Chapter Two: A Bad Start to a Bad Year

"Holly…" Holly blinked and looked for the owner of the voice who called her name. Her eyes widened with embarrassment and fear as she realized the entire hall was empty. She scrambled to her feet and turned around and screamed as she found a bearded grinning wizard with a light dancing in his blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles. He chuckled as she tripped backwards over the table. As she got to her feet again she looked at him sheepishly.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore."

"Hello, Holly. Did you enjoy your sleep?"
"Um, I did, thank you." Holly squirmed. She didn't really want to be there at that moment. All she wanted to do was get back to her dormitory where she could have a nice long rest. "Well, I'll be going now…" Holly headed towards the door.
"Holly," Dumbledore called and Holly stopped. She turned to Dumbledore with a smile and nodded to show he had her attention. Dumbledore took a deep breath and hesitated. Holly's brow furrowed in confusion. What was so hard to say that it even made Dumbledore think twice about it.

"Your… brother."
"Oh…" That was the answer.

"I appreciate that you haven't said anything to him."
"Don't mention it," Holly murmured.

"I want you to look after him this year. As an older sister should." Holly gave him a sly smile.

"Really?" she said. "As a sister should?" Dumbledore looked at her over his glasses seriously, the smile from his face gone. Holly's face became serious as well.

"Yes sir," she nodded.

"I'm serious, Holly. You never know what that boy's going to get into…" Holly nodded.

"Yes, sir," she repeated. The smile slowly appeared on Dumbledore's face again.

"I'm glad we're clear. Good night, Miss Phillips."

"Good night."

Holly muttered to herself as she walked back to the common room.

"Stupid Dumbledore," she mumbled. "Now I have to be my brother's keeper." She approached the Fat Lady and opened her mouth to say the password when she realized she didn't know it.

"Oh hell!" she cried as she kicked the stone wall. "OK, look, um, whatever your name is, I—"

"Belinda!"

"Sorry?"
"My name. It's Belinda!" the Fat Lady informed her. Holly nodded.

"OK, alright, that's interesting information. Look, Belinda, my name is Holly Phillips and I overslept at the welcoming feast and I have no clue what the password is. So do you think you can give me a break and let me in anyway?"

"Are you crazy? Of course not!" Holly sighed.

"Please Belinda? I'll tell everyone of your wonderful compassion and pity! I am but a poor, lost little soul that's trying to find her way home in a warm bed in the GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM!"

"Sorry, I can't let you in." Belinda shook her head.

"There has to be some way I can get in there!" Holly complained.

"There is." Holly's face lit up.

"Really? How?"

"By giving me the password," Belinda replied with a smug look. Holly frowned.

"I don't like your attitude."

"And I don't like yours, so we're even."
"Please, there has to be something I can do to show you I belong in there! Wait, you KNOW I belong in there! I've gone to this school for five years!"

"I'll make a deal with you," said Belinda. "I heard you muttering about your brother. Is he in this house?" Holly hesitated.

"Yes…"

"If you can tell me who he is, I will let you in."

"That's all?" said Holly. Belinda smirked.

"Providing he can vouch for you, yes."

"I don't want to disturb anyone, they're all sleeping." Holly gave the portrait a large grin. Belinda smiled in return.

"Then I'm afraid you cannot get into this common room."
"You're doing this to annoy me, aren't you?" Holly narrowed her eyes at Belinda, whose smile was still firmly in place. Holly was about to try random words for the password when the painting swung aside and a head poked out of the room.

"What's going on out here?" It was George.

"George!" Holly cried. "My savior, my wonderful, beautiful messiah!"

"What?" George blinked.

"Um, Belinda? This is, er, my brother. Isn't that right, George?"

"What?" George repeated. Holly gave a nervous laugh.

"Heh heh… See, he's very tired. George, my wonderful brother, what's the password?" George rolled his eyes.

"Let her in, Lady. She's with me," George said to the painting. Belinda gave Holly a dirty look as she allowed the young girl into the common room.

"What's all that about me being your brother?" George asked.

"Long story… Hey… What are you two doing?" She spotted Fred in the corner, working on something.

"That's top secret information, Holly. We can't tell you that," George smirked.

"Right, OK, whatever. I'm going to bed!"

"No, it is, you can't!"
"I assure you that you CAN and it IS NOT!"
"It is and you can't!"

"It isn't and I can and I will!"

"It is and you can't and I WON'T!"
"TAKE YOUR SEAT MISS PHILLIPS! I have had ENOUGH of you for today! Ten points from Gryffindor and you are staying for detention after school tomorrow!" The class moaned as Snape sat down in his chair. Holly stared at him.

"So, you're just going to let an entire class mix two highly dangerous ingredients together! You just can't do that!"

"As I said, I can and I will. Who is the Potions Master here, hm? Not you! Class, mix two ounces of alorenthia and two ounces of wolfsbane!"
"No!" Holly cried, turning to the class. "Don't do it! You can't possibly achieve the effects he wants you to! He wants to kill us all!"
"Miss Phillips!" Snape snapped, slamming down his fist on the desk which made a loud thump. "I am sure the class has had enough of your conspiracy theories! Now, please have a seat before I am forced to escort you to the hospital wing for a CAT SCAN!" Half the class muttered at what a CAT scan was but Holly was resolute, yet calm.

"I assure you, Professor, I do not need my head examined. Wolfsbane and alorenthia are just an explosion waiting to happen!" Snape slapped his forehead with his hand.

"You stupid, stupid girl…" he muttered. "Not alorenthia and wolfsbane, orlenthia and wolfsbane are dangerous!" Holly was about to retort, but paused.

"Oops…" she muttered. Snape sneered at her.

"Sit. Down."

"Yes, sir." Holly did so quickly and found the twins snickering. "You told me those were dangerous ingredients!" she hissed.

"Apparently, you're stupider than we are!" Fred said through his silent laughter.

Holly was having a very bad day as she trudged to lunch. Lee Jordan came running up to her.

"Hey Holly, I—"

"Not now, Jordan!" Holly snapped, holding up her hand. She walked past him and to the Gryffindor table. She glanced over at her brother, but immediately turned away. Despite what Dumbledore had said, she didn't feel like playing babysitter today. Let her brother get into all the trouble he wanted for all she cared.

"So, are you excited about the tournament?" Holly's head turned sharply to her left as she heard a handful of gossiping first years.

"Tournament?" she said. One of them, a young boy who seemed small, even for a first year turned to her and grinned.

"Yeah. Are you going to enter?"

"Do you know who I am?" Holly asked.

"Sure I do. You're the girl my brother has a crush on." Holly raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" she inquired.

"Dennis Creevey!"
"And your brother is…"
"Colin." Holly smiled.

"Right! I, er, know him!"

"Well are you going to enter?" Dennis asked.

"Um, enter what?" Dennis and his friends gaped at her.

"You may be pretty, but you aren't that bright, are you?" said Dennis.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."
"The Tournament!" Dennis and his friends all cried at the same time.

"Everyone's been talking about this tournament but I have no idea what it is!" Dennis sighed, exasperated.

"The Tri-Wizard Tournament of course, you git!" a young girl next to Dennis exclaimed.

"Thank you, Natalie!" Dennis gave her a smile.

"The Tri-what?" Holly was confused.

"The Tri-Wizard Tournament is a competition between three schools that hasn't taken place in… How long guys?" The others shrugged at Natalie's question. She continued none the less. "Anyway, it hasn't taken place in a long time. It's between three schools and this year Hogwarts is hosting!" Natalie, with help from her friends, began describing the tournament and the rules. Holly nodded through the explanation.

"Did you miss the entire welcoming feast or something?" one of the boys concluded.

"I think she's just dense and didn't get it," another chimed in. Holly growled in frustration.

"I was asleep, OK? I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before! But thanks, now I don't have to look stupid when people are talking about it."

"Don't worry," Dennis said with a grin. "Your stupidity is safe with us. So, are you going to put your name in the Goblet of Fire? When it's up, of course."

"How old do you have to be again?" Holly asked.

"Seventeen," they all said.

"Then I can't. I'm only sixteen."

"Really?" Dennis asked. "I thought you were in your seventh year."
"Well I'm not, I'm in my sixth."
"Well, would you enter?" asked Natalie.

"I don't know. But… you said there was a reward or something, right? Like, money?"

"Yeah." They all nodded. Holly bit her lip and smiled sadly.

"Then I have a feeling I know a pair who will do anything, age limit or no, to get into that tournament…"

"… And I'm going to do everything in my power to try and talk you out of it!" Holly, Lee, and the twins were trudging off to Care of Magical Creatures.

"Oh Holly, you know nothing you say can stop us," George grinned. Lee nodded, gravely.

"They're right, Holly. They're doomed to a life of disobedience."

"Hallo, you four!" Hagrid called.

"Hello, Hagrid! You're looking great this fine evening!" Fred called. Hagrid's eyes narrowed.

"The las' time you tried to flatter me, Mr. Fred Weasley, you had done somethin' to one o' me skrewts!"

"We won't touch your skrewts today, Hagrid, we swear!" George held up his hands, defensively. Hagrid smiled weakly.

"So what are we doing today, Hagrid?" Lee asked

"If you kids had been 'ere on time, you'd know what we're doin'!"

"You're absolutely right, Hagrid," Fred agreed. "But the fact is, we weren't here on time. So if you could be so kind as to explain, it would really help us out a lot." A few kids laughed at how Fred sounded so polite and yet so derisive at the same time. Hagrid sighed, knowing it was only Fred Weasley, nothing to get worried about. Then again, when the Weasley twins were involved, it usually was something to get worried about.

"You're goin' teh help me with somethin' in the lake."

"Lake?" Holly cried. "No. I'm not going near the lake!" Hagrid frowned with what seemed to be a concerned look.

"Somethin' wrong, Holly?"

"No, it's just, that water is filthy!" she shrieked, her voice unusually high. She used the stereotypical ways of a female to her advantage. "And I just washed my hair! I can't go in that gunk!"

"Nonsense!" Hagrid laughed as most of the girls laughed at Holly and the others looked at the lake, nervously. "The lake is as clean as… Well, as clean as it can get anyway."

"Why do we need to go into the lake anyway?" Holly asked.

"The Giant Squid's taken ill and I need a few helpin' hands to assist me with 'em."

"Well, then, you obviously don't need my help. You have plenty of helping hands right here without me!"

"Holly, it's a great learnin' experience! You won't see anythin' like what's under there!"
"Exactly." Holly nodded.

"What is it, Holly?" Hagrid asked, seriously.

"The… The Grindylows! I'm terrified of them!"

"Awe, you needn' worry 'bout them, Hol! They're pests, but if yeh jus' put on this repellent, they'll leave you alone for the most part."

"Um, er, uh… I still don't trust them!" Fred, George and Lee were laughing so hard by now they fell to the floor.

"And jus' what do you three think you're laughin' at?" Hagrid demanded.

"Oh Hagrid!" George cried through his laugher. "Isn't it obvious? Can't you see?"

"Eh?"

"Holly doesn't want to go into the lake because… because…" But Fred couldn't finish, he was laughing so hard.

"Because she's afraid of water!" Lee cried. Holly mumbled something and kicked the dirt. Hagrid smiled at her.
"Well why didn' yeh say so, Holly?" he cried. "All righ' you're not a bad student, so I'll let yeh stay up here until we come back. But in the mean time… Are all of yeh ready with that spell I showed yeh?" They all nodded, but Lee and the twins stopped laughing and looked at each other with confused looks.

"Er… spell?" George said. Hagrid grinned.

"That's why yeh should 'ave been here on time!"

"UGH!" Holly cried as she looked at her muddy robes. "When you three dove in, you didn't have to splash me with all that crud!" They were walking back from their Care of Magical Creatures class.
"Sorry Hol," said George, who didn't sound sorry at all. "We didn't mean it."
"Yeah, like hell you didn't!" Holly snapped. "I am having one of the worst start of terms EVER!"

"Relax, Holly. Stress gives you wrinkles." Fred yawned. Holly gaped.

"You don't care, do you? You really don't care!" she yelled. Fred and George looked at each other, confused.

"Calm down, Holly, you know how they are," he said.

"You know what? I refuse to be around friends who don't care about me!"
"Holly, relax!" George ordered, grabbing her shoulders. "You're becoming hysterical."

"And you can't deal with that, can you? All you do is joke, you can't deal with anything serious! Well I hate to be the one to break it to you, Fred and George Weasley, but your joke shop is nothing more than a fantasy! Weasley's Wizard Wheezes will never become a reality and do you know why? Because you two won't be able to deal with all the stress of running a business! You can't be serious, you don't even have the money for it! How on earth do you expect you'll make that money? You like jokes so much? Than you'll love this news, Weasleys! You're a joke! You're just one big joke and that's all you'll ever be!" George let go of Holly's shoulders and Holly saw, as if in slow motion, his eyes grow wide, his mouth drop slightly, and his heart break. Slowly, she realized what she done and looked at Fred, who had the same, heartbroken look on his face. She then looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry, you guys," she whispered. They said nothing. She couldn't bear to look them in the eye. She turned to Lee for support, but he was looking at her wish shock and disgust and slowly shaking his head, truly appalled. Holly opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Lee interrupted her.

"How can you say something like that, Holly?" His voice was quiet, yet full of disdain. "How can you? No, really, I want to know. You know that's all Fred and George want to do, start a joke shop, and you've supported them in it up 'til now! You told them to go for it and believe in themselves. Now, you're taking that back and telling them it'll never happen. Holly, you just told a young kid that his father's never coming home from war without any pity or sympathy. You're disgusting. Ever since last year, you've developed this whole new attitude. You cried. I actually saw you cry last year. You used to never cry, even when your dad died. You've been angry and irritable for the longest time. Now I don't know anything about females or PMS or anything, but you've really changed, Holly. You've developed all these new emotions and none of them are positive. You didn't used to care what other people think, and now you're willing to beat up one of your closest friends just because they pulled a joke on you that you think could damage your reputation! You used to forgive your friends when they accidentally hurt you and now you scream at them when they accidentally get you muddy. You used to support your friends in anything they wanted to do, and now you're crushing their dreams. Why have you become such a bitch Holly?" Lee screamed. He took a deep breath to calm down. "I'll tell you what. You keep your cocky attitude and we'll keep our dreams. Goodbye, Holly." And with that, Lee gave Fred and George a weak smile as he ushered them into the castle with him. And Holly was left, alone.