Splintered Darkness Part One

By UntilNeverDawns

"Hailey! Hailey Rose! Where are you?" The panicked voice of the older woman called among the crowds running away from the campsite.

"Mama! Mama!" The girl called back, being swept away from her mother by the crowd.

"HAILEY!"

The girl woke up with a start, breathing heavily. It was the same nightmare over and over again.

"Hailey, are you okay?" her roommate and best friend Aeryn asked.

"I'm fine," she assured her, wrapping herself up once again in her comfortable blankets and going to sleep.

Her alarm started buzzing at 5:30 the next morning, as she pulled on a pair of jeans and boots and headed to the dining hall.

"Good morning, ladies!" Headmistress Collins said as the girls walked into the Hall. "I have an announcement. I received an owl from Madame Maxime, the Headmistress of our sister school in France, and we have been invited to take their place at the Triwizard Tournament that will be held at Hogwarts this year. I will inform those of you whom I have selected to be our delegation after breakfast. That is all."

The Hall broke out in excited chatter once the Headmistress sat down.

"So Parasova is going instead of Beauxbatons," Hailey said quietly to herself as she finished eating.

"Hailey! C'mon! You're gonna be late for class!" Aeryn called.

"Miss Rawlings, Miss Brisbane, if you would care to join us?" Professor Collins said from the front of the hall where ten of the other upper-class girls were standing.

"Coming, ma'am," they both called, walking quickly up the aisle.

"Congratulations, ladies. You have been selected to represent Parasova in the Tournament. Your mounts will be attending with you, as your classes will still be occurring. Make sure your riding uniform and dress uniform are both clean and presentable. We will be departing tomorrow morning. Understood?"

"Yes, Headmistress," they all chorused before heading off to the stables.

"Miss Rawlings, may I have a word?"

"Of course, Headmistress," Hailey said as the older woman pulled her aside.

"Are you all right, my dear? You seem troubled."

"It's the nightmare again," she admitted. "Every night, replaying it in my mind. I'm ten again and I can't ever get to her. Ever."

Collins patted her on the shoulder. "This will pass, Hailey. I promise you."

She nodded and hurried off to the stable.

"Hey Moondance," she said as she let herself in to her black filly's stall. "We're going on a trip!"

The girls had Apparated to the edge of the Hogwarts grounds where grooms were holding the reins to their mounts. Each girl was dressed in the Parasova riding uniform: white riding pants, black boots, heather gray riding jacket with the Parasova crest on the breast pocket, black gloves and a black riding helmet. The grooms took their luggage and headed toward the school.

"Come, ladies. We don't want the Durmstrang students to have all the fun!"

The girls smiled in agreement as they all pulled themselves into their saddles, adjusting their helmets as they took the reins of their horses.

"C'mon Moondance," Hailey whispered as the girls lined up at the bottom of the hill that was hiding Hogwarts from their view.

The plan was to gallop over the hill and toward the castle, making a very visual show of Parasova's equestrian prowess. One of the other girls sounded a high-pitched whistle and they all moved forward over the hill.

"Ah, Michelle, how lovely to see you again," a white-bearded man greeted the Parasova delegation as all the girls dismounted to gasps from the Hogwarts students assembled.

"Albus, it has been too long. My girls' horses will need watched during the feast."

"Our gamekeeper, Hagrid, will be happy to see to them."

Headmistress Collins nodded to him. "Of course, the girls will see to their day-to-day care. We can have our stables assembled after the feast, I hope?"

"Naturally," The Hogwarts Headmaster replied. "Now if you ladies would care to prepare for the Feast, I do believe the Durmstrang delegation is set to arrive at any moment."

Collins led the girls inside the castle, where they were greeted and led to a side chamber to change before the Feast. The girls stood around as they dug through the luggage.

"Kierya!"

"Yes, ma'am," the pretty blonde girl replied with a smirk at Alayna, taking her garment bag and going to a corner to change into her dress.

"Victoria! Avery! Katelynn! Lianne!"

The four girls fetched their bags, joining their ringleader in the corner of the room.

"Lindsay! Marissa! Maura! Beka! MaKenna!"

These girls retrieved their bags and went to a different corner of the room.

"Aeryn! Hailey!"

The final two girls retrieved their bags, Hailey noticing a dainty footprint on her bag that could only belong to Kierya. She took a deep breath and opened the bag, relieved to find her dress intact. She removed her riding uniform and slipped the white fabric over her head.

She loved the feeling of the dress against her skin, the pale gold band that kept the dress right off her shoulders and the belt in the same pale gold color that slung low on her hips, holding a darker gold brooch with a garnet in the center.

"Ready, ladies?" Headmistress Collins asked. The girls nodded, slipping their wands up the long sleeves of their identical dresses. Hailey looked over at Kierya, Victoria, Avery, Katelynn and Lianne, noting how their dresses fit perfectly. As much as she loved the dress, she wasn't as much of a fan of how she looked in it. The other girls were perfectly proportional in their dresses, Hailey felt self-conscious as Kierya and her posse started giggling.

"Ignore them. You look great," Aeryn whispered as they went into the Great Hall.

"Now allow me to introduce the lovely ladies of the Parasova Academy of Magic and their Headmistress, Michelle Collins."

Each girl pulled their wands out and sparks flew from each one, forming the Parasova crest in the air above their heads as the girls curtseyed.

The Hall broke into thunderous applause. The girls split up, Kierya and her girls going to a table with a silver and green banner, Aeryn and Hailey going to a table with a red and gold banner. Aeryn struck up a conversation with two redheaded twins while Hailey remained quiet.

"Now please join me in welcoming the proud sons of Durmstrang, and their High Master Igor Karkaroff."

Hailey watched these boys with interest; they had acrobatics, and fire-breathing.

"Blimey, it's him! It's Viktor Krum!"

Hailey's eyes immediately managed to find those of the boy that was causing the entire ruckus. Their eyes met for a split second before she looked away.

So that's the famous Viktor Krum…she thought.

She didn't fail to notice that all the Durmstrang boys sat at the silver and green table. Kierya was already chatting with the famous boy. Hailey shook her head, tucking a strand of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear as she focused on the Head Table where the Hogwarts headmaster was beginning his speech.

After dinner, Hailey the other girls and went to the already-constructed stable where Moondance was waiting. She grabbed her tack and saddled the beautiful black horse, going for a ride without even bothering to change out of her dress. She went to the edge of the Black Lake, where she let Moondance run through the little waves, not noticing the boy watching her from the deck of the Durmstrang ship.

"Hailey!" Aeryn called, galloping until they were neck and neck. "They've prepared rooms for us inside the castle!"

Hailey smiled sadly.

"I think I'll just sleep in the loft again. Just in case Moondance needs something."

Aeryn had heard the excuse before. She nodded understandingly and rode back to the stable.

Hailey stayed out a bit longer, staring at the lights shining from the castle and the Durmstrang ship. After a while, she turned Moondance back towards the stable and got her settled in before climbing the ladder to the loft above the horses where she settled in for the night.

"Hailey, are you asleep?" Mistress Collins whispered as she climbed the ladder to the loft.

"No ma'am. Was there something you needed?" she asked.

"I wanted to make sure you were all right. Aeryn said you were going to be staying out here again."

Hailey nodded. "I prefer the company of the horses, if I may be honest. They are not as complicated as the girls."

Mistress Collins smiled sadly.

"I know it's not easy for you, Hailey. I can see that. It will all get better, I promise."

"Goodnight, Madam," Hailey said as the headmistress turned to go down the ladder again.

"Goodnight my dear."

Hailey waited until she heard the sound of the stable door closing before climbing down the ladder and leaving the stable.

Viktor Krum was standing on the deck of the Durmstrang ship watching the stars when he saw the girl from Parasova exit the stable. Something about her had fascinated him, unlike the other girls from the school that he had seen. He watched as she looked around and hurried behind the stable. He wondered where she was going until he saw a pure white horse emerge from where she had gone. He continued to watch as the horse galloped off. He did not see the girl ever emerge from behind the stable.

The next morning Hailey woke up and searched through her clothes for something to wear. She put on a pair of jeans and a soft, white, long-sleeved shirt. She put a black vest on over the shirt, leaving it unbuttoned as she climbed down the ladder to tend to Moondance. The horse whickered as Hailey came close. She let herself into the stall and the horse butted her playfully.

"Morning, girl." She said, grabbing one of the brushes hanging just outside the stall and beginning to brush the horse.

She heard the sounds of the other girls arriving to the stable just as she was finishing taking care of Moondance. She let herself out of the stall and headed toward the castle. She sat by herself at the end of the table with the gold and black banner.

"D'you mind if I sit here?" a boy asked, setting his plate down across from Hailey.

"Not at all," she said, looking down at her food.

"Cedric Diggory," he said, offering a hand for her to shake.

"Hailey Rawlings," she said, shaking the boy's hand. She couldn't help but notice that he was quite attractive.

"So how do you like Hogwarts?" he asked.

"It's nice," she replied. "A bit different than what I'm used to. Do you all wear that uniform all the time?"

Cedric nodded. "Indeed. It helps people identify with their house-mates."

"House-mates?" she asked.

"You noticed the four tables, yes? Well, this is the Hufflepuff table, home of the friendly and loyal. The green and silver table is Slytherin, the ambitious and cunning. Red and gold is Gryffindor, the courageous and brave. Silver and blue is Ravenclaw, the intelligent ones. There's a hat that tells us where we go."

"Wow," she said. "We just have dormitories at Parasova, but we're also much smaller."

"What is Parasova like?" Cedric asked.

"It's absolutely beautiful. The castle itself is on a high hill, the stables are right on the beach and there are mountains and beautiful pastures. It's a wonderful place."

"It's home, isn't it?" he asked.

Hailey nodded. "I miss it, kinda. This is a great opportunity, but part of me wishes I was still back there."

"I understand that," Cedric said. "So, do you like Quidditch?"

Hailey nodded. "I can't play to save my life though"

"Have you tried?" Cedric asked.

"Yeah, I fell off my broom when I was younger. My mom never let me near a broomstick after that. She would much rather I play with my horsies."

Cedric laughed. "I can see us becoming good friends, Hailey."

Hailey smiled.

A/N: I'm baaaaccccckkkkk! This is another of my Viktor/OC stories. My plan is to get a chapter out every weekend, but I need people to review . I don't mind writing this just for me, but it would be nice if people would give me some feedback. Hailey is a new type of character for me.

Love,

UntilNeverDawns