"What are you doing? Stop chasing me!" Eliza shrieked hysterically. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest as she stopped running in the middle of the town square.
"You thought you would get away with it," Michael shouted, grabbing her arm. "Did you really think you could kill Mama and Father?"
The town square became unusally silent as the brother and sister fought. Shopkeepers poked their heads out of their doors for a better view. A curious group circled around the Redas siblings.
"I killed them?" Eliza screeched. Her whole body shook angrily.
Michael glared at her with unforgiving eyes. "You're a witch! I saw what you did to them."
An elderly gentlemen by the name of Morris stepped between them. "There, there. What is all of this talk of death?"
Michael's eyes filled with tears. "Our parents are- are dead! Murdered!" The crowd gasped in shock. The Redas family had always been one of the most upstanding families of their small Massachusetts village.
"Murdered?" Morris asked. He was clearly taken aback. Murder was a very rare occurrence in their town.
"She did it!" Michael cried, pointing a finger at his sister. "I saw her. She had a magic wand of some sort. Shot something awful out of it at our poor parents."
The crowd gasped again. Several men wrapped their arms around Eliza and started to lead her away despite her protests. The fate of a suspected witch in 1678 was sealed before her trial.
As she was being led toward the jail, Eliza could be heard screaming, "I will come again."
In her bed in the first years' girls' dormitory in the Gryffindor Tower of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Stacy Arrons woke up shivering.
Stacy pulled her covers closer to herself. She was asleep for about twenty minutes when she had the oddest dream. It had been incredibley realistic. Something about it felt familiar. That was a feeling she had sensed several times since coming to Hogwarts.
Stacy rubbed the spot on her arm where her birthmark was. It had burned furiously while she was asleep. The skin around it still felt hot from being under her blankets.
Stacy sat up and looked around her new bedroom. Her friend Courtney was sound asleep in the bed closest to hers snoring contently. Her other room mates, Jessica, Christine, and Julie, also appeared to be asleep. Stacy sighed and climbed out of bed. She was wide awake now.
The moon shined brightly in the sky as Stacy sat down on the room's window-seat. She studied the outside of the school with amazement. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before.
People back home in Hollywood always said her home was magnificent. In fact, to her mother's delight, it had been featured on a television special about celebrity homes. This place was nothing like her home though. The castle was enormous. Just the thought of trying to find her way around it scared Stacy. And, it had magic and ghosts around every corner. This would be the hardest part for Stacy to get used to, but also the most intriguing.
Her eyes began to feel heavy and Stacy rested her head on top of her arm on the window ledge. She was asleep before her head landed on her arm.
An invisible figure moved cautiously around the bedroom. He watched as she climbed out of her bed and sat down on the window-seat. He stood behind her. Waiting. Finally, Stacy appeared to have fallen back asleep.
Harry Potter pulled his invisible cloak off after scanning the room one more time. All of the girls were in a deep sleep. He reached into his pocket for the charm Hermione had given him. Harry leaned over Stacy and gently touched her arm with the charm. The charm changed from brown to green.
Harry grinned and put it back in his pocket. Hermione had been right. She was the one.
Not that Hermione was ever wrong. She was the best Auror in their age group. Everyone, including Malfoy, admitted it.
Harry covered himself with the cloak once again and left the room quickly. He had two letters which needed to be sent right away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Stacy!" An urgent, extremely persistent voice hissed in her ear for the fifth time. "Stacy! Breakfast began ten minutes ago!"
Stacy yawned and opened her eyes. Courtney was standing over her, already dressed with her Hogwarts' robe on over her jeans and sweater.
"Good morning," Stacy said tiredly as she stood up. Her neck ached. That would be the first and last time she let herself fall asleep on the window-seat.
"Why were you sleeping there?" Courtney asked as she attempted to brush her curls.
"Umm," Stacy stuttered. "I can't remember." She didn't feel like talking about her dream for some reason. "Do you know what our first class is?" Stacy asked, trying to change the subject.
Courtney's face lit up. She grabbed a piece of parchment and handed it to Stacy. "Professor McGonagall brought them around while you were still asleep. We have Herbology with the Slytherins first." Courtney made a face at the mention of the Slytherins.
"They can't all be bad," Stacy remarked. "Justin's nice."
"There has to be an exception every now and then," Courtney said stubbornly.
Stacy decided to drop the subject. She'd learned from Mandy that there was really no point trying to argue with a stubborn person. "Ready?" She asked when Courtney finally gave up trying to control her hair.
Courtney laughed. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Stacy glanced down and blushed. She'd forgotten to change out of her pajamas.
"I'll meet you down there," Courtney called as she left the dormitory.
Stacy could hear her giggling all the way down the hall. She sighed and put on a purple pullover and khakis. It hadn't seemed that funny to her.
The Great Hall was full when Stacy finally managed to find her way down. She had gotten lost within a minute after leaving Gryffindor Tower. Then, she had run into the ghost Peeves. He told her the "right" way to go. She had wandered around helplessly until a Hufflepuff second year pointed her in the right direction.
"Overslept?" Ben asked as soon as she sat down.
"Got lost," Stacy replied. She grabbed the last muffin at their table and put butter on it.
"And overslept," Courtney teased her.
"I don't think Peeves likes me," Stacy commented.
"Peeves doesn't like anyone," Penny remarked as she sat down next to Peter.
"Don't you have any friends your age?" Ben asked. Courtney kicked him under the table.
"Ow!" Ben shouted. He glared at Courtney who gave him her best angelic face.
"Why does Peeves hate everyone?" Peter asked, ignoring the other two.
Penny shrugged. "What classes do you have today?"
Peter pulled his schedule out of his robe pocket. "Herbology with the Slytherins and Potions with the Hufflepuffs."
"They're your teachers." Penny pointed to two men sitting on either side of Harry Potter. "The one on the left is Professor Longbottom. He teaches Herbology. He's a good teacher and nice to everyone. He was a Gryffindor back when Harry Potter went here. The other one is Professor Snape. Whatever you do, don't get on his bad side. You're already on it since you're Gryffindors. He'll make your life here as miserable as possible if he decides he hates you."
The door to the Great Hall opened and Rachel Flowers stormed in.
"Here," Rachel said harshly as she shoved a folded up piece of parchment into Courtney's hand on her way past the Gryffindor table.
"Good morning, Rachel. Sleep well?" Courtney said cheerfully.
Rachel glared at her sister. "Why so nice all of the sudden? What do you want?"
Courtney looked genuinely hurt. "N-nothing."
"Morning, Rach," A Gryffindor boy said happily as he put an arm around her waist.
"Keith!" She exclaimed happily. They sat down together at the other end of the Gryffindor table.
Courtney watched her sister talk excitedly with Keith. "My sister has a boyfriend!" She finally cried out in shock after staring at them for a minute. "Why doesn't anyone tell me these things?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rain fell in sheets as the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years ran across the school lawn to the greenhouses after they had finished breakfast. Stacy was happy to be outside despite the rain. She had always preferred to spend time outdoors. Besides, it would be nearly impossible for her to get lost.
Justin was waiting for them when they reached the greenhouse their class was in. He looked exhausted.
"Are you okay?" Stacy asked cautiously. She had never seen someone who looked so tired.
He yawned loudly before replying, "I didn't sleep."
"Why not? Scared your room mates will kill you in your sleep?" Ben blurted out and earned another kick in the shins from Courtney.
Justin started to say something, but the rain began to fall harder and they could not hear him. They hurried inside before their new robes were ruined.
"Welcome to Herbology," The round-faced teacher Penny had pointed out to them said once all of the students had gathered around him. "I am Professor Longbottom. Today-"
A Slytherin boy's hand shot up in the air.
"Erm, yes?" Professor Longbottom asked. His face looked surprised that someone had a question already.
"Is it true that you're terrified of Professor Snape?" The boy asked with a wicked grin. The other Slytherins, except Justin, snickered.
"Well, erm," Longbottom started. "Who told you this?"
"Professor Snape did," one of the twins from the boat ride exclaimed. 'That one's Carrie' Stacy thought. 'Or is she Mary?' It was difficult to tell. They looked exactly the same.
"Did he?" Professor Longbottom looked extremely uncomfortable. "Well, as I was trying to say, before erm-"
"Ryan," The boy told him.
"Ryan interrupted me," Their teacher continued. "Today we are going to learn about the basic kinds of herbs needed for potions. Please take out a roll of parchment and a quill. I need to give you notes before we can start growing the herbs."
The class moaned, but did as Professor Longbottom instructed.
The rest of the morning passed quickly and soon their first class was over. Stacy walked with Courtney, Peter, Ben, and Justin back up to the school. She placed her notes into her backpack. She had just written more in those two hours than she ever had in her life.
"Ok, did any of you understand a word he just said?" Carrie asked as she caught up with the group.
"Uh uh," Ben answered. "This is going to be a real fun class."
Courtney looked shocked about something. "You didn't understand it? How are you going to make it through the rest of the year? This is our first day!"
Ben stopped and glared at her, "We can't all be brains, can we?" He walked quickly away from the group.
"I'm just going to go-" Peter started, before hurrying after Ben.
"Someone has a temper," Courtney stated when the two boys were out of sight.
Justin smiled slightly. "He isn't usually this bad. He's been kind of-"
"Touchy?" Courtney supplied.
Justin nodded. "I think it has something to do with his father."
Stacy looked surprised. "But, his father seems so nice."
"Parents can be evil," Carrie spoke up. "Mine are. It's always 'Mary this' and 'Mary that' and blah blah blah."
They reached the top of the castle then and went their separate ways. Courtney and Stacy decided to go to the library until lunch instead of back to Gryffindor Tower. Courtney didn't want to risk seeing Ben.
Courtney settled down at one of the library's tables and opened her copy of "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi".
"Don't tell me you're doing the reading already," Ben's voice snarled behind them.
Daggers shot through Courtney's eyes. "Well, yeah. I am. Some people actually care about their grades."
"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Ben shouted, earning a glare and a vehement Sssh from the new librarian Madame Vasta.
Peter stared questioningly at Stacy as if to ask her what they should do. She just bit her lip and looked down at her feet. Stacy had never been one for confrontations.
"Come on, Ben," Peter begged. "Let's go upstairs."
"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Ben shouted again, causing several fifth years to turn around and stare at them.
Madame Vasta hurried over to their table. "You are stupid if you think the library is a place for carrying on. All of you, please leave. You are disturbing the students who wish to get work done." She stood with her hands on her hips watching them until the group had moved on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Looking back years later, Stacy would say her first year at Hogwarts was both the easiest and the hardest of her seven years there.
The work load was not as heavy as other years would bring, but in almost all other ways her first year was the most difficult. Besides adjusting to her new home and classes, Potions became her most difficult one, her relationships with her new friends were not as stable that first year. Courtney automatically became her closest friend. That friendship did not change or waver seriously throughout the years. Likewise, her friendship with Peter was secure from the start. Ben was a different story though. He had "trust issues", as Courtney would always say. His friendship was one that had to be earned.
The afternoon passed by quickly. Stacy and Courtney sat with Penny and her sister Joan at one end of the Gryffindor table at lunch while Ben and Peter sat at the other. Ben would periodically turn and glare at Courtney, who would glare back.
After lunch, it was time for Potions. Stacy and Courtney arrived outside the room first and met up with Greg and three other Hufflepuffs, Steven Smith, Jana Black and Wendy Tyson.
Professor Snape was everything Stacy had imagined and worse. He was strict with first years, especially Gryffindor first years. Their first day, he ordered the class to work in pairs to make a potion for hair growth.
All of the potions failed except for Greg and Jana's. Professor Snape was so surprised by the accuracy of the potion he forgot to assign homework.
"How did you manage that?" Stacy asked Jana and Greg as soon as they left the classroom.
Greg smiled. "Jana did it. She's a potions whiz. I just um helped."
Jana blushed furiously. "I've always been fascinated by potions."
"Ours was terrible," Courtney pointed out. "I don't understand why. We followed the instructions."
Ben looked like he wanted to laugh. Stacy had a feeling he may have had something to do with their potion's failure.
"See you at dinner," Jana called as she walked up to the Hufflepuff tower with Greg, Steven, and Wendy.
Stacy collapsed on her bed as soon as entered their dormitory. Her friends were sitting around the common room waiting until it was time for dinner, but Stacy wanted to have some time alone. Stacy rolled over and noticed a piece of parchment attached to a medium-sized box lying on the floor next to her bed. She opened the box and a silvery piece of fabric fell out. Stacy lifted it up and twisted it around through her fingers. She gasped. Her hand had disappeared. Stacy covered herself completely with the cloth and moved to the room's mirror. She did not have a reflection.
Stacy dropped the cloth in surprise and reached for the piece of parchment that had been attached to the box. It read a single line-
Just in case.
To be continued...
Author's Notes:
First of all, thank you SO much to everyone who has reviewed my story so far. You're the best! =)
I hope this part wasn't too confusing. The future parts should be better. I hope. I had to set some things up in this part that will serve a purpose later and did not get to have too much happen in it.
I actually do have a plot now! I even know more or less what direction the story is going to go in and how I want it to end.
Once again, I apologize for spelling/grammar mistakes...
And, please review this, but don't flame. If you don't like my story, let me know- but please don't just flame it. Thanks.
I'll try to get the next part out within the next week. I might even get it out this weekend if I have a chance.
- Hope
Ugh. My internet's been down for a couple days now, so I haven't been able to put this up yet. Sorry. I have no idea when the next chapter will come out. I haven't started it yet. And, this is going to be a busy, stressful week- at least for the next couple days- so I probably won't get to work on it. Oh well.
By the way, I drew all of the characters using Paint and put them on my site. You can see them at www.geocities.com/hope_107_2002/hogwarts.jpg
They aren't good. I can't draw hands, so all the characters have fists. It gives a basic idea of how I picture them though.
- Hope
"You thought you would get away with it," Michael shouted, grabbing her arm. "Did you really think you could kill Mama and Father?"
The town square became unusally silent as the brother and sister fought. Shopkeepers poked their heads out of their doors for a better view. A curious group circled around the Redas siblings.
"I killed them?" Eliza screeched. Her whole body shook angrily.
Michael glared at her with unforgiving eyes. "You're a witch! I saw what you did to them."
An elderly gentlemen by the name of Morris stepped between them. "There, there. What is all of this talk of death?"
Michael's eyes filled with tears. "Our parents are- are dead! Murdered!" The crowd gasped in shock. The Redas family had always been one of the most upstanding families of their small Massachusetts village.
"Murdered?" Morris asked. He was clearly taken aback. Murder was a very rare occurrence in their town.
"She did it!" Michael cried, pointing a finger at his sister. "I saw her. She had a magic wand of some sort. Shot something awful out of it at our poor parents."
The crowd gasped again. Several men wrapped their arms around Eliza and started to lead her away despite her protests. The fate of a suspected witch in 1678 was sealed before her trial.
As she was being led toward the jail, Eliza could be heard screaming, "I will come again."
In her bed in the first years' girls' dormitory in the Gryffindor Tower of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Stacy Arrons woke up shivering.
Stacy pulled her covers closer to herself. She was asleep for about twenty minutes when she had the oddest dream. It had been incredibley realistic. Something about it felt familiar. That was a feeling she had sensed several times since coming to Hogwarts.
Stacy rubbed the spot on her arm where her birthmark was. It had burned furiously while she was asleep. The skin around it still felt hot from being under her blankets.
Stacy sat up and looked around her new bedroom. Her friend Courtney was sound asleep in the bed closest to hers snoring contently. Her other room mates, Jessica, Christine, and Julie, also appeared to be asleep. Stacy sighed and climbed out of bed. She was wide awake now.
The moon shined brightly in the sky as Stacy sat down on the room's window-seat. She studied the outside of the school with amazement. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before.
People back home in Hollywood always said her home was magnificent. In fact, to her mother's delight, it had been featured on a television special about celebrity homes. This place was nothing like her home though. The castle was enormous. Just the thought of trying to find her way around it scared Stacy. And, it had magic and ghosts around every corner. This would be the hardest part for Stacy to get used to, but also the most intriguing.
Her eyes began to feel heavy and Stacy rested her head on top of her arm on the window ledge. She was asleep before her head landed on her arm.
An invisible figure moved cautiously around the bedroom. He watched as she climbed out of her bed and sat down on the window-seat. He stood behind her. Waiting. Finally, Stacy appeared to have fallen back asleep.
Harry Potter pulled his invisible cloak off after scanning the room one more time. All of the girls were in a deep sleep. He reached into his pocket for the charm Hermione had given him. Harry leaned over Stacy and gently touched her arm with the charm. The charm changed from brown to green.
Harry grinned and put it back in his pocket. Hermione had been right. She was the one.
Not that Hermione was ever wrong. She was the best Auror in their age group. Everyone, including Malfoy, admitted it.
Harry covered himself with the cloak once again and left the room quickly. He had two letters which needed to be sent right away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Stacy!" An urgent, extremely persistent voice hissed in her ear for the fifth time. "Stacy! Breakfast began ten minutes ago!"
Stacy yawned and opened her eyes. Courtney was standing over her, already dressed with her Hogwarts' robe on over her jeans and sweater.
"Good morning," Stacy said tiredly as she stood up. Her neck ached. That would be the first and last time she let herself fall asleep on the window-seat.
"Why were you sleeping there?" Courtney asked as she attempted to brush her curls.
"Umm," Stacy stuttered. "I can't remember." She didn't feel like talking about her dream for some reason. "Do you know what our first class is?" Stacy asked, trying to change the subject.
Courtney's face lit up. She grabbed a piece of parchment and handed it to Stacy. "Professor McGonagall brought them around while you were still asleep. We have Herbology with the Slytherins first." Courtney made a face at the mention of the Slytherins.
"They can't all be bad," Stacy remarked. "Justin's nice."
"There has to be an exception every now and then," Courtney said stubbornly.
Stacy decided to drop the subject. She'd learned from Mandy that there was really no point trying to argue with a stubborn person. "Ready?" She asked when Courtney finally gave up trying to control her hair.
Courtney laughed. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Stacy glanced down and blushed. She'd forgotten to change out of her pajamas.
"I'll meet you down there," Courtney called as she left the dormitory.
Stacy could hear her giggling all the way down the hall. She sighed and put on a purple pullover and khakis. It hadn't seemed that funny to her.
The Great Hall was full when Stacy finally managed to find her way down. She had gotten lost within a minute after leaving Gryffindor Tower. Then, she had run into the ghost Peeves. He told her the "right" way to go. She had wandered around helplessly until a Hufflepuff second year pointed her in the right direction.
"Overslept?" Ben asked as soon as she sat down.
"Got lost," Stacy replied. She grabbed the last muffin at their table and put butter on it.
"And overslept," Courtney teased her.
"I don't think Peeves likes me," Stacy commented.
"Peeves doesn't like anyone," Penny remarked as she sat down next to Peter.
"Don't you have any friends your age?" Ben asked. Courtney kicked him under the table.
"Ow!" Ben shouted. He glared at Courtney who gave him her best angelic face.
"Why does Peeves hate everyone?" Peter asked, ignoring the other two.
Penny shrugged. "What classes do you have today?"
Peter pulled his schedule out of his robe pocket. "Herbology with the Slytherins and Potions with the Hufflepuffs."
"They're your teachers." Penny pointed to two men sitting on either side of Harry Potter. "The one on the left is Professor Longbottom. He teaches Herbology. He's a good teacher and nice to everyone. He was a Gryffindor back when Harry Potter went here. The other one is Professor Snape. Whatever you do, don't get on his bad side. You're already on it since you're Gryffindors. He'll make your life here as miserable as possible if he decides he hates you."
The door to the Great Hall opened and Rachel Flowers stormed in.
"Here," Rachel said harshly as she shoved a folded up piece of parchment into Courtney's hand on her way past the Gryffindor table.
"Good morning, Rachel. Sleep well?" Courtney said cheerfully.
Rachel glared at her sister. "Why so nice all of the sudden? What do you want?"
Courtney looked genuinely hurt. "N-nothing."
"Morning, Rach," A Gryffindor boy said happily as he put an arm around her waist.
"Keith!" She exclaimed happily. They sat down together at the other end of the Gryffindor table.
Courtney watched her sister talk excitedly with Keith. "My sister has a boyfriend!" She finally cried out in shock after staring at them for a minute. "Why doesn't anyone tell me these things?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rain fell in sheets as the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years ran across the school lawn to the greenhouses after they had finished breakfast. Stacy was happy to be outside despite the rain. She had always preferred to spend time outdoors. Besides, it would be nearly impossible for her to get lost.
Justin was waiting for them when they reached the greenhouse their class was in. He looked exhausted.
"Are you okay?" Stacy asked cautiously. She had never seen someone who looked so tired.
He yawned loudly before replying, "I didn't sleep."
"Why not? Scared your room mates will kill you in your sleep?" Ben blurted out and earned another kick in the shins from Courtney.
Justin started to say something, but the rain began to fall harder and they could not hear him. They hurried inside before their new robes were ruined.
"Welcome to Herbology," The round-faced teacher Penny had pointed out to them said once all of the students had gathered around him. "I am Professor Longbottom. Today-"
A Slytherin boy's hand shot up in the air.
"Erm, yes?" Professor Longbottom asked. His face looked surprised that someone had a question already.
"Is it true that you're terrified of Professor Snape?" The boy asked with a wicked grin. The other Slytherins, except Justin, snickered.
"Well, erm," Longbottom started. "Who told you this?"
"Professor Snape did," one of the twins from the boat ride exclaimed. 'That one's Carrie' Stacy thought. 'Or is she Mary?' It was difficult to tell. They looked exactly the same.
"Did he?" Professor Longbottom looked extremely uncomfortable. "Well, as I was trying to say, before erm-"
"Ryan," The boy told him.
"Ryan interrupted me," Their teacher continued. "Today we are going to learn about the basic kinds of herbs needed for potions. Please take out a roll of parchment and a quill. I need to give you notes before we can start growing the herbs."
The class moaned, but did as Professor Longbottom instructed.
The rest of the morning passed quickly and soon their first class was over. Stacy walked with Courtney, Peter, Ben, and Justin back up to the school. She placed her notes into her backpack. She had just written more in those two hours than she ever had in her life.
"Ok, did any of you understand a word he just said?" Carrie asked as she caught up with the group.
"Uh uh," Ben answered. "This is going to be a real fun class."
Courtney looked shocked about something. "You didn't understand it? How are you going to make it through the rest of the year? This is our first day!"
Ben stopped and glared at her, "We can't all be brains, can we?" He walked quickly away from the group.
"I'm just going to go-" Peter started, before hurrying after Ben.
"Someone has a temper," Courtney stated when the two boys were out of sight.
Justin smiled slightly. "He isn't usually this bad. He's been kind of-"
"Touchy?" Courtney supplied.
Justin nodded. "I think it has something to do with his father."
Stacy looked surprised. "But, his father seems so nice."
"Parents can be evil," Carrie spoke up. "Mine are. It's always 'Mary this' and 'Mary that' and blah blah blah."
They reached the top of the castle then and went their separate ways. Courtney and Stacy decided to go to the library until lunch instead of back to Gryffindor Tower. Courtney didn't want to risk seeing Ben.
Courtney settled down at one of the library's tables and opened her copy of "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi".
"Don't tell me you're doing the reading already," Ben's voice snarled behind them.
Daggers shot through Courtney's eyes. "Well, yeah. I am. Some people actually care about their grades."
"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Ben shouted, earning a glare and a vehement Sssh from the new librarian Madame Vasta.
Peter stared questioningly at Stacy as if to ask her what they should do. She just bit her lip and looked down at her feet. Stacy had never been one for confrontations.
"Come on, Ben," Peter begged. "Let's go upstairs."
"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Ben shouted again, causing several fifth years to turn around and stare at them.
Madame Vasta hurried over to their table. "You are stupid if you think the library is a place for carrying on. All of you, please leave. You are disturbing the students who wish to get work done." She stood with her hands on her hips watching them until the group had moved on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Looking back years later, Stacy would say her first year at Hogwarts was both the easiest and the hardest of her seven years there.
The work load was not as heavy as other years would bring, but in almost all other ways her first year was the most difficult. Besides adjusting to her new home and classes, Potions became her most difficult one, her relationships with her new friends were not as stable that first year. Courtney automatically became her closest friend. That friendship did not change or waver seriously throughout the years. Likewise, her friendship with Peter was secure from the start. Ben was a different story though. He had "trust issues", as Courtney would always say. His friendship was one that had to be earned.
The afternoon passed by quickly. Stacy and Courtney sat with Penny and her sister Joan at one end of the Gryffindor table at lunch while Ben and Peter sat at the other. Ben would periodically turn and glare at Courtney, who would glare back.
After lunch, it was time for Potions. Stacy and Courtney arrived outside the room first and met up with Greg and three other Hufflepuffs, Steven Smith, Jana Black and Wendy Tyson.
Professor Snape was everything Stacy had imagined and worse. He was strict with first years, especially Gryffindor first years. Their first day, he ordered the class to work in pairs to make a potion for hair growth.
All of the potions failed except for Greg and Jana's. Professor Snape was so surprised by the accuracy of the potion he forgot to assign homework.
"How did you manage that?" Stacy asked Jana and Greg as soon as they left the classroom.
Greg smiled. "Jana did it. She's a potions whiz. I just um helped."
Jana blushed furiously. "I've always been fascinated by potions."
"Ours was terrible," Courtney pointed out. "I don't understand why. We followed the instructions."
Ben looked like he wanted to laugh. Stacy had a feeling he may have had something to do with their potion's failure.
"See you at dinner," Jana called as she walked up to the Hufflepuff tower with Greg, Steven, and Wendy.
Stacy collapsed on her bed as soon as entered their dormitory. Her friends were sitting around the common room waiting until it was time for dinner, but Stacy wanted to have some time alone. Stacy rolled over and noticed a piece of parchment attached to a medium-sized box lying on the floor next to her bed. She opened the box and a silvery piece of fabric fell out. Stacy lifted it up and twisted it around through her fingers. She gasped. Her hand had disappeared. Stacy covered herself completely with the cloth and moved to the room's mirror. She did not have a reflection.
Stacy dropped the cloth in surprise and reached for the piece of parchment that had been attached to the box. It read a single line-
Just in case.
To be continued...
Author's Notes:
First of all, thank you SO much to everyone who has reviewed my story so far. You're the best! =)
I hope this part wasn't too confusing. The future parts should be better. I hope. I had to set some things up in this part that will serve a purpose later and did not get to have too much happen in it.
I actually do have a plot now! I even know more or less what direction the story is going to go in and how I want it to end.
Once again, I apologize for spelling/grammar mistakes...
And, please review this, but don't flame. If you don't like my story, let me know- but please don't just flame it. Thanks.
I'll try to get the next part out within the next week. I might even get it out this weekend if I have a chance.
- Hope
Ugh. My internet's been down for a couple days now, so I haven't been able to put this up yet. Sorry. I have no idea when the next chapter will come out. I haven't started it yet. And, this is going to be a busy, stressful week- at least for the next couple days- so I probably won't get to work on it. Oh well.
By the way, I drew all of the characters using Paint and put them on my site. You can see them at www.geocities.com/hope_107_2002/hogwarts.jpg
They aren't good. I can't draw hands, so all the characters have fists. It gives a basic idea of how I picture them though.
- Hope