Yay! I edited the second chapter! As you'll notice here, the actual thing happens, not just a detention, and now everything should make a little more sense. Hope you like it, please read and review.
Disclaimer: I really
own Harry Potter, but the Jess's infiltrated the Stephanie compound
and sold them to an anonymous aspiring writer who became famous in my
place! Alas! My life is but a tragedy/smacks you in the head/ Of
course I don't own Harry Potter! Do you think I'd be writing this
fanfic if I did? NO! I'd be writing the sixth book. Instead, I sit
here, all alone with my computer and write fanfics for my fans. At
least, I think I have a few.
Stephanie was bored. She sat at the Gryffindor tabled, her back straight, eyes ahead, the perfect image of attention. However; she was bored out of her skull. She relived a brief moment of amusement remembering her explanation to her sister of the tasks.
Amanda sat carefully on the edge of her sister's bed, the summery sunlight turned blue as it danced through billowing curtains. She wrung her hands in her lap, nervous and apprehensive. Her older sister was explaining how they chose houses for the school that Amanda would be attending in the fall.
"It's quite a bit of work, you realize," Stephanie, Amanda's sister, started. "The first thing they do is take you to a small room and cram all the first years in. Then, they seal off all of the walls and make you find a way out. Now, normally this wouldn't be too hard, but if you're in there for more than two minutes, then…" She trailed off dramatically.
"Then what?" Amanda asked, saying exactly what her sister had expected.
"They send the ghosts in."
Amanda shivered.
"The ghosts have long, sharp swords that will cut through anything, metal or wood, so be careful. Once you're out of the room, you have to face a mountain giant. Be careful, their clubs can split a tree in half. After that, you'll enter the Great Hall. This is the final test. There, on a stool, you'll see an innocent enough looking hat. However! This hat will cause immense pain when placed on one's head. Watch out, and be wary."
"Is that everything?" Amanda asked eyes wide.
"That's all we're allowed to say."
It had been a great day for Stephanie, and she thought over a few of the finer points before her sister was finally sorted into Gryffindor. Bloody hat took its time sorting her, too.
More boredom followed for Stephanie until the last first year was sorted. Dumbledore stood up, then, and recited his usual first day speech, with a new corridor reported as off-limits. Stephanie looked over at Fred and George and they all smiled, knowing what they would soon look into.
A few nonsense words later and Stephanie dug into the food, while being verbally harassed by her younger sister for the lies she had told. Fred and George's younger brother also said something about being lied to, which prompted Amanda to ask what about.
"Trolls. They told me we had to fight trolls," he replied, then went back to a conversation with a black-haired boy.
Amanda turned to some other first years closer to her and Stephanie turned to the twins. They all burst out laughing and started re-telling the tales to each other that they had told their siblings.
When the food was finished and the tables cleared, Stephanie got her timetable and compared it with Fred and Georges. They still had all of the same classes, starting with potions first thing in morning, the next day. Stephanie tried to forget the dare that she had narrowly escaped and the punishment thereof, but Fred and George were only too happy to remind her. She pouted until they all dissolved into giggles again.
They trailed off to the Gryffindor common room with the rest of the third years. The portrait swung open as someone mumbled the password, and they all straggled in. Stephanie made a mad dash to the girl's dormitories to claim her usual bed and then walked calmly back down the stairs. She sat on 'the couch', the couch were she, Fred, George, and Lee did all of their plotting and scheming. It was where they did most of their experiments, and where they liked to simply sit and rest. In short, it was their hang out spot.
Fred, George and Lee claimed their own beds before coming back downstairs to join Stephanie on the couch.
"Hey, Lee," Stephanie asked. "How was your summer?" He smiled and told her in great detail about all the boring work he had done.
"Oh, man, that's nothing. I had to clean our basement AND we live in a muggle house now. We moved. It's kind of funny, really. None of them seem to notice the magic." Stephanie replied and smiled.
"Don't yer mum work with computers or summat?" One of the other third years asked.
"Yeah, she does." Stephanie said. A first year looked very interested and came over to their couch. He looked just about ready to ask Stephanie a question when she suddenly turned to him. "If you don't know what a computer is, you were obviously wizard-raised. The only person I answer endless questions to is Mr. Weasley, and you are sorely lacking red hair and a bit of height, so no, I will not answer your questions."
At that moment in time, Stephanie's sister walked through the portrait with Percy Weasley and a gaggle of other first years. Stephanie waved at her.
"Oi! Amanda! Have you picked a bed yet? The best ones are next to the windows."
"That's the one I always chose," Fred joined in.
Amanda looked startled; as if she thought someone else might steal her bed, and raced upstairs to claim one. Stephanie reached into her pocket when she realized that she was sitting on something, momentarily forgetting what it was. She pulled it out to see cheese and crackers, noticing the pleading look that Fred gave her.
She smiled evilly, stuck her tongue out, and walked up to the girls' dormitories.
"Oi! Wait a second!" Fred called and ran after Stephanie. She was halfway up the stairs when he stepped on the first one. Stephanie had turned to stick her tongue out at him again, but balked when the stairs turned into a slide. She swore loudly as she started sliding down and bowled Fred over. They ended up with Fred flat on his back, Stephanie sitting on his chest. It took her a moment to realize that he was staring at something, then another moment to realize what it was.
She quickly stood up and straitened her skirt, thankful again for the solid bear panties, then turned to go up the stairs again.
"Wait!" Fred called. Stephanie turned, unsure as to what would happen next. "Could I..." he said, then faltered. "Could... umm... we're meeting tomorrow evening, at dinner time. No one will miss us then." She nodded and started back up the stairs. "Wait!" He called again. She turned again. "Ermm... goodnight. See you in the morning." Smiling, she bade him goodnight and went to her room.
Stephanie took quite a while to get to sleep, a usual occurrence, but she still wondered what Fred had wanted to say. He had obviously started to say something, then change his mind. Eventually, she fell asleep. Her dreams took on a fanciful quality with unicorns and ghosts. Unfortunately, something pricked at the back of her neck and forced her wide awake at three in the morning.
The kind of wide-awake where there is no hope for sleep the rest of the night.
She rose from her bed and draped the coverlet about herself as a cape, a shield from the cold of a castle, even in September. She was still wearing her school uniform, having been too lazy to change into pajamas before falling asleep. She made her way down to the common room, surprised to see two red heads conversing by the fire.
Fred and George were deep in conversation, but stopped suddenly when they noticed her. If she had been a little more awake, or if it had been later in the day, she might have noticed that this was a sure sign that they had been talking about her. In this case, however, she didn't notice, and instead sat down between them.
"Hey" George said and Fred blushed. Stephanie couldn't be sure if the blush was real or imagined, the firelight giving off red and orange glows. "The first quidditch practice is this weekend," George continued. "Are you going to come?"
"Of course!" Stephanie replied. "I am your official unofficial cheerleader, am I not?" They smiled and nodded. "So what were you two so deep in conversation a moment ago about?"
This time, Stephanie was positive that Fred blushed.
"Just planning the next prank. Fred couldn't sleep, so he dragged me out of bed." George said, then smiled at Stephanie, who smiled back. Just then, her blanket slipped, and she spent a few moments getting it wrapped around herself again for her liking. Therefore, she completely missed the look that George gave Fred over her head. She looked over when George sighed.
He stood up, stretching, and started leaving.
"Anyways, I'm going back to bed. You two might be able to function on no sleep, but I can't." He then left Fred and Stephanie alone by the comfortable chair and warm fire.
Silence was left in his wake, but only a nice silence that sometimes appears between two good friends. With that comfort and the warmth of the blanket and fire, Stephanie was soon about to fall asleep. Her earlier awake-ness had been abandoned in the fiery glow. Before she knew it, she was asleep. A little later, she woke up again, only to be aware that her head was on someone's lap, and then she drifted off to sleep until the morning.
When she woke up, she sat up partway and yawned. It was then that she noticed the person she had laid her head on was rubbing their neck and also waking up. It had been Fred.
"Thanks for the pillow," Stephanie replied, a little shy.
"You're welcome." He reddened and then stretched a bit. Stephanie rubbed her eyes and sat up fully. Few people were wandering the common room this early, although Stephanie did notice someone. He caught her eye and gave her a wink. Stephanie replied with a funny look and the boy looked pointedly from her to Fred. She opened her eyes wide.
"Lee!" She exclaimed. The boy grinned widely as he walked over to their couch. "Nothing happened!"
"Sure, sure." He replied. "That's why your head was on his lap and Fred kissed you."
"He what?" Stephanie whirled and looked at Fred, who was decidedly red.
"Yeah, 'bout half an hour ago. He woke up, looked at you, kissed your forehead, then went back to sleep."
"What? But why would he... I mean, I... but... why... wha-?" She looked back to Lee, then Fred again. A question was trying to form on her lips.
"It was nothing," Fred said hurryingly. "I was still half asleep. In fact, I don't really remember doing it. Musta been a dream." He cocked a grin, and it struck Stephanie at that moment that he had the most adorable crooked smile. She pushed the thought away and agreed with him, yes, it must have been a dream. Either that, or she would be forced to look at something that would change their friendship. Stephanie was of the belief that neither she nor Fred was ready for that yet.
Stephanie gathered up her blanket and headed to her room, changing into a uniform and meeting her sister on her way down.
"Amanda! Good morning, sleepyhead. How was your night?"
"Horrible! Stupid houselves woke me up in the middle of the night when they were cleaning, and then I couldn't get back to sleep. At three, I did, and then some stupid girl woke me up twice this morning. Twice!"
"Shouldn't you have gotten up the first time?" Stephanie replied to her sister's whining.
"Oh, right, because seven is a decent hour to be up." Sarcasm was practically dripping from Amanda's mouth.
"When you're at school, it is. They have these things, called classes."
"Shut up! You're not my mother! I can get up when I want to."
"Yeah, because missing classes won't get you a howler."
"Shut up!" Amanda stalked back to her dormitory and Stephanie ran off to the great hall to eat breakfast.
Once there, she met up with Fred, George and Lee, digging into the bacon and eggs. Stephanie sat down as the morning post came, bringing a letter from her mother and a sock she had left at home. The letter asked the usual business, how was the trip, was Stephanie and Amanda okay, how were their schedules. Stephanie put the letter in her pocket, intent on giving it to her sister later in the day. She fed the barn owl Sharpe, a bit of food from her plate before sending it up to the owlry.
Stephanie turned to Fred and George on her left as she finished, with Lee across the table.
"Is everything set for today?" She asked, referring to a prank they had set up to happen after their first class. It was set for the Slytherin quidditch team captain.
"Yes," Fred replied. "Except that-"
"Except?" Lee interjected. "That means that everything isn't ready."
"The only thing is that we need an alibi." George said.
"That's great," Stephanie replied sarcastically. "Lucky for us, I came up with a spare one."
"What is it?"
"Well, my younger sister is not the most agreeable person, and has transfiguration first with the Slytherins. Now, there happens to be a certain Malfoy in that class who she will take an instant dislike to, I am certain. After her class, and in the middle of our potions class, she will pick a fight with him somewhere near professor Snape's class. A Slytherin will doubtless run in to get Snape, which will leave us with three things. No teacher, an opportunity, and an alibi."
"Okay, I see no teacher and an opportunity, but I don't see the alibi." Lee pointed out.
"Easy enough." Stephanie replied. "Fred or George will be there, taking bets. No one can tell the difference between them, and if one moves fast enough, it'll be like they're both there. Everyone will assume that they saw me, because it was my sister fighting. Lee, if people see you, they can't forget you. Everyone knows that we travel as a group, as well. Also, if one of the twins and I show up later, then people won't remember when we showed up."
"Excellent," Lee said, clapping. "You think like I do." At that moment in time, Snape walked past them, sneering and looking pointedly at the clock. They all looked innocent before realizing what Snape was referring to. They would all have to run if they were to make it on time to potions.
They took off from the great hall and raced towards the dungeon, happy knowing that they would beat Snape, if no one else. They ran down past the first years leaving their class, and into the potions classroom. There, they were surprised to see, stood Snape at the front of the class. They meekly took their places and put the required books onto their desks.
Snape began the lesson and had them writing a test in a few moments. Stephanie was the first to finish her test, even if a third of the answers were incorrect, and se stood up to hand them in. Fred and George gave her a look, reminding her of the kiss she owed Snape. 'of course,' she thought to herself, 'they'd remind me of that.' She rolled her eyes and mouthed that she knew, before walking to the front of the classroom to hand her test in.
"Uh, professor Snape, sir…" Stephanie paused, not quite sure how to go about it.
"What?" He asked with a slight snarl.
"Oh, sir, have I ever told you that I-"
He held out his hand.
"Sir?" Stephanie asked, perplexed.
"Your test, Stephanie." Snape replied, with a full snarl this time.
"Oh, right." She handed it in and opened her mouth, hoping that some excuse to kiss the vile thing would come out of her mouth.
Just then, a student burst in through the door, his breathing heavy and a worried look on his face.
"Professor Snape, sir! Students dueling in the hallway!" the young boy panted.
"What? Where! Who?" Snape asked, standing at his desk and walking around it and towards the student.
"Right down the hall, a Slytherin and Gryffindor first year. Something went wrong, sir."
"You!" He pointed to a Slytherin student in the back. "Run and get Madame Pomfrey. You," this time he pointed to a Gryffindor near the front, as the other student rushed from the room. "Make sure everyone else finishes their test. No cheating. The rest of you, after the test, read pages three to twenty nine in your textbooks, with a twelve inch essay on the uses of wolfs bane due next class." He pointed his wand at the board and the homework appeared.
"Perfect timing," Stephanie said to Fred as she had already returned to her seat. They acted normal as Snape passed, but something caught their ears. Something that made them stop.
"I think she's dead, sir. I think her wand backfired."
Stephanie didn't move. She couldn't. Her breaths came in short gasps, and the only sound she could hear was her own breathing. She was aware of the chair digging into her legs, and the cold floor against the worn spot of her left shoe, but they didn't matter. She blinked a couple of times and looked over at Fred, her face white with freckles more obvious.
"He's overreacting, she's probably just stunned," George said. Stephanie nodded.
"All the same, can we go by on our way?" She asked. She and George were the ones pulling the prank, Fred and Lee would man the event.
All four of them raced out of the classroom, ignoring their year mate's protests and heading the way they had seen Snape walk hurriedly down.
They slowed as they turned a corner, whispering the only sound they could hear. Something was dead wrong. At duels people yelled and shouted, urging others on. When someone was hurt, they were hushed for a little while, and then got louder when the ref said everything was okay.
They witnessed Madame Pomfrey run through the crowd and fall to her knees next to a small first year. She checked the pulse and then quickly levitated the body and took off towards the infirmary. She didn't tell everyone that they young girl would be okay.
She did not say that Amanda would be okay.
Stephanie missed the look that was given to Snape, missed him turning to head back to his class to find her and tell her something.
She was in shock.
There had been no okay.
Snape was surprised to see her in the hallway, but thought better of scolding her at such a time. He took her off to the side and said something to her as her friends waited impatiently for her to return. They watched as she nodded to him, and he said something else. She shook her head, and he placed his hand awkwardly on her shoulder. She shook him off and turned away. All that Snape did, instead of getting angry, was to nod and walk away.
Fred, George and Lee rushed over to her.
"Are you okay?" Lee asked with concern in his voice.
Stephanie nodded.
"Need anything?" George asked.
Stephanie shook her head. She reached into her pocket and took out a letter, staring at it dumbly.
Fred looked at her, and slowly, she looked up at him.
They were sitting at the kitchen table, eating a lunch of BLT sandwiches and carrots when Stephanie got her letter. The family owl had dropped it right in front of her, and she stared at it, unbelieving.
"Oh darling," her mother said and watched happily as her eldest daughter opened it up. After Stephanie had read and re-read it, she handed it to her mother to read. It was then that her little sister Amanda came up to her. Only eight years old, she was full of smiles and mischievousness. This time, however, the look in her eyes was serious.
"Stephie, when you go to Hogwarts, you'll come back, right?" She sounded so serious and worried.
"Of course I'll come back, stupid. I live here."
Suddenly, she fell into Fred and a cry tore from the back of her throat. Her body shook as he tried to comfort her without the knowledge of how.
Amanda sat carefully on the edge of her sister's bed, wringing her hands in her lap, nervous and apprehensive. Stephanie was explaining how they chose houses for Hogwarts, as Amanda's first year was in the fall.
"It's quite a bit of work, you realize," Stephanie started. "The first thing they do is take you to a small room and cram all the first years in. Then, they seal off all of the walls and make you find a way out. Now, normally this wouldn't be too hard, but if you're in there for more than two minutes, then…" She trailed off dramatically.
"Then what?" Amanda asked, saying exactly what her sister had expected.
"They send the ghosts in."
Amanda shivered.
"The ghosts have long, sharp swords that will cut through anything, metal or wood, so be careful. Once you're out of the room, you have to face a mountain giant. Be careful, their clubs can split a tree in half. After that, you'll enter the Great Hall. This is the final test. There, on a stool, you'll see an innocent enough looking hat. However! This hat will cause immense pain when placed on one's head. Watch out, and be wary."
"Is that everything?" Amanda asked eyes wide.
"That's all we're allowed to say."
She was silent, the only noise now was the intake of breath as she gasped, choking in her silent tears.
"Amanda! Good morning, sleepyhead. How was your night?"
"Horrible! Stupid houselves woke me up in the middle of the night when they were cleaning, and then I couldn't get back to sleep. At three, I did, and then some stupid girl woke me up twice this morning. Twice!"
"Shouldn't you have gotten up the first time?" Stephanie replied to her sister's whining.
"Oh, right, because seven is a decent hour to be up." Sarcasm was practically dripping from Amanda's mouth.
"When you're at school, it is. They have these things, called classes."
"Shut up! You're not my mother! I can get up when I want to."
"Yeah, because missing classes won't get you a howler."
"Shut up!"
She slid down to her knees, her hands resting useless in her lap as her grief broke through another barrier and all she kept repeating was 'dead, dead, dead' through a torrent of tears.
Her sister was dead.