If you were to ask Stacy Arrons how she managed to survive her first year at Hogwarts, she would smile amiably and say that it was because she had such wonderful friends. If you were to ask her how she survived the events that occurred on May 15th that year, she would shudder and say someone out there had her back.
The day began normally enough. Stacy woke up half past seven when her friend, Courtney, poured a glass of water on her head. Sputtering and coughing, Stacy shook a fist at her friend, but then promptly forgot all about it. Stacy hated mornings with a passion so great that nothing, not even her best friend dancing around their room while singing terribly off-key and shaking a -now- empty glass, could shock her. Mornings were meant to be bad, nothing could change that. And, if there was ever a morning that was not bad, it just meant the rest of the day would be so abominable that no one could survive it.
The rest of the day flew by in a daze of classes and friends and other daily rituals. Stacy kept expecting something horrible to happen. She was ready for it. She half-expected the world to end at any minute and half-realized that she was being incredibly foolish. Stacy stayed alert all day. Her eyes were constantly roaming, constantly looking for possible signs of danger. Nothing out of the ordinary happened though. Classes went by, as usual. Meals were eaten, as usual. The day was just another day at Hogwarts.
The night was another story though. After dinner, Stacy and her friends went to the library to finish up their homework. Courtney and Ben fought the whole time, as usual, about whether aliens existed. Peter tuned them out and focused on his reading. Justin sat glumly at the end of their table, giving and receiving glares from his fellow Slytherins. Stacy, herself, was the only one who acted at all differently. She had her Potions notebook open, but she never turned a page. Her eyes were still busy roaming.
"Stace?" Courtney whispered, after the group had been sitting in the library for over an hour. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" Stacy snapped, a little too quickly for Courtney's liking.
"Is it your parents?" Courtney asked knowingly.
Stacy flinched, but said nothing.
"Stacy," Courtney pushed. "I know it's hard. It'll work out for the best though. You'll see." Courtney attempted a half-smile. Stacy bit her lip to keep from laughing at her friend. Times like this reminded her that she was the only actress in the group.
"I know," Stacy assured her friend. "Well, I think I'll go back up to the common room. I don't think I'm going to be getting much done tonight."
"It might help if you actually turned a page in your notebook," Ben smirked at her.
Stacy rolled her eyes. It had taken her all year, but she was finally well-accustomed with Ben's "comments." After she had swiftly gathered up her many belongings, Stacy bid her friends goodnight and hurried out of the library.
It was still relatively early as Stacy wandered in the direction of Gryffindor House. The sun was long gone, but it wasn't pitch black outside yet. She could still just make out the massive form that was Hagrid walking along the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest. The corridors were almost empty as most of the students were either in the common rooms or the library, but it wasn't too late to be up and wandering about- as Stacy soon found out in no uncertain terms.
First, she saw Penny and Joan Prickle on their way to the Owlery with a note for their parents. They both stopped to chat for a moment with Stacy about how strange the teachers were acting and how unbearably noisy their common room could be sometimes. Next, Stacy ran into Greg Adams and Wendy Tyson on their way to the library. She barely escaped before Wendy actually managed to talk her ear off about how mean Professor Snape was for giving them such short notice for the next day's test. Then, moments later, Stacy literally ran into Professor Granger.
"Sorry, Stacy," Hermione gasped as she helped her student pick up her books. "I really should be more careful when turning these corners. I remember all too well what it's like to be knocked over while carrying around a big pile of books!" A small peal of laughter escaped her. "You wouldn't happen to know if Professor Potter is still in the library, would you? I know he was covering for Madame Vasta earlier, but I think Professor Flitwick was supposed to take over for him around now."
"He was still in there when I left," Stacy told her.
"Good, I thought I might keep him company. He said he was going to be grading tonight and I know how lonely that can be!" She gave a small sigh. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. I've decided it will be our final flying lesson. I thought it might be nice to give the class some extra time to prepare for exams. I know how stressful the end of the year can be!"
Stacy smiled in agreement and parted ways with her teacher. She was surprised to find herself feeling nearly sad that their class was almost done. She was growing to enjoy flying, but she still felt like she preferred to keep her feet on the ground...
"Stacy!" Keith hissed from behind her so suddenly that her heart jumped nearly as high as she did. "Come on, we have to go get it before it's too late."
Stacy spun around and stared questioningly at him. "Get what?"
"This isn't a time for jokes, Eliza!" He severely emphasized the last word. "We have to go stop her!"
"Eliza?" Stacy's eyes grew round. "I'm not Eliza. I'm Stacy. Staaa-ceee!"
Keith rolled his eyes. "Come on!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hallway with him.
Stacy gave up fighting it after a few seconds. He was obviously much stronger than she would ever be. Instead, she tried to focus on what was going on. She was being pulled along by a boy she thought she trusted, but who now seemed to be slightly insane and possibly thought she was a girl who had died a few hundred years before and who had been reborn and was now one of her friends. Oh, and she was still carrying along a heavy armload of books. It was all just too much for Stacy to grasp. Especially the books.
"Keith," She started.
"Michael."
"M-michael?" Stacy's eyes grew round again as the puzzle started to make sense. "Well, w-whoever you are, can you at least let me put these-" She glanced down at the now overbearingly heavy load. "down somewhere. Then, we can go get whatever it is we're going to go get."
"We don't have time," He snapped, but a look of sympathy had begun to play on his face. "Here, give me some of those." He took the worst of the load and they continued on, now in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.
A good ten minutes had passed before Stacy had the nerve to speak again. "What are we going to go get again? I forgot."
Keith came to a halt at this. "You really don't know, do you?" Stacy shook her head. "I thought you were just messing with me back there, but…" His voice trailed off. He dropped her books with a loud thud and grabbed her shoulders. His glare seemed to penetrate her skin. "You aren't Eliza."
"That's what I was trying to tell you! I said that back-"
Keith wasn't listening though. He was too busy pacing up and down the path while muttering- almost- incoherently to himself. "If you aren't 'Liza… I was so sure… Rachel's sister said you had bad dreams…"
"Dreams?" Stacy spoke up, another piece of the puzzle in her mind was falling into place. "Did you send the dreams?"
Keith spun on her. "So, you are Eliza?"
"W-well, no," Stacy began. "I'm-"
Keith grabbed her shoulders again. "Tell me everything you know."
Stacy glared up at him. "I'm trying to! If you'd just let me get a word in!"
"Fine, go ahead, I'm all ears," Keith snapped.
"I'm a feeler," Stacy explained, slowly, loving the power she was feeling then. "It's a trait my family gave me. I'm guessing that you were trying to send a message to the Eliza- the real Eliza- and somehow it got sent to me since I'm extra-sensitive to these things. Before you ask, I don't know if the -real- Eliza got the messages too, but I do know who she is." She paused, really enjoying the power her words had on him. "She's one of my friends- Jana Black."
Keith's face scrunched up at this. "Isn't that the Hufflepuff who disappeared last winter?" Stacy nodded, slowly, savoring the power rush. "Damn it! She could be anywhere by now!" Keith looked like he was ready to murder someone.
"Or, she could be right behind you," Came a small voice from, well, right behind them.
Sure enough, there she was. Jana, somehow, looked exactly the same and completely different from when Stacy had last seen her. Her hair was longer and not so clean. She seemed to have lost more than a few pounds. All in all, it was quite obvious that she had been living in the forest for awhile.
Jana smiled, a weak smile, but still a smile. "I was wondering when you would come for me, Michael" Her smile grew as she noticed Stacy hovering nearby. "Oh, hello, Stacy. I was wondering if I might see you again."
"Do you live here?" Stacy asked, her eyes now as round as dinner plates.
Jana nodded and grinned. "It's not so bad once you get used to the odor."
"Only you could manage to survive in that torturous swamp!" Keith exclaimed, his face a mixture of what Stacy took to be amusement and pride.
"Aren't there a lot of mon- I mean, horrible animals?" Stacy gasped.
"Don't speak badly of my friends!" Jana mock-scolded. "Well, I suppose they really are horrible. I've never thought so though. I think they rather like me, actually." She turned and directed her gaze at Keith. "So, are you going to kill me now, Michael?"
"Of course not," Keith gasped. "Did you really think I came back just to kill you?"
Jana shrugged sheepishly. "Why else would you come back?"
Keith looked at her a moment, then taking a deep breath, he began to talk. "I think there are some things we should clear up. First of all, neither of us were to blame for any of the problems our family had." He took another breath. "It was all Aunt Gertrude's doing."
"I knew it!" Stacy exclaimed- a little too brightly, causing the siblings to look at her like she had suddenly grown another head. "I mean, I didn't know it exactly, but I knew it sort of. Like, I figured that it couldn't be either of you because that was way too obvious and-" Their looks were priceless. "Continue."
Keith smiled slightly. Stacy might not have been the bravest or the smartest person in the world, but she was good to have around during a crisis. For entertainment purposes anyway. "I'm sure you remember hearing about Atha, Eliza. Father used to tell us about it all of the time."
"That was the sword," Jana said, slowly. "The one that was said to be the best in the world, if I'm not mistaken. What does that have to do with anything though?"
"You don't know? I could've sworn I sent a dream about that," Keith shook his head. "Anyway, Gertrude wanted the sword. I don't know why exactly, but it was an obsession of hers. She spent her whole life searching for it, researching it, studying how to fight. It drove her mad in the end. I knew it, but no one believed me."
"I remember," Jana interrupted. "You were always telling Father that she was ill in the head as well as the body."
"She never was ill in the body," Keith said gravely. "She faked her whole sickness. I figured that out when I arrived early for my weekly visit with her. She was performing a spell. I'm not sure what it was for, but I knew then- and I swear it now- that it was not a good one. She tried to make me forget it, but I managed to move before the spell hit me. That was the day I burned her house down. It was a mistake, really. I didn't know then just how far she had gone. I thought she died, we all did. She was good at faking though. After I had escaped, she drank a potion for protection. It allowed her to remain alive even after we had buried her."
"How is that possible?" Jana asked.
Keith waved an impatient hand at her. "We don't have time to go into the specifics. Basically, she lived. I don't know how she did it, but she did. She came back to our house and threatened me. She killed our parents while I could do nothing. Then, she did the memory spell again. This time it worked. The rest, I suppose, you know. I thought you were the killer, Eliza. I really believed that. It wasn't until my own death, a good sixty years after yours, that I realized the truth. I followed your spirit. I made sure I was born again around the time you were."
"Why?"
"Don't you see, we have to stop her. We have to get the sword before her."
Jana shook her head. "How? We don't know where it is, or where she is, or-"
"Yes, we do!" Keith exclaimed. "She is at Hogwarts. She came there this year as the librarian-"
"I knew it!" Stacy cried, happily. "I knew Madame Vasta was evil! She's just too…" Stacy shuddered for emphasis.
"The sword is here too," Keith continued. "It's in the forest. Well, she thinks it is anyway. She has been searching for centuries. She even kept up the search while she waited for her chance to be born again. So, I'm thinking she might be right this time."
"Why is this happening today?" Stacy asked. "I know there's something important about May 15th, but, well, what?"
"According to the stories, the sword can only be retrieved on the day you were born," Jana explained. "I'll give you three guesses when Gertrude's birthday was."
"It can only be retrieved at midnight when there's a full moon, actually," Keith added. "That's why it's taken her so long, I suppose. She would have had to find the sword, then wait for a full moon to fall on her birthday, then-"
"We better hurry," Jana interrupted. "It's going on ten now. No telling how long it'll take us to find it."
"How will you get it though?" Stacy wondered. "It's only her birthday, right?"
The siblings exchanged a glance. "We'll figure something out. It might be that we just have to distract her long enough for the opportunity to pass," Keith spoke up.
"Don't worry," Jana told her. "We'll figure it out when we get there."
"Ok, well, let's get going then," Stacy replied. "Should we split up or just stay together or what?"
The siblings exchanged another glance. "You better get back to the school, Stacy," Jana said gently. "We'll take care of this."
"You might need my help though," Stacy pointed out. "There's a lot of area to be covered and not much time."
"This isn't your problem, Stace," Jana sighed. "I think this is something we need to take care of."
Keith nodded in agreement. Stacy knew there wasn't any point in arguing with them. She wasn't even sure that she wanted to argue with them.
Stacy watched as they walked off down the path. Together at first, then came the fork in the road. She watched them until they were out of her sight. Sighing to herself, Stacy gathered up her books, then, before she had a chance to talk herself out of it, she placed all of them back on the ground. All of them, except for her heaviest text. That one went with her as she hurried deeper into the forest.
~
Looking back, Stacy would never be able to explain what made her do it. She had never been, by any definition, brave. Normally, she would have jumped at the opportunity to take the easy way out of something. She would have been more than happy to leave the acts of bravery to those who truly were brave and actually had half a clue what was going to happen. This time was different. This time, Stacy just had to do something.
The first hour was the easiest for Stacy. She was very determined and very stubborn and that combination kept her from giving in to the feeling of fear that kept creeping into her gut. That feeling gradually began to spread though. After the first hour, Stacy suddenly became certain that she was going to be lost in the woods forever or eaten by a wild animal at any moment. She had heard all about the horrible kinds of creatures that called the forest their home and she was now certain that she was going to meet all of them. At once.
The forest was terrifying, especially when you were a first year, alone, and already scared out of your mind. Stacy kept thinking that she heard someone- or something- behind her, but whenever she turned around, there was nothing to be seen. She kept hearing animal sounds. She heard birds screeching and wolves howling and what sounded like a tree being snapped in half. She never saw a thing though.
Stacy kept going though. She had originally chosen the path that Jana had taken. She never saw her friend though and, after coming across more than a handful of forks in the road, Stacy was now certain she would not ever find Jana. Not that she was sure she wanted to find Jana. Her friend would probably just insist that she return to the school immediately. Stacy wasn't sure what she was more scared of- finding Jana and being told to go back or not finding anyone ever again.
It was now half past eleven. Stacy had searched every inch of the paths she crossed. She had looked in the trees and in the bushes and in the grass. She had seen nothing though. She had not even seen any animals, besides an owl or two and a large colony of ants. She was starting to feel like she was the only being in the forest.
It was at this moment that she heard it. A crunching sound, from somewhere in front of her. Stacy slowed down and made an effort to walk as quietly as possible.
Just ahead of her, about ten feet down the path, three figures were standing close together. One of the figures seemed to be holding onto the others' necks. Stacy could sense the hostility and tension before she could hear anything.
"We don't know where it is!" Jana was insisting. "Honestly."
"I know you do," Gertrude sneered. "If you two brats think you are going to keep this from me, you are greatly mistaken. I have worked too long and too hard to have it taken from me now."
"We don't know any more than you," Keith exclaimed. "Honestly."
"Fine, then, it won't matter any if I kill you."
Those were the words that drew Stacy from the shadows. Swinging as hard as she possibly could, she heaved her textbook in Gertrude's direction. Keith was sprawled out on the ground, unconscious, before she realized her aim was slightly off.
"Stacy!" Jana cried in surprise as she continued struggling to break free of her aunt's grip.
"Well, thank you, Miss Arrons," Gertrude replied in her prim librarian's voice. "You have just saved me a bit of effort."
"I-I-I," Stacy stuttered, before realizing she didn't know what she was going to say. Instead, she dropped down and tried, in vain, to wake Keith. Her aim may be off, but Stacy could hit hard when needed.
"Now, I have less than a half hour to find that sword. Perhaps, I could persuade the two of you to help with my search," Gertrude asked, one eyebrow cocked with sheer amusement. "Eh?"
"Never," Jana said. "I'd sooner die."
"That can easily be arranged, Eliza, dear," Gertrude smiled bitterly. "And, you, Miss Arrons?" Stacy stopped slapping Keith's face long enough to shake her head and stutter something about agreeing with Jana. "Very well. You leave me no choice-" She reached for her wand.
"Run, Stace!" Jana yelled as she took her chance to finally break free. She grabbed Stacy's arm and they were gone before Gertrude had time to think of a spell. The girls took off down the path in the direction Stacy had come from. Stacy honestly felt that she was moving faster than she had ever gone before.
"How do we get back to the school?" Jana panted as they rounded a tree.
"Um.." Stacy thought for a moment. "I-I'm not really sure."
"Keith!" Jana cried out, suddenly. "We left him. How could you leave him?"
"Me?" Stacy squeaked. "You were the one who dragged me out of there be-"
"We have to go back!" Jana was already sprinting back. Stacy followed, naturally.
No one was in sight when they returned. There were no footprints, no sounds, nothing. The only way they knew that it was the same location at all was that Stacy's textbook was still on the ground where it landed after hitting Keith in the head.
"Where'd they go?" Jana gasped. She leaned against a tree to catch her breath. She looked exhausted. Stacy was willing to bet that she hadn't slept at all for a long time.
"It must be nearly midnight," Stacy thought out loud. "Gertrude's too late, right?"
"I hope so," Jana panted again. "Come on. Let's get out of here. We can go back to the school and get help."
"I should have done that to begin with," Stacy scolded herself. So much for her being brave. All she had caused was more trouble.
It was well past one before Stacy could finally see Hagrid's hut. "We're almost there," She called over her shoulder to Jana.
"Stacy!" Hagrid boomed when he opened his door. "What're yeh doin' here at this hour?" He paused, suddenly noticing Jana. "Is that-?"
"Hello, Hagrid!" Jana exclaimed. She seemed to be perking up now that they were out of the forest.
Hagrid shook his head a couple times, then threw on a coat. "I better get you two up to the school. I imagine Dumbledore's lookin' to speak to yeh."
"Wait, Hagrid," Stacy cut in. "Keith-"
"Is up at the school already," Hagrid told her. "I saw him and the others go up at least an hour ago." Jana and Stacy exchanged a baffled look. "Well, let's go then. It's far too late for you two to be up and wandering around out here." He place a firm arm on each girl's shoulder and they all walked up to the castle.
~
Author's Notes:
This chapter wasn't very good, but oh well. It was still an important one. Pretty much all of the "action" took place here. There will be one more chapter, maybe two, to tie up the rest of the strings.
I'm hoping this made sense. As I said last time, I neglected this story for over a year, and, well, I can't remember exactly how I had originally imagined this all ending. I think it was something like what happened, but oh well..
Anyway, I'm still actually planning on possibly writing some more about Stacy after I finish with "Fame." Possibly. I leave for school in a couple days, so I'll try to have the last chapter(s) out by then.
Ok, well, as always sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes. Also, this time I'm saying sorry if this didn't make any sense. Hopefully the things that didn't make sense for you are the ones I'll touch on next time.
Also, REVIEW!!!
- Hope
The day began normally enough. Stacy woke up half past seven when her friend, Courtney, poured a glass of water on her head. Sputtering and coughing, Stacy shook a fist at her friend, but then promptly forgot all about it. Stacy hated mornings with a passion so great that nothing, not even her best friend dancing around their room while singing terribly off-key and shaking a -now- empty glass, could shock her. Mornings were meant to be bad, nothing could change that. And, if there was ever a morning that was not bad, it just meant the rest of the day would be so abominable that no one could survive it.
The rest of the day flew by in a daze of classes and friends and other daily rituals. Stacy kept expecting something horrible to happen. She was ready for it. She half-expected the world to end at any minute and half-realized that she was being incredibly foolish. Stacy stayed alert all day. Her eyes were constantly roaming, constantly looking for possible signs of danger. Nothing out of the ordinary happened though. Classes went by, as usual. Meals were eaten, as usual. The day was just another day at Hogwarts.
The night was another story though. After dinner, Stacy and her friends went to the library to finish up their homework. Courtney and Ben fought the whole time, as usual, about whether aliens existed. Peter tuned them out and focused on his reading. Justin sat glumly at the end of their table, giving and receiving glares from his fellow Slytherins. Stacy, herself, was the only one who acted at all differently. She had her Potions notebook open, but she never turned a page. Her eyes were still busy roaming.
"Stace?" Courtney whispered, after the group had been sitting in the library for over an hour. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" Stacy snapped, a little too quickly for Courtney's liking.
"Is it your parents?" Courtney asked knowingly.
Stacy flinched, but said nothing.
"Stacy," Courtney pushed. "I know it's hard. It'll work out for the best though. You'll see." Courtney attempted a half-smile. Stacy bit her lip to keep from laughing at her friend. Times like this reminded her that she was the only actress in the group.
"I know," Stacy assured her friend. "Well, I think I'll go back up to the common room. I don't think I'm going to be getting much done tonight."
"It might help if you actually turned a page in your notebook," Ben smirked at her.
Stacy rolled her eyes. It had taken her all year, but she was finally well-accustomed with Ben's "comments." After she had swiftly gathered up her many belongings, Stacy bid her friends goodnight and hurried out of the library.
It was still relatively early as Stacy wandered in the direction of Gryffindor House. The sun was long gone, but it wasn't pitch black outside yet. She could still just make out the massive form that was Hagrid walking along the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest. The corridors were almost empty as most of the students were either in the common rooms or the library, but it wasn't too late to be up and wandering about- as Stacy soon found out in no uncertain terms.
First, she saw Penny and Joan Prickle on their way to the Owlery with a note for their parents. They both stopped to chat for a moment with Stacy about how strange the teachers were acting and how unbearably noisy their common room could be sometimes. Next, Stacy ran into Greg Adams and Wendy Tyson on their way to the library. She barely escaped before Wendy actually managed to talk her ear off about how mean Professor Snape was for giving them such short notice for the next day's test. Then, moments later, Stacy literally ran into Professor Granger.
"Sorry, Stacy," Hermione gasped as she helped her student pick up her books. "I really should be more careful when turning these corners. I remember all too well what it's like to be knocked over while carrying around a big pile of books!" A small peal of laughter escaped her. "You wouldn't happen to know if Professor Potter is still in the library, would you? I know he was covering for Madame Vasta earlier, but I think Professor Flitwick was supposed to take over for him around now."
"He was still in there when I left," Stacy told her.
"Good, I thought I might keep him company. He said he was going to be grading tonight and I know how lonely that can be!" She gave a small sigh. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. I've decided it will be our final flying lesson. I thought it might be nice to give the class some extra time to prepare for exams. I know how stressful the end of the year can be!"
Stacy smiled in agreement and parted ways with her teacher. She was surprised to find herself feeling nearly sad that their class was almost done. She was growing to enjoy flying, but she still felt like she preferred to keep her feet on the ground...
"Stacy!" Keith hissed from behind her so suddenly that her heart jumped nearly as high as she did. "Come on, we have to go get it before it's too late."
Stacy spun around and stared questioningly at him. "Get what?"
"This isn't a time for jokes, Eliza!" He severely emphasized the last word. "We have to go stop her!"
"Eliza?" Stacy's eyes grew round. "I'm not Eliza. I'm Stacy. Staaa-ceee!"
Keith rolled his eyes. "Come on!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hallway with him.
Stacy gave up fighting it after a few seconds. He was obviously much stronger than she would ever be. Instead, she tried to focus on what was going on. She was being pulled along by a boy she thought she trusted, but who now seemed to be slightly insane and possibly thought she was a girl who had died a few hundred years before and who had been reborn and was now one of her friends. Oh, and she was still carrying along a heavy armload of books. It was all just too much for Stacy to grasp. Especially the books.
"Keith," She started.
"Michael."
"M-michael?" Stacy's eyes grew round again as the puzzle started to make sense. "Well, w-whoever you are, can you at least let me put these-" She glanced down at the now overbearingly heavy load. "down somewhere. Then, we can go get whatever it is we're going to go get."
"We don't have time," He snapped, but a look of sympathy had begun to play on his face. "Here, give me some of those." He took the worst of the load and they continued on, now in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.
A good ten minutes had passed before Stacy had the nerve to speak again. "What are we going to go get again? I forgot."
Keith came to a halt at this. "You really don't know, do you?" Stacy shook her head. "I thought you were just messing with me back there, but…" His voice trailed off. He dropped her books with a loud thud and grabbed her shoulders. His glare seemed to penetrate her skin. "You aren't Eliza."
"That's what I was trying to tell you! I said that back-"
Keith wasn't listening though. He was too busy pacing up and down the path while muttering- almost- incoherently to himself. "If you aren't 'Liza… I was so sure… Rachel's sister said you had bad dreams…"
"Dreams?" Stacy spoke up, another piece of the puzzle in her mind was falling into place. "Did you send the dreams?"
Keith spun on her. "So, you are Eliza?"
"W-well, no," Stacy began. "I'm-"
Keith grabbed her shoulders again. "Tell me everything you know."
Stacy glared up at him. "I'm trying to! If you'd just let me get a word in!"
"Fine, go ahead, I'm all ears," Keith snapped.
"I'm a feeler," Stacy explained, slowly, loving the power she was feeling then. "It's a trait my family gave me. I'm guessing that you were trying to send a message to the Eliza- the real Eliza- and somehow it got sent to me since I'm extra-sensitive to these things. Before you ask, I don't know if the -real- Eliza got the messages too, but I do know who she is." She paused, really enjoying the power her words had on him. "She's one of my friends- Jana Black."
Keith's face scrunched up at this. "Isn't that the Hufflepuff who disappeared last winter?" Stacy nodded, slowly, savoring the power rush. "Damn it! She could be anywhere by now!" Keith looked like he was ready to murder someone.
"Or, she could be right behind you," Came a small voice from, well, right behind them.
Sure enough, there she was. Jana, somehow, looked exactly the same and completely different from when Stacy had last seen her. Her hair was longer and not so clean. She seemed to have lost more than a few pounds. All in all, it was quite obvious that she had been living in the forest for awhile.
Jana smiled, a weak smile, but still a smile. "I was wondering when you would come for me, Michael" Her smile grew as she noticed Stacy hovering nearby. "Oh, hello, Stacy. I was wondering if I might see you again."
"Do you live here?" Stacy asked, her eyes now as round as dinner plates.
Jana nodded and grinned. "It's not so bad once you get used to the odor."
"Only you could manage to survive in that torturous swamp!" Keith exclaimed, his face a mixture of what Stacy took to be amusement and pride.
"Aren't there a lot of mon- I mean, horrible animals?" Stacy gasped.
"Don't speak badly of my friends!" Jana mock-scolded. "Well, I suppose they really are horrible. I've never thought so though. I think they rather like me, actually." She turned and directed her gaze at Keith. "So, are you going to kill me now, Michael?"
"Of course not," Keith gasped. "Did you really think I came back just to kill you?"
Jana shrugged sheepishly. "Why else would you come back?"
Keith looked at her a moment, then taking a deep breath, he began to talk. "I think there are some things we should clear up. First of all, neither of us were to blame for any of the problems our family had." He took another breath. "It was all Aunt Gertrude's doing."
"I knew it!" Stacy exclaimed- a little too brightly, causing the siblings to look at her like she had suddenly grown another head. "I mean, I didn't know it exactly, but I knew it sort of. Like, I figured that it couldn't be either of you because that was way too obvious and-" Their looks were priceless. "Continue."
Keith smiled slightly. Stacy might not have been the bravest or the smartest person in the world, but she was good to have around during a crisis. For entertainment purposes anyway. "I'm sure you remember hearing about Atha, Eliza. Father used to tell us about it all of the time."
"That was the sword," Jana said, slowly. "The one that was said to be the best in the world, if I'm not mistaken. What does that have to do with anything though?"
"You don't know? I could've sworn I sent a dream about that," Keith shook his head. "Anyway, Gertrude wanted the sword. I don't know why exactly, but it was an obsession of hers. She spent her whole life searching for it, researching it, studying how to fight. It drove her mad in the end. I knew it, but no one believed me."
"I remember," Jana interrupted. "You were always telling Father that she was ill in the head as well as the body."
"She never was ill in the body," Keith said gravely. "She faked her whole sickness. I figured that out when I arrived early for my weekly visit with her. She was performing a spell. I'm not sure what it was for, but I knew then- and I swear it now- that it was not a good one. She tried to make me forget it, but I managed to move before the spell hit me. That was the day I burned her house down. It was a mistake, really. I didn't know then just how far she had gone. I thought she died, we all did. She was good at faking though. After I had escaped, she drank a potion for protection. It allowed her to remain alive even after we had buried her."
"How is that possible?" Jana asked.
Keith waved an impatient hand at her. "We don't have time to go into the specifics. Basically, she lived. I don't know how she did it, but she did. She came back to our house and threatened me. She killed our parents while I could do nothing. Then, she did the memory spell again. This time it worked. The rest, I suppose, you know. I thought you were the killer, Eliza. I really believed that. It wasn't until my own death, a good sixty years after yours, that I realized the truth. I followed your spirit. I made sure I was born again around the time you were."
"Why?"
"Don't you see, we have to stop her. We have to get the sword before her."
Jana shook her head. "How? We don't know where it is, or where she is, or-"
"Yes, we do!" Keith exclaimed. "She is at Hogwarts. She came there this year as the librarian-"
"I knew it!" Stacy cried, happily. "I knew Madame Vasta was evil! She's just too…" Stacy shuddered for emphasis.
"The sword is here too," Keith continued. "It's in the forest. Well, she thinks it is anyway. She has been searching for centuries. She even kept up the search while she waited for her chance to be born again. So, I'm thinking she might be right this time."
"Why is this happening today?" Stacy asked. "I know there's something important about May 15th, but, well, what?"
"According to the stories, the sword can only be retrieved on the day you were born," Jana explained. "I'll give you three guesses when Gertrude's birthday was."
"It can only be retrieved at midnight when there's a full moon, actually," Keith added. "That's why it's taken her so long, I suppose. She would have had to find the sword, then wait for a full moon to fall on her birthday, then-"
"We better hurry," Jana interrupted. "It's going on ten now. No telling how long it'll take us to find it."
"How will you get it though?" Stacy wondered. "It's only her birthday, right?"
The siblings exchanged a glance. "We'll figure something out. It might be that we just have to distract her long enough for the opportunity to pass," Keith spoke up.
"Don't worry," Jana told her. "We'll figure it out when we get there."
"Ok, well, let's get going then," Stacy replied. "Should we split up or just stay together or what?"
The siblings exchanged another glance. "You better get back to the school, Stacy," Jana said gently. "We'll take care of this."
"You might need my help though," Stacy pointed out. "There's a lot of area to be covered and not much time."
"This isn't your problem, Stace," Jana sighed. "I think this is something we need to take care of."
Keith nodded in agreement. Stacy knew there wasn't any point in arguing with them. She wasn't even sure that she wanted to argue with them.
Stacy watched as they walked off down the path. Together at first, then came the fork in the road. She watched them until they were out of her sight. Sighing to herself, Stacy gathered up her books, then, before she had a chance to talk herself out of it, she placed all of them back on the ground. All of them, except for her heaviest text. That one went with her as she hurried deeper into the forest.
~
Looking back, Stacy would never be able to explain what made her do it. She had never been, by any definition, brave. Normally, she would have jumped at the opportunity to take the easy way out of something. She would have been more than happy to leave the acts of bravery to those who truly were brave and actually had half a clue what was going to happen. This time was different. This time, Stacy just had to do something.
The first hour was the easiest for Stacy. She was very determined and very stubborn and that combination kept her from giving in to the feeling of fear that kept creeping into her gut. That feeling gradually began to spread though. After the first hour, Stacy suddenly became certain that she was going to be lost in the woods forever or eaten by a wild animal at any moment. She had heard all about the horrible kinds of creatures that called the forest their home and she was now certain that she was going to meet all of them. At once.
The forest was terrifying, especially when you were a first year, alone, and already scared out of your mind. Stacy kept thinking that she heard someone- or something- behind her, but whenever she turned around, there was nothing to be seen. She kept hearing animal sounds. She heard birds screeching and wolves howling and what sounded like a tree being snapped in half. She never saw a thing though.
Stacy kept going though. She had originally chosen the path that Jana had taken. She never saw her friend though and, after coming across more than a handful of forks in the road, Stacy was now certain she would not ever find Jana. Not that she was sure she wanted to find Jana. Her friend would probably just insist that she return to the school immediately. Stacy wasn't sure what she was more scared of- finding Jana and being told to go back or not finding anyone ever again.
It was now half past eleven. Stacy had searched every inch of the paths she crossed. She had looked in the trees and in the bushes and in the grass. She had seen nothing though. She had not even seen any animals, besides an owl or two and a large colony of ants. She was starting to feel like she was the only being in the forest.
It was at this moment that she heard it. A crunching sound, from somewhere in front of her. Stacy slowed down and made an effort to walk as quietly as possible.
Just ahead of her, about ten feet down the path, three figures were standing close together. One of the figures seemed to be holding onto the others' necks. Stacy could sense the hostility and tension before she could hear anything.
"We don't know where it is!" Jana was insisting. "Honestly."
"I know you do," Gertrude sneered. "If you two brats think you are going to keep this from me, you are greatly mistaken. I have worked too long and too hard to have it taken from me now."
"We don't know any more than you," Keith exclaimed. "Honestly."
"Fine, then, it won't matter any if I kill you."
Those were the words that drew Stacy from the shadows. Swinging as hard as she possibly could, she heaved her textbook in Gertrude's direction. Keith was sprawled out on the ground, unconscious, before she realized her aim was slightly off.
"Stacy!" Jana cried in surprise as she continued struggling to break free of her aunt's grip.
"Well, thank you, Miss Arrons," Gertrude replied in her prim librarian's voice. "You have just saved me a bit of effort."
"I-I-I," Stacy stuttered, before realizing she didn't know what she was going to say. Instead, she dropped down and tried, in vain, to wake Keith. Her aim may be off, but Stacy could hit hard when needed.
"Now, I have less than a half hour to find that sword. Perhaps, I could persuade the two of you to help with my search," Gertrude asked, one eyebrow cocked with sheer amusement. "Eh?"
"Never," Jana said. "I'd sooner die."
"That can easily be arranged, Eliza, dear," Gertrude smiled bitterly. "And, you, Miss Arrons?" Stacy stopped slapping Keith's face long enough to shake her head and stutter something about agreeing with Jana. "Very well. You leave me no choice-" She reached for her wand.
"Run, Stace!" Jana yelled as she took her chance to finally break free. She grabbed Stacy's arm and they were gone before Gertrude had time to think of a spell. The girls took off down the path in the direction Stacy had come from. Stacy honestly felt that she was moving faster than she had ever gone before.
"How do we get back to the school?" Jana panted as they rounded a tree.
"Um.." Stacy thought for a moment. "I-I'm not really sure."
"Keith!" Jana cried out, suddenly. "We left him. How could you leave him?"
"Me?" Stacy squeaked. "You were the one who dragged me out of there be-"
"We have to go back!" Jana was already sprinting back. Stacy followed, naturally.
No one was in sight when they returned. There were no footprints, no sounds, nothing. The only way they knew that it was the same location at all was that Stacy's textbook was still on the ground where it landed after hitting Keith in the head.
"Where'd they go?" Jana gasped. She leaned against a tree to catch her breath. She looked exhausted. Stacy was willing to bet that she hadn't slept at all for a long time.
"It must be nearly midnight," Stacy thought out loud. "Gertrude's too late, right?"
"I hope so," Jana panted again. "Come on. Let's get out of here. We can go back to the school and get help."
"I should have done that to begin with," Stacy scolded herself. So much for her being brave. All she had caused was more trouble.
It was well past one before Stacy could finally see Hagrid's hut. "We're almost there," She called over her shoulder to Jana.
"Stacy!" Hagrid boomed when he opened his door. "What're yeh doin' here at this hour?" He paused, suddenly noticing Jana. "Is that-?"
"Hello, Hagrid!" Jana exclaimed. She seemed to be perking up now that they were out of the forest.
Hagrid shook his head a couple times, then threw on a coat. "I better get you two up to the school. I imagine Dumbledore's lookin' to speak to yeh."
"Wait, Hagrid," Stacy cut in. "Keith-"
"Is up at the school already," Hagrid told her. "I saw him and the others go up at least an hour ago." Jana and Stacy exchanged a baffled look. "Well, let's go then. It's far too late for you two to be up and wandering around out here." He place a firm arm on each girl's shoulder and they all walked up to the castle.
~
Author's Notes:
This chapter wasn't very good, but oh well. It was still an important one. Pretty much all of the "action" took place here. There will be one more chapter, maybe two, to tie up the rest of the strings.
I'm hoping this made sense. As I said last time, I neglected this story for over a year, and, well, I can't remember exactly how I had originally imagined this all ending. I think it was something like what happened, but oh well..
Anyway, I'm still actually planning on possibly writing some more about Stacy after I finish with "Fame." Possibly. I leave for school in a couple days, so I'll try to have the last chapter(s) out by then.
Ok, well, as always sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes. Also, this time I'm saying sorry if this didn't make any sense. Hopefully the things that didn't make sense for you are the ones I'll touch on next time.
Also, REVIEW!!!
- Hope