Hey, guys. Ravenclaw'sHeir back with another installment of A Strange Girl! I forgot to say a few things last chapter:
First: This story is going to be more baseoff of the movies instead ofvthe books. I'd like to base it off the books, but they belong to my stubborn sister who won't let me borrow them. Sorry about that.
Second: I don't own Harry Potter. I'm just gonna say that now and I'll add it to the summary. [Disclaimers are a bitch.]
Third: Sorry for all the typos. I do these using ny phone, so I don't catch everything that ends up incorrect.
Enjoy!
A Strange Girl: Chapter 2: The Sorting
Turns out, Lani had nothing to worry about. Sirius was a nice man who welcomed her with open arms, saying, "Bellatrix was a nutter, but what would that have to do with you?"
And so, Lani was introduced to all of the present members of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret group devoted to the defeat of Voldemort and his army. She sat down and ate, laughing at Tonks's antics along with Ginny, before the room suddenly took on a more serious air.
Lani looked over when she heard Moody's gruff voice say, "Show him," referring to Harry. "He'll find out soon enough."
She strained to see the newspaper headline that read, "The Boy Who Lies?"
She scoffed, causing everyone's heads to turn to her. She forced the blush away and shrugged. "I believe what Harry and the others told me about Voldemort being back, there's evidence everywhere. If the Minister is too daft to see it, why can't I think it's stupid?"
Lupin shook his head, smiling, and said, "Fudge assumes that Dumbledore is after his job."
Harry then replied, "But no one in his right mind would think Dumbledore would want to be Minister of Magic!"
Lupin calmly said, "That's exactly correct; Fudge isn't in his right mind. He's been twisted and warped by fear, and fear makes people do terrible, horrible things, Harry." Lani silently agreed. "He's using his influence over the Daily Prophet to slander anyone who claims Voldemort is back, refusing to face that terrible truth."
Harry frowned, but Sirius spoke before he could. "We believe Voldemort is trying to rebuild his army, and that's why those dementors attacked you. That's not all, though. We believe he's after something. Something he didn't get last time."
"Is this 'something' dangerous?" Lani asked.
Harry nodded. "A weapon? A tool?"
"A special talisman that could give Harry the upper hand?" Lani suggested.
Sirius was about to speak, but Molly cut him off. "No! I believe that's quite enough!" She tore the paper from Harry's hands. "You may as well indict them into the Order if you say much else!"
"Good!" Lani exclaimed.
Harry said, "Yeah! If Voldemort's raising an army I want to fight!"
"Me too!"
Sirius leaned back in his seat, giving a "there you have it" gesture before winking at the two.
-Line Break-
The next few weeks went by uneventfully. Lani and Hermione had started working with Lupin and Tonks to create a spell or something to remove the portrait of Mrs. Black and continued their job of cleaning the house up before the coming year.
They'd done it well before they left for Diagon Alley to get their supplies for class. Sirius let Lani take some coins for a new owl, as she hadn't had one for her past school years, and a broomstick, if she liked. She chose a beautiful barn owl with beautiful holden feathers on her body and stunning grey eyes that matched hers. She decided to call her Athena, Greek Goddess of Wisdom, whose symbol was an owl.
Tonks had then taken the four fifth years to get their books and other things. Harry and Lani went to the quidditch shop, where he bought new gloves and goggles, while Lani bought those, along with a WaterJet, the newest and fastest model, even faster than a Firebolt. It gave you the feeling of gliding across water at incredible speeds and had multiple enchantments and charms for any and all weather conditions.
If you couldn't tell, Lani already expected to be on the quidditch team this year. She'd been team captain at her last school in America and had joined one of the other teams during her homeschooled year.
They finished their shopping and returned to 12 Grimmauld Place. Apparently, Kreacher had decided to go rummage through stuff and had made a mess again, unveiling new boggarts, pests, smells, and, worst of all, two more screaming portraits that had been hidden behind wallpaper.
Lani then devised a special Silencing Charm that could work on all of the portraits.
When Hermione asked how she learned to create spells, she answered, "Magic isn't just something we're gifted with, it's literally a part of you. Once you're able to understand it and tap into your magical core, you can do almost anything."
She'd been attempting to teach the Golden Trio how to do that, but it'd been impossible to get through Ron and Harry's thick skulls, while Hermione had been making some progress.
The time to travel to Hogwarts came much too quickly in Lani's opinion. She sat with the three friends and joked with them while people stared at her openly, wondering who in the blue blazes she was. Some boys even winked at her while she just smiled politely back, not interested in any of them.
Then, an awkward boy who looked to be their age came over to the compartment and said, "Hey, guys. Have a good holiday?"
Harry looked at him and grinned. "Wow, Nev. You look..."
Hermione smiled and said, "You look wonderful, Neville. You'd said you'd been 'working off the extra weight,' but you look amazing."
He blushed brilliantly. "Thanks, Hermione." He then looked at Lani. "Oh, hi. I'm Neville. Neville Longbottom."
Lani sighed and looked down at her lap. "Uh, h-hi. I'm Atalanta," she swallowed the lump in her throat and wet her lips, "Atalanta LeStrange. People usually just call me Lani." He visibly tensed and his eyes widened slightly.
Hermione noticed this and filed it away for later questioning.
Neville then tried for a smile and said, "Nice to meet you, Lani. I've got to go now, see ya later, guys." He then rushed back the way he came.
Lani put her head in her hands and let out a shaky breath.
Harry, being the oblivious boy he was, wondered aloud, "Wonder what's got him so jumpy."
Hermione, on the other hand, put a hand on her shoulder and asked, "Lani, what was that about?"
Lani sighed and said, "My mom. I'll let him tell you when he's ready." They didn't push for information.
They climbed off of the Hogwarts Express and went to the carriages - Lani had been told to follow the rest of them to the castle - and waited for the next one when a girl smiled at Harry from the carriage that was just leaving. Neville walked up beside them, pointedly on the other side of Harry.
Lani felt breath on her shoulder and turned to see a beautiful skeletal horse shoulder pulling the carriage. Harry had obviously seen it as well, and they shared a look. "What's pulling the carriages?" they asked in unison.
They all looked at them as if they'd grown another head. "There's nothing pulling the carriages, guys," Hermione said. "They're pulling themselves, like usual."
A blonde girl with large, blue eyes sitting on the carriage spoke. "You're not going insane," she said. Lani saw Harry staring at her and immediately noted the look he had in his eyes. "I can see them too."
Lani was left wondering what exactly they were.
They rode up to the castle in silence. The other five went into the Great Hall while McGonagall told Lani to wait with the first-years.
Only about fifteen first-years had been there to be sorted that year. McGonagall smiled warmly at Lani and called, "LeStrange, Atalanta."
There were many murmurs about the "Lost Lady LeStrange," which seemed much too dramatic in her opinion.
'Hmm,' she heard in her head. 'Tricky... I should've placed you in Slytherin straight away, but you don't want that, do you? Hmm. Ah, yes, yes. I see.'
'Uh, could you hurry? I'd like to talk with my friends.'
The hat seemed surprised for some reason, but then laughed. 'Loyalty. It's decided.' "GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted.
She grinned and went over to sit beside Hermione, catching Neville's eye as she approached. He looked away quickly, and she sighed.
Hermione noticed this and wondered just what was going on between the two. Neville obviously had something to hide about Lani's mother, but what?
She'd try to bug Lani for information later.
Dumbledore introduced both a professor that would be teaching Care of Magical Creatures while the trio's friend was on leave, which confused said trio. He then introduced Professor Delores Umbridge who had been at Harry's hearing. Hermione voiced that that had to mean that the Ministry was interfering at Hogwarts, which they all knew couldn't be good. For anyone.
-Line Break-
Lani and Hermione bid Harry and Ron goodnight before going up to the girls' dormitory.
The other three girls in the dorm hadn't appeared yet, so the two got dressed in the sleepwear and sat on their beds to talk.
Hermione sat with her legs crossed and leaned forward. "What's going on between you and Neville? Seriously, it's utterly confusing!"
Lani sighed and just said, "I told you that I'd let him tell you when he's ready."
Hermione kept pressing for information but immediately stopped when the other three girls entered. Two entered with their heads bowed and close together, evidently gossiping up a storm. The third entered reading a book and immediately headed to her bed, closing the curtains. The other two finished their conversation with a giggle from each of them and tucked themselves in.
Hermione and Lani bid each other goodnight and fell asleep with heads full of excitement for the next day, but dread for DADA with Umbridge.
So, I was wondering whaf you guys thought about a story about Draco's twin brother who develops a forbidden crush on a certain Gryffindor bookworm. I'd been toying with this idea for a while, but I wanted your opinion.
Anyway, see ya later, guys!
Ravenclaw'sHeir
