A/N: Hey guys! Quick update this time! Yay! I'm very happy with the amount of reviews last chapter! Four reviews in one day. That's awesome guys. Really. I hate to have such a short message for your guys but I would really like to get on with the story so;
A special thanks to: Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape,
Arrows the Wolf,
Kitcatlover1804 and,
Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967 for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of it's characters. They all belong to the lovely and talented J.K. Rowling. I also don't own the lyrics to "Work of Art". They belong to Demi Lovato, or whoever else wrote them.
=^.^=
Everyday is like a blank canvas
You know you can paint it anyway you want it
You can draw a black cloud
You can make the sun shine
Coloring a rainbow
or use black and white
Open up your eyes and your imagination
Come on let's write a song
A little poetry
Take a photograph
Let's make some memories
You can make it anything
That you want it to be
If you follow your heart
Life is a work of art
Work of Art – Demi Lovato
=^.^=
Chapter Eight
*Tori's POV*
Uneventful weeks passed, with fortunately no word on my father. It was getting closer to Christmas, so naturally, we would have a Hogsmeade trip again for those last minute Christmas shoppers, like me. Today, I decided I would take a break from everyone, and take a walk around the grounds, just to clear my head a bit.
I was walking along the edge of the Forbidden Forest when I saw a pair of yellow eyes, staring at me from behind a bush.
*Sirius' POV*
Could that really be her? She has brown hair. I have black. She has brown eyes. I have gray. Allison has brown hair and brown eyes. She has my nose, my chin... she has my face. A father would know his daughter anywhere, no matter how long he hasn't seen her.
That's my little girl.
My Victoria.
*Tori's POV*
I squinted a bit, and took a few steps forward. I stopped when a large black dog came out of the forest. I'd always liked dogs. I'm not one of those people who prefers dogs over cats though, considering I have a cat, they're both okay in my book. I knelt down, and smiled at the canine.
"Hey, there," I said, holding out my hand to the dog, who hesitantly moved forward. The dog finally moved close enough, and I gently stroked it's head. I smiled wider. "What are you doing here? It can't be nice. It's freezing out here. And with the dementors, it's even worse," I said, and the dog whined a little. I lifted my eyebrows a bit, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say you could understand me." I laughed a bit, "but that's crazy. But then again, everything in my life is crazy as of late. Dad broke out of prison, dementors everywhere, Fred and George saying that Harry fancies me, which is completely mental," I said, and the dog tilted its head a bit. "Look at me, telling all my problems to a stray dog. Hopefully no one's seeing this. Enough people aren't liking me right now, we don't need anyone thinking I'm going 'round the bend as well."
At that, the dog barked a little which surprisingly, in a way, sounded like a laugh... if a dog could laugh of course. I smirked a little. "I wish Gabe could be here right now. He loves dogs. He'd love you. But I imagine he's with his friends. You see, they just accepted him back into their good graces. Since our dad broke out of prison, they all stopped speaking to him when our dad broke out of Azkaban. Why they did it, I have no idea. I guess it was because they're afraid that our dad was coming for us, and by distancing themselves from them, our dad, who's a convicted killer, wouldn't come anywhere near them," I said, eyes widening. "Wow, that was surprisingly brilliant! Wait until Hermione hears about that. Of course, I'll be bragging about that myself."
"You know this is really great. It's nice to be able to talk about all my problems with someone who doesn't talk back. Like the perfect therapist, you are," I said, looking at the dog, who merely stared back, into my eyes. "Well doc," I said, standing up, "same time next week?" I asked smirking, giving the dog one last pat on the head, and walking back to the castle. The cold was finally getting to me.
I was on the way back to the Gryffindor tower when I heard someone call my name.
"Tori!" someone shouted. I turned around, and was surprised to find Neville running after me.
"Hey, Neville," I said, pleasently.
"I'm glad I found you. I haven't really had the chance to talk to you yet this year," he said with confidence. Neville was usually like that around me. I'd been friends with Neville since first year, and usually stuck up for him when people picked on him, so I guess that made him feel safe around me, therefore, giving him more confidence around me. That flattered the selfish side of me, but the selfless part knew that, that couldn't last forever. I'd have to help Neville be confident all the time. I can do that.
"Yeah, I've been pretty busy. How was your summer?" I asked, feeling pretty silly that it was almost Christmas, and I was asking him about his summer.
"It was great. Spent the whole time with gran. She's doing well," he said, as we approached Sir Cadogan's portrait.
"Stop you scurvy braggart! Back away from that young, fair maiden!" he shouted.
"Oh, shut it! Scurvy cur," I said, annoyed. I swear, I'd rather listen to the Fat Lady's singing than his ridiculous rants about scurvy braggarts, and scoundrels. He changes the password constantly, it's very annoying. I was relieved that the password was still the same and the portrait swung open. "So Neville, are you any good in Herbology?"
"Yeah. Professor Sprout says that she's impressed with my work," he said, smiling proudly.
"That's great Neville! Listen, do you think you can help me out with some of my Herbology homework? I'm lousy at it," I said.
"Yeah, sure! When do you need help?" he asked.
"Next assignment?" I asked, mentally praying that he would say yes.
"Sure Tori," he said.
"Thank you Neville, you're a life saver. Really."
=^.^=
The next morning I woke up, feeling surprisingly great. It was the last Hogsmeade visit until the next term, and Christmas was in one week. Everybody who was going home for Christmas would be leaving. Naturally, Gabe and I would be staying this year, seeing as Uncle Remus was here. I would be making this Hogsmeade trip alone since I had my Christmas shopping to do. There were many objections from my friends when I told them I'd be going alone to Hogsmeade, which made me laugh.
I got out of bed, showered, brushed my teeth and hair, after using a simple drying spell on my hair, got dressed and left the school along with everyone else, to Hogsmeade.
For Harry, I got a few chocolate frogs, and a broom servicing kit. For Ron, I got a bunch of assorted sweets. For Hermione, I got a few books, that she had been hinting that she wanted. For Gabe, I got a few sweets, and two books that he had been wanting to read. For Uncle Remus, I got a couple packages of chocolate, and a set of new robes. For Fred and George, I got a few different Zonko's products and a book of pranks. And for Dean, Neville, Seamus, and Ginny, I got an assortment of sweets from Honeydukes, like Ron.
It was snowing, and freezing outside, so I decided to cut this Hogsmeade visit short, and headed back to Hogwarts.
=^.^=
I was in the middle of wrapping everyone's presents with the curtians closed around my bed, when they were suddenly pulled open, revealing a very distraught Hermione.
"What's wrong?" I asked, immediately.
"Um... Harry wants to talk to you," she said.
I furrowed my eyebrows, and got out of my bed. I slowly walked down to the common room, finding it completely empty, aside from Harry, who was sitting on the couch.
"Did you know?" he asked, when I got to the bottom of the stairs.
"Know what?"
"That it was his fault. That he was the one who got my parents killed. That he's my godfather," he spat. I was still lost.
"Who?"
"Your father."
My stomach dropped. I'd been feeling that a lot this year.
Horrible feeling.
"Harry... I,"
"You did."
"I didn't know that he's your godfather," I said. Honestly, I did know that my father sold Harry's parents out to Voldemort. I never wanted to tell him either.
"But you knew what he did to my parents," he accused, standing up and facing me. I'd never seen him so angry before. And it scared me that, this anger was directed at me.
"I knew... a bit," I said, looking down at my feet.
"And it never crossed your mind to tell me?" he asked, calmly.
"I only did it to spare your feelings."
"Spare my feelings? They were my parents! I had every right to know!"
"I know Harry, and it was stupid of me! I'm sorry," I said, desperately.
"Sorry... Yeah," he said, shaking his head. "Just... stay away from me," he said, walking away from me and up to the boys dorm. I took a deep breath, and felt tears run down my face when I heard the door slam.
I couldn't tell you how long I stayed glued to that spot in the common room. All I know is that I just lost my best friend... and it's killing me inside. I vaguely remember Hermione pulling me upstairs, and tucking me into bed, comforting me by laying in the bed with me and telling me comforting phrases. But nothing, could make me feel better about what just happened. Nothing but Harry.
=^.^=
The next morning, Hermione woke me up with a smile, gesturing to the pile of presents at the foot of my bed. I half-heartedly smiled, for Hermione's sake, and started opening my presents.
From Hermione, I got a day planner. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her present, but told her that I liked it anyway. The cover was a brilliant shade of scarlett red, with my name on the front in gold lettering. She really went all out. Fred and George got me Zonko's products like I got them. Uncle Remus, and Gabe went together, and got me new handbag that I'd had my eye on for a while. From Ron, I got a Chudley Cannons shirt, and some sweets. From Dean, Seamus, and Neville, I got a bag of sweets from Honeydukes. I was surprised when I found a box from Harry. I opened it up and found a beautiful charm bracelet, with a four-leaf clover, horseshoe, a cat, a star, a rose and a heart charm on it. Tears sprang to my eyes when I put it on, but I blinked them away. I had too much pride to cry in front of all of the girls in our dorm. Then, I picked up an unmarked box. There was no card, no note, nothing. I opened the box and found a beautiful diamond necklace, with a charm of a dog hanging off of it. It looked very delicate, and I couldn't help but gape at it.
"Who's that from?" Hermione gasped when she saw it.
"No idea," I said honestly, putting the lid back on the box.
"Tori!" I heard a pair of identical voices call from downstairs. I couldn't help but smile and get up, and quickly leave the dorm, running down the stairs into the arms of the twins.
"Happy Christmas!" they said together.
"Merry Christmas guys," I said back. I looked over at the big crowd of Gryffindors that were packed around Harry. I adverted my eyes when he looked over in my direction, and watched as Hermione walked determinedly over to them, whispering furiously to Harry, who merely shrugged her off with a wave of his hand. Hermione walked back over to me, grabbing my hand, pulling me away from the twins, who didn't look upset at all and walked over to Harry.
"Harry got the new Firebolt," she said.
"What!" I said, excitedly.
"There was no note or anything, like the present you got. I think you two got those gifts from Sirius Black," she said. I gulped.
"But... how? He's a criminal, how could he have-," I started.
"I don't know. But I think you should have Professor McGonagall... check over that necklace."
"I think you're going crazy Hermione," I said, rolling my eyes.
"Honestly Tori. It would be a lot safer if you did."
I sighed. There was no getting out of this.
"Okay."
A/N: Well, there's chapter eight! I'm not very happy with this one, but it's 5 a.m right now, and I haven't been to sleep yet. Plus I'm half typing this, and half watching House. I thought I should add in a bit of Sirius in this chapter, just to make things interesting.
Suggestions?
Comments?
Leave them in a review. More than four this time? Review Please? :)
