A/N!! Haha yep. This one came out quicker! I'd like to thank the people that reviewed.
Gossipchick, yes something happens. It starts this chapter in fact and thank you so much for being considerate and taking the time to review. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
The Fanfic Guardian, thanks for the input. You give good criticism. Some things had already been changed. I wrote this chapter before chapter 3, so I needed to make things fit. Maybe you'll like this one better.
So, for this chapter you can play the song I'm A Bitch by Alanis Morissette, it fits the mood. Lol ENJOY!
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6 days. Riley had been tied to the exact same chair in the same depressingly gray room for 6 horrific, long, excruciating days. She seriously believed that she was losing her mind and her 'watchers' weren't helping matters.
Everyday someone would be assigned as her 'watcher'. They were the person that was designated to 'take care of her' for the day. They were rude, abrasive and annoyed the crap out of her.
They would come in early morning to take her to the bathroom and then immediately she would be taken back and tied to her chair once again. Normally during this part two people would be her guard and have their wands on her at all times.
Then one person would bring her food and feed her three times a day. Riley could easily say that it was the most nauseating food that she had ever had the displeasure to have slither down her throat.
Then sometime around 10 o'clock at night, the two 'watchers' would return and take her to the bathroom once again.
Other then that, she had no interaction with any of the 'generous' people that lived in the dank house.
Riley assumed that Hermione was somewhere in this house, and if Hermione was here, that would mean so is Harry. Riley had a little bit of an interest in the boy, but not because he was the Boy-Who-Lived. No, her interest wasn't personal or genuine, more… required. It was the same for Hermione, but for the moment neither of them needed to know that.
Unfortunately not much could happen while Riley was strapped to the uncomfortable wooden chair.
Riley leaned back and cracked her neck. It was probably about 4 in the morning and something had woken her up a while ago. It was a bit like a voice ringing in her head. Someone crying out as something happened to them and all Riley could do was sit and listen. The voice hadn't stopped for over an hour. She couldn't tell what the voice was saying, just that something was wrong. It was starting to give her a migraine. Having voices in her head was just one of her many occupational hazards.
The voices had been getting louder for weeks. It was all that she could expect with Voldemort rising to power again. He was a man that enjoyed pain and enjoyed causing it. Therefore, more people would be crying out in her head.
The voices bounced off of one another and creating an unintelligible jumble that seemed to echo for an eternity. Each person added to the confusion and disorder in her mind. She couldn't even put together one intelligible thought because it would be cut off by someone else's scream. Their voices accomplishing nothing, but building up noise in the endless void that had become her head. How she so desperately wanted to reach up and cover her ears with the palms of her hands, even though she knew that it would do nothing to drown out the deafening noise.
Riley couldn't take it any more. With a sudden jerk she hit her head against the back of the chair and for the time being the noise dimmed. Instead of the shrill echoes, it was now only a low murmur.
There was a small squeaking noise in the corner of her room. It was coming from under a cabinet that constantly shook, though the squeaking was something new.
Her eye started to twitch. She got rid of one noise only to replace it with another. The squeaking wasn't as bad as the voices, but nevertheless Riley had a short fuse and it was getting increasingly shorter.
Riley looked down to the floor right next to her foot. Riley's latest watcher had left her dinner bowl right next to her. Riley gingerly shifted her weight down so that she was slouched in her seat and giving the ropes around her legs a little bit of slack. Riley bit the corner of her lip and continued to maneuver her leg around so that her foot was just under the lip of the bowl. With one last look at the quivering and squeaking cabinet, Riley jerked her foot and sent the bowl flying towards the top drawer. With a loud crash and the sound of shattering ceramic, the bowl collided with the atrocious piece of furniture, causing a large furry gray rat to go flying across the room and escape onto the landing in the hallway through a small whole.
"Freaking rats."
Riley turned her attention back onto the cabinet as it started shaking more violently then ever before. She let out a low sigh as she readjusted in her seat as all hopes of getting any more rest flew out the window. Maybe she would pester her new watcher to get rid of whatever had taken up residence in the filing cabinet.
Why couldn't the noise just stop?
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Hermione had been acting weird ever since Dumbledore had announced that Riley would be staying in Grimmauld Place as a hostage.
Harry could understand her being upset about her new friend being treated badly, but why would she avoid talking to anyone, especially him?
As he paced his room he threw a rubber ball up and caught it. It was clear that something was disturbing him, or more specifically a new someone.
Harry couldn't grasp it. From what he had heard the Order members say after they had watch duty, she was an awful girl. She was rude, vile, had some accent that sent them all over the edge, and knew too much about too much. So why would Hermione be friends with a girl like that? And then there was the whole issue with the wings.
He hadn't heard anyone else talking about it, so he didn't ask. Then again besides complaining about her, nobody really talked about her. Well at least not physical appearances.
He shook his head. A suspected death eater was in the room right above his and he was wondering if she was fit or not. Then again, he was a teenager and it wasn't like he didn't notice what Hermione looked like when she had shown up on the back of that motorcycle.
Harry shook his head again. He needed to focus.
He was worried about Hermione. She wouldn't talk to anyone and she spent all of her time in the book room flipping through pages of old tomes. Harry knew that it had something to do with that girl upstairs. He just wasn't sure what.
He spun around and threw the rubber ball against the wall. It impacted with a thud and then bounced away. He sighed. At least he didn't share a room with Ron anymore. Harry wasn't sure how much of Ron he could put up with at the moment.
This entire mess was all Ron's fault.
None of them shared rooms anymore. The cleaning had finally paid off and there were enough rooms for each of the teens to have a room of their own. Ginny and Hermione no longer shared a room and the twins now had their own home, so they rarely ever stayed at Grimmauld Place. Then there was the mystery girl that inhabited the room directly above his.
Harry turned and let himself fall heavily back onto his bed. It was a little after 4 in the morning and he knew he should grab some shuteye.
He moved his arms underneath his head and relaxed. He was just about to fall asleep when something scrapping on the floor above him alerted all of his senses. It was quiet scrapping, but it was definitely the sound of a person shifting in their chair. Suddenly there was a bang, the sound of something shattering, and the scratch of a small animal's claws on the floor.
"Freaking rats."
Harry raised his eyebrow at the ceiling as he heard Riley's exasperated sigh. Apparently he wasn't the only one up this early. The banging that had always been a constant from that room seemed to grow louder. Harry sighed, maybe he should just go see if Hermione was up, instead of pretending to try and get any sleep.
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There was knocking onher door. It was quiet and if she was asleep it wouldn't have woken her, as it was, she was awake, so she noticed.
The door slid open a tiny amount and a mass of unruly black hair appeared inside of her room.
"Oh, you are awake."
Hermione offered a small smile.
"Obviously. You can come in Harry." Hermione said softly.
Harry gracefully slipped through the small gap and shut the door softly behind him. As he turned around and came walking towards the bed he stumbled and Hermione let out a small giggle. Harry rubbed the back of his head not even trying to hide the blush that appeared. Hermione just shook her head and scooted over while patting the side of her bed. Harry came over and sat down while leaning against the bedpost opposite of her.
"So, what has you coming into my bedroom at…" Hermione turned and glanced at the clock on her bed stand, "4:15 in the morning?"
As he leaned back he sighed and then answered, "I'm worried about you Hermione. You haven't been talking to anyone since you came back with that girl and you are even more attached to that book room then you were before. Did something happen?"
Hermione was taken aback to say the least. She hadn't ever thought that Harry noticed that much about her.
"I just feel horrible." Hermione admitted softly, "And that girl's name is Riley. She was helping me. She was reminding me that I couldn't just put up with what people said about me and pretend that I'm fine. And then when she is bringing me back here after basically letting me know anything I wanted about her and being completely honest, I get her attacked."
Hermione leaned back against the headboard and sighed.
"She didn't even do anything and then the order attacked her like she was… Bellatrix Lestrange. And then Ron… I can't believe that he would ever use that curse on someone!" Hermione practically growled at the thought.
Harry nodded his head.
"Only for him to miss and then for it to head straight at me!" Hermione kept talking quietly, but Harry could tell that she was getting riled up, "Then Riley had to save me because there is no counter curse to that. I got her hurt and she didn't even show it. But it's my fault that she used wand-less magic on Ron because if that curse hadn't come at me, she wouldn't have gotten angry. And you didn't see the way that they were interrogating her Harry." Hermione said while shaking her head.
"Have you seen what they've done to her?" She asked quietly.
Harry shook his head and Hermione immediately started to explain.
"They tied her to this chair with her hands behind her back and then tied her feet to the legs of the chair with the same rope that went around her hands. The rope goes all the way up and wraps around her neck. It's tight too Harry. Her skin was already getting raw because every time she moved, the rope would rub against her neck and get tighter."
Hermione was shaking slightly, then again so was Harry. Since when had the Order taken to hurting people?
"It-it must have been because they think that she is a death eater." He said hesitantly.
"But she's not!" Hermione said, "Voldemort has done horrible things to her. He tortured her best friend and then sent her the memories of it. You didn't hear her when she was talking about it, but she hates him Harry. She hates Voldemort so much."
Harry didn't know what he could say to that. So he just sat there looking at Hermione. He couldn't deny that he agreed with Hermione, but what was he supposed to do? Riley might be awful, but she wasn't evil, even if she had taken Hermione.
Harry looked over to Hermione and for the first time he realized what she was wearing. Hermione had moved to the top of the covers and revealed that she was only wearing an oversized guys T-shirt.
As she sat on the bedspread in front of Harry, he couldn't help but glance at her long, slender legs. He looked down at her delicate feet and let his eyes slowly trail up past her toned calves, up her bent knees, and all the way up to her tempting thighs and where the shirt lightly rested against her legs. Harry felt his fingers start twitching imagining what it would feel like to run his hands up those sensuously long tan legs.
Harry shook his head visibly. He should not be thinking about his friend that way. His hormones must have been seriously screwed up lately.
"Harry? Are you ok?"
Harry focused back on Hermione's face and clearly saw the concern that showed through her eyes.
He offered a small smile and nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine Hermione."
For a second she just looked at him before smiling and nodding her head.
"Good. I can't have two of my best friends messed up."
Harry sighed and leaned foreword slightly.
"About that. Hermione I know Ron has been-"
Hermione shook her head and quickly covered Harry's mouth with her hand.
"Don't try to explain what Ronald has been doing. I don't need to hear it. He did what he did, and that is inexcusable. I don't want you to tell me that I need to forgive him because I don't. And Ron wasn't the best friend I was talking about."
Harry paused and tilted his head. His eyes narrowed imperceptibly.
"Riley?" He asked softly.
Hermione nodded her head and said, "Yes. Riley isn't the type of person that can sit still for a long amount of time. She's a bit of a free spirit."
The last part sounded like it was a trait the annoyed Hermione, but she had accepted that that was Riley.
"You're talking like you have known her for years." Harry said slightly bitterly.
It had always been him, Ron, and Hermione. They were the best friends. Then Riley just comes waltzing in and grabs Hermione from them.
"She's an honest person. She's open and sincere and a lot of things that have been lacking in my life recently." Hermione said, "Harry… don't hate her."
Harry was about to open his mouth to argue, but Hermione cut him off.
"Harry. I know you. You are protective of the things you have and I am one of those things to you. Riley isn't taking me away. She's just helping me remember what it means to be human. I can't take all of the burdens all of the time, just like you can't. We both have been trying to lately."
Hermione hit the nail on the head. Harry wanted to hate Riley, but he didn't have any reason to. Riley hadn't done anything to him and she hadn't done anything but help Hermione.
"So what about Ron?" He asked quietly.
Hermione sighed and folded her hands in her lap.
"I think that for the moment being. I can't be friends with Ron." Hermione said gently, "He hurt me too much and he did it purposefully. Then what he did to Riley. It is inexcusable."
"What about what she did to Ron?" Harry started defensively. Ron had made some mistakes, but he was still Harry's best friend, so he would defend him.
"Riley was only doing that in defense Harry. You've never had that curse cast on you, but I have. Nott caught me last year when you and Dumbledore were gone. It hurts Harry. It hurts more then anything I have ever felt and I screamed. I never scream Harry." Hermione's voice had gotten quieter as she relived her bad memory.
"Riley would have been in excruciating pain, not only that, but she was angry. She hates people that hurt or betray their friends. That's the only reason that she did that and she didn't hurt Ron all that much either. You weren't near her when she did that. But I was and I could feel the magic coming off of her in waves. She could have done a lot worse then throw him against a light pole."
For a moment they were both silent and just looked at each other. The sun slowly came up and cast pink light against Hermione's bedroom walls.
"Don't hate her Harry."
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"Harry dear, I have to ask you a favor." Mrs. Weasley said sweetly.
Harry and Hermione had shown up just in time for breakfast. They had been talking for a while apparently.
Harry turned his attention to Mrs. Weasley as she rushed about the kitchen in a patchwork apron.
"Yeah, sure. What do you need, Mrs. Weasley?" Harry asked as he took the pot of eggs from her tiny hands and set the black pot onto the table.
Mrs. Weasley came hurrying out and placed a bowl of what appeared to be gruel in Harry's empty hands. Harry looked at it in disgust, but quickly hid the look from Molly.
"Mundungus was supposed to be Riley's watcher today, but he isn't here yet. I need you to take care of her until he gets here."
No sooner had she finished the sentence then she turned and walked away leaving Harry no room for argument.
Harry looked over at Hermione to see the excited look on her face as she nudged him out the door while whispering a quiet, "Check on her for me." Before the door closed and left him alone out in the hall.
Harry sighed and readjusted the bowl in his hands so as not to drop it. He slowly made the trek up the stairs over the squeaky floorboards to the top floor. He paused a second before opening the large oak door and stepping into the room as quietly as he could and shutting the door with an almost inaudible click.
"You don't have to be so quiet you know."
Harry jumped at the sound of the girl's voice. He didn't know what to expect from her, but it certainly wasn't a voice that sounded as if she were singing a beautiful tune. He turned around and for the first time got a good look at the powerful girl in front of him.
Her blonde hair flowed gently down her back and stopped just below her shoulder blades. Her face was kind and her gold eyes showed no intent to be cruel or rude. She offered him a kind smile and leaned back in the chair. Harry listened as each of the ropes strained and watched as they tightened along her skin.
She was still wearing the bloody white tank top and loose pants that she had had on when she had arrived. There was also a dark bruise on her cheek and one in the shape of a hand on her upper arm.
"I don't bite, if that's what you are worried about." Riley said gently.
"Just being cautious." Harry said as he pulled a chair up so that he was directly in front of her. "You definitely aren't acting the way everyone says you do."
Riley's smile took on a different edge, but she answered all the same.
"I only act the way they do. If they are rude, then I am rude back. Normally I am just better at it, so they dislike me. But if they are complaining about it, then they are more then rude. They are hypocrites." Riley said simply.
Harry's eye twitched. He was on the verge of making Riley treat him the same way and that would be a bad idea.
"So. What has the lovely red head cooked up for me today?" Riley said.
Harry could hear a slight sneer on her voice, so all he did was shrug while tilting the bowl so that she could see in it. She visibly grimaced.
"You know. I am a horrible cook, but at least my food is decent enough to eat." She said.
It didn't sound like she was making fun of the food, just stating an opinion without any inflection. It was odd to hear someone talk like that.
"Mrs. Weasley is a great cook." Harry said in return.
Riley raised her eyebrow at him and then looked back at the gruel in the bowl.
"Right."
Harry rolled his eyes and glanced around the room. It seemed like this room wasn't even cleaned out properly. There were still objects that were obviously dark magic and that cabinet in the corner continued to shake. He looked down and noticed the broken bowl and raised his eyebrow in question towards Riley.
She shrugged and said, "It was squeaking."
Once again Harry raised his eyebrows at her and once again she just shrugged.
"So… squeaking annoys you?"
"Yes. Along with stupid questions." She said while looking pointedly at Harry.
"Maybe people wouldn't ask stupid questions if you didn't have stupid pet peeves."
Riley smiled and tilted her head slightly.
"And maybe I wouldn't have stupid pet peeves if people were smart enough to know common manners. No offence, but being tied to a chair for 6 days has put me a little on edge."
"Why can't you just admit that you are wrong? What's going to be your excuse for how you treated people the first night you were here?"
Riley raised an eyebrow at him, "I blame it on catching 5 stunners in the back after saving one of their own and then being tied to a chair while being interrogated."
Her voice had taken on a different edge. So, this was the Riley that everyone hated. It was amazing how quickly her demeanor changed.
"You seem to have an excuse for everything." He said quickly.
She tilted her head, "I'm just bitter and it feels so good to be self-righteous bitch that teaches everyone else lessons."
The shock on his face showed enough of what he thought.
"What gives you the right to teach other people lessons?" He asked accusingly.
"Years of experience." She said as she leaned towards him.
"You can't have any years on any of those people."
She smiled and quirked her head, "Appearances can be deceiving."
There was a lull in the conversation while Harry just sat there staring incredulously at the girl in front of her. This girl was one serious piece of work.
He looked down at the food and then picked up the spoon and pulled it free from the substance with a sickening squelch. He looked at it for a second before leaning foreword to put the spoon in front of Riley's mouth.
Riley looked down her nose at the spoon and then looked at Harry. When he made no move to take the spoon away, Riley strained against the rope and took the substance into her mouth.
Harry watched as he raised each spoon to Riley's lips, how she would have to pull on the rope around her neck to reach the spoon. It was sickening. He could hear the rope straining around her throat and watched, as it seemed to only grow tighter. When he tried to move closer he realized that there was some sort of shield placed around her that kept anyone from getting too close. Harry was sickened by the thought that the Order would do something like this. So maybe some of her attitude was justified, but she was still way more bratty then she needed to be.
Once again the spoon was raised to her mouth and as Riley tried to swallow she found she couldn't even force herself to take the next spoonful of gruel into her mouth. She turned her head away and grimaced.
"I'm done." Riley said through a strained voice.
Harry raised his eyebrow at her. She had barely even finished an eighth of the bowl and it was a small bowl. He sighed and placed the bowl on the ground next to him.
Riley had her eyes closed as she tried to lean as far back as possible to release the pressure that had been applied to her throat. The rope was even making it hard for her to breathe.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, while he watched the girl grimace.
Riley opened one eye and looked at him, ""Do you care?"
Once again there was no inflection on what she said. She wasn't accusing him and she wasn't truly expecting an answer.
"I need a shower."
Harry raised his eyebrow at Riley.
"What?"
Riley rolled her eyes.
"I said, that I need a shower." Riley said simply, "I have been stuck to a chair for 6 days, which would mean that I haven't had a shower in that long."
"Really?" Harry asked.
Riley raised her eyebrow at him and he quickly put up his hands in defense.
"Sorry stupid question."
Riley just gave a small nod of her head before wincing slightly and leaning back.
"Why hasn't anyone let you have a shower?"
"Because they are always guys and they are either jerks or perverts." Riley shrugged while keeping her head completely still. "You seem nicer though, so I figured I should ask you."
"So, what do you want me to do about it?" Harry asked.
Riley raised her eyebrow, "You're seriously asking me that? Whatever. You are my watcher for today. If I'm not tied up someone has to be with me. So you would have to untie me so that I could take a shower and wait in the room with me."
Harry's eyes got all wide.
"What?" Harry asked.
Riley sighed and hung her head.
"Never mind. It appears that would be too much of an issue for you."
Harry shook his head.
"No, no, just hold on a second. It's not everyday that I have to watch a girl take a shower."
"Right." Riley said hesitantly.
Secretly she had her fingers crossed behind her back as she watched Harry make a decision.
"You would need clean clothes right?"
Riley let out a breath and smiled, "Yeah."
Harry nodded his head.
"Okay. I'll go get some from Hermione and see if Mrs. Weasley or Ginny can be with you."
Riley smiled, "Thank you."
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Harry sprinted back up the stairs and started knocking rapidly on a wooden door. It quickly swung open and revealed a mass of bushy brown hair.
"Harry? What's wrong?" Hermione asked hurriedly as she pulled him into her room.
"Well-not to much. Riley just asked if she could take a shower." Harry said quickly.
Hermione looked at him confused, "And there is something wrong with that?"
"YES!" Harry yelled causing Hermione to jump back.
"I'm her watcher until Mundungus gets here. For her to take a shower, I have to untie her. If I untie her I have to stay with her."
Hermione's eyes widened a little, "Oh."
"Exactly."
"Well, why don't you just ask-"
"I already did. Mrs. Weasley said that Riley had it out for her and that she didn't want Ginny to have to deal with that 'awful, cruel girl'."
Hermione tilted her head and looked at Harry incredulously, "She said that?!"
Harry just nodded his head.
"Well then I guess you don't have much of a choice."
Harry's eyes widened at Hermione.
"Oh, come on Harry. There is going to be a curtain there and Riley definitely isn't an exhibitionist. So, I am positive you won't see anything."
Harry sighed. He wanted to say no.
"Harry please, I want Riley to at least know that not all of the people in this house are cruel. I'll owe you." Hermione said sincerely while looking up at him with her big cinnamon colored eyes.
Harry let out another exasperated sigh. Oh, how he hated those eyes. Whenever Hermione looked at him like that he caved.
"Alright. She needs clean clothes though."
Hermione smiled and gave Harry a big hug before quickly rushing about her room picking out clothes. She came running back to Harry and shoved a pile of neatly folded clothes into his out stretched arms. She had given him a pair of flowy white capri pants, a light pink tube top, and a matching pink thong and strapless bra.
Harry raised his eyebrow and hooked his finger through the side of the thong and raising it in front of him before turning his attention back to Hermione.
"You wear thongs?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes slightly before pushing Harry out of her bedroom.
"Go take care of Riley, we can talk about my panty choices later." She said while quickly shutting the door.
Harry stood out on the landing still holding up the thong and laughed. He never would have pegged Hermione as that sort of girl. It made him wander what other little secrets the bookworm was hiding. He continued laughing all the way up the stairs and walked into Riley's room still holding the thong up in front of him
Riley raised her eyebrow at what she thought was the hysterical Harry and let out a small chuckle.
"Thongs that entertaining to you huh?" She asked slightly mockingly.
Harry straightened up, but couldn't wipe the smile from his face. He walked over and placed the clothes on the bench in the attached bathroom before returning to Riley. He walked behind her and started undoing the ropes, though he paused.
"No wand-less magic. Alright?"
Riley smiled and replied, "Don't worry. I couldn't use wand-less magic on you if I wanted to."
Harry finished untying the ropes and led Riley into the bathroom. Riley stepped into the shower with all of her clothes on. She pulled the curtain closed and realized that it only came up to her mid-shoulder. She sighed and shrugged. It wasn't going to bother her. Riley started to slowly peel off her filthy clothes and tossed them skillfully into the sink on the other side of the bathroom.
Harry sat down on the bench next to the clothes, but kept his eyes on Riley to make sure she didn't pull anything funny.
She reached down and turned on the water and sighed in bliss as the hot water started to pour down her aching body. She was fairly sure that Harry didn't notice, but she had barely been able to move when he untied her. She had been sitting in the same uncomfortable position for too long. She stepped foreword and let the water run down her face as she turned her face up into the stream of water.
"So, how long have you and Hermione been friends?" Riley asked as she started to wash her hair with the green shampoo that was in the shower.
"Since out first year in Hogwarts." Harry said with a small smile.
"That's about seven years, right? It's always good to have friends for a long time."
Harry nodded. Hermione and Ron were his first real friends. He was incredibly grateful for them.
"Do you play any sports Harry?"
Harry nodded, "Yeah, I play Quidditch."
Riley stopped rubbing the soap into her long hair and looked over at Harry.
"What position do you play?"
"Seeker."
Riley nodded her head and went back to washing her hair. It felt good to have her head clean again.
Harry was just sitting there watching Riley. He was desperately trying to ignore the fact that there was a beautiful girl naked in front of him, hidden by only a thin piece of cloth. But suddenly something struck him.
"How did you know my name? I didn't tell you it." He said while pointing his wand at the curtain.
Riley looked over at him as she rinsed the last of the suds out of her long locks.
"For some reason, you all are under the impression that I am stupid or something. It gets a little old after a while." Riley said while turning to grab the conditioner.
"It isn't hard to figure out who you are. There is the scar for one." Harry reached up and brushed his fringe down to try and cover it. "Then there were pictures of you in the daily prophet a couple of years back. Though you do look a lot different."
"You didn't stare at my scar. I figured that you didn't notice it, so you wouldn't know who I was." Harry said.
Riley turned and gave him a smile.
"Why would I stare at the thing that is a reminder of your parents death? You may be the 'Boy-Who-Lived', but I definitely don't envy you."
Riley turned back around and started to wash the rest of her body missing the small smile that appeared on Harry's face. It wasn't everyday that a person just treated him like a normal teenager. Maybe Hermione was right about Riley.
"Earlier you said that you couldn't use wand-less magic on me. Why not?" Harry asked curiously.
Riley smiled even though Harry couldn't see it because her back was turned towards him.
"Good catch. I can only use wand-less magic to protect people. What I did to the others on the first day was just left over from when I was protecting Hermione."
Harry tilted his head.
"So you can't do wand-less magic whenever you want?"
Riley finished washing off the soap and conditioner and turned to face Harry.
"There are conditions to everything. The same applies to wand-less magic." Riley said simply. "Can you pass me a towel?"
Harry stood up and grabbed one of the white fluffy towels and tossed it over at Riley. She quickly caught it and pulled it into the shower with her.
"What conditions apply to wand-less magic?" Harry asked while sitting back on the bench.
"Ever heard the saying curiosity killed the cat?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders.
"Panties, please?" Riley said while towel drying her hair.
A small blush appeared on Harry's face as he picked up the thong and tossed it over at Riley. Once again she caught it and brought them into the shower with her. It continued like that until Riley was fully dressed and stepped out of the shower.
Riley smiled and stretched. It felt so good to be clean and actually move. It was now that Harry recognized the raw skin of Riley's neck, wrists, and ankles. The skin had turned red and looked as if it had been rubbed off in some spots while leaving scabs in its wake. He couldn't stop the bad feeling that rose in his chest knowing that he was going to have to tie her up again.
Riley could feel Harry's hesitance and immediately she knew why. She walked over gracefully to her chair and sat down in the same position that she had been tied in earlier and looked over at Harry.
"Do your job watcher." She said simply.
Harry nodded numbly and quickly retied the ropes a little looser then they had been before. Riley smiled and said a small 'thank you'. Harry went over to the door and paused.
"Someone else might be here later in the day, but if not then I'll be back with your food."
Riley nodded her head and smiled, "Tell Hermione that I'm fine."
Harry nodded his head and stepped out of the room while once again quietly shutting the door.
Harry walked quietly down the stairs and gently opened the door to Hermione's room. She was sitting on the edge of her pink bedspread looking as if she was waiting for him to come and tell her how her friend was.
"Riley wanted me to tell you that she's fine."
Hermione nodded her head and when Harry got a closer look he could see the tears that were gathering in the corner of her eyes.
"Hermione what's wrong?" Harry asked as he rushed over to her side.
"I've gotten her into this mess! I don't know what to do Harry. It's always supposed to be me that solves the problems, but this time I've created it!"
The tears started to spill down her cheeks and Harry's heart broke at the sight. He quickly gathered the small girl into his arms and let her tears soak his shirt. Very gently, he ran his hand through her hair as he moved to sit against the bedpost while bringing her with him.
"Shh. It's not you fault Hermione. Don't cry. Riley is okay. She doesn't blame you. Don't cry."
Still Hermione sobbed and Harry could do nothing other then stay there with her. He wouldn't deny that he felt awkward. He had never comforted a crying person, let alone Hermione. He tried his best though. He held onto her and whispered that everything would be okay into her ear, until finally she stopped crying and her breathing evened out. It was only mid-day, but Hermione had still cried herself to sleep. Harry looked down at the friend that he had cradled in his arms. Everything had happened so fast lately. He continued to hold Hermione and eventually he fell asleep with her slender arms wrapped around his waist.
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A few hours later Harry woke up. Hermione was still peacefully asleep against him and he smiled down at her. She was resting and had a small smile on her face. It was a lot better then the crying that had happened earlier.
Harry shifted slightly and looked at the clock. It was a half past noon. Probably time for him to go get food for Riley again. He thought that he should tell her about Hermione. Maybe she could do something to comfort Hermione, even if Riley couldn't actually talk to her.
Harry gently lifted Hermione off of him and laid her back down on the bed. Hermione turned over and snuggled into the comforter. With one last smile at his friend he departed silently out the door.
As Harry stepped out onto the landing he was slightly shocked to see that Ginny, Ron, and the twins were leaning against the railing trying to listen in on a conversation downstairs.
With a few quick steps Harry reached the others and squeezed in between Fred and George.
"What's going on?"
Fred turned to him and patted him on the back in hello.
"Dumbledore's just arrived." He replied.
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"So?"
"So…" replied George, "He brought Snape with him."
Harry turned to George and then looked at Ron and Ginny who were nodding their heads. None of them had seen Snape since he faked Dumbledore's death in front of those death eaters. At the time none of them knew that it was faked, but still. With the excuse of Dumbledore being dead, they had all figured that Snape wouldn't be able to come back.
Harry still didn't trust Snape. Not after what he had done to Harry when the Death Eaters tried to escape.
"Why's he here?" Asked Harry.
"We think it has something to do with that girl upstairs. We're not sure though." Said Ginny.
"Well why don't we go find out?" Harry said while turning and sprinting down the stairs.
The Weasleys all looked at each other before quickly following Harry down the stairs and into the kitchen once again.
There he stood. In Mrs. Weasley's impeccably clean kitchen. Severus Snape stood next to the headmaster with the same sneer and billowing black cloak on as always.
"What is going on?"
All attention turned to Harry and the others as everyone finally realized that they were there.
"We are exhausting all possible resources to make sure the Ms. Brooks isn't a death eater, Harry." Dumbledore said simply.
The sparkle had returned to his eyes and he seemed happy about finally being able to let Riley go if all turned out well.
"How are you going to do that sir?" Harry asked concernedly and sending a glance towards Snape, who just sneered in return.
"Legilimency." Dumbledore answered.
"Is she okay with that sir?"
"Legilimency is more effective if the person is unaware Potter. We have to assume that this girl is more skilled at Occlumency then you." Snape said in that greasy voice of his.
Harry resisted the urge to glare at his ex-potions professor.
"We are going to need you all to stay down here while we perform the spell. Where's Hermione?"
Everyone started looking around, but Harry answered quickly, "She's asleep Professor."
Dumbledore nodded his head, "That is probably for the best."
Dumbledore turned to Snape and nodded his head. They both turned and walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Harry went to the doorway and watched as they ascended each flight of stairs. Finally Mrs. Weasley came and grabbed his arm and pushed him back into the room while quickly shutting the door. For some reason her stomach was churning.
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Riley was sitting in her chair. She was a little bit more comfortable then before because of the looser bonds. She heard two pairs of footsteps coming up the stairs. At first she was curious, but waved it off as the other 'watcher' showing up so Harry was just tagging along. Riley kept her eyes closed and let her head fall foreword.
The door opened softly and she heard the two people step into the room and shut the door softly behind them. Neither of them said anything.
The hairs on the back of Riley's neck stood up. Her eyes snapped open and she looked up quickly.
"Legilimens!"
Riley's mouth opened in shock as the greasy man standing next to the headmaster invaded her mind. She wasn't prepared to have someone enter her memories, but at this point there wasn't much she could do about it. As quickly as she could she strengthened the barriers in certain parts of her mind. There were things that shouldn't come out. Ever. She just hoped that they were smart enough to realize that.She was reaching the last string, but before she could hide it away, it was pulled from her grasp.
The room wavered and Snape found himself watching a 15-year-old Riley laughing with a boy about the same age as her. She was on his back and he was spinning around as fast as he could.
"Stop." Riley said through gritted teeth. She could just barely make out Dumbledore and the hooked nose man's bodies. She knew where this trail of memories led. It wouldn't matter how much she wanted to protect them. She wouldn't be able to control it if they went much further.
The image instantly changed. Snape found himself watching Riley as she opened up the door to a small house. She had a large smile on her face.
"Hi everyone! I'm back!" She yelled as she pulled off her coat.
"Stop it." Riley's body was straining against the ropes.
No one answered her. She turned around and started to look for the people that were supposed to be living there.
"Hello? Is anyone home?" She called.
There was suddenly a thump coming from upstairs. Riley spun around and whipped out her wand.
She gracefully snuck up the stairs and kept her back to the wall, as she made sure the hall was clear. She looked around. It appeared there was a struggle. There were scorch marks on the walls and a small table lay broken on the floor with shattered picture frames surrounding it.
Riley finally reached the last door in the hall. She gently nudged it open with her foot and quickly stopped herself from grimacing.
There in a puddle of their own blood, lay Jason's parents. His father's eyes stayed wide in shock as they slowly took on a glassy appearance. He was already dead, but the mother's chest was still raising and falling sporadically.
"You need to stop this! Please!"
Her cries were ingnored as Snape continued delving further into the memory.
Riley rushed into the room and ignored the blood that was soaking into the hem of her pants. For just a brief moment she wondered if there would ever be an end to the blood in her life. She dropped to her knees and gathered the older woman into her arms pulling her out of the blood and onto her lap.
"Mrs. Colman! What happened?!" Riley asked quickly.
"J-Jason."
Riley tilted her head and leaned foreword just in time to hear the dieing woman's last words.
"They took Jason. The dar-"
The woman's body fell limp in Riley's arms though she barely noticed.
"They took Jason."
"Stop it! You don't want to know where this goes!"
Snape watched as the seen changed yet again. Riley was in a small unrecognizable apartment. She was standing over a pensive as she took a vile labeled '1' out of the box and placed it in the basin. She leaned foreword and Snape was dragged with her.
The new scene developed and revealed the same boy Riley had been with earlier. Except his shirt was torn and blood was running down his face.
"I can make all the pain go away. All you need to do is tell me what I want to know."
Snape whipped his head around. He knew that voice. It was the voice of the Dark Lord.
The boy shook his head.
"I don't know anything and even if I did I wouldn't." He replied.
"Don't talk to the Dark Lord that way you little brat, CRUCIO!"
That was Lucious Malfoy's voice.
Snape watched as the boy writhed in pain and heard a gasp come from next to him. It was Riley. She was leaning against the wall as tears streamed down her face.
"STOP IT!" Riley yelled out as a stray tear streamed down her cheek.
Snape suddenly found himself in pure black. As if there were no more memories for him to see.
"I need help headmaster, she's blocked me out."
Dumbledore nodded his head and pointed his wand at the crying girl.
"Legilimens!" Both Dumbledore and Snape yelled out again.
Riley felt the barriers in her mind shatter as the ropes that bound her to the chair tore. There were screams. None of them her own, but all were crying out in pain for help. There were thousands of voices. Thousands of memories flashed before her eyes and the two wizards in front of her. There were memories of her own mixed with those of the hurt voices that rang in her head. The noise grew and grew until it reached a crescendo and Riley felt something shattering. She tried as hard as she could to hold the pieces of their lives together, but slowly each one ripped and tore at her own soul. She felt her mind straining trying to hold everything together, but something triggered it. A voice. A voice she hadn't heard in a long time screaming out as it died. It was her voice.
Dumbledore and Snape could only watch as the disturbing images flew through their minds. There were memories of a children getting beaten. Memories of grown men being murdered and their wives being taken from them, of blood and battlefields. It was pure pain and all of it was coming from the girl in front of them.
Quickly, without even realizing that they had both used Occlumency they shielded themselves from Riley's memories, but for some reason neither of them could release the spell.
Riley's body contorted as her back arched off of the chair. Tears were streaming down her face as her mouth opened wide in a silent scream. Her hair was whipping about her wildly and wind seemed to fill the small room. Suddenly, what appeared to be ghosts shot out from her body. Each remained attached to her as it wailed a horrible sound. They were faces. Even though they were distorted it was still obvious that they were faces. The room started trembling as each of the ghosts let out its horrible shriek.
"CAN YOU BREAK YOUR BOND SEVERUS?!" Dumbledore had to yell over the noise even though Snape was only a foot away from him.
Snape didn't even try to answer. All he did was shake his head.
The door suddenly burst open and Harry and Hermione came running in. Hermione froze at the sight of the wail spirits that were coming from Riley. There were thirteen in total. Harry saw the turmoil and turned to see Dumbledore and Snape still pointing their wands at Riley's head. He ran over and shoved them both down to the ground, breaking their connection to Riley.
The shrieks changed. It sounded like they were still screaming while sucking in air. Riley's wings burst out of her back and suddenly each of the spirits appeared to be sucked back into her body and the room returned to silence.
Hermione ran over to Riley's still figure as the winged girl's back lay over the back of the chair. Hermione quickly gathered the girl into her arms and fell down to the ground with her. It was hard to maneuver the girl when she had eight-foot wings coming out of her back.
Riley looked different. Besides the wings, her hair had changed black and had gone stick straight. There was what looked like Japanese characters covering every inch of her skin except for her face. Her mouth was shut and her eyes closed as she lay limply in Hermione's arms. But the scariest part, at least to Hermione, Riley wasn't breathing.
Hermione quickly shifted Riley onto the ground in front of her and kneeled over the girl's motionless body while gently pushing one of her wings out of the way.
"Riley? Come on Riley wake up." Hermione lightly hit the girl's cheek, but got no response.
"Riley! You have to breathe." Still there was no response.
Hermione placed her face next to Riley's mouth and nose and felt that there was a light stream of hot air being blown out.
Hermione sighed. She moved her fingers delicately over Riley's eyelids and slowly lifted them up together. Hermione's hand shot back as she muffled the scream that wanted to escape.
Riley's golden eyes had turned pure white. There was no pupil or color to them at all.
Harry walked over to see what had happened and noticed for the first time the changes of the girl. He had to stop himself from screaming as well.
Harry spun on his heel to look at the two men that were standing against the wall.
"WHAT WERE YOU DOING?!" Harry yelled while pointing to Riley.
Dumbledore sighed pinched the bridge of his nose as if to try and get rid of a migraine.
"It was the only way to be sure or not if she was working for Voldemort." He said quietly, "And now we know that she's not."
"OH WELL A WHOLE LOT OF GOOD THAT'S GOING TO DO NOW THAT SHE IS BASICALLY COMATOSE!"
"She has wings."
Harry turned his attention back to Snape and resisted the urge to punch him.
"Yes. So, what now you can see them? Before no one did." Hermione said as she stroked Riley's hair.
"We'll have her moved to St. Mungos and have Order members stationed around her." Dumbledore said softly as he gazed down on the immobile girl.
"No."
Everyone looked at Hermione.
"No. This is what the Order has done to her." Hermione said quietly while rubbing Riley's cheek gently. "The Order has done enough.
Hermione turned and looked up at Harry.
He quickly came over and gathered Riley into his arms while avoiding crushing her wings. He stood up and was slightly shocked by how little she weighed. Hermione walked straight past Dumbledore and Snape while Harry followed. Neither spared a glance back as they walked into the kitchen.
The room seemed to freeze in shock. Then again Harry couldn't really blame them. Riley now had wings, black hair, what appeared to be tattoos, and white eyes. Harry just passed them all and followed Hermione to the fire place and stepped in while watching Hermione grab a large handful of flew powder and stepping in with him and Riley.
Harry made sure to hold Riley tight to him. Hermione noticed her wings and quickly folded them up and held them so they wouldn't hit any of the fireplaces. With one last quick glance into the kitchen, Hermione threw down the fine powder and stated their destination leaving everyone else behind.
What happened to Riley? Whats with the Japanese characters? Why is her hair black. Why is she always a bitch? What about Harry and Hermione? Who knew Hermione wore thongs? So many questions. There are answers and reasons for everything so far. You just don't know them yet!
I was wondering. Should I bump the rating on this up to M? There is a lot of cussing. It might end up that way later anyways. So what did you think? Good? Bad? Any ideas that you would care to share? Input! I love it! So, PLEASE REVIEW! I like to hear about what you all think! I'm new to this site so I want the input. The next chapter should be up soon. Not as soon as this one came up, but soon. It's summer vacation! I have plenty of time to write, YAY! Anyways review and have a lovely week!