A/N: I'm so sorry for the
mess I made of posting this darned thing… you'd think I'd
have it down by now, but NOOOO… There is an explanation. I couldn't
find the chapter breaks in my master copy, so I had to separate it into parts
on the spur of the moment, which is never fun. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Chapter three is coming! Thanx- Nymphean
Chapter 2: Dumbledore's
Message
A
few days before the beginning of the school year, Harry, Ron, and Hermione
received a letter from Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster at Hogwarts. The note, which
came by way of a brown great horned owl, was addressed to all three of them,
and came in a mysterious green envelope. Harry opened the envelope cautiously
and unfolded the parchment inside. In the center of the page were five words;
Place
me on the table.
Harry followed these instructions, and as he smoothed down
the paper, the words disappeared to be replaced by more instructions.
Wave your wand over me
and chant 'apperatius'.
Harry took out his wand and said the charm clearly and quickly.
almost immediately, the words disappeared and the paper began to shimmer. In a
matter of moments, a holographic image of Dumbledore popped up from the paper.
The three young wizards jumped backwards, frightened to see their headmaster
suddenly appearing out of the paper. The image of the silver haired wizard
smiled kindly at them and began to speak.
"Hello,
children. I suppose you are all alarmed to see my image appearing out of
nowhere... do not worry, this is simply a form of post which I am sure you will
not have had any past experience with. I thought I would send you all this
message, to extend my greetings to you and notify you all of some changes and
new developments for the new school year.
First
of all, Harry, I thought you would be happy to know that your godfather,
Sirius, will be staying with us this year, at Hogwarts. We all agree that,
given the current circumstances, it is the safest place that any of us could
choose to stay, especially Sirius. Second, Hermione. It would interest you to
know that Wilson Martin, the boy we had chosen to be Gryffindor prefect this
year, has moved unexpectedly, leaving us without a prefect for your house. I
have decided that, in light of the situation, you are the best candidate for
this position. The owl has your badge. Wear it with pride."
Hermione squealed with delight, holding her hand out to the
owl excitedly. Ron rolled his eyes. His brother Percy had been a prefect in
their first year, and it hadn't been the best time for Ron.
"And
last, but not least, Ron" continued Dumbledore with a twinkle in his holographic eye.
"last year, as you know, was the last year for the three chasers on
Gryffindor's house Quidditch team. I wrote to your brother Charlie, who
has informed me that you are quite the talented Chaser. I would like to offer
my congratulations to you on making the Gryffindor house Quidditch team."
Ron's eyes widened. "Me? On the house
team?" His freckled face broke out into an enormous smile.
Dumbledore's image cleared it's throat.
"And
now, for all of you, I have some interesting news. As you know, we have a new
defense against the dark arts teacher again this year. While I can not tell you
who it is, I CAN tell you that you will find the course most interesting indeed
this year, and that your teacher is closer than you may think. And
no," Dumbledore paused, his mouth curving into a small smile, "
It is not professor Snape, although this teacher is easily as... unusual. I believe you will find her quite
intriguing. That is all. Enjoy the remaining days of your summer, and I look
forward to seeing you soon. Goodbye!" And
with that, Dumbledore's image disappeared, leaving only a blank piece of
parchment behind.
For
a moment, everyone was silent, then they all began to talk at once.
"I'm
on the Quidditch team!" screamed Ron.
"Sirius
is staying at Hogwarts!" Harry exclaimed.
"I'm
a... a prefect!" yelled Hermione. She stared at the silver badge in her
hand, and so did Ron.
"Herm,
um..." he began awkwardly. She laughed.
"I
know what you're worried about, Ron, and don't worry. I won't
turn out like Percy."
Ron
sighed with relief. The three of them were walking into the house when Ron
stopped dead.
"Wait,"
he said, his face falling. "I can't play for the Quidditch
team." Harry blinked.
"What?!
Ron, why not?"
Ron
looked at the ground sulkily. "I don't have a broom, and
there's no way mum and dad can afford one right now."
Hermione
looked desperately at Harry. "Well, you could, um... use a school
broom!" Ron shook his head.
"And
be the only one on the team who doesn't have their own? Well, I guess
riding one of those old junk heaps is better than not playing at all."
Ron tried to put a smile on his face, but the mood was definitely darkened.
They stepped through the front door, and Charlie got up from the kitchen table
to greet them.
"Hi
guys. Was that a letter from Professor Dumbledore?"
Ron
nodded. "Yeah. I'm on the Quidditch team," he announced, his
voice lacking in enthusiasm. Charlie got up and walked over to one of the long
cupboards on the other side of the room.
"Well,
you'll need a good broom," he said, leaning against the cupboard.
Ron made a face.
"It's
no use, mum and dad can't afford it." Charlie winked at Harry and
Hermione.
"Well
then it's just a good idea that I thought to pick one up on my way home
for the summer," he said, opening the cupboard and withdrawing a long,
thin box. "Here, catch," he said, tossing Ron the box. Ron caught
it effortlessly, his mouth open.
"If
this is your idea of a joke..."
Charlie
shook his head. "Naw, I'll leave that to Fred and George," he
said casually. "Well? Go on, open it!"
Ron
pried open the top of the box and slid out a shiny blue handled broom with the
words 'Nimbus 2002' printed on the side.
"It's an older model,"
said Charlie, suddenly looking embarrassed. But Ron looked so happy, he was
unable to speak. After a few minutes, he found his voice again, and, walking
over to his brother, he announced, "It's the best thing
anyone's ever given me." Charlie, who had evidently been taking
lessons from Ginny, turned bright scarlet up to the roots of his hair as he
hugged his brother. After a few awkward moments, Charlie cleared his throat.
"Well?
What are you waiting for? Go try it out!" Ron nodded, grinning.
"What'd
you say, Harry? A game of Quidditch?" Harry shrugged.
"Sure,
why not?" He could use a good match of Quidditch to get rid of some of
his energy. Ron called up the stairs to the other Weasley children and they all
set off for the nearest open field.
*****
Bill,
Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny and Laelyn sat on a large
blanket under the hot summer sun. Having just finished the Quidditch match,
they had decided to eat the picnic lunch they'd brought with them. The
younger wizards were eagerly discussing the beginning of the school year. Ron
was telling the others about Dumbledore's cryptic message regarding the
dark arts teacher. Laelyn's eyes glittered a clear, bright blue as she
laughed heartily.
"If
I were you, I'd stop trying to find out. No one here is going to tell
you." She leaned on Bill's shoulder, the two of them sharing a
secretive look. Ron's eyes narrowed.
"You
mean you know who it is?" He asked. Bill nodded.
"But
we're sworn to secrecy, so don't even try it." Ron groaned.
"Fine,
fine." He looked at Harry. "This teacher'd better be
good!" Bill laughed.
"Trust
me, you won't be disappointed!"
Harry,
Ron and Hermione awoke early on monday morning, anxious to get to Hogwarts and
begin the school year. They arrived at the train station and entered the
porthole that took them to platform 9 3/4, and hundreds of students appeared in
front of a large train with the words "Hogwarts Express" printed on
the side. The three of them boarded the train and found seats in an almost
empty compartment. They heard a loud crash down the aisle from them as they
were sitting down.
"Neville,"
predicted Ron before turning around to greet their accident-prone friend.
Neville smiled up at them from the floor, then dusted himself off, taking his
seat across the aisle from them. They felt the train begin to lurch forward,
and they knew they were on their way to Hogwarts. People were traveling in and
out of the compartment. Harry listened to their conversations as they passed.
One girl, a Slytherin seventh year with long black hair, was discussing the new
dark arts teacher.
"Dumbledore's
notorious for hiring freaks to fill that position," she said snobbily.
"I hear this year he's hired a NYMPH!" Harry frowned angrily.
"Hey!
There's nothing wrong with nymphs!" cried Ron, who had obviously
been listening to the conversation as well. Hermione nodded soundly.
"He's
right, you know. Some nymphs are... mean spirited, but there are lots of good
nymphs too." The black haired girl glared at them.
"Who
asked you, Mudblood?" Ron stood up angrily, turning red to the roots of
his hair. Mudblood was a very horrible name used to describe a witch or wizard
who was born of muggles. Hermione, having not grown up in a magical family, did
not really object to being called this, but Ron was furious on her behalf. He
narrowed his eyes at the black haired girl.
"Nobody
talks about MY girlfriend that way," he growled through his teeth,
"And if you weren't a girl, I would knock you right off this train
and all the way to..."
"Ron
Weasley! Stop this instant!" Everyone leaned into the aisle to see a
small, cloaked figure standing behind the black haired girl. The cloaked person
whipped their hood off, and Ron, Harry and Hermione gasped.
"Laelyn!?"
Cried Hermione, "What are you doing here?" Laelyn opened her mouth
to answer, but Harry beat her to it.
"Don't
you see?" he said to Hermione, almost bursting with excitement. He
pointed to the black haired girl. "She said Dumbledore hired a nymph to
teach defense against the dark arts this year." He turned to Laelyn.
"You're our new dark art's teacher, aren't you?"
Laelyn smiled and nodded.
"You
see now why I couldn't tell you? If you'd known I was going to be
your teacher, I never would have known if you actually liked me or not. You'd
have HAD to treat me with respect."
"Not
necessarily," whispered Ron, causing Harry to laugh and Hermione to
frown.
"I'm
sorry I raised my voice to you, Ron," Laelyn said, seeming genuinely
apologetic, "But you know I had to. It is, after all, my job." She
rolled her crystal blue eyes at this last sentence. Hermione shook her head.
"I
can't believe all this time... I mean, you were with us half the summer,
and NONE of us figured it out..."
Laelyn
bit her lower lip. "Um... well actually... one of you DID know, but I
made them promise not to tell..."
Ron
shook his head. "Harry, how could you not tell us?!" Harry was
about to protest, but Laelyn cut him off. She looked slightly upset.
"It
wasn't Harry, Ron. You three weren't the only Hogwarts students in
that house, you know. You might do well to remember that. Especially you,
Harry." She said to them in a very quiet voice. Ron's mouth hung
open.
"Y-you
mean... GINNY knew? How come she didn't tell me? I'm her older brother..."
Laelyn
shook her head. "You could never have forced it out of her. We traded
secrets. She knew if she told mine, I would be free to tell hers." She
looked pointedly at Harry. Hermione nodded.
"Guess
we can't really blame her." she elbowed Ron, and he shut his mouth
quickly. Laelyn sat down next to Harry.
"I'm
really nervous about teaching you guys," she said suddenly. Harry looked
at her curiously.
"Why?
You've been teaching us stuff all summer, just not in a classroom."
She
chewed on one of her nails, looking smaller than ever. "Well, it's
not necessarily YOU guys, it's everyone else. Especially those
Slytherins... Bill told me all about their house... how it produces all those
dark wizards." She shuddered. "Plus, they don't sound really
nice. And from what I've heard you guys say about that Draco Malfoy... I
just don't know if I'm going to be able to do this."
Hermione
smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry, everyone'll love you.
And who cares about the Slytherins? They won't do anything to you, not at
Hogwarts. You're safe at the school." Ron nodded.
"Hogwarts
is a relatively friendly place. And have you met Dumbledore?"
"Yeah,
he was really nice to me. One of my old teachers referred me to him. I
don't know why he decided to hire me, though... I thought I was too young
for this position!" Ron laughed.
"When
you look at some of the other teachers who've taught that subject, I
think age is the last thing that matters!" The train began to slow down.
"Wow,
we're here already!" exclaimed Hermione. Harry grabbed his carry-on
bag and headed towards the exit with his friends.
They
stepped off the train and into a sea of bodies. Harry heard their friend
Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher and groundskeeper at Hogwarts, yelling
over the voices; "Firs' years, firs' years, over here!"
Harry walked over to Hagrid and tapped his arm. Hagrid was an enormous man, at
least nine feet tall and very broad, with unruly black hair and shiny black
eyes. Most people who didn't know Hagrid well were afraid of him, but
Harry and his friends knew that he wouldn't hurt a fly. The only problem
with Hagrid was that he had a soft spot for large, dangerous, often vicious
magical creatures, such as dragons. He now looked down at Harry and grinned.
"How're
ya, Harry?" Harry said he was fine, and introduced Laelyn, who seemed to
be rather in danger of being trampled. Hagrid greeted her with a long
handshake. She was so tiny that he actually ended up shaking her whole forearm.
Then Hagrid said goodbye to the four of them as he walked with the first years
towards the river which lead into Hogwarts. It was a tradition to take the
first years this way. The older students traveled by coaches, one of which the
four of them piled into. The coach sped away towards Hogwarts. As the school
came into view, Laelyn's face went white with fear.
"I
can't do this," she whispered, grabbing Harry's arm like a
little child. Harry patted her on the top of the head.
"You'll
do fine. I remember when I first came here. I was scared too. But don't
worry, everything'll turn out fine." Laelyn breathed deeply.
"This
place looks much bigger today than it did in the summer."
