THE SECOND YEAR

CHAPTER II

THE MYSTERY MAN

The first year ended much faster then everybody were expecting. The three free months finished before you could turn around. The second year begun.

Look around. We are on platform 9 ¾. Here are coming Fred and George. Do I have to warn you? Right behind them are Harry and Ron. These two boys and their hairs. Oh, Harry, if you get yourself a haircut, you won't need to straighten it every single moment. Ron. Ron and his ginger hair. His clothes may show that he's poor but his friendly smile will make you forget about that at the same moment. Looks like Hermione is coming. Oh, yes, that's her. You can't forget this hair volume. You can see that they're waiting for somebody. But who that might be? Oh, of course. Here she is. It's Rose with her parents. Her waved hair is falling down on her clothes. Of course, they're new. Like always: there has to be something new, something recently bought. But does it matter if they're happy to see each other?

Though Rose couldn't find the one she was looking for. She couldn't find Chida anywhere. She was looking and looking around without any result. But in the end her look stopped on someone and that wasn't Chida. It was Oliver Wood – the captain and the keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He was cute, even beautiful. He looked at her, too. Rose felt something – a warming deep inside. It was a really nice feeling. They both smiled and turned away. After that all the passengers boarded Hogwarts Express.

After they entered the school, all the students gathered in the Great Hall for the ceremony. After that they had some free hours to accommodate and unpack.

Rose was in her bedroom some minutes before the dinner. She looked at Hermione's luggage - it was on her bed, and then she looked at Chida's bed – there was nothing on it or around it. Apparently Chida haven't come here since the train arrived. Suddenly someone opened the door. The lost girl entered the room with all her stuff. Surprising, but she had just one bag. She entered the room and went to her bed, pretending that she didn't see her roommate. Rose greeted nicely.

-Hey, – answered Chida though Rose barely heard her. Crost didn't even look at the girl.

-Nice sweater. It suits you. And the color, too, - Rose decided to start a conversation. She was right: dark purple did suit to Chida. It was a very unusual color for her, though. She was usually wearing only black, dark blue and soldier green.

-Alright… - answered Chida, clearly thinking about what she just heard. She seemed surprised – If we are going to talk compliments, then I'll continue. Your new hairstyle looks beautiful.

-Thanks, - Rose knew that already but she liked the idea of talking with Chida, so she continued – What are you going to study this year?

-Oh, are we having a conversation today? – Chida was laughing but she thought that it won't be bad to – Well… The usual stuff: you know, Defense, Potions, Magic, Transfiguration, History and etc. and etc. Do you know who is going to lead Defense this year?

-Sorry, no idea, - Rose thought that it was the perfect time to ask the question she wanted – Where were you in the train?

-How should I answer that? On my seat? – Chida pretended that she was joking but she knew exactly what her roommate was talking about.

-No, - said Rose laughing on the joke – I mean that I didn't see you, so…

-I guess, I was on the other side of the train.

-And whom did you travel with? – Rouse tried to sound just curious but she really wanted to know the answer.

-Oh, just some old friends of mine, - Chida's voice sounded as casual as possible. Suddenly a smile showed on her face – Speaking of friends, what do you think about Oliver Wood?

-Oh, um… Yeah, he's fine… - she didn't know what to say. And what could she possibly say without letting Chida understand what she really thought about him? – He's… He's nice, um… guy. And, uhh… yeah, a very good captain and keeper. And… we're, like you said… friends.

-Of course, - it was impossible to understand what was in Chida's voice – laugh or sarcasm – Did he buy you any presents?

-Of course, for my birthday.

Chida tried to sound surprised but you'd actually think that she was drugged. You can guess that she was interested in what did Oliver gave to Rose and because her birthday was in the summer how exactly did he gave it to her. After she understood that an owl brought a package with a bracelet she wanted to understand if it is with Rose. Rose said that it was not only with her but it was also on her hand.

-Can I see it? – Chida went to Rouse's bed and set right next to her. Rose smiled and showed her roommate the jewelry on her hand. Chida saw a bracelet from brown stone, which Muggles liked to call "a tiger eye". Though Chida didn't know much about it, she knew that it was very expensive. – Same color as your eyes. Okay, he's your friend. But I think you'll have to wait from five to six years. By the way, no one is going to wait for us, we'll be late for dinner.

The dinner was perfect and not because of the food. Chida was nice with everybody. No one could understand what changed her behavior like that but it was a really nice surprise. Soon she became a good friend with Harry, Ron and Hermione. She built good relations with Rose, though Naginny couldn't trust her like everybody else for now. And that was because of the image saved in her head – how she stole a document from professor Flitwick's desk. As far as she knew no one even understood that it was missing. But Rouse knew that holding on to past wouldn't help, so she tried to forget that. With two words, this year was going to be a very nice one.

One day in the middle of October Chida was jogging at the park in Hogwarts like every morning. This twelve year old had the dream body of every girl from fifteen to thirty five: daily running made her tuff and durable, she had long and powerful legs, well trained with martial arts, thanks to the crunches she was very thin – no more than seventy pounds, her hands were strong but not too muscled. Of course, all that was hidden under black leggings and a soldier green sweatshirt, though that day was cold and she was also wearing dark purple gloves from the elbow without fingers and a hat in the same color.

She was running fast. Really fast. After a hairpin turn she suddenly stopped because she saw somebody. That somebody didn't give her enough time for another reaction, he started talking at the same moment:

-You're wearing beautiful gloves today. I was not expecting it from you, though. I always thought this color is too… - he thought for a while what adjective to use - …colored for you.

-What do you want? – Chida answered Draco's question with question. Because that indeed was Draco Malfoy, who was calmly leaning on a tree in front of her, - What is so important to interrupt my training?

-You're getting better! And I mean better like a person! – Chida laughed mockingly and Draco understood why – "Nobody changes" that was his moto. Chida's on the other hand was "Everybody lies. Trust no one." So he decided to prove to her and to himself that she have changed – You became their friend! A friend of Potter, Weasley, Granger and Naginny!

-Just in case if you don't know, that was the whole point. Oh, wait, - she was now mocking at him – You really don't know. And that's because it is my job and not yours, - suddenly she changed her intonation: she became serious and scary – Stay out of my business, Draco. You can't understand. Cause to understand you need first to live through it.

-I can do it. But I'm from those who are puppet masters. Like my father.

-You're wrong. I'm not a puppet. I'm the one who cuts the shrinks. And your father is not a puppet master, he is the master's favorite doll. And I wasn't chosen because you were meant to inherit him, well because you wouldn't survive it, - that was Draco's weak point and they both knew it. They also knew that Chida was right, - Keeping secrets, lying all the time, the risk to be expelled, not having real friends, being a chameleon, the pressure, the torchers, the risk not to see the next day… everything. You wouldn't survive a day. Your father trusts me. He chose me not because I was more capable to lie, it's because I was more capable then you to survive. And that means that he loves me more than you.

Chida whispered the last sentence in Draco's ear. Then she smiled and started running again. But only after few steps Draco said something that made her stop:

-You've been made.

-By whom? – Chida turned around and looked at Draco so she could understand if he was telling the truth – Who might be that dump to understand who I am and still keep silence in front of the teachers? – Draco tried to say something but Chida continued before he could even open his mouth – And before you ask, I know that no one told them because I'm still here.

-It's your roommate – Naginny. She saw us talking here last year, – Draco was whispering, he knew how important it was for everybody to keep it as a secret.

-Oh, I see. And you're talking with me now to be sure that if she didn't saw us back then, she will now! – Chida's screams were heard in the whole park, such a good thing that no one was awake at that time – Or maybe you could tell me back then, or during the spring break, or I don't know, last year! You could've told when I could do something about it!

-Relax, she doesn't know who exactly are you and what your task is. She only thinks that we are good friends or something like that.

-Not even close to the truth! – Chida laughed sneeringly, then she thought for a moment and said with a very calm voice – I can handle this. Thanks for the information. Now stop messing with my work. If see you one more time till the end of the year… Understood?

She didn't have to wait for the answer, she knew that he had no guts to resist her. That's why she just continued jogging. Running early in the morning and breathing fresh air always cleared Chida's mind. That was very helpful because she could think on important themes. That's exactly what she was doing. She was thinking on the theme "Rosalinda Naginny". It was a small and very stupid problem but still it was a problem. It was a good thing that the object didn't know anything specific but even that was a too big risk. Still only one phrase was repeating over and over again in Chida's mind: "She knows nothing and it must stay that way. No one should know!"

But it was not only Rouse. There were other people interested in Chida. People, who knew who she was. People, who wanted to know what her job was. People, who wanted to understand what else she knew. People, who were ready to hurt her for that information. Some of them were easy to recognize – hit mans, hired criminals, murderers. But there were others, from another stratum of society – beautiful and well-dressed people, who were very respected: wealthy, honorable people, even sometimes Avrors and seniors in the ministry. That's why Chida was right – "Trust no one!"

The problem was that such influential people could easily find her using the people she did trust to. Of course, it could have been easier if Chida was just following her own advice. But every human being needs friends. That's why something bad happened in the middle of November. It all started when the Weasley twins entered the common room:

-Where's Chida? – asked Fred before he even could step into the room – Did anybody see her after the classes were over? – after a negative nod from everybody, he turned his face to George – Something's wrong here. You understand? I just know that something isn't right.

-Okay, I believe you. There is something fishy indeed – she didn't come to our meeting, and she always does, - George would've continued but he saw that everybody was worried so he decided to be serious – Listen, she is a big girl, she can take care of herself, - he was expecting everybody to start saying things like "That's true" or "You're right" but instead he saw that all the faces were still very worried – Okay, then. Who will help us find her?

There were enough volunteers: Ron and Hermione were always ready to help somebody in need, Rose agreed, at least that's what she said, only because she was the last person who saw Chida, she was in front of professor Snape's office. After Harry decided to join them the searching for Chida begun.

Of course, they were smart enough to start with the professor's office. It was in the end of the corridor and this interesting group with even more interesting target was only in its beginning when they were already able to hear the screams:

-Tell me! – it was a man's voice. It was husky, powerful and scary, but the man was definitely pissed off. If it wasn't for the thick walls all the teachers would be here long ago. The man was shouting in anger. When such people are angry they are more dangerous but also much more honorable. No one from the group could recognize the voice and that wasn't surprising, neither of the kids knew the man. What they did know was that he was becoming angrier with every minute – Tell me!

The friends looked at each other. They all had the same thought in their heads and they were only waiting for the others. Each one of them nodded and without words they understood each other – it was time to help… the person, who needed help. If you had some wonders if these guys were crazy after that you would be sure of it. Only the craziest person in the world in this situation would run to the door of that office and would open it without having anything like plan. And when there are six teenagers like that gathered together it can get really interesting.

"Interesting" was a good word to describe the situation they saw in the office. Actually, it will be a lot better to use "strange". Professor Snape was bounded to his desk with some kind of a stinky fluid. He couldn't speak because his mouth was wrapped with something like black mole. In the middle of the room there was a man, who didn't even saw the children. He was the mystery man that the voice belonged to. It was impossible to recognize him because he was wearing a robe which was covering him from the head to the feat. Maybe because of luck or because he really wanted it to be that way, the robe was also hiding very well his face. It was impossible to see it, especially from such a distance. Just in front of him was Chida. It looked like she was bounded with some sort of invisible ropes to the walls and the ceiling in such a way that her body looked a lot like the letter "Y". Her hands, clenched in fists as though were trying to rive her, by pulling her in two opposite directions. Her legs were tight together, but the more interesting thing was that they were flying on about thirty centimeters from the ground.

If you add to all this the anger that was written on the man's face… Wait, actually you couldn't know about it because you couldn't see it, but I'm sure that everybody felt it in the air. That and the pressure. So, if you add that anger, the professor's panic and the blood drops on the floor you can imagine very well what the teenagers saw.

The mystery man saw them coming but he didn't even looked at them because he didn't think that they could do anything to stop him. And he was right. The kids really wanted to help but, as I said, they were kids. What could they possibly do? They could only stand there and watch how the man was getting angrier and angrier:

-This whole thing can end now! – he was walking around the room, holding a knife in his right hand and his wand in the other – You just need to do one thing, a very simple thing, - he even started whispering. All that made him look even scarier – I need to know whom are you working for, - he was talking like he was making Chida a favor – Just one single name and this whole thing ends!

-I really don't know what you are talking about! – Chida's voice sounded like she could start crying. It was obvious that she've already repeated this to him a few times, but because of some reason he just didn't want to believe her.

-Oh, really? – said he mockingly. One second after that he embattled the knife in Chida's right shoulder. The girl started screaming at the top of her voice and not because she wanted to bring help, well because she was really hurt. After that the man, who looked a lot like a Dimentor pulled the weapon out. When the knife entered her body was as hurtful as when it exited. Rose's eyes followed a blood drop, which fell down on the floor: from the moment, when it slider from the shiny white metal to the moment, when it hit the cold black stone. This was the scariest thing in her life because the blood belonged to someone she knew. The surprising thing here was on Chida's face. Everybody were expecting her to start crying but there wasn't a single tear in her eyes. She only looked like she wanted to kick him. The man continued with his kind of interrogation – Still not talking?

-Son of a bitch! – said Chida with the slowest voice she could use. She was breathing loudly because of the pain – You lower son of a bitch!

-Listen, honey. You can use whatever names you like, you can scream as loud as you want, but I came here just for one thing: I want to understand, who, the hell is your boss.

-Over my dead body! – every word sounded like a separated sentence. She knew that talking like that was a safe way to piss him off. That was exactly what she wanted: to piss him off, because a person reveals his weakness then.

-That will only make my job easier, - said the man calmly. Chida got what she wanted: he was angry but he was also a professional and he knew that instead of showing his heart, he could just enjoy the torchers. That would be enough to concentrate his anger and at the same time get, what he wanted – Crucio!

The girl started shaking from pain. A normal person would start writhing but she was firmly tied with the ropes and she could barely move. This made everything even more painful. This spell was created to make the victim feel the worst pain he ever felt or he was about to feel.

Something that very few people knew though, was that this spell could cause only physical pain. Every time you don't pass the exam, every time you loose your golden fish or argue with your mom, every time your crush askes someone else on a date and you feel heartbroken – every bad emotion in your life. It kills you slowly and even worse, it makes your life sad. If we could call back all the sadness in someone's life, we could simply destroy him.

Still, the pain that Chida was feeling was incinerating. A normal person would give the information, but this was Chida. She was a strong girl. And by the way, I think all of you already noticed that no one in Hogwarts is normal, they are all crazy in some way. This time Chida was screaming in her mind, without sound. She even tried not to change her face expression. And she succeeded. She never gave that man the pleasure to see her crying. She was just standing there with that stone-cold look. I know you would say that she wasn't standing, she was suspended from the ceiling. I would be right.

But let's for a moment return to the visitors. Fred and George, like the oldest in the group decided to finally do something. While the "Dimentor" was busy with the girl, who just didn't want to talk, they went to professor Snape and freed him, after that they promised that they wouldn't mention this to anyone and gave him a wand. While Snape was trying to secure the students the torchers were already over.

-I will be payed even if I won't get the information, – started the man – So, I can kill you without a problem, - after he sad that, he punched the girl with a fist – You see, I don't care about you, it's important only for my boss. Understand, killing you won't be any loose for me. Do you want to share something?

-As a matter of fact, I do, - her voice was so calm until she decided to spit the man with the blood that was flowing from her mouth – You're a weasel! You will never be able to make an eye contact and then kill me! You will turn your head away! – she knew that this was a big shame for the hit mans, she have found his weak point – Coward!

He punched her again and more blood fell on the floor. But this time it was because of anger that she was right. He was a coward! This small talk, by the way earned Snape enough time to make a spell which spook this person and before anyone could understand what happened he was already out of the window flying on his broom as fast as he could.

Nobody tried to chase him, they had bigger problems like dragging Chida to the school's hospital. The girl was furiously struggling and shouting things like: "I'm fine!" and "There's no need to take more of madam Pomfrey's precious time!" but still they brought her there. She was right, everything was fine – there weren't any deep wounds. Very few people understood about what happened that night but nobody dared to talk about it. Still there were a lot of questions that could've and should've been asked.

Who was this man?

Why Chida?

Who was the boss? And what was this boss actually ruling?

Was he right? Was Chida doing something secret?

What was she doing, after all?

And why Chida never told anyone, who this man was, when everybody was sure that she saw his face?