The Firetah

(part seven)

Anchoret meets her roomates...

I walked up to the portrait of the Fat Lady and said," Inferno." How appropriate...I laughed to myself. As I climbed through the portrait hole I had nothing on my mind but sleep. It had been a long day, and I was exhausted. As soon as I stepped inside, however, I stopped and stared. The room was deserted, but I felt something almost like a presence, a spirit. I looked around, and my sleepiness melted away. I knew what it was. This room feels like...home.

Big, cushy chairs were artfully placed in front of a faintly glowing fire. Red, deep carpeting covered the floor, and there were round, smooth tables scattered about. It was like a warm blanket had been draped over my shoulders. Not that my home life had been bad. But, knowingly or not, I had been waiting to come to Hogwarts all my life. I smiled and walked across the room to sit in a chair. I had a feeling that I had lucked out as far as accommodations went. The Slytherin common room was probably far less cozy. I stared into the fire for quite some time, feeling it's familiar warmth wash over me, competing with the fire that was me. I looked down at my hands, so pale, so small. I am actually made of fire, I thought with wonder, but it never showed. My skin was pale, and glowed like snow does in moonlight...except for my eyes. I knew they looked cold, but when I was feeling particularly emotional I couldn't hide the flames that danced within them. My disguise would work only if I kept myself under control. My parents would look at me sometimes and I could see that they were frightened, in spite of everything, when they looked into my eyes of fire. This was something I had long ago learned to deal with. But I couldn't help the fact that it still hurt.

I sat for a few more minutes and presently heard, "Shush, can't you see that I'm studying!" From somewhere above me. This was followed by, "Hermione, you are such a drag sometimes, lighten up!" I guessed that these were my roommates. Oh joy. I knew Hermione from dinner, but the other two girls I hadn't seen. I might as well get it over with...

I went up the stairs and stood in front of the door. The dynamic duo was still giggling. I pushed open the door and stepped inside.

*******

Hermione Granger had always considered herself to be above gaping and staring at people, but gape and stare she did when Anchoret walked into her room. There was utter silence. Parvati and Lavender were staring speechless at the girl, and Hermione realized that she was doing the same thing, so she shut her mouth and said, "Oh, Anchoret, I was wondering when you'd get in! Your stuff's already in here." She pointed over to the new bed and Anchoret's trunk. "Welcome to Gryffindor."



Lavender and Parvati were both extremely interested in Anchoret and all of her possessions. They stood over her like children while she unpacked. "Ooh, what's this?" and, "How cool!" Punctuated the room for several minutes. Hermione was therefore extremely glad when they decided to retire to the washroom for something called "nightly cleansing masks". They invited Anchoret but she declined, to the girls' obvious disappointment. Hermione was a curious sort of person, though, and was happy at the opportunity to speak with Anchoret. She didn't want Lavender and Parvati to ask her anyway.

She put down her textbook and looked at the girl for several moments until Anchoret looked back and said, "What's up?" This broke the tension, and Hermione knew that she'd made a new and highly unusual friend. She felt so comfortable with the girl that she began asking her questions about where she came from, and why she was here so late. "I mean, why didn't you start at eleven, like the rest of us?" Anchoret looked at Hermione and said, "That is one question you may never ask me, Hermione," with a soft look on her face. Hermione decided not to press the matter. She wondered, though, if this was going to be Anchoret's standard answer. If it was, she would soon find that there were people that just wouldn't be satisfied by it. If she didn't want people to know, then she would have to make up a story. Hermione decided to go right ahead and tell her. "Anchoret, you'll have to do better than that if you want to put off people's questions. Perhaps you'd better think up a story to tell them?"

"You're right, Hermione. I'll tell them that I was...sickly. So I couldn't come to school until I was well. I'll tell them that during this period, I was, er, homeschooled by my parents. That sound alright to you?" she asked. "Yeah, that sounds about right," said Hermione. They looked at each other and laughed.

"So what is this, Anchoret?" asked Hermione a few minutes later, having just picked up a small, shiny disk about the size of a coin. Anchoret took the object from Hermione gently. "That's something that helps me to calm down. I have a bit of a temper, you see, and this is so cool and smooth that all I have to do is hold it and I begin to grow calm," said Anchoret, lovingly holding the thing in her white hand. Hermione was a very tactful girl, so she bit her tongue. Curiosity was dangerous in some circumstances, and if Anchoret didn't want to divulge her secrets she wouldn't. Hermione saw that it would be at her peril to press when Anchoret didn't want to confide something. She changed the subject out of long practice at dealing with hotheads, (namely one particularly endearing redhead.) "I could, you know, show you around and stuff, if you want. You could hang out with my friends and I..." Hermione bit her lip and waited.

"Sure, Hermione. That would be great... if your friends aren't Lavander and Parvati." Hermione laughed and whispered, "Heavens no!" Anchoret said, "Good," then climbed into bed. "Goodnight, Hermione."

"Goodnight, Anchoret," came the reply from the bed across the room. A few minutes later Parvati and Lavender returned and pulled the curtains on their beds, and all was finally quiet in Gryffindor Tower.

Behind the scarlet velvet of her bed curtain, Anchoret's eyes burned brightly.

And she smiled.