on in her first month at Hogwarts, however, Hermione noticed that Julia wasn't wearing as much make-up as before, not as strange clothes, and had definitely started gaining an accent.
It was Monday, and time for potions. Julia looked forward to this, not only because of Draco Malfoy, but because she enjoyed infuriating Professor Snape. Julia had done a good job of it, too. One time, she had sent a firework into Professor Snape's desk, and it somehow managed to make it's way into his robes. Another time, she had charmed his hair bright pink and made a sign that said, "I'm Thick, Kick Me," floating over his head for the whole day. Needless to say, Professor Snape didn't think of her as his favorite student.
But it was her second month here at school, and it was on this morning that she remembered what Professor Dumbledore had said to her when she first arrived.
"Even though you might not realize it, the truth will come out in your second month here," came the memory. Julia wished dearly that it would just happen. She was dying to know about all of this split alliances and brother stuff.
"Time for potions!" She said with a grin. "We've got to get there a little early, though. I have a couple of dungbombs who would just love to meet Professor Snot in person." Julia had proclaimed Professor Snape Professor Snot the first couple of lesson they had had. "His hair's too greasy." She had said. "Like snot."
"Riiight," Ron said with a frightened look in his eyes. "I really don't want to see that." Julia muttered something that sounded vaguely like, "Chicken!" before running down into the dungeons. However, on the way to the Potions room, her bag split open and sent the whole Entrance Hall reeking of dungbombs. "Whoops!" Julia muttered with a smile, and ran down to the dungeon.
"Don't tell me you did that on purpose, Jules." Hermione said with raised eyebrows.
"I didn't. My bag split and the bombs fell out and went off. I was completely innocent."
"Yeah, as innocent as Fred and George." Harry laughed.
Potions started just then, and some how Julia got inspiration on what to do to Snape. She licked her lips and muttered something under her breath. The potion's master was walking up and down the rows giving people frightening glares. He was just giving a lecture to poor Neville Longbottom, when there was a loud pop and a cloud of purple smoke. People looked around but couldn't find the professor anywhere. Then a small voice, like that of someone who's just swallowed helium, came from the ground.
"Hey! Who did that! Why am I so small! Twenty points from Gryffindor! Five points from Slytherin! Turn me back! Draco, Draco, turn me back! Twelve points from Hufflepuff!" The professor was on the ground, and he was only as tall as Julia's forefinger. He was hopping up and down screaming for someone to turn him back. Finally, Draco Malfoy did, and there was some more smoke, and Professor Snape was back to his normal size.
"Who did that?" He hissed. The class went dead silent. "Who did that?" Julia couldn't help it anymore. The sight of a three-inch tall professor was etched in her mind.
"I did!" She said between her laughing. "I did it!" Snape lost it. It was the last straw. Julia had done everything in her power to make him mad and she had done it. No one had seen Snape this mad in their whole time of going to Hogwarts.
He strode right up to her desk, banged his palms flat on the desk surface, and said in a deadly voice, "Ah, yes, our dear Mrs. Malfoy has decided to test my limits. Well, I can tell you right now, fifty points from Gryffindor and detention for two weeks! Class dismissed!"
Julia left the class in a daze. Mrs. Malfoy? Well, it sounded like he had said Miss Malfoy, but she somehow doubted that's what he meant. Hermione, Ron, and Harry could only stare at her in shock. They didn't know it would come as a shock to her too. Then very suddenly, Julia felt angry. She felt angry at everything. At her parents for deserting her, at Professor Snape for saying that, at Professor Dumbledore for not explaining, and at Lynn for not telling her. She wanted to punch something - hard.
She was snapped out of her trance by a someone grabbing her shoulder rather roughly. Julia spun around to see Draco Malfoy standing right behind (well, in front of) her.
"What do you want, Malfoy." She spat.
"To talk to you," He said through clenched teeth, then seeing Ron, Hermione, and Harry added, "in private." Julia nodded to the others to go on without her, and turned back to Malfoy. He grabbed her arm and pulled her down the corridor and into an empty classroom. After shutting the door behind them, Malfoy turned to her.
"Why did Snape say - what he said?" He asked once again through clenched teeth.
"Look, Malfoy, I don't know what drugs Snape is on, but I have no idea, okay? Look, the only I know is what Professor Dumbledore told me. He only said that there was a secret, and that I would find out in the second month. That's it. I don't know anything else, because I would really like an explanation too. This something about split alliances and Harry-" She broke off with a look of revelation dawning on her face.
How could she not have seen it before? Her uncle, her brother, and her mother! Of course! It all made sense now! Her eyes went wide and she opened her mouth a bit. Then suddenly, she smiled and turned back to Malfoy. Julia wanted to study him; to know his face better than what she had seen only in class.
Draco Malfoy was tall, almost as tall as Ron, if not taller. He was leaning against the door with his arms folded across his chest, and his face was looking very smug. He had a pointed nose and a pale face - much paler than any normal human being should be. His hair was silver. Not blonde, she noted, but silver, like moonlight on the lake down on the grounds at midnight. And his eyes were silver too, silver like liquid. Like lead, but…silver. Just pools of silver, that if you weren't careful enough, were most likely to suck you in and drown you. His lips were pale red, almost pink if she hadn't known better, and she wondered how to make them redder.
Julia shook her head mentally. It wasn't a good time to be thinking like that.
***
Meanwhile, as Julia was studying Draco, he was just as equally interested in her. She had raven black hair and bright green eyes - almost like Potter, if he had to say. But this girl was most definitely not Potter. She was medium hight - not too short, not too tall - and looked as though she had been thin and gangly when she was little. Small, thin framed glasses rested on a small little nose, and below that nose…
Draco had never seen lips like hers. Naturally red and full and - suddenly, he had an overwhelming urge to kiss her. His mental self was beating him up. Kiss her? No, he couldn't.
***
And then somehow, the two had gotten closer to each other. Julia looked up into Draco's eyes and saw nothing but burning passion. Now they were nearly standing on each other's feet. Draco's right hand drifted up and started to stroke her left arm. Still keeping her eyes locked with his, Julia moved her right hand onto his cheek. Draco closed his eyes and took his other hand to keep her hand on his cheek. He turned his head and kissed the inside of her palm, sending shivers up and down her spine. That, and the way his other hand was moving up her arm to hold her neck was almost enough to drive her crazy.
"Draco," She whispered with reluctance, "what if someone comes in? Maybe - Maybe we should stop." Her breath was coming harder to her now.
"Maybe we should but do you want to?" Draco whispered with just as much passion.
Before they knew it, Draco's lips were on hers and they were kissing desperately. Both lost all sense of time, being, and place as they tried to memorize every crevice of the other's mouth. Julia slipped her arms around his neck and buried her hands in Draco's silky, silvery hair. Draco wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Then he moved his mouth to her cheek, her chin, her neck, and then down to the base of her throat. Julia nearly died when she felt his tongue lick a trail up her neck and to her jaw. She pulled his lips back up to hers, and once again the two were kissing with a passion unknown to man.
Julia knew they had to stop. Hermione or someone would be coming soon to find her, and she couldn't be seen like this with her friend's worst enemy. Reluctantly, she pulled away, resting her hands on his chest.
Pressing her forehead to his, she whispered huskily, "Not here, not now. Meet me tonight in the Astronomy Tower. I have to talk to Professor Dumbledore - maybe he'll tell me about Snape. Tonight at eleven o'clock in the Astronomy Tower, don't forget." She kissed his lips tenderly one last time before straightening out her robes as she ran out the door.