So, the Wi-Fi bill went up… IT WASN'T MY FAULT! No, seriously, my sister is a pain... At least I have an update now, right? *gulps* AND IT'S LONGER THAN THE OTHER CHAPTERS! Don't forget that!
Okay, so I know that ya'll are pretty mad at me right now for the long wait… I just have had a lot of stuff on my mind and life (school related of course) so I haven't had that much time to continue this chapter. BUT I'M NOT DISCONTINUING OR HOLDING THIS STORY! I'm not the type of person who does that unless I really hate the story. *coughMYFIRSTSTORYcough* *coughTHATWASALONGWHILEAGOcough* *coughDON'TREADFIRSTSTORYcough* *coughTIMEDIFFICULTIEScough*
Dani: JUST SHUT UP AND WRITE, WILL YA?!
Me: But-
George: You have to admit, she does have a point. You've kept us locked up in your twisted, cramped, mind for weeks on end!
Me: Well…
All: WRITE!
It was dark. And lonely. I couldn't see anything, but somehow I knew the way I was walking. Then, I was running. A single light orb appeared in front of me. It flew forward and I followed it. The next thing I knew, I was standing in the door frame of a dimly lit manor. There were snake carvings and blood everywhere. There came others in black robes next to me. They walked by my sides to the main dining room. It was a large room with a large black table in the very middle. All of the figures in the black robes shuffled over to different chairs of the table, as well as I. My legs took me to a random chair that was seated next to two a woman with black curly hair. She pulled down her hood and I saw a face I had never seen before. She had heavy makeup and her eyes were wide with anticipation as she looked at me. She drew down my hood and whispered, "He's coming! He's coming!"
She practically bore a hole in the door with her staring. I looked towards it and the doorknob slowly turned. The wood slab flew open and a tall figure with very pale skin and a pure, black robe came gliding in. The biggest snake I had ever seen came following him. I heard a small squeak at the very end of the table from a short and ugly man. Suddenly, the mysterious figure sat down next to someone I recognized. What was Snape doing here?!
The shrill, high-pitched voice of the figure recited, "From a reliable source, I have heard of a prophecy between young Potter and myself. It may hold the key to his destruction. My death eaters, fetch it for me. Nagani," he pointed to a corpse of a human being on the other side of the room, "dinner." The large snake slithered to the body and ripped its fangs into the flesh. I cringed, but the woman beside me was beaming at the figure. He pulled down his hood and his crimson snake-like features glared at the small, ugly man I had seen earlier. The man scampered out of the room; frightened. Before I could see anything else, blackness consumed me once more.
I woke up gasping for breath with wide frightened eyes. I looked around, and Ginny and George were crouched beside me. They shared relieved looks on their faces.
"Thank Merlin you're awake!" Ginny exclaimed as she hugged me.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" I asked. The two stared at me with curious expressions.
"You mean you don't remember?" George questioned. "You were shaking on the floor and covered in cold sweat!" I shook my head. I did remember, but I didn't want to worry them.
"Well," Ginny said, changing the subject, "Mum's made pancakes for breakfast, and I'm not going to miss that! I'll uh…just leave you two alone…" she crept out of the room and I heard the shutting of the door and her clunking down the stairs. I looked at George and he looked at me back.
"Okay, so what really happened?" he stated.
"George, I can't tell you."
"Yes, you can. I know you. Just tell me."
"I really can't!" I argued. "Just forget that it ever happened, and let's go get some breakfast."
"I'm worried about you. Dani, for the past nights you've been doing this." I gaped at him.
"What? Then how come I don't remember those times?!"
"I don't know why. But the point is, you remember this time. Tell me so we can fix this!"
"I. Can't." I sighed. "I don't need you to be even more worried. I'm fine, really."
"Fine… Meet you at breakfast." He grumbled and walked out. What's his problem?
I tore off my clothes and pulled on some of Ginny's extras before heading downstairs for pancakes. I plopped down on an empty chair next to Hermione and grabbed the syrup bottle and a cake from the stack. I was hungry, but I knew that this wouldn't solve the problem. What I needed badly was some ectoplasm. I would have to visit Clockwork soon…
"Hurry up, kids." Mrs. Weasley reminded us. "We'll be leaving for Diagon Alley in an hour. Danielle, I'll scrape up some money for you..." she sighed. I smiled.
"You don't have to worry about me; I already have my own money." Everyone spun around in surprise. "What? Just because I'm new doesn't mean I don't have money."
"Well, we all just assumed…" Hermione muttered. I pulled out that weird key with the live and dead vines. "Oh! You have a Gringotts vault!" Oh; so that's what the key is for… Originally I had been planning on pickpocketing people. I know it's not very nice, but it would have been my last option. But now I don't have to!
"When are we leaving?" the twins asked in unison. How does George even do that?! He went from being frustrated to being happy and goofy! Ugh!
"Don't you ever listen? I just said we would leave in an hour!" Mrs. Weasley tsked.
"Of course we listen!" the twins shouted back in unison. "Just not always…" they slyly grinned at each other. Frustrated, I zooned out – thinking about what George had said.
"I'm worried about you. Dani, for the past nights you've been doing this."
What did that mean? And why I never remember it the previous night? Why didn't Clockwork warn me about this? Sure; he warned me about how my magical blood came from someone named 'Narissa Black'. But what did that really mean? Is she a death eater? Am I able to see into her mind? Or was I just overthinking this? I heard some commotion, but my eyes felt especially heavy.
The next thing I knew, my head was on top of something soft and gooey. And sticky. What was that? I lifted my head from the pancake syrup. The table was empty and cleared. Except of course for two misfits who were deviously grinning at me. I glared at them.
Just great. One side of my cheek was covered in sticky syrup, and my arms and legs were tied to the chair with a gooey substance. Which turned out to be a sticking charm. Meanwhile, everyone passing the table was in an awful hurry to get ready for the day. The clock read 8:40 AM. Oh no! I must have fallen back to sleep and now I had only 20 minutes before Diagon Ally! I'm going to kill those two little prats! Worst of all, they put me in a Notice-Me-Not charm.
I attempted to break free from the charm, but not even my intangibility would let me go. I growled inhumanly. Triumphantly, I think I glimpsed Fred leaning back a little in his chair. Hermione stopped in front of the twins and huffed in annoyance.
"We're supposed to be leaving in 20 minutes and you two are still in the clothes you slept in!" she huffed. Just as she passed me, she paused and looked at the empty chair. Only now did I realize that she was going to push it into the table. Curse these charms!
"HEY!" I yelled at her. She dropped the chair in alarm and I slid off with my now two broken limbs that bent back too much. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU TWO NITWITS!" I shouted at the top my lungs. Hermione mumbled some gibberish and suddenly she gasped as the sticking charm was unbroken and she saw me glaring from the floor at the twins. They were laughing their heads off.
"What in Merlin's name are you doing to Dani?!" she raised her voice. "You could've gotten hurt!" I added as she pulled me up, "Not could've; did." I winced as my right leg moved from the sleek floor. This time Hermione and George gasped. I could obviously tell Fred's was a fake.
"Do you see what you've done to her!" she tsked. I sighed.
"You don't happen to have a splint that I could put my broken leg and arm in, would you?" I hopefully asked. Hermione nodded and ran off. (Well, she actually disappeared with a 'crack' and in less than a minute she was propping boards and bandages on me. There was a letter that was flying above her head and telling her off, but she brushed it off.) Fred had already left the room to get his mother; however George was wide-eyed and staring at me with scared and regretful eyes.
"It was only supposed to be a harmless prank." He whispered to himself (I could hear it too). Gratefully smiling, I turned to Hermione.
"Thanks for this." I thanked her even though I knew that my ghost powers would probably heal the bones in a few hours.
"No, really, don't thank me just yet – I'm not repairing the bones; just placing them in a splint." Suddenly I heard Harry and Ron calling for her and she quickly finished wrapping and left in a sprint. What was that about?
George opened his mouth to say something, but just then Mrs. Weasley flew through the kitchen doorframe. "We're leaving in 5 minutes; I've got the floo powder so," she spotted my arm and leg and gasped.
"What happened here? Do you need some help, dear?" she worriedly stared at my leg and arm in the splints.
"Oh, I'm fine. Hermione helped me just a few seconds ago." I softly replied.
"Well," she continued, grimacing at the syrup on my face and my clothes I slept in, "We still have to leave in a couple of minutes." She eyed the clock on the mantel. She didn't turn around, though. In fact, neither would George. His eyes remained closed.
"Uhh… Are you guys okay?" I choked out. "What's going on?!" My pocket was slightly glowing of a bright yellow color. I jumped in surprise, but brought down my left arm. I pulled out a medallion. A time medallion. Woah.
"Clockwork? Are you the one freezing time?" I asked the room. But nothing was moving. I was the only sound for miles and miles. "Clockwork, do you want to talk to me again?" I called out again. Nothing in response. I looked back at the time medallion.
It was still glowing a bright aura of yellow-white. The glow was even spreading through all the grooves and hinges that had originally looked like just details and designs. I guess not! For a strange reason, I felt attracted to the scrap of carved medal. It seemed to be pulling my very soul towards it. I clutched the medallion to my chest. A foreign force-field dragged it down to my stomach just above my belly-button. I lifted my shirt. It glowed even brighter. And then there was pain.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
I screamed so loud and shrill that even my own ears started to hurt from overdose. The time medallion was literally melting into my skin. It hurt like heck, and I felt like that time when I was just a pile of ectoplasm and the only way I survived was the ecto-dejecto. I panicked at that memory and the pain just increased. It was even worse than Walker's knife; which seemed impossible yesterday. I was pushing all of my energy towards my stomach, but that just made it even worse. I weakly slid to the floor until my cheek was touching the polished wood. Upon seeing the tears hit my hand, I closed my eyes. Then I was plunged into darkness (against my own free will) for the fourth time since I agreed to go with Clockwork.
I drowsily blinked my eyes. I felt very tired, but at the same time relaxed and refreshed. I stretched my arms as wide as I could. I ignored the slight pain in my right arm and leg. Thankfully, the pain was decreased. Thank you, ghost powers! Since my limbs were almost completely healed, I hauled myself up and turned to face the smiling face of George. Except he wasn't smiling. In fact, he wasn't even blinking. He seemed so… lifeless… that it was freaky. I turned away.
There was a churning sensation from underneath Ginny's "A Cauldron Full of Love" fan t-shirt. I lifted it up to my chest once more. My eyes widened as I stared hard at the new scar. Just one inch above my belly-button was a scar that was an exact imprint of the time medallion. And the imprint was glowing a lime green color.
"Clockwork!" I shrieked for the master of time's help. I had no idea what was going on with that medallion, but whatever it was it was unstable.
"CLOCKWORK!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. But he didn't show up even when I was convinced I would lose my voice. Thankfully, I didn't.
I pulled out a chair from under the table and plopped down on the wood. I wished that Clockwork would come. I wish he would fix this medallion that broke down into microcells in my stomach. I wish that he would stop this from ever happening. Or at least explain what even happened. I wish that someone would come help me deal with this. "I wish… THAT EVERYTHING WASN'T FROZEN IN TIME!" Standing up, I yelled that last part as loud as I could towards the sky. I flung open my eyes in anger.
"Woah! What are you yelling about!?" I swung around and gaped at George.
"You're… MOVING!" I blurted out. He blinked.
"What? And what happened to the splints?"
"Umm… what are you talking about?! It's been hours!" I slowly replied.
"Are you okay, Dani?" he asked. "Because you seem a little off…"
"Huh?" I panicked. "A little off?!" I heard my voice climbing a little high so I backed off some. "I'm, umm… going to get ready for Diagon Alley now!" I awkwardly replied. Then as fast as I could I ran to the bathroom upstairs. As soon as I could I splashed some water on my face (and scraping off some of the hardened maple syrup).
What just happened?! Why won't you come and explain it all to me, Clockwork? I crossed my arms with a sigh and leaned against the smooth wall. It certainly didn't help my case when my stomach cramps came back again. That lime green glow in my scar was glowing bright enough to make me want to shout out for the pain.
"Clockwork…" I groaned as I dried my face with the fluffy white towel – which now had slight brown sticky spots in random places. "Why do you have to be so difficult with dividing out information!?" My mind unconsciously started to compare Clockwork and Dumbledore. They had a lot of similar qualities – good at keeping secrets, good at seeming mysterious, and they both had white hair (I just couldn't help myself).
As soon as I fixed my now-not-broken-anymore limbs, my sloppy ponytail, as well as my skin-tight jeans borrowed from Ginny and her loose T-shirt, I tumbled down the stairs just in time to see five Weasleys, one Potter, one Granger, and a shaggy black canine waiting by the fireplace. Remus was standing by the frame, checking the to make sure that the slight fire was not near extinguishing whilst holding carefully a small brown sack of green powder. I jogged over to them.
"Well," Mrs. Weasley stated, "We're all set. Where'd I put that floo powder?" She glanced around the room turning her head. "Has anyone seen it?"
Remus backed out of the fireplace and handed the sack to her. "Here."
"Okay, now let's get moving." She briskly said, and hurled a handful of the green powder into the flames, turning them neon green. "Diagon Alley!" she stepped into the heat and immediately she was swept up in a whirlwind. The next thing I knew, she was gone and the others were doing the same.
"Here, Dani." George held out a handful of the green substance to me. My eyes were crossed just by trying to look at it.
"Floo? Powder?" I asked, taking the dump of flower in my left hand.
"Haven't you ever used floo powder before?" he gaped. "How the heck do you travel everywhere?!" I chuckled at his face. I don't know, maybe… flying?
"Well, just throw it into the flames and yell wherever you want to go. Then you just jump. Simple as that." He answered my question. Of course, it didn't seem that simple for me!
Soon it was my turn. I nervously held out my hand and dumped the green powder into the grate. Being careful not to stutter, I clearly yelled out, "DIAGON ALLEY!" and jumped.
Who's up for a cliff hanger? *groans* I won't take as long as I did before with the chapter update! You all have the capacity of patience! *more groans*
PLEASE REVIEW! I'm getting slightly lonely, here!