Oh, and one other thing. I do know someone named Tim and he's very quiet, but Tim, if you ever read this, I'm not basing this Tim on you. You're not invisible. You never were. So stop thinking it!
Standard disclaimer apply. Tim Green is mine nad so is Billy,
but Billy doesn't really matter. Everything else is JK Rowling's
Tim Green, a Fly on the Wall
A Harry Potter Fanfic by Byrdgirl
You know, sometimes life is really
unfair. I should know. I've spent my entire life being invisible. No matter what I did, I never stood out. Even while I was being raised
at home with my seven brothers and sisters I was hardly noticed. I stopped talking for two and a half months before my parents said anything. One time, when I was seven, I was playing in the woods behind my
house and I got stuck in a tree. No one came to look for me for nearly
two whole days. My older brother, Michael, thought that it was pretty
funny though.
Then, the
summer after I turned eleven, something happened to me that I thought
would change my life forever. I got a letter from a place called
Hogwarts saying that I, invisible little Tim, was a wizard. Finally I was something special! Finally I would stand out and make
my parents proud or outraged or anything at all. Just as long I got
a reaction of some sort from them. I don't know how it's possible,
but even the news that their son was a magic wand wielding, broomstick
riding, spell casting wizard didn't seem to catch their attention.
"Oh, look
at this honey." My Mom said in a distracted manner. "It
looks like Timmy is going away to school." I don't think she was
really reading the letter all that carefully because she was paying the
bills at the same time and she never really looked as she was talking.
"Is that so? Hmm." My Father replied with polite interest. Then he went
back to reading his newspaper.
********************
I thought being at Hogwarts
school for witches and wizards would be different. I thought that
I could make a name for myself there. Maybe at least, I could make
a few friends. But I should know that nothing ever changes. I would always be invisible somehow.
I remember
the first day. We came on a train and it was dark by the time
we reached the school. All the first years were led to the lake. We got to ride to the school in boats, unlike the other students who went
by carriage. I wish that I got the chance, just once, to go by carriage. I was at the back of the line and the boats all started moving before I
even got on. I had to jump for the last one as it pulled away from
shore.
When we got
into the school we were all led to the great hall to be sorted. That's
when they put a dusty old singing hat on top of your head and it decides
which house you're going to spend the next seven years of your life in. Well, at least they didn't forget to sort me. They had my name down
on a list so they couldn't forget. But, before I got sorted this
other boy got sorted. "Harry Potter" called out Professor McGonagall. All the students began to whisper and point. It seemed that everybody
knew Harry Potter. I sighed as a very average looking eleven year
old tried on the hat. I thought to myself that this boy had the life
I always wanted. He was already famous before he even got to the
school. And what did he do to deserve it? Well, I found out
later that he did destroy the most evil wizard in living memory, but he
was just a baby when it happened. He didn't really do anything but
lay there screaming in his crib. No one really knows how it happened. Maybe the Dark Lord just messed up the curse.
After a very
long pause that gave me plenty of time to brood on Harry Potter's fame
the hat cried out "Gryffindor!" The roar of applause was deafening. Figures I thought to myself.
When my name
was called, there were still murmurs and mutterings drifting through the
hall, so no one paid any attention to me as I put the hat on.
"Oh" said
the hat in my mind. "It's you. I don't think it'll really matter
what house I put you in."
"What do you
mean?" I asked. Actually, I just thought it. My mouth
wasn't moving, so I didn't really ask anything. "No, no. I
can't tell you that, my friend. Still, I think you'd fit in best
in..."
"Hufflepuff!" Called the hat. Before the hat was taken off my head I thanked it
for talking to me. Hey, it called me it's friend. It may have
been a dusty old hat, but it was the closest thing to a real friend I ever
had.
********************
Of course,
things never really improved at Hogwarts. I tried making other friends,
but no matter what I said or did, the other students simply nodded politely
and walked away. I tried making enemies as well. I figured
that if I had enemies, then their enemies would be my friends by default. I was just as unsuccessful at that.
No one was
ever rude to me. When I tried to talk to someone they would smile
and nod. They always agreed with me...I hated that. Then they
would get distracted by something and walk off. Sometimes they left
while I was in mid sentence.
********************
"Hi, my name's Tim. Could
you tell me where the..." I never got all of the words out. It was mid February and I still hadn't made any impression on the school. I might as well not have been there at all. My potions
class had been moved temporarily, only I hadn't been told where. I was trying to ask, but the students, who were already running late for
classes, hurried past without a glance. I wandered around the building
for ten minutes before I happened to pass a classroom that smelled of sour
milk. I wrinkled my nose and walked in. Only a potions class
could smell that bad.
"You're late. Take a seat." Professor Snape continued to pass out papers as he
made the comment. I admit it, even now. There were some times
that I was glad that I was invisible. Any other student in that class
would have been yelled at severely for being ten minutes late. They
would also have gotten three nights detention. I was just told to
sit down. I may have never been praised in school, but I was also
never punished or criticized. Professor Snape dropped my paper down
in front of me. It was my paper on the characteristics of dragon'sbane
and the theory behind it's use in protection potions. I looked at
the grade. I got a B. I always got Bs. It was like the
teachers didn't know what to give me, so they put down "B" for "barely
read the damned thing". I tore it up and threw it over my shoulder. It didn't matter.
"What do you
think you are doing!" Shouted Snape as he looked at the scraps of
papers on the floor. "Do you think that this classroom is your own
personal refuse pile? I can tell by your appearance that you don't
value tidiness, but in this class you will respect MY standard. Pick
that up and stay after so we can discuss your detention." Snape turned
away, then added "Fifty points from Hufflepuff".
Billy, the
boy sitting next to me, sat there for shocked moment, his mouth opened
in silent protest. But instead of saying anything, he got out of
his seat and began to pick up each of the pieces of paper. See, I
told you it didn't matter.
********************
I was nearing the end of my first
year at Hogwarts. By then I had grown accustom to my situation. Sometimes, I would just skip class and wander through the halls listening
to other lessons or looking out of the windows at the grounds. The
weather was nice and I liked being able to come and go as I pleased. Maybe I should have been a better student. Maybe if I stayed in class
and tried harder my grades would have improved and I would have been noticed
by my teachers. I certainly wouldn't be in the situation I am now.
I told you
that sometimes life is unfair. Now let me tell you why. I was
on one of my typical excursions. I was skipping history of magic. I always skipped history of magic. I had already made my way past
all the seventh and fifth year classes and I was passing the first year
classes again. I heard Professor Flitwick trying to keep his voice
controlled. "Neville" he said "Just calm down and try again." I stopped to look into the classroom. The charms classroom was filled
with flying books. Some were doing loop the loops and others seemed
to be playing tag with each other. One boy, though, just couldn't
seem to get his book in the air. "Professor" Neville was nearly
whining now. "I've tried ten times. I can't get it to work."
"Try again
Neville." Flitwick sighed. He turned to address two other students. Hermione Granger and one of the Slytherins, I think his name was Linus
Malfoy or something, were trying to hit each other in the head with their
flying books. I continued watching Neville. He looked back
at his book with frustration. Then with sudden resolve he thrust
his wand at his book and shouted out several words that I knew weren't
the right words for that spell.
If only he
had shouted the right words, if only he hadn't been such a bad aim, if
only I had stayed in class...but as I said, life is unfair.
The mis-spoken
spell missed the book altogether and shot straight at the open door and
the invisible boy standing there. I felt sudden, violent disorientation,
like I was falling through water. I shut my eyes against a brief
wave of vertigo. When I felt my world steady itself once again, I
opened my eyes. I nearly passed out from shock. Not only was
I aware that I was floating, but it seemed to me that the world had grown
disproportionally large. In the following seconds I became aware
of other things as well. I couldn't control my limbs properly. My vision was impaired, I was seeing multiple images of everything. My wings were sore...WINGS?!
I flew rather
awkwardly down the hall. There was a mirror down the hallway that I remembered glancing in occassionally...just to make sure that
I wasn't really invisible. As I approached the mirror, I was afraid
that I already knew what I was going to see. I took a deep breath
and then looked.
NO! I thought. HE'S DONE IT! HE'S REALLY DONE IT! NEVILLE
HAS TURNED ME INTO A FLY, THE STUPID GIT!
For a moment
I stared, horrified. The reality of my situation sunk in. I
thought I should tell someone, but as soon as the idea entered my mind,
I realized something else. I tried to speak but the only sound in
the corridor was the buzzing noise made by my wings.
I couldn't
get help. I couldn't hold my wand to turn myself back. I was
stuck as a fly for the rest of my life.
********************
That was in April. It's
October now. At least I think it is. There are carved pumpkins
all over the place. I figure, a normal fly would have died by now,
so I'll probably still live as long as any human...joy. Maybe I'll
get swatted by someone before then.
It's really
not all that bad though. I don't have to go to classes. In
fact, I can go wherever I want, whenever I want. I've seen some pretty
interesting things going on when students and teachers thought no one was
watching. I've even gotten pretty good at flying. I can go
circles around all the other flies. Finally, something I'm good at.
No one really
missed me. Every once in a while I heard someone asking "Hey, whatever
happened to that boy...you know...the quiet one?"
They never
knew that I was right there, the fly on the wall.
What did you think? Should I take more time on my stories? Did you like this one? I'm new at sharing my writing so really let
me know what you think.
Take Care all!
Byrdgirl