Hey, Potterheads. Ravenclaw'sHeir back with Chapter 3 of A Strange Girl. I hope this is pleasing to you guys, because I tried literally four different ways of writing this chapter, including this final draft.
Sorry about spelling mistakes, I still don't have that laptop.
-Chapter 1: First Classes, Dumbridge, and New Powers-
Lani had soon taken to calling her Professor Dumbridge. She, like everyone else, was furious about not doing magic in class. It didn't help that most people didn't believe Harry about Voldemort being back.
He had been given a detention for saying that a boy called Cedric Diggory was murdered by Voldemort the past year. What a bunch of crap! Why would Harry lie about that?
Lani had this thought in her head as she walked into the Great Hall for lunch. She saw Harry and Ron chatting about something, quidditch probably.
Hermione walked up next to her and smiled. "Hi, Lani."
"Hi, 'Mione," she responded.
Lani walked to sit next to Harry, and Hermione sat next to Ron, but Lani noted her distance from him. She gave her a questioning look, but she just blushed and looked away.
Lani smirked and asked Harry if he had any more trouble that day.
"No, but it's getting on my nerves with all the stares and disdainful looks."
"I don't doubt it. Seamus was talking trash about you, but I overheard Neville defending you. He seems to believe you, Harry."
He nodded. "Seems you four are the only ones, though."
Lani sighed and rubbed his back comfortingly. "'S okay, Harry. Dumbridge can only do so much to us, right?"
He nodded. "True. Ron and I've got to go. See you guys later." He rose and left, Ron following behind him.
Lani leaned forward and grinned. "Does someone have a crush on Ron?" Hermione blushed furiously and looked down, playing with her food. Lani laughed. "She does, doesn't she?"
Hermione just kept on impersonating a tomato, refusing to answer. Lani just laughed and stood, intent on heading to the common room, but she bumped into someone, making them drop their book.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, reaching down to grab it she looked at the person and recognized it as the third fifth girl in the dorm. "Oh, hey," she said, smiling. "I'm Lani LeStrange."
The girl stared back at her and said, "Felicia Moon," quite tersely, then walked past her to the end of the table where someone she didn't expect was waiting.
Hermione voiced her question, "Is Felicia Moon, a Gryffindor muggleborn, sitting with Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin pureblood?"
Lani shook it off and started to exit again. She had a free period, due to her accelerated education in America, and she intended to use it to teach herself how to become an animagus. She'd get herself registered in America, later, but she needed to know how, first.
She went up to the dorm and sat on her bed, closing the curtains. She looked through her book and studied how exactly to find her 'inner beast,' which was way too cheesily named in her opinion.
She sat herself in a lotus position and relaxed her body, performing a type of legilimency on herself. She delved into the darkest corners of her mind before coming to a bright forest, seeming to be in autumn with leaves changing colors. She hiked through the forest on the path, feeling a strange pull.
She spotted many forest creatures around, such as chipmunks, stags, does, and owls - to which she felt the slightest of pulls - but didn't feel the strong pull change course towards them. She suddenly came to a clearing with a single, completely green tree. She jogged towards it and saw a single owl perched on a branch.
It was a beautiful great horned owl with pure white feathers and had her grey eyes, just like Athena's. It looked at her with curiosity as it tilted its head to the side slightly before flying off of its branch to land on her shoulder and nuzzle itself into the crook of her neck.
She cane out of her vision-like state before grinning. She'd finally figured it out. After two years of trying, she'd done it. She knew her animagus. Now she just needed to change into it.
Hermione would flip when she told her.
-Line Break-
Hermione was about to flip.
During Ancient Runes, someone spoke up about how what they were learning had no purpose, but someone had then spoken about how they needed this for hunting dark wizards, or something or other. This led to a full-out argument about if You-Know-Who was back. All of this arguing was seriously going to mess up her OWL grades.
She was the first to leave the classroom, while everyone stared after her. Hermione Granger was never the first to leave class. Ever.
She set off to dinner and plopped herself down between Harry and Neville. Ron sat across from them, with Lani nowhere in sight.
"Where's Lani?" she asked, gauging Neville's reaction. Just as she assumed, he stiffened slightly.
Harry shrugged, as did Ron. Suddenly, they saw a whip of black hair rush into the Hall and sit beside Ron.
"You guys will never guess what happened earlier!"
She had glanced at Neville, who stood to go to a different area of the table, then looked to Hermione, both questioningly and excitedly.
"What?" Harry asked, sounding bored.
"I know what my animagus is!" she exclaimed happily.
Hermione's jaw dropped, Harry's eyes widened, and Ron did both. "Well?!" they all exclaimed expectantly.
"I'm an albino great horned owl!"
Hermione grinned, Harry laughed, and Ron did both. "That's amazing!" they exclaimed excitedly.
"I know, right?! I'm so excited!" She pulled out parchment and a quill and started to write a letter to the ADMO, the American Department of Magical Oversight. "I almost want to fly it to America myself!" she said after explaining what she was doing.
They talked about that for a small time longer before moving onto more school-related topics.
"Dumbridge is such a toad," Lani grumbled. "I say we consult Fred and George about sneaking her something from the Skiving Snackboxes!"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, Lani. That wouldn't help anyone." She then glanced at Harry. "Seamus and a Slytherin boy, Theodore Nott, started an argument about whether You-Know-Who is back or not, which got the whole class in an uproar. Surprisingly, Theodore is on our side."
Just as she said that, three Slytherins approached the table and sat beside Lani. A girl with chocolate brown hair, a button nose that any boy would say was adorable, and hazel eyes put her arm around Lani and grinned.
Lani grinned back at her, "Hey, Trace."
"Hey, Lan. Daph and Theo insisted on meeting you before the day was over," she indicated to the pretty blonde girl with jade green eyes, high cheekbones, and almond-shaped eyes and the handsome boy with ebony hair, shockingly bright blue eyes, and regal, stereotypical pureblood features.
"Hello, Atalanta," the girl said. "Daphne Greengrass," she stuck out her hand, which Lani shook, then nodded to the other three Gryffindors.
The boy nodded to her and said, "Theodore Nott."
Lani smiled back at him. "So, I hear that you two believe that Voldemort is back." They nodded. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
Theodore looked around, then bent in to speak softly, "My father was a Death Eater and wants me to take the Mark next year to help with a plan the Dark Lord has in the making. I was wondering if you would know a way to get out of it, either you or Granger, or if you wanted me to get the Mark and be a sort of spy."
The four looked shocked and the three Slytherins glanced at each other, afraid they'd broken them, but then Lani smiled softly and placed her hands
over Theodore's. "You don't have to go through that, Theodore. We can figure something out." She turned to Hermione. "Right, 'Mione?"
She nodded. "We'll figure it out, Theodore."
Lani smiled at him and looked into his eyes before noticing that her hands were still on top of his. She blushed furiously and tore her hand away, looking away, suddenly feeling shy around the Slytherin boy.
The boy smiled at the two Gryffindor girls, looking slightly sad and solemn. "Thank you, it would mean a lot. And it's just Theo to you four." The three stood and returned to their table, with Theo smiling brightly, especially at Lani.
This went noticed by Hermione, who grinned at the pink hue Lani's face had taken. Ron, on the other hand, gave the raven haired girl a strange look. "Are you feeling okay, Lani? You face looks flushed."
She nodded silently and smiled to herself. With Felicia and Draco hanging out and Theo, Daphne, and Tracy wanting to join their little "rebellion," it seemed inter-house relations were finally looking up.
At least, that's what she told herself she was smiling about.
-Line Break-
Lani huffed and sat in the red armchair beside the couch where Ron, Hermione, and Harry sat, noticing something on Harry's left hand.
"Uh, Harry, what happened to your hand?" she asked, thinking she already knew what had been his punishment in detention.
He frowned and analyzed his right hand. "Nothing."
"Your other hand," she tugged on his left hand, causing him to drop his Potions book and assignment with an indignant, 'Hey!' She looked at the back of his hand and read the words, 'I must not tell lies,' carved deeply into his skin. It was written in obvious male handwriting.
Lani shook her head. "That woman is torturing you, Harry."
Hermione and Ron looked at his hand with wide eyes. "Bloody hell, Mate," Ron said.
Hermione shook her head. "You have to go to Dumbledore, Harry. It's simple, just walk to his office and tell him what she did."
"It's not simple, Hermione. He has enough on his mind, anyway." He picked up his book and returned to his assignment.
Lani frowned at him. "Harry, if you won't tell Dumbledore, at least tell McGonagall. Or Sirius." He nodded at her, but she felt like it was only to shut her up. She faked a yawn and stretched. "Well, I'm off to bed. G'night." They chorused goodbyes, and she stood and went upstairs.
She picked parchment, a quill, and ink from her bag and wrote a note to McGonagall:
"Professor McGonagall,
DADA teacher used Blood Quill on HP. HP refuses to tell Headmaster.
~APL"
She decided to fly it there herself and morphed into her owl form. She flew out of the window, note in her beak. She rapped on McGonagall's window, who opened it and looked at her questioningly. She dropped the note on the desk and sat there, waiting for her to read it.
She scanned over it and looked at the owl over the rims of her glasses. She nodded at the owl and shooed her away. Just as she was about to fly out, she said, "I do hope you spoke to the Department, Atalanta."
The owl looked at her and nodded, winking, before flying off to actually get some sleep.
There! This story is officially longer than Daughter of a Death Eater, and I like it a lot better. I will be deleting that story right after I upload this, so say, "Good riddance!"
As I said at the beginning, I hope you like this final draft of Chapter 3. I certainly like it, but ai would still change a dew things. I probably won't upload until I do get that laptop, so it could still be a little while.
~Ravenclaw'sHeir