Days and weeks went by.. Harry looked longingly at the Slytherin table once or twice, but found that she was talking to someone there with her back to his table. He would just shake his head and return to what he was doing. They would pass each other in the hallway, neither a word spoken nor a passing glance. Hermione and Ron would look at Harry like he was diseased, but as time went on, they got used to the fact that Harry had gone out of his mind.
Meanwhile, Lienne decided that it was best not to ever look at him again, but to focus her sights on better things--Draco. She would steal a glance at him, only to find her glances iced over and thrown back at her. Many nights, she would talk to Mintiri and cry about how she could have no friends or love interests, because they all hated her. She took separate classes than everyone else to catch her up on the level that her age group was at, but it was hard. Not as many essays, but almost always it was hands-on, and it was tough. Her tutor always helped her out with her homework. Her teachers switched around to teach her during lunch, when other students were eating. They made it so that she had absolutely no classes with her peers until she was fully caught up enough to join her classmates.
**A/N: Time flies by.. it's about 2 months later (November)**
Harry plopped down in the common room, readying himself for a visit to Hogsmeade. (A/N: The Dursleys gave him permission only because they didn't want him to raise all holy heck and whatnot.) Girls were gone from his mind at this point, especially a certain one. He hadn't seen her in months, and that led to him eventually forgetting about her almost completely. Ron sat down on the couch next to Harry, exhausted from working on his essay for Transfiguration (only under Hermione's ranting that he would surely fail if he didn't complete it). "Where are we going first?" Ron asked him excitedly. "I'm thinking of going to get some butterbeer, firstly. I've heard it's wonderful..." "Then we can go to the prank shop where Fred and George love to go to.." "And after that we can get candy," Hermione said, leaning in behind them. "Sounds like a plan.. if we have any more time, we can figure out something," Harry said, smiling and nodding.
****
On their way out of the prank shop, doubled over laughing, a large black dog stepped in front of them. They all stopped and started to back away from it. "Maybe it's stray.." Hermione said, guessing. "You know, it could be.. naw, it couldn't," Ron said, interrupting himself. "What?" Harry and Hermione plored. "Well.. it could be an animagus.." he trailed off, readying himself for his friends' laughter. Instead, the dog started to walk away, then turned its head as if it were wanting them to follow it. They looked at each other and shrugged, following the dog.
After a few corners and alleys, they stopped at a dark alleyway where the dog had disappeared into. "Where did it.." Harry trailed off. As if to answer him, a tall dark man stepped out of the shadows. The trio jumped out of surprise and started to back away. "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you.. I'm Sirius Black," he said, smiling. While Hermione and Ron continued to back away, Harry stopped. "You're.. the escaped.." he murmured. "Yes, but I didn't do such a thing like what they said."
****
After an hour or so of discussion, they eventually started to actually trust Black, and they talked to him about what has been going on. "Have they told you about the Yule Ball as of yet?" he asked them. They looked at him rather strangely. "I suppose not.. well, it goes along with the Triwizard Tournament, like a sort of celebration for their triumphs so far. It's a dance near the Christmas time..and you have to have dates.. and it's loads of fun," he said, smiling and reminiscing. They scrunched their noses at the fact that they had to have dates. "It's not so bad," he continued. "Do you HAVE to have a date?" Harry interjected. "I believe so," he said, nodding. Hermione and Ron sighed, while Harry looked away. Had he made a mistake? This could've been his chance to really show her how he felt, had he not blown it all on selfish pride. He started to beat himself up mentally when Sirius looked at him and said, "Alright there, Harry?" He looked up. "Err, yes, I'm fine.. well we better be going, we have lots of homework to do.. nice talking with you Sirius," he said, hurrying them out of the alleyway.
Sure to Harry's word, it had started to get dark, and many of the students had already left to go back to school. "Harry.. what was the big idea?" said Ron. "Nothing," he replied huffily, walking quickly in front of them until he was a good distance in front of Ron and Hermione. "Lienne?" she asked Ron. He shrugged.
****
"But.. do I have to, Professor?" Lienne whined to McGonagall. "I'm sorry, but you have to join your classmates now. You're practically ahead of them almost, so it is fit for you to go to classes like normal next week." "NEXT WEEK?" she roared, then clamped her mouth shut and looked at the Prof. apologetically. "I know, it's going to be tough to get used to, but I will show you where all of your classes are during class so that you won't get lost. Would you like to go now and find them?" she asked her. Lienne silently nodded, dreading having any contact with students longer than being in the Common Room.
As the tour droned on, she tried to remember the route to each one, and what to do if staircases moved or ghosts tried to lead her the wrong way. "Finally, this is Potions, where Professor Snape is. I'm sure you know who he is. Do you have all of that?" Prof. McGonagall asked her. She looked up at her. "I suppose so.. I'll get lost at least once," she said sheepishly.
****
The weekend rolled around, and as the hours passed, Lienne's heart drooped more and more. She had no one to converse with.. no one to help her with her homework.. nobody to even have a heart's desire for. She relied on Mintiri as her best friend, since she was the only one who would talk to her. Her cat had even started to become too lazy to even stay awake to comfort her as Monday finally came.
She gathered her books and skipped breakfast to go straight to her first class--Herbology. She made her way out the way that Professor had shown her. She stood outside of the classroom and saw her fellow students start to stand with her. She saw students her age start to form around the door, and she felt a little more at peace. Before, she had been placed with immature first-years who just poked fun at the fact that she was Muggle-raised and 2 years behind.
"So, decided to grace us with your presence, mudblood?" She turned to the owner of the icy voice. "Shove it," Lienne replied, shoving Draco into his posse behind him. His eyes flashed green and he whipped out his wand. "Want to say that again?" he demanded, pointing his wand at her face. She walked up to him so close that her nose was an inch from his face. "Shove. It." She rolled her eyes and turned to walk away.
Suddenly, time slowed. She heard Draco start to mutter a curse in slow motion, so she dropped her books, whipped around, and pulled out her wand. Everything seemed to go by slowly until she pointed her wand at him and screamed, "Stupefy!" Draco's wand dropped from his hand and he stopped mid-curse, his face completely blank. He fell to the ground. Before anyone could say anything, she ran away from the scene, not looking back to see what she had done. Not even to pick up her books.
Why did he call her mudblood? She wasn't muggle-born. At least, she thought she wasn't. She sat in a corner in some corridor (she didn't even bother to notice where she was going earlier) and cried. She thought back to what her adopted mother had said. "Your parents were close to Hogwarts, and they understood." So, they WERE wizards..at least one of them. But.. who were they? She had to find out. She stood up, wiped her tears from her face, and walked to Professor McGonagall's office.
****
"She WHAT?" Hermione bellowed. "I saw it with my own eyes!" said Neville, excitedly. "So.. he called her a.. you know.. and she.. I can't believe it!" she said, shaking her head. Ron nodded. "I can't either," he said, scratching his head. "It was only 2 months ago that she was 2 years behind us, and now she's doing spells WAY beyond our knowledge!" Hermione turned to Ron and replied, "SOME of our knowledge. I knew how to do that." "That's not the point, Hermione.. the point is that she just wizzed by what MOST of us could barely pass in 2 years!" Seamus exclaimed. "Who did?"
Harry walked up to the group sitting around the couch in the common room. They suddenly got quiet. "Um.. Lienne," said Hermione delicately. She looked away from Harry, as did most of the group. "Oh, has she really? She told me that she was going to get tutoring," he said, trying to sound casual. But on the inside, he started to wrench again. She's up to date? That means that she'll be in some of his classes...he'll have to look at her every day...she might even try to TALK to him... Thoughts went flying through his head. "What happened?" he asked, trying to sound enthused. "Apparently Draco called her mudblood, so she Stupified him." "Wha.. how?" he asked, amazed. "Nobody knows, really. He made a joke at her and called her mudblood, so she told him to shove it.. he pointed his wand at her, and she said something else, and before any of us knew it, she screamed, 'Stupefy!' and he just dropped straight to the ground!" Neville recounted. Harry stared at him for a few seconds, amazed at the level she was at. Now, not only was she beautiful and funny, but she could whoop his butt! He started to say something to Hermione, but the group started to dissipate to dormitories for curfew.
(A/N: I know it may not follow along with JK's ideas, but the classes are intermixed, so that all houses are taught together.)
Meanwhile, Lienne decided that it was best not to ever look at him again, but to focus her sights on better things--Draco. She would steal a glance at him, only to find her glances iced over and thrown back at her. Many nights, she would talk to Mintiri and cry about how she could have no friends or love interests, because they all hated her. She took separate classes than everyone else to catch her up on the level that her age group was at, but it was hard. Not as many essays, but almost always it was hands-on, and it was tough. Her tutor always helped her out with her homework. Her teachers switched around to teach her during lunch, when other students were eating. They made it so that she had absolutely no classes with her peers until she was fully caught up enough to join her classmates.
**A/N: Time flies by.. it's about 2 months later (November)**
Harry plopped down in the common room, readying himself for a visit to Hogsmeade. (A/N: The Dursleys gave him permission only because they didn't want him to raise all holy heck and whatnot.) Girls were gone from his mind at this point, especially a certain one. He hadn't seen her in months, and that led to him eventually forgetting about her almost completely. Ron sat down on the couch next to Harry, exhausted from working on his essay for Transfiguration (only under Hermione's ranting that he would surely fail if he didn't complete it). "Where are we going first?" Ron asked him excitedly. "I'm thinking of going to get some butterbeer, firstly. I've heard it's wonderful..." "Then we can go to the prank shop where Fred and George love to go to.." "And after that we can get candy," Hermione said, leaning in behind them. "Sounds like a plan.. if we have any more time, we can figure out something," Harry said, smiling and nodding.
****
On their way out of the prank shop, doubled over laughing, a large black dog stepped in front of them. They all stopped and started to back away from it. "Maybe it's stray.." Hermione said, guessing. "You know, it could be.. naw, it couldn't," Ron said, interrupting himself. "What?" Harry and Hermione plored. "Well.. it could be an animagus.." he trailed off, readying himself for his friends' laughter. Instead, the dog started to walk away, then turned its head as if it were wanting them to follow it. They looked at each other and shrugged, following the dog.
After a few corners and alleys, they stopped at a dark alleyway where the dog had disappeared into. "Where did it.." Harry trailed off. As if to answer him, a tall dark man stepped out of the shadows. The trio jumped out of surprise and started to back away. "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you.. I'm Sirius Black," he said, smiling. While Hermione and Ron continued to back away, Harry stopped. "You're.. the escaped.." he murmured. "Yes, but I didn't do such a thing like what they said."
****
After an hour or so of discussion, they eventually started to actually trust Black, and they talked to him about what has been going on. "Have they told you about the Yule Ball as of yet?" he asked them. They looked at him rather strangely. "I suppose not.. well, it goes along with the Triwizard Tournament, like a sort of celebration for their triumphs so far. It's a dance near the Christmas time..and you have to have dates.. and it's loads of fun," he said, smiling and reminiscing. They scrunched their noses at the fact that they had to have dates. "It's not so bad," he continued. "Do you HAVE to have a date?" Harry interjected. "I believe so," he said, nodding. Hermione and Ron sighed, while Harry looked away. Had he made a mistake? This could've been his chance to really show her how he felt, had he not blown it all on selfish pride. He started to beat himself up mentally when Sirius looked at him and said, "Alright there, Harry?" He looked up. "Err, yes, I'm fine.. well we better be going, we have lots of homework to do.. nice talking with you Sirius," he said, hurrying them out of the alleyway.
Sure to Harry's word, it had started to get dark, and many of the students had already left to go back to school. "Harry.. what was the big idea?" said Ron. "Nothing," he replied huffily, walking quickly in front of them until he was a good distance in front of Ron and Hermione. "Lienne?" she asked Ron. He shrugged.
****
"But.. do I have to, Professor?" Lienne whined to McGonagall. "I'm sorry, but you have to join your classmates now. You're practically ahead of them almost, so it is fit for you to go to classes like normal next week." "NEXT WEEK?" she roared, then clamped her mouth shut and looked at the Prof. apologetically. "I know, it's going to be tough to get used to, but I will show you where all of your classes are during class so that you won't get lost. Would you like to go now and find them?" she asked her. Lienne silently nodded, dreading having any contact with students longer than being in the Common Room.
As the tour droned on, she tried to remember the route to each one, and what to do if staircases moved or ghosts tried to lead her the wrong way. "Finally, this is Potions, where Professor Snape is. I'm sure you know who he is. Do you have all of that?" Prof. McGonagall asked her. She looked up at her. "I suppose so.. I'll get lost at least once," she said sheepishly.
****
The weekend rolled around, and as the hours passed, Lienne's heart drooped more and more. She had no one to converse with.. no one to help her with her homework.. nobody to even have a heart's desire for. She relied on Mintiri as her best friend, since she was the only one who would talk to her. Her cat had even started to become too lazy to even stay awake to comfort her as Monday finally came.
She gathered her books and skipped breakfast to go straight to her first class--Herbology. She made her way out the way that Professor had shown her. She stood outside of the classroom and saw her fellow students start to stand with her. She saw students her age start to form around the door, and she felt a little more at peace. Before, she had been placed with immature first-years who just poked fun at the fact that she was Muggle-raised and 2 years behind.
"So, decided to grace us with your presence, mudblood?" She turned to the owner of the icy voice. "Shove it," Lienne replied, shoving Draco into his posse behind him. His eyes flashed green and he whipped out his wand. "Want to say that again?" he demanded, pointing his wand at her face. She walked up to him so close that her nose was an inch from his face. "Shove. It." She rolled her eyes and turned to walk away.
Suddenly, time slowed. She heard Draco start to mutter a curse in slow motion, so she dropped her books, whipped around, and pulled out her wand. Everything seemed to go by slowly until she pointed her wand at him and screamed, "Stupefy!" Draco's wand dropped from his hand and he stopped mid-curse, his face completely blank. He fell to the ground. Before anyone could say anything, she ran away from the scene, not looking back to see what she had done. Not even to pick up her books.
Why did he call her mudblood? She wasn't muggle-born. At least, she thought she wasn't. She sat in a corner in some corridor (she didn't even bother to notice where she was going earlier) and cried. She thought back to what her adopted mother had said. "Your parents were close to Hogwarts, and they understood." So, they WERE wizards..at least one of them. But.. who were they? She had to find out. She stood up, wiped her tears from her face, and walked to Professor McGonagall's office.
****
"She WHAT?" Hermione bellowed. "I saw it with my own eyes!" said Neville, excitedly. "So.. he called her a.. you know.. and she.. I can't believe it!" she said, shaking her head. Ron nodded. "I can't either," he said, scratching his head. "It was only 2 months ago that she was 2 years behind us, and now she's doing spells WAY beyond our knowledge!" Hermione turned to Ron and replied, "SOME of our knowledge. I knew how to do that." "That's not the point, Hermione.. the point is that she just wizzed by what MOST of us could barely pass in 2 years!" Seamus exclaimed. "Who did?"
Harry walked up to the group sitting around the couch in the common room. They suddenly got quiet. "Um.. Lienne," said Hermione delicately. She looked away from Harry, as did most of the group. "Oh, has she really? She told me that she was going to get tutoring," he said, trying to sound casual. But on the inside, he started to wrench again. She's up to date? That means that she'll be in some of his classes...he'll have to look at her every day...she might even try to TALK to him... Thoughts went flying through his head. "What happened?" he asked, trying to sound enthused. "Apparently Draco called her mudblood, so she Stupified him." "Wha.. how?" he asked, amazed. "Nobody knows, really. He made a joke at her and called her mudblood, so she told him to shove it.. he pointed his wand at her, and she said something else, and before any of us knew it, she screamed, 'Stupefy!' and he just dropped straight to the ground!" Neville recounted. Harry stared at him for a few seconds, amazed at the level she was at. Now, not only was she beautiful and funny, but she could whoop his butt! He started to say something to Hermione, but the group started to dissipate to dormitories for curfew.
(A/N: I know it may not follow along with JK's ideas, but the classes are intermixed, so that all houses are taught together.)