Chapter 2:
Disclaimer: I don't *sniffle* own anything Harry Potter, though I do have them tied up in front of me right now. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and don't worry Clarice is a dynamic character with many sides to her. That's what this chapter is for. Don't flame me, I'll just take them with me to when I go see Hades this weekend. Thanks and happy reading.
Warning: Some of this takes place in the Muggle world. Sorry couldn't be helped.
"I'm dead." Clarice moaned onto the bus seat. "Two failure warnings. One in Spanish and one in Science. Grammy and granddad are going to kill me."
"Yah, and your granddad can use all those swords that he has." Ann said with a smile. Clarice sighed at her friend. Ann had just made it without a failure warning this quarter, not that she cared all that much. She wanted to go to a trade college so her grades in history wouldn't matter.
"Oh, and I have training today." Clarice said, shuddering at the thought of training with two failure warnings. Her grandfather came from Japan, not only that but a long proud Japanese family, meaning he picked one person in the family to teach the old ways. "Why doesn't he pick one of the boys, like they had to in Japan?" Clarice had asked her grandmother when she'd been told.
"Because he wants to teach it to someone who will appreciate it. You care about your heritage and you like to learn about it. Your cousins don't. So your not good at sports, I'm sure you'll do fine. How hard could it be to wave a sword around?" Her grandmother had asked. That was the last time that she asked her American grandmother on advice in Japanese matters.
"Clarie, hon. Listen to me," Ann said "wear a helmet today or something. I've seen 'training' and I don't know about it...HAY! OH, YOU ARE SO GOING DOWN TYLER!"
Clarice smiled as her friend run over to the seat with one of her other friends in it after he hit her square in the face with a spitball. After that Clarice didn't have time to worry about anything other than the "gorilla warfare" that had begun.
Draco Malfoy sat in the Slytherin common room and frowned at the girl who sat reading in a chair in the furthest corner of the room. She and Potter had become something like friends during potions classes. Not a good thing. He and the others hated her, but she was a Slytherin and they had to keep her as much on their side as they could. How was the question. He sighed and walked over to her.
"I'm not going to be waving a 'go Gryffindor' flag at the match Malfoy, don't worry. I'm still for our house" She said before he could say anything to her.
"What? Is that why you think I came over here..." He asked before she cut him off.
"I know it is, or that it's something like it. Don't try to play games with me. If you really want to talk than sit down, but I warn you that my mind may not be the best to try to get into." He almost smiled but caught himself before he did.
He walked back over to his circle of friends and nodded that they didn't have to worry. His circle was that of those from old wizerding families who he'd known since early childhood. There were others, those who weren't so well known in the room but they kept to themselves. The social groups stayed to themselves in Slytherin, you didn't usually mingle, but if someone did something to anyone who was in the Slytherin house than everyone banded together for revenge. That was the way it was. Slytherin was it's own little family; maybe it was dysfunctional, but they were a family all the same. Quidditch games were when that mentality really showed. It was shocking to see them all toghter before or after games. Talk went to there usual; how to win the Quidditch cup, who was doing what in the other houses, how to kill Harry Potter. (Hay I didn't say that everyone in Slytherin was just good or evil and besides Harry and Ron do the same thing about Draco.) No one noticed the time until it was almost four in the morning. ~Thank God we don't have classes tomorrow. ~ Draco thought. He'd have to think of something else to do all day.
"So Mudblood how's Potter?" Pansy asked, as she got ready for bed.
"Disappointed that he didn't get to kill your boyfriend, oh that's right Malfoy wouldn't go out with you." Clarice countered. She was way to tired and sore to have to put up with Pansy's antics tonight. Pansy stood, shocked at the sudden use of backbone. Much to her surprise Clarice didn't keep going on, choosing instead to lie down and shut her eyes. The other girls shrugged and did the same. As soon as the light was off Clarice opened her eyes and rolled over. She didn't close her curtains because she liked to know what was going on in the room around her. Her grandparents hadn't been happy about her not so wonderful grades but she was alive, sore but alive nonetheless. Grades were important to her grandparents; they wanted her to be able to make something of herself. She was going to have to show a great improvement before she would have any privileges again. She sighed. It wasn't just Muggle subjects that she was having trouble with, to her Transfiguration was a word that was interchangeable with hell. As for Defense Against the Dark Arts class, well they still didn't have a teacher yet. She sort of wished that Professor Lupin would come back. He'd never hurt a student and she didn't think that he would, and besides he'd been the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher yet. Moody had been amusing, but Lupin had the real talent and she respected that. Besides, who better to teach about the Dark Arts than a werewolf? He'd taken time to explain the material to any student who asked. Clarice sighed and forced herself to ignore the pain that she had and go to sleep.
Thanks for reading this and please review. Sorry if it's still a little slow, but I have to finish laying the foundation here. Thanks again for all the input from the reviews from the last chapter. Finally I'm going to Williamsburg till next Sat, but when I get back I'll read any other suggestions and type up the next chapter. Again thanks and please review because it really does help.
- Rosaline @-----)--------
Disclaimer: I don't *sniffle* own anything Harry Potter, though I do have them tied up in front of me right now. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and don't worry Clarice is a dynamic character with many sides to her. That's what this chapter is for. Don't flame me, I'll just take them with me to when I go see Hades this weekend. Thanks and happy reading.
Warning: Some of this takes place in the Muggle world. Sorry couldn't be helped.
"I'm dead." Clarice moaned onto the bus seat. "Two failure warnings. One in Spanish and one in Science. Grammy and granddad are going to kill me."
"Yah, and your granddad can use all those swords that he has." Ann said with a smile. Clarice sighed at her friend. Ann had just made it without a failure warning this quarter, not that she cared all that much. She wanted to go to a trade college so her grades in history wouldn't matter.
"Oh, and I have training today." Clarice said, shuddering at the thought of training with two failure warnings. Her grandfather came from Japan, not only that but a long proud Japanese family, meaning he picked one person in the family to teach the old ways. "Why doesn't he pick one of the boys, like they had to in Japan?" Clarice had asked her grandmother when she'd been told.
"Because he wants to teach it to someone who will appreciate it. You care about your heritage and you like to learn about it. Your cousins don't. So your not good at sports, I'm sure you'll do fine. How hard could it be to wave a sword around?" Her grandmother had asked. That was the last time that she asked her American grandmother on advice in Japanese matters.
"Clarie, hon. Listen to me," Ann said "wear a helmet today or something. I've seen 'training' and I don't know about it...HAY! OH, YOU ARE SO GOING DOWN TYLER!"
Clarice smiled as her friend run over to the seat with one of her other friends in it after he hit her square in the face with a spitball. After that Clarice didn't have time to worry about anything other than the "gorilla warfare" that had begun.
Draco Malfoy sat in the Slytherin common room and frowned at the girl who sat reading in a chair in the furthest corner of the room. She and Potter had become something like friends during potions classes. Not a good thing. He and the others hated her, but she was a Slytherin and they had to keep her as much on their side as they could. How was the question. He sighed and walked over to her.
"I'm not going to be waving a 'go Gryffindor' flag at the match Malfoy, don't worry. I'm still for our house" She said before he could say anything to her.
"What? Is that why you think I came over here..." He asked before she cut him off.
"I know it is, or that it's something like it. Don't try to play games with me. If you really want to talk than sit down, but I warn you that my mind may not be the best to try to get into." He almost smiled but caught himself before he did.
He walked back over to his circle of friends and nodded that they didn't have to worry. His circle was that of those from old wizerding families who he'd known since early childhood. There were others, those who weren't so well known in the room but they kept to themselves. The social groups stayed to themselves in Slytherin, you didn't usually mingle, but if someone did something to anyone who was in the Slytherin house than everyone banded together for revenge. That was the way it was. Slytherin was it's own little family; maybe it was dysfunctional, but they were a family all the same. Quidditch games were when that mentality really showed. It was shocking to see them all toghter before or after games. Talk went to there usual; how to win the Quidditch cup, who was doing what in the other houses, how to kill Harry Potter. (Hay I didn't say that everyone in Slytherin was just good or evil and besides Harry and Ron do the same thing about Draco.) No one noticed the time until it was almost four in the morning. ~Thank God we don't have classes tomorrow. ~ Draco thought. He'd have to think of something else to do all day.
"So Mudblood how's Potter?" Pansy asked, as she got ready for bed.
"Disappointed that he didn't get to kill your boyfriend, oh that's right Malfoy wouldn't go out with you." Clarice countered. She was way to tired and sore to have to put up with Pansy's antics tonight. Pansy stood, shocked at the sudden use of backbone. Much to her surprise Clarice didn't keep going on, choosing instead to lie down and shut her eyes. The other girls shrugged and did the same. As soon as the light was off Clarice opened her eyes and rolled over. She didn't close her curtains because she liked to know what was going on in the room around her. Her grandparents hadn't been happy about her not so wonderful grades but she was alive, sore but alive nonetheless. Grades were important to her grandparents; they wanted her to be able to make something of herself. She was going to have to show a great improvement before she would have any privileges again. She sighed. It wasn't just Muggle subjects that she was having trouble with, to her Transfiguration was a word that was interchangeable with hell. As for Defense Against the Dark Arts class, well they still didn't have a teacher yet. She sort of wished that Professor Lupin would come back. He'd never hurt a student and she didn't think that he would, and besides he'd been the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher yet. Moody had been amusing, but Lupin had the real talent and she respected that. Besides, who better to teach about the Dark Arts than a werewolf? He'd taken time to explain the material to any student who asked. Clarice sighed and forced herself to ignore the pain that she had and go to sleep.
Thanks for reading this and please review. Sorry if it's still a little slow, but I have to finish laying the foundation here. Thanks again for all the input from the reviews from the last chapter. Finally I'm going to Williamsburg till next Sat, but when I get back I'll read any other suggestions and type up the next chapter. Again thanks and please review because it really does help.
- Rosaline @-----)--------