Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns The Harry Potter storyline, characters, and all that other stuff. I own the made-up characters, such as Kel, Jane, and Nesheni. Story edited by Kichikitsune.
Summary: Severus Snape's pet peeve is the pair of girls who constantly tick him off. What happens when the dragon Nesheni forces them to work together?
Chapter 10: Night To Remember
"I don't ever wanna feelLike I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way."
-"Under the Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Early or middle 1990's
And so the year passed on until the beginning of summer, but nothing could prepare the wizarding world for the phenomenon that rocked it right then.
Kelenariel awoke on a Friday morning to find the dormitory deserted. The sun blazed in through the window, illuminating Jane's immaculate (and empty) territory and Kel's messy own. Kel sifted through a pile of clean clothes by her bed, drew out a school robe, blouse, and other necessary items of uniform dress and, after hurriedly pulling them on and arranging her hair so that it didn't look untidy, she raced downstairs.
The Great Hall was unusually quiet that morning. The only noises were the clinks and clatters of silverware and the rustling of newspapers. The students sat there, some with despairing looks, some horrified, some numb, but they all shared one common characteristic: silence.
Kel slid onto the bench next to Jane and whispered heatedly, "Why didn't you wake me up? I didn't even have time to get ready! And why's everyone so quiet?"
Some at the table shared oh-no-she-doesn't-know looks, others gave her sympathetic expressions, but Jane simply handed her a newspaper—The Daily Prophet.
She smoothed out the wrinkled paper to see a large picture of a boy with untidy raven hair, glasses, and astonishingly green eyes. But what stood out most was the one characteristic she shared with that boy—the scar.
YOU-KNOW-WHO RETURNSHarry Potter Wasn't Lying
Time seemed to stop and center on that one line: You-Know-Who Returns. The picture of the boy whose shoulders the world seemed to rest upon escaped Kelenariel's attention; Jane's worried questions of her welfare fell upon deaf ears. Kel did not see the newspaper in front of her or the worried faces of her friend—she only saw the dead faces of the casualties the Dark Lord had left behind from the last war, only saw the ruined homes of his victims, only saw the Dark Mark burning high above the house of her father's brother, not dispersing despite the bone-chilling, howling winds that tried to sweep it away. She felt the icy fingers of hatred clutch her heart as the names flew past her eyes, printed in a newspaper from long ago—Prewitt, McKinnon, Khelekkir, Bones, Potter, Pettigrew, and countless other names, stark against the white of the wafer-thin paper of the Daily Prophet.
"Kel? Are you okay?" Jane asked gently. She only spoke gently when she knew the person to whom she was speaking was in a delicate state, and then only when that particular person was someone she had some affection for.
"Jane, during the war we were only one or two years old."
"Er…yeah," Jane said. "What about it?"
"This time, you're fifteen and I'm sixteen."
"Yeah," Jane said again.
"Last war we were too young to understand what was going on, let alone do something about it. But this time, we know. This time, I'm going to do something about it."
"I'd best go with you then," Jane said immediately. "I have to keep you out of trouble."
Kel smiled weakly. "Thanks."
"That's not good news," Nesheni said grimly.
The three were seated on the floor of Nesheni's dark room in a circle. The Sunday edition of the Daily Prophet with its picture of Potter on the front was on the floor in front of them.
Jane glanced toward the open door, then leaned her head in and whispered, "How has Snape reacted?"
Nesheni, too, looked at the door then answered, "He's been all moody since Friday, but he didn't tell me why."
"Friday's the day the news came out. And when is he not moody?" Kel said.
"Erm…. when he's sleeping?" Nesheni guessed.
Jane laughed then stopped when she heard footsteps coming toward the room. All put on straight faces and pretended not to notice the footsteps (yet another "Annoy Snape" tactic).
It was not Snape who entered the room, though, but Dumbledore. "Good evening, ladies," he greeted them.
"Good evening," they echoed back at him. What was the headmaster here for?
"As you know, the school year is almost over," he said.
Jane's eyes lit up. "You want us to stay here over the summer with Nesheni," she said excitedly.
Dumbledore turned to face her. "Yes, that is the idea," he said. "Would you agree to it?"
"Of course!" Jane exclaimed.
Dumbledore looked to Kel expectantly.
"I'll stay," she answered in an unreadable tone.
"Excellent," Dumbledore said. "The two of you will room in the seventh-year dorms over the summer, as those will be your dorms next school year. I will inform you if any changes occur to this plan."
"Lovely! I get to spend my summer relaxing with my favorite buffoons!" Nesheni exclaimed, sarcasm not even the least bit apparent in her voice.
"Yup, that's pretty much the long and short of it," Jane said.
Kel sighed and shook her head.
Dumbledore pulled out a pocket watch, studied it, and announced that he had to leave, and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.
"We're going to have so much fun!" Nesheni declared.
Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, sifting through piles of muggle newspaper dating back from when he was driven from the school to that day's. He hadn't been able to access his office during his absence, and now it was filled from floor to ceiling with mail. He had only just gotten to the May newspapers. Most of the news wasn't that interesting, with the exception of the muggle-American preliminary elections and Wal-Mart's ban on Sheryl Crow's new album. There was something about the O.J. Simpson trial, which was old news, and a picture of a yellow-haired man. Albus tossed this aside, reached for the next issue, then halted his movement and turned back to the discarded picture of the blond man.
The headmaster frowned as he read the article below the picture. Some of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students were fond of the man's rock band. They wouldn't be too happy to hear this news…
"You'll like this," Kel said excitedly. "Sublime's an awesome band. And Bradley Nowell is so talented…"
Nesheni yawned and stretched out. "Is it just me or are these pillows shrinking?" she asked, absently scratching a hole in one of the said pillows.
Kel stopped fiddling with the Sublime CD and turned to scrutinize Nesheni. "They're not shrinking," she informed the dragoness. "You're growing."
"Oh. Goody," Nesheni said. "Now turn on the CD. I want to hear this 'awesome band.'"
Kel grinned and pointed her reddish-brown wand at the muggle artifact. "Perfungor!"
Nesheni watched the CD start to spin in interest. "Who made that spell? That fifth year?"
"Yeah," Kel said absently as she fiddled with the CD. "She's a genius."
"Why isn't it playing?" Jane asked impatiently.
"'Cause Kel's messing with it," Nesheni said. "Kel, hurry up."
Kel tapped the CD with her wand, then stood back triumphantly as it started to play.
Let
me tell you about a girl I know,
had a drink about an hour ago
sitting in a corner by herself,
in a bar in downtown l.
she
heard a noise and she looked through the door.
And saw a man
she'd never seen before.
Light skin, light blue eyes, a double
chin and a plastic smile.
"Who's singing?" Nesheni asked.
"Bradley Nowell," Jane answered. "Here's his picture." She tossed a CD booklet with a picture of a handsome man with buzzed blond hair to the dragon. "Isn't he hot?"
Nesheni's shrewd copper eyes traveled over the picture of Nowell. "I'm not attracted to humans, so I can't say," she said. "He's an excellent singer though."
Her
heart raced as he walked through the door
and took an empty seat
next to her at the bar.
"My brand new car is parked right
outside.
How'd ya like to go for a ride?"
"Dang, he plays some good guitar," Jane commented some time later. "I can't sing and play at the same time."
"Me neither," Kel said.
At that point, footsteps were heard coming toward the room. Nesheni, Kel, and Jane grinned at each other and put on their most innocent faces, but it was not Snape who entered the room, but the headmaster--again.
"Hello, professor," Nesheni greeted him cheerfully. "What brings you down here?"
"I was looking through some old muggle newspapers and I found an article that you might be interested in," said Dumbledore solemnly. He handed Jane the newspaper with the yellow-haired man on it.
Jane's brow creased as she read the article. "Wow, that sucks," she said after a minute.
"What?" Nesheni and Kel asked together.
Jane looked uneasily at Kel. "I'll let Nesheni read it, but I don't want to give it to Kel. She might have an emotional breakdown." She nodded to further her point and tossed the article to Nesheni.
Kel rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, I have self-control. Let me see it!"
Nesheni opened the newspaper and, seeing the headline, crinkled her nose. "No, you'll flip if you see this. You love Sublime."
"Nesheni…GIMME THE ARTICLE!!!!"
"No! You'll go insane!"
"Wha'dya mean, I'll go insane? I already am insane! What other explanation is there for me running up and down the halls shouting 'Frodo lives' and singing about drugs in the entrance hall?"
"You'll go even more insane, then."
Dumbledore watched with an amused expression as Kelenariel Khelekkir leaped from her chair and tackled the dragon.
"Aiyeeee! What are you doing?!" Nesheni screeched. Kel rolled over and sat up triumphantly, newspaper in hand.
"Crazy little human," the dragoness muttered.
Kel opened the newspaper with a satisfied grin and read aloud, "Bradley Nowell, lead singer of Sublime, died on May 25, 1996…" The grin melted off her face. "Bradley Nowell? Dead? How…?" She ruffled through some pages and settled on one near the middle of the newspaper. "Hotel room…tour…Lou-dog…heroine overdose…" she closed the newspaper with a flap. "Heroine overdose," she repeated flatly.
"Here comes the emotional breakdown," Jane whispered dramatically.
Kel glared at her. "What if Garth Brooks died? What would you do?"
Jane blinked, eyes widening, "Ah. Point taken."
Kel sighed. "First Kurt Cobain in '94, now Bradley Nowell. ALL THE GREAT ROCK SINGERS ARE DYING OUT!!!!"
"Didn't Sid Vicious die of a heroine overdose too?" Nesheni asked.
"Yeah," Kel said. "But he was a bass player. A really bad bass player."
After a while, Dumbledore stood and bade them farewell. Snape stormed in to demand that they turn the music off. They assented, but turned it back on as soon as the Potions Master was settled well enough into his essay grading to not notice it. The CD stopped and the candles waned, but the three sat in silence until Snape came in to order Kel and Jane out. Not a word was spoken until Kel and Jane left the Potions department. It was the least they could do for the great reggae-rock musician. But neither of them would settle for "the least they could do".
"Headmaster, this is preposterous!" Severus hissed. "Of all the idiocy...THEY'RE
PLAYING MUGGLE ROCK MUSIC IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!!!!!!!!!"
He couldn't believe it. Khelekkir and Dumont had disrupted the school's sleep to hold a memorial for a rock singer: and not just any rock singer. A rock singer addicted to heroine. Even worse, a considerable amount of people, mostly Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, had shown up at the event wearing Sublime T-shirts and badges and were now singing along to the band's music.
Dumbledore did not reply, his light blue eyes on the magical bonfire the students had conjured in memory of Sublime's lead singer. "We have to stop this!" Severus continued. "Nowell was bad enough when he was alive...but to keep up all the teachers in the middle of the night with his horrible noise!"
"Let them."
"WHAT?"
"Let them, Severus. Let them have their memorial. I'll just get them to turn the music down somewhat."
The strains of Sublime's "Badfish" entered their ears.
Tell me are you a bad fish too?
Are you a bad fish too?
"Headmaster," Severus growled, "What kind of example is this for them?"
I swim but I wish I'd never learned
The water's too polluted with germs.
"Bradley Nowell was a great musician," Dumbledore said, not answering his question. "Let him be honored."
Severus blinked at him incredulously.
"You...you...."
"Yes, Severus. I like Sublime. I especially like the cheerful reggae sound they made. So quit trying to close down this memorial and return to your chambers. Good night."
Hurried footsteps echoed through the near-empty Transfiguration corridor as Jane Dumont hurried through it, clutching a bundle of parchment. It was strangely cold for a summer's day, and despite the rays of sunshine that shone through the wide windows, Jane had donned a cloak to protect her from the chill.
She checked her watch—5 minutes until the next class. That left her almost no time to get to the Transfiguration classroom, hand in her late essay, and get to Charms. She broke into a run, legs carrying her past statues, paintings, tapestries—and straight into Liam McNevin.
Books and parchment fell to the floor as the two collided, but Liam caught her before she could duplicate their action. Jane's eyes followed her late Transfiguration essay to the floor, then flickered to Liam's face and stopped. She had meant to thank him, but her breath caught in her throat when she saw that his face was just centimeters away from hers.
Liam flashed his usual mischievous grin at her. "Aren't you going to say thank you?"
Life returned to her and she pulled herself up. "Thank you, Liam. Now if you'd excuse me, I have to deliver something." She tried to wrest herself from his grasp, but he wouldn't budge. "Liam," she said exasperatedly, "What are you playing at? I need to go now."
Liam chuckled. "Jane, I'm not playing at anything. You need to learn to relax," he told her. "Let me show you how."
And then he kissed her.
It felt as though a bolt of electricity had passed from his lips to hers and throughout the rest of her body. Her knees buckled, but it didn't matter—he was holding her up. Finally, he broke the kiss and let her fall gently to the floor, and, with a wink, gathered up his books and strode off.
And she sat there, staring off into space and reminiscing about what was undoubtedly the best experience in her life. She paid no heed to the books and parchment strewn about her, nor to the grains of the hourglass opposite her on the wall ticking away. Nothing she saw registered in her brain—until an expanse of black cloth blocked her view of the opposite wall.
Jane blinked. What was this big hunk of black blocking her vision? Why was it here? What business did it have interrupting her daily routine? It would pay for disturbing her thoughts. Oh yes, it most certainly would.
"Dumont, I have tried and failed to understand why you continue to stare at me in that fashion. I am not your dinner. Now up you get. You're late for class."
A jumble of thoughts exploded into her head, but one stood out: Snape?!
She lifted her head to meet his gaze slowly; ice blue eyes meeting ebony ones. Neither pair of orbs moved, each seeking to stare the other into submission.
Finally, the Potions master broke the silence. "You are wasting both our time, Dumont. Get up." He stretched out his hand.
Jane narrowed her eyes. "What are you playing at?"
Snape raised a brow. "I am not playing at anything. Get up."
Jane stayed immobile. "That's what Liam—" she stopped, realizing what she had almost revealed, and cringed.
The Potions master jerked his head in an irritated fashion and an exhaled sharply in disgust. "Dumont," he intoned through gritted teeth, "I am not going to do what that jackanapes of a McNevin did. I am trying to get you to class. Now for the last time, get up."
And finally, she did.
Snape waved his wand, causing Jane's fallen books and parchment to zoom into her arms. "What class are you supposed to be in?"
"Uh...I don't know."
"Hmph." He grabbed the schedule from her arms and traced it with a long finger. "You have…Charms. You'd best be going."
"Sure, sure…oh, Professor Snape?"
He turned toward her.
"Thanks."
Snape looked uneasy. "Damn that Headmaster and his civilities," he muttered.
"Oh so that's why you're being nice," Jane remarked.
"Yes, it is."
"Ah. He must be more of a nag than he lets on."
"Yes, he is." Snape hesitated, then added, "Go out with McNevin. You would make his life happier than it has ever been."
Jane gaped. "How…what…?"
"I've seen him, Dumont. And I haven't failed to notice that whenever I'm looking at him, he's looking at you." Before Jane could say anything else, he gave her a slight push in the direction of the stairway. "Go to class, Dumont."
Jane glanced amazedly at him one more time, and then ran down the stairs toward the Charms classroom and, more importantly, a certain Liam McNevin.
Ever since the news of the Dark Lord's return was revealed last week, evenings in the Ravenclaw common room were subdued compared to the usual bustle of activity that filled it. Jane and Liam hadn't spoken with each other since the day in the hallway, and were carefully avoiding eye contact. This wasn't the only reason for the silence though…
"Why's everyone so quiet?" John whispered.
"I'll give you three guesses, seeing as it's so hard a question," Kel answered him sardonically.
John looked at her, indignant. "Well excuse me for not knowing all the usual gossip around here."
"It's not gossip I'm talking about!" Kel snapped. "I don't pay attention to gossip either! I'm talking about the mass killer that just revealed himself to the public!"
Several people turned around to view the source of so loud an exclamation. Jane and Liam watched in silence, each avoiding the other's gaze, as John countered, "Well seeing as you've known he was back all this time, I don't see why it upsets you!"
Kel leaned in until her eyes were inches from John's. "I'll tell you why it upsets me. It upsets me because now that he's out in the open, he's going to kill people! He's going to kill and kill and kill, and that idiot Cornelius Fudge could've done something to prevent some of those deaths, but he didn't! And now some innocent muggle who doesn't know shit about the war is going to pay for our chocolaty friend's blunder. No, I'm mistaken on that. More than one innocent muggle will pay. Much more than one."
She turned away from John and the people watching and bent back over her essay, but she couldn't mask the tears that had fallen down her cheeks.
Liam stood abruptly. "I'm going to get some drinks," he said to the carpet in front of Jane's feet. Then he sped off.
Kel lifted her head slightly to observe Liam's departure. "What are you going to do about him?" she asked Jane croakily as she brushed her tears away.
Jane was quiet for a moment, then answered, "I don't know."
"Do you want to be with him?"
Silence.
"Well?"
"Yes."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Kel demanded.
"How am I going to tell him? This is really awkward, you know."
"Just—"
She didn't get to answer though, for the subject of their conversation had just ducked back into the common room from his dormitory and walked toward them.
"Play it by ear!" Kel whispered. Then she stood from the couch and departed for the other side of the common room.
Jane hurriedly glanced toward Liam and then at the floor as she realized he was heading for her. Her mouth suddenly felt as dry as a bone. Play it by ear? Play it by ear? That was a musical term! What did it mean again? Why did Kel have to use terms she didn't know? Why?
"Hey," Liam said quietly.
What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to say? Where was her brain right now?
"Hi," she answered.
"I nicked some fire-whiskey from Umbridge," Liam said offhandedly.
Jane dropped her quill. "What?"
"Yeah, Umbridge is in the hospital wing. She can't do anything about it."
"Fire-whiskey," Jane reiterated.
"Yeah, it was all I could find outside the kitchens and inside Hogwarts. It's under my bed now."
Jane nodded, not thinking of anything else to say. She didn't like alcohol at all, but she didn't really feel like saying that now. Her eyes strayed to Liam, who seemed to be trying very hard not to look at her. His hand was lying a mere centimeter away. Would it seem too forward if she took it? Did he still like her? Had she waited to long? What if—
"Aw, fuck it," she said aloud.
Liam turned to her. "Fuck wha—"
He didn't get to finish, because at that point, Jane grabbed his shoulders, pulled him in, and kissed him hard.
Kelenariel surveyed the two from an armchair in the shadows, a smirk on her face. Finally, they listened to reason and let out their feelings!
She caught John's eye and pointed toward Jane and Liam. When John saw, he let out a whoop and started clapping.
Kel grinned and joined in as Cadaver, forgotten until now, cawed in approval. Many things were uncertain and unbalanced right now, but one thing was for sure: this was a night to remember.
(A/N: At last, after many weeks of toil, chapter 10 is done! Sorry if it was a bit choppy, but it's hard to write smoothly when you have writer's block. From now I'll probably cease answering reviews in my author's notes, just to be safe, because I think it's against the rules. Just so you know, readers, things are getting a lot more developed from here, seeing as school's going to end soon and Voldie has revealed himself. Cadaver and Nesheni are coming back in more too. Consider this your belated Chrismahanakwanzaaka present; I worked hard on it. Or it could be your early New Year's present. You decide.
Oh and one more thing: I finally have a picture of Kel!!! The URL is in my profile, so make sure to look! I would put it here, but hyperlinks don't show up in updates.
Happy rest of 2004!)
(E/N: Hi everyone! Kel forced me to take my medication/... well... that means I'm happy all the time… YAY! HEE! Actually no. Uhm. Nobody forced me to do anything. That means I'm still evil, and now I'm going for world domination.)