Hello again, my darlings. I'm SO SO SO sorry it took me so long to update, but I've been going on a TON of college tours. Read on and enjoy!
the white princess- Thanks! I'm so glad you like it =)
Cookie05- I like POA, too! I'm happy that this chapter pleased you so :D
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After what happened on the train, I was surprised with the amount of sleep I got that night. But it did take me awhile to fall asleep. I guess it was because I was so excited about being back. Then again, everyone else was. And at least they were able to sleep. But still, after a few minutes of cuddling with Belle, my eyes finally started to get heavy...
I peered down into the gentle water of the lake. My reflection smiled back at me as I twirled the water around with my finger.
"Lacey!" Mum came up behind me and scooped me up. She planted a kiss on the tip of my nose. "You can't go near the water until you're older."
"But Mummy, why not?"
"You're only five. You don't know how to swim yet."
"Will you teach me? Pretty please?" She smiled.
"When you're old enough, dear."
I smiled in my sleep. My mum was always protective of me, especially when I was younger. It's only natural that a mother wants to keep her child safe, but I think that a huge part of it had to do with her fear of losing me like she lost Arabella.
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"Welcome, my children."
It was our first Divination class. We were split into pairs at small tables scattered around the large room. I was paired with Fiona Loxton, a Gryffindor in my grade. Each table had a pot of tea. At the beginning of class, we were told to drink a cup of tea until only the leaves remained, and we still had our cups nearby. Our professor was speaking to us. She was rather odd-looking, with long unkempt red hair held back in a headband, as well as multicolored robes.
"In this room, you shall explore the noble art of Divination. In this room, you shall discover if you possess the Sight." As she took a step forward, she bumped into the corner of her table, earning a few snickers from several students. However, she smiled and continued. "Hello. I am Professor Trelawney. Together we shall cast ourselves into the future!" Her hands were in the air. "This term, we'll focus on Tasseomancy, the art of reading tea leaves. So please, take the cup of the person sitting opposite you."
I reached over and took Fiona's cup, and she took mine. "The truth lies buried like a sentence deep within a book," continued the professor, "waiting to be read." She stopped in front of Seamus and touched the top of his head. "But first, you must broaden your minds." Seamus eyed her strangely as she stepped away. "First, you must look beyond." From a few feet away, I heard Hermione comment on how this was, "a load of rubbish." Suddenly, Professor Trelawney gestured dramatically at Neville.
"You, boy, is your grandmother quite well?" Neville looked slightly nervous.
"I...I think so." But the professor wasn't convinced.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Give me the cup." Dean handed her his cup. After looking inside, she put it down, a look of sorrow on her face. "Pity." Terrified, Neville snatched the cup, while Dean fumbled through his book. I almost felt worried, but I was starting to agree with Hermione. This really didn't seem very believable. "Broaden your minds," continued Trelawney. She turned to Ron and gasped. "Oh! Your aura is pulsing, dear. Are you in the beyond? I think you are." By now, Ron was terrified. Nevertheless, he nodded.
"Sure." While they were talking, I turned to Fiona. I looked inside the cup that I took from her.
"What do I have?" she asked. I flipped through my book.
"Well, this looks a bit like an acorn, which means that you're going to...discover gold?" She had an incredulous look on her face. Just then, we heard Trelawney gasp. We turned to see that she was looking at Harry in terror.
"Oh, my dear boy. My dear, you have...the Grim." There were a few gasps.
"The Grin?" asked Seamus. "What's the Grin?"
"Not the Grin, you idiot. The Grim." Bem, a Gryffindor boy from Nigeria, suddenly spoke up, reading from his book. "'Taking form of a giant spectral dog. It's among the darkest omens in our world. It's an omen...of death.'" This sent chills up my spine. I really hope that this is all just rubbish.
After several minutes, Trelawney cleared her throat.
"Well, children, go on. Take the cup of the person opposite you, and cast yourself into your future." Fiona looked inside the cup that she took from me. Flipping through her book, she suddenly stopped.
"What do you see?" She looked confused as she glanced at me.
"Well, I think-"
"My dear!" Fiona jumped as the professor rushed over to our table. "Your eyes have a mystical fog about them!" Yeah, I thought, because she's all fogged up from this nonsense. Terrified, Fiona stared at Trelawney. "Quick! Tell me what bodes for Miss Ravensdale!" Looking back down at the book, Fiona studied the symbols.
"Well," she said in a shaky voice, "here's a cross, which means suffering." My eyes went wide. "And I think this is a falcon." She pointed inside the cup. "And that says something about a deadly enemy." Oh, that's just lovely. "But here, this looks like a sun." The professor looked inside the cup and nodded her approval. "And that means happiness. So...I'm not quite sure how to word that." Trelawney beckoned Fiona with her hands.
"You're on the right track, my child. The order in which the symbols appear is the order in which they will occur. So..."
"So," Fiona said tentatively, "Lacey's going to suffer, she's going to encounter a deadly enemy, and she's going to be...happy?" That was the strangest omen I had ever heard. Why on earth would I be happy after suffering and meeting a deadly enemy? Unless, perhaps, I turned to suicide...
"Very good, my dear!" She then turned to me. "What a future you have ahead of you. Poor child." With a look of pity, she reached out to stroke my cheek as I stood there awkwardly. So far, this class scares me out of my wits.
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Later that day, it was time for Care of Magical Creatures. I was hoping that it would be better than Divination was. I was walking across the Covered Bridge when I heard a familiar voice come up next to me.
"Hey, Lacey." I looked to my side and smiled.
"Hello, Neville."
"What'd you think of Divination?"
"A bit terrifying." Neville nodded.
"Yeah, same here. I just got back from the owlry. I sent Gran a quick note to see if she's okay, just in case."
"Well, that's smart." He looked at my face for a few moments.
"Don't look too far into what your fortune was. Trelawney seems a bit...loopy, after all." I nodded.
"I certainly hope so." Soon, we were all in front of Hagrid's hut. He stood on his top step and spoke to us.
"That's it! Come on, now, come closer. Less talking, if you don't mind." He pointed at two Hufflepuff girls that were whispering to each other, and they piped right down. Hagrid smiled at us. "I've got a real treat for you today. A great lesson. So follow me." He climbed down off the step and started leading us into the Forbidden Forest. Neville stuck close to me as we were walking.
"Where do you think he's taking us?" he whispered. I shrugged. After a few minutes of walking, we came to this foot-high stone wall. Hagrid stepped over a stooped gap at the top of it, and the rest of us followed.
"Right, you lot. Less chattering. Form a group over there." He pointed to a mount of grey stones. "And open your books to page 49." I was about to ask him how to open our books, but someone else was too quick.
"Exactly how do we do that?" The disgust was evident in Malfoy's voice. But Hagrid didn't pay it any mind.
"Just stroke the spine, of course. Goodness me." He spoke to Malfoy like he was a child. I couldn't help but smile. I stopped walking for a moment and stroked the furry spine of my book. I heard a strange insect-like sound, almost like a purr. However, true to Hagrid's word, the book relaxed and allowed me to open it. Seconds later, I heard a growl and yelling. I turned to see that Neville was on the ground, his textbook snapping at him furiously. I heard Malfoy snicker.
"Don't be such a wimp, Longbottom," he said. I almost turned to say something, but then, Neville started to get up.
"I'm okay," he breathed. "I'm okay." Suddenly, the book attacked him again, and he fell backwards. Sighing nervously, I approached him and took out my wand. I didn't know which spell to use, though.
"Neville, stroke the spine!" He reached toward it, but it nearly bit a finger off.
"Trying!" Finally, he was able to wrestle the book to the ground and rub his fingers down the spine. After a few moments, the book was calm. Neville picked it up and got to his feet. The front of his robe was shredded, revealing the white shirt beneath.
"You okay?" He looked down at himself and back at me.
"I think so." As we walked back over to where everyone else was, I saw that Malfoy and a few of his friends were teasing Harry about something. We reached the stone structure as Hermione was leading Harry away. Ron took one look at Neville and shook his head.
"You're supposed to stroke it," he said, smiling. Trying to act normal, Neville nodded and scoffed.
"Yeah," he said, like nothing was wrong. I couldn't help but smile. Just then, Hagrid cleared his throat to get our attention. I glanced over at him as he did a singsong-like "da da-da-da." What I saw nearly caused me to collapse.
Standing a few yards away from Hagrid was an extraordinary creature. It seemed to be a giant gray eagle or falcon, with front feet that looked like the legs of a chicken (except with sharp-looking talons). But then I saw that it was a horse from the torso down. The thing that amazed me the most were the creature's giant wings. I felt my mouth curve into a smile. Whatever this thing is, I thought, it's amazing!
"Isn't he beautiful?" said Hagrid proudly. He threw what I think was a dead ferret at the creature, and it caught it in its massive beak. "Say hello to Buckbeak."
"Hagrid," asked Ron in awe. "Exactly what is that?"
"That, Ron, is a hippogriff," said Hagrid, walking towards us. "First thing you wanna know about hippogriffs is that they're very proud creatures. Very easily offended." He raised his finger in warning. "You do not want to insult a hippogriff. It may just be the last thing you ever do." I felt a bit scared for a moment, but I had no intention of insulting Buckbeak. He was simply incredible.
"Now," continued Hagrid, "who'd like to come and say hello?" I considered it for a moment, but I was drawn back by the retreating crowd. Even Neville ducked down to avoid being chosen. However, I grinned when I saw that Harry didn't back away. "Well done, Harry," Hagrid said. "Well done." Harry looked around nervously, but eyed the hippogriff. "Come on now."
Harry started to move forward a bit, and Ron beckoned him on by giving him a small push. "Now, you have to let him make the first move. It's only polite. So step up. Give him a nice bow. Then you wait and see if he bows back." Harry took one more step. "If he does, you can go and touch him. If not..." There was an awkward silence. "Well, we'll get to that later." Beside me, Neville got up from where he was crouching.
"Is Harry mad?" he whispered.
"Shh!" It was a very tense moment. When Harry bowed, Buckbeak screeched for a moment. Then, after a few moments, he bowed back. Hagrid threw him another ferret.
"Right," said Hagrid. "I think you can go and pat him now." We all watched as Harry moved towards the giant creature very slowly. Suddenly, I felt Neville crash into me from the side.
"Ouch!" He turned and saw me.
"Sorry, Lacey," he said quietly.
"Buckbeak's not going to hurt you, Neville," I whispered. Neville shook his head.
"No, it's not that." I looked over at where Neville was standing before he moved. Malfoy and his friends were standing there, snickering at Harry. I looked at Neville.
"You didn't have to move. You were there first."
"I know, but..." He was interrupted by the sound of loud clapping. I looked up to see that Harry was successfully patting Buckbeak's face.
"Well done!" said Hagrid happily. "Well done, Harry! Well done!" Neville, Hermione, Ron, myself, and most of the others started clapping as well. Needless to say, none of the Slytherins clapped. "I think he may let you ride him now," Hagrid said, stepping towards Buckbeak. Harry looked up at Hagrid, his eyes widening.
"What?" With that, Hagrid picked Harry up and lifted him onto Buckbeak's back, in spite of Harry's protests. He then swatted the creature's hide, and he started running with Harry still on him. Suddenly, Buckbeak spread his wings and took flight, causing Harry to cry out in alarm. We all ran after them, and stopped right where they took off.
"Blimey!" They were so high up; I couldn't even see them anymore. Then, behind me, Malfoy opened his mouth again.
"This is rubbish. My father didn't send me to school to see that git ride mutant ponies." His friends snickered. I frowned.
"And we don't come to school to see ferrets like you whine about everything," I muttered. Neville smiled, but that smile quickly turned into a frown as he glanced past me. Following his gaze, I turned around to see that Malfoy was looking right at me.
"What was that, Ravensdale? I didn't quite hear that terrified mousy voice of yours." After listening to more snickering for a few moments, I took a step towards him.
"No? Well, let me repeat myself." I crossed my arms. "We don't come to school to see ferrets like you whine about everything." Everyone except the Slytherins chuckled loudly. Malfoy glared at me dangerously and stepped forward. The Slytherins started muttering about a fight.
"You'll pay for that, you dirty quarterling." That was it. I thrust my hand into my pocket to retrieve my wand; he did the same. I was about to hex him when a loud voice boomed over us.
"All right!" Hagrid looked down at Malfoy, then at me. "Wands away, both of you!" With a last glare at Malfoy, I put away my wand. He did the same. "Now, I'll not have any bickering on the first day of class. You hear?" Hagrid gave us each a long stare and then walked back over to where he was standing. I backed away from Malfoy and stepped towards the Gryffindors. Neville gave me a sympathetic look. I smiled, as did he.
A few minutes later, a great shadow loomed over us. I looked up to see that Harry and Buckbeak were back. The hippogriff landed swiftly, and Harry slid down off of him. Hagrid started clapping again, as did most of us.
"Well done, Harry!" said Hagrid. "And well done, Buckbeak!" I smiled as I saw Hagrid bend over and say something to Harry. Glancing over at Buckbeak, I was happy to see him looking so proud, so grand. Suddenly, Malfoy shoved a few people out of his way and sauntered over to Buckbeak.
"You're not dangerous at all, are you? You big ugly brute." The next few moments were chaos. Buckbeak screeched furiously and reared up on his back legs. Hagrid shouted at Malfoy to get back. I felt myself get dragged backwards by the swarm of panicked students. Once I was able to look back, I saw that Malfoy was rolling on the ground, clutching his arm.
"Oh! It's killed me! It's killed me!" He looked pathetic. Hagrid stood over him and tried to calm him. Then, Hermione stepped forward in haste.
"Hagrid! He needs to be taken to the hospital." Hagrid nodded.
"I'm the teacher. I'll do it." With that, he picked up the squealing boy and started walking out of the forest.
"You're gonna pay for this," Malfoy muttered.
"Class dismissed!" said Hagrid, ignoring him.
"You and your bloody chicken!" I was glad when they were finally out of ear shot. Looking over at Harry, I saw him patting Buckbeak's face almost reassuringly. I felt warm seeing this, but I also felt worried for the hippogriff. Knowing Malfoy, I thought to myself, he's not going to let this fly without causing more trouble.
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I hope you enjoyed this!