The halls of Hogwarts were deserted. It seemed like the entire world had decided to sleep, falling into a deep slumber that left me alone in the world.
I nearly laughed aloud when I realised that my wonderful wisdom was completely overridden when Filch rounded the corner, his two cats following closely behind.
You see, there are two things you need to watch out for with Argus Filch: Hogwarts Caretaker Extraordinaire; number one being his odour, (I mean, seriously, that man has never even heard of a shower), and the second being his two cats, or, more specifically, his cat and her kitten.
It came a shock to all of Hogwarts when Putsy the Caretakers Cat gave birth to a new kitten. For one, we all thought Putsy was a he, not a she, so when Filch announced to Dumbledore during dinner a few months ago (with tears of happiness in his eyes, may I add) that good ol' Putsy was up the duff, then more than a few of us fainted in shock.
And secondly, we had no idea how Putsy had found the… manly parts to make a new kitten. I mean, we thought she was a he for a reason - she's not exactly the prettiest of cats in the world. Let's just say that somewhere out there, a not so happy father-cat is trying to hang himself for a drunken night out with 'the lads'.
Either way, Mrs Norris (yes, I did say Mrs Norris - the kitten's not even turned one yet and she's already 'married') seemed to have inherited her mother's stalker genes, because no matter where you seemed to be going, whether to the secret passageway to the Astronomy Tower or the flipping bathroom, Mrs Norris was always there, mewing away like you were actually doing something wrong, not the fact that you were about to pee yourself if that stupid cat kept blocking the door to the ladies.
So, obviously, as soon as I saw Filch round the corner with his two stalker-cats in tow, I knew I had to find a good hiding place (and fast) or risk the 'Hanging By Your Thumbs In The Dungeons' speech again.
The best place I could find in short notice was behind the tapestry of Leyland the Lost (a stupid man who decided to venture into a forest the size of Russia) whilst holding my breath so I wouldn't be noticed and also so I didn't have to breath in that foul odour emitting from our beloved caretaker.
"Oh dear, my pretties," he wheezed to his cats, "Looks like someone's out of bed… And at this time at night?" he gave a 'threatening' chuckle and leant down to pick up a stray slipper that someone had left after a late night rendezvous, "Looks like I'll have to take that up with the Headmaster… Don't know what kind of dangers you might encounter on a night like this… Werewolves… Vampires… Flesh eating kneazles… Wouldn't want that to happen now would we?" He laughed again out loud, and I swear to Merlin that the cats both snickered. I am not kidding.
Thankfully, they all must have been high on cat-nip, because they ignored my obvious presence behind the tapestry and continued down the corridors, rounding the corner and leaving me with the odour that can only be represented as 'Filch'.
I scurried away as fast as I could, leaving the smell behind me as I ran towards the huge doors that led out to the grounds, before taking a sharp left and exiting through the smaller door to the side. It was conveniently placed for 'smaller visitors' such as goblins and such, but taken to the fact that no goblin has ever visited Hogwarts before, it was just considered to the students as a great way to sneak out.
The creature was still sat at the same place that I had last seen it, give or take a few centimetres. It was shaded by the moonlight by a huge oak tree, one of the many places that I had spent alone during lunch times. Next to the tree was a conveniently placed boulder, big enough to climb on to.
I took a deep breath and raised my shoulders a bit before making my way towards the creature.
It wasn't until it let out a threatening growl that I realised that this 'creature' that I was so scared of was in fact a dog. It's shaggy hair was tossed around, giving it the 'windswept but gorgeous' look that was so common in obnoxious, egotistical boys now-a-days. It was large, a lot bigger than any other dog I had ever seen. It was jet black in colour and had an uncanny resemblance to the Grim, a dog like creature mentioned a few million times in every Divination lesson.
I sighed as the dog growled again and turned to look at me, heckles raised in annoyance and grey eyes piercing my own as I stared straight back.
"Don't mind me, Fabio," I told the dog, keeping eye contact whilst trying to climb on the boulder, "I'm only here to stargaze."
I broke the awkward staring contest between us as I fell, slipping on the rocks surface. I muttered a few obscenities that I wouldn't be mentioning to my father's priest, and I swore that the dog snickered at my misfortune.
What is it with animals and forms of laughter tonight?
I finally reached the top of the boulder and collapsed in exhaustion. All of the drama - plus the horrible odour from our beloved Hogwarts Caretaker - had left me shattered.
"Merlin," I murmured, more to myself that the dog who pricked up an ear to listen, "How sad am I? I can't get a dog - probably the Grim no less - to like me, a fact that I will probably chastise myself for when I end up dead, I can't get anyone else to like me, I spend my afternoons basking in the stench of a caretaker and wondering how his cat got pregnant… Such a glorious life…"
I sighed in self-pity.
"Merlin, I wish I could drop the façade for once." I bared my teeth in a humourless grin and gazed towards the sky. "If I could just once, just once, be serious then I'd be happy…"
The dog gave a bark, sounding a lot like laughter, and looking down, his tongue was lolling out in amusement, grey eyes twinkling against the moonlight.
"Look at me… giving a dog a human-like personality… I really need to get a life." I smiled, this time genuine and lent down to scratch the dog behind the ears. His leg thumped against the floor manically and I laughed out loud.
"If only getting everyone else to like me was this easy," I smiled and patted him on the head.
"Maybe it'll all change soon though." I whispered, withdrawing my hand and ignoring the whine that followed, "You know what Dumbledore's like. 'Anything can happen, Alana, just believe…' Merlin, I'd think that man was crazy if he wasn't so brilliant…"
A yawn interrupted my thoughts and took over my face in an unattractive manner.
"Looks like I'm more tired than I thought…" I said, hardly taking into consideration that I was, in fact, talking to a dog, "Will you be here tomorrow?"
The dog seemed to look at me with a sardonic gaze as if saying, 'I'm a dog, you fool, I can't speak'.
I smiled at my own mistake.
"Fine then, don't answer. You still need a name though."The dogs head (that was at that moment in time on it's way to lick an… area) suddenly flipped up to face me.
"Yep, that's right, a name. Now, myself, I've always been partial to those Muggle names that they give their dogs… Like… Rover!"
The dog seemed to stare at me blankly, clearly not impressed by my choice.
"What? It's original! Fine… How about Scruffy?"
It's head went back to licking the… area.
"Merlin, dude, too much information right there! Keep it to yourself, would you?!"
The dogs head slowly moved up to meet my gaze a gave a heavy sigh.
"Fine, I'll hurry up," I continued, "How about… Snuffles?"
The dog collapsed on a heap in the floor, showing that the names I was sprouting of was not the best choice for him.
But at this time, a huge yawn racked my body and my eyes half-closed in exhaustion.
"To be honest, I don't care if you'd rather chew your own leg off that have me call you Snuffles, I'm knackered and I want to go to bed."
I slid off of the boulder and scratched him behind the ears once more, the leg once again going haywire.
"See you later, Snuffles," I said, and made my way towards the castle and towards the inviting bed that awaited me.
I looked back as I neared the castle doors, and as my gaze settled towards the spot I was just moments before, I noticed that the creature had gone.
The next morning, I awoke to the not-so-quiet early morning routine that my fellow dorm mates had decided to start to 'beautify' themselves for the upcoming school day. I wouldn't have minded, really I wouldn't, but the fact that the regime was a teensy tiny little way from breaking the sound barrier didn't settle too well with me.
I ignored all of the annoyed shouts of protest as I burst into the bathroom and pushed the girls out, intent on taking a shower before the classes begun. Honestly, I was only in an hour and they were acting like I'd broken a rule or something.
Before long, I was making my way towards the Great Hall, my fellow Slytherin seventh year girls only half-way through their 'beautifying' techniques.
My eyes were half closed in exhaustion as I made my way to the Great Hall on auto-pilot, the smell of bacon and seven years of roaming the halls leading me to my destination with no unfortunate 'walking into walls' incidents.
I was just about to open the doors that led into the Great Hall when a shout of my name stopped me in my tracks.
"Miss Thomas!" the voice shouted, even though I had already stopped walking.
Professor Dumbledore hobbled towards me, dressed in a variety of purple and yellow robes, his point hat equipped with an entire galaxy of stars and constellations.
Scarily enough, it suited him.
"Ah, Miss Thomas," he continued, "I'm so glad that I could catch you before you entered the Great Hall. I wouldn't want to draw any… unneeded… attention." Yeah, and the previous shouting of my name throughout the whole castle doesn't draw unneeded attention at all.
"I just wanted to say, that over a tea party with Professor Slughorn's second eldest sister's niece's brother, I noticed that I haven't told you some very important news…"
He lent in towards me, and I also lent forward.
Important news?
Had Voldemort killed again?
Had someone found out that I was a Death Eater?
Had Filch finally taken a bath?!
As the tension reached its peak, Dumbledore stated, "Fire bird has landed, I repeat, fire bird has landed."
Well, to any normal person, that would mean that he was about to tell Lily and the Marauders about the Order of the Phoenix, but lately he had found a fascination with Muggle spy movies, ending all of our meetings with 'Over and Out'.
Afterwards, he gave a jolly wave and skipped into the Great Hall.
Yes, there he was, an old wizard with a beard longer than I am, skipping through some double doors and he doesn't want to draw attention…
I slapped a hand to my head in exasperation and followed him through the doors, the smell of bacon taking over my stomach.
I sat down at the far side of the Slytherin table and piled my plate high with the glorious bacon that I had become so fond of.
I was just in the midst of conjuring up a make-believe plaque (an award for the house elves for 'Best British Bacon of the Year') when a large - and I mean laaaaarge - shadow fell over my plate.
Looking up, I suppressed a groan and instead forced a cheery grin onto my face.
"Good morning, Professor Slughorn, and how are you today?"
Sluggy also pasted a grin on his face, but with he spoke through gritted teeth which made his many chins wobble. To be honest, I could see the resemblance to a walrus.
"I'm quite… fine… Miss Thomas. And you?"
"Perfectly spiffing, sir," I replied, and wondered how long we could both hold up the charade. "Is that my timetable I see in your hands? Hopefully I'll have you first, sir! What a way to start the day."
He gave a sarcastic smile and handed me the piece of upon it, I resisted the urge to bang my head on the table repeatedly and instead forced a laugh.
"Look, sir! I was right! Double potions first thing. Oh, happy days!"
He gritted his teeth once more and closed his eyes in annoyance before giving a curt nod and moving down the line.
I sighed and watched him walk away, his large backside wobbling like there was no tomorrow.
We had had a mutual distaste for one another ever since my second year when I accidentally-on-purpose blew up a cauldron.
It wasn't even the first time that it had happened, it was just the fact that my family wasn't well known and that I wasn't exactly the best potions maker around that he decided to give me a month's worth of detention for it.
Merlin forbid if Lily Evans did it. He'd probably GIVE her house points for 'doing it in style'.
As I downed my fourth cup of coffee, I picked up my bag and made my agonising way out of the hall.
I resisted the urge to run screaming to my dorm room as I thought about what was to come. Two bloody hours with Horace bloody Slughorn going on about how bloody awesome Lily bloody Evans was and how bloody fantastic it was that Lauren Peterson's bloody father had had a bloody promotion.
Once I arrived at the classroom - in the dungeons no less, honestly, what sane person has a classroom in the dungeons? - I was thrilled to find that I was only the fifth person there.
Two Gryffindor's were sat on the front row, frantically flipping through their textbooks as if their life depended on it, deep in conversation about Amortentia, the most 'powerful love potion in the world' and giggling away like children.
Lily Evans was sat towards the middle rows, rifling through her bag for a quill. She sat on the right hand side of the classroom with the rest of the Gryffindorks, and the Slytherin's of the left.
It was common knowledge that the two houses don't mix.
If one side ran out of spaces, the person left over would rather sit on the floor than mix with the other house.
The last person in the classroom was Severus Snape.A couple of years ago and I would have been happy to see the one person who acknowledged me for who I was in this school, but ever since the devastating day in the Charm's corridor, I had avoided him like the plague.
I never forgave him for ruining my life, and opted instead to ignore him. Whether it was in school or Death Eater meetings, I refused to notice his presence.
Glancing quickly at my watch, I noticed that I had a whole twenty minutes before the start of the lesson. Twenty whole minutes to ignore the deathly glares from my once best friend, to ignore the annoying giggling from the Gryffindor girls and to ignore the pitying sighs from Lily Evans.
I slumped down into an empty seat, two rows behind Severus, the chair screeching against the floor tiles and echoing throughout the room.
After giving a mocking smile to the Gryffindor girls, I lay my head on the table and ignored the sounds around me (I swear, the giggling that was sounding throughout the room was more annoying that Narcissa's snores...).
My thoughts turned the girl that was no doubt gazing at me in pity and sympathy, wondering how she could work her 'magic powers' to help me in some way. No doubt, Lily Evans had tried to help me over the years.
We had been mutual friends of Severus Snape, but ever since the incident at the lake in fifth year where he had slipped up and called her a Mudblood – because of James Potter, no doubt – she had ignored him and turned her sights to me.
She didn't understand how I could still be friends with him after he had done something so terrible, so foul. I never told her (I hadn't even spoken a word to her that wasn't tormenting in two whole years), but I wanted to say that everyone makes mistakes. It takes a brave man to admit his mistakes, but it takes someone even braver to accept that it has happened.
We had both been friends of Severus', but we had never really found it in one another to be chums. I thought she was a stuck-up know-it-all and she thought I was a tag-along. But we had had a silent agreement to remain 'acquaintances' for Severus' sake.
So, we were never close. Even back in the day where we hung by the lake, I couldn't tell you what her favourite colour was, but I knew she cared for Severus, and that Severus cared for her. I was just a third wheel in their friendship, but I was still there.
After the incident at the lake, I had comforted Severus and Lily had gone back to her Gryffindor friends. She was accepted straight back into their group, and was made the Gryffindor 'Queen'. She had the traits; beauty, brains, nerve and the love-lust of James Potter.
Severus, however, refused to blame himself for the splitting of the friendship between them, and from then on until the rest of the year, he had challenged me to join the Dark Lord.
And before you knew it, there he was, showing me the mark and swearing vengeance on all Mudbloods in the middle of the Charms corridor.
But from this, I had ignored Severus – and Lily noticed.
Ever since then – which no doubt have been the longest two years of my life – she has sent me glances, opening her mouth, but not forming words. Wanting to ask me what was wrong, but not being brave enough to actually go through with it.
Gryffindor: The House Of Bravery? Yeah, my flobberworm's braver than , it would be if I actually had a flobberworm...
The bell rung, screeching and loud, and woke me from my reverie, and it was then that I noticed pretty much every seat in the classroom had been filled up.
Honestly, someone could've cast an Unforgivable and I wouldn't have noticed...
Slughorn finally burst through his office door, chins wobbling, ready to start the lesson, and I resisted the urge to laugh when he sighed deeply and tapped his foot when the Marauders sauntered in a few seconds later.
Seriously though, if that had been me, I would have been given at least a month's detention, but them? No, Merlin forbid!
His bald head shone brightly in the candlelight that was given around the dark room, and twiddled his walrus-like moustache a bit before getting to work.
"Now, everyone, I'm sure you all missed Potions lessons just as much as I missed having you. Some more than others..." he added under his breath, and winced slightly in my direction. "As you know, the seventh year of Hogwarts is the most important of all. Not only is it your last, but it is also your N.E.W.T year. I'm sure you'll hear the speech from every one of your professors, so I'll not bore you with the riff raff."
He wobbled over to his desk and sat behind it, turning around to face us once more.
"Oh, Miss Collins, it was wonderful to hear of your mother's promotion. Be sure to send her my congratulations!"
I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Another year, another way for ol' Sluggy to try to sound important...
No one could be important when they had twenty chins.
It was the harsh truth.
"Now, let's get to business." He waved his wand and two words were placed on the board in his usual, curvy handwriting. "This year, we will be focusing on one single potion and one potion alone. It takes a whole six months to brew, so we will be spending the first six months actually brewing the potion, and the remaining months on theory."
He stood up once more and walked towards the board.
"Now, can anyone tell me – exactly – what this is?"
He pointed towards the board and my heart stopped.
It wasn't until Slughorn said my name – in both surprise and annoyance – that I realised that my hand was in the air.
"Felix Felicis... Luck in a potion. Gives the drinker luck. Too much can cause giddiness, recklessness... Can cause over-confidence, but if it's used right then, I guess depending on how powerful the person, they can do anything... Like if Dumbledore wanted to take over the world with an army of socks, then if he used Felix Felicis right, the he could."
Slughorn glared at me again, and his cheeks began to turn red from the effort not to shout at me.
He gritted his teeth and gave me five points, before turning back to the board and continuing with the lesson.
He ignored me from then on, with good reason – he had never given me a single house point in my life, he was probably still in shock.
But I had bigger problems; bigger than Slughorn's clothes size (which was quite big in itself, to be fair).
I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, as if someone was watching me, and, looking up, Severus Snape was grinning maliciously right back at me.
I stuck my tongue out at him and gazed back down at my table.
He knew.
He would tell Voldemort in a heartbeat that our project for the year was Felix Felicis and then we could all pretty much say 's'later' to the world as we know it.
If Voldemort got his hands on enough Felix Felicis to last him, then that good luck could allow him to do what he had wanted to do since being a teenager – and no, it's not getting laid.
He could abuse the power of the Felix Felicis to allow him to take over – and that wouldn't be too good now, would it?
I had to tell Dumbledore as soon as I possibly could, and if I got out of Potions in the midst of it, then that was just an added bonus...
I stuck my hand in the air, just as Lily was about to answer why we used crushed butterfly wings instead of caterpillar chunks.
"Sir," I said, "I don't feel too good. Can I go to the Hospital Wing?"
He pointed his sausage like finger at me and shook it, eyebrow raised.
"I know what you're doing, Miss Thomas," he replied, "Don't think that I don't know what you're doing..."
I resisted the urge to chuckle.
"You know what I'm doing? Pray tell, Professor, what exactly am I doing apart from telling you that I'm ill?"
"You're trying to get out of this lesson, aren't you?!" he cried, in a 'ah-ha!' kind of tone.
"Sir?" a fellow Slytherin asked, looking towards the back of the classroom where the Marauders were sat.
"Not now, Mr Crabbe," he replied, and looked back towards me. Meanwhile, I glanced towards where Crabbe was looking and noticed what he had seemed so worried about.
The four boys were chuckling amongst themselves and adding as many ingredients as they could get their hands on into the cauldron in front of them...And said cauldron looked an unhealthy green and was emitting purple smoke...
"Everybody down!" someone yelled just before the potion exploded, sending green gloop everywhere.
Slughorn – being as large as he was – didn't have time to crouch down, and was subject to a face-full of the mixture.
"You... You... You..." Slughorn glared towards the four boys who were sat sheepishly behind the cauldron, also covered in the mixture.I had never in my life wanted to thank them so much.
In the kerfuffle, I exited the classroom and ran towards the stone gargoyle that marked the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"Good morning, Alana," the gargoyle said in a masculine voice. He knew me well from the times I had been to see Dumbledore regarding Order and Death Eater meetings.
"'Morning, Flossie," I replied quickly, wiping off some of the green gloop. "Can you let me in? I need to speak to Dumbledore. You know," I dropped my voice to a whisper, "urgent stuff."
"I'd love to, Alana," Flossie told me, deep voice echoing through the corridor, "I really would. But you need a password. Dumbledore told me not to let anyone in if they don't have a password. I think his exact words were, 'Flossie, my dear old gargoyle, if someone doesn't have a password, don't let them in'. You don't have a password, deary. I can't let you in."
I don't think he could have put the word 'password' in there more if he wanted...
"But... Flossie, come on, ol' pal..."
He simply shook his head and looked pityingly towards me.
Nearly hysterical, I started to shout random candies at the poor gargoyle.
"Sugar Quills. Chocolate Frogs. Sherbet Lemon. Cockroach Clusters!" I nearly cried out in exasperation, "Pear Drops! Bertie Botts! BON BONS!"
Flossie blinked at me a few times before chuckling quietly...
...Then slowly began to expose the long winding staircase to Dumbledore's office.
Bon-Bons? I thought to myself whilst I stared at the opening. Bloody Bon-Bons?
I climbed the stairs in a rush, taking them two at a time and then wondering why I nearly broke my shin on the stone material.
Reaching the wooden door that marked the entrance, I burst through without knocking to ask permission to go through.
Which, in itself, was a bad idea...
I mean, don't was nothing super bad like walking in to find Dumbledore and McGonagall going at it on the desk or anything...
But walking through the door, I was surprised to find the Minister of Magic talking to Dumbledore from behind the desk.
"Oops..." I murmured when I saw the scene, "Don't mind me, sirs... I'll just... erm... wait outside?"
I began to turn around when Dumbledore's voice stopped me.
"That is not necessary, Miss Thomas. The Minister was just leaving, weren't you, Minister?" He gave the man a meaningful look. Finally, the Minister got the hint walked towards the fireplace before flooing away."Now," the old man said as I sat in my favourite chair by the window, "To what do I owe this pleasure?" He began to pour a cup of tea, and gave me a bowl of sherbet lemons.
"First of all, I want to tell you to fire that stupid Gargoyle of yours and get another one," I told him seriously, popping the lemon into my mouth. "It took me forever to get into here..."
He chuckled and began to suck on his own sweet.
I sighed and closed my eyes.
"It's Potions, sir," I said quietly, "Sluggy – I mean, Professor Slughorn's started a new project."
Dumbledore smiled.
"Yes, I had heard some rumours from Minerva's second cousin twice removed that our Potions Master would be starting something new. What has dear old Horace planned for this year?"
"Felix Felicis," I mumbled.
"I'm sorry Alana, my ears aren't what they used to be, you'll have to speak up."
"Felix Felicis," I repeated, and time seemed to stand I could hear was the quiet squawk of Fawkes the Phoenix.
"I think we better have a word with the Professor," he said grimly , sherbet lemons forgotten.