A/N: Welcome back! Sorry for the long wait, here is the next chapter of Tera's story. It took a bit to think out this one, but I hope you enjoy it! This includes excerpts from the books and plenty of Tera in her Hufflepuff glory! ^^ Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I do own this story and the majority of its contents.
Chapter One
Getting Bugga-Boo Started
Tera looked at the calendar, knowing that tomorrow, her dear cousin Harry would be turning 13 years old. She already had his present, which was a tin of cookies, a book on Quidditch flying strategies, and a golden snitch pendant. She made him a card, with her whole family waving at him from the front.
Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! I do hope the Muggles have been treating you well. I would have called but Hermione told me about what happened with Ron and I couldn't think of how to explain my knowing you other then the truth. Mum and Callum say hi and hope that your well, nana also says that a boy your age needs to eat as much as possible to keep his strength up and to help with growth spurts. Hope this card and our warm wishes bring a smile to your face.
Lots of love
Tera and family
After sending the letter Tera laid down with a smile, she really did hope Harry would have a good birthday this year. Lord knows he deserves it.
Callum had finally gotten his letter, jumping up and down, and hooting like a madman he couldn't sit still and whined for someone to take him to Diagon Alley. Since their mother was out of country again on medical call, Tera opted for taking Callum out to get his supplies. They took the bus into town and walked though the Leaky Cauldron to a brick wall with a few bricks missing.
"Alright Bugga-boo. Here is your first lesson; you need to memorize the pattern so that you can get into Diagon Alley." She tapped the bricks in the correct pattern, smiling at Callum's awed face as the brick wall morphed into an archway, revealing Diagon Alley and all of its wonders. "Now then, let's get to work."
They went from shop to shop, Tera patiently letting Callum look at everything around him, taking in the newest broom that caught his attention, and then dragging him off to different shops. She herself needed to get some shopping done so they couldn't spend all day browsing. After visiting Madam Malkin's to get him some robes, the Apothecary, and Flourish and Blotts, it was time to get Callum his wand.
"Alright to Ollivander's we go!" she said, walking her brother over to Ollivander's and leading him inside. "Hello? Mister Ollivander?"
They waited for few minutes and jumped when they heard a crash from the back. Mr. Ollivander coming out while coughing. "Yes… how may I help you? Ah Miss Howell. How nice to see you again… Please don't tell me you've broken your wand. It seems like only yesterday you were in here getting it, Apple and phoenix feather core, twelve and three-quarter inches. If I'm not mistaken."
Tera laughed lightly. "You never are Mr. Ollivander, and no I still have my wand and it's in good condition. I brought my little brother to get his first wand. Callum, say hello to Mr. Ollivander."
"Hello." Callum said, eager to get on with things and get his wand.
"Hello Mr. Howell, let us see what I have hiding in the store here for you. Hold out your wand arm so we can get your measurements." Ollivander took Callum's measurements, nodding to himself then heading down one of the wand isles to find a wand for Callum.
After a minute or so he came back, holding out a wand for Callum to try. "Maple wood with unicorn tail hair, ten and a third inches. Go on, give it a try."
Callum waved the wand, jumping in shock as a lamp exploded.
"No, definitely not. Hmmm…" and off he went, searching again. He brought out another wand. "Here we are, Cherry and dragon heartstring, eleven and an eighth inches."
Callum grabbed the wand and golden sparks shot out the end, swirling around him. Callum smiled up at Tera, his eyes glowing. "This is it!"
"Indeed it is." Ollivander said with a small chuckle, ringing them up. "That will be 7 gold Galleons for the wand please." he said before leading them to the entrance. "Thank you for coming! Take good care of your wand Mr. Howell, I'd hate to see you come in for a replacement any time soon."
Callum nodded enthusiastically, his excitement leaving him temporarily speechless.
"Thank you Mister Ollivander, I hope you have a wonderful day." Tera said in farewell, waving as she herded her brother out the door. "Alright Bugga-boo, I think that concludes our day in Diagon Alley. Unless you can think of something else you need that is. And before you say a broom, remember that first years aren't allowed their own broomsticks."
Callum huffed and shook his head, unable to think of anything, then smiling when he spotted Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. "Can we get some Ice Cream Tera?"
"Well…. You haven't been a total pain in the arse today… so I guess so." She said with a chuckle, flinging her arm across Callum's shoulders and leading the way.
After ice cream and some playful sibling banter they paid and headed back out the way they came, walking a few blocks to Tera's favorite little book store. Tera being the way she is, spent an hour looking through books and grabbing up all the ones that she could afford to get.
Callum of course was bored out of him mind, reading a Spiderman comic out of the small selection that they had in the front half of the shop. Making their way out of the store, laden with all of their purchases of the day, Callum smiled as he thought about the school year to come.
The day had finally come, Tera smiled at Callum who was starting to look like your typical nervous first year. Persephone smiled, hugging both of her children.
"Remember to write as soon as you find out what house you're in Callum and try to make lots of good friends." She said, kissing his forehead lightly. "Good luck honey."
Callum hugged his mother, a sniffle escaping him. "I'll miss you mum." He mumbled before rushing off, Loki trilling lightly in his cage.
"Don't worry about him mum, I'll keep an eye on him, and I'll recruit some friends to help too." Tera said as she hugged her mother goodbye.
"I see so much of his father in him; I just pray he at least has my good sense to stay out of trouble…"
"I highly doubt that." Tera said with a laugh before she too hurried to get on the train, Thor's cage sitting on a small cat carrier. Tera loaded her things onto the train, and then went to find her brother, laughing when she found him in a headlock by none other then Fred Weasley. "Fred, you let him go right now or I'll hex you from here to Hogwarts." she said with a laugh, sitting down across from George who was chuckling lightly.
"I was only having a bit of fun with the little rascal, love." Fred laughed, letting Callum go and ruffling his hair playfully.
Callum smiled, a bit of adoration shining in his icy blue eyes as he took his seat next to George.
Tera just chuckled and rolled her eyes, knowing Callum looked up to the twins cause of all the stories Tera had told him of their pranks. "Yes well there's fun, and then there's Weasley twin fun. One can get you in trouble, the other definitely will." She laughed, smiling as Fred sat down next to her.
"Are we really that bad?" George asked playfully, nudging her with his foot.
"Completely dreadful." She chuckled, nudging him back. "Oh, I have something to ask the two of you."
"Shoot love." Fred said with a smile, cocking his head to the side and looking at her.
"Well I wanted to ask that the two of you help me keep an eye out for Callum to help keep him out of trouble." She said, getting straight to the point.
"Oi! I don't need babysitters." Callum said indignantly.
"Callum… when's the last time you got in trouble?" Tera asked pointedly, tilting her head at him in a way that said 'I dare you to try lying'.
"….yesterday….." he said, looking down at his shoes.
"And what for..?" she asked, a triumphant smirk working its way onto her face.
"….trying to sneak stink bombs to Great Aunt Sylvia's through the fireplace." Callum admitted reluctantly.
"Exactly, you got caught because you tripped and set them off in the house. It took mum three hours to fix your mess. Now imagine if you pulled that sort of thing at Hogwarts. No mum to scold you and fix the problem. You'd have to deal with Filch and the Professors, and trust me kiddo, they aren't as forgiving as mum by a long shot." Tera said while shaking her head with a sigh. "I just don't want to see you getting in trouble bugga-boo."
"I won't get in trouble Tera; you need to stop babying me." Callum said with a groan, knowing his sister cared, but hating how she would hover.
"I know, but I can't help but worry about you, you're my little brother."
"Love, all older siblings know that eventually their younger siblings need to learn from the lumps and bumps that life dishes out." Fred interjected, his arm resting across her shoulders. "You can help, but don't smother him."
Tera sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. "You're right Freddie… its just hard..."
"I know, but he'll thank you someday." He replied, giving her a caring squeeze.
The Hogwarts express chugged on, steadily northward while the scenery outside became more and more wild, the clouds overhead adding a dark dreariness to the world outside the windows. People moved along the corridors in ones and twos, the occasional group of giggling girls going by, causing both Fred and George to toss some flirty comments out the compartment door.
Tera just rolled her eyes at this and buried her nose in her book A Witch's Spell by Barbara Cartland, another one of her Muggle romances.
Around 1:15 the plump little witch with the food cart stopped outside their compartment. "Anything from the trolley dears?"
"Yes, can I get a couple Chocolate Frogs, 4 Cauldron Cakes and a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?" Tera said, counting out the amount needed.
"Here you go dear, will there be anything else?" the witch asked kindly.
Everyone shook their heads and with witch moved along. Tera offered everyone a Cauldron Cake and handed Callum a couple Chocolate Frogs.
Callum smiled, quickly devouring the goodies, the sweet confections lulling him to sleep, his messy black hair falling into his face as his head rested against the window.
Tera just rolled her eyes with a smile, nibbling on her Cauldron cake while continuing to read her book.
A while later a stock of blond hair stopped outside their compartment, a voice Tera had hoped to avoid talking to two gorilla sized idiots.
"Can you believe Potty and the Weasel, hiding behind a blasted teacher like a bunch of cowards?" Malfoy said with disgust, shaking his head then raising a hand to make sure none of his hair had fallen out of place. "And did you see the Mudblood's ugly orange beast. Looks like she went shopping in an alley and picked something that had its face kicked in." he said with a sneer.
Crabbe and Goyle both snickered at that last comment, agreeing that the cat was an ugly little beast, and that it fit its owner perfectly.
Tera growled, her annoyance at Malfoy bad mouthing her friends and their pets causing her to stand up and pull the compartment door open quickly, startling the Slytherins outside. "Some of us are trying to enjoy our train ride in peace Malfoy. Why don't you and your gorillas go gossip like little school girls somewhere else?" she said, her eyes flashing with annoyance.
"Well look who it is. Howell and her freckle faced freaks. I would have thought you'd have upgraded to friends befitting of your breeding by now." Malfoy said with a sneer.
Fred jumped to his feet, a growl emitting from his throat, his brother right behind him.
Tera look back at her boys and shook her head, no need for them to get in a fight before they even made it to school. "Oh really, and whom would you suggest I upgrade to Malfoy? Someone like you? Cause that seems like a pretty shitty upgrade to me." Tera said, turning back to look at him with a smug smirk on her face, Fred and George snickering behind her.
Malfoy growled, taking a step towards her. "Watch it Howell."
"What you going to do Malfoy? Hit me? Cause I'd love to see you try." She said, widening her stance a bit but still seeming perfectly relaxed.
Malfoy narrowed his eyes, then turned and stomped off, his two confused lackeys following close behind him.
Tera let out the breath she had been unconsciously holding and fell back against Fred, looking up at him with a relieved smile. "I thought for sure he might hit me that time." She admitted.
Fred shook his head and hugged her against him. "He wouldn't have made it out of here with his teeth had he even tried." He said with frown.
Tera smiled up at him and turned around, pecking him on the cheek. "Thank you for not starting a fight, I don't need the two of you having detention before we even get to the school." She said, smiling around Fred at George too. The trio took their seats, Tera opening her book back up to where she left off and they all fell back into comfortable silence.
The rain was falling in sheets as the train continued its trek farther and farther north; the widows were a shimmering gray color that slowly darkened until lanterns flicker to life all along the corridors of the train and above the luggage racks. The train rattled, the rain beat against the widows while the wind roared like a mighty beast, and still Callum napped like nothing was amiss.
Tera chuckled, knowing her brother could sleep through some of the loudest things you could think of, but if you so much as nudged him or sneezed, he'd jump up and shriek like he'd been burned.
"How much longer until we arrive?" the words had left Tera's lips mere seconds before the train started to slow. "Oh… I guess we're here..."
"We can't be there yet..." mumbled George as he checked his watch, confusion etched on his face.
"But if we aren't, then why are we stopping…?" Tera questioned as the train slowed even more, the rain and wind roaring against the windows now that they weren't muffled by the sounds of the pistons.
"Dunno..." said Fred as he stuck his head out into the corridor.
The train lunged to a stop, thuds and bangs signally luggage falling out of the racks they were stored in, suddenly all the lamps on the train went out and darkness engulfed them.
Tera trembled, her hand reaching out and grabbing blindly before latching onto a large warm hand. "This is getting really creepy…" she mumbled, all the horror scenes she had ever seen or read flashing through her mind.
"Shh love. No need to worry, we've probably just broken down or something." said Fred reassuringly.
Tera moved towards the window and swiped her hand across it, looking outside. "It looks like there's something out there…" her voice squeaked a bit, her body still trembling, she wasn't too fond of the dark.
"Probably just someone trying to figure out what's wrong." reasoned George with a shrug.
"Well sitting here in the dark is starting to freak me out." Tera said, her eyes trying to catch any light in their compartment.
"Oh I can fix that." .said Fred, pulling out his wand he muttered "Lumos" and the end of it glowed with light, illuminating their faces.
Tera started to say thanks but her eyes darted to the door as it slowly slid open. Standing there in the doorway, its form illuminated by the bit of light coming from Fred's wand, was a cloaked figure that towered over them all, nearly reaching the ceiling. Its face hidden beneath a drawn hood, looking down Tera saw that 1) it was floating there, and 2) there was a hand protruding from the depths of the cloak, it was slimy-looking, grayish scab covered, and look semi-skeletal. Like something long since dead that had been decaying in a swamp.
The thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew in a long, rattling breath, like it was trying to pull something more then just air into its lungs. Suddenly an intense cold swept over then all, Tera gripped Fred's hand more tightly and moved in front of her brother, trying to shield him from the thing's view.
She felt as though all the happiness was being sucked out of her, like every nightmare she ever had was real and would be her reality for eternity. Her whole body was shaking so bad it was a miracle she could still stand.
The thing seemed like it was going to come in, but before it could there was a flash of silvery light and the creepy thing glided away. The warmth slowly returned to their bodies as a ragged looking man came into their compartment.
"Are you alright?" he asked them.
Tera shook her head, she couldn't stop shaking and had a death grip on Fred's hand, her eyes were glistening with tears.
The man looked around and spotted one of the chocolate frogs from earlier, handing it to Fred. "Get her to eat this, it'll help."
"Wh-what was that thing?" Fred asked as he opened the package and broke the frog into a few pieces, holding one to Tera's lips for her to eat.
"A dementor." said the ragged man who was looking at Tera with a glint of curiosity in his eyes. "One of the dementors of Azkaban to be precise."
Fred and George both stared at him, Tera, who was now chewing the chocolate and felt a great warmth spread to the tips of her fingers and toes. She turned to check on Callum and shook him awake, shoving a chuck of chocolate in his mouth and telling him to chew.
"Who are you, if I may ask?" Tera inquired once she was sure Callum was fine.
"I'm the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Professor Remus Lupin." He said with a nod of his head in greeting. "May I ask who you are young lady?"
"My name is Tera Howell; this is my younger brother Callum and my best mates Fred and George Weasley." Tera said, pointing to each in turn.
"Would you happen to be related to a Persephone Howell?" he asked curiously.
"Yes… she's my mother. Do you know her?" Tera asked, her eyes holding curiosity mixed with a bit of wary suspicion.
"We went to school together and shared rounds as prefects back during our school days." Professor Lupin said before turning to leave. "I need to speak to the driver, excuse me…" he opened the door and hurried out, disappearing down the dark corridor.
"Well that was odd…" mumbled Callum, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Agreed." said Tera before she plopped back down in her seat and looked at the three boys with her. "Remind me never to run into a… dementor again." She said with a tired sigh, ready to just curl up and sleep.
When the train started moving again Tera shook herself awake, knowing they'd be arriving shortly. No one talked much through out the remainder of their time on the train, scrambling to get their things when the train finally came to a stop at Hogsmeade station. It was freezing outside on the tiny platform; rain driving into them like icy sheets.
Tera gave Callum a small hug and wished him luck as he was herded along with the rest of the frightened looking first years who were being lead to the traditional journey across the lake. "Don't fall in!" she yelled before she too was herded along by her boys into one of at least one hundred stagecoaches, the door shutting out the icy rain behind them.
The coach had a musky sort of moldy smell mixed with that of straw and mud. Tera may have felt a bit better since the chocolate, but the cold wetness outside mixed with her exhaustion was making her just want to go straight to bed. She was cuddled between the boys to try and stay warm, though mostly she was just getting soggier.
As the carriage slowly moved forward, towards a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates, Tera shuddered because standing guard on either side was two of those horrible clocked dementors, whose heads seemed to turn to stare into their carriage. A knot of cold sickness formed in her stomach and threatened to wash over her again; she grabbed Fred and George's hands and squeezed her eyes shut, wishing the horrible things away. Far, far away.
The carriages picked up speed on the long sloping drive up to the castle; Tera letting out a breath as she opened her eyes, relieved to be past the dementors. Finally the carriages came to a halt outside the castle, everyone piled out and nearly ran inside to get out of the cold.
Tera followed the boys to the Gryffindor table, smiling and waving at Cedric who was sitting at his normal place at the Hufflepuff table. A few minutes after sitting down, the first years were herded in, all of them looking tiny and quite nervous. Tera spotted Callum, who was sandwiched between two rather large looking children, who looked to be twins. Tera smiled reassuringly when he glanced her way, trying to show him there was no need to be nervous.
Professor Flitwick, a tiny wizard with a shock of extremely white hair, came out with a three legged stool and the ancient sorting hat. After setting them up he started calling out names, Tera zoned out until she heard the name she had been waiting for.
"Howell, Callum!"
Callum slowly made his way up to the stool, nearly tripping over his own feet before sitting down, glancing at his sister right before the hat came down over his eyes. After about 45 tense seconds the sorting hat finally reached its decision.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Tera along with Fred and George stood up and cheered loudly, clapping Callum on the back as he sat down, receiving a hug from Tera along with a reminder to send a letter home to their mother about the sorting.
Professor Flitwick went on calling out names, but Tera ignored it and read a copy of The Daily Prophet that had ended up in front of her. She frowned down at the screaming face of Sirius Black who looked as though he had seen better days. His dark hair hanging around his face in dirty mats while his waxy skin stretched over his bones like a poorly dressed corpse. Tera couldn't look anymore and tossed the paper away from her, pulling out her book and burying her nose in it, smiling at the twins who were already going over some of the pranks they planned to pull this year.
A little bit after the sorting had concluded Hermione and Harry joined them at the table, Harry looked a bit clammy so Tera pulled a tin of double chocolate chip cookies out of her bag she had with her and set them in front of him with a kind smile. "Eat." She mouthed to him with a nod.
Harry smiled appreciatively and grabbed a couple out of it, then handed it back before turning to talk to Ron.
The headmaster stood up to speak, Professor Dumbledore, though very old, gave off this air of energy and enthusiasm. He had several feet of flowing silver hair and beard, half moon spectacles perched on an extremely crooked nose, and twinkling blue eyes full of wisdom and kindness.
"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight dancing across his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…."
Dumbledore cleared his throat before he continued, "As you will all be aware after the search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is currently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."
Her paused and Tera shuddered slightly, hating being reminded of those horrible things.
"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises – or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors," he said.
Tera chuckled lightly as she saw Percy puffed out his chest, staring around impressively. Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.
"On a happier note," he continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Tera clapped politely, smiling at their newest teacher who looked quite shabby next to all the other teachers who were in their best robes.
"As to our second new appointment." Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other then Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."
The applause , which was tumultuous at the Gryffindor table in particular roared through the Great Hall.
"Well that explains why our books tried attacking us…" Tera mumbled, remembering locking the vicious book in her closet for most of the summer and loosing her favor pair of sneakers to it.
As Dumbledore started speaking again, Hagrid could be seen wiping his eyes with the tablecloth.
"Well I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"
The golden plates and goblets filled before their very eyes with food and drink. Tera grabbed a few of her favorites, nibbling on her food while reading the last few chapters of her book, taking an occasional sip of her peach tea.
The hall echoed with laughter and happy chatter, all thoughts of the dementors far from everyone's minds. A while later Dumbledore gave the word that it was time for them all to go to bed, Tera stood and pulled Callum into a hug, congratulating him again on getting into Gryffindor then sending him off with all the other first year Gryffindors. Turning to her boys she smiled sleepily up at them, a small yawn escaping her.
"Awww, is the little Hufflepuff sleepy?" George asked playfully, slinging an arm across her shoulders.
"Noooo…. I'm just yawning as a conversation starter." She replied sarcastically, rubbing her eyes and blinking up at them.
"Come on, its time for all good little Hufflepuffs to go to bed." Fred said, grabbing her hand and starting to walk her towards the Hufflepuff tapestry.
"Well then I guess it's a good thing I'm not a 'Good little Hufflepuff' isn't it?" she chuckled, leaning against him sleepily.
Fred just chuckled and rolled his eyes, yelling out for a Hufflepuff going into the common room to wait a moment. Giving Tera a hug, George and Fred push her towards the Hufflepuff common room. "Get to bed love. We'll see you in the morning."
Tera rubbed her eyes, smiling sleepily. "Alright… night boys." She yawned before heading to her dorm, slipping into the baggy T-shirt she had yet to give back to Fred, and falling into bed, asleep before her head even touched the pillow.
