The Other Side of the Coin
--a fanfiction by las brujas
chismosas
Disclaimer: Original story and characters have been
created by J.K. Rowling and are therefore hers. We're just borrowing them like everyone else, so we better not
get sued.
A/N: Sorry for the delay, but we've been attacked
by midterms, blizzards,
and fanfic.net's devastating shutdown.
Chapter 2: The Choice
"A Slytherin?"
Alex turned her head, only to see Harry Potter,
along with every other student in the room, staring at her with incredulity.
"Yes?" she answered defiantly, cocking her
eyebrow at him. "Will that be a problem for you?" With that, she plopped down
in her seat, wishing she hadn't shown up after all.
Harry gawked at the new girl, in shock. He had
seen her at the Slytherin table, usually alone, sitting far away from Draco's
circle of groupies. He always thought that her seclusion from Malfoy's crowd
was a bit odd, considering the rumors that had circulated since their second
year that she was the true heir of Slytherin, the one who had opened the
chamber, but he supposed that Draco, like him, knew the truth.
Suddenly realizing that he had been staring,
Harry turned towards Dumbledore, only slightly less confused than the other
students concerning the reason why they had all been called to Dumbledore's
office. After all, he still did not know exactly why Dumbledore had arranged a confidential
meeting, but he figured he had more of an idea as to its purpose than the other
students currently assembled.
Harry looked around the room. To his right was
his best friend Hermione Granger. Angelina Johnson, also in Gryffindor, was to her right. To her right
sat Khutaza Stubbs, a Ravenclaw 7th year. Next to her sat Cho Chang, and then
the Slytherin girl, whose name he did not remember. On his other side sat
Christopher Healy and Karen Jordan, both Hufflepuff 6th years. All of them were now looking expectantly at
Dumbledore, as if awaiting an explanation for the Slytherin's entrance.
"As you all know, what with the events that
happened at the end of last semester, things have changed. This meeting has to
do with those events, and I suppose that some of you might be surprised by this
fact, while others are not." He
smiled at Harry knowingly.
Harry looked up, and smiled back. He had not
been surprised in the least to receive Dumbledore's summons.
To the Dursleys' chagrin, Dumbledore had traded
many an owl with him over the summer, appraising him on the various measures
Harry should be taking in order to protect himself, as well as those around
him. They had finally agreed that during the school year it would be best to
protect all students equally, seeing as how no one was safe from Voldemort and
his schemes. Doing this at Hogwarts would certainly be easier, what with its
hidden location and blocks against apparating, and such.
In fact, Harry hadn't worried about his safety
in the least during his stay with the Dursleys. Dumbledore had assured him when
he left last year that he would be safer there than with the Weasleys, much to
Ron and Harry's mutual displeasure. But living with the Dursleys hadn't been as
horrible as he'd thought it would. What with the threat of Sirius blasting them
all to smithereens still hanging over their heads, they had gave Harry quite a
wide berth, though if looks could kill, Harry would have been shot, skinned,
dried, and left for the birds a number of times. Dudley, fresh from being
expelled from Smelting's School for Boys on account of excessive fighting,
still picked on Harry on occasion, though Harry, with little to do but send
owls to Ron and Hermione complaining about how he was living in a virtual
prison, spent a considerable amount of time working out with Dudley's old
exercise equipment. (After all, Dudley sure wasn't using any of it.)
Harry hadn't known that the meeting in
Dumbledore's office would involve other students, so he was delighted to meet
Hermione at the entrance to Dumbledore's office. All that was forgotten,
however, as soon as he saw the girl from Slytherin walk in; Slytherins weren't
to be trusted with this sort of thing, he thought to himself. Dumbledore might
as well invite Voldemort to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts this year, and really
get Harry good and dead.
Alex slid into her chair, turning bright red. She
hadn't noticed until now that she was the only Slytherin present. This didn't
disconcert her so much as confuse her. She had come to the meeting thinking
that she would meet Dumbledore one on one but rather, she sat in his spacious
office surrounded by what seemed to her to be the smartest students at
Hogwarts. Other than Harry Potter and his friend, Hermione Granger, she was the
youngest in the room.
Why am I here, she thought to herself. Better
yet, why are they here for my "confidential" meeting with Dumbledore?
Alex had little time to ponder these and other questions, as Dumbledore was
clearing his throat in order to direct the attention given to her back to him.
"As we all know, Voldemort has risen again. We
have great reason to believe that Hogwarts will be one of his main targets,
since he deems several of our students worthy of his attention." The students
took this opportunity to look at Harry, most with pity, though the Slytherin
girl seemed merely curious. "At this juncture, however, the other faculty
members and I have decided that while added security measures are certainly
warranted, we will not proceed with them unless provoked."
The students didn't say a word. Harry was
surprised; hadn't Dumbledore just told him that he would be instituting
extra protection for the students? Khutaza Stubbs, a rather forthright young
woman if there ever was one, raised her hand, but Dumbledore waved it away.
"What we will be doing, however, involves-" The
door opening, as well as the rude words muttered by the person who stepped
through it, brought everyone's attention back towards the rear of the room.
Again, the surprise was an extremely unpleasant one.
"Malfoy?!?" Harry and the Slytherin girl
yelled at the same time. They looked at each other, confused, and then back at
Draco.
Draco, surprised by the presence of other
students in the room, recovered himself and smirked. Taking one look at
Dumbledore, he said, "I'm leaving."
"No, you will not," Dumbledore said. Never a fan
of ultimatums, the icy harshness of his voice stopped Draco in his tracks. He
crooked his finger at Draco, beckoning him over to the alcove away from where
the other students were sitting. They spoke in hushed voices, Draco obviously
upset, until apparently Draco lost his mind and started yelling.
"WHAT HAPPENED THIS SUMMER DOESN'T MEAN A
THING!" he bellowed.
Dumbledore, unperturbed, continued to speak in a
lower tone.
"I'm not promising anything. That's all I'm
saying," Draco replied to whatever Dumbledore had said, and plopped down in the
chair next to the other Slytherin. She made a face, obviously disgusted, and
scooted her chair away from him. At that same moment, Professors McGonagall and
Flitwick, Professor Moody, and to Harry's delight, Remus Lupin, walked in,
apologizing for being late.
"Ahh,
now that we are all assembled, let's introduce each other, as I'm sure there
might be some unfamiliar faces here." They went around the room, stating their
name and where they were from, and Harry was surprised to find out that the
Slytherin girl, whose name was Alex, spoke with an American accent, though she
said she was from Cheltenham. He'd been surprised by her reaction to Malfoy: he
thought everyone in Slytherin worshipped Draco, but apparently this was not the
case. Harry was curious to find out why, but Dumbledore commanded his attention
once more.
"As I was saying, young Harry Potter is
obviously a target for Voldemort, which makes Hogwarts itself a target. Many
people have forgotten what life was like during the years when his power was at
its height, and want to deny that he has risen. This is our first problem. Our
second and more pressing problem is that Voldemort might want to recruit
younger wizards and witches, by either enchantment or simple persuasion. In all
honesty, you nine students are the most talented here at Hogwarts, have the
most to gain, and the most to lose, were Voldemort to gain control of you.
Thus, I've decided, with the faculty's approval, that you are to be taught
advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, along with skills and spells not
usually taught to students. With these lessons come certain responsibilities,
such as always being on your guard against dark magic, as well as protecting
the students in your classes and houses. You are also to report to me any
suspicious behavior you may witness, though you are not to act alone, or
even with another student. Is that understood?"
All the students nodded, even Draco, who looked
more astonished than anyone else in the room.
"Professor Moody and Mr. Lupin will be
administering your lessons each Saturday and Sunday. You will learn of the
location of each of these lessons the Friday before- yes, Ms. Stubbs?"
Dumbledore smiled at Khutaza, who had raised her
hand, and was waving it frantically.
"What about Hogsmeade? We won't have nearly any
time to visit Hogsmeade with these lessons!" she said, clearly perturbed.
Harry, in fact, hadn't thought of that, but now that he did, his heart sank.
Ron knew nothing about this, and Harry was sure he couldn't tell him. If he
were missing every weekend, Ron was sure to notice.
"There will be no trips to Hogsmeade this year.
For anyone. It is entirely too dangerous now. As well, your absences will not
be as conspicuous this way." All the students protested, but Dumbledore put up
his hand, silencing them.
"Voldemort has risen, and you have been
presented with a choice. It is up to each of you now to decide what you will
do."
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A/N: Thank you
to all of our wonderful reviewers: Zoe, Cakbug, Sidra Astro, Aira, Jennifer,
Meatloaf the Happy Donkey, Amanita Lestrange, No Reply, Adrienne, and
AngieJ!
Adrienne, you are right. Saavedra isn't a Haitian name, but rather a Cuban one. Santeria, though it may be practiced in
places like Haiti, actually originated in the island of Cuba. Also, we assure you that Alex's character
isn't based on either of us and we are not intending for this story to be a
Mary Sue.
Amanita: What is OC?
Also, a special thanks to Borrero, who spotted an important
mistake. Thank you!