"Things always change," Eris said to no one. She glanced around the room. Empty, save for herself. So she thought of things that had changed since the night her and Avri had snuck out.
The first thing to change was the schedules. The next was that Angelina and Alicia didn't go out of their way to annoy or torment Eris. While they weren't friends, they weren't full-on enemies. Over the week, Eris did a few things. She researched more into cursed objects, which Phineas warned her would only bring bad things. She read more of her mother's journal and she received plenty of letters and sweets from Remus.
Eris was, by this point, a quarter way through her mother's journal. She had been doing her best not to rush through it, but this was the closest she had been to her mother in years. She found out small things about Athena. Her mother's name was Troye Rosemary and her father's name was Richard. Eris had a Muggle aunt named Dahlia. Athena, like Eris, hadn't shown any interest for fitting in with others.
"Phineas, do you think I would have gotten along with my mum? Or would we have been too similar?"
For a moment, Phineas didn't say anything.
'What does it matter if you would have gotten along with filth? It is bad enough that your breeding came from her.'
"She's my mother. That's why it matters, Phin."
'She is of bad blood.'
"People would argue the same about the Blacks. Pure through cousins makes us impure. And gross."
Phineas said nothing.
Eris glanced over at her letters from Remus. They asked her the usual questions that she thought everyone received: how are you? Do you like Hogwarts? Do you like your House? Do you have friends?
Eris had answered the way she assumed most people did. 'I'm great. Hogwarts is incredible. My House is interesting. Yes.' She asked Remus about his two jobs and wasn't the least bit shocked to find out that he had lost one of them. It was hard for him to keep a job and it was almost as hard for them to keep a house. She had also told Remus about how the schedules had gotten messed up, which he said had never happened before to his knowledge.
Eris remembered how everyone had reacted to the changes on the schedules.
"They've messed up everything," Edmund said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Of course it'd happen to us!"
"It's not so bad." Evie looked at her schedule and shrugged. "It could be a lot worse. We could be partnered with the Slytherins in everything."
"Well, some of us are friends with Slytherins," Katie responded, nodding her head towards Eris.
"Only two. You guys could try and be friends with them, as well. They're not that bad, really." Eris crumbled up her schedule and threw it behind her. Or, rather, she tried to. Instead, the paper magically returned to her hand. "Oh, come on. That's not even fair."
"So you don't lose it again, Miss Black," McGonogall replied, walking away to pass out the rest of the schedules to the Gryffindor first years.
Eris's friends laughed and she couldn't help but give a crooked grin.
Eris didn't see Avril that day until lunch time, when she sat down at the Slytherin table. Half of the table still glared at her, but the other half just ignored her. Eris wasn't sure which one she prefered.
"What do you make of the schedule, Eris?" Avril asked.
"A total waste of time."
The rest of lunch passed by with random small chat and eating. Eris could tell that Avril was focused on other things and, if Eris were honest, she was distracted by thoughts of her own. Phineas spoke in random moments, neither constant or rare. The necklace didn't burn her anymore, but she occasionally felt like it would start at any moment.
'Leave the necklace alone, girl. It will not end well.'
Girl. It had come out as an insult, like she would not be able to solve anything because she was female. The thought made Eris mad. How many times in her life, when Remus would force her into doing sports or anything of the like, did Eris have to prove that she was just as good as a boy? Too many times to count. But Eris did have an idea. Perhaps what she needed was a guy's help.
'Oh? Plan on getting one of those pathetic blood traitors to help you?'
Eris could not hide the smirk that appeared across her face as she mentally replied, 'Let's try Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.'
Unfortunately, Albus Dumbledore was a very busy man who didn't spend all his time at Hogwarts.
"The man runs the school, and yet he's never bloody here!" Eris fumed, throwing her arms up and glaring at a passing Hufflepuff who stared at her strangely. The Hufflepuff squeaked and turned and ran.
"I've known that girl for years," Fred commented, watching the Hufflepuff run off. "And I never once thought that she'd be scared of a first year who's as ickle and sweet-looking as you."
"I'm not sweet," Eris instantly replied. "No one calls me sweet except Remus. And I'm pretty sure even he doubts it."
George laughed and threw his arm around Eris's shoulder. "What are you then, ickle Eris?"
"Stop calling me that!" Eris jerked out from under George's arm, her face growing red. The twins only laughed. "You two are so mean. I don't even know why I hang out with you."
"Because you've finally realised that Edmund Cumberbatch is nowhere near as amazing as us?" Fred winked.
"Or because you've finally realised that we're just too attractive to ignore?" George batted his eyes.
Eris tried to glare at them, but a smile quickly forced its way on to her face. A second later, laughter bubbled from her throat.
The three laughed as the continued down the corridor. Eris wasn't quite sure where they were going, or even if they had a destination. Fred and George had just decided to go out and walk around instead of attending class and they had forced Eris to join.
'They shouldn't even be touching you,' Phineas snapped.
'I wondered what was taking you so long,' Eris replied.
"So, tell me." Eris grabbed on to her necklace without realising that she was doing it. "Why are we walking around a random corridor during class hours?"
"Because we have a free period," Fred began.
"And you have History," George finished.
"Binns doesn't pay attention to anything in class." Eris knew that much. "But what are we doing?"
"Taking a trip. We're going to Zonko's Joke Shop."
Eris was instantly pleased with this. "How are we going to get there?"
"Through a secret passage into Honeydukes, of course!"
Moments later, the three stood before a statue of a man. Eris read the title carved at the bottom.
"Gregory the Smarmy? Is that the bloke that made 'Gregory's Unctuous Unction'?"
Fred and George stared at her with blank looks.
"The potion? You know, whoever drinks it thinks you're their best friend?" Eris felt uncomfortable. She had spent her alone time from Remus doing four things: being forced into activities, singing, reading, and exploring. Reading had come in handy for knowing about Gregory the Smarmy, but it was apparently useless knowledge.
"Well, ickle Eris can read her books about men," Fred said.
"While we go and get some sweets."
George tapped the statue with his wand and it moved to the side. Fred slid down. George held out his hand for Eris.
"Coming?"
Eris smiled and grabbed his hand, letting him help her down. A minute later, George was beside her and the statue was covering the entrance.
'This would look horrible if someone stumbled upon you three down here.'
'Oh, go away, Phineas.'
A while later, the trio arrived in a shaded area on the outskirts of a small town.
"Welcome to Hogsmeade, mighty goddess," Fred said with a smile.
Around them, witches and wizards walked about and talked. There were several shops, but none really caught Eris's attention.
"Let's go." George led the way to a shop that was relatively empty. The place was of a good size and was full of random things that instantly made the twins smile. An older man sat on the floor by a shelf full of teacups, toying around with some ball.
"What're you playing with, Mr. Zonko?" George took a seat on the floor beside the man, apparently Mr. Zonko.
The man turned his hazel eyes on George.
"Ah, Fred! Oh, no, no... You're George. Apologies, there." Mr. Zonko flashed George a smile. "Oh, you wanted to know what this ball was! This is a creation I'm working on. You see, you just throw it -"
Mr. Zonko threw the ball up in the air and pulled out his wand. "Disputatio!"
The ball morphed in the air, changing from a ball into a small rubber bird. It flew around once before landing on Fred's shoulder.
"That's bloody brilliant," George said, standing up.
"For the most part. Until it -" Mr. Zonko's words were cut off by Fred's yelp of pain. Eris snapped around to see the rubber bird flying around his head, attacking him.
"Make it stop!"
"Disputatio!" Mr. Zonko yelled again. The bird changed back into a ball, which hit Fred's head and bounced back to Mr. Zonko, who caught it with a sigh. "It's supposed to change into whatever the user wants it to be, so long as it's an animal. The blasted thing never works properly."
"Well, it's a really interesting idea," Eris assured. Mr. Zonko turned his eyes on her.
"I've never seen you before. Young... Vaguely familiar eyes..."
The twins stared at Zonko, waiting.
"My name is Eris."
Zonko frowned. "Don't know an Eris. Nice to meet you, though. Friends of the twins here are always welcome. Go on and look around - George, stay away from those teacups! You broke half my stock last time!"
George quickly stepped away from the teacups. Eris read the sign and realised that, when the person drank from them, the teacups would bite their nose. She placed a hand over her own nose, thinking that it must hurt.
"Now," Zonko grinned at them. "Go on and do as you please. I'm going to try with another ball."
Zonko stood and left.
Eris, Fred and George all smiled at one another before running through the store, looking at all the things that Zonko had for sale.
Hours later, the Eris and George sat on George's bed and Fred on his bed, eating sweets from Honeydukes. Lee Jordan sat on his own bed, the one across from Fred's, and was munching on some chocolate that he had stolen from George.
"We're going to miss dinner," Lee pointed out.
"Who cares? We've got sweets and a room for just us." Fred leaned back on his bed.
"Yeah, but I've got to share a bed with an ickle first year." George jokingly pushed Eris forward. "She's getting her girl germs all over my bed!"
"Well, if you're going to be rude," Eris said, standing up with a smile. "Then I'll sit on Fred's bed. He's the better looking one anyways." Eris moved to Fred's bed.
Fred laughed and George looked shocked.
"No, Eris, I'm the good looking one." George said.
"Please, I'm better looking than both of you combined," Lee replied, leaning back against the headrest on his bed.
"Not even in your best of dreams." Fred threw a candy wrapped at Lee, but it spun in midair and fell in the middle of the room. "Let's pretend that didn't happen."
The four of them laughed and talked and joked (occasionally at each other's expense) until about half way through dinner, when Lee mentioned something that instantly caught Eris's attention.
"Did you hear?" Lee asked, popping a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean into his mouth. He made a face, and muttered, "Liver."
"What were you saying before that, Lee?" Eris questioned, popping one into her mouth. "Tutti frutti."
"Lucky," he responded. "Anyways, Dumbledore's back from... Surrey?"
"London. He's back, finally? How long?" Eris bounced on her seat on Fred's bed.
"Oi, quit doing that. You're moving my bed."
"Sorry," Eris said. Still, she could not help but bounce in excitement. She'd been wanting to speak to Headmaster Dumbledore since he left.
'Don't do it, Eris. Stay away from Albus Dumbledore and stay away from his office. It used to be my office... The filth has probably ruined it.'
Eris felt like she'd been deflated. For once, she had fully forgotten that Phineas was there. It was a nice feeling, speaking to people who weren't in your head and not worrying about the silence that never fully came when she was in their presence.
"I'm going to go see Professor Dumbledore. Do you know where his office is?"
"Remember that statue of a gargoyle? It's there, behind that. You'll need a password, though."
"Just guess random sweets," Fred advised.
Eris nodded and left the room with her bag of treats. She didn't have much from Zonko's (she thought the store needed massive improvement), but her Honeyduke's bag was still half-way full. She deposited them upstairs in her room before exiting the commons completely.
'I am warning you, Young Black. Turn back now.'
"Or what," Eris whispered. "What are you keeping me from?"
'Lies from a crackpot old fool. Do not listen to what he tells you. You are meant for so much more. And he will only ruin you.'
Eris bit her lip. "I don't believe you. Dumbledore is supposed to be a great man. He -"
'Is responsible for more death than you will ever truly understand.'
That brought Eris up short. Finally, she said, "I don't know about that. And I don't want to."
'You are lying, Eris. I know you well. Perhaps even better than yourself. You want to know. Your curiosity is what helps set you apart. It was also bring you to your death.'
"What are you, a Seer?" Eris's face felt hot. Phineas couldn't know what he was talking about. "And who are you to talk against Dumbledore? You're before his time - I did my research on you. Phineas Nigellus Black."
The full name seemed to make Phineas swell with pride.
'Yes. Phineas Nigellus Black. The once great and powerful wizard... Stuck in the mind of an eleven year old girl. You're practically common filth - but Black blood courses through your veins and burns in your heart. You are a Black, through and through.'
"My last name may be Black, but I am far from it."
"That's... Nice." Eris jumped. Beside her was Evie and Katie.
"Sorry, I was... Yeah." Now her face felt really red. Evie and Katie passed each other a look before Evie stepped forward.
"Eris, are you okay? We know you haven't been sleeping a lot lately and -" Evie's words were kind and Eris knew she meant well, but Eris felt like she was in the middle of a convention.
"It's fine. I'm fine." Eris gave them a quick smile. "I'm an insomniac. I don't sleep much."
"When you do sleep, you talk. About a man named Phineas." Katie's voice, much like Evie's, were spoken calm and sweet. "Who is he?"
"He's a relative."
"It's like you're arguing with him in your sleep. We had to silence your bed for the past few nights because you were yelling at him." Katie put a hesitant hand on Eris's shoulder. She did her best not to stiffen. "We're worried about you."
"I'm fine, really. I'm sorry to cut this short." She moved a few steps away. "But I've got to be somewhere. I'll see you later, yeah?"
"Yeah. Maybe we can talk when you get back... You know, help you find a spell or something that'll help you sleep."
Eris gave them a genuine smile. It was nice to have people worry about her, even though it was completely foreign and felt strange. Instead of saying anything, though, she only nodded before rounding the corner.
'Filth,' Phineas spat. 'Both of them.'
Eris wasn't actually sure if Katie and Evie were Purebloods or not, so she said nothing. Instead she smiled at the thought of people caring. Eris ignored Phineas the whole way to the statue of the gargoyle that George had told her about and instantly began naming several types of sweets in the hopes that Fred was right about the password.
'Do you really wish to enter, Young Black?'
"Yes."
'Then before you do, let me tell you this: in a moment, you shall face one of the things that haunts you. The password is 'Bertie's Beans.''
"Bertie's Beans."
The gargoyle jumped to the side as a staircase appeared from the stone floor, twirling upwards into what Eris could only assume was Dumbledore's office. Phineas's words repeated in her mind, making her blood freeze and her heart pound. What haunted her? Eris decided not to think of that, having far too many answers. Finally, she stepped forward and began to climb the stairs.
When Eris reached the top, she threw open the doors and smiled as several noises hit her ears. They were small noises that could easily be over-looked, but when you were someone who hated silence, it was like a beautiful song. Eris glanced around the large, circular room. The noises that she heard came from a shelf full of strange looking items that came in several shades of silver, bronze, gold and black - Eris smiled as a few of them sent up tiny smoke clouds.
"Of course it is those annoying things that catch your attention."
"Shut up, Phin - wait." Eris stood straight, her hair on end and her heart racing. That voice was not in her head. Slowly, she turned around. Behind the empty desk in the middle of the room, the wall was filled with portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses. Most of them weren't even looking at her. But one stared at her with dark narrowed eyes.
Phineas Nigellus Black glared down at her before saying, "I told you not to come here."
"You've been here the whole time! Oh Merlin... You were a headmaster? You... I could have talked to you face to face and you never told me!" Eris clenched her fist and took a deep breath. Remus often told her that she needed to learn to control her emotions better. Now seemed as good a time as any to practice.
"I've been here long before your birth, you ungrateful prat. And how dare you carry the Black name down into the mud. You had the chance to correct your father's mistakes, but you have only ruined things."
Controlling emotions was not easy for Eris. Each word that Phineas spoke sent anger coursing through her heart.
"I am not my family," Eris reminded him. "I'm me. Just me."
"Even your father had the traits of the family he tried to leave behind. You, a girl who has never met a member of the Black family, even have some of the best traits from us."
"Stop comparing me to my father." Eris crossed her arms and bit her lip, trying to keep her anger in check. Back at home, things would be flying off the shelves already. She had always had trouble controlling her magic when the hot flames of anger began to devour her. (Even though it was pretty satisfying to be yelling at a Muggle kid and your hair start floating around you, scaring them half to death.)
"I swear, Phineas, you're always so annoying."
"Oh, and you aren't?" He replied, lifting one of hid dark eyebrows in amusement.
"No."
Phineas glared down at his descendant. Eris watched his eyes flicker, for the briefest of moments, to something behind her. Before she could react, he said, "I'd carry this on, but we have company."
Eris at once snapped around. She hadn't heard the door open or any footsteps indicating that someone was approaching. She guessed that speaking to a portrait of a man you heard in your head made that possible.
When Eris turned, she saw something that made her heart stop, just for a split second, in her chest. Behind her, Dumbledore sat in his desk, giving her a pleasant smile. Behind him, however, stood Avril, staring back and forth from Eris to Phineas.
'Please don't know,' she thought.
'She'll know,' Phineas responded in her head. 'She'll know soon enough.'