Author's Note: Alright, I'm sorry this took so long, but I wasn't allowed back online until after the fifteenth, even though I had this chapter done about a week earlier. This is my longest ever chapter so far, not that I expect the next one to be any longer, or just as long for that matter. I played around with perspective in this chapter, just to give it a little bit more depth and fight off the boredom that seems to ensue, as this chapter is one of those relatively dull, in-between chapters. Quite a few things happen, Harry's misery finally lets up, I lose all seriousness in the beginning when I have an argument with him, we learn some things about Hermione's stay in Bulgaria, a new student arrives at Hogwarts (though we learn more about her in the next chapter), and we take a trip into the minds of Lord Voldemort himself, and everyone's favorite (not!) Potions Master Severus Snape. What else, we get to see things through the eyes of Hermione and Ron (extremely briefly b/c I was really tired) as well. In this chapter you get to see from different perspectives quite a bit more than I would normally do, as I can assure you that future chapters will be more from Harry's perspective, because I like third person semi-omniscient, keeping things mainly from Harry, but throwing in other perspectives. I also might, as I did in this chapter, throw in a first person perspective every once in a while, just 'cause. Well, surprise, surprise, I hate this chapter too, another piece of "work" that is severely lacking in quality, but I would get used to it if I were you, because, perfectionistic as I am, there will be very few chapters that satisfy me. Anyways, I'd better let you get to reading, enjoy (uh-huh, sure, right! – that was sarcasm if you couldn't tell) and review please! Thanks.
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Chapter Three
The Journey
Luckily for Harry, his skin began to heal within a matter of days, and he was able to use his horrific appearance to his advantage. Purely out of terror, as the fact that Vernon Dursley could ever feel any true concern for him was highly doubtful, his uncle had asked him the next morning what had gone wrong with his worthless, putrid hide. Ignoring the nagging, timid voice in the back of his mind that was still horrified, Harry decided he'd have a bit of fun with this…
"Oh, what?… Oh, this," he said, indicating his face, "that's nothing… It was just that last night my godfather decided to pop in; he was getting worried about me see, thought I was getting mistreated or something… Anyhow, it was so dark he didn't even recognize me, and he attacked me… You have no idea how upset he was when he realized he had attacked me! Who was it he said he was after again?…" Harry couldn't suppress a grin, and, struggling to fight down fits of hysterical laughter, he allowed the silence to spiral horribly before continuing. " 'Vernon Dursley' I think he said… Yeah, but he's fixed almost all of the damage by now, this is nothing…" This was almost too much, Uncle Vernon blanched so that his face seemed to be made of lumpy porridge, and Aunt Petunia had dropped her glass serving tray and shattered not only the Dursleys' "breakfast," but her favorite afternoon – number one – neighborhood – spying – binoculars. Dudley, meanwhile, had given a yelp and suddenly crawled under the table and began to bark like a dog. 'Okay,' Harry suddenly directed his thoughts at the narrator, yours truly, in what I might add was a very insolent, disrespectful tone of sarcasm, 'yeah, that makes so much sense!'
I cut him off, 'Hey, it's my story here! Just because I didn't invent you I can still do whatever I want! I would watch your step if I were you, Mr. Harry – ungrateful – insolent – disobedient – protagonist – Potter, after all, I could make you slow-dance with Snape wearing polka-dotted boxers and a chicken on your head if I really wanted to!'
Well, this telepathic argument went on for quite some time before we both realized that we were talking in our heads to voices that didn't even exist, and each decided to concern ourselves with our own respective real worlds. Meanwhile however, something far more important was happening…
~**~_~**~_~**~
The Dark Lord twirled his wand lazily between his fingers, considering whether or not he should kill Nott this week. He decided to let the brainless, spineless, sniveling idiot live for a little bit longer: who knows, maybe he would actually be of some use one day? Voldemort sneered at the thought of Casius Nott ever being of any use to anyone. His thoughts were interrupted however, when the very subject of his disgust burst in uninvited.
"My Lord," the short, round, oily-looking Casius Nott sputtered stupidly, "it has happened!"
"What has happened, Nott?" Voldemort inquired, unable to hide the impatience in his voice. He could not believe that there were so many brainless morons in the world… Indeed, if he hadn't needed these putrid lowlifes to do his dirty work, he would have killed them all long ago. His mood brightened considerably however, as he envisioned the whole lot of them, Casius Nott especially, writhing in agony, perhaps burning in a fire, perhaps being stabbed by poisoned knives, perhaps suffering under the Cruciatus Curse. His unnervingly twisted grin grew as he thought this through, indeed, torture was the Dark Lord's specialty.
He seemed to be staring past the slimy Death Eater before him, who was flinching at the dementia in his master's eyes, the twisted smile, the sweet venom in his voice, as Voldemort repeated himself. "What exactly was it you said happened, Casius?"
Nott seemed fixated on getting as far away from his master as possible, so he blundered on his short, breathless words, and Voldemort watched in disgust as his most obviously reluctant follower shuddered as he approached him. "The… The Prophecy! My Lord, the, the Girl, she is…"
"I know perfectly well about the Girl and her arrival at Hogwarts! Are you thick enough to think that I see this as a threat? This is possibly the greatest opportunity we've yet had, fool!" Filled with rage, the Dark Lord eyed his numb-skulled Death Eater with the utmost loathing, watching him as he shivered violently and compulsively, too disgusted to teach him a lesson in respect. "You are dismissed, Nott. You will not be punished today."
His hatred mounted as the Death Eater crawled forward, kissing the hem of his robes with a feigned reverence, muttering "Of course, thank you My Lord, you are most gracious!" He was not a fool, what kind of idiot did this pathetic excuse for a human being take him for? He knew very well what Casius Nott really thought of him.
"Get out of here, Nott! Leave me!… Before I change my mind…" He watched as the Death Eater, abandoning all pretense, ran for the door. Too late. "Crucio!" he roared, slightly satisfied as he watched Casius writhe, flail, and scream in the agony of a pain the world would never know. He had put in an extra special bit of power and anger as he held the curse for an unprecedented fifteen minutes. The Death Eater scrambled out of the room, and Voldemort glared angrily at the gray stone walls of his desolate throne room, punching the arm of his raised throne, reminding himself that he needed as many of those spineless slimeballs as possible. He smiled however, as he thought of how sweet it would feel, the day he would finally kill Casius Nott.
~**~_~**~_~**~
Severus Snape slammed the dungeons door behind him. How could this be happening to him again? He had missed the Defense Against the Dark Arts position AGAIN! The very thought of this, being shunted to the side every year for over ten years, filled him with an irrepressible rage and sorrow. Didn't Dumbledore trust him? Was this a punishment for the ugliness of his past? No… Somehow Severus knew, Dumbledore would never do such a thing to him… But what was it then?… Didn't they think he was good enough?
Severus groaned, no one ever thought he was good enough for anything! 'They're all still angr with me because I don't have their goody-two-shoes past… So I've made a few mistakes in my life,' he thought angrily to himself, 'but who hasn't?! I have proved countless times that I am worthy of trust, haven't I?… And what has it brought me? Where has it gotten me? Nothing and Nowhere! They wouldn't think two seconds before giving Potter the job if he were in my place… Perfect James Potter…' He thought bitterly of his old school rival. 'Always got what he wanted. Always got away with everything. Always had everything… Perfect James Potter, he had it all… the affections of every girl… the talent on the quidditch field… the popularity… He was well-liked by everyone in the school, he even had the favor of all the teachers!… Which, no doubt, was how he ended up as Head Boy… The 'Great' James Potter… Well, he was never so great nor so kind to me! His friends were always all too happy to give me a bruise or two… Heck, he even made my friends turn their backs on me! I could rot in hell for all they cared, just as long as Potter's shoes didn't get dirty!' He shuddered as he remembered that incident in fifth year when Black and Pettigrew had roughed him up 'probably on Potter's orders,' he had thought, and for no apparent reason at all… And there stood his best friends all around him, laughing at him as he struggled to fight them off… The memory of it still cut like a knife, and he felt the hurt penetrate all the way down to his soul.
Was that a tear he just felt running down his cheek? No, it couldn't be… He, Severus Snape, NEVER EVER cried, especially not over James Potter, he would never give him that kind of satisfaction, never… He could just see Potter smirking at him, knowing he had hurt him. He had always had that arrogant grin about him, strutting around the school as though he owned the place, which, Severus reminded himself, 'he practically did, after all, he had all the teachers in the palm of his hand…'
Everyone had always said, "if you would just be a bit kinder…" But what reason did he have to be kind to Potter?… Potter had always treated him as though he were something foul that had been dirtying his over-shined shoes… And anyhow, if he was ever kind to Potter, or any of his friends for that matter, God knows how they would have taken advantage of it! The vulnerability he'd be opening up!… And there was no way he would ever open up a vulnerability to James Potter, who knew what that git would do to him!… And Potter never did any of the dirty work himself: he always sent his henchmen, Black and Pettigrew, to do all those horrid things that were "beneath" him. Even in death, he was sure James was laughing at him: even in death, that Potter had everything, and he had nothing at all… Some things never change.
'Everyone knows I'm the best man for the job,' he thought to himself, 'but that doesn't seem to matter to them, does it? I've gone through hell and back again in my life; I've seen more pain and suffering than most people, but that doesn't matter to them. I've had my rough spots, but I've cleaned myself up, I've picked myself up again, and done things nobody else could ever do, but does it matter? No! Nothing matters to them… Everytime they see Severus Snape all they see is a Death Eater, and no matter what I do, nothing ever changes that!'
Full of miserable rage, he kicked an empty student desk as he glanced around the room bitterly. Sometimes he just felt like screaming.
~**~_~**~_~**~
Harry had just loaded his trunk into his compartment. It was Friday, September 1, 1995, and he was finally returning to Hogwarts. He had been a bit early, and decided to check his reflection once more before venturing back down onto the platform. He wanted to make sure all the green scars were really gone… He let out a sigh of relief; his face looked just as it had before his little "venture" into Intermundia. Yes, it was true, the scars had begun to fade quite rapidly in the days after the "incident," but his memory of Intermundia was beginning to fade with them as well, until at last he barely remembered anything at all. He had thrown the note bearing the threatening message in his trunk, he'd figure out what to do with it later… He felt that he'd rather not think about it just yet, after all, although the scars on his skin had vanished without a trace, they still left marks where they had pierced something much deeper than flesh.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the friendly faces he had so longed to see cross through the barrier. He rushed out onto the platform to meet them, hurrying much more than he needed, although he wasn't quite sure why, but he didn't care. He grinned as he saw them: they looked exactly as he remembered them, and they were badgering each other about something. Harry couldn't help but laugh out loud as he saw them bicker, it was good to know in this world of constant, ever-altering images and truths, that some things never change.
It was when he laughed that they noticed him, and Harry almost doubled over at the looks on their faces. Hermione squealed "Oh, Harry, we were so worried…" and nearly strangled him in her choke-hold-cobra-strength-squeezing hug, but Harry didn't care. His grin widened as he she released him and Ron smiled uncertainly back at him, seemingly a bit awkward as he greeted Harry, after all, wasn't hugging more of a girl thing? But Harry was far too happy to care about what anyone thought of him, and squeezed Ron in a tight embrace before he slap-punched him on the back. Filled with an ever-mounting euphoria, he hooked his arms around his friends' necks… And as the trio walked, arms around each other's shoulders, up to the scarlet steam engine, Harry, Hermione on his left, Ron on his right, felt freed as all his worries, nerves, fears, and anxieties fled him, and felt his spirit soar. With Ron and Hermione by his side, he had all he needed in life, and he couldn't have been happier.
~**~_~**~_~**~
We weren't long on the train before the inevitable happened… Ron started badgering me about the presents… I rolled my eyes and told him he'd just have to wait until after lunch, but I couldn't help smiling, it was just like Ron to do something like that…
It was a good thing we had the entire compartment to ourselves, because the noise was louder than even Fred and George could make. I was exhausted, as I had just gotten in from Bulgaria not long ago, but happy… We talked happily about anything and everything on the journey to Hogwarts, almost enough in fact to make Harry and Ron forget about Bulgaria and their presents. Almost, that is, but not quite…
As soon as we had eaten, Harry and Ron started shooting their trademark sideward glances at each other, and when they gave me that look I just knew they hadn't forgotten… So much for that… Sighing exasperatedly, I reached into the bag next to me and pulled out two muggle-wrapped Bulgarian presents as I handed them over, grining slyly… Although no one may agree with the things I pick out for myself, I'm well known for my talent at finding just the perfect gift for others. I watched anxiously as Ron tore open his present, I just couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they saw…
Suddenly, Ron gave an audible squeak (I'll never let him forget that) of excitement as his eyes met with the Gerviddean Iarotvotch's Triple Snap Exploding Paw I had gotten him.
"Oh wow Hermione! This is practically a legend! I've always wanted… I can't wait to see the looks on Fred and George's faces…" Ron seemed at a loss for words, and, needless to say, drifted off dreamily.
I explained the concept to Harry. "It's sort of a twist on the legend of the Monkey's Paw, and I bought it against my better judgement I might add… What it does is it grants the beholder three wishes… But not just any three wishes… It only grants prank wishes, lets you do things to your enemy, or any given target, anything you like, just by thinking about it, and it can not be traced back to you. The effects are temporary, they last until you've expended all three wishes… This time though, unlike its legendary muggle counterpart, there are no strings attached, at least that's what the dealer said… He seemed honest and I thought it worth the risk… What's the worst that could happen anyway?" I gave Harry a bit of a grin, although I was struggling to conceal how nervous this business truly made me.
"You could make Malfoy broke for a day, or Snape wear his underwear on his head while doing circus acts, or make McGonagall think you're God… Well, Ron's more imaginative then I am." I gave an involuntary shudder, wondering just what had possessed me to buy this, God only knows what Ron would do, "I'm sure he'll find something… Oh, and I almost forgot, when you've used up all three wishes the whole thing explodes and transforms your choice of room into a festive chamber for one night, turning your ideal vision of a party into a reality."
I raised my eyebrows at Harry to match his appraising look, and urged him to open his present. I grinned as I watched Harry's face light up with the perfect mixture of excitement and absolute euphoria. "Oh wow, Hermione! I, I… I don't know what to say… I…" His eyes were bugged out of their sockets, glittering hungrily, and his jaw had dropped, his glasses dangling off his nose, his mouth was hanging open as he examined The Ultimate Quidditch Kit. Inside a hard black box with silver lettering was not only collectibles of various famous snitches, quaffles, and uniforms, but autographs of famous players, a book on quidditch tactics, a magical sort of virtual reality quidditch tactics field and planner, alongside a magical virtual reality quidditch training simulator, the same one that professionals use, that keeps you up to speed on the latest quidditch news, lets you watch famous games as though you were in the stands, and helps you train, keeping track of your progress and always giving you professional tips. The moment I saw it in Professional Choice Quidditch Pitch in Bulgaria, apparently these things aren't nearly as expensive there as they are in England, I knew it was the perfect gift for Harry. The question now was how I was going to outdo myself come Christmastime; but I would worry about that later.
Both boys gaped dreamily for a long time at their gifts, each stolen away into their own world, and I was thankful for this, as it allowed me to steal a good glance at Ron. I had come to terms with the fact that I had feelings for the boy in Bulgaria, and now as I faced him, all I could do was stare. I must've slipped off myself, because even Harry noticed I was staring before I realized it myself, fixing me with an appraising look of amusement and raised eyebrows. I tried to look away, goodness knows I could feel my skin growing red by the second, probably even more vivid than Ron's hair, but it was very hard, I could feel his eyes on me. 'But what in the world am I going to do,' I thought to myself, as I struggled to convince my body to stay put in my seat, instead of belting out of the compartment like it wanted to do, 'now Harry must know! Oh God, this is so embarrassing, I can't believe I let myself slip like that. Stupid me, I've ruined everything!'
It didn't take long, however, for Harry to slip back into his own world of quidditch, while Ron was only beginning to slip back into reality. "I can't believe this Hermione, this is one of the best presents I've ever gotten! Who knew you had such good taste?!" Needless to say, he was nothing short of thrilled, so thrilled in fact that he gave me a hug, which left me with an oddly pleasant trembling feeling as I tried to decipher the odd looks he was giving me. Harry too, slipped back into reality and hugged me in thanks, and I sat thoroughly satisfied with myself, hoping they would forget to ask about Bulgaria…
Nope, they didn't…I knew it was going to happen anyway though, but I still felt very unprepared to answer the question of why I had been so unhappy there. "Oh, that…" I said in a feigned surprise that I'm sure fooled no one, "I thought you'd never ask!"… Hoped you'd never ask more like it… "Well, how do I say this… Viktor's family really isn't such pleasant company after all, and Viktor, well he…"
Ron was four steps ahead of me and in the wrong direction too, being his usually over-protective self (who could expect anything else?) he jumped ahead and cut me off… "He didn't try anything did he? Because if he tried anything I swear I'll…"
"No, Ron, of course he didn't!" I said, appalled. "It's just that the Krum family isn't that fond of muggle-borns, and when they found out about my parentage, well, they tried to kick me out…"
"What?"
"Yes, they threatened me with a… er… a multitude of things, if I didn't leave right on the spot, but Viktor convinced them to let me stay on. Every day they found some new way to try and get rid of me, like once his younger brother put flesh-eating slugs in my bed, and his twin sister and her friends threw me in a mud pit while Viktor was out on an errand and left me there for hours…" I shivered as I remembered…
It was a gray and stormy morning, Viktor had run off for a few hours to do some errands, leaving me all alone at the mercy of his twin sister Marishka and her friends Helga, Zosia, Eva, and Ana. I had only been in Bulgaria for a few days, but I was sensible enough to know to keep out of their way, I knew that they didn't like me and something about the five of them alone, having the run of the house rubbed me the wrong way. In any case, Mister and Missus Krum had taken the two younger children, David and Erika, shopping in town, leaving me alone with Marishka and her goons.
I woke up rather late, the cloud-covered sunlight pouring carelessly through the window of the guest bedroom, my gut telling me not to leave my chamber, a feeling that I should have paid more attention to. I pushed all the uneasiness to the back of my mind, and after I made myself a quick breakfast, set about their spacious-yet-modest manor in the last places I thought Marishka and her friends might have been… I was no fool, I knew it was best to put as much space between us as possible. Looking up at the overcast, darkening sky, I knew yet another storm was approaching, and so I figured they would most likely be indoors, after all, no one wants to stay out in the middle of a brutal Bulgarian storm… No one that is, except for me, it was perhaps a mark of my loathing for them, and just how horrible they could be, that I would take a Bulgarian storm over the sight of their faces, over their torments, any day. I set out for the woods, 'the better the place to take shelter from the storm,' I thought to myself, stupidly believing that if I kept out of their way, they would have the decency to steer clear of me as well… What a fool I was…
No sooner had I reached the wood than did I find myself enveloped in unfriendly voices. It was Marishka I heard first, her voice was chillingly high for a nineteen year old, like a child's.
"Hey Mudblood, come on over here, we've got something to show you!" She had a horribly haunting way of speaking, and she spoke English flawlessly, she had the accent down in spades. Hearing her voice, it was impossible to believe that she was not a native of England at all, which, as I'm sure she knew, made her torture seem all the worse to me.
I started to turn back, I was not going to answer to that sort of language. I kept my head held high as I turned my back on them, trying to walk at a slow pace, cool and confident, although my gut was telling me to run, and fast… "Oh come on Hermione," came Eva's voice, nearly as adept at speaking and sounding English as Marishka, "don't you like us?" They cackled with laughter at this, and I sped up slightly, willing them not to come after me, willing myself not to show any sign of the fear and adrenaline that was coursing through my nearly frozen blood.
"Oh come now Hermione, now you're just being rude… Don't you know how much we like you? C'mon, I thought we were friends, I'm hurt!" Zosia mocked expertly, she too had come into near perfection in her English, and she had a way with her voice like no other I'd ever heard, so much nastiness and ice was encased in her every word; but no one, of course, could compare with Marishka, who could never remain silent for long…
"I'm disappointed in you, Mudblood, I thought you'd had more brains than this, but I guess I was wrong, how foolish of me to think any Muggle-born could outwit even a dog." I trembled with anger, no one, and I mean NO ONE insults my intelligence, it was practically all I had. Marishka gave up the taunting-act, and shouted after me "Hey Mudblood! I told you to do something! Now get over here and do it before I make you," she snarled, satisfied, through gritted teeth. "Alright, you want to be difficult, I suppose we'll have to do this the hard way then…"
Before I knew it Helga had grabbed me 'round the middle, and when I tried to fight her iron grasp she punched me in stomach, hard… It was like being hit with a fifty ton block of cement, for Helga, who could barely string together two English words and was abysmally stupid, was so big and goonish that she seemed a frightfully accurate female version of a carbon copy of a combined Crabbe and Goyle. In just another moment I was on my feet, surrounded by the horrible five, and Marishka explained as the others, including, unfortunately, Helga, proceeded to kick, punch, and bruise me until not an inch of healthy flesh was apparent. "That was for your insubordination Muggle! Next time you'd better obey if you know what's good for you!" I looked up at her, she was very pretty, with long raven hair and cinnamon colored eyes with olive skin to match. She was tall and slender, but any beauty she had was of the mean sort, as her eyes seemed to glint with some sort of evil radiance; her looks radiated an aura of power and darkness. Ana, who spoke English well, but with a somewhat-thick Bulgarian accent, was not that much different, slightly shorter and skinnier, her skin was darker and her hair shorter, but her expression was softer. Zosia and Eva however, were fairer… Eva had long, platinum, curly hair, silvery eyes, and a pointed, white-as-snow face; she looked runty, and had a chilling resemblence to Draco Malfoy. Zosia, on the other hand had a muddy sort of olive-gone-pale flesh tone, her poison-green eyes had a malicious, mischievous glint to them, and her mean face was framed with long, dark-golden colored wavy locks. She was considerably taller than Eva, but somehow seemed just as nasty in that runty manner.
I glared up at them, my eyes burning with hatred and defiance. I refused to give them the sort of satisfaction such as to speak with them, to let them play with me, and in any case I didn't trust my mouth to keep from letting on how much pain they were really causing me: and I would never let them know how much they were hurting me. I spat at Marishka, cunning and rotten to the core, nastiest of the lot, she was always the ringleader. They marched me forcibly to a clearing in the forest, where there was a freshly dug mud pit, pushing me along the way as Zosia and Eva, who seemed to share a brain, shoved and kicked me while mocking me, scolding that I was not walking fast enough. When we reached the pit, which I stood directly on the edge of, Helga, like a bouncer, was directly behind me, Marishka directly across from me, and Ana, Zosia, and Eva were surrounding me on all sides. They scooped up mud from the edges of the pit, which, to my horror, I now saw was filled with spiders and other sorts of vermin. Then their fun really began, as they hurled the filth at me, throwing spiders in my hair, surrounding me so closely that I had no way of fighting back, no way of escaping. It was all I could do not to burst into angry tears, could it possibly get any worse? It could and it did… They laughed as if they could read my mind, cruel and horrid their harpie-cackles were, in one word: haunting. It was (surprise, surprise) Marishka who spoke for them.
"What's the matter Hermione, don't you like it here?" she taunted, "Or perhaps you would feel more comfortable amongst your own kind, down in the dirt and filth where you belong, Mudblood!" As one, they flung me into the pit, the pit crawling with vermin. "And stay down there! You're not welcome up here, amongst humans!" They cackled tauntingly and left me in there, in the ten-foot deep mud pit. I was completely and utterly helpless and alone, with no way to escape. As if this wasn't enough, at the very moment that they must've reached the indoors, the skies finally broke loose. The clouds unleashed a torrent of rain, so monsoon-like that it seemed as though it was coming down as a solid wall, not in droplet-form, the lightning illuminated the whole sky and burned down quite a few isolated trees and buildings, and the thunder was explosive. I knew instantly that Viktor would be stuck in town for hours now, and that no one would come to my rescue. The sheets of rain were so thick that, aside from the fact that what with the wind everything above the ground must have been blinding, it forced huge slabs of mud to crumble into the pit as it filled with water so that it became so thick that it would be impossible to swim in, barely possible even to move in. They left me there for hours on end, and the mud-thickened-water was rising fast, it was above my nose before anyone came to get me, as I struggled to surface a bit so I could breathe. I was going to die if someone didn't come to my rescue soon, I was going to drown. That and 'I won't cry, I won't cry, I WILL NOT CRY,' seem all I can remember thinking. It was Missus Jana Krum that finally pulled me out, and only because she knew Viktor would be returning soon; otherwise, I knew, they had no qualms about leaving me to die in that pit. I had to get out of there.
Fighting back tears and biting my lip, the middle-age woman dragged me into the house where she healed my bruises (as slowly and painfully as possible) and threw me into the shower, telling me that I had better clean myself up and look nice for Viktor by the time he returned, and that if I so much as breathed a word of this out of line, I would pay for it dearly. As much as I hated to oblige, I cleaned myself up, I made myself look nice, and I even forced a smile, not for my own sake, but for Viktor's… He and I had become good friends, nothing more of course, though I suspected he may have felt that way, and I was determined to spare him the agony of knowing the truth, the knowledge of which could absolve nothing and cause only pain, knowledge that would only satisfy his family, as they would've known how much damage they had done. I waited until nightfall, when I was sure everyone was asleep, to finally let the tears come. I cried each night in this manner, drowning in my tears, praying for the day I could escape from this hell I was in.
I shuddered violently as I recalled this, my most horrible moment, and continued, omiting not only this memory but a great deal of other things. "Even his parents were in on it, they told me that if I didn't watch my step, especially around their pureblood son and family, they'd make sure some of their friends in high places would put me away for good… I was scared out of my wits, and I left at the first chance I got, saying that my grandmother had fallen ill. Viktor seemed a bit put out, I never told him what they did to me…" I gave an involuntary shudder, the truth was that there was more to that story, that I had heard a lot of things I wasn't meant to hear while down in that pit, but I was determined not to tell these things to anyone, especially not Harry, not yet, when he was only beginning to cheer up, I could always tell them later…
~**~_~**~_~**~
Harry couldn't believe what he had heard. He had known that there was a lot of hatred for muggle-borns in certain places, but he never knew it to be that bad. Something about Hermione's story made him feel a white-hot surge of anger, he couldn't believe that there were people out there who would do that to someone just because their parents were a little bit different. The very thought of it made him want to kick something, punch something, cause some sort of damage to get back at the cosmos for hurting his friend so badly. He could see it in her eyes, the pain she felt, cutting sharp as a steely blade, and it made him more angry than he could ever imagine. Harry however, bit back his tongue and decided not to say anything, indeed he didn't know what to say, as his anger seemed beyond all words, and in any case, he didn't trust himself not to do anything stupid. That seemed to be the general consensus, Harry watched as Hermione sat, slightly shaken, and Ron next to her was most obviously brooding, so angry that he was maroon and visibly trembling.
Indeed, no one said anything for a very long time, until at last Harry spoke and acted before he could stop himself. With a wave of his wand he soundproofed the compartment and turned to Ron before asking "Ron, what have I missed while I've been with the muggles? I want to know everything that's happened. You have no idea how insufferable it is, being kept away from all of this! Voldemort could've murdered half the wizarding world and you wouldn't know the difference," he spat disgustedly.
Ron flinched a bit, and had a strange look in his eyes; he spoke in an odd manner, with a sort of grave interest. "That's the thing Harry, almost nothing's happened!"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, shocked and confused. He noticed that Hermione didn't seem in the least bit interested or surprised, almost as if she knew exactly what was going on. She shot Ron a few edgy glances and Harry saw that her eyes had a haunted look about them, and it didn't suit her in the least. Harry still got the feeling that Hermione was hiding something from them, and he didn't like it, it was dreadfully uncharacteristic of Hermione to be so evasive, keeping secrets from them. He frowned at her slightly before he let Ron continue.
Harry gasped audibly, as did Hermione he noticed, he just couldn't believe it. The closest thing to this that had ever happened was in his second year when the Chamber of Secrets had been re-opened and Lucius Malfoy had bribed the other school governors to kick Dumbledore out… But no one really believed Dumbledore would give up that easily, and he had returned quickly… But now, Harry didn't know…
" I know!" Ron continued "But Dumbledore refused to leave! He said something about finalizing 'The Parting of Ways,' don't ask me what that is because I don't know, but it's something like now Hogwarts is operating outside Ministry jurisdiction. Now, the school has proclaimed itself independent from the Ministry, sort of like its own separate country or something. Odd isn't it? At any rate, now Fudge has been trying to persuade the Ministry to take direct action against Hogwarts and shut it down, silence Dumbledore once and for all…"
Hermione spoke for the first time in a long time, "I don't believe it! They can't! How could they?! If they shut down the school, if they get rid of Dumbledore, we're all doomed! They might as well just step aside and hand the country over to You-Know-Who!" Hermione looked panicked beyond anything he had ever seen her, and it was unnerving to watch. Something was definitely wrong with that girl.
Harry was about to comment on Ron's news, but he was interrupted as the train screeched to a sudden unexpected halt, thankfully they had changed earlier, and realized that they had reached Hogsmeade station. Harry nervously fumbled for his Prefect badge, and was eternally grateful that Ron hadn't noticed.
They climbed into the carriages as the sky began to let loose and rain began to fall softly over the darkness. All was silent while they pulled up to the castle, which seemed to have an odd glow about it, no one knew what to say; no one really wanted to say anything. They chatted unconcernedly as they made their way into the Great Hall, seating themselves in their usual places at the Gryffindor table.
Harry's stomach growled, with all the commotion on the train he hadn't noticed how hungry he was. He glanced up at the teacher's table and hoped against hope that the sorting would be brief this year. Unfortunately however, there seemed to be an unprecedented amount of first years this year (Harry wondered vaguely if there had been some sort of baby boom in 1984), and every time he seemed to think it was finally over, there were at least another ten names to go through.
It seemed to take one hundred years, but finally Zyhairstaffel, Ernsted made his way to the Slytherin table, and Harry prepared to be fed at last. However, he was disappointed yet again, as Dumbledore made a special announcement. "Excuse me, yes I know you are all hungry and anticipating the feast but there is one more order of business that must be attended to, so if you could all please give me your undivided attention for a moment." The Hall went deathly silent. "There, that's better. It is my great pleasure to announce the arrival of a new student… Alina if you would come up here please." Harry noticed for the first time a tall girl who had been standing off to the side. "Miss Alina Petranni is transferring from Sydney, Australia, she is a fifth year, and I know that you will all give her a warm welcome no matter to which house she will belong… The Sorting Hat if you please, Minerva." Professor McGonagall handed Professor Dumbledore the Sorting Hat and set down the stool directly in front of him. Harry remembered how nervous he had been when he was sorted in his first year, but at least he got to be sorted with other first years, he couldn't imagine how horrible it must be to be a new student, an incoming fifth year, halfway across the world nonetheless, being sorted all by yourself, in front of the entire school. Alina Petranni however, seemed to be hiding her nervousness very well, and sat on the stool gracefully, placing the hat on her head in one smooth, liquid motion.
The Sorting Hat was quick with its decision as it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" Alina was greeted warmly with tumultuous applause and cheers from the Gryffindors, especially from the boys, Harry noticed. And then he saw why. Harry could see her clearly for the first time as she made her way to find an empty seat at the Gryffindor table (which didn't take long since several boys were offering her their chairs), and he realized that she was very beautiful indeed. She had long, smooth, straight dark red hair that fell to her waist, its color glowing russet and smooth, copper-toned tan skin; her eyes were a vivid yellowish-green (which Harry thought looked oddly familiar), somewhat like a cat's eyes, set like very large, sparkling jewels just above and off to the side of her high, swerving Slavic cheekbone. She was very tall, thin, and shapely and anyone who could see properly would have said in an instant that she could have been a model. However, although she was extremely attractive, and she moved flawlessly, she would have been much more beautiful if she hadn't been wearing such a dark, smug, arrogant expression that made her appear icy and aloof.
Although Harry had to admit that she was extremely pretty, no one, he thought to himself, could compare with Cho Chang. Harry's mind thought of her in an instant, her long black hair, her glittering, warm dark brown oriental eyes, shining with perfection, her café-au-lait skin, and just everything about her from her angelic glow to her radiant smile. With a jolt, however, he was brought quickly back to Earth by the sound of Dumbledore's voice. "Yes, congratulations Alina! But now I would like you to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, direct from Salem, Massachussets in America, a very good friend of mine, Professor Sanies!" Harry noticed a lady at the teachers' table that he hadn't before. Harry observed her as she rose to shake Dumbledore's hand, she was a very short and skinny woman, with strawberry-blonde hair and vivid electric-blue eyes. He also noticed, though he couldn't see her too well from this distance, that she was remarkably pale, indeed, she looked a bit frail and tired, and her complexion made it seem as though she hadn't seen the sun in a frightfully long time. Harry soon forgot all this though because the feast had begun and he was determined to stuff himself silly.
~**~_~**~_~**~
When all the food had been eaten, all the pumpkin juice finished, and all the students filled to the bursting point, Dumbledore once more stood to make an announcement. "As you all might have guessed, due to the rebirth of Lord Voldemort, there will be new restrictions imposed to ensure the safety of all students and staff members. First off, after school hours no students are permitted to wander outside the castle unless accompanied by a teacher. Also, all quidditch practices will be supervised by Madam Hooch and the respective head of house, all visits to Hogsmeade will be more carefully supervised by the staff, and limited to a certain hour, and all house dormitories will be guarded in some extra, alternative form or another… Now, some of you may be surprised that such luxuries as quidditch and Hogsmeade visits are still permissible in light of the return of Lord Voldemort, but we feel that one of the most important things we must secure is a high student morale… You must allow yourselves to continue happily with your lives, for if you live all your days in worry and fear, Voldemort has already won. It is for this reason that we are hosting, in light of the success of last year's Yule Ball, a dance just before Easter holidays, which I believe Muggle high schools have dubbed 'the Spring Fling.' The Spring Fling will be open to students of each year, which accounts for the listing of 'dress robes' on your list of required materials, although this year the dance will be solely a Hogwarts endeavor. Well, I believe that's all. However, I would like to warn you all to be extremely careful if you consider breaking any of these new rules, or those, such as the Forbidden Forest restriction, that have been laid down before, because you never know who or what may be watching unseen." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily in the direction of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and the Weasley twins (who were, of course, sitting near by), before he continued. "Remember that the best thing you can do at the moment, aside from being on your guard for any suspicious goings on, is to learn, and most importantly, to live. That is something we will never allow Voldemort to steal away from us, it is the key to success and happiness: a love of life." Dumbledore smiled as he spoke, "Now, off to bed with you, and enjoy the weekend, classes start in full swing on Monday."
Ron and Harry looked at one another and gave a collective groan, another dance? What were the teachers playing at, pretending that dances were always such great fun? 'Well,' Ron thought, 'at least we have plenty of time to find dates,' although somehow he wasn't so sure, looking at Hermione, that things would be quite so difficult this year. He leaned over to tell Harry this when he saw it: the prefect badge gleaming on his chest. Without really thinking much, he snapped at Harry, "You're a prefect? Why didn't you tell me?" He was perfectly aware that Harry could see right through the 'that's great, I'm so happy for you, it doesn't bother me at all' look that he was putting on, but didn't seem bothered by it. He felt anger sear through him, sweeping across him as his nerves tensed. Harry attempted to stammer out an explanation, Ron could see this just by the way he was giving odd looks and his mouth was moving funny, but he didn't hear a word of it, he was too caught up in his own thoughts… 'Great, just perfect, Harry's a prefect. I should have known this would happen, everything always happens to him anyway.' He sat there and glowered for as long as possible before Harry had to help Hermione lead all the first year Gryffindors to the tower, at which point he followed the two, chatting them up and trying desperately to forget his strong desire to hurt something in some way, to lash out, to storm off and once and for all reveal how angry and hurt he really was.
~**~_~**~_~**~
Harry sensed Ron's uneasiness as they entered the common room, he knew very well how upset and angry Ron must be, and after last year's fiasco, Harry would do anything to keep this from coming between them. With a stroke of brilliance even he didn't know he was capable of, Harry conceived of a brilliant plan to cheer up his friend… "Hey Fred, George, c'mere for a second, we've got something to show you!" he called, urging Ron to pull out Hermione's gift, hoping that this would give him a reason to feel privileged and important, and forget this whole 'Harry's a Prefect and I'm not' business. 'Really, Ron has no idea how lucky he is,' Harry thought as he watched the brothers, deep in awe and discussion, wrestled each other for the Paw. His thoughts drifted to the sinking feeling in his stomach, trhe emptiness in his heart that was slowly eating him up from the inside. Noticing that he was missing out on all the fun, he shook himself mentally, angry with himself for being so stupid and whiny. Dumbledore was right, he was alive, he might as well behave as such. He decided to join the conversation and he, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George spent hours on end in the common room, just messing around and discussing and dreaming up the many wonderful uses for a Gerviddean Iarotvotch's Triple Snap Exploding Paw.
By the time they reached their dormitories, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in such good moods that Ron really didn't seem to be bothered about Harry's being a prefect, although this could also be because they were all thoroughly exhausted, and, in any case, Harry was pretty sure that that feeling would change within the next few days… But nothing, not even Lord Voldemort, could spoil the warmth Harry now felt spreading throughout his body as he collapsed into his four-poster. At last he felt, just before he slipped off into slumber, 'I'm finally
~**~
A/N:
Alright, phew, that was a longie! Again I apologize for the lack of quality, but I got really tired and well, I can't think of anything else to do with it. I'm going to ask you all a favor, what do you think I should do with Ron's present, what wishes should I make come true (and backfire ::evil cackle::)? I have no idea whatsoever and thought I'd let this be an experiment
Princess: well as you can see, these scars (at least the physical ones) aren't exactly permanent. Stress the word "exactly" ::evil mysterious grin::
Rose Weasly: g, thanx! One question: does H/H mean Harry-Hermione? Well, if it does, then no, that's not happening. I'm an avid believer in the (as, if I did my job u might b able to c) Ron-Hermione connection
Katrina Skyfrost: wow, thanx, but good, ::evil cackle:: I like the idea of giving people nightmares
Rachy: yay, another riddle has read me! ::grins happily::. But seriously, u think that was descriptive? Deff not, that's one of the reasons I didn't like it that much, b/c I could have put sooooooooo much mopre into it. U havent cn me write descriptive ::sly grin:: tho u may not 4 a while – sry. ::g::
~*Dumebledore's True Love*~: wow, thanx. Weird, yes, I kno, but it sort of had 2 b. hmmmm…. Will Harry tell, and if so what will he say? And to whom? Hmmm hmmmm hmmm…… good question, even im not sure. Ill figure it out tho.
Jona: o, u should talk bout waiting! Lol, sry, totally understandable. Thanx, but if u think its that scary, well, r u sure there isnt something wrong w/u? lol, but really, yay, I like scaring people.
Pylite: yes, I do have terribly high standards that I set 4 myself, im a perfectionist, ::sighs:: what can I say. But I don't like it b/c I kno im capable of sooooooo much more, and I kno iv failed in transmitting the vivid image I had in my mind of chapter 2: intermundia and all. ::groans:: eventually ill work up to a better phase of my potential, but this can b frustrating, no matter how much fun it is.
Ady: what wonderful things?! I would luv to kno precisely what u think! Just post me a message or email me or something. I could really use a confidence booster right bout now. ::sighs longingly::. Shaking? Really? Wow, thanx… but yes it was severely lacking in quality, and the next few chapters r no guarantee to blow u away, theyr more dull, inbetweenish necessities, but this needed to happen first, it's a vital part to the story and it seemed a nice way to start it off with a bang, and possibly get the reader thinking, I hope
SEEKER_2000: woah…… thanx?!
Abbey: wow, I really don't deserve all of this praise, I really don't, don't stop tho, j/k lol. Yes being a riddle has its definite benefits
Daydreamer: wow, thanx franny, sry I got all jumpy on u in my review but, im suspicious, and now uv made me even more so! Grrr…. Lol. Yes ROSWELL RULES! ::grins::
Oonagh: thanx a lot! Wow, all this praise is starting to seriously affect my mood, I luv reviews ::grins dreamily::
Dumbledore's Apprentice: g, thanx. But um I don't think these ch's r good at all, I hope all the others will b better! I hope ::smiles weakly and hopefully::
Rachel: yes, I think that last line was one of the few things abt the chapter I liked. Glad u liuked it, thanx!
Person: thanx
Vmr g, thanx a lot. Interesting works for me.