Disclaimer; same as previous
Chapter 50; peculiar song and taking umbridge
When they reached Hogsmede the sky was overcast. Hagrid wasn't there to take the first years across the lake; professor Grubbly-Plank was present in his place. Where was her friend? Amy wondered as she and Draco took a carriage up to the castle.
Heads turned as they made their way over to the slytherin table. As well as the story of Diggory's mysterious death and Harry Potter's madness, Amy Evans kidnapping had been major gossip for the rest of the students over the summer it seemed. She knew Rita Skeeter had done a piece on it, even if Draco had tried to hide it from her.
Sensing her discomfort at the attention she was getting, Draco took her hand again as they sat down. This didn't really help. Amy was grateful none the less. Taking a deep breath she composed herself. She'd get used to it. She would adapt, as Snape had advised.
Amy hadn't had a chance to tell him about her visions returning. There was no way in hell she was going to inform him that in them she was pregnant or had already had a child, somehow she didn't think that would be such a good situation to put Draco in at the moment.
The new first years were brought in and the sorting hat was placed on his stool. Silence took over as the old hat began to sing;
In times of old when I was new And Hogwarts barely started The founders of our noble school Thought never to be parted; united by a common goal, they had the selfsame yearning, to make the world's best magic school and pass along their learning. "Together we will build and teach!" the four good friends decided and never did they dream that they might one day be divided, for were there such friends anywhere as slytherin and Gryffindor? Unless it was the second pair of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw? So how could it have gone so wrong? How could such friendships fail? Why I was there and so can tell the whole sad sorry tale. Said slytherin "we'll teach just those whose ancestry is purest" said Ravenclaw "well teach those whose intelligence is surest" said Gryffindor "we'll teach all those with brave deeds to their name" said Hufflepuff "ill teach the lot and treat them just the same" these differences caused little strife when first they came to light, for each of the four founders had a house in which they might take only those they wanted, so, for instance, slytherin took only pure blood wizards of great cunning just like him, and only those of sharpest mind were taught by Ravenclaw while the bravest and the boldest went to daring Gryffindor. Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest, and taught them all she knew, thus the houses and their founders retained friendships firm and true. So Hogwarts worked in harmony for several happy years, but then discord crept among us, feeding on our faults and fears. The houses that, like pillars four, had once held up our school, now turned upon each other and, divided sought to rule. And for a while it seemed the school must meet an early end what with duelling and with fighting and the clash of friend on friend and at last there came a morning when old slytherin departed and though the fighting then died out he left us quite downhearted and never since the founders four were whittled down to three have the houses been united as they once were meant to be. And now the sorting hat is here and you all know the score I sort you into houses because that's what I'm for, but this year ill go further, listen closely to my song; though condemned I am to split you still I worry it is wrong, though I must fulfil my duty and must quarter every year still I wonder whether sorting may not bring the end I fear, oh, know the perils, read the signs, the warning history shows, for our Hogwarts is in danger from external deadly foes and we must unite inside her or well crumble from within I have told you, I have warned you… let the sorting now begin.
The usual applause that followed the sorting hats songs was somewhat stunted. It had never before in any of the students memory given them a direct message. People whispered in clusters until the sorting began.
Then there were the speeches. Umbridge interrupted professor Dumbledore when he stood up to give his start of year welcome with that little cough that made amy want to shove a whole pocket of lozenges down her throat.
The toad lady proceeded to give a condescending little speech. Most of the students looked very bored; a lot of them seemed to have tuned out. Hermione hadn't of course. She was staring at the woman intently, suspicion heavy in her gaze.
The feast was incredible, as usual. She couldn't help bet let her eyes wander over to the ball of anger and jealousy that was Pansy Parkinson. The girl looked as though she might implode with rage at any moment, and Amy could guess at who it was directed. She concluded that she was going to put some protective charms around her bed at night for a while, and judging by the calculating look that hid behind Pansy's fury ridden, muddy brown eyes, on her things as well.
Amy felt so full and sleepy after the delicious meal. She headed to the slytherin common room, Draco chattering happily beside her. They said goodnight at the bottom of the stairs to the girl's dorms with a kiss and a promise to meet early for breakfast the next morning. Amy continued up the stairs. At the top she turned to see that he was still standing there, a cheeky smile on his face. She smiled back, rolling her eyes at him before entering her room.
Amy was the first to enter the dorm room. The others didn't arrive until she was already settled in her bed with the hangings pulled shut. "Did you hear Evans and Malfoy are seeing each other?" said one "oh I heard. It won't last though, he'll soon see." Pansy's sour voice answered "see what?" "She's not as virtuous or as faithful as she lets on. He'll learn the hard way not to choose cheap little orphan whores over his own kind. And if I'm there to comfort him when his eyes are finally opened then so be It." it was clearly meant to be a warning. Pansy wasn't saying these things just for the other girls to hear. It was meant as a thinly veiled threat, and Amy took it as such. She sat up in her bed and ran her hands over the beautiful bracelet Draco had given her the night before.
His own kind
Those words echoed in her mind for a while. She couldn't manage to get to sleep even though she had been so exhausted when she had gotten into bed. To help, she tried filling her mind with happy thoughts, as though getting ready to fight off a wave of Dementors; Lying in the sun while Draco read to her about the wizard with a hairy heart (her favourite tale) evenings spent in front of the fire with him, researching Nicholas Flamel with Hermione, dancing at the Yule ball, falling asleep next to Draco, pansy trying to break into her trunk and having to go to the hospital wing, and Harry.
Her mind filled with images of him. Of how someday, somehow, they could be reunited. Someday he would know who she was. To be able to call herself Amy Potter. Would he be proud of her? Or would he hate her for lying to him? In her mind she saw their reunion; there was lots of hugging and tears. With all her heart she hoped he would accept her. Pretty soon she drifted off into a deep, dream filled sleep.
She met Draco in the common room the next morning. "Did you sleep well?" he asked her. She suspected that he might have worried about her having nightmares. All through summer he had been on hand to soothe her back to sleep every time she had woken from a bad dream. She smiled at her boyfriend. "Very well" she replied before slipping her hand into his. "Breakfast?" they left then. Blaise Zabini watched them leave. Amy didn't feel comfortable under his gaze. The last time she had spoken to him it had been a row in front of the whole school over a false interview he had given Rita Skeeter. The way he looked up and down her body as she left the room made her skin crawl.
History of magic was the first class of the day. Everybody was groaning and complaining as they entered the dusty classroom and their professor, a ghost, came in through the blackboard. Amy took out her book, quills, inks, and parchment quickly. She loved the subject, her thirst for knowledge on the past wasn't swayed by the fact that professor Binns droned on in his boring monotone. All around, people fell asleep and stared out windows, daydreaming, but she was fascinated.
So too, it would seem, was Hermione. Amy looked over at the other girl to find her scribbling down notes with as much delighted interest as she was. She felt a pang in her heart. She missed Hermione, and the bushy haired girl had admitted that she missed her too, just a couple of months previously.
Double potions were good, for the Slytherins at least. Amy and Draco worked as a team, getting there potions brewed in record time. She caught Ron looking at them murderously, his hair plastered to his head with perspiration. She had gone up to Severus after class to inform him of getting her visions back, but the classroom was already filling with his next class. "Come by my office tonight" he told her and she nodded before leaving for her next class.
Divination was just as useless as ever. It seemed that the woman had spent the entirety of her summer coming up with new ways for Harry to die horribly. If it wasn't so ridiculous, Amy might have gotten annoyed.
Then came the class everyone had been dreading. the first Defence against the dark arts class of the year. It was a complete joke. All they were expected to do for the year, it seemed, was read. There wouldn't be any use of defensive spells. No advice on how to fend off an enemy. The ministry were playing right into Voldemort's hands. How could Fudge be so blind?
Snape
Amy returned to Hogwarts in one piece. He was happy to see that she looked well, happy even. He had kept an eye on her as much as he was able over the summer without suspicions being raised. Her lack of vision had worried him. They had an appointment to meet that evening. Her being a prefect was going to make it easier for them to meet to speak about the order and the dark lord. At dinner that night he took a moment to check on her. She looked happy, sitting at the slytherin table next to his godson. They looked a lot closer than the last time he had seen them together. As he watched, Malfoy tucked a piece of Amy's hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek for a moment.
"It is like being thrown back in time is it not?" Dumbledore's voice broke into his dark thoughts. He looked over at the headmaster, wondering, as usual, just what the old man was talking about. "It seems like only yesterday that you were a student Severus. Look at the two of them. Don't they remind you of times gone by?" Severus did look.
He looked again to see the two of them laughing and chatting; Draco put more food on Amy's plate and refilled her goblet for her. She gave him a look and kissed his cheek.
Then Snapes gaze travelled to the Gryffindor table, to Potter. It was, as Albus had said, like history was repeating itself, with major differences. It was clear that Amy felt similarly to Draco, there was no third party that he knew of, to take her away from him. Potter wasn't in the picture in quite the same way as his father had been, though he was always going to be in her thoughts, and Draco would never know why.
All in the entire scene before him painted a picture parallel, with slight alterations, to his own childhood. He left the feast early. He had lost his appetite entirely.
Quite a long chapter I admit. Hope you didn't find it too boring. Felt like I had to really work on it. It didn't flow well from my mind to the page at all.
R and R please
