Chapter Two: The Beginning
-The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
"This is so pointless!" Kaleb slammed her History of Magic book on the Gryffindor Common Room table she was working at. "Why do they have to assign homework on a Friday night and then have it due Monday? I know the professors all know I'm behind in many of their classes. Ah! They're conspiring against me. I bet they have little meetings dedicated solely for me." She smiled widely looking flattered. "Ooh, I'll show them. Maybe a nice Color Charm or a little Banner Hexing. Decisions, decisions."
Fred and George exchanged glances and grinned.
"You think everyone is conspiring against you," Fred said casually, reaching over for some more parchment. He had finished his History of Magic homework two days before.
"Well who do you suppose started that hmm?" She gave them a pointed look before sighing heavily; glancing at the book she had abused moments before.
Fred, George and Kaleb had met at the early age of three. Being neighbors and coming from wizard bloodlines had always been huge factors in their friendship, but what sparked it most was their identical knack for jokes and trickery. Ever since Kaleb had handed Fred a tissue and he walked off with blotchy 'K' shaped dots all over his face, there had been a constant war of pranks between them all. Although they were as close as imaginable, there had anyways been an issue of trust. Who knew when a frog would appear in a slipper, or when you found out far to late that your hair had turned a horrible shade of booger green? But besides all that, they could depend on each other whenever the need be and that was all that really mattered.
Kaleb was unable to attend Hogwarts for the first six years the school offered. She originally lived in England, but a new job opportunity opened up for her dad, which included quidditch to their children's delight, and she was forced to move. She understood that her family needed the money, having 7 other siblings and all, but that didn't stop her from disagreeing. Coincidently enough, her parents missed the wizarding world they had grew up in and moved back with enough time for Kaleb to receive her green inked envelope inviting her to attend Hogwarts for the final year.
"You know, I really do thinks Binns is out to get me." She took a long worn out piece of parchment from her pocket and scribbled something on it. "He's on my hit list now," she said with a grin.
George just shook his head. "Brilliant idea. Except... how do you plan on killing someone who's already dead?"
"I haven't gotten that far yet," she winked at them both, "Brilliance doesn't come easily."
"Oh," Fred said in a completely innocent tone. "Is that why you haven't gotten it yet?"
She rolled her eyes in response and opened her book once more, settling it in her lap and taking a deep breath when the Head Girl burst into the common.
"All Seventh and Sixth years, listen to me please!" Jade Summers yelled, standing in the middle of the floor, flailing her arms about. "Since someone decided to think it would be funny to send Professor Binns a burning History book, he's decided that instead of the 6 inches that had been assigned originally has been changed to a foot and a half."
Small comments of outrage and groans rumbled here and there. Kaleb was instead focused on her book.
Fred and George stared at her for a moment then turned back around to their own work.
George glanced sideways at his brother. "Did you notice the way Kay's pages were a bit singed?"
Five hours later and having no work done, Kaleb eventually packed up her things and went into the girls' dormitory, History of Magic book in tow.
"You know you're quite a lot of trouble," she said as she crept into bed and propped it up against her legs. "Now… what was it we were doing? Oh… the Trinity. Riiight."
She skimmed over the page clearly titled 'The Chosen Ones'.
It was prophesied long ago by the most genius of wizarding kind that a group of three people would come together and destroy the darkest wizard when the world needed it most. It is said, not proven, that the three are connected by one immensely strong force, unable to be broken by any means. Each one was gifted with different powers. Also, the three, or trinity, are not only connected to each other but also the evil one. Supposedly they can share certain emotions and communicate without using their voices. No more information can be given at this time.
"Odd little legend, aren't you?"
Just as she turned to look for a quill, something in the short paragraph caught her eye. It was changing. The words were suddenly turning darker. No, that wasn't right. A few letters were turning darker. In fact, the letters were spelling:
"Scars? I haven't gotten any. Well, ok the one on my arm but why do you care?" she said to the book. She pulled up her right sleeve to look down at the small scarcely visible lightening shaped scar.
"See?"
But the page had returned to normal.
"Harry… Haaarry… HARRY!" Ron gave his arm a tug and the Boy Who Lived looked at him from across the table.
"What? What is it?"
Ron gave him a pleading look. "I don't understand this. It's all gibberish to me."
Harry turned back to his Transfiguration homework. "Ask Hermione."
"Ah!" Ron looked around desperately half expecting to see Hermione lurking in some kind of shadow. "We're in fight. I can't very well ask her for help unless you want my freckles to be slapped off."
Harry grinned a little at the thought and Ron scowled.
"Help me unless you want your hair beaten into place."
Harry immediately stopped grinning. "All right, all right." He pushed his book aside and pulled Ron's toward him and nearly choked as he looked at the cover. "History of Magic
Ron?" Harry's gaze met an inquiring face.
"I know," Ron replied, sounding conquered and hung his head.
"History of Magic!?" Harry repeated himself and started laughing loudly.
"Yes now BLOODY HELP ME!"
Harry let out a final snicker and a deep breath. "Ok what have we got here… ah The Trinity? You know I don't really understand why we have to do this with the 7th years." Harry's eyes searched the page then looked at Ron. "So… what's the problem?"
He sighed. "I don't understand it, any of it. I mean, how can three people possibly be connected with such a force that it's practically unbreakable and then go off to destroy the darkest wizard in the world." Ron shuddered thinking of the dark wizard of today.
Harry thought for a moment. "Well… you're a wizard."
"Well your bloody brilliant."
Harry looked at him with a small smile. "That's not exactly natural is it? And neither is this. Sometimes, you've just got to accept things as how they are."
Ron nodded and thought about what Harry said and after a few minutes he smiled at the book satisfied.
But Harry instead was staring at the book, his face twisted in horror. Ron peered over his shoulder, glanced at the book and then at Harry.
"Something wrong?"
"Um… no."
But in truth something was wrong. Letters in old textbooks don't change when they felt like it and generally the phrase "scars" didn't stick out like a haystack in a pile of needles.
As much as Harry didn't want to get involved, he knew he did want to. Something was very wrong here and it was in Harry Potter's blood to figure out what that something was.
"This sucks."
"Mmmhmmph. Ay."
"Much."
"Mmmhmmph."
Snort.
Sniffle.
Gurgle.
Hack
Grunt.
Groan.
Slam!
"SHUT YOUR BLOODY MOUTHS! I don't want to HEAR that so I suggest you be quiet before I make you be quiet for a good long time."
Draco straightened out his robes and sat back down, acting like nothing had happened and went back to reading while Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other with blank stares and shrugged, taking up a full minute to understand what Draco had meant before returning to work themselves.
History of Magic homework was such a bore to be doing on a late Friday night, but there was nothing else to entertain them besides tormenting people, but even that too had lost the flare it once held. It had seemed so right to be doing homework, that it was wrong. And Draco never missed the opportunity to be doing the wrong thing.
Like the rest of the 6th and 7th years, Slytherins had no exception in History of Magic homework. For once something academically caught Draco's attention and this myth was it. He enjoyed the adventure and curse, daring and cunning. He took the pleasure in letting his mind wander and pretend that he was one of them. It was like a really good book you can't put down. It was another world away from reality. Draco was interested in the story just as much as it was interested in him.
A small gasp escaped his lips as he turned to the book once more. For there were the bolded letters which instantly captured his eyes and his soul.
Only he knew about the scar on his lower back, lighting shaped and memorable. He cringed. It just didn't make any sense.
But that was only the beginning.
~*~
