Chapter Ten: A Meeting with Dumbledore and Flying Lessons.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material written by J. K. Rowling or her publishing company.
The next morning, Hibiscus woke exhausted. Thankfully, she had potions for her first class. So when the other girls left she snuggled closer to her unicorn and went back to sleep. When the alarm charm that she had taught herself with Hermione went off, she jumped out of her bed. She dressed and snatched her bottomless purse and wand from her nightstand.
Hibiscus ran out of the tower and rushed for her Herbology class. Down the stairs, past the corridor, then the great hall. Hibiscus was in the courtyard when she ran into Cedric. "Hibiscus," he warned, "We did a lot of damage to the ForbiddenForest last night…" She looked at him, "What do you mean?" He hesitated, "The Ministry and Daily Prophet are out in the forest." This, she supposed, was meant to explain everything, which it did not. It only caused her curiosity to grow.
Cedric ran to his Arithmancy class, while she ran to the Herbology class, she had to make it before class began so she could look at the forest. She ran over the viaduct, she at least had five minutes to spare.
When she made it to the Herbology section, two minutes later, she quickly looked at the view of the Forest, her eyes widened tremendously. Hermione silently came up beside her, or maybe Hibiscus was too preoccupied to notice.
"I doubt that just Cedric's blast curses did that." Hermione said. The other girl just nodded her agreement. The section of the forest they had performed the ritual in looked like a warzone, that is, a magical warzone. There were craters all over the ground and the creek which had exploded the night before was creating mud puddles in some of the said holes. Then she looked passed that and saw the fires. They were all over the forest.
"The green light that came out of the cauldron must have set those fires…" Hibiscus inferenced. Hermione looked at her, "I was thinking, that must have been the soul; it couldn't attack us because of the precautions we took." Hibiscus felt guilt flare, if they hadn't done a single part of that ritual right, they probably would have been killed. She looked at the other first year and noticed something sour in her expression. "What?" Hibiscus asked. "You promised us that what we were doing would not cause harm or trouble to anything."
Hibiscus looked at her with deep incredulousness. "You decided to do it of your own free will." Hermione glared at her, "We broke almost all of the Hogwart's rules and at least six Wizengenmot laws." Hibiscus felt empty inside, she wished she had never done it. Hermione was a great friend and she did not want to lose her. "If anyone finds out we will be expelled, and we can kiss the Wizarding World a permanent goodbye." Hermione said with her nose in the air.
The bushy haired girl spun around and into Herbology. Hibiscus reluctantly followed her.
The rest of that day had gone horribly. Hibiscus felt awful. She had put Cedric's and Hermione's places in the magical world at stake. Since Hermione wasn't talking to her, and she was too apprehensive as to how Cedric would react to her, Hibiscus simply went to the library that evening.
She first returned that book on soul splitting to the restricted section. Then she went and looked at second year defense spells. She was reading about the disarming jinx, when Cedric came around the corner of the shelve she was sitting at. "What are you doing in here during the feast?" Hibiscus looked up slowly from the book. "Why are you talking to me?" He looked at her with an odd look. "Why wouldn't I be talking to you?"
Hibiscus sighed, "I almost got you two killed, nonetheless expelled, all to cleanse a dumb Diadem for a stupid ghost of all things." Cedric looked at her harshly, "I would expect you to look at the bigger picture, you stopped some dark wizard out there somewhere from doing harm to people and remaining immortal. You also relieved a person, not a ghost, of a burden that has been on her shoulders for centuries."
"Now, if you are quite done being angry at yourself, you can come to dinner with me while Hermione, who is being foolish, can eat by herself." Hibiscus looked up at him and stood, and then they walked to the great hall together.
The feast went as usual, however, Hibiscus sat at the Hufflepuff table. All of the other badgers were rowdy and fun to be around. She watched as Cedric's friends flinged food, flirts and jinxes at the nearby Slytherin table.
She and Cedric finished the treacle tart which was especially delicious that night and began to stand, until another first year approached her. "Professor Dumbledore wishes for you to meet him in his office," the flustered girl said. "He told me to say he likes temperamental whipping raspberry wands." Then the girl noticed Cedric, blushed, and ran away.
Hibiscus raised an eyebrow and he just smirked. "Bye Cedric," Hibiscus said reluctantly. He smiled and waved goodbye, leaving with his friend Zacharias Smith. She waited for the crowd to go down, and when it did she began the long ascent of the stairs to the headmaster's office. She finally realized she didn't know where it was and had to ask a sixth year, Slytherin. Finally she reached the gargoyles and as she tried to pass them, they jumped in front of her, fangs bared.
Hibiscus leapt back, and then she realized that they probably required a password like all of the portraits of the school. "Temperamental whipping raspberry wands." The gargoyles leapt away and she entered. When she walked through the second door, she saw Hermione sitting in a chair across from Dumbledore.
"Ms. Potter, come here," the old man beckoned to the empty chair. When she sat and ignored Hermione scooting from her, he continued. "Already, we are in the second week," he smiled, "and your teachers have come to me saying they are concerned with you two being in first year."
Hermione edged forward on her seat eagerly while Hibiscus stared incredulously, she knew that Snape would never say this to Dumbledore. The old man smiled benevolently at the girls. "That is why I have decided that if you two can pass the first year exam, you can begin class with the second years next week." Hermione was obviously full of questions. "Sir, when will we take it?" The headmaster smiled at her, "Well Ms. Granger, I arranged for it to be this Thursday." The first year screamed in despair, and ran yelling to herself about studying.
"What of you Ms. Potter? Are you going to use your time to study?" Dumbledore asked. Hibiscus was extremely confused, "Professor, did Snape approach you? Because I have not attended a class of his since the beginning of the year." The old man smiled at her. "Professor Snape, Hibiscus, and he did," the man chided gently, "I think you remind him of someone from a long time ago." The man got a hazy look in his deep blue and then he sent her away.
The next morning was potions again, then, was her flying lessons. Hibiscus was so excited that she was up an hour before the other girls and completely ready. They all got ready and looked at her with surprise. Hibiscus had not been up this early since the beginning of the year.
Hibiscus merely ignored them and ran off to breakfast. She made it to the hall five minutes later. Then she grabbed and buttered some toast, loaded bacon and eggs on it, then left quickly. Hibiscus hurried down to the dungeons.
When she had been walking back to her dormitory last night, she had decided that it was in her best interest to push herself through potions class. Hibiscus finally reached the potions door and took a deep breath, composing herself. Almost everyone was in the class already. Draco Malfoy almost passed out in fear when he saw her.
Snape smirked, "Ms. Potter, what a surprise. You may want to sit before class begins…," He paused, "it is not wise to be on my bad side." Hibiscus quickly sat next to a girl named Padma Patil. She did not understand why she was so quick to set up for the class. She was obviously already on his bad side.
"Today," the man drawled out, "you will brew the draught of the Lethe. Whoever creates the most potent brew will earn fifty points for their house." Hibiscus was ready; she looked at the ingredients and sent Padma to retrieve them. When the girl came back Hibiscus had everything set up and began to dice the whipping tree leaves. Then she continued to prepare the materials while Padma continued to put in ingredients.
Hibiscus stopped when she looked at the rest of the ingredients needed. She had remembered something from a book. In the Potions Most Darke from the restricted section, it had given a modified version of the Lethe Draught. If she made the modifications, her potion would be so potent that someone would forget the past month. The only issue was that it would be considered dark magic. Hibiscus shrugged, she could do this, besides, she remembered the potion directions quite clearly because she had even compared it to the ones in her textbook.
Hibiscus stopped Padma from dumping in the essence of maggot. "I need these ingredients instead." Then at the look of confusion, "I was looking at the wrong potion." Padma nearly shrieked in rage, grabbed the list Hibiscus had written and rushed off to retrieve them. Hibiscus then did damage control and poured in eye of newt and snake fang to counter act the effects of what they had put in the cauldron.
Padma had returned and the two quickly followed the recipe she read from Hibiscus's 'potion's text book.' Right when Snape called to say time, Hibiscus tossed the adder head venom in the cauldron and stirred it three times counter clockwise, the potion turning into a deep and forgetful blue.
Snape began walking around, Hibiscus took in a deep breath while he surveyed Neville Longbottom's melted cauldron. They were next. Snape walked over to their cauldron and narrowed his eyes. "Which one of you two was in charge of the directions?" Hibiscus looked at him boldly and said, "I did."
"Fifty points for the utilization of dark magic, and three detentions this week." The potion's master practically snarled. All of the students looked at her with shock except Hermione who was aware of Hibiscus's studies in the dark arts. "Excuse me sir, but you promised to award fifty points to the brewer of the most potent Lethe Draught, and that seems to be me." He simply ignored her and awarded the points to Malfoy, silently refusing to acknowledge Hermione's potion.
He was walking up to his desk right before the class ended when she decided to utterly humiliate him. It was quite an easily accomplished task. Hibiscus flicked her hand, pushing her telekinesis at his robes, causing him to trip on them and go flying across the floor. Everyone busted into laughter. Then he turned and stared at them all, silently daring one person to laugh. Hibiscus ignored him and tossed her head back laughing, her first smile that ever graced the dungeons seemed to make the shadows dance backwards and the darkness recede. Then the bell rang and she was the first one out of the class and outside for her flying lessons.
Hibiscus stood outside next to a star shooter 15. Madame Hooch stood before them all, giving directions. "First, I want you all to tell your brooms, up. You outstretch your palms and then the broom should rise to your hands." Hibiscus looked at Ron Weasley and Malfoy struggling and laughed. "Up." She said with force and clarity in her tone. The broom soared to her palm and she shot them a smug look.
Eventually everyone had done the task successfully. "Now, I want you all to kick off and hover for a few seconds then to come back down." They almost kicked off, then Neville Longbottom flew through the air and nearly broke his arm off.
Hibiscus watched while Hooch ran off with Neville. Then she turned and saw his rememberall which had fallen to the ground. She started to walk towards it until Malfoy snatched it up. "Give that to me Malfoy," she said, whipping out her wand. "I think you better put that away, with all of these witnesses around," he said. Hibiscus did so reluctantly.
After she had done so, "You better give it to me now." Malfoy just grinned and kicked off the ground on his broom, soaring in the air. Hibiscus snarled, preparing to take off, when surprisingly, Hermione stepped forward. "Hibiscus, you heard Hooch, if you do this you could get expelled." Hibiscus was aware of this, but she needed to put that sick little jerk in his place. "I'm sorry Hermione, for everything." Hermione just sighed, "Apology accepted."
So Hibiscus flew into the air like a dart after Malfoy, when she approached, he threw the ball with great force at a window. Hibiscus leaned forward and flew straight towards the window diving and stopping right before she crashed. The rememberall had been caught and was clutched in her hands. Hibiscus grinned as she slowly floated back to ground. Sadly, she failed to notice Professor McGonagall who came outside and led her all the way to the charms class.
Once they made it there, she called out a boy named Wood. When he asked why they were all there McGonagall smiled. "I have found you a seeker." Hibiscus looked at the professor incredulously. "Excuse me?"
"Yes professor, she is only a first year girl." Hibiscus rounded on him, "After McGonagall has explained all I am going to hex you into the next month." He blanched and looked at the professor.
"Ms. Potter made a dive Charlie Weasley could not have pulled off." The boy began to look excited. "If that is the case, then we are going to need a good broom for her to use." The boy began to say excited.
Hibiscus sighed. "I never said I would join the bloody Quidditch team." McGonagall smiled, "You did not have to. It is either this or I can have you expelled from Hogwarts."
Hibiscus quite obviously decided to join the Quidditch team.
She stood at the edge of the AlbanianForest. It was a clear crisp day, and the air reeked of pine trees and blood. She had successfully managed to capture a Kappa from Voldemort's forces.
Lily Potter needed information, and this Kappa would give it to her. Since it was not a human she could not use her… persuasive talents. So she resorted to cutting hexes, torture curses, imperious charms and such.
Eventually the Kappa answered her questions. Lily Potter grew worrisome when she discovered where Voldemort was, and why Lucretia Fleming was leading his followers to the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts.
This was troublesome news, not only was the Philosopher's stone there, but so was her daughter. Voldemort had to be stopped and Dumbledore had to be warned before his plans were set in motion.
Quickly, Lily Potter shot a killing curse at the Kappa. Then she began to flee, she heard the werewolves approaching.
Lily Potter was about to disapparate when Lucretia Fleming latched onto her from nowhere. Two things were absolutely certain to Lily Potter in that moment. She was splinched and she would be warning no one of the impending attack on Hogwarts.
Hello kind readers. I am so terribly sorry I have not updated this story in so long. Also, I am sorry if this chapter is not good. It did not feel like my best work. But anyways, school has kept me busy, finals coming up, etc. So please read and review and favorite my story. I am going to have more time to write and I will begin to regularly update my story again.
Next Chapter: The Nundu Hatches and The Exam Nightmare.