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Chapter eight: The Letter

The first afternoon Jordan spent with the Gryffindors, Harry and Ron walked into the library to finish up their Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. There new teacher was very knowledgeable, but less hands on than Lupin had been or for that matter, Mad Eye Moody. He was more interested in having them know the information and write it down than actually seeing them do it.

"I wish Lupin was still here," Ron commented as they sat down at one of the tables. "Defense Against the Dark Arts is starting to get boring. I think I would even prefer Mad Eye Moody to Mr. Labermoor.

"I wouldn't," Harry said plainly.

Harry heard a giggle from the other side of the room and looked up to see who it was. His eyes fell on Hermione and Jordan sitting at a table with there seemingly forgotten books spread all over the table. Harry smiled to himself. He was glad Jordan had begun to fit in so quickly. She and Hermione must have been having a lot of fun if Hermione had forgotten about their homework.

The librarian walked by the two girls, giving a little speech about discipline. Jordan looked down and said in a calm voice

"Yes Madam Pince," a devilish grin playing across her face.

In a moment she and Hermione were back to disturbing the rest of the library.

"Yes I do love music," Jordan exclaimed " but there don't seem to be any instruments around here and I don't have time for it anyway. Besides the only songs I know are muggle songs."

"I like music too, but I'm no good at it," Hermione responded loudly.

"Oh, you cant be too bad," Jordan said, laughing.

"Yes I can!" Hermione almost yelled.

Harry remembered the way Jordan had made him laugh so hard that day on the way to potions. She seemed to have a tendency to make any situation humorous. Despite, their frequent distractions, Jordan was improving in her classes. Harry was taken back one day in transfiguration when professor Mcgonagle asked someone to give an example of changing a cricket into a parakeet.

"Can anyone besides Ms. Granger manage this?" she said exasperated.

There was no answer from the class. Out of the corner of his eye, harry saw a slow movement from the chair next to Ron's. Jordan had raised her hand.

"Yes, Ms. McNeil," said Professor Mcgonagl.

"I…uh…I would like to try," Jordan stammered in a quiet voice.

"Well then by all means, do," Professor Mcgonagl said in a surprised voice.

Jordan got up noisily from her seat. She walked to the table in the front of the room with the cricket sitting on it. She removed the jar that was holding it inside. She gave a wave of her wand as if to loosen up and the end sparked and sizzled in disagreement. She winced. Her wand was always giving her trouble, but she seemed to put that aside for the moment.

"alavar, changes meet, and turn this cricket to a parakeet!" she said. With a swish of her wand there was no longer a cricket, but a little yellow crowned bird sitting on the desk. Hermione flashed her a smile and giggled at the stunned look playing across the faces of the students and the professor.

"Thank you Ms. McNeil," said Professor Mcgonagl, collecting herself.

Jordan gave a slight nod and went back to her seat. Things like this began to happen more often in many different classes. Jordan was finally catching up with the gang.

One morning the whole group of friends( Harry Ron Hermione and Jordan) were sitting down to eat breakfast when hundreds of owls swooped in the doors carrying letters for the students. Harry received a letter from Sirius saying he had found a good place to hide for a while, but he would not disclose it in the letter. Ron's letter was from his mother saying he could stay at Hogwarts for Christmas which was coming up. Hermione was warned by her parents that chocolate frogs were going to rot her teeth and that she could also stay for Christmas. Jordan got the usual letter from her mother saying how she was very missed and very loved and everyone was very proud of her etc. In addition, she received a small slip of paper that was slipped into a light blue envelope. Jordan pulled it out and began to read to herself.

Jordan-

I'm pleased to find that you are making friends and improving in your classes. I have been aware for some time that you enjoy listening to and writing music. It is a pity that you have had no instruments or time to improve in this area. However, I believe that if you were to spend some time down by the dungeons you might find a suit of armor that may interest you. Merry Christmas!

Jordan looked up, and glanced around the Gryffindor table. No one paid any attention to her except Fred Weasly who asked her with a laugh what she was staring at and if he had grown a third eye to please inform him. Jordan looked away feeling ashamed. Her eyes fell on the staff table and onto Dumbledor who gave here a little wink and a smile with his eyes, before continuing with his breakfast.

That evening while Hermione was doing her homework and Ron and Harry were playing an intense game of wizard chess, Jordan decided it was the perfect time to slip away unnoticed. She stepped out into the Hall and made her way to the dungeons.

She had never seen an unusual suit of armor on the way to Potions, so It must be somewhere past that. There were suits of armor, but they were all alike. Jordan didn't think it could be one of these. On the contrary, if it was connected with something secret, it probably would blend in. She spent the whole evening go over all the suits of armor and finding nothing special about them.

She began to look over the last suit one more time. Gradually a strange sensation came over her. She looked over her shoulder to see Mrs. Noris, Filch's cat racing off in the other direction. Jordan ran for it. She new that within minutes Filch would be appearing in that same spot, and she would probably serve a detention for it. Detention here, was nothing like detention at home. It was much worse. And what's more, she would probably loose a good deal of points from the Gryffindor House for sneaking around. She didn't want them to be mad at her. She would gladly go through hundreds of detentions if it meant that the Gryffindors wouldn't be mad at her. But of course it didn't mean that. It just meant she would have to go through hundreds of detentions, so she knew she had to get back to the Gryffindor common room at the speed of light. And that she did. She sped down the hallways, for once not tripping over her own feet. She sailed over the flights of steps, each leap putting nearly five steps behind her.

She reached the Portrait hole at the perfectly wrong time. Snape was walking by at that exact moment. She slowed her gait to a stroll and controlled her uneven breathing.

"What are you doing wandering around the halls this late McNeil," came Snape's cold dark voice.

"I was just heading for my house common room," Jordan said.

"Why aren't you in there right now?" he persisted.

"You see one of the teachers asked me to do a little extra work out side of my books. It was part of my extra tutoring," she responded in what she hoped was mock truthfulness.

"Yes, your extra tutoring," Snape said. The way he way he over ununciated all the concenants showed how much he didn't approve of this. "Get yourself into your common room right away, Miss McNeil, before I have to start taking away points."

"Yes professor," she mumbled as she walked away quickly.

Once in the common room, her thoughts went back to the letter and the unknown suit of armor. Maybe Dumbledor hadn't sent the letter. Could it be that she had just imagined Dumbledor winking at her. She decided that she should ask the most knowledgeable mischief makers at Hogwarts, Fred and George Weasly. They were sitting in one corner of the common room, probably up to no good. She figured it was better to confront them alone, so she went ahead and asked them right there.

"hey, guys. You wouldn't happen to know of any, uh, different suits of armor lying around this place would you?" she asked awkwardly.

Their eyes lit up.

"We know about a lot of different stuff around this place," they said together.

"But, your looking for a suit of armor in particular?" George asked.

"ya."

"Well, there is one on the second floor who threatens to cut you into pieces if you come to close," Fred commented.

"Is there anything unusual in the dungeons?" she tried.

"You mean, besides Snape?" Fred asked.

"What are you getting at?" George asked half suspiciously. " I mean, we won't ask if you don't want to tell…"

Jordan could hear the pleading in his voice. Should she tell them what she was up to? No, she didn't have enough information yet, and if Dumbledor had sent the letter, he probably meant it to be for her, and not every student in the school. Jordan decided to let them dangle. It was much more fun that way. The twins sensed that she wasn't going to tell them anything.

"There are some passage ways in the dungeons that lead to different parts of the school, but that's about it," said Fred. " but if we find anything 'unusual' we'll let you know."

It looked like Jordan was just going to have to figure this one out on her own. However, it turned out the exact opposite. Jordan was on her way to potions the next day with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They were trying to decide who should be partners with who.

"Jordan, I think you should work with me, because Snape is bound find something wrong with my potion, and yours are always right. You know, so when he tries to poison you with it, it does what its supposed to." Ron suggested.

"Oh believe me," Jordan answered " he finds plenty wrong with my potions."

"But Ron's right, they still do what there supposed to and no one dies or turns blue or anything," Harry added.

"True," Jordan gave in "Ok, Ron, You work with me, and Harry and Hermione work together. That way there won't be anything wrong with anyone's potions."

The plane they devised worked, because Snape didn't attempt to harm anyone with the potions because he would surely loose the fight. Again, he did tell Jordan she had to sit outside for the rest of the period because he didn't want her disturbing the class. Like drawing on herself was really disturbing, right. Oh well, there was obviously something wrong with his brain, so she didn't challenge the decision. Reason didn't mean anything to Snape. The mind was unable to comprehend it.

Jordan slumped down in a corner of the dungeons and waited for the end of the period. Out of no where two ice cold hands fastened themselves around her waist. She was lifted up like a child and placed upright on her feet. The hands proceeded to twist her in their direction. Jordan found herself staring up at an old rusty suit of armor that was standing tall and proud with its sword pointed at her chin. It began to sing her a little ryhme.

"Behind me lie the places of which you wish to go,

Yet you are standing here as if you do not know,

So tell me of your story, if you would like to continue

But if you want to get inside, you must bring it from within you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!" she said, stunned.

"Your silly words do not make me grin,

And I told you to bring it from within," the armor responed in an annoyed, but still sing song voice.

Jordan not sure of what else to do, responded in the same way, singing a tune with her words.

"Professor Snape has made me leave his class,

And I'm uncomfortable talking to rusting pieces of junk,

So Damn it, let me pass!"

At this, the suit of armor let down its sword and moved aside to reveal a tall narrow opening in the wall. Jordan was unsure of what to do. She really wasn't as brave as she would like to be. If she were Harry or Hermione or Ron, she would walk right in. But she wasn't them and she wasn't as brave as them. She didn't know what sort of magical things she could trust and which might lead her to danger. The armor stood waiting at the side of the entrance. Scared out of her mind, Jordan stepped into the dark closterphobic tunnel. She heard the armor move back into place behind her. There was not light, so becoming increasingly scared, she stumbled over the uneven stone floor for what seemed like an hour. Finally, from fare ahead of her, she could see a tiny bit of light coming down the tunnel. She ran to it and it became more intense by the second. She was almost completely into the light when the passage stopped and she almost fell around the corner of the wall. The armor was right. This was where she had wanted to go.

Before her, basking in the dusty light, cascading down through several window shafts like a waterfall, were an uncountable number of different instruments. Some she had never seen before, others she was very familiar with. She began to walk around to see and touch all the magnificance before her in a sort of daze. She forgot her worry in the tunnel and how terrified she was when the armor had moved in behind her. One of the instruments was like a flat harp that lay on the ground, a pick woven in between the strings. There was an old dusty guitar leaning against the wall. Propped up on an old dark stained shelf lay several very old, very beautiful violins. It was easy to see they were very fine and made with great care. In one corner was massive grand piano. She had seen a lot of pianos in her life but she didn't recognize the brand labeled on the front.

"Wow," she exclaimed.

At the sound of her voice all the instruments screeched out a note that completely didn't agree with the one being played next to it, until the echo of her words had completely died away. Jordan almost leapt into the air she was so startled. She put her hands to her heart and breathed out a sigh of relief. So these instruments were magical. That should have been a no brainer. No wonder she didn't recognize what kind of piano it was. Then, she had an idea. She sang out one clear not as long as she could, and listened. Every instrument in the room agreed, and mimmicked her. A smile spread across her face. "oh, thank you Dumbledor, thank you!". She went to the piano and began to play. All the instruments played along with it. Then she pointed at one of the violins with her wand and began to sing the song. When she broke off, she kept her wand up and it continued on without her. She began to sing a different part. The violin kept on playing. She put her wand back down at her side but thought "keep going, the song isn't over yet." It kept on playing. The instruments could read her thoughts. They knew what she wanted. This was the most amazing discovery she had made at Hogwarts all year. Out of no where the thought came to her that potions was probably getting out about now and she would have to meet her friends. She turned and left the room hoping that potions wasn't over yet, so no one would catch her sneaking out of the room. She was no longer worried about getting back out past the armor.

When she came to the end of the passage, she sang the armor a little tune about how much fun she had had, and it opened instantly. Luckily, potions hadn't gotten out yet, but she wasn't a moment to soon. In about one minute the students streamed out the door. She met up with her friends.

"So what did you do for the last forty-five minutes," Harry asked.

"Nothing much," Jordan responded.

"Well, no one died off our potion, Jordan,"

"Oh, that's just lovely," she commented "Did anyone turn blue?"

"I'm afraid not," said Hermione with a laugh.