Disclaimer: I only own a few people, everything else is J.K. Rowling's. I'm not THAT creative...
A/N: No, this isn't a new part. I just felt like posting all these at once because I have friends at
school that want to read it and it's a real pain to try to track down all of these separate parts. Plus,
I want you readers to know that no, I've not died, I've just had an EXTREME case of writers' block. In
fact, I'm still suffering...
And there's also the fact that there's a companion to this series, written by Ebony Foxfire. Her pen
name used to be "Rhiannon" but she's messing with my mind or something. Plus there are like, five other
Rhiannons. So she's changed it. I will yell at her at school tomorrow; don't worry.
So ANYWAY to prevent confusion, (Before I knew that Her Highness had changed her pen name--I wouldn't
have bothered. It's already confusing.) I thought I ought to organize. I dunno...I felt the need to
utilize my organizational skills (yeah, right...). *shrugs* Here it is, anyway.
Reviews are nice, by the way. I won't beg, but I DO love reviews...
Okay, here's the story. The title's in Gaelic. According to the soundtrack to "The Secret of Roan Inish"
it means, "There is Beauty There."
Okay, I am SERIOUSLY babbling...
Fa A Bhialainn Ann
Chapters 1 & 2
by Veralidaine
Part 1
Fiona McLellan slumped down in her seat on the Hogwarts Express, sighing. This was going to be
an interesting year. She brushed back her wavy hair, dark red-brown in the sunlight from the window.
Suddenly remembering, she waved at her Ma and Da below. They waved back, and Fi felt a slight lurch in
her chest. She would NOT cry...
Gray-blue eyes filled with tears and she quickly rubbed them, hiding it in a yawn. How could this
happen? She knew that the Irish schools for Witchcraft were not nearly as advanced as Hogwarts, but now,
to receive a proper education, she was stuck going to school with those snotty British Prigs. All her
life, when she visited London, all she ever got was funny looks. It was obvious that she was Irish--her
pale skin and dark hair were a clue, but her accent was the dead giveaway.
As if starting a new school in a new country for sixth year wasn't hard enough; she had to be mocked for
being a muggle-born, Irish farm girl. And that was nothing next to her big secrets. When her Ma and Da
had talked to the headmaster, he had confided that they allowed--special cases--like hers. It wasn't
like hers was anything dangerous--well, not really...Just something she could be shunned for life for.
She couldn't help it--it was in her blood. She had no choice in that matter, and if she HAD had a
choice, she would've gotten rid of the dreaded gene as soon as possible.
The train started to pull away from the station. Once more, she rubbed her eyes frantically, sending a
last wave to her parents. They waved back, the platform growing smaller and smaller, and then they were
gone. Fi sighed raggedly. She would NOT cry!
She jumped as the compartment door slid open. A short, slim girl of about her age stood in the doorway,
jade-colored eyes framed by pretty, dark red hair. Next to her was a taller girl, of a more stocky
build, with light brown hair and brown eyes, and lots of freckles. "Oh, we didn't realize this was
occupied..."
The redhead smiled. "Are you new here?"
Fiona, lips sealed, nodded. It made her wince to hear the upper-class accent this redhead sported.
The brunette smiled as well. "Smashing. I'm Annelle Jonson." She had a lower-class accent, maybe
Liverpudlian?
"And I'm Lily Andrews," the redhead smiled. "What's your name?"
Fiona, resigned to her fate (These two seemed so nice; what would they do once they found out she was
what she was?), cleared her throat. "Fiona McLellan," she said, Irish accent sounding dreadfully strong
next to the other girl's high-class British.
The brunette--Annelle, was it?--gave her a funny look for a moment, then said, "Are you...Scottish or
something?"
"No, you prat," Lily said, grinning amiably. "She's Irish! Wonderful, now I have some company! My
Grandparents on Mum's side were from Ireland. I love the way you all talk."
Fiona's pale skin flushed. "Really? I was worried that..."
"We'd shun you or something?" Lily laughed. "Fat chance. I don't shun anyone without a very good reason,
and being Irish isn't on my list."
Annelle grinned. "Mine either. You just took me by surprise-I thought you were British. So, Fiona--"
"Fi."
"-Fi, then. What's Ireland like?"
"Oh, it's wonderful," Fi said softly. "Green and lovely, and the sea is beautiful. I used to go swimming
every day." She stopped herself there, scolding herself for babbling.
"Yeah," Lily said dreamily. "I've never been to Ireland before. James says that-" She stopped abruptly,
blushing, and Annelle laughed loudly.
"James Potter is Lily's--er--love bunny. Yes, I think that's the correct term. I do believe they've
already begun planning their honeymoon." Annelle snickered, then whispered quite audibly, "They even
know what kind of cake they're having at their wedding!"
"I do not!" Lily protested feebly, elbowing Annelle in the ribs.
The compartment door, which had been slid shut a moment before by Annelle, slid open again. Three boys
appeared in the doorway. The tallest, who had dark eyes framed by black hair and a somewhat swarthy
complexion, glanced at Fi and then turned to Annelle, nodding his head at her. "Who's this, then?"
Annelle sighed. "Well, she's right there; why don't you ask her?"
The other boys were staring at her. One of them, with unruly black hair and glasses, gave Lily a
questioning look. She smiled back at him, and Fi had a feeling that this was probably the James Potter
they'd discussed earlier. The last boy, who was standing behind the other two, was taller than James
with dark brown hair and large, brown eyes. He gave Fi a curious stare and, when no one made a move to
introduce themselves, stepped forward, holding out a hand for her to shake. "Hi. I'm Remus Lupin."
The tallest stepped up next to him, grinning broadly. "I'm Sirius Black."
Finally, the one who Lily had guessed was James stepped forward. Sure enough: "I'm James Potter. Good to
meet you...er..."
"Fiona--call me Fi," Fi said warmly, forgetting her shame over her accent.
Sirius broke into a grin again--he seemed to do that a lot. "Are you Irish?"
Fi nodded shyly. "Aye."
James smiled warmly. "Well, welcome to England, then. Is it much different here?"
Fi nodded, sighing deeply. "Much. Everyone stares when they hear me talk, and not to mention I'm Muggle-
born, so I get enough trouble as i'tis."
Lily shook her head. "I'm Muggle-born. Don't let it worry you."
Sirius nodded vigorously. "Yeah. So, what house are you in?"
"Well, I don't quite know yet," Fi responded. "I hope I end up in Gryffindor, though Ravenclaw doesn't
sound bad."
Lily nodded. "You don't want Slytherin, though. Trust me."
Everything became silent and James put an arm around Lily's shoulders. Lily cleared her throat. "I'm in
Slytherin."
Fi tried not to look as surprised as she felt. Her? A SLYTHERIN? Fi had heard--to put it lightly--
interesting information about Slytherin house.
Remus cleared his throat, obviously eager to change the subject. "So, ah...D'you mind us sitting
with you, Fi?"
"Not at all," Fi replied, scooting over so that the others could squeeze in--Remus next to her, Sirius
on his other side, and across from them Annelle, then Lily and James. Their discussion wandered from
subject to subject over the next few hours, finally stopping as the conductor announced that they had
arrived.
***
Fi pulled on her Hogwarts robes and nervously managed to get off the train and to the school. As she
gawked at the beautiful and gigantic entrance hall, a boy shoved past her, pushing her forcefully into
the wall. She turned, furious, and brought her hands for one moment before quickly putting them back at
her sides. She wouldn't get herself expelled here...Not for that--not like last time.
Instead she called after the boy. "Oi, you!"
A pale boy who looked about her age turned around and glared. "Yeah?"
"You near gave me a concussion-aren't you going to apologize?"
The boy gave her a moment's stare, then burst out laughing. "Hey, Severus! Aaron! Come listen to this
wench!"
Two other boys strolled over casually. One of them was much, much taller than Fiona and had greasy black
hair and a hooked nose. Black eyes flashed threateningly first at her, then to the pale boy, who was
still laughing. The other had a rather flat face, sort of like a pug dog, and was surveying her through
small blue eyes with the utmost revulsion. "What's so interesting, Lucious?"
"Would you repeat that?" the pale one-apparently called Lucious-managed to gasp out between sneering
laughter.
"I said," Fi growled, "Apologize. You knocked me right into that wall and it hurt. Apologize now."
Pug-Face laughed loudly. "Ha! So, not only do they now allow Mudbloods in now, but Irish Mudbloods!
That's a laugh!"
Fi was near exploding. She could see them now--her magic was stirred up. Pinpricks of light, buzzing
about. One flew in close and she saw its minute little blue eyes under silvery curls, then it flitted
away again with a flick of its blue-silver wings. She could call on the faeries-she could. She could
make them teach these boys a lesson they'd never forget...just like last time...but she wasn't even
sorted yet and she'd be expelled. No, she wouldn't do it. She'd stand her ground.
The boy with the hooked nose rolled his eyes and sighed witheringly. "Yes, yes. That's hilarious. Can we
leave now? I'm starved."
Lucious, who was wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, nodded. "Yes, let's."
Fi wasn't going to leave it at that. She wouldn't. It was stupid, but she couldn't help it. "You whisht,
you old...you...." Unable to put it the way she wanted to in English, she converted to spouting every
Gaelic insult she knew at this foul boy and his friends. When she'd learned it for fun back at home,
she'd never realized how easily she could express herself in another language.
He turned around. The two other boys-Pug Face and the one who was hungry-looked confused. Lucious walked
swiftly back to her and pinned her against the wall. "Listen up real close, wench. I will not tolerate
that kind of disrespect. Malfoys do not EVER tolerate that sort of disrespect. You watch yourself."
Fi met his glare squarely. "You watch YOURSELF, Mister Malfoy. It's not a good idea to go making enemies
with those whose powers you don't know yet." With that she brought her hands up and pushed him away as
quickly as possible. Then she turned a corner and ran as fast as she possibly could--which wasn't very
fast. She turned another corner and ran headlong into someone.
"Whoa! Watch where you're--Fiona?"
She looked up and saw Remus staring curiously down at her--she'd fallen to the floor.
"I'm sorry," he said earnestly, offering her a hand up and pulling her to her feet. "What were you--"
Lucious and the other boys came hurtling around the corner. "Out of the way, beast!" he shouted. "She's
fair game!"
"No, she's not," Remus replied calmly, ignoring the inquiring glance Fi had given at his being called
"beast" for some reason. "Actually, Professor Dumbledore couldn't find her and sent me to look for her.
I take it you're responsible for making her late? Shall I tell him that?"
The hooked nose boy turned, glaring mutinously, and walked towards the Great Hall. The pug-faced one
followed, scowling. Lucious still stood, glowering at the two of them. Remus sighed deeply. "Get a move
on, Malfoy. I've no patience tonight. You've already lost five points from Slytherin for causing this
young lady trouble on her first evening here." He fingered the prefect badge on his chest. "Now--d'you
mind?"
"You watch yourself, Lupin. And you, wench!"
Fiona, still panting from her run, muttered a very nasty insult under her breath and turned to walk with
Remus. He didn't say anything for a moment. Fiona sighed. "Thank you. They would've caught me."
He laughed quietly. "Oh, not a problem. I'm impressed. It took me a whole hour to decide Lucious and I
were enemies--on the Hogwarts Express, you see. Took you fifteen minutes. Well, here we are," he said,
stopping in front of a large door. "This is it. You go in, wait until Professor Flitwick calls you, and
then go put on the Sorting Hat. Hope you end up in Gryffindor." He gave her a smile. "Then you won't
have to deal with those twits."
She grinned and entered, standing in front of a whole hall of students. Every eye in the Great Hall was
on her--and there must have been hundreds of people there. She looked and saw Sirius waving and Remus
smiling. James was also smiling, but he was a tad preoccupied staring at Lily, who was also waving. Too
soon for her taste, she heard a squeaky voice say, "And now, we have a transfer student from Dublin
Wizarding Academy--McLellan, Fiona."
Feeling a tad braver, Fi sat on the small stool and jammed the hat over her head.
***
Part 2
***
Dear Ma and Da,
Life in England isn't as bad as I made it out to be. Mind, there are the occasional prats who get on my
nerves, but so did Jonny Flynn, back home, so I guess that's normal. I've met some very nice people, but
I'm only able to see one of them regularly. Her name's Lily, and she's in my house--Slytherin. Granted,
I'm not too happy to be here, but I guess I'll get used to it. Eventually.
That's about it. Life's not too interesting so far. The sixth years have organized a Halloween dance,
but I don't think I'll go. Ma, don't chide me for being anti-social, please. I may go, if Lily wants me
to. Well, I miss you and love you both. Dunk Liam in the well for me!
Love from Fi
Fiona re-read her letter and, nodding approvingly, folded it and handed it to her small, brown barn owl.
"Here, Snitch, take this to Ma and Da, please." The owl gave her a look, and she sighed. "Yes, I'll
write to Liam as well. Honestly--am I required to keep in touch with younger siblings?"
Snitch gave her wrist an affectionate nip, then flapped out of the open window. Fiona sighed and rested
her chin on her hands, gazing across the nighttime grounds. WHY had she ended up in Slytherin? Of all
places! Well, at least she was with Lily. That was a plus.
On the other hand, Lucious Malfoy, Aaron (Pug-Face) Parkinson, and Severus Snape were really getting on
her nerves. They couldn't understand how someone like her got into Slytherin.
And, honestly, neither could Fi. Occasionally, she thought it might be her bloodline, but that didn't
necessarily confine a person to being evil! Well, not unless they WANTED to be...In which case, they
could be VERY dangerous...
Blowing a stray lock of brown hair from her face, she stopped gazing out the window and checked her
Potions homework. Professor Blasphen, who normally favored Slytherin students, was quite harsh with her.
Fiona had always been the "smart kid" in her other schools, and had always been excellent at all of her
subjects. She made straight A's, or an occasional B. And Hogwarts had hit hard. Transfiguration had been
particularly tough, as she hadn't ever been very good at it in the first place. Potions, which had
always been somewhat simple for her, had turned out to be her worst subject yet. On the most recent
project, an antidote for Love Potion, she had botched it badly enough to receive a D from the Professor,
a record for any Slytherin. Lily had convinced her that her grade would improve, once she settled in and
managed to "get into the swing of things." Fiona wasn't so sure, somehow.
The events that had taken place at her last school, the day she was expelled, were enough to make Fi
wonder if she'd ever get through school. Though her mother had told her not to worry herself over it,
that she'd just lost control, Fi couldn't help but hate herself for it. Why, oh why did it have to be in
her blood? Why did she have to inherit it? Couldn't Liam have inherited it? She stopped herself there,
grimacing as she thought of what Liam would do with her powers.
Sighing loudly again, she stuffed her checked and re-checked homework into her schoolbag, then stripped
off her dressing gown and allowed herself to fall into bed. She lay there, tossing and turning for what
seemed like hours, until she finally felt herself drifting off to sleep, though rather fitfully.
***(A/N: that means a dream, 'kay? Just so you're not confused...I cannot do italics...I've tried...)
Fiona walked into the small classroom, surprised as everyone shrank away from her, as though afraid of
catching some sort of disease. Casting those nearest to her a quizzical glance, she set her books down
on her desk and remained standing. Softly, she cleared her throat. "Uhm...Is something particularly
interesting, or are you lot just being rude?"
Jonny Flynn snorted. "Do you guys actually believe that crap? Do you think she actually can do that?"
He gave a rather disbelieving snicker and shook his head.
Fi's heart was beating faster than usual. "What d'you mean?" Did they know? How could they know? HOW?
Mary O'Connell stepped forward. "So is it true?"
"Is what true?" Now she was starting to get cold all over. This couldn't be good...How could they know?
Mary gave her an exhasperated look. "Look, don't pretend. We all know you are."
"What..." Fi protested in a whisper, not really asking anymore.
"A Faery-speaker." Fiona didn't respond, so Mary pressed on: "Well, are you?"
"I d-don't know--"
"She told us." Jonny jerked a thumb at a small girl with sandy hair and lots of freckles. When she saw
Fiona turn to face her, she cringed.
Fiona crumbled inside. Nuala, the one friend she THOUGHT she'd had...The ONE person she'd ever told...
Had told everyone. Fi swallowed roughly, staring at Nuala with over-bright eyes. "I..."
"She IS!" one girl exclaimed. "Oh, wow..."
"No, she isn't," Jonny said. "That's silly. They're all extinct, remember? Grindelwald killed them
all off in the war!"
"Well, if she is," another boy said, the hint of a somewhat cruel smile tugging at his lips, "then she
should be able to call on the faeries right now. Right?"
"Right," the others chorused, catching on.
Fiona took in the students, gathering in a large circle around her, with fearful eyes. They were going
to make her do it. They would force her...No! No, she'd practiced too much. She'd worked too hard to
keep it under control...She couldn't give them the satisfaction of winning in this...
She yelped as they started to push her back and forth within the circle, laughing cruelly and chanting,
"Call them! Call them!"
She could see the faeries now. They were flitting about the room, unseen by all those who did not wish
to see. The lucky souls.
A few of them fluttered over to her, obviously sensing her distress, as she was pushed roughly about.
One of them, with brilliantly purple hair and orange wings, gave her a somewhat questioning look and
landed briefly on the tip of her nose, falling as she was again shoved.
Tripping over a particularly hard push, Fiona fell to the floor, and the flood of tears she'd been
willing back suddenly broke free, streaming down her cheeks. She covered her tear-streaked face, angry
her mother, for being the faery-speaker she was, angry at the world for having such prejudice for her
kind, angry at whatever divine force had thought it such a joke as to make her inherit it. Anger
coursed through her at such a level that she wasn't able to describe it. It was so liberating, the
anger, and suddenly she was aware that no one was shoving at her any more. In fact, no one was paying
the least bit of attention to her anymore. No, the faeries had seen to that...They'd felt her anger...
Nuala, the traitor, was hanging from the curtain rod by her robes, while Jonny Flynn was fighting off a
quartet of brightly colored, cackling sprites as they worked together to tie his shoelaces together,
yank his hair out, and generally cause him to scream and flail his arms about his head. The other
children in the class were suffering similarly.
And, of course, that was the moment at which the teacher chose to come into the room.
The look on her face as she took in the scene, and the numbness in Fi's brain as the woman cleared the
Faeries with a complicated spell, allowing the other children to point the blame to Fi, was enough to
make her burst into a fresh wave of tears again before running from the classroom.
***(that would be the "end dream" signal. 'kay?)
Fiona awoke, shaking and crying, in the dungeon-esque dormitory of Slytherin. One week after the ordeal,
she'd been expelled from Dublin Academy. At the age of fifteen, she'd allowed herself to lose control
over the one thing she shouldn't ever allow herself to lose control of. And now she might face it again.
"Fi, are you okay?" Lily's voice traveled across the room, sounding groggy.
"Shaddup, you twits." That was Narcissa Mueren.
'Such a LOVELY girl,' Fi thought bitterly, stifling her tears. "No, Lily, I'm fine. Don't worry. Just a
bad dream."
"Sure?"
"Positive."
"I said, SHADDUP!"
Fi threw open the curtains. "And we HEARD you, Narcussus! Honestly..."
"It is NOT Narcissus, you ignorant Mu--" Narcissa abruptly stopped talking. Looking around the curtains,
Fi saw that her throat was working, but no sound was issuing from it. A silvery laugh caught her
attention, and Fi turned to see Lily, twirling her wand idly in her fingers.
Fiona, wiping her tears away, giggled along with Lily. "Thanks."
Narcissa was quite obviously trying to scream at the top of her lungs, and failing. Instead she stomped
her feet loudly on the stone floor, making odd slapping noises. Fiona grinned and climbed back into
bed. After about thirty seconds, the slapping noises were loudly echoing from right next to her
curtains. She heard, over the slapping, Lily's slightly muffled voice. "Narcissa, if you don't get your
foot-slapping little self back in bed, I'll put the body bind on you, too. You know I will."
The slapping noises abruptly stopped, and Fiona grinned into her pillow, exceptionally glad for a friend
like Lily. But could she ever tell her? She had thought she could trust Nuala, and in the end...
She would just have to see what happened. As far as she was concerned at the moment, she was happy with
her friendship as it was. Maybe someday, she would tell Lily, but until then she would just try to keep
herself out of trouble.
A/N: No, this isn't a new part. I just felt like posting all these at once because I have friends at
school that want to read it and it's a real pain to try to track down all of these separate parts. Plus,
I want you readers to know that no, I've not died, I've just had an EXTREME case of writers' block. In
fact, I'm still suffering...
And there's also the fact that there's a companion to this series, written by Ebony Foxfire. Her pen
name used to be "Rhiannon" but she's messing with my mind or something. Plus there are like, five other
Rhiannons. So she's changed it. I will yell at her at school tomorrow; don't worry.
So ANYWAY to prevent confusion, (Before I knew that Her Highness had changed her pen name--I wouldn't
have bothered. It's already confusing.) I thought I ought to organize. I dunno...I felt the need to
utilize my organizational skills (yeah, right...). *shrugs* Here it is, anyway.
Reviews are nice, by the way. I won't beg, but I DO love reviews...
Okay, here's the story. The title's in Gaelic. According to the soundtrack to "The Secret of Roan Inish"
it means, "There is Beauty There."
Okay, I am SERIOUSLY babbling...
Fa A Bhialainn Ann
Chapters 1 & 2
by Veralidaine
Part 1
Fiona McLellan slumped down in her seat on the Hogwarts Express, sighing. This was going to be
an interesting year. She brushed back her wavy hair, dark red-brown in the sunlight from the window.
Suddenly remembering, she waved at her Ma and Da below. They waved back, and Fi felt a slight lurch in
her chest. She would NOT cry...
Gray-blue eyes filled with tears and she quickly rubbed them, hiding it in a yawn. How could this
happen? She knew that the Irish schools for Witchcraft were not nearly as advanced as Hogwarts, but now,
to receive a proper education, she was stuck going to school with those snotty British Prigs. All her
life, when she visited London, all she ever got was funny looks. It was obvious that she was Irish--her
pale skin and dark hair were a clue, but her accent was the dead giveaway.
As if starting a new school in a new country for sixth year wasn't hard enough; she had to be mocked for
being a muggle-born, Irish farm girl. And that was nothing next to her big secrets. When her Ma and Da
had talked to the headmaster, he had confided that they allowed--special cases--like hers. It wasn't
like hers was anything dangerous--well, not really...Just something she could be shunned for life for.
She couldn't help it--it was in her blood. She had no choice in that matter, and if she HAD had a
choice, she would've gotten rid of the dreaded gene as soon as possible.
The train started to pull away from the station. Once more, she rubbed her eyes frantically, sending a
last wave to her parents. They waved back, the platform growing smaller and smaller, and then they were
gone. Fi sighed raggedly. She would NOT cry!
She jumped as the compartment door slid open. A short, slim girl of about her age stood in the doorway,
jade-colored eyes framed by pretty, dark red hair. Next to her was a taller girl, of a more stocky
build, with light brown hair and brown eyes, and lots of freckles. "Oh, we didn't realize this was
occupied..."
The redhead smiled. "Are you new here?"
Fiona, lips sealed, nodded. It made her wince to hear the upper-class accent this redhead sported.
The brunette smiled as well. "Smashing. I'm Annelle Jonson." She had a lower-class accent, maybe
Liverpudlian?
"And I'm Lily Andrews," the redhead smiled. "What's your name?"
Fiona, resigned to her fate (These two seemed so nice; what would they do once they found out she was
what she was?), cleared her throat. "Fiona McLellan," she said, Irish accent sounding dreadfully strong
next to the other girl's high-class British.
The brunette--Annelle, was it?--gave her a funny look for a moment, then said, "Are you...Scottish or
something?"
"No, you prat," Lily said, grinning amiably. "She's Irish! Wonderful, now I have some company! My
Grandparents on Mum's side were from Ireland. I love the way you all talk."
Fiona's pale skin flushed. "Really? I was worried that..."
"We'd shun you or something?" Lily laughed. "Fat chance. I don't shun anyone without a very good reason,
and being Irish isn't on my list."
Annelle grinned. "Mine either. You just took me by surprise-I thought you were British. So, Fiona--"
"Fi."
"-Fi, then. What's Ireland like?"
"Oh, it's wonderful," Fi said softly. "Green and lovely, and the sea is beautiful. I used to go swimming
every day." She stopped herself there, scolding herself for babbling.
"Yeah," Lily said dreamily. "I've never been to Ireland before. James says that-" She stopped abruptly,
blushing, and Annelle laughed loudly.
"James Potter is Lily's--er--love bunny. Yes, I think that's the correct term. I do believe they've
already begun planning their honeymoon." Annelle snickered, then whispered quite audibly, "They even
know what kind of cake they're having at their wedding!"
"I do not!" Lily protested feebly, elbowing Annelle in the ribs.
The compartment door, which had been slid shut a moment before by Annelle, slid open again. Three boys
appeared in the doorway. The tallest, who had dark eyes framed by black hair and a somewhat swarthy
complexion, glanced at Fi and then turned to Annelle, nodding his head at her. "Who's this, then?"
Annelle sighed. "Well, she's right there; why don't you ask her?"
The other boys were staring at her. One of them, with unruly black hair and glasses, gave Lily a
questioning look. She smiled back at him, and Fi had a feeling that this was probably the James Potter
they'd discussed earlier. The last boy, who was standing behind the other two, was taller than James
with dark brown hair and large, brown eyes. He gave Fi a curious stare and, when no one made a move to
introduce themselves, stepped forward, holding out a hand for her to shake. "Hi. I'm Remus Lupin."
The tallest stepped up next to him, grinning broadly. "I'm Sirius Black."
Finally, the one who Lily had guessed was James stepped forward. Sure enough: "I'm James Potter. Good to
meet you...er..."
"Fiona--call me Fi," Fi said warmly, forgetting her shame over her accent.
Sirius broke into a grin again--he seemed to do that a lot. "Are you Irish?"
Fi nodded shyly. "Aye."
James smiled warmly. "Well, welcome to England, then. Is it much different here?"
Fi nodded, sighing deeply. "Much. Everyone stares when they hear me talk, and not to mention I'm Muggle-
born, so I get enough trouble as i'tis."
Lily shook her head. "I'm Muggle-born. Don't let it worry you."
Sirius nodded vigorously. "Yeah. So, what house are you in?"
"Well, I don't quite know yet," Fi responded. "I hope I end up in Gryffindor, though Ravenclaw doesn't
sound bad."
Lily nodded. "You don't want Slytherin, though. Trust me."
Everything became silent and James put an arm around Lily's shoulders. Lily cleared her throat. "I'm in
Slytherin."
Fi tried not to look as surprised as she felt. Her? A SLYTHERIN? Fi had heard--to put it lightly--
interesting information about Slytherin house.
Remus cleared his throat, obviously eager to change the subject. "So, ah...D'you mind us sitting
with you, Fi?"
"Not at all," Fi replied, scooting over so that the others could squeeze in--Remus next to her, Sirius
on his other side, and across from them Annelle, then Lily and James. Their discussion wandered from
subject to subject over the next few hours, finally stopping as the conductor announced that they had
arrived.
***
Fi pulled on her Hogwarts robes and nervously managed to get off the train and to the school. As she
gawked at the beautiful and gigantic entrance hall, a boy shoved past her, pushing her forcefully into
the wall. She turned, furious, and brought her hands for one moment before quickly putting them back at
her sides. She wouldn't get herself expelled here...Not for that--not like last time.
Instead she called after the boy. "Oi, you!"
A pale boy who looked about her age turned around and glared. "Yeah?"
"You near gave me a concussion-aren't you going to apologize?"
The boy gave her a moment's stare, then burst out laughing. "Hey, Severus! Aaron! Come listen to this
wench!"
Two other boys strolled over casually. One of them was much, much taller than Fiona and had greasy black
hair and a hooked nose. Black eyes flashed threateningly first at her, then to the pale boy, who was
still laughing. The other had a rather flat face, sort of like a pug dog, and was surveying her through
small blue eyes with the utmost revulsion. "What's so interesting, Lucious?"
"Would you repeat that?" the pale one-apparently called Lucious-managed to gasp out between sneering
laughter.
"I said," Fi growled, "Apologize. You knocked me right into that wall and it hurt. Apologize now."
Pug-Face laughed loudly. "Ha! So, not only do they now allow Mudbloods in now, but Irish Mudbloods!
That's a laugh!"
Fi was near exploding. She could see them now--her magic was stirred up. Pinpricks of light, buzzing
about. One flew in close and she saw its minute little blue eyes under silvery curls, then it flitted
away again with a flick of its blue-silver wings. She could call on the faeries-she could. She could
make them teach these boys a lesson they'd never forget...just like last time...but she wasn't even
sorted yet and she'd be expelled. No, she wouldn't do it. She'd stand her ground.
The boy with the hooked nose rolled his eyes and sighed witheringly. "Yes, yes. That's hilarious. Can we
leave now? I'm starved."
Lucious, who was wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, nodded. "Yes, let's."
Fi wasn't going to leave it at that. She wouldn't. It was stupid, but she couldn't help it. "You whisht,
you old...you...." Unable to put it the way she wanted to in English, she converted to spouting every
Gaelic insult she knew at this foul boy and his friends. When she'd learned it for fun back at home,
she'd never realized how easily she could express herself in another language.
He turned around. The two other boys-Pug Face and the one who was hungry-looked confused. Lucious walked
swiftly back to her and pinned her against the wall. "Listen up real close, wench. I will not tolerate
that kind of disrespect. Malfoys do not EVER tolerate that sort of disrespect. You watch yourself."
Fi met his glare squarely. "You watch YOURSELF, Mister Malfoy. It's not a good idea to go making enemies
with those whose powers you don't know yet." With that she brought her hands up and pushed him away as
quickly as possible. Then she turned a corner and ran as fast as she possibly could--which wasn't very
fast. She turned another corner and ran headlong into someone.
"Whoa! Watch where you're--Fiona?"
She looked up and saw Remus staring curiously down at her--she'd fallen to the floor.
"I'm sorry," he said earnestly, offering her a hand up and pulling her to her feet. "What were you--"
Lucious and the other boys came hurtling around the corner. "Out of the way, beast!" he shouted. "She's
fair game!"
"No, she's not," Remus replied calmly, ignoring the inquiring glance Fi had given at his being called
"beast" for some reason. "Actually, Professor Dumbledore couldn't find her and sent me to look for her.
I take it you're responsible for making her late? Shall I tell him that?"
The hooked nose boy turned, glaring mutinously, and walked towards the Great Hall. The pug-faced one
followed, scowling. Lucious still stood, glowering at the two of them. Remus sighed deeply. "Get a move
on, Malfoy. I've no patience tonight. You've already lost five points from Slytherin for causing this
young lady trouble on her first evening here." He fingered the prefect badge on his chest. "Now--d'you
mind?"
"You watch yourself, Lupin. And you, wench!"
Fiona, still panting from her run, muttered a very nasty insult under her breath and turned to walk with
Remus. He didn't say anything for a moment. Fiona sighed. "Thank you. They would've caught me."
He laughed quietly. "Oh, not a problem. I'm impressed. It took me a whole hour to decide Lucious and I
were enemies--on the Hogwarts Express, you see. Took you fifteen minutes. Well, here we are," he said,
stopping in front of a large door. "This is it. You go in, wait until Professor Flitwick calls you, and
then go put on the Sorting Hat. Hope you end up in Gryffindor." He gave her a smile. "Then you won't
have to deal with those twits."
She grinned and entered, standing in front of a whole hall of students. Every eye in the Great Hall was
on her--and there must have been hundreds of people there. She looked and saw Sirius waving and Remus
smiling. James was also smiling, but he was a tad preoccupied staring at Lily, who was also waving. Too
soon for her taste, she heard a squeaky voice say, "And now, we have a transfer student from Dublin
Wizarding Academy--McLellan, Fiona."
Feeling a tad braver, Fi sat on the small stool and jammed the hat over her head.
***
Part 2
***
Dear Ma and Da,
Life in England isn't as bad as I made it out to be. Mind, there are the occasional prats who get on my
nerves, but so did Jonny Flynn, back home, so I guess that's normal. I've met some very nice people, but
I'm only able to see one of them regularly. Her name's Lily, and she's in my house--Slytherin. Granted,
I'm not too happy to be here, but I guess I'll get used to it. Eventually.
That's about it. Life's not too interesting so far. The sixth years have organized a Halloween dance,
but I don't think I'll go. Ma, don't chide me for being anti-social, please. I may go, if Lily wants me
to. Well, I miss you and love you both. Dunk Liam in the well for me!
Love from Fi
Fiona re-read her letter and, nodding approvingly, folded it and handed it to her small, brown barn owl.
"Here, Snitch, take this to Ma and Da, please." The owl gave her a look, and she sighed. "Yes, I'll
write to Liam as well. Honestly--am I required to keep in touch with younger siblings?"
Snitch gave her wrist an affectionate nip, then flapped out of the open window. Fiona sighed and rested
her chin on her hands, gazing across the nighttime grounds. WHY had she ended up in Slytherin? Of all
places! Well, at least she was with Lily. That was a plus.
On the other hand, Lucious Malfoy, Aaron (Pug-Face) Parkinson, and Severus Snape were really getting on
her nerves. They couldn't understand how someone like her got into Slytherin.
And, honestly, neither could Fi. Occasionally, she thought it might be her bloodline, but that didn't
necessarily confine a person to being evil! Well, not unless they WANTED to be...In which case, they
could be VERY dangerous...
Blowing a stray lock of brown hair from her face, she stopped gazing out the window and checked her
Potions homework. Professor Blasphen, who normally favored Slytherin students, was quite harsh with her.
Fiona had always been the "smart kid" in her other schools, and had always been excellent at all of her
subjects. She made straight A's, or an occasional B. And Hogwarts had hit hard. Transfiguration had been
particularly tough, as she hadn't ever been very good at it in the first place. Potions, which had
always been somewhat simple for her, had turned out to be her worst subject yet. On the most recent
project, an antidote for Love Potion, she had botched it badly enough to receive a D from the Professor,
a record for any Slytherin. Lily had convinced her that her grade would improve, once she settled in and
managed to "get into the swing of things." Fiona wasn't so sure, somehow.
The events that had taken place at her last school, the day she was expelled, were enough to make Fi
wonder if she'd ever get through school. Though her mother had told her not to worry herself over it,
that she'd just lost control, Fi couldn't help but hate herself for it. Why, oh why did it have to be in
her blood? Why did she have to inherit it? Couldn't Liam have inherited it? She stopped herself there,
grimacing as she thought of what Liam would do with her powers.
Sighing loudly again, she stuffed her checked and re-checked homework into her schoolbag, then stripped
off her dressing gown and allowed herself to fall into bed. She lay there, tossing and turning for what
seemed like hours, until she finally felt herself drifting off to sleep, though rather fitfully.
***(A/N: that means a dream, 'kay? Just so you're not confused...I cannot do italics...I've tried...)
Fiona walked into the small classroom, surprised as everyone shrank away from her, as though afraid of
catching some sort of disease. Casting those nearest to her a quizzical glance, she set her books down
on her desk and remained standing. Softly, she cleared her throat. "Uhm...Is something particularly
interesting, or are you lot just being rude?"
Jonny Flynn snorted. "Do you guys actually believe that crap? Do you think she actually can do that?"
He gave a rather disbelieving snicker and shook his head.
Fi's heart was beating faster than usual. "What d'you mean?" Did they know? How could they know? HOW?
Mary O'Connell stepped forward. "So is it true?"
"Is what true?" Now she was starting to get cold all over. This couldn't be good...How could they know?
Mary gave her an exhasperated look. "Look, don't pretend. We all know you are."
"What..." Fi protested in a whisper, not really asking anymore.
"A Faery-speaker." Fiona didn't respond, so Mary pressed on: "Well, are you?"
"I d-don't know--"
"She told us." Jonny jerked a thumb at a small girl with sandy hair and lots of freckles. When she saw
Fiona turn to face her, she cringed.
Fiona crumbled inside. Nuala, the one friend she THOUGHT she'd had...The ONE person she'd ever told...
Had told everyone. Fi swallowed roughly, staring at Nuala with over-bright eyes. "I..."
"She IS!" one girl exclaimed. "Oh, wow..."
"No, she isn't," Jonny said. "That's silly. They're all extinct, remember? Grindelwald killed them
all off in the war!"
"Well, if she is," another boy said, the hint of a somewhat cruel smile tugging at his lips, "then she
should be able to call on the faeries right now. Right?"
"Right," the others chorused, catching on.
Fiona took in the students, gathering in a large circle around her, with fearful eyes. They were going
to make her do it. They would force her...No! No, she'd practiced too much. She'd worked too hard to
keep it under control...She couldn't give them the satisfaction of winning in this...
She yelped as they started to push her back and forth within the circle, laughing cruelly and chanting,
"Call them! Call them!"
She could see the faeries now. They were flitting about the room, unseen by all those who did not wish
to see. The lucky souls.
A few of them fluttered over to her, obviously sensing her distress, as she was pushed roughly about.
One of them, with brilliantly purple hair and orange wings, gave her a somewhat questioning look and
landed briefly on the tip of her nose, falling as she was again shoved.
Tripping over a particularly hard push, Fiona fell to the floor, and the flood of tears she'd been
willing back suddenly broke free, streaming down her cheeks. She covered her tear-streaked face, angry
her mother, for being the faery-speaker she was, angry at the world for having such prejudice for her
kind, angry at whatever divine force had thought it such a joke as to make her inherit it. Anger
coursed through her at such a level that she wasn't able to describe it. It was so liberating, the
anger, and suddenly she was aware that no one was shoving at her any more. In fact, no one was paying
the least bit of attention to her anymore. No, the faeries had seen to that...They'd felt her anger...
Nuala, the traitor, was hanging from the curtain rod by her robes, while Jonny Flynn was fighting off a
quartet of brightly colored, cackling sprites as they worked together to tie his shoelaces together,
yank his hair out, and generally cause him to scream and flail his arms about his head. The other
children in the class were suffering similarly.
And, of course, that was the moment at which the teacher chose to come into the room.
The look on her face as she took in the scene, and the numbness in Fi's brain as the woman cleared the
Faeries with a complicated spell, allowing the other children to point the blame to Fi, was enough to
make her burst into a fresh wave of tears again before running from the classroom.
***(that would be the "end dream" signal. 'kay?)
Fiona awoke, shaking and crying, in the dungeon-esque dormitory of Slytherin. One week after the ordeal,
she'd been expelled from Dublin Academy. At the age of fifteen, she'd allowed herself to lose control
over the one thing she shouldn't ever allow herself to lose control of. And now she might face it again.
"Fi, are you okay?" Lily's voice traveled across the room, sounding groggy.
"Shaddup, you twits." That was Narcissa Mueren.
'Such a LOVELY girl,' Fi thought bitterly, stifling her tears. "No, Lily, I'm fine. Don't worry. Just a
bad dream."
"Sure?"
"Positive."
"I said, SHADDUP!"
Fi threw open the curtains. "And we HEARD you, Narcussus! Honestly..."
"It is NOT Narcissus, you ignorant Mu--" Narcissa abruptly stopped talking. Looking around the curtains,
Fi saw that her throat was working, but no sound was issuing from it. A silvery laugh caught her
attention, and Fi turned to see Lily, twirling her wand idly in her fingers.
Fiona, wiping her tears away, giggled along with Lily. "Thanks."
Narcissa was quite obviously trying to scream at the top of her lungs, and failing. Instead she stomped
her feet loudly on the stone floor, making odd slapping noises. Fiona grinned and climbed back into
bed. After about thirty seconds, the slapping noises were loudly echoing from right next to her
curtains. She heard, over the slapping, Lily's slightly muffled voice. "Narcissa, if you don't get your
foot-slapping little self back in bed, I'll put the body bind on you, too. You know I will."
The slapping noises abruptly stopped, and Fiona grinned into her pillow, exceptionally glad for a friend
like Lily. But could she ever tell her? She had thought she could trust Nuala, and in the end...
She would just have to see what happened. As far as she was concerned at the moment, she was happy with
her friendship as it was. Maybe someday, she would tell Lily, but until then she would just try to keep
herself out of trouble.