Chapter 11 It's all Crystal Clear to Me!
Crystal swayed, her vision blurring and then clearing. She wiped her eyes, trying to fight off the effect. "If I can fight evil," her mind told her, "then I can fight this!" She squeezed the table, trying not to loose consciousness. All the other first years, except Blick, had fainted. He was now staring at her, wondering what was keeping off the effect.
Then, what sounded like a sonic boom echoed inside her head and she flew off the table and landed on her hands and knees. She stood up, at first wobbly, then, more sure. "Dude… Who spiked the punch?" She asked, steadying herself. She shook her head, trying to loose the fuzzy edge on her vision.
She looked around the room, and was surprised to see Blick starting to wobble. "Punch?" He asked, then fainted. Shaking her head, Crystal looked around the room for some of the Weasleys. She saw Ronda sitting normally at the Ravenclaw table, also shaking her head.
'Ronda!' Crystal mind-waved. 'Salutations.' Ronda greeted.
'No time for hellos, we've got a problem on our hands.'
'Relaaax!' Ronda said, stretching her legs.
'Why?'
'You just got your powers, now use them wisely. I've had powers for three years.'
'And your point is…?'
'This is nothing. Just leave it alone. You'll come across more dangerous things.'
Crystal huffed about something and turned around, only to run straight into Brynn. Her eyes turned briefly yellow, in shock of being run to the ground, then quickly changed them back. Then, she gasped.
Brynn looked exactly like the evil Cate that her mother had described. Thinking that this was Cate, she grimaced and skidded backwards, running into Snape's legs. Well, this was the one that made her scream. Snape looked down at her and opened his mouth, but didn't have time to say anything as Crystal sprinted away from the hall.
"What?" Snape asked, looking wide-eyed. "I was only going to say sorry!"
Crystal ran through the corridors, her face in her hands, terrified that Brynn actually might be Cate. Her mother had told her about the dark days… About the times Cate had been evil. She didn't want that to happen again! She wasn't ready yet!
She ran straight into someone. She looked up, startled. A girl with black hair stood there, a look of fury on her face. Crystal, her face tear- streaked, looked away. She wiped her forehead with her arm, her bangs parting, and then looked up again.
The look on the girl's face changed as she looked at Crystal's forehead. The girl reached forward and touched Crystal's forehead. Her finger ran along the faded lightning-bolt scar that Crystal had inherited from her father. It pained her dully.
The girl was wearing sunglasses. She was awfully tall, and she had doglike teeth that made her look frightening. She took off her sunglasses to reveal brown eyes… That were speckled with red dots.
"Aww... What's the matter, sweet little girl?" The girl asked. Crystal sniffed. "Nothing," She said, turning away. "Yes there is, now tell me what it is and get it off your chest." The girl said, her voice soothing and calm. "We-What is your name?" Crystal blurted out. She had come close to spilling the beans. "Malicia Flagnare, daughter of Facere. And you, you must be Crystal, the daughter of Harry Potter." Malicia said, her eyes glinting steely. The red flecks now stood out. There was defiantly and evil look to her eyes.
Crystal turned and ran down the corridor, fearing that Malicia was something she seemed not to be.
~*~
She was running. Running through nowhere.
Crystal looked up, down, and around her, only to see nothing. She sprinted through the darkness. Then, remembering her powers, she lit the tips of her fingers and gasped. She was in a giant cage. She doused the light but the cage remained glowing milky white. She ran up to them and touched them. To her surprise, the bars drained her of her power.
Stumbling backwards, Crystal looked up and gasped. There were two, giant, snake-like eyes bobbing above her. Crystal fell. The eyes started to laugh. A high, cold, mirthless laugh. Her scar seared with pain. She clapped her hands to her forehead and felt the scar she always saw on her father's forehead. "AND NOW ENDS THE FAMOUS CRYSTAL POTTER!" A voice screamed.
Crystal fell to her knees. "Avada Kedavra!" Shouted the voice. Crystal's eyes went wide as she saw green smoke issue out of the ceiling. Her eyes became yellow. "No!" She screamed, "NOOO!"
~*~
Crystal sat up in bed. The curtains of her bed sprang open as if someone had violently thrown them back. She was lucky nothing exploded.
She clambered out of bed, changed her clothes with the wave of a hand, and walked downstairs. Everyone was sitting down. And when I type everyone, I mean everyone.
The drinks had been a little too much. Crystal walked across the room to where Fred, George, and Brian were sitting (Janie was in Hufflepuff.). "I had a little too much…" Brian groaned, holding his stomach. George nodded and looked up to see Crystal.
"Hullo Crys." Fred said. George waved and Brian ran to the boy's bathroom. Crystal looked after him and sat in his chair. "Well, the spiked punch doesn't seem to effect you." George said jealously. "I fought it, unlike some people." Crystal said. Fred and George both went red.
Brian sat down. He didn't really pay attention to where his mind was wondering and found himself reading Crystal's mind. I can't believe they didn't use their powers… What imbeciles, after all, Marykate Weasley is their mother…
Brian fell off the chair. "You have-!" He exclaimed, but suddenly found that he couldn't move his mouth. Fred was looking at him coolly. Crystal and George looked at each other. 'The dungeons?' Crystal asked. She knew Brian could hear her, but she didn't care right now. 'Yeah, the dungeons.' Said George.
~*~
"Well, we can't modify ihs memory, he'll just stumble onto it again." Fred said, shaking his head. Crystal nodded, looking at George, who also nodded. "Let's turn 'im loose." George said. Fred nodded and swished his hands through the air. Brian, who looked as if he had been in a body-bind curse, fell to the floor, gasping.
"Who do you guys get that from?" Brian asked. "Ahh… We inherit it. It's not like we asked for it." Crystal said. "And… do all the other Potters and Weasleys have powers?" Brian asked. Crystal nodded. "Woo… then your mother, Meagan, had them too?"
"Has them."
"She still has them?!"
Yep."
Reality struck Brian. "Whoa… You could really hurt Felicity if you wanted…" He said. "Yeah, I could really kick Felicity's-" Crystal said, but then Brian cut in. "She's my niece!!"
Crystal froze, stared at Brian for a few minutes, and then burst out laughing. "You-are-as-old-as-your-niece!" She choked.
"C'mon." Brian said, his ears red, "Let's go."
"No telling, or else you'll be punished, severely!" Fred shouted after him.
~*~
Ethan was still wondering about that weird little Potter girl. He couldn't tell how, but he knew she was special. He needed to do something to find out… But how…
Then, it struck him. Duh! Read her mind! His head told him. He closed his eyes and let his mind wonder. At first, he got Mac's mind, and his thoughts weren't nice at all… Ethan would need therapy after that…
Then he got Bryce, who was dreaming about he and the French girl off on a beach with the girl in a very small bathing suit…
Moving on… Thought Ethan. Then he got Joe Matters, which was a dream about himself joining the Quidditch team. Ethan got a laugh out of that. Fat chance… He thought.
Then he got Brynn. Words can't begin to describe Brynn's thoughts…
Finally, he got Crystal. She was dreaming about flying around on a broomstick on the Quidditch team as a Chaser. Ethan nodded. This was a moderately possible dream, for she was an excellent Quidditch player.
C'mon, C'mon, get to the interesting stuff… Ethan thought. Then he heard a voice ring "crystal clear" through Crystal's mind.
'Crys…' It said.
'What?' replied Crystal haughtily.
'I think you should come seeeee this!'
'Well, what is it?'
"Felicity's team playing! What a bunch of losers! No one can face a Potter in Quidditch!'
'You can say that again.'
'And Felicity STINKS!'
'Oooh! Lemme see!'
Then, everything went quiet. Ethan was quite shocked. So… Crystal Potter was different. As different as you could be, in Ethan's opinion. Wait until the guys hear this! He thought eagerly.
~*~
That night, Ethan and Bryce hung close to Crystal, to see if she used any powers. To their great disappointment, she didn't. They waited, and waited, and waited… But nothing happened.
Finally, pretending to go to bed, the two boys ran upstairs to get the cloak. They put it on and ran down the stairs. Crystal, Fred, George, and Brian were the only ones left in the common room. "Ready?" Crystal asked. Fred and George nodded eagerly. Brian seemed a little pale, but he nodded too.
"I'll take him along with me!" Crystal said, grabbing Brian's shoulders. "Why, so you can kiss him?" Fred asked, his eyes turning purple. Crystal's eyes turned red. "No," she said through gritted teeth, "Because he knows better."
"Who you like to go with, Brian?" George asked. "Er… Crys I guess." He said. Crystal squeezed Brian's shoulders. "I've never done this before, so don't mind if you get decapitated or loose a limb, okay?" She asked. Brian gave a squeak and went paler. "I was kidding! Kidding!" Crystal said. Brian didn't say anything; he just went paler and gulped.
Crystal closed her eyes and suddenly, both she and Brian were gone. Ethan blinked. Where had they gone?
Fred and George nodded at each other, looking very twin-like indeed. Then, they both disappeared too.
Ethan and Bryce looked at each other. They had to follow those little first years! "Eath, can you do anything to keep track of them?" Ethan thought. "I could always read they're minds…" He said. "Then do it!" Bryce said, pushing Ethan so that he moved forward.
~*~
"Whoa!" Brian said as his feet left the ground. Crystal grinned at him. She looked around and saw Fred and George appear. "Well, what are we going to be up to tonight?" Fred asked.
"Well, my dear Fred, we are going to do something to them." Crystal pointed at Ethan and Bryce. George groaned. "More of them? More?" He asked. "Yep. He can read minds too, so we can't modify his memory." Crystal confirmed.
They were speaking in the way that nobody could hear them. They could also speak so other people could hear them, but they chose not to.
Grinning, Crystal floated over and gave the invisibility cloak a good hard tug. It fluttered off Ethan and Bryce and left them to sit there, bewildered. Fred and George kicked Ethan and Bryce in the behind and sent them flying. "Brian, please, do the honors." Crystal said. Brian, unsure of what to do, hovered over to his brother and uncle. "Er…" He said. Then, he smiled. They would always give him nugies. This was his only chance to get them back.
Brian took Ethan in a headlock and ground his fist into Ethan's head. Bryce stared at Ethan, who was making a choking a noise and whose hair was now being shoved from side to side. Ethan suddenly fell with a gasp.
It was Bryce's turn. Brian put him in a headlock and ground his hair, making Ethan stare. He knew it was Brian, but it looked bizarre to see someone get a nugie when no one else was standing there.
Crystal pulled both her hands back and punched both boys hard in the face. Yelling, Bryce and Ethan stood up and started to run around. They eventually crashed into each other. With a final scream, they both ran up to their dormitory.
"Gimme five!" Crystal said, holding out her hands to the boys. All four of them slapped her hands. Crystal placed her fist in the middle of them. Brian put his hand on top of hers, and George on top of his. And lastly, Fred put his hand on everyone else's. "Friends?" Crystal asked. "FRIENDS!" Everyone else shouted.
Crystal swayed, her vision blurring and then clearing. She wiped her eyes, trying to fight off the effect. "If I can fight evil," her mind told her, "then I can fight this!" She squeezed the table, trying not to loose consciousness. All the other first years, except Blick, had fainted. He was now staring at her, wondering what was keeping off the effect.
Then, what sounded like a sonic boom echoed inside her head and she flew off the table and landed on her hands and knees. She stood up, at first wobbly, then, more sure. "Dude… Who spiked the punch?" She asked, steadying herself. She shook her head, trying to loose the fuzzy edge on her vision.
She looked around the room, and was surprised to see Blick starting to wobble. "Punch?" He asked, then fainted. Shaking her head, Crystal looked around the room for some of the Weasleys. She saw Ronda sitting normally at the Ravenclaw table, also shaking her head.
'Ronda!' Crystal mind-waved. 'Salutations.' Ronda greeted.
'No time for hellos, we've got a problem on our hands.'
'Relaaax!' Ronda said, stretching her legs.
'Why?'
'You just got your powers, now use them wisely. I've had powers for three years.'
'And your point is…?'
'This is nothing. Just leave it alone. You'll come across more dangerous things.'
Crystal huffed about something and turned around, only to run straight into Brynn. Her eyes turned briefly yellow, in shock of being run to the ground, then quickly changed them back. Then, she gasped.
Brynn looked exactly like the evil Cate that her mother had described. Thinking that this was Cate, she grimaced and skidded backwards, running into Snape's legs. Well, this was the one that made her scream. Snape looked down at her and opened his mouth, but didn't have time to say anything as Crystal sprinted away from the hall.
"What?" Snape asked, looking wide-eyed. "I was only going to say sorry!"
Crystal ran through the corridors, her face in her hands, terrified that Brynn actually might be Cate. Her mother had told her about the dark days… About the times Cate had been evil. She didn't want that to happen again! She wasn't ready yet!
She ran straight into someone. She looked up, startled. A girl with black hair stood there, a look of fury on her face. Crystal, her face tear- streaked, looked away. She wiped her forehead with her arm, her bangs parting, and then looked up again.
The look on the girl's face changed as she looked at Crystal's forehead. The girl reached forward and touched Crystal's forehead. Her finger ran along the faded lightning-bolt scar that Crystal had inherited from her father. It pained her dully.
The girl was wearing sunglasses. She was awfully tall, and she had doglike teeth that made her look frightening. She took off her sunglasses to reveal brown eyes… That were speckled with red dots.
"Aww... What's the matter, sweet little girl?" The girl asked. Crystal sniffed. "Nothing," She said, turning away. "Yes there is, now tell me what it is and get it off your chest." The girl said, her voice soothing and calm. "We-What is your name?" Crystal blurted out. She had come close to spilling the beans. "Malicia Flagnare, daughter of Facere. And you, you must be Crystal, the daughter of Harry Potter." Malicia said, her eyes glinting steely. The red flecks now stood out. There was defiantly and evil look to her eyes.
Crystal turned and ran down the corridor, fearing that Malicia was something she seemed not to be.
~*~
She was running. Running through nowhere.
Crystal looked up, down, and around her, only to see nothing. She sprinted through the darkness. Then, remembering her powers, she lit the tips of her fingers and gasped. She was in a giant cage. She doused the light but the cage remained glowing milky white. She ran up to them and touched them. To her surprise, the bars drained her of her power.
Stumbling backwards, Crystal looked up and gasped. There were two, giant, snake-like eyes bobbing above her. Crystal fell. The eyes started to laugh. A high, cold, mirthless laugh. Her scar seared with pain. She clapped her hands to her forehead and felt the scar she always saw on her father's forehead. "AND NOW ENDS THE FAMOUS CRYSTAL POTTER!" A voice screamed.
Crystal fell to her knees. "Avada Kedavra!" Shouted the voice. Crystal's eyes went wide as she saw green smoke issue out of the ceiling. Her eyes became yellow. "No!" She screamed, "NOOO!"
~*~
Crystal sat up in bed. The curtains of her bed sprang open as if someone had violently thrown them back. She was lucky nothing exploded.
She clambered out of bed, changed her clothes with the wave of a hand, and walked downstairs. Everyone was sitting down. And when I type everyone, I mean everyone.
The drinks had been a little too much. Crystal walked across the room to where Fred, George, and Brian were sitting (Janie was in Hufflepuff.). "I had a little too much…" Brian groaned, holding his stomach. George nodded and looked up to see Crystal.
"Hullo Crys." Fred said. George waved and Brian ran to the boy's bathroom. Crystal looked after him and sat in his chair. "Well, the spiked punch doesn't seem to effect you." George said jealously. "I fought it, unlike some people." Crystal said. Fred and George both went red.
Brian sat down. He didn't really pay attention to where his mind was wondering and found himself reading Crystal's mind. I can't believe they didn't use their powers… What imbeciles, after all, Marykate Weasley is their mother…
Brian fell off the chair. "You have-!" He exclaimed, but suddenly found that he couldn't move his mouth. Fred was looking at him coolly. Crystal and George looked at each other. 'The dungeons?' Crystal asked. She knew Brian could hear her, but she didn't care right now. 'Yeah, the dungeons.' Said George.
~*~
"Well, we can't modify ihs memory, he'll just stumble onto it again." Fred said, shaking his head. Crystal nodded, looking at George, who also nodded. "Let's turn 'im loose." George said. Fred nodded and swished his hands through the air. Brian, who looked as if he had been in a body-bind curse, fell to the floor, gasping.
"Who do you guys get that from?" Brian asked. "Ahh… We inherit it. It's not like we asked for it." Crystal said. "And… do all the other Potters and Weasleys have powers?" Brian asked. Crystal nodded. "Woo… then your mother, Meagan, had them too?"
"Has them."
"She still has them?!"
Yep."
Reality struck Brian. "Whoa… You could really hurt Felicity if you wanted…" He said. "Yeah, I could really kick Felicity's-" Crystal said, but then Brian cut in. "She's my niece!!"
Crystal froze, stared at Brian for a few minutes, and then burst out laughing. "You-are-as-old-as-your-niece!" She choked.
"C'mon." Brian said, his ears red, "Let's go."
"No telling, or else you'll be punished, severely!" Fred shouted after him.
~*~
Ethan was still wondering about that weird little Potter girl. He couldn't tell how, but he knew she was special. He needed to do something to find out… But how…
Then, it struck him. Duh! Read her mind! His head told him. He closed his eyes and let his mind wonder. At first, he got Mac's mind, and his thoughts weren't nice at all… Ethan would need therapy after that…
Then he got Bryce, who was dreaming about he and the French girl off on a beach with the girl in a very small bathing suit…
Moving on… Thought Ethan. Then he got Joe Matters, which was a dream about himself joining the Quidditch team. Ethan got a laugh out of that. Fat chance… He thought.
Then he got Brynn. Words can't begin to describe Brynn's thoughts…
Finally, he got Crystal. She was dreaming about flying around on a broomstick on the Quidditch team as a Chaser. Ethan nodded. This was a moderately possible dream, for she was an excellent Quidditch player.
C'mon, C'mon, get to the interesting stuff… Ethan thought. Then he heard a voice ring "crystal clear" through Crystal's mind.
'Crys…' It said.
'What?' replied Crystal haughtily.
'I think you should come seeeee this!'
'Well, what is it?'
"Felicity's team playing! What a bunch of losers! No one can face a Potter in Quidditch!'
'You can say that again.'
'And Felicity STINKS!'
'Oooh! Lemme see!'
Then, everything went quiet. Ethan was quite shocked. So… Crystal Potter was different. As different as you could be, in Ethan's opinion. Wait until the guys hear this! He thought eagerly.
~*~
That night, Ethan and Bryce hung close to Crystal, to see if she used any powers. To their great disappointment, she didn't. They waited, and waited, and waited… But nothing happened.
Finally, pretending to go to bed, the two boys ran upstairs to get the cloak. They put it on and ran down the stairs. Crystal, Fred, George, and Brian were the only ones left in the common room. "Ready?" Crystal asked. Fred and George nodded eagerly. Brian seemed a little pale, but he nodded too.
"I'll take him along with me!" Crystal said, grabbing Brian's shoulders. "Why, so you can kiss him?" Fred asked, his eyes turning purple. Crystal's eyes turned red. "No," she said through gritted teeth, "Because he knows better."
"Who you like to go with, Brian?" George asked. "Er… Crys I guess." He said. Crystal squeezed Brian's shoulders. "I've never done this before, so don't mind if you get decapitated or loose a limb, okay?" She asked. Brian gave a squeak and went paler. "I was kidding! Kidding!" Crystal said. Brian didn't say anything; he just went paler and gulped.
Crystal closed her eyes and suddenly, both she and Brian were gone. Ethan blinked. Where had they gone?
Fred and George nodded at each other, looking very twin-like indeed. Then, they both disappeared too.
Ethan and Bryce looked at each other. They had to follow those little first years! "Eath, can you do anything to keep track of them?" Ethan thought. "I could always read they're minds…" He said. "Then do it!" Bryce said, pushing Ethan so that he moved forward.
~*~
"Whoa!" Brian said as his feet left the ground. Crystal grinned at him. She looked around and saw Fred and George appear. "Well, what are we going to be up to tonight?" Fred asked.
"Well, my dear Fred, we are going to do something to them." Crystal pointed at Ethan and Bryce. George groaned. "More of them? More?" He asked. "Yep. He can read minds too, so we can't modify his memory." Crystal confirmed.
They were speaking in the way that nobody could hear them. They could also speak so other people could hear them, but they chose not to.
Grinning, Crystal floated over and gave the invisibility cloak a good hard tug. It fluttered off Ethan and Bryce and left them to sit there, bewildered. Fred and George kicked Ethan and Bryce in the behind and sent them flying. "Brian, please, do the honors." Crystal said. Brian, unsure of what to do, hovered over to his brother and uncle. "Er…" He said. Then, he smiled. They would always give him nugies. This was his only chance to get them back.
Brian took Ethan in a headlock and ground his fist into Ethan's head. Bryce stared at Ethan, who was making a choking a noise and whose hair was now being shoved from side to side. Ethan suddenly fell with a gasp.
It was Bryce's turn. Brian put him in a headlock and ground his hair, making Ethan stare. He knew it was Brian, but it looked bizarre to see someone get a nugie when no one else was standing there.
Crystal pulled both her hands back and punched both boys hard in the face. Yelling, Bryce and Ethan stood up and started to run around. They eventually crashed into each other. With a final scream, they both ran up to their dormitory.
"Gimme five!" Crystal said, holding out her hands to the boys. All four of them slapped her hands. Crystal placed her fist in the middle of them. Brian put his hand on top of hers, and George on top of his. And lastly, Fred put his hand on everyone else's. "Friends?" Crystal asked. "FRIENDS!" Everyone else shouted.