Trina: Discoveries
Trina: Discoveries

Part 1: Past






A/N: Lots of these characters might seem unfamiliar. That's because me and my friends made them up. Zippy McMirran belongs to novadragon; Salazar Riddle, Severus's true identity as the son of Voldemort, and Titania Aleci belong to She-who-must-no-be-named. Of course, Trina Skeeter and also Amber Jewelle belong to me. All other characters and concepts belong to JK Rowling and Scholastic. Now that I've done the disclaimer in the author's note, we can get on with the story.




I hate trying to explain things like this. I mean, how am I supposed to tell my whole life history in a paragraph? And still have room for what happens in the present?

I guess I better try.

My name is Trina Skeeter. Why don't I change my name? It's stupid. How do I go through life with a last name that means "mosquito"? Maybe it's appropriate for Rita, but not me. At least, I think.

See, I've already wasted a paragraph talking about my name.

Well, the reason I'm writing this is because I complained about not knowing who I truly am. Advice: never say something like that to someone like my father. He gave me this book and told me, "By the time you run out of paper in this book, you will know yourself inside and out." Then he wanted me promise to write faithfully, and only put what I truly felt.

What was I supposed to do? I promised.

I probably could have gone back on my word, but I'm not that kind of person. So here I am, carrying out a written conversation with a notebook.

Sigh.

) * (

I was born Catrina Melinda Skeeter, but all my friends call me Trina. I have a twin sister Rita, but I don't like her a lot. That's a huge understatement, by the way.

I go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The exact location is god-knows-where, but it's somewhere in the UK.

The things taught at Hogwarts... well, they're not your normal subjects. Because at Hogwarts, you don't learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. You learn Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts...

Magic is taught at Hogwarts.

I am a witch. Beside me as I write are my magic wand and my beloved messenger and pet, Lislan the owl. She hoots softly, thinking I have a message for her to deliver, but when I shake my head, she spreads her wings and flies to the owlery.

Another owl appears at the window. Titania's, I see. As I unfold the note, this owl leaves also.

On the note, in that ever-neat handwriting, dwells a cryptic message.

Meet me at the library before breakfast.

Time and time again, I wish that the Sorting Hat had put me in the same House as my friends. As it is, we are forced to take advantage of every spare moment in order to talk. But even as I think of it I know it would never happen. My friends are in Gryffindor, where the brave live. I- well, I'm and Slytherin. Cunning, and, though no one ever says it, evil.

Not that there's anything wrong with Slytherin. I mean, it's a million times better than Hufflepuff, where Rita is. Good riddance.

My twin gets on my nerves a lot. More understatement. We're nothing alike, besides the fact that we both hate each other. Rita's dark reddish-brown hair and batlike eyes contrast sharply, so I'm told, with my long blond hair and blue eyes.

But the most different thing about us is our nature. I take things for what they are, neither optimist nor pessimist, but just telling it like it is. Rita, on the other hand... well, she enjoys stretching the truth.

What the fates were thinking when they put us together, I can't figure. Others, with their cruel sense of humor, always seem to shape my life.

But back to my friends...

We're like a cult, repelling others with our closeness. I suppose it all started with James and Sirius, instant best friends. Then Remus and Peter...

Peter, the bane of my life. He has a crush on me.

Thank you, loyal subjects, I AM the Queen of Understatement.

I have no idea why he persists. I don't want a practically Squib Gryffindor, for God's sake! But his three inch thick skull just can't seem to grasp that. So, no matter what I do, I have a short, fat little half-Squib following me around like a puppy. Sigh. Life's not fair.

Then, life wasn't exactly fair to Remus, either. He's a werewolf. People cringe away from him, thinking just because he was bitten as a child means he's a bad person. But his friends know better.

Remus tried to hide it. It worked... for a little while. Eventually, James and Sirius found out. They and Peter helped him the only way they could... by becoming Animagi.

Thus Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs was born.

I didn't know, of course, although I had some idea. However, I could not guess the whole truth until that fateful night.

It was a full moon. Remus was out "sick" again, as usual. But Zippy and I were growing tired of unexplained absences and barely plausible excuses. Tonight, we vowed, we would learn the truth.

I don't know how long we waited, hidden in the shadows near the Forbidden Forest. It must have been ages. But all our efforts paid off when the animals appeared.

A motley crew they were: a stag, a large black dog, a rat. But the one that chilled my blood was the shaggy grey form silhoutted in the moonlight.

A werewolf.

We watched as the group disappeared into a tunnel beneath the roots of the Whomphing Willow.

We waited until long after they were gone to leave the safety of our hiding place.

) * (

Months passed as we prepared. But finally we were ready.

We confronted them in the dark of night. We had quite a time doing it, too. But that's not really important.

We revealed our knowledge of their secret.

And then Zippy and I transformed.

) * (

A leopard and an otter prowled with the group after that day, the leopard adding her presence but not her name.

) * (

The Riddle twins... how do I begin explain the Riddle twins? Well, just because they're in my house doesn't mean I understand them.

Salazar I know... or at least I should. He's normally cheerful and fun to be with. People say he doesn't seem like a Slytherin at all, but I don't think so. There's more to him than meets the eye.

And Severus... the only thing I know about him is that I don't like him. I don't really want to know more.

) * (

There I go. I've just written a million pages about my friends and practically nothing about myself. And the whole point of writing in the first place is me. This is stupid. I refuse to waste another word on this bad idea.




What happens to Trina next? Will she ever get Peter off her back? Will she ever write again? Read Part 2: Present to find out!