From your point of view this is two updates in two days, but in England, I actually have updated twice in the same day - the first just after 4am this morning and the second (this one) around half 10 in the evening. Wonderful! I do believe I am doing quite well. I am enjoying writing this fanfiction so far and believe that I've spaced it out quite well, I'm just hoping it doesn't end up rushed in later chapters.
Thank you to nightworldangel who has been my first fave and follow for this story! Thank you so much!
And with that done, on with the fanfiction~
~Midi~ xx
~A fire in silver eyes~
Chapter 2
Rivera pulled herself up from the broken down mattress with an energy she hadn't felt in the years that she had come to stay with Micheal and Vicki. Reaching down, she pulled open the zip to the bedding that moments ago she had sat on in shock, and pulled out a snapped, blunt pencil. The silver-eyed girl picked up a piece of her unused paper, it was dusty and partially ripped, but it would have to do. Perching back on the edge of her so-called bed, she once again took in the letter from Hogwarts, hanging on every word and pleading for inspiration.
Dear Professor McGonagall,
I would love to accept this placement at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
The eleven-year-old stopped, thinking about how childish that sounded, she needed to sound more mature than that, this letter was her only – and perhaps – last chance. She had questions, and only this Deputy Headmistress could answer them. Rivera recalled all the information that she had so painstakingly gained at school. She had loved it there, the teachers were kind and her English professor had loved reading everything that the young girl wrote. Her Art teacher had often complimented on her drawings and the realism of them, but, of course, Micheal and Vicki knew nothing of this. The downside to excelling in school was that the students were not entirely pleased with the 'new girl' gaining attention.
So, with an inspiration that she hadn't managed to gain all Summer, Rivera wrote, and the words flowed onto the page as if she were possessed, and nothing around her would disturb her trance.
Dear Professor McGonagall,
I would be delighted to accept this placement at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there is, however, a problem that must be addressed.
I have no way to reach the area in which this establishment is.
Is there, perhaps, anyway, that you could give me any directions?
Oh, yes, and there is but one more thing that will more than likely be a problem, the... Non-magical people I currently reside with will not be able to fund me in any way. Is there, maybe, a type of bursary that your school has?
I'm awaiting your reply, please be as swift as possible.
Miss Rivera Y. Woods.
As Rivera re-read her own work, she let a smile reappear on her face. The paper held a lot of dust and possibly a few too many bloodstains, but her 'bath' wasn't due for a couple more days. Rivera hoped that she would be leaving soon after that, she wanted to make a good first impression. Folding the letter into an envelope-like state, she sketched a 'R' on the folding, adding, what she thought, was a professional but personal touch. On the other side of the folded paper, she wrote; in her best handwriting, an address.
Deputy Headmistress McGonagall,
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The silver-eyed girl then sat in silence, listening for the noises of the floors above her. Micheal and Vicki were still awake, and that meant that she could do anything yet. Picking up the envelope from Hogwarts again, Rivera noticed the other piece of paper that resided inside. A equipment list, of a different sort, was written upon the yellowed-paper.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic
by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory
by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration
by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions
by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS
ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK
Yours sincerely,
Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus
Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions
Looking the list over, Rivera couldn't help the nervous-excitement that gripped her very soul. Everything sounded so wonderful and untrue but she couldn't help believing in it all. It was something was compelling her to take this huge leap of faith. But it all sounded... So expensive. If this school of 'Witchcraft and Wizardry' couldn't help her, she wouldn't be able to go. And even if it was all fake, it was a chance to escape her miserable life... And perhaps but an end to it all together.
As Rivera scanned over the coursebooks that she would require, only a couple stood out to her. Magical Theory, Magical Drafts and Potions and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.
The preteen loved theorising, it was brilliant to know how things worked and figuring them out for yourself. With theory, nothing was right, nothing was wrong. She couldn't be hit or starved for a wrong answer. Micheal seemed to like that game.
Magical Drafts and Potions stood out the most to the young girl. When she was little, she would watch her classmates play 'Witch' and they would all make 'Potions' out of earth and water. She decided that potions must be the magical world's equivalent to some modern medicines. Rivera had never had medicine, she was always left to suffer as a child with fevers and colds. Even now, she still suffered with headaches, she wondered if potions could cure such things.
Now, the third book on Rivera's personal list, was one that she found strange. She wasn't so much interested in 'The dark forces', but more the 'A Guide to Self-Protection' that seemed to call out for her to learn about it. Rivera had never been able to protect herself, Micheal hit her, Vicki over-worked her, bullies cornered her. She was never safe. And sometimes, at night, the darkness in the basement seemed to enclose itself around her, and she could never escape.
It was a horrible feeling, being unable to fall asleep in a place with no light. The window was covered and so high up that it was of no use. It had long since been boarded and locked away, just like her. Sometimes, she thought she saw glimpses of light dance across the wall, but she'd blink and they would be gone again. Teasing her.
Every once in a while, she did dream. And the dreams haunted her. She drew pictures of them, wrote stories and poems about the things that she witnessed; the death, the destruction, the blood. Green flashed of light, the hissing of snakes, fire burning, always burning.
Somedays she wished that she could just fall into the dark pits of her dreams and never awaken to the hellish nightmare that was her life. Once she heard the shouts of the monsters that called her name from the higher floors of the dull house that she was forced to serve, she knew her dreams would die again. No hope, no light, only darkness and destroyed dreams
She has only, in her eleven years of life, recalled one good dream. It was a woman's voice, singing to her. A song that she found herself humming sometimes, for she could never remember the words. And suddenly, the singing stops, but she never sees a clear image. Just hears a woman explaining something to her.
"You know, little one, your middle name... It means dream. Never forget. Keep dreaming. Let nothing stop you."
And then the voice and the blurred image fades out and she'll wake back up to her nightmare and tears running down her face and she can't help but feel so incredibly sad about her only happy dream. For it's the only one she's ever had.
She feels sad because she couldn't keep the silent promise she made to keep dreaming. Not here, not in this place of pitch black darkness where nothing moved and everything was eerily silent. She couldn't dream here; where she was beat for a single mistake, had her bones broken for forgetting chores or messing up meals. She couldn't dream here.
Rivera pulled out the pile of dusty, greying papers from beneath her bed. The images were still fresh in her mind, as if she'd only just woken up and drawn them. The words from the poems and stories jumped out at her on the page; fire, destruction, green-eyes, scales, black, darkness, no hope, death. The words seemed to crowd her. They held onto her conciousness and never let go.
'Beneath the rubble there lies,
A pair of deadly, murderous eyes.
Giant scales, dagger sharp,
Falling down; buildings dark.'
The silver-eyed preteen re-read the verse that she had wrote only months ago. She wasn't always sure about the things she saw in her dreams. They seemed so frightening but so real. It was like being repeatedly stuck in a nightmare every day of her life, to carry around these memories of dreams that she wasn't sure existed or not.
"Psā!" Rivera hissed to herself, trying to stop the very thought process that she feared. She held her hands tightly around her ears, curling into herself.
She never realised that the word she spoke wasn't English. She said it often when Micheal was hurting her but had never stopped to contemplate it. This was another one of those times, as, finally, she heard silence from the above floors.
Walking cautiously towards the stone stairs, letter clutched in her hand, Rivera listened out for any disturbances in the night. Hoping that, just once, nothing would go wrong. She climbed the stairs, carefully, being mindful of her leg and ribs, moving cautiously so she didn't bump into the railing. Opening the door, she peered out into the darkness, silver eyes glowing in the night. The preteen walked towards the same window that she'd let the dark-coloured owl in front only hours before and quietly unlatched the window. The same owl hopped onto the windowsill and stared at her, grey eyes peering into her own.
Rivera took one last look at the letter and slowly placed it into the owl's talon. The owl looked at her, its eyes shinning, and it seemed to nod its head. The black-haired girl seemed to understand and quietly spoke to the winged creature.
"Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, Hogwarts."
The owl nodded again, eyes bright with understanding, and the creature flew out the window. Rivera found herself watching the magnificent bird soar across the sky with wonder. She started to contemplate a question that she hadn't asked herself in a very long time.
"What is it to be free?" She whispered to herself, fearful of waking the house's only two other occupants, and latched the window shut again, clearing all evidence that she'd ever been upstairs in the night.
Rivera limped back down the cold, cracked stone stairs of the basement, towards her bedding, and finally, sat down and began to eat the 'meal' she had been allowed. Sighing, she took a bit out of the stale bread roll, it scratched her throat as she swallowed, and she immediately took a sip of water.
It didn't take long for the food and water to disappear. Meals were scarce and often out-of-date. If not eaten on the day she was given them, they grew old, mouldy and uneatable. She'd learn that lesson quite quickly when she was younger. If the food is there, eat it before it's taken away. But she knew her limits, her stomach had shrunk from years of malnutrition, and she couldn't handle much more than what she'd eaten in the last few moments.
Rivera found herself awake that night, waiting. She knew it was illogical to wait for a letter in the dead of night but she found herself hoping that it would come, and as she lay down to at least rest her broken body, she dreamt. For the first time in years, she dreamt of this wonderous place called Hogwarts. She didn't sleep that night, as that was all but normal for her now, but her imagination kept her awake, thinking of each new thing she may discover and the knowledge she will gain.
Note: The Hogwarts acceptance letter and Equipment list are not mine, I got them from one of the Harry Potter Wiki sites.
I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and now has a little more insight into the life of Rivera Woods.
Until next time,
~Midi~ xxx
Please review.