Disclaimer: Harry POTTER, character, names and related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © JKR. I do not make any $$$ from the publishing of this story to any website.
Warning: The following story contains themes not suitable for a younger audience. It will retain a M+ rating as it contains triggers for Violence and Sexual situations. While I do not go into detail for some scenes, this nonetheless warrants a Mature rating. Please be responsible in reading this.
Memories, Fears & Tears
12 October, 1991
Two weeks had passed since Holly Potter and Ronald Weasley had been made to follow Professor McGonagall back into the castle. Rumors of her heroic deeds had spread through the student population like a wildfire. Every student had something to say. Even those who had not personally witnessed the events seemed to have something to add. Some of the rumors detailed embellished aerial and acrobatic feats. Others were about the resulting punishment that the Potter and Weasley had to endure. Then there had been rumors that the girl had been forcibly expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; his wand confiscated and snapped. These rumors had been easily debunked with the appearance of Holly Potter in class the following Monday. It was assumed these rumors had been spurred by a couple Slytherin.
Some of these rumors had a major impact on a bushy brunette. Her appetite was becoming significantly less with each passing day and although she was considered an exceptional student; she had not had the energy to pay attention to her classes and her homework reflected that. Hermione was currently sitting in the school's large library, struggling to find the motivation to read the rather large and dusty tome. She had managed to read the same line for the upteenth time before finally closing the heavy front cover.
As she pushed the large book away from her, her forehead found the cool surface of the table underneath. She took a deep breath and was filled with the scent of old books and melting wax. A cold shiver ran down her spine as she let out a soft sob. Before she knew it; she was sitting at the table, hidden behind shelves of old books, and crying to herself. She could feel the guilt heavy on her shoulders; guilt of not saying more; guilt of not doing more. She cried for the indecisiveness she felt; for the missed opportunities to apologize; for simply feeling weak. If only she had done something. What was she to do? How could she after everything that happened?
Holly Potter had not returned to the Ravenclaw Dormitory the evening following the flying lesson. Not that anyone had noticed or could recall seeing the small girl anyways. She had not returned by the time that Hermione crawled into her own bed, but the open curtains and Holly's trunk was a good sign. At least, she hoped it was. The fact was, no one could claim to have seen the girl for the remainder of the weekend and at the time, it terrified Hermione. She felt like a friendship had been lost before it ever began.
28 September, 1991
Minerva McGonagall had led the pair of students first down and into the dungeon; where after a brief discussion with Serverus Snape, Ronald Weasley was to be reprimanded by his Head of House. McGonagall then led the girl to a warm and pleasant office that overlooked the courtyard and most of the grounds. She had asked Holly to wait and took note that the girl was missing her glasses.
As Holly sat there with her hands in her lap, she continued to ask herself the same questions repeatedly. Why had she stood up to Weasley? Why had she been so ready to attack him? What did she think she could do against the fiery redhead? Why hadn't she just let someone else deal with it? She did not want to be the center of attention, desiring only to be left alone. So why did she make a spectacle out of herself? Why did she play the hero? The girl could feel her chest tightening with each question, and she once more found it difficult to breath. The warm office was becoming overbearingly hot, and the walls were slowly closing in on her. Just as she started to try and focus enough to count, the banded wooden door was opened, allowing for fresh and cool air to fill the room. The elderly Witch had returned with an older boy and Professor Flitwick behind her.
"Ms. Potter, good. I had thought you might think you were in trouble and considered a hasty retreat. I am relieved that this is not the case. I would like to introduce you to Mr. Krontos. You may recognize him, as he is a fifth year in your house," Professor McGonagall had taken a seat, inviting the newly introduced young man to take a seat beside the small girl. She offered the students and her fellow professor a cup of tea, which was accepted politely and with grace. The tea tasted of orange, and it left a lingering taste on the small girl's tongue. Not wholly unpleasant, but not her 'cup of tea'. Pun intended.
Filius Flitwick, the Ravenclaw Head of House, had a pretty clear idea what this discussion was to be about. He followed suit and took a seat of his own in an adjacent chair to Professor McGonagall. She had immediately came to him and asked him to track down Aldonius Krontos for her and to have them both meet at her office. His suspicions had all but doubled when he found Holly Potter already waiting for them. As he sipped his hot tea, he could not help but feel overjoyed at the informal meeting.
"Ms. Potter, Mr. Krontos here is the current captain of the Ravenclaw House Quidditch team. I believe he has been currently seeking to fill a crucial position on the Ravenclaw team as the student that had previously filled it; graduated last year without training a replacement. Mr. Krontos, I would like to recommend Ms. Potter here for a chance to fill that position. Of course this is with the approval of yourself and Professor Flitwick," McGonagall smiled as she took a small sip of her own tea. As much as she would hate for her own House's Quidditch team to have such a steep competition this year, she knew it was important to promote the strength of the students. Perhaps this would also help Holly Potter to blossom and build friendships. It went without saying that the girl exhibited an acute awareness and control when she had managed to snap the small spinning object and stop its collision course. She had similar traits to her father, and while the elderly Witch would have loved for Holly sorted as a Gryffindor, she nonetheless wanted to afford the girl with the same opportunity her father had as a student.
"Well, I certainly do approve. Keeping in mind that Ms. Potter is able to keep up with her studies. But, seeing as she was sorted into Ravenclaw, I feel that could very well not be a problem. Unless Mr. Krontos here believes that he will have another student trying out for the position next week, I would advise possibly taking the afternoon to teach Ms. Potter the basics of the game." Filius Flitwick could hardly contain his excitement as it increased in leaps and bounds. Plenty Witches and Wizards remembered the girl's father from his school days. They knew of the talent he had exhibited himself as a student. Had it not been for such troubling times, the young man may very well have gone profession after he finished his schooling. Flitwick did not want to pressure the girl in front of him though, as she had yet to get a word in.
"I have nothing of any importance this afternoon, professors. I am quite caught up in my own homework, so if there is nothing else, I can take Holly right down to the pitch and get her acquainted with the rules of Quidditch and the equipment," Aldonius Krontos gave them both a pleasant smile that showed off his perfectly whitened teeth. It disturbed Holly, but she would not say something like that out loud.
Many girls would disagree with Holly Potter, as the collective word used to describe him; Handsome. He was fairly tall with bronzed skin and piercing blue eyes. His honey blonde hair came to his shoulders, framing his firm jaw and strong neck. Holly thought he belonged in a magazine that her aunt would often peruse while her uncle was busy at the office. Holly had in-fact recognized him the moment he followed the professors, as she had watching other girls flock to him whenever he was around. She really had nothing against the older student personally, she just could not comprehend how someone could stand to attract so much attention. Aldonius Krontos was the polar opposite of Holly Potter in physical appearance and attitude about life.
"Actually professors, if you do not mind; I have read little on Quidditch and I do not find the sport all to appealing. The idea of flying is not something I am enthusiastic about either after today. Plus, I still have to finish Professor Snape's assigned essay," The girl spoke with a hushed voice; meek and shy. She kept her eyes on the cup of liquid warming her cold hands. Neither of the professors were sure of how to respond, as the girl rejected the offer to play Quidditch. Neither of them had expected Holly's answer and yet, there was nothing they could do to convince the girl to play if she did not want to play. It was certainly troubling and presented a conundrum to the elderly Witch as she had fully expected the girl to jump at the opportunity.
Nevertheless, Holly and Aldonius were dismissed shortly thereafter so that the two professors make speak in private. Holly knew she had something to do later in the afternoon, and the walk back down to the grounds would be a nice chance for her to clear her mind of the questions that rattled around inside her head still. It was later that night, that rather than go to supper, Holly had decided to take a detour and get started on the research for her Potions Essay. After retrieving her bag of books, parchment and quills; Holly retreated deep into the large school Library. It was well after curfew when Holly realized just how long she had been working on her essay, but it was not even halfway finished. She was quiet and quick out of the library, careful not to be spotted by Mr. Filch or his cat Ms. Norris. When she made it to the Ravenclaw tower, the common room was empty and the girls in her room fast asleep. That night, Holly dreamed of small glass balls and giant walls made of stone. The following morning, she was up well before her dorm mates, dressed and heading back to the library to finish her assignment. It was her means of pushing the emotional events of the previous day into the deepest recesses of her mind.
30 September, 1991 through 12 October, 1991
The first anyone had actually seen or heard from Holly Potter since the flying lesson and subsequent meeting with the two professors; was the first class on the following Monday morning. As Professor Quirrell took attendance; there she was, sitting in the back of the class with her hands clasped in front of her over the textbook. Classes had continued pretty much as they had through the first month; with additional classwork, homework, and new lessons.
Holly had found her glasses fully repaired and resting on her pillow the night of the flying lessons. With little research, she discovered the spell in her book; "Standard Book of Spells: Grade I by Miranda Goshawk". It was listed as a variant of the Mending Charm, with an additional prefix in the incantation. She found there to be limits with the spell though, which made her want to someday push those limits further. With her glasses fixed, she no longer had to juggle between holding her glasses up and writing with her quill.
As the week progressed, she had turned in her assigned class work and completed his homework in the evening. More often than naught, she would miss supper as she was preoccupied with either reading or researching in the library until curfew. She wasn't purposely avoiding supper, but the food was still a little too rich for her stomach to handle. Because of her frequent absences at the table during meals, the rumors about Holly Potter were increasing around the school, each one stranger and more stupid than the last. She tried her best not to pay attention to any of them, it would only cause her to grow more irritated with each mention of her name. The problem was that unless it was in class; when she was called on to answer a question or read a passage from the text, the girl was almost nowhere to be found or heard from.
Once more, Double-Potions with Slytherin came and passed, with a few minor incidents. One of the boys in Slytherin, tall with thick arms and wide sloping forehead, managed to cause his antidote to shift into a highly poisonous concoction. Holly Potter was of course, blamed for the Slytherin's mistake. She had been nowhere near the boy, and they were not from the same house. Nonetheless, Professor Snape saw fit to take points from Ravenclaw and award them to Slytherin for discovering the poison. Many of the Ravenclaw students grumbled about the unfair treatment at the hands of the Potion Master. Yet, they were wise enough not to let him overhear, to avoid adding reason for his barely contained contempt. Just as fast as the class would begin, the lesson would be over with everyone turning in their potion to be graded. The professor commented and complimented the Slytherins, but neglected to utter a sound to the Ravenclaws. Once more, additional homework was given to the Ravenclaw Students, yet another five foot essay on the harmful effects an improperly brewed WideEyed Potion would have on an unsuspecting Witch or Wizard.
As Holly Potter turned in her homework from the previous week, the professor demanded that she stay as the other students were given their leave. After the last student had cleared the classroom, Serverus Snape closed the heavy door and quickly turned on his heels, a glare in his eyes aimed at the small girl. She kept her seat but had cleaned up her station properly. The professor was incredibly conflicted as he stated at the back of her head. He could feel memories best forgotten bubbling to the surface. With effort, he pushed those memories back and refrained from drawing his wand on the small defenseless girl. Moving back before the girl, he slapped a rolled parchment down onto the wooden counter top. He had not read it, but he did not feel the need to. He knew the girl cheated, she would have had to. There was no way she could have possibly managed to finish such an extensive essay. The only other student who managed to do the very same was the young Ravenclaw first-year that believed she knew everything.
Snape set something on top of the parchment; the potion the girl had submitted last week. It had been among the top in class for quality. Far better than any first-year should be capable to performing under his tutelage. Snape did not know how the girl had managed to cheat, and submit a potion that clearly was beyond her skills, but he would find a way to prove it. For now, the only consolation that the professor could have, was to make the girl serve several detentions with him until she admitted she cheated.
"Potter, I do not know if you think I am some sort of twit, or if you believe I might be a joke. I will not accept this essay as your own, as I find it quite impossible that someone of your… standing, would managed to fit such an assignment into your busy Social Calendar along with the rest of your assignments. As such, you will be spending this evening in detention. I will expect you to be here directly following supper, no later. Here you will remain until curfew. You will be serving your detention with another girl who thought it appropriate to add an ingredient that had not been listed into her potion yester. I will not stand here and allow you to make a mockery of my class. That will be all, you may leave my sight until this evening," The slender Potion Master sneered at the girl as she simply sat before him and hadn't offered a word in her defense. This had only caused for Snape to grow even more irate at the girl. Did she think she was too good to respond when spoken to her by her better? Was she really so full of herself that she did not feel the need to acknowledge when a professor spoke to her?
During the professor's rant, the girl was actually going over the entire essay in her head. The professor had slapped it down in front of her and the girl had heard the words; 'detention', 'after supper', and 'curfew'. Holly Potter could not understand what it was about her essay that she had done incorrectly. She thought the research had been brilliant with all of the material available in the massive collection of the library. Had it not been enough to please the professor? Serverus Snape had dismissed the girl and she was quick to leave before a second or even third detention were added, keeping her head down as she left the classroom.
Soon enough, Snape was busy moving the potion ingredients and preserved animal organs around on their shelves. With a flick of his want, the dust was resettled and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Potter and the fellow student would be tasked with fixing the shelves and replacing everything exactly where it went. He had already decided a punishment for them if they were unable to complete such a simplistic and sadistic task before curfew. He knew they would fail, as only he knew where everything went properly. It was his own system.
The rest of the afternoon had thankfully passed without anything of too much interest to the girl in glasses, as she had kept to the school's library once again. She had been looking for further information on the WideEyed Potion when she realized the supper was nearly considered finished. She had not purposely skilled another mean, she had just been too preoccupied to notice and it wasn't as if she missed every supper. Just most.
Gathering her books and parchment into her book bag, she would need to make it up to the Ravenclaw Tower to drop it off and still make it all the way down into the dungeons. Perhaps if she ran, she could make it without being late to the assigned detention. She did not enjoy running, as it always made her chest constricting. She always felt dizzy after she ran for any long length of time as well, and it was always difficult for her to catch her breath.
A Physical Educator was in the process of having a discussion with the small girl. The entire class was being made to participate in several athletic tests that were to be censured by the Queen's Government. The school was set to receive a large grant that would help out with the Physical Education department, but it relied on the athleticism of the students. When it had come to be Holly Potter's turn, she had been unable to run the full distance and had only managed a handful of the other athletic activities with the bare minimum required.
When the school official's had observed the condition the girl was in; with his haggard appearance, his less than healthy aptitude, a meeting was to be scheduled with her relatives. The school had growing concerns about the girl but Vernon Dursley had waved it off with a substantial donation, in his son's name of course, and fed the official a thick story about the girl. The pompous man explained that the girl had a very active metabolism. She was almost constantly eating or sleeping at home. The school official seemed to be satisfied with the answer and no further inquiries were made into the girl's poor health. Of course, it went without questions; why did the girl turn up to school with no lunch so often? Her cousin would often come with a couple sandwiches and treats for lunch.
Needless to say, the resulting punishment had not been pleasant for the small girl and the idea of running became associated with a heavy iron skillet.
Holly Potter had only just managed to make it down to the dungeons at the last possible moment. Her chest felt like it was on fire and her lungs felt crushed by her rib cage as they struggled to fill with enough oxygen. Her sides ached and she wondered if something invisible was squeezing her. She tried her best to catch her breath as she moved into the damp Potion's lab to see the professor sitting at a desk with a girl in front of him. Holly did not recognize the girl with her bubblegum pink hair. Then just like that, a fuzzy image appeared in her head of a man with a fake leg being chased by a little girl. She had not had the chance to talk to the girl as they were separated by a year or two. She believed her name was Nymph or maybe it was pixie.
As soon as she was standing beside the girl with bright pink hair, Professor Snape looked up from the parchment he had been reading. He furled it close for a moment before directing the attention of the students to the shelves. The older girl had a confused look, as nothing seemed any different than they normally were. The girl in glasses realized almost immediately that something was different. The specimen jars and bottles were out order with the ingredients out of place. Was this a test to see if they noticed? She was about to ask when the professor spoke in his quiet, cold tone.
"Potter, you're late, as usual. Do you think you are due to be awarded special attention because of your so called accomplishments? I am not sorry that I had to interrupt any special social plans you had to sate your celebrity ego for this evening. When I give you a detention, I expect you to be on time. That will of course be five points from Ravenclaw for your tardiness. Now, I expect the two of you may not comprehend this, but the potion ingredients on the shelf have been rearranged, much to my ire.I expect the two of you to put them back as they had been with the minimum amount of conversation between the two of you. You have until curfew to have it done to my satisfaction," Snape's voice dripped with venom, as he was quite outraged. The girl had not actually been late, but the clumsy Ravenclaw had managed to make it here before here by a whole five minutes. That constituted as late to the professor. No, the professor was irate because of the furled parchment before him. He had been reading it since before supper and could not tear himself away long enough to eat with the rest of the teaching staff. He had not had the chance to speak to the Headmaster about his thoughts either.
The rolled parchment before him was nothing more than Holly Potter's essay. The essay itself was not especially well written and it had a lot of crossed out mistakes where one idea became another. The girl had not even bothered to re-write her essay after correcting the mistakes, but that is not what upset the Potion Master. The subject of the girl's essay was superb, with sound research and cited references. Those had been scratched into the side of the parchment with lines drawn in ink wto where the material had been used in the essay. There was information within her essay that was definitely not within the text book, but from books available in the library. The professor had even found one instance where he himself had been credited for a discovery. It upset him though that he was of the opinion that the girl was dimwitted and perhaps spoiled. Yet, he had managed to be one of the few to finish the assignment. Her's with ample research. It was aggravating, seeing the girl resemble a memory best forgotten.
Holly Potter had started working on the shelves as they had been instructed. The girl with bubblegum pink hair had absolutely no idea that the jars and bottles had even been out of place. She did not pay a lot of attention in Potions as it was easily her worst. She especially did not like the professor and found the room to be rather creepy. The girl in glasses was doing a good portion of the work, picking up one bottle or glass jar and then another, setting it into the proper place. She was working very methodically, remembering that this pickled specimen went here and that jar of ingredients went there.
Through it all, she had to do her best to keep breathing through her nose. Every time she had seemed to step into this classroom, her chest became crushingly tight and her vision would begin to darken along the edges over time. Her head would get fuzzy as she kept trying her best to breathe. Finally, after what felt like hours, Holly took the jars from the girl beside her and placed them into their respective places on the shelf. She had managed to arrange the shelf back to its original position based on her memory, though this had not pleased Snape at all.
Serverus Snape had finished reading the essay and watched as the small girl continued to do all of the work herself without a single word spoken to the older girl. It had only served to make the tall crooked man even angrier. He had not intended for either of them to be able to actually replace the jars as they should. Who else could? The shelves had been organized to Snape's preference, as they should be. Yet, this girl had managed to rearrange them into the corrected order. Without any help from the older student whatsoever. Did she feel herself to be too good to work with someone else? Did she feel that rules did not apply to her? Snape had specifically instructed that the two of them work together, with as minimal amount of speaking as possible. Yet, as angry as the professor had become, he could not justify another detention from the girl at this moment in time. Instead, Snape dismissed them as it was nearly time for curfew. Maybe he would be fortunate and the girl would be caught outside of her dorm after hours, as they both had a long walk back to their tower from the dungeons.
"I cannot believe that greasy git had us rearrange those disgusting jars on his shelves. I thought that was his job? Who would want to even touch those slimy gross things anyways? I get the ingredients, but all of those animal parts too? What is he, some twisted collector? That is just gross, don't you think so?" The older girl asked, her hair now a bright and vibrant aqua green. She had immediately recognized Holly Potter the moment she had walked up beside her in the classroom. Who wouldn't? But then Snape had instructed them not to speak. She hadn't had the chance to ask the girl in glasses about anything.
The girl in glasses had nearly been to preoccupied thinking about her potions Homework. How could she do even better than the last one? She was broken from her introspection as she heard the girl asking her a question. Normally it was Holly's policy to avoid saying too much. Saying anything always brought problems.
"I guess. I did not really think they were all that gross though. I mean they were in specimen jars," Holly spoke quietly, surprising not only herself but the girl beside her.
"Wotcher! She speaks! Here I thought the rumors of you being mute had some truth in them," The girl exclaimed happily before shoving her hand out at Holly. "Names Tonks. Just Tonks. Nothing else. Tonks,"
"Oh.. My name is Holly, er.. Holly Potter. I am sure you probably already knew that though. Seems everyone else does," Holly spoke quietly, hesitantly shaking Tonk's hand. She was unsure what to make of this girl and her hyper attitude. Usually people immediately wanted to see her scar or pointed out who she was before she could get a word out. This girl hadn't, but time would tell if she was going to be like everyone else.
"Wotcher Holly, it's nice too meet you. So, you really aren't a mute, huh?" Tonks had a curious expression on her face that slowly broke into a grin.
"No. I just do not have much to say," Holly was flabbergasted. She never spoke this much outside of class, not even to herself. She had a thought though, a small one that crossed along the edge of her mind. "Why is your hair like that?"
"Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies, dear Holly," Tonks lightly poked Holly right on the tip of her nose through her overgrown bangs. Holly was thankful for the fringe as it hid a light blush that warmed her cheeks.
Holly became distracted as she noticed the bushy brunette of Ravenclaw, with Holly's favorite book tucked into her arms, speaking to the familiar redheaded weasel of Slytherin. Holly couldn't quite catch the discussion, but it seemed as if Hermione was starting to get upset. The way they were standing, Holly assumed they were waiting for the stairs to change. As she and Tonks climbed up the flight towards the landing, the conversation became quite clear as Ronald Weasley was raising his voice.
"What were you doing in the library on a Friday? We don't have class tomorrow or anything. You have all weekend to do your homework. If all you were doing was going to the library, you could still have said yes to going for a walk," The red weasel's voice was raising with nearly every sentence, and his arms flailing about near matched the rhythm. It was clear where his eyes kept moving too as if he was being sly. He had only recently started to notice girls, or rather their assets as he and his mates like to say. He still thought girls were nothing more than barmy birds, but he wasn't hurting anyone by looking at how developed some girls were.
"For your information, Ronald Weasley. I was in the library finishing up my homework, so that I could have the rest of the weekend to relax and enjoy my time reading. One would think with your old brother's being as talented as they are, that you would already understand that concept." Hermione kept catching the flutter of the weasel's eyes as he kept trying to glance at her chest. Her only saving grace was that she had her heaviest book flush against her, protecting her from his creepy stares. It was in that moment that she noticed the girl in glasses walking up the stairs towards her and Ronald Weasley, along with a Ravenclaw from an higher year. Hermione couldn't quite recall her name, but she knew that there had been a couple nasty rumors floating around about her. She gave Holly and the girl a quick wave, thankful that her housemates arrived when they did. She hoped Holly would at least wave back, something to show her that the girl in glasses might have forgiven her or wasn't as mad at her as she feared.
It was the complete opposite as the girl kept trying to figure out what she could say. Was Hermione mad at her for what she had done that Saturday morning? She still didn't know if her and Weasley were a couple or not, but she did not know how to ask either. She wondered whether she made a fool out of herself and that had been why Hermione had been ignoring her all term. It wasn't as if they had different classes or were in different houses.
Tonks just barely noticed a switch in attitude of the girl beside her. When Holly spoke to her, it was with calculated hesitation. Yet the moment the bushy brunette bookworm, as she was called by the upper years in the Ravenclaw Tower, came into view; Holly froze up and didn't say anything else. As the two girls stepped up to the platform, another staircase began to circle around until had connected their landing with another. As the four students began to walk up the new staircase, the three girls gave the red weasel a queer look, which he seemed oblivious. Tonks assumed that he was trying to be chivalrous; attempting to impress the bushy brunette. If he hadn't kept sneaking glances at her chest, Tonks would have thought the Slytherin boy sweet.
Holly felt a soft rumble beneath her feet before the staircase lurched forward to another platform, leaving her stomach tossing and queasy. The four students quickly ran up the remaining steps and had to push through the large wooden door for them all to fit on the landing. On the other side of the door was a long and dusty corridor with unlit touches running along the wall opposite of the door. As the red weasel pushed the door open further, light illuminated from the torches as they flared to life. The students could now see down the corridor far more clearly. The few status that sat near the wall were draped in heavy layers of dust and cobweb. The girl in glasses was beginning feel his chest tightening up as she followed behind Ronald Weasley, so that Tonks and Hermione could have room on the landing.
"Wotcher, anyone else feel like maybe we should not be here?" Tonks asked, her voice betraying hints of curiosity and amusement as she was lead deeper into the corridor.
"That is because we not supposed to be here. Don't you remember Professor Dumbledore at the First Feast? This is the third floor corridor. It is off-limits to students." Hermione answered matter-of-factly. She kept looking over her shoulder, expecting one of the professors to appear out of thin air and begin punishing them for breaking a rule. So far, she had only managed to lose a few House Points, but that had only been because she had spoken out of turn in Potions much to Professor Snape's ire.
"Yeah, so? I heard, but why? Fred and George, my older brothers said that this corridor hasn't been off limits the entire time they've been here. They said that there has never been a part of the school that had been off limits to students before. Of course, they said the forest is always off limits but never inside the school. Aren't you curious why that is?" Ronald spoke up as he kept moving towards the end of the corridor with each torch flaring to light as he got close to them. He wanted to be the first of his brothers to find out why the corridor had been forbidden to the students. If he could just find out why, he would beat them at something and regain some lost respect in Slytherin. He could always hold it over the heads of his housemates. Finally, something that Ronald Weasley will have done first that had not been thought of by his five older brothers.
The sounds of meowing from behind them had been sharp and cut through the thick tension. Everyone froze in place before each slowly began to turn around. Sitting beside the doorway into the corridor was a scrawny cat with dust-colored fur and yellow bulging lamp-like eyes, staring at them. It meowed once more as it's tail curled tightly around itself before lifting its left paw and casually licking it. Without a word between the four of them, they all seemed to agree to the same plan of action. They took off running down the dusty corridor.
With Ronald Weasley in the lead, they passed cobweb covered status and torches that would extinguish as fast they flared to life. None of them dared look behind them, each assuming that if the cat was perhaps chasing after them. The girl in glasses was finding it difficult to keep up. She was short of breath and her chest felt it was being crushed. Her only thoughts were to keep pushing forward. If she was caught, all four of them would be in trouble. Her heart felt like it would wrench from her chest in a moments notice. Finally, the four students rounded a corner and almost crashed into a heavy banded door.
Ronald kept trying to jerk the antiquated door knob, but the door refused to budge under his limited strength. He tried a couple more times, the ratting sharp against the silence behind them. The bushy brunette pushed him out of the way when she noticed that a black polished wand had appeared in the hand of the girl in glasses. She had been about to unlock the door herself, as it was a simple charm that was in their textbooks and would be clearly taught in The Theory and Application of Charms at some point in the year. It was barely above a hushed whisper, but she could hear it like a symphony as Holly Potter performed the very same charm she was prepared to cast. The door answered in kind with a resounding click as the lock disengaged.
Tonks had ushered everyone around the thin opening afforded by the heavy banded door before she pulled it shut behind her. She quietly cast the opposite charm as Holly, forcing the door to lock once more. Something began to tug on her sleeve and she turned on her heels to see Hermione pointing up at something in the air as she continued to pull on Tonk's sleeve. That was when she had noticed exactly what the other three could see before them. She felt the impulse to scream at the top of her lungs at the horrifying sight but swallowed her screams the best she could.
Before the four small students stood a massive creature, its body taking up more of the available space in the disused classroom. There pairs of piercing red eyes cut through the thick shadows, staring at the four children. The air was hot and smelled of rancid meat as the creature's breath suffocated the fresh oxygen out of the students' lungs. Slowly, it moved towards the children, exposing three different heads. With fangs nearly as long as their arms, thick ropes of drool clung to their opened maws as they anticipated the fresh meal before them. The creature's shoulders brushed hard against the ceiling and walls as it lifted a massive paw and brought it down hard in front of the redheaded Slytherin. The shock had been enough to cause the boy to jump. That was all it took for the heads to rear back and offer a deep threatening grow before they lunged for the small students.
Holly Potter felt as if time slowed down to a crawl as her heart pounded hard in her chest. Her lungs screamed for mercy as they pushed out against her rib cage, fighting the intense pressure. Her legs and feet felt as if they had turned to petrified stone beneath her as she stared at the menacing canine creature. She could feel something grabbing the back of her robes tightly before her feet went out from under her and she was pulled backwards roughly. She could only focus on the sharp fangs of the creature as one head snapped where she had only just been standing mere moments ago. Then, like that, the danger was gone as the large banded door was slammed shut on the creature's snout. Ronald Weasley and Tonks were struggling to keep the door closed tightly as the creature began to pound it's body hard against the thick wood. Finally, Hermione had managed to cast the locking charm, allowing for the red weasel and the manic purple Tonks to slump down to the floor; exhausted and frightened.
The small group of four had managed to make it nearly to the divided corridor that lead to the Ravenclaw Tower and Gryffindor Tower without being spotted by any professors or the cantankerous caretaker, Filch and her mangy mongrel. Holly's hands were resting on her knees as she tried to force herself to calm down. Her chest wasn't quite so tight, but it was still very difficult for her to breath. What had that creature been? Why was it there? She had noticed that it was standing over something; hidden away in the nighttime shadows. What could be so important that the creature would start trying to attack students? Were all magical creatures like that? Did all magical creatures grow to be that big? The girl in glasses had so many questions; she was unsure where to begin.
"What was that? Why was something like that in the school? What do they think they are doing?" The red weasel question, his face a sickly pale color.
"You don't use your eyes, do you?" Holly questioned between struggled breaths; growing agitated as the adrenaline was beginning to wear off. She was left feeling tired and emotionally drained. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"
"I wasn't looking at it's feet, Potter! I was a bit preoccupied with the heads, there three of them in case you didn't notice!" Ronald Weasley's face was beginning to pale to a ghastly shade of white as he continued to imagine the long, yellow fangs and disgusting smell of rotten meat.
Hermione had noticed though, almost immediately. She had the conjecture that the creature was in fact standing guard over something. She was about to speak up when she was rudely interrupted as the redheaded Slytherin started to round onto her about her failure to do anything of use until they were beyond the banded door. She felt offended, as he had froze up in fear just the same. His tone was becoming increasingly temperamental as an outburst of anger was surely building.
"Wotcher! It was standing on a trapdoor, which means it wasn't there by accident. It had to be guarding something super important," Tonks announced, a bright grin from ear to ear as she bounced on the balls of her feet. She was more impressed with herself that she hadn't managed to trip over herself the entire time.
"Guarding something? Who bloody cares, bint?" Ronald nearly shouted at the top of his lungs. He was visibly shaking and his arms were tight to his side, wand in hand. He didn't know who this girl was, but her and Potter had ruined his chance at getting a 'date' with the bushy brunette, not that that really mattered to him. He was only doing it to prove he could to his mates in Slytherin. It was a stupid task he had to accomplish in order to earn his place back. He was just about to lift his wand, but he was caught unaware as his entire body became stiff and he was unable to move a muscle.
"Petrificus Totalus," Tonks announced, her wand pointing at the red Weasel. She had become pretty adept with this right nasty curse and thought it to be the perfect spell for this situation. She was not about to let another student attack a Ravenclaw.
"Well then. That goes to show what sort of person you are, Ronald. I am going to go up to our common room and I am going to pretend that you were not about to do something you would regret." Hermione hugged before spinning on her heels, her shoes clicked and echoed off the stone floor. Holly watched her leave with two separate thoughts. She believed she was not only among the loveliest girls in the entire school, she was among the bravest with the way she stood face to face with the creature and had not started to panic like Holly had. All she could remember were the glowing red eyes and being frozen where she stood.
When Holly looked over towards Tonks, she watched as the girl with sea-foam green hair was speaking to a painting with an exuberant tone. Holly thought Tonks was awesome, not only the way she handled the entire situation but she had kept the red weasel from possibly hurting the three of them. Above all, Tonks had spoken to her as if she was just another student, not the famous "Girl-Who-Lived". That was impressive when everyone knew who she was; what she had supposedly done. Yet, this girl had not even so much as made a passing comment about who she was. She watched as Tonks turned to her and made a motion as if shooing her away towards the common room. Perhaps the portrait had located a professor who was on their way. Tonks didn't want Holly to be caught out of the common room after curfew.
Holly made her way to the Ravenclaw Tower, keeping her head down in through as she kept asking herself the same questions over and over. Once again, she had answered the Brass Eagle's riddle with another question and made her way up the tall spiral staircase. The common room wasn't quite as full as she had thought it might be on a Friday night, so she took an opportunity to collect a large book from the shelf and sit down in front of the hearth to read. She had picked a book on Magical Beasts. She kept her read down, reading about each creature. She intended to learn what the creature was, if only to sate her curiosity. After a while, she could not keep herself from yawning, interrupting her reading. She decided it was time to place the book back on the shelf and made her way up the stairs to the room she shared with four other girls. Maybe she would visit the school's library tomorrow and do some more research. She knew she had an extensive essay due for Potions in a week, so that had to come first before any personal research. With the thoughts of the book she had been reading as well as the homework assignment, Holly drifted off into a very fitful sleep. She wouldn't remember them in the morning, but she had a dream of fighting in a large open arena with the creature from the Third Floor Corridor with nothing more than a stout sword in hand. Serverus Snape loomed over like a regal dictator asking her riddles about potions and ingredients.
A/N: WHEW! Chapter 10 written in a single day! This was purely done so I could relax a little and because I still had the drive from Chapter 9. So, the secret character from chapter 5; Red Train & Red Hair is finally revealed to be none other than Nymphadora Tonks. Yes yes, I know she was a Hufflepuff and Cannon first year was her last year in school. I am taking liberties. Besides, I think it adds an extra element. Not to mention, what exactly is going on with Ronald Weasley? Hmm. Guess you are just going to have to read the next chapter.
A/N 2: I am still looking for a Dedicated Beta.