Damn, I'd overslept! It was the next day and upon waking up, there had been no one in the room except me. All it took was my eyes to open when I noticed it, because the sun had already risen much further than usually. Hurriedly, I jumped out of the bed to get dressed and simultaneously tried looking at the timetable, which unsurprisingly was quite difficult. So, with one sock already put on and jumping on my foot to do so with the other, I hoppled over to my bag and pulled out the small piece of paper.
Moody. It crossed my mind that the curriculum at Hogwarts really wasn't balanced at all, because this for me right now it seemed that all we had was Defense against the Dark Arts!
I put down the timetable and finished clothing, but after descending to the common room my gaze fell upon the clock. Class had already started 50 minutes ago! Why the hell hadn't Greengrass woken me up today?! Well, at second thought it seemed quite obvious why... she was friends with Parkinson and after yesterday I wouldn't put it past her to retaliate this way! Or past Parkinson to abet her to do so.
And was I really in the mood to spent another two hours with the old Order member? No, most certainly not, so the question what to do was quite easily answered: Anything that didn't involve going to that class. Breakfast wasn't an option and staying here neither. I had already read most of the interesting books and busying myself with the Divination reading didn't concur with my plans of how to spent my time valuably at all.
So, the library it was! Maybe they had some new or better yet... old spell books! Maybe I could ask the librarian about some useful spells, a wake-up-clock spell for starters!
Surprisingly, since yesterday evening when I'd returned to the Slytherin dorms, my gaze had fallen upon the black board and... how convenient... there had been a list with room numbers and their floors. That would have come in handy a few days ago. Let's see... the library was on the first floor. Just as I was on the verge of turning away, I stopped and my finger trailed down the list looking at the rooms located on the seventh floor:... Classroom 7A, Classroom 7B... Trelawney's office... Flitwick's office... no, nothing that sounded remotely like the room filled with books and a fireplace. Curious...
Crawling through the portrait hole I adjusted my bag and headed towards the library while still pondering about the mysterious place on the seventh floor.
"Excuse me, Miss Hale!" A squeaky voice from behind ripped me from my thoughts and I turned around. It turned out it belonged to a short wizard with mustache, brown hair and golden glasses. It was surprising he knew my name because he hadn't been my teacher in any subject yet. But I knew him from old pictures: Filius Flitwick. As Dumbledore's ally, he was close to the Order of the Phoenix, so I guarded my face from any sign of anger, disgust of sadness.
"What are you doing this late in the corridors?" he continued and looked at me, his eyes never wavering and a hint of curiosity in his voice. "It just so happens that I had a very interesting discussion with Professor Moody about his lessons and I seem to distinctly remember him mentioning having Slytherins and Gryffindors today." Options rushed through my head from lying which wouldn't be very cunning to pretending to be lost which, considering Moody's classroom was on the third floor completely in the other direction didn't seem prudent either.
In the end, I settled for the truth. Well, kind of it. "Sir, I overslept."
"That doesn't explain why you are not in class now..." his eyes twinkled knowingly. "But as you are already here, you can help me with something. Come with me..." he turned around and I followed.
"Where are we going, sir?" I wasn't going to question why he didn't lecture me and hurried next to him.
"Hogsmeade" he said shortly.
"Sir, if I may ask, why didn't you send me back to the lesson?" he frowned and focused on a point in front of him.
"He and I share different opinions on Unforgivable curses and I do not appreciate them being used on students, for educational purposes or not! I've never used one in my whole life." On students? Luckily I hadn't gone there today. But the most important part of this sentence lightened my heart: He'd never used an unforgivable curse, so this notched my opinion on him up a lot.
We stepped outside and the cold hit me. Taking out my wand, I cast a warming charm around myself because the jacket still lay in the dorms. The charms teacher looked at me.
"Excellent performance" he noticed as if in class to which I slightly inclined my head. A few meters away, a thestral stood in front of a big carriage in which we climbed. Flitwick with sight difficulties.
The ride was spent in silence, because even though he most likely had an intact moral philosophy, he was a member of the order and may have been a part of my brother's murder. I refrained from scowling though to not make it too obvious and he did kind of not punish me for skipping Defense against the Dark arts, probably because of his apparent dislike of the Auror's teaching methods.
The scenery outside the window seemed familiar, but not because it was obviously close to Hogwarts but rather because the carriage drove to the train station. And a train was already there, but it was differently colored than the Hogwarts Express: Instead of striking red, black and gold the wagons were shining in brown and in golden letters the word 'Gringotts' was printed on the side.
"Ah, they are right on time" the professor squeaked and jumped out of the door once we'd come to a halt. I followed right after him and we were greeted by a group of three wizards: One fairly tall young one, a small one with long hair and an elderly brown haired wizard with laugh lines.
"Ah, Professor Flitwick. We've arrived a little earlier than expected." he turned to me. "And you are?"
"Keira Hale, I'm a student at Hogwarts." he nodded and turned his attention back to the Professor who continued.
"She'll help me with the goblet..." the wizard nodded and motioned for us to follow them into the train. Inside, the seats had been removed and in the middle of one otherwise empty wagon stood a box that was made out of... gold.
"Aaam, excuse me, but I don't see a goblet." The leading wizard grinned and jumped in to explain.
"It's a protection. The goblet's been choosing the Triwizard champion for a lot of generations and it most certainly should stay this way. Plus, only a powerful wizard can remove it from the metal."
"Is it gold?" I asked. Goblins had a weakness for gold and not without reason. Although physically quite weak, it possessed strong magic. Possibly a reason for why Galleons were made out of it.
"Yes, one of the purest kind Gringotts got." As an afterthought we added. "Not to insult you, Professor, but are you sure you don't want extra protection for the ride?"
The old charms expert shook his head. "Yes, I am sure. I've got protection with me" he gestured to his right where I stood and the three sniggered slightly behind their hands. They and Flitwick obviously meant that as a joke, but there was a certain truth to it.
"Plus, it'll be easier levitating it that way. " I added which earned me a respectful nod. It wasn't well known that magical objects were slightly more difficult to move with magic, amongst other things, and the I could basically feel the magic radiating from the cube.
"Shall we then, Miss Hale?" He took out his wand and I followed suit. Together, we maneuvered the goblet out of the train and into the carriage where it barely fit. Not it was obvious why it was bigger than the normal one's.
"I'm impressed that you knew so much about the gold. Goblins like to keep it a secret." His genuinely curious expression was directed and me.
"Well, growing up in a pureblood family has the perks of having old books to read." I paused. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you, since you are the expert in charms at the school.." Flitwick seemed flattered "whether you know a charm that would function as a... wake-up call."
A grin formed on his face. "Yes, yes, there is one. And I have to say that no one has asked me for it in a long time... it would seem like a useful thing for the future." he took out his wand again. "You just wave your wand like this (he moved it in a circle and then upwards) and say 'Expergisci'. It wakes you up at sunrise, if you are practiced, to be noted. Once, when I was younger..." he proceeded to tell the story of how he was actually too late for his job interview as a teacher and how the headmaster back then had been so amused by that fact that now, he was a charms teacher.
"Ah, there we are!" Once back at Hogwarts, we levitated the golden cube out of the carriage and let it float in front of us to the Great Hall.
"Place it... right here!" we slowly let the goblet sink down at a spot next to the headmaster's podium.
"Well, I believe Miss Hale, that we are finished here. 10 points for Slytherin. Don't be late for charms next week"
"I won't, sir, thank you!" Turning around, I left the Great Hall, but not before looking at the clock. In total, the little trip to the station had lasted about an hour, so classes should finish at any moment now.
- Time skip-
The rest of the time passed fairly quickly in the library. I'd chosen the table closest to the corner which just happened to be right next to the window allowing a perfect view over the Quidditch field which was now wet from the rain. Oh, how I missed playing!
But the books were amazing! There were books about alchemy, charms, transfiguration, magical plants and even some muggle ones! But for now the books that were spread in front of me were about Hogwarts.
"Hey, mind if I sit here?" someone interrupted me during a passage about Billy the burglar who had been the only one to attempt stealing from Salazar Slytherin and had become a myth after having never been seen again. I briefly looked up and in front of me stood a girl about my height with raven black hair. "No, go ahead" She sat down and took out her books. But instead of opening them, she continued staring at the reading me until I couldn't take it anymore and looked up again.
"Excuse me?" my voice was a little biting. I HATED being interrupted while reading!
"Hey, don't go at me like that! You shouldn't go wandering around like this if you wanted to be alone!" She held up her hands defensively and when she saw my face which clearly showed incomprehension of what she was trying to say, the girl pointed at my chest.
"You don't wear a tie. Or your entire school uniform at all. What house are you in?" I looked down at my chest. She was right, there was no tie... How had that escaped my notice?!
"Thanks for reminding me. I am a Slytherin." The black haired witch leaned back in her chair. "Whoa, stop right there... Slytherin! Here in a library? Well, I didn't see that coming."
I raised an eyebrow, she was the one wearing a yellow badge on her clothes. "I could say the same thing about you..." and pointed my finger at the House sign.
"Well" she sighed dramatically. "I seem to be lost, all those papery thingies are frightening me!" she giggled. "Help me".
"Don't look at me! I don't know where exit is, either. Some Gryffindors tricked me into coming in here, I thought it was a 'how to be evil' club!" I grinned and she extended a hand which I took. "Samantha Blue. Call me Sam though, Samantha is so... long.."
"Kiera Hale. Nice to meet you..." Then I noticed that Mrs. Pince, the librarian, was eyeing us critically. "Now, why are you really here?" my voice was now a little lower and the old bookkeeper nodded approvingly and hushed away, probably to dust off some tomes.
She held up one of the books in front of her which read 'Divine divination' on its cover. "Actually, I wanted to start reading this!" The look on my face must have given me away.
"What?!" she looked at the cover. "Ow, damn, must have picked the wrong book! I actually meant this one." On the next cover, there was... actually nothing. But at the second glance I saw multiple animals carefully, it looked like stitched, onto its surface.
"It's about the first animagi!" she seemed to vibrate with enthusiasm. "It must have been so amazing! Just imagine the advantages!" Then, disappointment stole its way on her features. "Pity, I've heard there is a really advanced potion involved and I suck at those...!" Yeah, I did, too. Well, not suck at it but I was mediocre at best. Narcissa had hopelessly tried to teach me but it had never worked. And let's be honest here, there is no way putting ingredients in a cauldron in the right amount and order can be that difficult! Or so I'd thought before my first lesson in which the copper had melted and ruined the carpet. She had not been pleased... Anyway, the gist of it is that I couldn't brew the potion needed for becoming an animagus. How I knew that? Because it'd been in an old potion book at Malfoy manor's library.
So we read in silence until Sam looked at her watch. "Damn, already so late?! The feast starts in half an hour and I still got to go to the common room." I hadn't noticed how fast time had flew by and started packing the books in my bag.
"Good idea" We left the library and walked into different directions, Sam towards the Hufflepuff common room and me towards the Great Hall. Or at least that was the plan until a thought entered my mind: Nobody knew where the other common rooms were located, according to Hogwarts: a history, they were secrets to the members of other houses; Not letting this opportunity go, I followed her out of curiosity, careful not to be seen.
Samantha was walking down the stairs to the basement, then to the right. If I remembered right, this was the south side of the castle. She continued past some portraits of fruits and food and came to a halt in front of a wooden barrel of some sort.
After pulling out her want, she tapped it 10 times. It was a rhythm or something like that, but it didn't seem familiar to me. Nevertheless I closed my eyes and burned it into my memory. When I opened them again, the planks had moved to the side and revealed an entrance.
So this was where the Hufflepuff common room was located! Now, better get out of here before someone noticed a Slytherin sneaking around nearby, it wouldn't make a good impression. I turned around back where I'd come from and... bumped into someone.
"I am sorry... hey, what are you doing here." In front of me stood a tall boy who by most standards was quite handsome. And he was looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"What is a Slytherin doing so far away from the other snakes?" He paused and realization dawned on his face.
"I was just looking around. This is my first year at Hogwarts and if you don't mind, I'd like to know the place where I am supposed to life for the next..." But he interrupted me.
"Cut the crap... no one else ever comes down here." He seemed nice but there was something behind the facade, I could tell. Nothing dark and sinister but rather... anger. Probably his damaged house pride because the Hufflepuff common room was no longer a secret.
"You already seem to have a pretty good idea why I am really down here..." There was no use in beating around the bush now.
"But you realize that I don't plan on telling anybody? So if you would just let me pass..." I tried moving past him, but he moved to block my way.
"See... that's the point, why believe a Slytherin? You are cunning, remember? For all I know you could just go back to your kind and tell everyone. And the one thing I don't want to have is Slytherins following us down" Well, he got a point, but what should I do. It wasn't on my list to make this location as public as possible, but the short argument he had delivered quite politely showed one thing: He wouldn't trust my word. Nevertheless, I tried.
"Well, I can tell you that I don't have the intention of telling anyone else. And if that's not good enough for you, then it's a pity... for you" While he was processing these words, I half-squeezed myself past him and left the corridor before he would throw a tantrum. But on one point I had no illusions: Sam probably would be quite pissed about having shown me their common room involuntarily. Well, her loss, why should I give a damn about that? We had known each other for literally less than a day... or hours even!
Nevertheless, I kept my hand close to my wand just in case someone (a certain Hufflepuff) would change his mind, but I arrived at my usual seat at the Slytherin table without any interruptions or problems.
The Great Hall was already filled with students of all houses, other's occasionally strolling in.
"Have you seen them already?" Zabini asked into the round. There are supposed to be some pretty hot girls in Beauxbatons and I can't wait to meet them" This statement earned him some rather disgusted looks from the Slytherins, but he also received some admiring ones.
Why? Simple. Those girls were just sick in their minds, because they would throw themselves right at him. Talk about Slytherin-honor. Zabini, I could understand, because we both knew that he over exaggerated about his "how-many-women-I've-slept-with"- list. Yes, he kept a list... And it wasn't like the other girls didn't fuss about the supposedly very handsome men of Durmstrang.
Finally, Dumbledore started talking and welcomed both of the schools to Hogwarts. First was Beauxbatons and I could honestly say that they were the most beautiful girls I've ever met. Needless to say, the others seemed to share my sentiment, particularly the Slytherin girls (especially Parkinson, maybe this would help her overcome Draco... nooo, it wouldn't...) who were scowling at them. Jealously, something so beautiful and exploitable.
But their expressions soon changed to drooling one's as Durmstrang made its entrance, complete with fire-spitting and drama. But they didn't seem too handsome to me. And the last guy that came in along the headmaster even had some of the boys looking at him in awe. Why? Well, it turned out that it was Viktor Krum! I had known that he went to Durmstrang but the fact that it was very likely for him to come to Hogwarts this year with his school had escaped my mind.
"Damn, is that who I think it is?" Draco nudged me with his elbow which earned him a stern look which apparently had no effect.
"I can't believe it, this is Viktor Krum. I didn't know he still went to school!"
"And now, let's welcome our guests the best way we can" Dumbledore announced loudly and the boys next to me groaned.
"Please, not the song, please, not the song" Zabini was whispering across from me, his eyes half closed. Dumbledore waved his wand in a complicated manner and words began emanating from it and formed... lyrics. Guess Zabini had to search for a new deity. Knowing him, he would choose a female one. This thought put a smile on my face.
"Kiera, please don't tell me you like singing!" Draco mock-sneered at me, but we both knew he didn't mean it. He must have seen me grinning and presumed the wrong thing. As we stood up, I whispered back.
"Of course not, don't be ridiculous!" When we started, the thought wasn't so ridiculous to certain Slytherin members and no, I wasn't looking at Crabbe and Goyle there, not at all. Understand the sarcasm? Good.
And honestly, the song was... not up to my expectations, to say the least. I had always respected Dumbledore, but this planted the seed in my head, that he and his mind had aged. A lot. I may respect him, but he still was the leader of the Order and I definitely didn't like him for that.
Nevertheless, after the song, which had earned us various disbelieving stares from both foreign schools, the pupils from said schools sat down amongst us. And, no surprise there, Krum chose to sit at the Slytherin table, as did most of the Durmstrang people. Obvious because Durmstrang had a similar reputation as Slytherin but I thought mainly because he'd spotted me at the table and his expression showed he recognized me.
I could feel Draco next to me compose himself as the world-renowned seeker came over and sat down.
"Kiera, hov plesant to meet you. Hov hav you been?" And there's why I loved Quidditch, especially professional players.
They didn't hold grudges, well mostly, and the rivalry was limited to Quidditch, but not personally. That was something I'd learned back at the team with Sarah and Jinx but mostly at dinner with the Bulgarian and Irish team.
"Fine, thanks, and you? Now that a certain golden something is in England again.." That earned a laugh from him and curious looks from the Slytherin table and others as well. I'd talked to him before the World Cup, well technically at the World Cup and we got along great.
"Do not worry, we'll earn it back. Vould you care vor a vriendly game somevhen?" Well, would I? Definitely, I would never say no to Quidditch and it was certain that it would be a pleasure to play with him, you could never learn enough. Know your enemy and keep him close. But besides, I kind of liked Krum.
We talked a little more, but unfortunately Draco was there as well, so after Krum noticed he was fan-girling, the seeker talked less and less and judging by the looks he sent me which my respective brother didn't notice we would have to talk some other time.
After a long dinner, we finally went to bed or that's what I'd hoped but Draco insisted that I told him more about Krum. Apparently he hadn't been aware that we kind of knew each other or that my connections with Quidditch players could lead to me knowing some famous people or his idols, to be precise. Though Draco was supportive in private, he really mostly did his own thing and didn't care or forgot to ask about someone else's live. So I went on to satisfy his curiosity, but only for about 10 minutes and then told him to shove the questions somewhere else, because I was really tired and didn't have the nerve to be polite anymore.
- Time skip-
Finally, week-end! Boy, how had I looked forward to this! I stayed in bed for what felt like forever but in reality was closer to 9 o'clock. Am, not pm, of course, I am not that kind of sleepy!
But after I got out of bed and ready, I suddenly realized that I didn't know what to do today... There was no plan, not really things to be done. Well, except learning, which to be honest wasn't anything new to me. Narcissa and I had already spoken about that stuff in our private lessons, so nothing there.
Anyway, it turned out to be a good Saturday morning... well, until breakfast, that is. Because once settled there, a certain grey-haired transfiguration professor approached me causing my heart to sink a little.
"Miss Hale, a moment if you would?" Her words were phrased like a question but her tone clearly indicated that 'no' would not be tolerated as an answer.
"Sure." It took no genius to guess what this was all about and I wasn't disappointed.
"Just to be clear: This is about your behavior last week. I've spoken with Professor Moody and while he find it somehow.. impressive" her nostrils flared at that carefully chosen word "it is nevertheless my duty to take care of those things. Now, I understand why you disarmed Professor Moody, but nevertheless attacking a teacher is no option here, apart from the fact that you refused to come back when told so."
She gave me a stern look and towered above me. Or I thing she wanted to, but I had the higher, a lower ground here. In my opinion, the one sitting subconsciously had the power because I was in the more comfortable position. Of course, this depended on the situation, but now it lead to the fact that her reprimand wasn't quite...received the way it was intended to be.
"Now, I've decided that you are to help Hagrid tomorrow and the next two Sundays at 5 pm. Don't be late!" I nodded and turned back to my breakfast, dismissing her as an act of perceived power. I wasn't a fool, here at Hogwarts she was at the top of the food chain while I was below, not quite as low as other students, but below nevertheless.
"What did McGonagall want?" Theodore sat down next to me and grabbed a bowl and some milk after the professor had left.
"Just detention." He apparently knew why and didn't dig deeper, probably because he'd heard about what had happened. To be honest, I didn't mind detention with Hagrid, he'd seemed pretty nice back at the train station. Talk about a soft soul behind a thick shell.
