Avalon's summer vacation had been interesting to say the least. When she showed up on the Greengrasses' doorstep with her trunk, school supplies, and owl, they had been concerned. No matter how many times they asked, she always said that her parents were going on a business trip to Germany and Lucy was in Romania helping Charlie for the summer, and she was very thankful that they were opening their home to her. She said that her parents would be very busy and that they shouldn't try to contact them. She said that she had tried to get over her dislike of broomsticks and fell off, which explained the injuries. Mrs. Greengrass' forehead would always have the same worried pucker that it did the first time she healed the bruises on Avalon's cheek and arm. Avalon could see the pucker from across the room as Mrs. Greengrass whispered to her husband.
That's how she knew they were talking about her.
Daphne, unlike her parents, was usually very vocal with her opinion. Daphne, unlike her parents, knew the truth behind the dark secrets that lived with the Steele family. However, Daphne also knew that the last thing Avalon needed was for her to tell her parents the truth. It wouldn't solve the problem. Instead, she would creep into the guest bedroom at night. Avalon always pretended to sleep, but her sniffling usually gave away the act.
"Avalon?"
A grunt in response.
Daphne would clear her throat. "I can, um, hear Astoria's snoring through the walls and it's impossible for me to sleep. Can I stay with you?"
As always, Avalon would silently scoot over to one side of the bed, and lift the edge of the blanket so Daphne could crawl under. Neither girl would talk, but having Daphne there and being able to feel her warmth as she silently cried herself to sleep would make Avalon feel better. And Daphne knew it. So she'd wrap her arms around her best friend as she fell asleep herself.
The excuses varied. Sometimes there was a draft that only came into Daphne's room, sometimes the tree outside her window was casting scary shadows on the window, and sometimes she would pretend to sleepwalk. It didn't matter though. The outcome was always the same.
The day that the school owls sent over school supply lists for the three girls staying in the Greengrass house, Astoria nearly knocked over her porridge in an attempt to get to the window. She was very excited to be starting Hogwarts in just a few weeks. "It's here!" she screamed. "Mum! Dad! My Hogwarts letter came!"
"That's great, pumpkin," said Mr. Greengrass, walking into the kitchen with that morning's edition of the Daily Prophet in hand. He kissed Astoria's temple before doing the same to Daphne and Avalon. "Now, you girls are thirteen now, do you think you're responsible enough to go to Diagon Alley without us, or should I take off work next week and take you?"
Daphne looked at Avalon with a wicked glint in her eye. "We're definitely repsonsible enough. We'll keep a good eye on Astoria, I promise."
"All right, then. I'm off to St. Mungo's. The sick patrons won't heal themselves, you know. If you need anything, one of the house elves can fix you lunch or reach me in case of emergency. I'll see you girls later." With a smile and a wink, Mr. Greengrass finished off Daphne's cup of tea and apparated away.
Avalon pushed her porridge around the bowl with the spoon, uncharacteristically quiet. By the time Mrs. Greengrass had come down, wolfed down a bite of toast, and departed for her office in the Department of International Magic Cooperation, Daphne was concerned.
She turned to her sister and friend. "Well, you heard Dad. We can finally go to Diagon Alley without parents, or older sisters who threaten to leave us behind if we take too long getting ice cream. Are you ready?"
Astoria clapped eagerly and squealed, throwing her bowl into the sink for the house elves to watch. "Yes! Yes! So many things I want to buy! I can't wait!"
"All right, last one dressed and down here is buying at Florean Fortescue's," Daphne said. Astoria was off like a shot, while Avalon headed towards the stairs at a sluggish pace. Daphne shook her head and murmured, "That wasn't the intended effect of the offer."
She thought Avalon would race off too, and Astoria would buy them both ice cream. Daphne would have to move at an even slower pace than her upset friend if she wanted to cheer Avalon up.
AGDGAS
The next few weeks seemed to fly by. Slowly, Avalon's mood picked up again, and by the time she reached King's Cross station with Astoria and Daphne in tow, she was almost laughing at some horrible joke Mr. Greengrass cracked at breakfast.
He and his wife hugged all three girls goodbye, and Mr. Greengrass stooped down so he was eye level with Avalon. "Now, do you know if… your parents will be back from Germany for Christmas?" he asked.
"I don't know."
"If they're not, you're welcome to spend it with us. The door to our home is always open for you, all right, Avalon?"
"All right."
Barely in control of her actions, Avalon hugged Mr. Greengrass again. His wife joined in and gave the girl another hug. She kissed Avalon's forehead and brushed her thumb across the stretch of skin where her bruise had been the day the girl showed up with her belongings, visibly upset. "Don't forget to write. We want to hear about your year just as much as we do Daphne's and Astoria's. We love you."
Avalon fought back more tears as she followed her friend onto the train. Astoria nervously went off in search of the people who would be her friends for the next seven years.
When the two remaining girls found their usual compartment, Draco was already inside. Crabbe and Goyle flanked sat squished against the window. They were both holding up a single comic book and focusing intently as they read it, lips moving along with the words. It was an impressive feat because the comic book was upside down.
"Hello," said Draco, without looking at them. He was busy with a crossword puzzle.
"Morning, Malfoy," Daphne said, sliding in across from the three boys and making room for Avalon. "I hope you've had a good summer."
He shrugged in response. "Oh it was the usual. Exotic trips to faraway countries, fancy dinners, expensive things, rubbing noses with some of the most influential people in our world at various parties. A bore, really."
"Rubbing noses?"
Draco sighed, obviously annoyed by Avalon's confusion. "It's an expression. It means to socialize with."
"I think you mean rubbing elbows?" Daphne snickered, not bothering to hide it. "Rubbing noses usually means taunting someone. Or Eskimo kissing."
"Whatever. I can't expect everyone to understand the lingo of the powerful elite. But speaking of taunting someone, I think Crabbe and Goyle and I are going to see if Potter and his ridiculous band of misfits have settled in so we can ruin their train ride." Draco beckoned to his cronies and they left the compartment, nearly colliding with Blaise.
The latter grinned. "Leaving so soon, Malfoy? I hope it was something I said."
"I'll be back."
"All good things must come to an end."
Blaise took one of the now empty seats across from the girls. In the two months since they had last seen the boy, he had gone on a trip with his mother and Stepdad Number Four. He had grown at least three inches and seemed to be ganglier than he had been before—which they hadn't thought possible. Daphne's giggles continued.
"What's so funny?" Blaise asked.
His words caused Avalon to join in, the pair clutching their stomachs and doubled over in uncontrollable laughter. Blaise clapped his hands over his mouth and scowled in their direction. An unnecessary side effect of his growth spurt—his unfortunate voice cracks that popped up whenever they saw fit.
Avalon was gasping for air by the time she could speak again. "Your… voice!"
Theo entered the compartment but seemed confused about the laughter. Daphne cackled harder when she saw him. "Don't worry, Theo, your time will come."
After a few moments of pleasantries, Draco was back, this time without Crabbe and Goyle. "We found Potter and his friends, but there was some teacher in the compartment with them so we left. He's such a kissup, sitting with the new teacher on the train."
"Why is there a teacher riding up with us?" Theo asked.
Blaise shrugged. "He'll be better than Lockhart for sure." He spoke slowly and through gritted teeth, determined not to give the girls the pleasure of another voice crack.
As the rain outside the windows pounded, the train began slowing. All five teens looked at their watches. There was no way that they could be at the station this early, so why were they stopping?
Daphne got up and looked out into the hall. Other students were doing the same, most likely trying to figure out what was happening. The train came to a stop with a jolt, and distant thuds and bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then, without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged into total darkness. Chaos was breaking out now that they had all suddenly lost their sight.
"Is anyone else really cold?"
"What's going on?"
"Why is it so dark?"
"Ouch! Theo, you dolt, that was my toe!"
"Sorry, Daph."
After a few moments of panic, the lights started to come up and the train began to move. They discovered Theo underneath the table with his knees curled to his chest. His head was buried in his arms and he didn't look up until Draco kicked his back.
Daphne looked concerned. "Are you okay, Theo?"
"You girls might not know this about Theodore," said Blaise. "But he has a small fear of the dark. He hides it well from most people, but after sharing a room with him for two years, we've become accustomed to his antics."
"You're afraid of the dark?" Avalon cried, the previous terror of the mysterious train stop behind them. The laughs were back.
Theo glared at her as he climbed back up to his seat. "No, I'm not 'afraid' of the dark. That would be childish and unreasonable. I just don't like the fact that the dark makes me open to a murderer trying to kill me. Did you know that Sirius Black escaped Azkaban? If I were to run into him in the dark, it would be so much easier for him to sneak up on me."
"Whatever you say," Draco chortled.
"Besides," Theo continued. "I can't believe you would tell them about that, Blaise. We're best friends! We all agreed that what happens in the boys' dormitory stays in the boys' dormitory. Or would you like me to tell them about the time you—"
"NO!" Blaise shouted. His voice cracked but he didn't seem to notice.
Theo gave a wicked grin. "And Draco, I'm sure the girls would love to hear all about your little—"
"That won't be necessary."
Avalon and Daphne exchanged silent looks. They were in agreement. At some point during the year, they would uncover whatever it was that Draco and Blaise didn't want them to know. It had to be worse than Theo being afraid of the dark because he wouldn't reveal their secrets to the girls as payback for them spilling his.
"Come on Avalon, let's go change," said Daphne, dragging her friend out of the compartment to find one with just girls to put on their robes.
As they searched—even willing to settle for a compartment with Pansy, Millicent, and Tracey inside—Avalon spotted a familiar face.
She told Daphne she would be right back and went inside. Neville, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas were sitting and playing a hand of Exploding Snap, along with a couple of Hufflepuff boys that Avalon recognized but couldn't be bothered to remember the names of at the moment and didn't even try.
"All right?" Avalon asked, closing the door behind her and hugging Neville.
"All right," he answered. "What's going on? You never showed up for tea that day, and Gran and I were worried that something happened to you. Are you okay? I tried to send you an owl but I guess he couldn't find you at your house."
Avalon's hand flew to her cheek without thinking, but she forced a smile. "I'm sorry. Something came up. I meant to write, but things were really crazy these past few weeks."
Finnigan looked over his hand of cards and coughed loudly. "You have an answer to almost everything, don't you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Avalon asked. She squinted at Finnigan with confusion. It wasn't unusual for the two of them to be angry at each other, but she hadn't talked to him since the end of the previous year when they finished on friendly terms. They had both semi-apologized for the way they treated each other. And the hug. What could he possibly be upset about before they even started school?
"Its just that you have an answer to almost everything. Not quite everything. There are just some things you don't have an answer for. Strange," said Finnigan.
Avalon rolled her eyes. "Can you not be passive-aggressive for three seconds and tell me what horrible thing I've done now that's gotten you all in a snit? You're such a baby, Finnigan. Use your big boy words."
"I'd tell you, but you'd probably just ignore me anyway so I'll save my breath." With an expression that screamed boredom, Finnigan put down his cards and pushed past her on his way out of the compartment.
Avalon looked at his friends. "Okay, what was that about?"
"No idea."
"I thought you knew."
"Whatever," said Avalon after a few moments of studying Neville's face. He was telling the truth, there was no way he knew what had Finnigan so peeved this early in the year. "I'll see you up at the castle. Daphne's waiting for me in the hall."
But Daphne had obviously gotten tired of waiting for Avalon, and by the time Avalon slipped into her school uniform (she found a compartment with some familiar-looking second year Slytherin girls who let her change with them), it was time to drag her luggage off the train and struggle to find her friends for the carriage ride up to the school.
This year, she beat Draco out for the fourth spot, and he dejectedly left to ride with Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy.
His carriage was right behind theirs, so they could hear him calling out to Potter: "You fainted, Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You fainted?"
Draco's friends—minus Pansy, swooning over the boy—all rolled their eyes at his Potter-hating antics starting up again. He strutted past Potter's friends and blocked the other boy's way. He looked practically giddy.
Weasley glared at the Slytherin. "Shove off, Malfoy."
"Did you faint as well, Weasley? Did the scary old Dementor frighten you too, Weasley?"
Barring Draco and Potter's gang, they didn't recognize young-looking man wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes darned in several places that came out of the next carriage. He stepped forward through the students and approached the troublesome encounter. His hair was light brown flecked with gray, and despite the authoritative look on his face, he seemed extremely tired already. If this was the new professor Draco told them about earlier, Avalon knew his tired look would only get worse as the year went on. "Is there a problem?"
"Oh no, professor," Draco muttered. With a last glare at Potter, he stormed towards the school. The other Slytherins followed, laughing about Draco's foiled attempt to agitate his 'foe' as he muttered obscenities under his breath.
By the time they joined him at the Slytherin table, he had calmed down a bit and was listening to a very lengthy story from Goyle about the bowtruckle he had encountered over the summer. Avalon had a horrible flashback to Professor Sprout's bowtruckle project from the previous year and tuned it out. She could never look at the vicious beasts the same way again.
Once the students were settled in the Great Hall, and the new first years were sorted into their houses, Dumbledore began to speak to the students and staff.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..." the old man's voice trailed off slightly, but the twinkle in his eyes was everpresent, as if he was about to tell them all a joke. "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."
A murmur went through the crowd. Blaise leaned towards Avalon. "They must have stopped the train earlier," he whispered. She nodded, too focused on the Headmaster's words to laugh at his voice.
"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises—or even Invisibility Cloaks. It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the Dementors."
Theo looked annoyed. "Will we ever have a year without danger or strange happenings? I just want to learn and eat at feasts without any complications. Is that too much to ask?"
"Yes," answered Daphne and Blaise in unison.
Dumbledore was not finished his announcements. "On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Some students claps, but most of it was simply polite. Hardly any students had had the chance to meet the new teacher yet.
Draco's usual sneer deepened and he kept his hands firmly planted in his lap during the applause. "Look at him. He's so shabby compared to the others. He'll probably be worse than our other two professor."
"Lockhart knew absolutely nothing. Lupin would have to work really hard to be worse than that," Theo said.
"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."
Draco practically stood up in protest at this point. "Hagrid? Dumbledore's officially lost it! There's no way that oaf is qualified to teach classes. To children, no less! I wouldn't trust him to train my house elf to do menial labor."
His friends grumbled in agreement. For once, they stood behind Draco in his rantings. Well, Theo stood behind Draco until Dumbledore made his next announcement: "Well, I think that's everything of importance. Let the feast begin!"
"Care of Magical Creatures is going to be… interesting," said Daphne, digging into the food.
By the time the third year Slytherin girls reached their dormitory that night, they were all too tired for any catty remarks or witty banter. Even Avalon and Pansy, who the other girls knew would start back up in the morning, refreshed and ready to go.
But as for right now, all five girls drifted off to sleep.
It was Avalon's first night in a long time without Daphne next to her, and the shadows on the wall looked an awful lot like an angry Edgar Steele. She looked over at her best friend, who was awake as well. Daphne smiled. Avalon smiled back.
She would be all right.
A/N: An update! Crazy. This chapter was really fun to write. The previous year focused a lot on Avalon's conflicting emotions about her beliefs. This year will see a lot more conflict with her feelings and her relationships with her friends/family. I have a lot planned for this year (and they probably won't all be as long as this chapter.
i don't own Harry Potter (duh).
Leave a comment, drop a follow/favorite. Thanks so much for reading!
