V.L. Kanaly
The Hogwarts Express billowed steam as it chugged along, making its way to that wonderful school: Hogwarts. People were milling around, talking and laughing with each other. Not a soul was alone, and not a soul was unhappy. Who would be?
She was even having fun, sitting with people whom, over the course of the last year, had become her close friends. They had wasted no time in telling each other everything about themselves, but she had kept one secret; it was dark (for her anyway), and quite illegal at Hogwarts. Her blue eyes flashed as this thought ran through her head again, as it had so many times before. However, it was quickly turned away as she heard laughter.
"What are you laughing at?" the girl demanded with a grin.
"Remember last year, during Dumbledore's speech, when you farted pretty loudly?" one boy snickered.
"Yeah, Spike, that was pretty funny," the other added.
"We were just wondering if, perhaps, you might sneeze and fart this year," the first finished.
"Shut it, Roy, that was pretty embarrassing," the girl, who was apparently named Spike, muttered. She turned her head away from the three there, blond hair flipping lightly around her face. "Leave me alone about that already."
The other three burst out laughing, the two boys making rude sounds at Spike. She passed the rest of the train ride in silence, ignoring them. As far as her loose personality went, she had a pretty short temper.
Roy glanced over at Spike's angry reflection. His cheery face fell, seeing first her reflection and then his own. Jet-black hair, dark eyes, and a jagged scar ran over his left eye. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused on Spike. She looked… sad, almost, suffering something that she wouldn't share with them.
"Spike? You okay?" the other girl asked.
Spike didn't say anything. Her cold eyes stared into the darkness beyond the window, waiting for the moment they arrived in the Great Hal. They could forget this conversation and just enjoy themselves.
Eliza looked uncertain and threw a glance at Roy. He nodded; the other boy, whose name was Ed, seemed oblivious to this. Roy and Eliza continued laughing and talking with Ed, Roy casting occasional glances at Spike to make sure she was all right. Once or twice he thought he saw her crying, but he wasn't sure.
The Great Hall had never looked more magnificent. Everyone was chatting loudly with one another and stuffing their faces. It was a grand experience for the first years; after all, it was the first time they could eat like this at Hogwarts.
Spike and Eliza giggled at something, causing both Roy and Ed to choke on a piece of meat.
"Roy, I think something's wrong with Spike!" Ed said.
"Spike, what was that strange noise that just came out of your mouth?" Roy demanded. "Something's terribly wrong with you!"
Spike glared at him, but the effect was ruined since she was grinning.
"You know that was a giggle, don't pretend. And, in case you didn't notice, I'm a girl. I'm allowed to giggle every once in awhile." Mock hurt was laced into her voice as she glared at them.
Roy grabbed her wrist, looking at her earnestly. "It's okay, Spike, you'll feel better when we get to the common room!" he said.
Spike wrenched her wrist away from him, pouting and looking at him with large blue eyes. "Don't mock me like that," she said, forcing her voice to be small. "It's not nice and I don't like it."
Both Ed and Roy looked uncomfortable, making Eliza laugh.
"You two are so gullible! You know Spike can take the taunting." All three looked at Spike, who had already begun stuffing her face with tart, turnover, whatever sweet she could get her hands on. She was known to have quite the appetite, thought where it all went and how she ate that much was a mystery to anyone.
Everyone fell silent when Dumbledore stood, all eyes turning expectantly to him. He gave them a short welcome back speech, like usual. But he continued on, much to the surprise of the students.
"This year, we are bringing back the Triwizard Tournament," he said slowly. "It is a fun way to test witches and wizards of three schools in a series of tasks. It is designed to test whoever is chosen. If you are, you cannot back out. You see," he said, voice lowered a bit, "These tasks are dangerous."
The excited buzz that had started up immediately died out.
"People can get seriously injured, and indeed, they can get killed. This is not for the weak-hearted. And, we've decided, only seventh-years are allowed to enter."
An angry chattering broke out among the younger students, but a silence that was almost chilled was suddenly cast upon the room.
A large, cage-type… thing had been brought into the room and placed before Dumbledore. All eyes were on it, focused, minds wondering what it could be. Slowly, the cage began to melt, revealing a large golden goblet. At first nothing happened. A small tap from Dumbledore's wand sounded against the rim, and a large blue flame roared into life.
"This is the Goblet of Fire," he announced. It will be kept in here, with various protections against any witch or wizard who is underage and attempts to enter."
Spike figured she imagined it, but Dumbledore seemed to be looking straight at Fred and George Weasely, who were sitting not far from her.
"Well, now that that's out of the way, to your common rooms!" Dumbledore called, clapping his hands together once and smiling around at the mass of students.
Immediately the prefects stood and began shepherding the first-years to where they would go for the rest of their school career.
"I thought something was up when we ate before his speech," Eliza told Spike as they stood to follow the crowd. Spike nodded at her friend.
Her gaze turned back to Roy and Ed, who were still making a big deal out of her giggle. Eliza looked over as she thought she heard Spike growl. Not like an angry person, more like… an animal of some kind. She shook her head, deciding she'd imagined it.
"Come on, I'm anxious to get away from these bozos," Spike said with a smirk. She led Eliza down a different path that led to Gryffindor Tower while the boys got caught up in the crows, and most likely separated. When they were away from most of the people, Eliza stopped Spike.
"Spike, maybe it was my imagination, but did you growl… like an animal… at Roy?" she asked softly. Her voice held the smallest hint of concern.
Spike flushed, but shook her head. "No, that's crazy. Why would I be growling? It's not humanly possible," she replied in a murmur.
Eliza looked relieved. She pulled her friend along to the common room, where people were jammed tightly together for trying to all get to their own dormitories. Roy fought his way to them the moment he saw them, but without Ed. He opened his mouth to say something, but Spike was pushed into him before he could speak.
Eliza snickered when his face turned a brilliant red; thankfully, for him, Spike didn't notice. She was too busy glaring at the person who had shoved her.
"Put your arms down," she snapped at Roy. He jumped slightly and immediately lowered his arms.
"Sorry, instinct," he said with a grin. His face had returned to its normal color rather quickly. Eliza was now snickering uncontrollably. "What?" he demanded.
"Oh nothing," she giggled. "Spike, you can go up, I'll be there in a minute."
Spike nodded, and left without saying a thing more. Forcing her way through the crowds, she thankfully made her way up the stairs and into the girls' dorm. Several minutes later Eliza came in.
"Sorry it took me so long, Roy couldn't get it into his thick head that you don't want to be teased about giggling," she said, sitting on the bed next to her best friend.
"And you're still giggling because…?" Spike's eyebrows were raised as she looked at Eliza.
"Oh, no reason."
Spike dropped it before asking again. The two changed, already tired and ready for bed. Eliza fell asleep instantly; Spike could hear her breathing softly. She, however, didn't go to sleep. Not yet, anyway. She lay staring at the canopy of her bed.
This year will be more difficult in hiding, she thought. Keeping her secret had always been difficult, but she was so used to not having to hide it at home that she was afraid she might forget.
Sure, she knew it was illegal at Hogwarts, but she'd grown up knowing how to do it from an early age. Her parents and neighbors just accepted it; it was the one thing she excelled at. However, no one, not even her, knew why she could do what she could, and not something else.
Black slit pupils stared at the world moments before she fell asleep, where they returned to normal.
Eliza moaned as someone shook her awake. Outside, the sun was climbing into the October sky, casting light onto everything that had frozen during the night.
"Wake up, Liza, I'm hungry!" Spike whined in her ear.
"Go with Roy and Ed," Eliza replied sleepily. She waited a few moments before sitting up. "What is it?" she sighed, looking at Spike. Their eyes didn't meet.
"Ed hasn't been seen since last night just before we left the Great Hall," Spike said softly. The tone of her voice filled Eliza with dread.
"When were you planning on telling me this?" she demanded. She saw Spike wince at the tone of her voice.
"At breakfast, with Roy," Spike replied softly.
"He doesn't know either?" Eliza wondered. Spike stared at her.
"Of course he does, he's the one who told be. He was going to help me tell you so I didn't have to do it alone. Go to sleep, obviously you can't be in a tolerant mood this morning," Spike said curtly. Eliza looked stung, but lay back down. Almost instantly she fell asleep again.
"She coming?" Roy called, seeing Spike's face appear. She shook her head, trying to hide her pain with a grin.
"She was too tired, as usual," she replied. "Let's g-go." She took a deep breath, desperately trying not to break down. That wasn't like her, breaking down, but she felt the depth of Eliza's concern, and could feel Roy's. It was beginning to overwhelm her.
Roy caught her in a hug the moment she stepped off the stairs. She hugged him tightly, still trying not to cry.
They pulled away and headed downstairs, Spike wiping her eyes every once in awhile. She seemed to be feeling better when they arrived at breakfast, though.
They had just sat down when someone came running up to them "Hagrid's looking for you," the girl announced upon arriving in front of Spike.
"Why?" Spiked asked. "What could he—"
"Just go!" the girl snapped.
They stood to go, Spike grabbing a piece of toast before they left the table, scowling at being deprived of a meal.
"Hagrid better make up for this," Spike growled. "He knows I don't miss Saturday breakfast well."
The two trekked across the ground toward Hagrid's hut. The beauty of the day was lost on Spike; she didn't notice the birds, the sun, or the sky. Scowling, she headed to where Hagrid was visible through the trees.
"Hagrid, you better have a good reason for…." Wide blue eyes stared at what Hagrid was petting. "What is that?" she asked slowly.
A beast stood before them, magnificent but strange. Skin stretched tight over a horse's body, showing bone structures. A dragon's head swung to and fro, milky white eyes staring straight at her. Its leather wings were folded tight against it.
"This, Hagrid said, "Is a thestral." There was no mistake of pride in his voice. "An' I take it ye can both see 'im."
Roy frowned at this comment. "Should we not be able to?" he asked. Spike gave him a look that suggested he had just asked a stupid question.
"Thestrals are only visible to those who have seen death," Spike said. "It doesn't have to be a human," she added when Roy opened his mouth.
She squeaked when Hagrid lifted her up and set her on the beast. Roy was set behind her, which made the seating arrangement a bit uncomfortable; there wasn't much room on the thestral.
"Righ' then, what I wanted ta show ye is deep within the Forest. Too busy ta go meself, so 'e's gonna take ye," Hagrid said with a nod. Before either student could protest, the thestral had had taken off at a gallop.
Spike quickly entwined her fingers into the mane. Roy was forced to put his hands around her waist, but the two were too busy being scared to worry about that.
Not a word passed between them as the thestral continued running. Only a few minutes passed, but Spike knew they'd gone much farther than it felt. The beast skidded to a stop abruptly, and moments later a roar echoed around them.
"What was that?" Roy asked. Spike sensed he was nervous and felt a little flighty herself.
"Dragon's roar," she replied. "Let's leave…"
But the thestral walked forward, not away from them like Spike had wanted. The dragons soon came into view, awesome just in size alone. They roared at the sight of the thestral and the humans it carried.
"Let's get out of here… please," Spike whispered. Her face had gone white and she was trembling in Roy's hands.
The thestral turned and lurched suddenly into the air. Spike slipped off; she'd loosened her grip upon seeing the dragons, and it had happened too fast for Roy to realize they were in the air. The beast landed again, impatiently striding over to her.
Roy managed to scoot to where she'd been sitting so she didn't have to hold on for both of them. She climbed on behind him, wrapping her arms tightly around his stomach.
"Thanks," she murmured softly. Again the thestral lurched into the air, but they were ready for it. Roy tightened his hands on the mane; Spike tightened her arms around him.
"Where is it taking us?" Roy called over the rush of wind.
"I dunno," Spike replied. There wasn't anymore talking as the wind increased, forcing them to bow their heads.
The thestral touched down to earth and stopped. "Hagrid's, I' guessing," Spike said, lifting her head to look around. They slid of hurriedly and ran back to the common room, her face still white.