Disclaimer: In the following story, only Belle Lockhart is my original
character. Ruv Ashi belongs to Hitsu Guarusherra, and Nyx Black belongs to
Aisuru Metallium The rest of the characters are property of J.K. Rowling.
^_^ Now, enjoy!
Through the window, Harry and Ron looked on as their new and old housemates began their feast. Suddenly, something in the sky caught Harry's eye. "What's that?" he asked, nudging Ron and pointing up. "Looks like someone's flying in on a broom to me. If it's a student, they'll sure be in trouble," replied Ron, looking back into the dining hall window. "Look! Snape's leaving!" And indeed, at that moment, Severus Snape had risen and was leaving the room.
Landing just outside the Great Hall at Hogwarts, the person on the broom was certainly a student, a fifth year girl in fact. As she slipped off her broom, she saw movement near a window, but too cold and late to care, she stepped inside without investigating. As she looked around she spoke quietly to herself. "This must be the place...it's nice...then again, anything's better than Beauxbatons..." her voice trailed off as she spotted a mirror and wandered over to check her hair, which was pulled into two low, blonde pigtails. Perfect as usual...she thought to herself as she turned around, and right into Severus Snape. "Who are you?" he sneered disdainfully, knowing precisely who she was, both from Dumbledore's description and those ridiculous pink robes. "Well, most people say 'Hullo' first, but since you must know, I'm Belle...Belle Lockhart." With the outward pronunciation of that name, Snape's upper lip twitched slightly. "Professor Dumbledore said you were French, arriving from Beauxbatons Academy after your mother's death," he said, looking down at her with a frown, his eyes slitted. Belle raised her left eyebrow, already knowing she was not going to like this man in the slightest. "Yes, I am from Beauxbatons, and though I am half French, I was raised British, by my father's parents, and that I shall forever be. I am, however, quite fluent in the French language, but I absolutely, firmly refuse to speak even a single word of it. Now, am I too late for the feast?" Most of this was said in a single breath, and because of this, it took Snape a moment to regain composure. "You're late," he replied after a several second pause, "but not too late. Though, I do suppose you'll need to be sorted. Not that you're the only late arrival we've had to cater to this evening." With that, Snape led the way to the dining hall, and all heads rose as they entered. All around the room, questions and comments were quietly voiced, with forks in various stages of being raised. Included in these were the following: "Who's that?" "She's kind of cute" "Why's she got a broom?" and finally, from Oliver Wood, Quidditch captain of Gryffindor house "I wonder if she plays..." As Dumbledore rose, the room quieted and forks lowered to rest on plates and, in a few cases, in laps. "Belle my dear! You've made it! I trust the flight went well?" Without waiting for an answer, he took her arm and dragged her toward the front of the room, her pink robes billowing behind her as she scurried to keep up, a befuddled look on her pale face. "Minerva! Bring the hat!" he whispered to Professor McGonagall, before turning to the students. "Everyone, this is Belle Lockhart. She is a fifth year student, transferring here from Beauxbatons Academy in France, and is the daughter of your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," at that, he gestured toward Gilderoy Lockhart, who was sitting at the staff table, gazing lovingly at...himself, in a mirror. By then, Professor McGonagall had arrived with the Sorting Hat and handed it to Belle, who placed it on her own head. The hat, seemingly, was as confused as everyone else in the room. "What is this, some kind of joke?!" the hat's voice boomed throughout the room. "Have you bewitched her thoughts in some way just to befuddle an old hat such as myself? Oh well...I suppose not...I don't know..." by this time, the hat was merely muttering to itself, and could only be heard by the staff table, and students seated very closely. "Slytherin maybe?" At this, Snape snapped to his feet, and he and Belle, in unison, screamed "NO!" "All right then..." the hat said meekly, then went on to say absolutely nothing for several minutes, and everyone stared, hardly daring to breathe. Quietly, the hat began to speak, but only to Belle, no one else could hear, they only knew it was speaking by the movements of its mouth. "As I've heard, Gryffindor needs a new chaser, and since that is your only distinguishing characteristic I can make any sense of, Gryffindor is where you shall go...is that all right?" This final question was asked meekly, the hat sounding quite tired and excessively confused. Finally, Belle nodded, almost imperceptibly, and the hat finally announced its choice. "GRYFFINDOR!" At this, Belle jumped up to meet her new housemates, a huge smile on her face. "Hullo everyone!!!" she said happily as she took the last seat next to none other than Oliver Wood, Gryffindor Quidditch captain.
Curiously, Oliver Wood studied Belle Lockhart from across the Gryffindor common room. He was taken by those large, turquoise eyes glittering out from her pale, heart-shaped face. However, Oliver wasn't the only one; many of the males in the room were seated around her, each trying to catch her attentions. Oliver was trying to convince himself that he was only interested in her because he had found out during the feast that she was a very talented chaser, but he knew that wasn't at all true. Just then, Belle excused herself and slipped out the portrait hole. A few minutes later, Oliver followed, trying not to be obvious. Stopping just outside, he tried to think of a way to simply bump into her in the corridors, but then, he had no idea as to which way she had gone, so there really was no other way to find her. Turning to his left, he began to wander, practicing what to say to her quietly. After several minutes of walking aimlessly, he spotted Belle leaning against a wall, chewing on her lower lip and playing with a blonde pigtail. She had changed into black robes, but still opted to wear her Muggle clothes underneath. Oliver smiled, noticing that her robes were open, and his eyes traveled from her fine-featured face down to the feminine pink tank top trimmed in turquoise lace, and back up again. It's nice to see something other than the school uniform for once.he thought to himself before approaching her smiling. "Hullo! You're Belle, right?" He said with a smile, stopping a few feet away from her. Belle jumped. Her mind had been elsewhere, and Oliver's voice had snapped her back to reality. "Ye.yes," she smiled back. "And you're.Oliver, I believe." "Exactly. Um.You play Quidditch, don't you?" He asked, beginning to sound a bit nervous, despite his generally confident persona. "Yes.and you're the captain of the Gryffindor team, aren't you?" She smiled at him, her turquoise eyes twinkling impishly. "Yeah, and I'm the keeper too. I heard you were a killer chaser.at least, that's what Lee Jordan was saying after the feast." He smiled back, feeling a bit more at ease now that she didn't look so suspicious of him. "Well, yes.I am a wonderful player and I heard you needed a new chaser. I thought I'd spread the word," she giggled a bit while saying this, making her cheeks dimple lightly. A slightly befuddled look crossed Oliver's face, and then he grinned. "You really are your father's daughter, aren't you?" At this, Belle's already large turquoise eyes grew even bigger and clouded over. "NO! Pleas don't say that. I mean, I have inherited some traits from him, but, well, I don't worship the very ground I walk on!" Averting his eyes a big by looking down, Oliver replied meekly, "I'm very sorry.but." he looked up, smiling some and blushing just slightly "I will." Belle blushed deeply, her cheeks burning crimson. "But I don't want someone to do that," she said quietly, then turned away and hurried down the corridor, her head down.
Belle returned to the common room and went straight to her dormitory. There she sat on her bed and began thinking about Oliver. She really didn't believe that he'd worship the ground she walked on; he just didn't seem the type. Chewing lightly on her lower lip, she reached around her neck and unclasped the chain of her Celtic cross necklace. She gasped, blinking. "It unclasped!" she whispered to herself. At that, she hopped up and ran from the room.
By the time Oliver reached the common room, nobody else was there, so he headed to his dormitory. Halfway up the stairs, he discovered a small white kitten with the largest turquoise eyes he had ever seen. Smiling a bit, he quietly said "Hullo there little kitty.you are a tiny thing." and then bent to pet it. However, once he was stooped over, he was quite shocked to find that instead of petting the fluffy kitten's head, his hand was resting on the denim clad knee of Belle Lockhart. He turned his head to see her grinning face, stood up, and immediately plopped down on the step beside her, looking a little dazed. "You're an animagus?" he asked incredulously. "Yes, but that's not what I cam to discuss. Can we go down to the common room? I'm a bit claustrophobic," she smiled sweetly at him as she stood and clambered back down the stairs. Seconds later, he followed and they both sat on a soft, crushed velvet couch. "So.what is it that you.erm.wanted to discuss?" he asked, swallowing hard. "Well, earlier, I was quite rude to you, and first, I'd like to apologize," she said softly, intently studying her hands. Oliver smiled, "It's quite all right...I did kind of lose my head out there," he said as she looked up. Smiling back, Belle swallowed and bit her lower lip. "I also wanted to tell you that what you said was actually.very sweet, and I understand that it was just your way of saying 'hey, I kinda like you.'" Now it was Oliver's turn to blush deeply, and he stammered "W.well.um.well." Silencing him with a smile, Belle murmured, "And what I really wanted to say is.well.I kinda like you too." Oliver's eyes widened as another wave of crimson flooded into her pale cheeks. "I um.guess we should probably head to our dormitories now.tomorrow being the first day of classes and all," Belle said, standing up. Oliver caught her arm. "What suddenly brought this on? I mean, you've been at this school for just a few hours and you have a horde of admirers.so.why me?" He asked, searching her turquoise eyes. "I.I can't tell you exactly what just now, but someday, I'll tell you.I promise. Just rest assured.I've liked you since the feast," she smiled and slipped from his grasp, hurrying up the stairs to her own dormitory.
Stepping out of the Charms classroom the next day, Belle spotted Oliver. "Oliver!" she said over the noise in the corridor. He turned around, recognizing her voice, but not able to see her behind several of her 'admirers', including Percy Weasley, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas. "Belle? You in there somewhere?" He pushed his way through and found her, and she grabbed onto his arm, trying not to notice the crest-fallen look on a few faces. "Um, Beauxbatons was a bit more accelerated in potions, and so I'm taking sixth year," she said, smiling. "Really? That's great! I hadn't expected to have any classes together, but it's nice that we have," he replied, smiling back at her. Together, the headed to the dungeon class room of Severus Snape. As they entered, Belle's eyes widened. "I had him figured to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.but then, I suppose Lockhart's doing that," she said, a slightly bemused smile on her face. Oliver laughed a bit as they seated themselves in the back of the room. "Snape's been after that job for years, but he's never gotten it. I don't imagine he ever will." Snape immediately threw them into a test to see how much they had forgotten over the summer, and as he wandered around checking them toward the end of the lesson, he caught sight of Belle's cauldron and froze, staring, for a full minute. It took him that long to process the fact that her potion-which should have been a greenish brown color-was pink. "MISS LOCKHART!" Belle's head snapped up, her eyes wide. "Yes, Professor?" "What the bloody hell are you making?!" Snape screamed, his sallow face gone pale and flushed. A mischievous grin spread across Belle's face as she opened her mouth to sing "Luv potion number nine dun dun dun dun dun dun!" At this, the class laughed, most being familiar with the Muggle song she was referring to. Snape's eyes opened fully for what seemed like the first time ever. "WHAT?!" "I'm only kidding. It is exactly what you instructed.I just charmed a little color into it. I imagine the method would be quite useful in poisons. The prettier the poison, the more alluring and less dangerous it seems," she replied calmly. At this time, the bell rang, signaling the end of lessons for the day. Belle rose and walked out the door on Oliver's arm, leaving Snape too stunned to say anything.
Through the window, Harry and Ron looked on as their new and old housemates began their feast. Suddenly, something in the sky caught Harry's eye. "What's that?" he asked, nudging Ron and pointing up. "Looks like someone's flying in on a broom to me. If it's a student, they'll sure be in trouble," replied Ron, looking back into the dining hall window. "Look! Snape's leaving!" And indeed, at that moment, Severus Snape had risen and was leaving the room.
Landing just outside the Great Hall at Hogwarts, the person on the broom was certainly a student, a fifth year girl in fact. As she slipped off her broom, she saw movement near a window, but too cold and late to care, she stepped inside without investigating. As she looked around she spoke quietly to herself. "This must be the place...it's nice...then again, anything's better than Beauxbatons..." her voice trailed off as she spotted a mirror and wandered over to check her hair, which was pulled into two low, blonde pigtails. Perfect as usual...she thought to herself as she turned around, and right into Severus Snape. "Who are you?" he sneered disdainfully, knowing precisely who she was, both from Dumbledore's description and those ridiculous pink robes. "Well, most people say 'Hullo' first, but since you must know, I'm Belle...Belle Lockhart." With the outward pronunciation of that name, Snape's upper lip twitched slightly. "Professor Dumbledore said you were French, arriving from Beauxbatons Academy after your mother's death," he said, looking down at her with a frown, his eyes slitted. Belle raised her left eyebrow, already knowing she was not going to like this man in the slightest. "Yes, I am from Beauxbatons, and though I am half French, I was raised British, by my father's parents, and that I shall forever be. I am, however, quite fluent in the French language, but I absolutely, firmly refuse to speak even a single word of it. Now, am I too late for the feast?" Most of this was said in a single breath, and because of this, it took Snape a moment to regain composure. "You're late," he replied after a several second pause, "but not too late. Though, I do suppose you'll need to be sorted. Not that you're the only late arrival we've had to cater to this evening." With that, Snape led the way to the dining hall, and all heads rose as they entered. All around the room, questions and comments were quietly voiced, with forks in various stages of being raised. Included in these were the following: "Who's that?" "She's kind of cute" "Why's she got a broom?" and finally, from Oliver Wood, Quidditch captain of Gryffindor house "I wonder if she plays..." As Dumbledore rose, the room quieted and forks lowered to rest on plates and, in a few cases, in laps. "Belle my dear! You've made it! I trust the flight went well?" Without waiting for an answer, he took her arm and dragged her toward the front of the room, her pink robes billowing behind her as she scurried to keep up, a befuddled look on her pale face. "Minerva! Bring the hat!" he whispered to Professor McGonagall, before turning to the students. "Everyone, this is Belle Lockhart. She is a fifth year student, transferring here from Beauxbatons Academy in France, and is the daughter of your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," at that, he gestured toward Gilderoy Lockhart, who was sitting at the staff table, gazing lovingly at...himself, in a mirror. By then, Professor McGonagall had arrived with the Sorting Hat and handed it to Belle, who placed it on her own head. The hat, seemingly, was as confused as everyone else in the room. "What is this, some kind of joke?!" the hat's voice boomed throughout the room. "Have you bewitched her thoughts in some way just to befuddle an old hat such as myself? Oh well...I suppose not...I don't know..." by this time, the hat was merely muttering to itself, and could only be heard by the staff table, and students seated very closely. "Slytherin maybe?" At this, Snape snapped to his feet, and he and Belle, in unison, screamed "NO!" "All right then..." the hat said meekly, then went on to say absolutely nothing for several minutes, and everyone stared, hardly daring to breathe. Quietly, the hat began to speak, but only to Belle, no one else could hear, they only knew it was speaking by the movements of its mouth. "As I've heard, Gryffindor needs a new chaser, and since that is your only distinguishing characteristic I can make any sense of, Gryffindor is where you shall go...is that all right?" This final question was asked meekly, the hat sounding quite tired and excessively confused. Finally, Belle nodded, almost imperceptibly, and the hat finally announced its choice. "GRYFFINDOR!" At this, Belle jumped up to meet her new housemates, a huge smile on her face. "Hullo everyone!!!" she said happily as she took the last seat next to none other than Oliver Wood, Gryffindor Quidditch captain.
Curiously, Oliver Wood studied Belle Lockhart from across the Gryffindor common room. He was taken by those large, turquoise eyes glittering out from her pale, heart-shaped face. However, Oliver wasn't the only one; many of the males in the room were seated around her, each trying to catch her attentions. Oliver was trying to convince himself that he was only interested in her because he had found out during the feast that she was a very talented chaser, but he knew that wasn't at all true. Just then, Belle excused herself and slipped out the portrait hole. A few minutes later, Oliver followed, trying not to be obvious. Stopping just outside, he tried to think of a way to simply bump into her in the corridors, but then, he had no idea as to which way she had gone, so there really was no other way to find her. Turning to his left, he began to wander, practicing what to say to her quietly. After several minutes of walking aimlessly, he spotted Belle leaning against a wall, chewing on her lower lip and playing with a blonde pigtail. She had changed into black robes, but still opted to wear her Muggle clothes underneath. Oliver smiled, noticing that her robes were open, and his eyes traveled from her fine-featured face down to the feminine pink tank top trimmed in turquoise lace, and back up again. It's nice to see something other than the school uniform for once.he thought to himself before approaching her smiling. "Hullo! You're Belle, right?" He said with a smile, stopping a few feet away from her. Belle jumped. Her mind had been elsewhere, and Oliver's voice had snapped her back to reality. "Ye.yes," she smiled back. "And you're.Oliver, I believe." "Exactly. Um.You play Quidditch, don't you?" He asked, beginning to sound a bit nervous, despite his generally confident persona. "Yes.and you're the captain of the Gryffindor team, aren't you?" She smiled at him, her turquoise eyes twinkling impishly. "Yeah, and I'm the keeper too. I heard you were a killer chaser.at least, that's what Lee Jordan was saying after the feast." He smiled back, feeling a bit more at ease now that she didn't look so suspicious of him. "Well, yes.I am a wonderful player and I heard you needed a new chaser. I thought I'd spread the word," she giggled a bit while saying this, making her cheeks dimple lightly. A slightly befuddled look crossed Oliver's face, and then he grinned. "You really are your father's daughter, aren't you?" At this, Belle's already large turquoise eyes grew even bigger and clouded over. "NO! Pleas don't say that. I mean, I have inherited some traits from him, but, well, I don't worship the very ground I walk on!" Averting his eyes a big by looking down, Oliver replied meekly, "I'm very sorry.but." he looked up, smiling some and blushing just slightly "I will." Belle blushed deeply, her cheeks burning crimson. "But I don't want someone to do that," she said quietly, then turned away and hurried down the corridor, her head down.
Belle returned to the common room and went straight to her dormitory. There she sat on her bed and began thinking about Oliver. She really didn't believe that he'd worship the ground she walked on; he just didn't seem the type. Chewing lightly on her lower lip, she reached around her neck and unclasped the chain of her Celtic cross necklace. She gasped, blinking. "It unclasped!" she whispered to herself. At that, she hopped up and ran from the room.
By the time Oliver reached the common room, nobody else was there, so he headed to his dormitory. Halfway up the stairs, he discovered a small white kitten with the largest turquoise eyes he had ever seen. Smiling a bit, he quietly said "Hullo there little kitty.you are a tiny thing." and then bent to pet it. However, once he was stooped over, he was quite shocked to find that instead of petting the fluffy kitten's head, his hand was resting on the denim clad knee of Belle Lockhart. He turned his head to see her grinning face, stood up, and immediately plopped down on the step beside her, looking a little dazed. "You're an animagus?" he asked incredulously. "Yes, but that's not what I cam to discuss. Can we go down to the common room? I'm a bit claustrophobic," she smiled sweetly at him as she stood and clambered back down the stairs. Seconds later, he followed and they both sat on a soft, crushed velvet couch. "So.what is it that you.erm.wanted to discuss?" he asked, swallowing hard. "Well, earlier, I was quite rude to you, and first, I'd like to apologize," she said softly, intently studying her hands. Oliver smiled, "It's quite all right...I did kind of lose my head out there," he said as she looked up. Smiling back, Belle swallowed and bit her lower lip. "I also wanted to tell you that what you said was actually.very sweet, and I understand that it was just your way of saying 'hey, I kinda like you.'" Now it was Oliver's turn to blush deeply, and he stammered "W.well.um.well." Silencing him with a smile, Belle murmured, "And what I really wanted to say is.well.I kinda like you too." Oliver's eyes widened as another wave of crimson flooded into her pale cheeks. "I um.guess we should probably head to our dormitories now.tomorrow being the first day of classes and all," Belle said, standing up. Oliver caught her arm. "What suddenly brought this on? I mean, you've been at this school for just a few hours and you have a horde of admirers.so.why me?" He asked, searching her turquoise eyes. "I.I can't tell you exactly what just now, but someday, I'll tell you.I promise. Just rest assured.I've liked you since the feast," she smiled and slipped from his grasp, hurrying up the stairs to her own dormitory.
Stepping out of the Charms classroom the next day, Belle spotted Oliver. "Oliver!" she said over the noise in the corridor. He turned around, recognizing her voice, but not able to see her behind several of her 'admirers', including Percy Weasley, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas. "Belle? You in there somewhere?" He pushed his way through and found her, and she grabbed onto his arm, trying not to notice the crest-fallen look on a few faces. "Um, Beauxbatons was a bit more accelerated in potions, and so I'm taking sixth year," she said, smiling. "Really? That's great! I hadn't expected to have any classes together, but it's nice that we have," he replied, smiling back at her. Together, the headed to the dungeon class room of Severus Snape. As they entered, Belle's eyes widened. "I had him figured to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.but then, I suppose Lockhart's doing that," she said, a slightly bemused smile on her face. Oliver laughed a bit as they seated themselves in the back of the room. "Snape's been after that job for years, but he's never gotten it. I don't imagine he ever will." Snape immediately threw them into a test to see how much they had forgotten over the summer, and as he wandered around checking them toward the end of the lesson, he caught sight of Belle's cauldron and froze, staring, for a full minute. It took him that long to process the fact that her potion-which should have been a greenish brown color-was pink. "MISS LOCKHART!" Belle's head snapped up, her eyes wide. "Yes, Professor?" "What the bloody hell are you making?!" Snape screamed, his sallow face gone pale and flushed. A mischievous grin spread across Belle's face as she opened her mouth to sing "Luv potion number nine dun dun dun dun dun dun!" At this, the class laughed, most being familiar with the Muggle song she was referring to. Snape's eyes opened fully for what seemed like the first time ever. "WHAT?!" "I'm only kidding. It is exactly what you instructed.I just charmed a little color into it. I imagine the method would be quite useful in poisons. The prettier the poison, the more alluring and less dangerous it seems," she replied calmly. At this time, the bell rang, signaling the end of lessons for the day. Belle rose and walked out the door on Oliver's arm, leaving Snape too stunned to say anything.