Ta-da! I can finally guarantee that I am not- I repeat AM NOT — sugar high! Hooray!!!!! I've had the idea for this story for a while, so here goeswith a pretty titlelooooooooook at itok. Oh, by the way, at first, it's going to seem really mary-suish, but it gets better. BELIEVE me. And it actually has chapters! Wow! I'm actually not writing poopie stuff that doesn't mean anything! I'm so proud ::sniffle sniffle:: Ok, I'll get a grip. Here, I give you "Harry Potter and the Song of the Phoenix"
Harry Potter and the Song of the Phoenix
Chapter 1: Raven
Disclaimer: All characters you already know and love belong to the mahvelous J.K. Rowling. Raven and her family belong to me. The plot belongs to me and kind of Kathryn Reiss. I got the idea for the story from her book "Pale Phoenix".
Author's Note: Again, this chapter is going to sound familiar: Beautiful new female student that just happens to be in Harry's year and also happens to be in Gryffindor. NO, her name isn't Mary Sue. IT GETS BETTER! Ok, on with the story!
Harry's mouth fell open in disbelief when he saw her stride gracefully into the Great Hall. He carefully studied her body as it moved towards the staff table, watched her mouth move as she spoke to Professor Dumbledore.
"I'm so sorry I'm late, sir, but my train was held up at the station and then I had to ride a broomstick the rest of the way and I'm not very skilled on them but"
Harry felt sorry for her; he noticed how flustered she looked, but it didn't at all bring fault to her beautiful face. His thoughts were interrupted, though, by a rather loud voice next to him.
"Where did she come from?" Ron was asking Hermione.
"I don't know exactly where, but I know she's going to be spending her last couple years of school here. She's a sixth year, same as us," Hermione answered all-knowingly.
Harry, after taking time to listen to their conversation, turned back to gaze at the girl with rapt attention. She was tall and slim, but not bony, with very straight glistening hair. Harry noticed that it was very dark, a darker black than even his own hair. He reached up involuntarily to smooth it down in the back. The girl's hair did not need any smoothing. As far as Harry was concerned, it was perfect. So was her face. Her skin was a soft milky white, free of all blemishes. It matched wonderfully with her hair, though it gave her a dainty but mysterious look. Her lips were a deep red, the color of a summer rose, And finally, when she turned again to try on the Sorting Hat (and as the din of the crowd quieted), Harry got a glimpse of her eyes. They were the same brilliant green as his, contrasting violently but beautifully with her perfectly coordinated hair, skin, and lips.
Harry was suddenly snapped to his senses when the Hat loudly called out, "GRYFFINDOR!". The girl got up and hastily trotted to the table and — miraculously — chose to sink down into the seat next to Harry, blushing profusely.
Ron jabbed Harry in the ribs, half reminding him he was staring, half trying to turn his attention to Dumbledore.
"I welcome you," he began, "to another exciting year at Hogwarts!" He continued on with the usual boring announcements to the first years, reminded the dull-looking teachers that Fred and George Weasley were no longer in their presence (they all seemed to brighten up a bit), and then said, "I would also like to introduce to you a new student, Raven L'oiseau. She was born in France, but has lived in England for most of her life. She returned to France two years ago to join her" he paused a moment, sending a glance towards Raven, "relatives. But now, she is attending Hogwarts and is residing again in England. Now, without further ado, on with the feast!"
Harry noticed that Raven was smiling shyly beside him and blushing again. He decided to make a move.
"Uh, hi," he said. "My name's Harry. It's nice to meet you, Raven."
Harry was surprised at how cool and collected he had sounded.
"Hi," Raven answered back, still a bit nervous. Suddenly she pointed and said, "You're Harry Potter, aren't you? Very pleased to meet you, sir!" He noticed that her voice contained not a hint of French accent.
"Yeah, Harry Potter, I'm him, uh, I mean, um, that's me" Harry babbled on stupidly.
Harry turned to Ron, a brilliant shade of scarlet, knowing he had made a fool of himself. Ron, sniggering, put an arm around his friend. "Do you want to hit yourself on the head, or shall I?" he said, still chuckling. There was even a hint of laughter in Hermione's eyes.
"Ok," she finally said. "Let's stop humiliating Harry. There's food to be eaten!"
Hermione had long forgotten about the House Elves that were working in the kitchen at that very moment, and she dug into her food like she hadn't eaten in weeks.
"What's with you?" asked Harry, the normal color having returned to his cheeks.
"Mum and Dad have me on a diet. Stupid dentistry stuff. They're starting to think that everything I eat is going to turn my teeth six shades of purple," Hermione answered. And with that, she turned and continued to gobble down chicken drumsticks and kidney pie.
"Yes, it must be hard being the new girl," Hermione said that night to Raven as they were dressing. "Where are you from again?"
"Well," said Raven, "I was, uh, born in France, then I- I mean we- my family and I," her eyes roved around the room as if searching for a way out, "Um, we moved to England and some stuff happened, um, yeah, and uh, then we moved somewhere else andyou really don't want to here this. Never mind."
Hermione got the hint and didn't question further.
Harry twisted and turned in his bed, running away from his dream. A horrible scene danced on the back of his eyelids. He was being chased by the Dark Lord, his huge black robes billowing behind him. Suddenly, Harry landed in someone's arms- Raven's arms. But just as suddenly, Raven turned into a great black bird- a raven- and flew away, leaving Harry who screamed and-
Harry woke up with a giant start, breathing heavily. It had only been a dream.
"Oh, great!" shouted Ron through a mouthful of pancakes the next morning, showering Raven, Harry, and Hermione with half-chewed pieces. "I bet that lousy git made the schedules himself!"
"What's the matter?" asked Raven, obviously alarmed at Ron's outburst.
"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," he answered sarcastically. "It's just that Snape gave us Double Potions with the Slytherins first period! Of all the" he trailed off into a low grumble of swear words, shoving another forkful of pancake into his mouth.
Harry snatched the schedule out of Ron's hand and scanned down the page. "Well," he said. "We have Defense Against the Dark Arts right after that. You'll like that, Raven," he added sheepishly, a slight tinge of pink in his cheeks.
"I'm dying to know who the teacher is," Hermione said in an impatient tone. "Dumbledore didn't even announce it!"
Raven sat in a bit of a stupor, taking in all the sights and sounds of her new school. Moments later, however, her vacant gaze of observation and her classmates' light conversation were interrupted by a cold, drawling voice.
"Why, look, it's Potty, the Weasel, and the Mudblood. I don't believe we've run into each other yet. Didn't see you on the train. I figured Weasley's family couldn't pay for the rideit's a pity, not even being able to pay for things that are free" Draco Malfoy sneered. Before Ron had a chance to knock his teeth out, Malfoy had turned to Raven.
"And I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you either," he said in his oiliest voice. To Harry's dismay, Raven seemed flattered by the attention. As Malfoy took her hand and kissed it, Harry balled up his fists in rage, but willed himself not to do anything. Not only would he be in trouble on the first day back, but everyone would know his feelings for Raven.
Malfoy reeled on, trying too hard to be pleasant. "You're from France, if I'm not mistaken. Yes, we Malfoys originated in France. A very important, very rich family." Ron snorted at Malfoy's emphasis on the word rich.
"It's a pity Miss, ah, what was your name again?" he asked.
"Raven. Raven L'oiseau." She told him politely.
"Yes, Raven. As I was saying, it's a pity you were stuck in this house. It's by far the worst." -Ron snorted again- "I'd advise you to at least stay away from riff-raff like this," Malfoy waved towards Ron, Hermione, and Harry, then offered Raven an arm. "So, Milady, may I escort you to class?"
Raven glanced furtively back at the Gryffindor table as she took Malfoy's arm, half-listening to him babble on about the school houses.
"That weasel!!!" screeched Harry when Malfoy was out of earshot. "That low-down, disgusting, creepy, stinking, oily weasel!!!"
"Oh Harry," chided Hermione. "He's not a weasel!" Ron and Harry stared at her wide-eyed. "Oh Ron, come now. Surely you remember? He's Draco Malfoy, the Amazing Bouncing White Ferret!" The three of them couldn't help but laugh and they were still giggling when they reached Potions that morning.
Harry watched, disgusted, as Malfoy and Raven bid each other good-bye. She had been hanging around with him all morning. Now that it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Raven raced to catch up with Ron, Hermione, and Harry.
"He really is a nice boy," she said cheerfully. For the third time that morning, Ron snorted out loud.
Hermione decided to change the subject. "Why was Snape so nice to you in class this morning?"
Raven smirked and muttered, "He's got reason to be nice to me"
"Pardon?" said Ron.
"Oh, uh, I guess he just took pity on the new student I suppose" she answered shortly.
The foursome entered the familiar old classroom together, idly chatting. There seemed to be no sign at all of their new teacher, so they simply chose seats near the middle of the room and waited. Fifteen minutes into the class, however, the door finally opened and a hand set down a battered old briefcase. The teacher still remained outside, talking to someone in a muffled voice.
"Hermione," whispered Harry. "What does the briefcase say?"
Hermione squinted to read the tiny lettering. "It says: Professor R. J"
"LUPIN!!!" the entire class chorused, finishing Hermione's sentence as Remus Lupin walked into the room. He waved his hands to quiet the excited yelling and clapping, but it was to no avail. The din was deafening. Lupin simply smiled and scanned the rows of students, his eyes settling on one in particular.
"Raven?"
The class grew silent.
"Raven, it can't be you!" Lupin was staring straight at Raven, who was trembling slightly. She raced from her seat and embraced him in a tight hug, ignoring the confused gazes of her classmates.
Finally realizing that everyone was looking at him, Lupin stated shakily, "She's my, uhniece."