Chapter 9: Second Years, Duels and Connor
Tomorrow is the first day of winter break. This is my favorite time of the year, almost everyone is gone and I practically have the entire castle to myself. Iris helps me look for the chamber whenever she has free time. During break she decides to get ahead on upcoming homework so she won't stress as much during exam time. Though how she convinced the teachers to tell her what the upcoming assignments were I'd never know.
Today is one of the days that Iris is not in the library studying her butt off. We start off on the seventh floor today. By using Alohomora we are able to enter every empty classroom that would be inaccessible otherwise. I love magic.
"What are you two doing?"
Iris jumps in surprise. Great, it's Connor. What is he even doing here? Shouldn't he have left yesterday with the others? Most purebloods do,
"What's it to you Connor?"
I'm tired of acting civil to this git. If he starts babbling I swear I'll hex him.
"I was bored so I started wandering around the castle, I saw the two of you and decided to see what you were up to. I don't think we're supposed to be here. Wasn't it locked?"
And the babbling begins. I grab my wand from my pocket and begin to think of some hex,
"Langlock!"
I'm shocked. Iris has her wand pointed at Connor. Since when does she know how to hex someone? Connor's face twists with confusion. I'm just happy to have him shut up. He points at Iris disdainfully and then runs out of the room.
"You know he's going to tell on you",
I warn her. Detention isn't very pleasant, what with the torture and all.
"Then I'll have to cover my tracks"
She smiles, we walk out of the room and I cast,
"Colloportus!"
On the door, relocking it successfully.
"Deletrius"
I have never heard of that spell, I ask her what it does,
"Removes the evidence of previous spells I've cast, like the Langlock, I came across it while in the library"
Interesting, I think, now I begin to wonder, how many spells are there? I decide it would be wise to stop our search for now and head back to the common room. We almost make it when professor Slughorn calls for us. Turning around I noticed that Connor was next to him and his mouth was free to babble away.
"Iris, Mr. Bryne tells me that you hexed him and broke a number of school rules, is this true?"
"No",
She doesn't even blink.
"That's a lie! I saw you two unlock that door, that's trespassing. Not to mention hexing me!"
Slughorn grimaces at Connor's loudness. I feel the need to say something,
"Where exactly did she hex you? I've been with Iris all day and we haven't even seen you 'til now"
I smirk. Slughorn looks to Connor, thinking twice about what he's been told,
"Mr. Bryne, Tom is a top notch student. He would not lie about something as serious as this"
I have to hold back a snort. He acts like he actually knows me,
"Check her wand professor! She hexed me!"
Slughorn sighs and asks for Iris' wand. She hands it over with out complaint; knowing that he won't look closely enough to see if she really had placed a hex on Connor. Slughorn sighs and looks to Connor disappointingly,
"Mr. Bryne, lying is not accepted here at Hogwarts"
"I'm not lying!"
"I'm sure someone hexed you, but it wasn't Iris. Her wand shows no sign of hexing activity. Five points from Slytherin, Mr. Bryne"
Connor makes a face and stomps away,
"Good decision you all made, voting that boy out of slug club. Saved me a number of headaches",
I snort once Slughorn is our of earshot,
"He'd believe me even if I had told him that he was the one to hex Connor"
"Most teachers would. They all adore you, you know"
Yes, I know. It can be a bother sometimes but in times like this it can become useful.
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Once Iris finished all her upcoming homework, and after giving me the assignments, we devoted all of our time trying to find the Chamber. Alas, we could not find a single thing to suggest there even was a Chamber. However, same as last year, I refuse to give up.
The Christmas feast is amazing, as expected; Iris and I fill our plates with turkey potatoes and many other side dishes. Again I was unable to obtain anything worth giving to Iris. I wonder if she got me anything, doubtful. She may just peck me on the cheek again, like last year.
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We sneak some dessert into the common room after the feast ended. All of the prefects had gone home for break and Slughorn wouldn't care as long as we offered him something. Iris eats a couple of sweets and then says she's had enough. I snort at the thought of her stopping because of something like 'watching her figure' and reach for her sweets.
After I finish eating I stretch out and lie down across the couch. Successfully resting my legs on Iris' lap. Hey, if she's not complaining then I'm not moving. She sighs and makes a comment about how my feet smell. I shrug and lay my head back on the headrest.
I feel Iris relax and I begin to doze off. I could very well have fallen into a deep sleep if it hadn't been for the crackling of the fire. Not sure why that'd keep me up though. Time passes in silence until Iris stretches and lifts my feet off of her lap, almost forcing me to wake,
"I was comfortable like that, Iris"
"That's too bad Morty, It's almost midnight and I for one would like to have a good night sleep in my bed"
"We could have had a good night sleep here, you know"
"I'm so sure",
She replies sarcastically.
I open my eyes to mach-glare at her. This doesn't faze her however. All it does is make her smile at me,
"Merry Christmas, Morty"
She says before kissing me on the cheek and walking up the stairs to her room. I touch my cheek, wondering if this will become a tradition between the two of us.
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Before everyone returned I decided to work on the homework assignments Iris told me about. It was one of the best decisions of my life. Now, while everyone else is freaking out about the vast amounts of homework, I can relax and focus on the upcoming exams.
Now that we know what to expect from exams it is much easier to study. Even though that is true, Iris and I still spend most of our time in the library. We can't technically study for D.A.D.A this year though. Our grades will be determined on how well we duel. I'm perfectly confident in my dueling abilities. Dumbledore has yet to pair me up with someone who has even come close to disarming me. I wonder whom he'll pair me up with for the exam. He'll most likely decide on Thorn. Thorn is very outgoing with his incantations and will try anything to win.
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Over Spring break I complete all the unnecessary homework they give me as quickly as I can so that I may practice perfecting my spells for the upcoming duel. Iris decides to focus more on the homework than her incantations. Making sure that every essay they gave us is as perfect as she can make it.
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Yet again everyone freaks out about exams. I try not to but the pressure is becoming exponential. My first final, Charms, passes uneventfully. So do many of the others, such as History of Magic, Transfiguration, even Herbology passes by without a hitch. Classes like Astronomy take a bit more attention to pass.
I find it strange how the teachers change your schedule around for exams. I suppose to throw you off and to attempt to make you study harder in the future. D.A.D.A is my last exam, seeing as how I just finished my potions exam. I make my way towards the D.A.D.A room, my excitement overflowing.
Apparently I'm not the only one excited. Though I'm sure the others are just excited to finish their last exam. While I think about this that melancholy feeling returns. Once this exam is finished we'll have the feast and then tomorrow it will be time to return to the orphanage. I wish I could just stay here for the summer.
I am brought out of my mental ramblings when Dumbledore calls the class to order. Iris is standing beside me now, almost as excited as I. Dumbledore begins to call off pairs and Iris and I fall into our system of betting, without money of course, on who will win and what spell they'll use.
As the numbers of students who have yet to duel begin to dwindle I begin to wonder who Dumbledore paired me with. Thorn has already dueled someone, as has every other good duelist in the class. He couldn't have paired me with an incompetent duelist, could he? I hope Dumbledore didn't simply pair me with some idiot just because he knows I'll win either way. That's no fun at all.
I groan when there's barely any students left. The others, who have finished their exam, were not allowed to leave but instead congregated on one side of the classroom. Making it easier for everyone to see who hasn't dueled yet. Finally when there are less than four pairs left Dumbledore calls out,
"Riddle".
I walk up to the stage and await the name of my opponent,
"Ackers",
Bloody hell. I never expected Dumbledore to pair me up with my friend! Does he get some sick pleasure from this? Everyone makes some sort of sound. Well I asked for it. I wanted a difficult duel. Neither Iris nor I have yet to lose. Now everyone is paying attention to what is happening on stage. Iris walks onto the stage, we meet in the center,
"Ready Iris?"
I ask, sarcasm coating my voice,
"Shouldn't you be asking yourself that, Morty?"
She replies with just as much sarcasm. I smirk. We turn, take our three steps and raise our wands. Dumbledore begins his countdown,
"Three, two, one"
"Incarcerous!"
Iris is bound by ropes, but not for long,
"Diffindo!"
The ropes cut open and release her. She goes on the offence,
"Expelliarmus!"
"Finite Incantatem!"
Dead lock,
"Serpensotia!"
I smirk. My snake appears and begins to slither its way towards Iris. The moment she saw the snake she froze, unsure of what to do,
"Geminio!"
When did she learn that spell? Iris duplicated my snake, not very smart though, when you think about it,
"Obey me. Retrieve that girl's wand"
I whisper to the snakes. They nod and once again make their way towards Iris. She huffs in frustration,
"Incendio!"
I cringe when the snakes are burned in her fire. She'll pay for that one,
"Levicorpus!"
Iris screams when she is dangled upside down. She blushes as she attempts to keep her skirt down but holds fast to her wand,
"Liberacorpus!"
She is immediately placed back onto her feat,
"Obscuro!"
Crap! I can't see!
"Diffindo!"
I quickly cut the blindfold from my eyes,
"Stupify!"
I cast, this is a long shot, but it's worth a try,
"Protego!"
Damn, no good. At this rate nothing will happen. Iris hesitates, giving me the advantage,
"Rictusempra!"
This is pathetic, but I am out of spells. Iris begins to laugh because of the spells effects. As a result she loses concentration and drops her wand,
"Accio wand!"
I cast immediately. Iris does nothing to stop me. I win. Iris stops laughing, was she faking?
Dumbledore congratulates me and calls up the next pair. Iris walks up to me,
"Congratulations, Morty, that was a tough duel"
"Did you drop your wand purposefully?"
I ask right away, not bothering to congratulate her back. She smiles to me knowingly and replies,
"Who knows?"
I groan and make a mental note that the next time we duel I will win without her giving up first. Giving up just because it was never going to end is unacceptable! I will tell her this new rule next time we duel.
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The main topic of our conversation during the feast is why she gave up,
"Let it be, Morty"
She tells me sternly, but I persist,
"Tell me why you allowed you wand to drop!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, it was an accident. I was being tickled! I had no control over what I was doing!"
"I don't believe you"
She sighs and doesn't respond. This is her way of avoiding something, not talking. It's frustrating and I drop the subject, yet again.
"We're writing each other this summer, right?"
"Of course, unless you don't want to"
"I want to"
We begin to talk about how we think we did on our finals. I tell her that I probably passed with flying colors. She tells me she thinks she did well on most of them.
The feast finishes with Head Master Dippet announcing to us his wishes for our safe trip home. Like he actually cares. We're dismissed to our houses and Iris and I walk to the couch. We talk about nothing truly interesting and I can't help blurting out,
"I don't want him to hurt you"
Iris looks startled by my outburst. When she figures out what I mean she smiles softly to me,
"I told you Morty, he doesn't hit me often"
"But he still hits you!"
I all but yell,
"Morty, leave it be, please? I will only be there for about three months. Technically I only have fifteen months total when you think about it. We're here most of the time, and I'll move out once I'm seventeen. It'll be ok"
"But what if something happens?"
"Nothing will happen, I promise"
"You'd better keep that promise. I'll hold you to it"
She smiles at me. I can't help but smile back. I hope she keeps that promise. Although she may not realize this, Iris is my only actual friend here. I'm not sure what I'd do if I lost her.
I lock away these thoughts, freeing my mind of them. The Prefects are putting curfew into affect and we must retire to our rooms. This year has gone by so quickly and it all is beginning to sink in. I'm not surprised when the effects begin to kick in, keeping me awake. I'm not sure when but eventually I fall into a dreamless sleep.
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The train ride back is uneventful as usual. I dread each moment that forces me farther apart from my real home. Nonetheless I watch by without complaint.
Before I know it we've arrive at King's Cross-Station. Iris and I walk out into the muggle world without a hitch. I look for whoever was sent to pick me up. This time it is Mrs. Walter who 'lost the bet'. I say my farewells to Iris and make my way towards the car. After I have successfully stored my trunk in the car I look back to where Iris is standing. I glare at the sight. Her father is there with her. No hug, no smile, nothing. He begins to walk away and she follows him.
I slam the car door in frustration and take my seat next to Fenrir's cage. Mrs. Walter looks like she is about to say something but decides against it and starts the car. I make no sound during the car ride. I simply stare out the window and wait for the car to stop so that I know we've arrived. I have a feeling this will be a long summer.
A/N: Hello, as always I hope you liked it. I would like to say a big thank you to all those who have visited my story. Over 150 visits!! Go fans! Also, I was surprised at how many people viewed yesterday; 7/28/09 it beat the weekend record. That was a huge shocker to me this afternoon. Also, I know the Langlock spell was created by Snape, but I had already typed it and when I went back to check the spelling I saw that it was created by Snape. Don't hate me! It was too perfect for Connor, you know? Anywho, I would like to thank Gemma () for reviewing.
Love,
Pastry~