It was a warm mid-October afternoon, when Stacy Arrons learned to fly. Flying lessons were supposed to begin in September, but constant bad weather had caused Professor Dumbledore to push them back a month.
"I can't wait any longer!" Stacy's friend Courtney Flowers moaned as she bounced up and down. "What is taking her so long?"
Stacy almost laughed at the exaggerated look of dismay on Courtney's face. It was one of the few similarities between Courtney and Stacy's Muggle best friend Mandy Payer. Courtney's expression changed to excitement as she spotted Madam Hooch hurrying across the lawn to the large group of first years. All of the first years were having their first flying lesson at the same time because of scheduling difficulties or something of that sort. Stacy couldn't remember exactly what Joan Prickle had said when she announced their first session would take place that afternoon.
Madam Hooch looked slightly uneasy at the idea of teaching so many first years at once- with good reason. "Everyone stand by a broom," She instructed and motioned to a large group of brooms spread out in a circle.
Stacy had never seen so many brooms in one place before. There must have been nearly sixty of them- enough for all of the first years. Stacy picked a broom and stood with Courtney, Benjamin Wright and Peter Trey, her other Gryffindor friends. She waved to her other friends Greg Adams, who was standing with a group of Hufflepuffs, and Justin Taylor, who was techniquely standing with a group of his housemates, but looked like he wouldn't notice if they dropped off the face of the earth.
Madam Hooch moved to the center of the crowd of first years then. " The art of flying can be a very difficult field to learn, so you must all be extremely careful to follow my instructions. For some of you, it will come naturally, but others will struggle." She paused and surveyed the group with a glare that reminded Stacy of her old gym teacher at La Anglia. "First, put out your right hand and say 'Up!'" She stated.
At this, the Slytherins, except for Justin, did as she had said, but also took off into the sky.
"Come back down here!" Madam Hooch yelled after them and started blowing her whistle hysterically. Suddenly, the Hufflepuffs, including Greg and his friends Steven Smith, Wendy Tyson, and Jana Black also lifted off the ground. They were quickly followed by the Ravenclaws, and finally by the Gryffindors and Justin. Stacy watched nervously as Courtney eagerly soared into the air on her broom. For someone so smart, Courtney could not care less about the rules. She did things her way and that was all there was to it. Schoolwork was a different story. She was obsessed with getting her work done correctly and on time. Ben was right behind Courtney, not wanting to be outdone by her. Their personalities had clashed since the first day of school. Ben was smart, but was not a scholar. It angered him whenever Courtney did schoolwork. Stacy was starting to wonder if he had done one assignment yet- and whether he would be able to pass the year.
"Aren't you going up?" Peter asked Stacy. He was straddling his broom in preparation to take off.
Stacy looked up uncertainly. She did want to go, but what if she fell? Or what if she got in trouble? Madame Hooch's face was starting to look slightly blue from puffing her whistle so many times. It was all in vain though. The sounds of fifty some chattering first years blocked out the whistle completely. The couldn't expel the entire class, could they?
"Come on!" Peter exclaimed. He flew up about ten feet into the air where the majority of the class was circling. They seemed to be having fun. The Slytherins were trying to push people off their brooms. She would have to stay away from them. Everyone else was just practicing flying in circles.
Stacy glanced around again. She was the only one left on the land. Finally, she took her broom and lifted up.
Flying came naturally to Stacy. She shifted her broom and attempted to steer herself over to where Courtney was now flying with their room mates Jessica Mullan, Christine Gerties, Julie Schma, plus Jana, Wendy, and twins Carrie and Mary Sarers.
"Excuse me," Stacy said as she pushed her way through the crowd to the other girls. She looked down and saw Hagrid had now joined Madam Hooch was also bellowing for the group to come down, but even Hagrid's enormous voice was only a faint whisper over the group.
Suddenly, something bright green flashed in front of Stacy's eyes.
"You will never get away with this!" Eliza Redas shrieked. Tears poured down her face rapidly.
He smiled at her with that same twisted smile he always had. "You are the one who has gotten away with it. Always have always will."
"What do you mean?" Eliza whispered. His eyes lit up dangerously. The way they had that night. Eliza shuddered violently at the thought of it. She could still hear her parents' cries for help ringing her head. If only she had done something for them.
Michael glanced sympathetically at his sister. She always had been a little insane. He really couldn't blame her for what happened to their parents. "I am sorry, Eliza," He said kindly. "It is for the best though. It is really for you."
Eliza stopped crying and glowered at her sibling. "For me?" She yelled. "It is never for me! It is all for you!"
"You are a witch," Michael told her calmly. "We cannot have someone who practices witchcraft in our town."
Before Eliza could respond, the town priest Father Nortrup entered the jail carrying a Bible. "It is time, my child," He told her. Eliza began to cry again.
"Farewell, Eliza," Michael hugged his sister and started to leave so the priest could try to save Eliza's immortal soul.
When he was almost out the door, Eliza pulled a flask out of her skirt and showed it to him. Michael gaped at the flask and gasped loudly. The priest looked very confused. Eliza smiled sweetly and took a long swig of the potion. "I will come again."
"Stacy!" Courtney screamed hysterically. She swooped down and caught her friend.
Stacy opened her eyes. She was dangling about five feet above the ground. Courtney's hands were clutching her arms tightly as they she slowly lowered them to the ground.
"W-what h-happened?" Stacy asked. Her eyes darted around fretfully as Madam Hooch and Hagrid rushed over to them. Stacy saw her broom laying a few feet away from them.
"Are yeh allrigh'?" Hagrid asked anxiously.
"I think so," Stacy replied. Her head hurt, but she did not have any bruises or cuts. "Did I fall?"
Madam Hooch looked worried all of the sudden. "You don't remember?"
Stacy shook her head. She saw that the majority of the first years had finally decided to come back down and were now gathered around them. "There was a flash and I think I fell asleep. I wasn't tired though."
"Your eyes were open," Courtney told her. "I saw them. You were flying over to us and you froze like something had hit you. Then, you just sort of fell."
Ryan Arnold and several Slytherins snickered. Stacy felt her face flush.
A look of anger crossed Madam Hooch's face. Turning to the other students she said, "I suppose I do not need to teach this class anymore since all of you seem to know everything there is to know about flying. I will inform Professor Dumbledore that I will be dropping this class for the rest of the year."
This caused the rest of the group to look as embarrassed as Stacy felt. Students often dropped classes, but no one had ever heard of a teacher dropping a group of students. "And, for a punishment, there will be one hundred points taken from each house," She continued.
A murmur spread through the group. A hundred points! None of the houses had reached that total yet. The other students were going to be very angry with them.
Stacy felt Hagrid's hand clamp down on her shoulder. "Let's get yeh to the infirmary, Stacy," He told her. "Madam Pomfrey better look yeh over 'fore it's time fer supper."
Stacy nodded and allowed Hagrid to lead her back to the castle. She could hear her classmates complaing loudly from behind her. Perhaps it was best she was not going to around them for awhile. Her head still ached and their moans would only make her feel worse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Professor Harry Potter couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the first years' airborne antics through his office's window. His own first year didn't seem that long ago. Professor Snape had complained at breakfast that morning about the first years. He said they were more disobedient than any other class he had seen. In some ways, Harry agreed with Snape, as much as he hated to admit it. But, Harry himself had never been exactly obedient during his school days. Though, it was different for him. He had been working for a greater goal. Most of the time…
Snape loved to remind Harry about his disobedience of the rules during his seven years as a student. Snape was constantly telling Professor Dumbledore that Harry was unsuitable for the job of a teacher. Dumbledore never listened though. Harry was thankful for that. He didn't want to give Snape the satisfaction of seeing him be fired.
Someone tall caught Harry's eye. He moved closer to the window and watched as Hagrid led Stacy Arrons up to the castle. A lump grew in Harry's throat. He hoped Stacy wasn't in trouble. That would ruin everything.
"Where is she?" A woman's voice behind him demanded.
Harry turned around to see his friend Hermione Granger standing behind him. "Hello Hermione!" Harry said cheerfully, ignoring her question.
"Harry!" Ron Weasley exclaimed as he came running into the office.
"Ron!" Harry responded. It was nice to have his two best friends back at Hogwarts again.
"I got your owl," Ron told him. "I hurried here as fast as I could. I really wish they would change it so I could apparate to Hogwarts."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "How many times have I told you two-"
"No one can Apparate to Hogwarts," Harry and Ron said together.
"How is Gringotts?" Harry asked Ron. Ron had taken a job at the Wizarding bank after graduation while Hermione and Harry had trained to be Aurors.
"It's fine. We almost had a robbery last week," Ron answered.
"Really?" Harry asked. The last time he could remember there being a robbery at the bank was back when he was a first year.
"Now that we are all caught up, can we please take care of the business at hand?" Hermione asked sternly.
Ron grinned at her. "Glad to see you have changed so much, Hermione. Almost thought you might care more about your friends than magic."
Hermione frowned. "It's not that I don't care about both of you, but we have more important matters to discuss now." She looked embarrassed. "Is it her, Harry?"
Harry nodded. "According to the Swarte Charm it is."
"I'm missing something here, aren't I?" Ron asked. He looked angry at the idea of being left out of something important. Ron had been hurt when Harry and Hermione had gone on to the Aurors school without him. He still thought they felt he wasn't up to their level of witchcraft. That wasn't the case, of course, but Ron couldn't get the idea out of his head.
"About 320 years ago, there was a very powerful young witch named Eliza Redas in America," Hermione informed him. "People who were suspected of witchcraft at that time were killed. Eliza was burned at the stake because the villagers blamed her for the death of her parents. Town records report she shouted the words 'I will come again' until her death."
Ron nodded. "And, what does this have to do with anything?"
"I recently read a book about famous witches of the 1600s and discovered the case. Eliza's brother Michael wrote that before she was executed, she drank the Iast potion to actually allow herself to be born again in a certain number of years. According to my calculations, she should be about eleven years old now," Hermione continued.
"So, we have an evil, old witch to find?" Ron looked confused.
"She isn't necessarily evil," Harry spoke up. "There is no proof she actually committed the murders."
"And, we have found her already," Hermione said. "She is a student here. Her name is Stacy Arrons. She is famous in the Muggle world. I sensed her energy when I saw a picture of her in a magazine at my parent's home. Harry used the Swarte charm to read her energy level. She is very powerful- in the highest level."
"More powerful than You-Know-Who?" Ron asked, a frightened look crossing his face.
"VOLDEMORT!" Harry cried. Ron and Hermione jumped in surprise. "Sorry," Harry said sheepishly. "Erm, he's dead. Saying his name will not bring him back."
Hermione pushed a stray hair behind her ear. Her hair had actually calmed down as she had grown older. She could now pull it back without using magic. "She is in the same level as he is- I mean was. But, that does not mean she is bad. Professor Dumbledore is also in the group."
"Does she know?" Ron asked.
"We're not sure," Harry told him. "She seems normal. A little quiet, but nothing out of the usual."
"Where is she?" Hermione asked. "We should find her."
Harry looked around for a moment before answering, "It is time for dinner. We can talk to her after we eat."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Great Hall was unusally quiet as Stacy entered. Madam Pomfrey had wanted to make her stay overnight, but Stacy insisted she felt fine. Finally, with a little help from Professor Dumbledore who had come to check on her after Hagrid told him what had happened, she had been allowed to leave.
"Stacy!" Courtney cried when she spotted her friend. Everyone in the Hall turned around to look at Stacy, who for what seemed like the thousandth time that year, turned bright red.
"Are you feeling better?" Keith Stewart, a sixth year, Rachel Flowers' boyfriend, and one of the most popular boys in their house, asked Stacy as she passed him.
Stacy felt her skin get hotter and managed to nod her head.
"Word gets around this school quickly," Stacy stated as she sat down next to Courtney.
"What do you mean?" Ben asked her.
"Everyone knows what happened to me, don't they?" She turned faintly red again.
"Not everyone," Peter smiled teasingly at her. "I'm sure there's at least one person who hasn't heard."
"Oh, hush," Courtney said defensively. "It could've happened to anyone."
"But, it didn't. It only happened to Stacy," Ben smirked.
"Is everyone mad at us?" Stacy asked before Courtney and Ben could get into another argument.
"Not really," Peter told her. "I think they were at first, but they're starting to get over it."
"They're more annoyed than mad," Ben said.
"How are you?" Courtney inquired, a look of concern crossing her face.
"I'm fine," Stacy replied. Her friends looked skeptical. "Really, I am. I just had a panic attack or something, I guess."
Courtney continued to look doubtful. "It seemed like more than that. Your whole face-" She paused. "I can't describe it exactly. You just looked so…" Her voice trailed off. "You're sure you're okay?"
Stacy nodded again. "I'm fine."
"Hey, what's that?" Ben asked pointing to a piece of parchment in the pocket of Stacy's robe.
"I don't know," Stacy replied. She hadn't noticed the parchment until he pointed it out to her. She unfolded it and read-
Stacy:
Meet me by the statue of the one-eyed witch at midnight.
Courtney snatched the note from Stacy and gasped. "Who wants to meet you?" She asked, causing Ben and Peter to lean across the table to see it.
"Where's the one-eyed witch?" Stacy asked curiously.
"It's a statue near a classroom on the third-floor corridor," Penny Prickle told her as she sat down. "Are you feeling better?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midnight was not a fun time to be sneaking around Hogwarts. This was one of the first facts of life new Hogwarts students learned. Stacy pulled her invisibility cloak around her tighter. She was still did not know how the cloak had come to her, but whoever sent it to her obviously thought she would need it. Why else would the note have said 'Just in case'?
Stacy had never used the cloak before and was hoping desperately that no one could see them. By them, she meant Peter and herself. She could not fit all three of her friends under the cloak, so Courtney had volunteered to stay behind with Ben.
If Stacy had thought Hogwarts was creepy before her midnight expedition, she would have been too scared to go anywhere by the time the night was over. Everytime she heard the smallest sound, she started panicking that it was Filch or even worse -in here opinion- Peeves. Peter tried to calm her down. He kept saying no one could see them and not to worry.
The castle was dark at night as most places are. They wandered around for about ten minutes when they heard Filch coming around the corner and Stacy had a fit of sneezes.
"Who's there?" Filch called. He looked around suspiciously. "I know there's someone here!"
"Ooh!" Peeves cooed as he glided up to Filch. "Is a little student wandering around all alone at night? Naughty! Naughty!"
"Peeves, just the ghost I was hoping to see," Filch said in such an unusally happy voice Peeves looked taken aback. "Have you seen any students roving around tonight?"
"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't," Peeves replied.
"Either you have or you haven't," Filch said in an irritable tone.
"I have!" Peeves exclaimed and started to float off.
"Hold it, Peeves," Filch demanded.
"Why should I?" Peeves replied stubbornly.
"I'll tell the Bloody Baron about this if you don't." Peeves pouted. "Where are they?"
"I saw a group of third years going to the kitchen. Wouldn't let me come with them. And, I saw a sixth year lurking around the prefects' bathroom. And-"
Stacy sneezed again.
Filch whipped around and glowered. "So, there's a student with an invisibility cloak. Show yourself."
Stacy looked timidly at Peter as if to say 'what now?'. Peter grabbed Stacy and threw her into the empty classroom behind them with the invisibility cloak still on her. Then, once he was sure she was inside, he grabbed the cloak and walked over to Filch.
"Sorry, sir," Peter confessed.
Filch looked at him suspiciously. "Are you alone? I was sure that was a girl's sneeze."
Peter shook his head. "It was me."
Filch grabbed his arm and led him down the hallway. "Well, I think we should go to my office and have a chat about this. And, this cloak may make a nice addition to my collection of students' belongings."
Peter looked scared, but simply said, "Yes, sir."
Stacy poked her head out of the classroom and was relieved to see Peeves had also disappeared somewhere. She would have to remember to get Peter a really good Christmas present.
Stacy crept along the hallways cautiously, suddenly very aware of her every movement. She looked over her shoulder constantly to make sure Peeves hadn't popped up behind her. After another five minutes of sneaking around, she reached the statue. No one was there. Stacy tapped her foot anxiously and glanced around. It had to be half past midnight by now. Maybe they had given up on her and gone to bed. Stacy waited about thirty more seconds before her nerves started playing tricks on her. She imagined she was hearing Filch walking around the corner or Peeves floating- which didn't make any sense since floating didn't make a sound.
"Stacy! What are you doing up?" A voice said next to her.
Stacy spun around to see Professor Potter, another man, and a woman standing next to her. "I was just-"
"Sneaking around late at night?" The other man asked with a smile.
"Why don't we walk you back to Gryffindor Tower?" Professor Potter asked. "I expect Filch will be around here shortly."
"Am I in trouble?" Stacy asked meekly.
Professor Potter exchanged an amused look with his friends. "I really should give you a detention and take points from Gryffindor," Potter said thoughtfully. Stacy looked panicked. Harry smiled reassuringly at her. "But, I'm not going to- this time."
"Thank you," Stacy said as they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, who yawned and asked for the password. Stacy said Tinker Bell and climbed into the tower after thanking her teacher one more time.
"Well?" Ron asked Hermione once Stacy had disappeared.
"It's not her," Hermione said in a disappointed tone.
"But the charm-" Harry started.
Hermione shook her head. "The charm is not always an accurate detector. I'm sure she isn't Eliza."
"How can you tell?" Ron asked.
"Several reasons. If she really was Eliza, she would have more talent than the girl I just saw. She would have been able to turn herself invisible without a cloak. I could sense her energy though. It is very strong, but not the same level as Eliza."
"But, we don't know if Eliza would remember any magic when she was born again," Harry pointed out. "She could be her, but doesn't remember any spells."
Hermione shook her head again. "It would be instinct for her. I expect there is more to Stacy Arrons than meets the eye. An amateur witch should not have the level of magical energy she has. She was most likely born into a strong wizarding family."
"What do we do now?" Ron asked. "I have to be back at Gringotts in the morning."
"I'm here until the end of the year," Harry replied. "You can both go back home. I'll send you an Owl if anything odd happens."
"Actually," Hermione said mischievously. "I'm staying too. Apparantly, Madam Hooch refuses to teach the first years' flying lessons anymore this year. Professor Dumbledore asked me if I would mind taking over the class."
Ron burst out laughing. "You're teaching flying? This I have to see."
To be continued...
Authors' Notes:
Whew. I'm done! That was a hard part for me to write for some reason.
I hope you liked it. Please review, even if you hated it. I would like to know what people think. Just, please, no flames. Constructive criticism is fine, but no flames. Thanks to all who review!
I actually do have an idea of the direction for this story, and no, it's not the obvious one. Or at least the one I think would be obvious.
Sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes. I always make a couple... I try to check as I go along, but I generally make a couple that I miss.
I have no idea when the next part's coming out. The more reviews I get, the faster it'll come because I'll be more encouraged to write. So, if you like this please let me know! If you hate it, let me know why.
Thanks for reading this and please review. =)
- Hope
Disclaimer: I own Stacy and her friends and family, but the Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling and Scholastic. They aren't mine!
"I can't wait any longer!" Stacy's friend Courtney Flowers moaned as she bounced up and down. "What is taking her so long?"
Stacy almost laughed at the exaggerated look of dismay on Courtney's face. It was one of the few similarities between Courtney and Stacy's Muggle best friend Mandy Payer. Courtney's expression changed to excitement as she spotted Madam Hooch hurrying across the lawn to the large group of first years. All of the first years were having their first flying lesson at the same time because of scheduling difficulties or something of that sort. Stacy couldn't remember exactly what Joan Prickle had said when she announced their first session would take place that afternoon.
Madam Hooch looked slightly uneasy at the idea of teaching so many first years at once- with good reason. "Everyone stand by a broom," She instructed and motioned to a large group of brooms spread out in a circle.
Stacy had never seen so many brooms in one place before. There must have been nearly sixty of them- enough for all of the first years. Stacy picked a broom and stood with Courtney, Benjamin Wright and Peter Trey, her other Gryffindor friends. She waved to her other friends Greg Adams, who was standing with a group of Hufflepuffs, and Justin Taylor, who was techniquely standing with a group of his housemates, but looked like he wouldn't notice if they dropped off the face of the earth.
Madam Hooch moved to the center of the crowd of first years then. " The art of flying can be a very difficult field to learn, so you must all be extremely careful to follow my instructions. For some of you, it will come naturally, but others will struggle." She paused and surveyed the group with a glare that reminded Stacy of her old gym teacher at La Anglia. "First, put out your right hand and say 'Up!'" She stated.
At this, the Slytherins, except for Justin, did as she had said, but also took off into the sky.
"Come back down here!" Madam Hooch yelled after them and started blowing her whistle hysterically. Suddenly, the Hufflepuffs, including Greg and his friends Steven Smith, Wendy Tyson, and Jana Black also lifted off the ground. They were quickly followed by the Ravenclaws, and finally by the Gryffindors and Justin. Stacy watched nervously as Courtney eagerly soared into the air on her broom. For someone so smart, Courtney could not care less about the rules. She did things her way and that was all there was to it. Schoolwork was a different story. She was obsessed with getting her work done correctly and on time. Ben was right behind Courtney, not wanting to be outdone by her. Their personalities had clashed since the first day of school. Ben was smart, but was not a scholar. It angered him whenever Courtney did schoolwork. Stacy was starting to wonder if he had done one assignment yet- and whether he would be able to pass the year.
"Aren't you going up?" Peter asked Stacy. He was straddling his broom in preparation to take off.
Stacy looked up uncertainly. She did want to go, but what if she fell? Or what if she got in trouble? Madame Hooch's face was starting to look slightly blue from puffing her whistle so many times. It was all in vain though. The sounds of fifty some chattering first years blocked out the whistle completely. The couldn't expel the entire class, could they?
"Come on!" Peter exclaimed. He flew up about ten feet into the air where the majority of the class was circling. They seemed to be having fun. The Slytherins were trying to push people off their brooms. She would have to stay away from them. Everyone else was just practicing flying in circles.
Stacy glanced around again. She was the only one left on the land. Finally, she took her broom and lifted up.
Flying came naturally to Stacy. She shifted her broom and attempted to steer herself over to where Courtney was now flying with their room mates Jessica Mullan, Christine Gerties, Julie Schma, plus Jana, Wendy, and twins Carrie and Mary Sarers.
"Excuse me," Stacy said as she pushed her way through the crowd to the other girls. She looked down and saw Hagrid had now joined Madam Hooch was also bellowing for the group to come down, but even Hagrid's enormous voice was only a faint whisper over the group.
Suddenly, something bright green flashed in front of Stacy's eyes.
"You will never get away with this!" Eliza Redas shrieked. Tears poured down her face rapidly.
He smiled at her with that same twisted smile he always had. "You are the one who has gotten away with it. Always have always will."
"What do you mean?" Eliza whispered. His eyes lit up dangerously. The way they had that night. Eliza shuddered violently at the thought of it. She could still hear her parents' cries for help ringing her head. If only she had done something for them.
Michael glanced sympathetically at his sister. She always had been a little insane. He really couldn't blame her for what happened to their parents. "I am sorry, Eliza," He said kindly. "It is for the best though. It is really for you."
Eliza stopped crying and glowered at her sibling. "For me?" She yelled. "It is never for me! It is all for you!"
"You are a witch," Michael told her calmly. "We cannot have someone who practices witchcraft in our town."
Before Eliza could respond, the town priest Father Nortrup entered the jail carrying a Bible. "It is time, my child," He told her. Eliza began to cry again.
"Farewell, Eliza," Michael hugged his sister and started to leave so the priest could try to save Eliza's immortal soul.
When he was almost out the door, Eliza pulled a flask out of her skirt and showed it to him. Michael gaped at the flask and gasped loudly. The priest looked very confused. Eliza smiled sweetly and took a long swig of the potion. "I will come again."
"Stacy!" Courtney screamed hysterically. She swooped down and caught her friend.
Stacy opened her eyes. She was dangling about five feet above the ground. Courtney's hands were clutching her arms tightly as they she slowly lowered them to the ground.
"W-what h-happened?" Stacy asked. Her eyes darted around fretfully as Madam Hooch and Hagrid rushed over to them. Stacy saw her broom laying a few feet away from them.
"Are yeh allrigh'?" Hagrid asked anxiously.
"I think so," Stacy replied. Her head hurt, but she did not have any bruises or cuts. "Did I fall?"
Madam Hooch looked worried all of the sudden. "You don't remember?"
Stacy shook her head. She saw that the majority of the first years had finally decided to come back down and were now gathered around them. "There was a flash and I think I fell asleep. I wasn't tired though."
"Your eyes were open," Courtney told her. "I saw them. You were flying over to us and you froze like something had hit you. Then, you just sort of fell."
Ryan Arnold and several Slytherins snickered. Stacy felt her face flush.
A look of anger crossed Madam Hooch's face. Turning to the other students she said, "I suppose I do not need to teach this class anymore since all of you seem to know everything there is to know about flying. I will inform Professor Dumbledore that I will be dropping this class for the rest of the year."
This caused the rest of the group to look as embarrassed as Stacy felt. Students often dropped classes, but no one had ever heard of a teacher dropping a group of students. "And, for a punishment, there will be one hundred points taken from each house," She continued.
A murmur spread through the group. A hundred points! None of the houses had reached that total yet. The other students were going to be very angry with them.
Stacy felt Hagrid's hand clamp down on her shoulder. "Let's get yeh to the infirmary, Stacy," He told her. "Madam Pomfrey better look yeh over 'fore it's time fer supper."
Stacy nodded and allowed Hagrid to lead her back to the castle. She could hear her classmates complaing loudly from behind her. Perhaps it was best she was not going to around them for awhile. Her head still ached and their moans would only make her feel worse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Professor Harry Potter couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the first years' airborne antics through his office's window. His own first year didn't seem that long ago. Professor Snape had complained at breakfast that morning about the first years. He said they were more disobedient than any other class he had seen. In some ways, Harry agreed with Snape, as much as he hated to admit it. But, Harry himself had never been exactly obedient during his school days. Though, it was different for him. He had been working for a greater goal. Most of the time…
Snape loved to remind Harry about his disobedience of the rules during his seven years as a student. Snape was constantly telling Professor Dumbledore that Harry was unsuitable for the job of a teacher. Dumbledore never listened though. Harry was thankful for that. He didn't want to give Snape the satisfaction of seeing him be fired.
Someone tall caught Harry's eye. He moved closer to the window and watched as Hagrid led Stacy Arrons up to the castle. A lump grew in Harry's throat. He hoped Stacy wasn't in trouble. That would ruin everything.
"Where is she?" A woman's voice behind him demanded.
Harry turned around to see his friend Hermione Granger standing behind him. "Hello Hermione!" Harry said cheerfully, ignoring her question.
"Harry!" Ron Weasley exclaimed as he came running into the office.
"Ron!" Harry responded. It was nice to have his two best friends back at Hogwarts again.
"I got your owl," Ron told him. "I hurried here as fast as I could. I really wish they would change it so I could apparate to Hogwarts."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "How many times have I told you two-"
"No one can Apparate to Hogwarts," Harry and Ron said together.
"How is Gringotts?" Harry asked Ron. Ron had taken a job at the Wizarding bank after graduation while Hermione and Harry had trained to be Aurors.
"It's fine. We almost had a robbery last week," Ron answered.
"Really?" Harry asked. The last time he could remember there being a robbery at the bank was back when he was a first year.
"Now that we are all caught up, can we please take care of the business at hand?" Hermione asked sternly.
Ron grinned at her. "Glad to see you have changed so much, Hermione. Almost thought you might care more about your friends than magic."
Hermione frowned. "It's not that I don't care about both of you, but we have more important matters to discuss now." She looked embarrassed. "Is it her, Harry?"
Harry nodded. "According to the Swarte Charm it is."
"I'm missing something here, aren't I?" Ron asked. He looked angry at the idea of being left out of something important. Ron had been hurt when Harry and Hermione had gone on to the Aurors school without him. He still thought they felt he wasn't up to their level of witchcraft. That wasn't the case, of course, but Ron couldn't get the idea out of his head.
"About 320 years ago, there was a very powerful young witch named Eliza Redas in America," Hermione informed him. "People who were suspected of witchcraft at that time were killed. Eliza was burned at the stake because the villagers blamed her for the death of her parents. Town records report she shouted the words 'I will come again' until her death."
Ron nodded. "And, what does this have to do with anything?"
"I recently read a book about famous witches of the 1600s and discovered the case. Eliza's brother Michael wrote that before she was executed, she drank the Iast potion to actually allow herself to be born again in a certain number of years. According to my calculations, she should be about eleven years old now," Hermione continued.
"So, we have an evil, old witch to find?" Ron looked confused.
"She isn't necessarily evil," Harry spoke up. "There is no proof she actually committed the murders."
"And, we have found her already," Hermione said. "She is a student here. Her name is Stacy Arrons. She is famous in the Muggle world. I sensed her energy when I saw a picture of her in a magazine at my parent's home. Harry used the Swarte charm to read her energy level. She is very powerful- in the highest level."
"More powerful than You-Know-Who?" Ron asked, a frightened look crossing his face.
"VOLDEMORT!" Harry cried. Ron and Hermione jumped in surprise. "Sorry," Harry said sheepishly. "Erm, he's dead. Saying his name will not bring him back."
Hermione pushed a stray hair behind her ear. Her hair had actually calmed down as she had grown older. She could now pull it back without using magic. "She is in the same level as he is- I mean was. But, that does not mean she is bad. Professor Dumbledore is also in the group."
"Does she know?" Ron asked.
"We're not sure," Harry told him. "She seems normal. A little quiet, but nothing out of the usual."
"Where is she?" Hermione asked. "We should find her."
Harry looked around for a moment before answering, "It is time for dinner. We can talk to her after we eat."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Great Hall was unusally quiet as Stacy entered. Madam Pomfrey had wanted to make her stay overnight, but Stacy insisted she felt fine. Finally, with a little help from Professor Dumbledore who had come to check on her after Hagrid told him what had happened, she had been allowed to leave.
"Stacy!" Courtney cried when she spotted her friend. Everyone in the Hall turned around to look at Stacy, who for what seemed like the thousandth time that year, turned bright red.
"Are you feeling better?" Keith Stewart, a sixth year, Rachel Flowers' boyfriend, and one of the most popular boys in their house, asked Stacy as she passed him.
Stacy felt her skin get hotter and managed to nod her head.
"Word gets around this school quickly," Stacy stated as she sat down next to Courtney.
"What do you mean?" Ben asked her.
"Everyone knows what happened to me, don't they?" She turned faintly red again.
"Not everyone," Peter smiled teasingly at her. "I'm sure there's at least one person who hasn't heard."
"Oh, hush," Courtney said defensively. "It could've happened to anyone."
"But, it didn't. It only happened to Stacy," Ben smirked.
"Is everyone mad at us?" Stacy asked before Courtney and Ben could get into another argument.
"Not really," Peter told her. "I think they were at first, but they're starting to get over it."
"They're more annoyed than mad," Ben said.
"How are you?" Courtney inquired, a look of concern crossing her face.
"I'm fine," Stacy replied. Her friends looked skeptical. "Really, I am. I just had a panic attack or something, I guess."
Courtney continued to look doubtful. "It seemed like more than that. Your whole face-" She paused. "I can't describe it exactly. You just looked so…" Her voice trailed off. "You're sure you're okay?"
Stacy nodded again. "I'm fine."
"Hey, what's that?" Ben asked pointing to a piece of parchment in the pocket of Stacy's robe.
"I don't know," Stacy replied. She hadn't noticed the parchment until he pointed it out to her. She unfolded it and read-
Stacy:
Meet me by the statue of the one-eyed witch at midnight.
Courtney snatched the note from Stacy and gasped. "Who wants to meet you?" She asked, causing Ben and Peter to lean across the table to see it.
"Where's the one-eyed witch?" Stacy asked curiously.
"It's a statue near a classroom on the third-floor corridor," Penny Prickle told her as she sat down. "Are you feeling better?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Midnight was not a fun time to be sneaking around Hogwarts. This was one of the first facts of life new Hogwarts students learned. Stacy pulled her invisibility cloak around her tighter. She was still did not know how the cloak had come to her, but whoever sent it to her obviously thought she would need it. Why else would the note have said 'Just in case'?
Stacy had never used the cloak before and was hoping desperately that no one could see them. By them, she meant Peter and herself. She could not fit all three of her friends under the cloak, so Courtney had volunteered to stay behind with Ben.
If Stacy had thought Hogwarts was creepy before her midnight expedition, she would have been too scared to go anywhere by the time the night was over. Everytime she heard the smallest sound, she started panicking that it was Filch or even worse -in here opinion- Peeves. Peter tried to calm her down. He kept saying no one could see them and not to worry.
The castle was dark at night as most places are. They wandered around for about ten minutes when they heard Filch coming around the corner and Stacy had a fit of sneezes.
"Who's there?" Filch called. He looked around suspiciously. "I know there's someone here!"
"Ooh!" Peeves cooed as he glided up to Filch. "Is a little student wandering around all alone at night? Naughty! Naughty!"
"Peeves, just the ghost I was hoping to see," Filch said in such an unusally happy voice Peeves looked taken aback. "Have you seen any students roving around tonight?"
"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't," Peeves replied.
"Either you have or you haven't," Filch said in an irritable tone.
"I have!" Peeves exclaimed and started to float off.
"Hold it, Peeves," Filch demanded.
"Why should I?" Peeves replied stubbornly.
"I'll tell the Bloody Baron about this if you don't." Peeves pouted. "Where are they?"
"I saw a group of third years going to the kitchen. Wouldn't let me come with them. And, I saw a sixth year lurking around the prefects' bathroom. And-"
Stacy sneezed again.
Filch whipped around and glowered. "So, there's a student with an invisibility cloak. Show yourself."
Stacy looked timidly at Peter as if to say 'what now?'. Peter grabbed Stacy and threw her into the empty classroom behind them with the invisibility cloak still on her. Then, once he was sure she was inside, he grabbed the cloak and walked over to Filch.
"Sorry, sir," Peter confessed.
Filch looked at him suspiciously. "Are you alone? I was sure that was a girl's sneeze."
Peter shook his head. "It was me."
Filch grabbed his arm and led him down the hallway. "Well, I think we should go to my office and have a chat about this. And, this cloak may make a nice addition to my collection of students' belongings."
Peter looked scared, but simply said, "Yes, sir."
Stacy poked her head out of the classroom and was relieved to see Peeves had also disappeared somewhere. She would have to remember to get Peter a really good Christmas present.
Stacy crept along the hallways cautiously, suddenly very aware of her every movement. She looked over her shoulder constantly to make sure Peeves hadn't popped up behind her. After another five minutes of sneaking around, she reached the statue. No one was there. Stacy tapped her foot anxiously and glanced around. It had to be half past midnight by now. Maybe they had given up on her and gone to bed. Stacy waited about thirty more seconds before her nerves started playing tricks on her. She imagined she was hearing Filch walking around the corner or Peeves floating- which didn't make any sense since floating didn't make a sound.
"Stacy! What are you doing up?" A voice said next to her.
Stacy spun around to see Professor Potter, another man, and a woman standing next to her. "I was just-"
"Sneaking around late at night?" The other man asked with a smile.
"Why don't we walk you back to Gryffindor Tower?" Professor Potter asked. "I expect Filch will be around here shortly."
"Am I in trouble?" Stacy asked meekly.
Professor Potter exchanged an amused look with his friends. "I really should give you a detention and take points from Gryffindor," Potter said thoughtfully. Stacy looked panicked. Harry smiled reassuringly at her. "But, I'm not going to- this time."
"Thank you," Stacy said as they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, who yawned and asked for the password. Stacy said Tinker Bell and climbed into the tower after thanking her teacher one more time.
"Well?" Ron asked Hermione once Stacy had disappeared.
"It's not her," Hermione said in a disappointed tone.
"But the charm-" Harry started.
Hermione shook her head. "The charm is not always an accurate detector. I'm sure she isn't Eliza."
"How can you tell?" Ron asked.
"Several reasons. If she really was Eliza, she would have more talent than the girl I just saw. She would have been able to turn herself invisible without a cloak. I could sense her energy though. It is very strong, but not the same level as Eliza."
"But, we don't know if Eliza would remember any magic when she was born again," Harry pointed out. "She could be her, but doesn't remember any spells."
Hermione shook her head again. "It would be instinct for her. I expect there is more to Stacy Arrons than meets the eye. An amateur witch should not have the level of magical energy she has. She was most likely born into a strong wizarding family."
"What do we do now?" Ron asked. "I have to be back at Gringotts in the morning."
"I'm here until the end of the year," Harry replied. "You can both go back home. I'll send you an Owl if anything odd happens."
"Actually," Hermione said mischievously. "I'm staying too. Apparantly, Madam Hooch refuses to teach the first years' flying lessons anymore this year. Professor Dumbledore asked me if I would mind taking over the class."
Ron burst out laughing. "You're teaching flying? This I have to see."
To be continued...
Authors' Notes:
Whew. I'm done! That was a hard part for me to write for some reason.
I hope you liked it. Please review, even if you hated it. I would like to know what people think. Just, please, no flames. Constructive criticism is fine, but no flames. Thanks to all who review!
I actually do have an idea of the direction for this story, and no, it's not the obvious one. Or at least the one I think would be obvious.
Sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes. I always make a couple... I try to check as I go along, but I generally make a couple that I miss.
I have no idea when the next part's coming out. The more reviews I get, the faster it'll come because I'll be more encouraged to write. So, if you like this please let me know! If you hate it, let me know why.
Thanks for reading this and please review. =)
- Hope
Disclaimer: I own Stacy and her friends and family, but the Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling and Scholastic. They aren't mine!