Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling, so I don't own Harry Potter.
~*~*~Chapter Eleven: Meeting at the Hog's Head~*~*~
The next day, Larisa and Draco arrived at Care of Magical Creatures, where Umbridge was waiting. She gave a wide smile at Larisa, her eye's fixed on Larisa's left hand, which was wrapped up tightly in her handkerchief Larisa walked over to Harry, who was also glaring at Umbridge while her back was turned.
"Harry?" She asked. Harry looked at her.
"What?" He asked.
"Thanks for letting me borrow your handkerchief" Larisa said, handing Harry his handkerchief back before turning and walking back over to Draco. The class started, and Umbridge moved about the class, asking them question's about magical creatures. Larisa paid attention the Professor Grubbly-Plank, who was talking about bowtruckles again. Larisa sighed and let her head rest on Draco's shoulder, doing her best to ignore Professor Umbridge. Crabbe and Goyle came shuffling over to them.
"Rei, you gonna be able to play Quidditch?" Goyle asked Larisa quietly.
"Well, it will be difficult, because I'm left-handed, and my left hand is currently bandaged up, but I'll manage." Larisa whispered back. Professor Umbridge soon came up to Larisa, and Draco stiffened up a little.
"Now, Miss Rei, I'm going to ask you a few questions..." She said in her falsely sweet voice. "Now, what rating from the Ministry of Magic does the Bowtruckle have?"
"Double X." Larisa said, letting her eyes slid shut a little. Umbridge looked a little upset that Larisa got the question right, but she plowed on.
"What is the difference between a knarl and a hedgehog?"
"A knarl will get very destructive if it is offered food, where a hedgehog will accept the treat." Larisa said, her eyes sliding closed.
"Am I boring you to death?" Umbridge asked.
"No, I just think and listen better with my eyes shut." Larisa explained. Umbridge scribbled something on her clipboard.
"Are you being sarcastic?" She asked.
"No ma'am." Larisa said sincerely. Umbridge scratched something out on her clipboard.
"Alright. One more question. Hopefully you aren't too ignorant and will be able to answer this question. Do you know where Professor Hagrid is?" Umbridge asked.
"I really don't know, ma'am." Larisa answered. Umbridge made an impatient noise, wrote something on her clipboard, and walked away. Larisa's eyes opened, and a small smile crossed her lips. "Don't you dare say anything against Hagrid." She whispered.
"I won't. Mainly because I'm afraid of what you'll do to me..." Draco replied. Larisa didn't know how to react, but she laughed anyway. After a little while, Umbridge came back over and looked at Goyle.
"Now, I hear there have been injuries in this class?" She asked. Goyle grinned stupidly.
"That was me. I got scratched by a hippogriff because I called it a 'great, ugly brute'." Draco explained. Larisa twisted her head around and saw looks of shock on Hermione, Ron, and Harry's faces. Larisa smiled a little, then turned back to face Umbridge, and replaced her head onto Draco's shoulder. Umbridge shuffled away, and Larisa felt an odd sense of triumph.
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Larisa walked down the High Street of Hogsmeade. It was a cool October day, and Larisa noticed that a large amount of students were walking over towards the Hog's Head. Larisa quickened her pace, following the last three students towards the pub. The door swung shut behind the last three students, and Larisa waited for a second. Slowly, she reached out and pushed the door open. All talking froze as Larisa stood in the doorway, watching. The crowd was rather large, and they were all staring at her. Slowly, she walked into the pub and sat down.
"Continue?" She asked, looking at Hermione. Ron slowly turned to glare at Larisa.
"Going to run off and tell Umbridge?" He snarled. Larisa tilted her head, and slowly held up her left hand, where the words I must not use Dark Magic were still cut into her skin.
"Why would I go tell that old bat anything?" She asked in a soft, dangerous voice. Ron blinked very slowly, and the air seemed to quiver as the two glared at each other.
"Because you're Slytherin?" Ron asked softly, also in a dangerous voice. Larisa arched her eyebrows.
"You must have me confused with my homicidal twat of a mother. She's the pureblood extremist, not me." Larisa said coldly. Ron slowly turned around, and the tenseness in the air slowly receded.
"Right, well...Most of you know why you're here..." Hermione began, her eyes sweeping the room, resting on Larisa for a second. "Harry...I mean I...Had the idea that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I mean really study it, not the rubbish that Umbridge is teaching us." Hermione explained.
"Hear, hear..." A boy said, making Hermione looked quite thrilled. Larisa couldn't help but smile a little.
"I thought it would be good if we took matters into our own hands. And by that, I meanlearning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory, but the real spells."
"You want us to pass our Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. Too though, I bet?" Another boy asked.
"Of course I do, but we need to know how to properly defend ourselves, because...Because Lord Voldemort is back." Hermione said. Everyone in the room flinched, and one girl with curly hair managed to slop her drink down her front. Larisa tore her eyes from Hermione and looked at Harry fixedly.
"Where's the proof that You-Know-Who is back?" A small, weedy looking Hufflepuff asked aggressively.
"Well, Dumbledore believes him-" Hermione began, when the boy cut across her.
"You mean Dumbledore believes him." The boy said, nodding at Harry.
"Who're you?" Ron asked rudely.
"Zacharias Smith." The boy replied. "I think we have the right to know what makes him think You-Know-Who is back."
"What is there to tell?" Larisa asked, finally speaking. "I saw him, as well."
"How do I know you're not lying? You ARE a Slytherin." Zacharias asked, turning to look at her. Larisa arched an eyebrow.
"The state I'm in right now? Take it from me, only Dark Magic can leave a lasting effect on you like this. Believe me, Smith. I know." Larisa said in a soft voice. Zacharias turned away from her and continued to glare at Harry.
"All Dumbledore told us was that Cedric was murdered by You-Know-Who and that you and Rei brought his body back." He said to Harry.
"To be honest, I didn't do anything." Larisa spat. "I didn't help Potter one bit, because I was being tormented by one of Voldemort's...Oh, will you people get a grip? It's just a name...I was being tormented by one of his followers. So, if you're all here to talk about Cedric, then clear out." Nobody moved, and Larisa folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair. Harry looked at Larisa, a slightly grateful look on his face.
"Is it true..." A girl with a long plait began. "That you can produce a Patronus?" A murmur of interest swept through the room.
"Yes." Harry said defensively.
"A corporeal Patronus?" The girl asked.
"You don't know Madam Bones, do you?" Harry asked.
"She's my auntie. I'm Susan Bones. Is it true?" The girl asked.
"Yes..." Harry mumbled. Larisa felt a little pleased. She wasn't the only fifth-year that could produce a corporeal Patronus.
"Didn't you defeat a basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office back in your second year?" A boy Larisa knew as Terry Boot asked.
"A basilisk?" Larisa asked, shocked. Harry slowly nodded.
"And in our first year he saved the sorcerer's stone!" Neville Longbottom added.
"And then there was the three tasks last year!" An Asian girl with black hair added.
"I had some help..." Harry murmured.
"Are you trying to weasel your way out of showing us this stuff?" Zacharias asked. Ron opened his mouth, but Larisa spoke first.
"Why don't you shut your bloody mouth?" Larisa asked scathingly, slowly drawing her wand.
"Would you like us to clean your ears out?" One of the Weasley twins asked, pulling a long, metal, lethal looking instrument from a Zonko's bag.
"Moving on, then!" Hermione cried before a fight could break out. Larisa slowly put her wand back into her pocket, but she didn't stop glaring at the back of Zacharias head. "Now, how often we hold these meetings..."
"It can't clash with Quidditch!" Angelina Johnson said warningly.
"Nor ours." The Asian girl said, folding her arms.
"Same." Zacharias added, also folding his arms.
"Same for Slytherin..." Larisa said in a quavering voice.
"We'll find a night that suits everyone. But, this is rather important, we're talking about learning to defend ourselves from Death Eaters..."
"Well said!" A Hufflepuff barked.
"We think the reason Umbridge is like this is because she's got some mad idea that Dumbledore is after Fudge's job." Hermione explained. Larisa snorted with laughter.
"Anyone with a brain can see that Dumbledore doesn't want the job." She said. Hermione nodded.
"He thinks Dumbledore will build up a private army against him using the students." Hermione said gravely. Larisa snorted again, and people looked shocked.
"Well, Fudge does have his own army..." A girl with long, dirty blonde hair said dreamily. "An army of heliopaths."
"So you're Luna Lovegood?" Larisa asked. The girl turned and looked at Larisa, smiling and nodding. After more discussion about where to hold the meetings, they all signed a paper, and then they left. Larisa strolled back up the High Street, and she saw Draco standing outside the Three Broomsticks. Larisa walked over to him.
"There you are!" He said. "Where'd you wander off to?"
"Nowhere in particular."
"Well, don't go wandering off again...You know Sophia is probably lurking around here somewhere..." Draco said, looking around.
"I know..." Larisa murmured. "I'm heading back to the castle. It's getting chilly out, and I want to work on my homework." Larisa turned, and then she and Draco began to walk back towards the castle.
In May, 1980, the last will be born.
Different than the rest, but many traits the same as the one before.
Skilled she will be, like the one before.
She will survive the attack when she is five,
but at a horrible price ten years later...
Larisa is not your average Slytherin...Read&Review&Take the poll. PLEASE!?!?!