Thank u so much to everyone who has reviewed this fic!!! I just appreciate all the input so immensely, it has helped such a great deal throughout writing process.
Well, for anyone who reads my bio page (where, by the way, I always try to write down daily/weekly updates on the progress of my fics) you should know that this is The Chapter. It is the longest chapter that I have ever written! (almost 10,100 words!!!) and what, you may be asking, is the reason?... it's my birthday!!!! Today, (December 16th) I am celebrating my 14th year of life!!! yay!!! so, I just had to do a little somethin special to commemorate it! btw, I have been working on this chappie since November 8th... that's the only reason that I was able to get it so long! (I don't have that same talent like some people *couch cough T.H cough cough* have at writing extremely looooong chapters in short amounts of time =D okay, enough of my babble... on to the fic!!!
Disclaimer: to put it simply, I don't own this stuff. Filly Black belongs to the wonderful Fawksnflame (read her fics! they rock!) and most everything else belongs to JK Rowling... and even the stuff that doesn't belong to either of them doesn't belong to me. *sigh* My OCs are evil and do not like to be controlled... Oh, and Dante does not belong to me or anyone else, save for himself. He is his own person, I mean Halcon, and whatever he does in life is by his own free will. He is in my fic only because I asked him and he said that would be all right.
Also, Harry Potter and the Fire Hawk is just too blasé of a name, I've decided, so I'm changing it. The new name will be Harry Potter and the Song of Deception. I'm not changing the link or anything, it will still say Fire Hawk, but just know that it's actually Song of Deception now. Okay? Okay.
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Harry Potter and the Song of Deception
by Hollie
Clear gray eyes glistened as they fought back pearly tears. White teeth bit softly on a thin pink lip as hands wrung together nervously.
Sitting on the large four-poster bed, green sheets spotless and freshly pressed, Adele Stason rocked silently back and fourth, blinking furiously to fight back the onslaught of tears.
It was on days like these that she knew, she just knew, that the world was out to get her. She had been at this new school, Hogwarts, for almost three weeks and she already knew that she didn't fit in. She didn't have friends at Hogwarts, although, Adele had become accustomed to being alone.
At her old school people had only been nice to her because they were afraid of what her family might do to theirs. Adele's father Vinson Stason, had been the most feared wizard in their village, and although no one spoke it aloud, it was no secret that he was in the innermost circle of the Dark Lord's followers. So she had had 'friends', but not friends. Life had been increasingly lonely for the girl. When her father had informed her that they would be moving to England, closer to her uncle's family, she had been genuinely happy for the first time she could remember. A chance to start over, with new people, a new life.
But things didn't go as she had hoped they would. As it turned out, her cousin was not exceedingly popular with the other students, and when they found that she was related to him, they went out of their way to avoid contact with her.
The only people that she did talk to, besides the professors in her classes, were her housemates, the Slytherins. They were a formidable crew, the type of people she had been surrounded by her entire life. There were several loud, obnoxious boys, quite a few girls who either giggled excessively or sneered, two boys who hardly ever talked, only stood menacingly, flexing enormous muscles, and then, of course, there was her cousin, Draco.
He was almost impossible to understand. When around people, he was rude and disdainful to everyone who was not in Slytherin house. He constantly belittled the Hufflepuffs, insulted the Ravenclaws but worst of all was how harsh he was to the Gryffindors. Adele couldn't even count the numerous times he had told her what scum they were, that they were almost entirely mudbloods. Her memories of Draco, though they were few and fleeting, had been of a kinder boy. Adele supposed that he had shed his caring nature when he had come to school, to uphold the icy reputation of those of the Malfoy family.
She had had so many hopes in coming to Hogwarts, all of them dashed almost instantaneously. She had barely set foot in the castle when her father and uncle had sent her off with Draco to the Slytherin rooms. They mentioned something about seeing someone named Dumbledore, but no more than that. She hadn't even gotten so much as a farewell from her father. Not that she had expected any less, but a quick 'goodbye' would have lifted her sorrowful heart.
Adele's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden burst of laughter as the door to the Slytherin fifth year girls' dormitory burst open, admitting several large, raucous girls.
"...isn't he though! He's just so lucky to have me!" The speaker, a broad, annoying girl named Pansy Parkinson, who had a face like a pug and the attitude of a bulldog, crossed the room with pounding steps and sat on her own four-poster bed. Her companions followed and two sat beside her on the bed, the other on the floor.
"He's the luckiest," floor-girl agreed, nodding her head enthuastically.
"Sometimes I wonder if he appreciates me enough though," Pansy continued, twisting her face into what might have resembled a thoughtful look.
"I don't think he does Pansy," one of the girls on the bed exclaimed, her voice shrill, making Adele's eardrums ache.
She sighed and laid back on her comforter, pulling the curtains tighter around her bed, trying to block out the girls' endless blather. She knew exactly who they were talking about; Draco. For some strange reason, Pansy had gotten the idea in her small mind that she and Draco were an item. It made Adele chuckle to think about it.
In only a couple of days Adele had seen how clearly her cousin hated Pansy. Her constant clinging to him did not help her; his hatred only grew more intense. She actually felt sorry for the deluded girl when Draco pushed her away. Not that she didn't blame him, but he wasn't what you would call understanding of her emotions.
"You're right!" Pansy's voice cut into her mind again. "I'll have to talk to him about that tomorrow! And then you girls can help me..."
Rubbing her temples Adele closed her eyes, and thrusting her pillow over her head, drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
"That was a great class, wasn't it?" Ron walked between Hermione and Kelly as they left the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Mrs. Figg was turning out to be a really great teacher, almost everyone's favorite. The only bad thing was that Potions followed the class. As Ron, Hermione, Harry and Kelly walked down the steps with the other Gryffindors, they felt someone stumble behind them. The four friends turned to see a girl bring her thin frame up off the stairs, brushing dust off her robes and face. As she lifted her head, the pale candlelight revealed gray eyes surrounded by dark circles. Tow-colored hair was pulled back from her pallid face and a slight whimper escaped her chapped lips.
"You alright?" Harry asked, noticing that this was the same girl who had caused such a commotion at their first Care of Magical Creatures class, Draco Malfoy's cousin.
"Fine," she murmured, "just clumsy I guess. I'm sorry if I bothered you."
"We all have our moments," Hermione spoke kindly to the girl, smiling slightly. The girl looked as if she wanted to reply, her eyes lit up at how kind the four strangers were being to her, but a voice suddenly disrupted them.
"Hurry up Adele, we're going to be late." Harry didn't even need to turn to recognize the owner of the drawling voice. Draco Malfoy, flanked, as always by Crabbe and Goyle, materialized out of the shadows and waited for Adele at the foot of the stairway. She smiled thinly at Harry and his friends as she squeezed past them, to join her arrogant cousin at the bottom.
"Those were Gryffindors, if you didn't notice, Adele." Draco's cold whisper wafted up to meet the ears of his conversational subjects. "We don't fraternize with them, remember?" the icy tone in his voice sent shivers up Harry's spine. He heard something that sounded like an, "I'm sorry," before Draco continued.
"It doesn't matter to me, but just remember what our fathers said. I'm not getting in trouble just because you're too friendly."
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Kelly heard a heavy door swing open, and then shut, but nothing more of the conversation. They all turned to one another, each person's surprise reflected on one of the others' faces.
Ron was the first to break the silence. "Well that was bloody strange," he whispered. The other three nodded in agreement.
"I wonder what he meant, 'remember what our fathers said'," Kelly said, utterly bewildered. Hermione shrugged.
"Mr. Malfoy and whoever that girl's father is must have told her to stay away from Gryffindor students. It's no secret that the Malfoys are Slytherins to the bone, I'm sure her family is too. She is in Slytherin, after all." Hermione paused, thinking. After a moment, she finally voiced her wonderings, "what surprises me, is that she seems, well, nice. And very shy too. She doesn't act at all like a Slytherin does, especially for a cousin of Malfoy's."
Harry nodded, "she seems like she's afraid of something."
"We can talk about this later," Ron interrupted, "We're going to be late for Potions!" Harry and Hermione hurried after their redheaded friend, and Kelly was about to, when she noticed a tiny glimmer of silver on one of the stairs. Bending down, she picked up a tiny charm, shaped like a miniscule cat.
An impish grin spread across her face.
"Bingo," she whispered as she carefully tucked the charm into a robe pocket, then hurried the rest of the way down the stairs to class.
Kelly tried to enter as quietly as possible, so as to not attract the attentions of Professor Snape. He flew off the handle whenever a student was even a few minutes late for class and Kelly really didn't want to lose anymore house points for Gryffindor. She had already lost 20 points, 19 from Snape and one from Professor Figg. The newest of the Hogwarts professors was kind, but she did have rules that she expected to be followed. She took off one house point for every minute a student was late after five minutes, provided that they did not have a signed note from another professor. Kelly had gotten lost in her own thoughts one day and accidentally stumbled down the wrong corridor, making her precisely six minutes late for Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Currently, she was wishing that Professor Snape was as fair as Arabella.
"Miss Banson, would you kindly explain to me why you feel that you are allowed to be late when others manage to arrive to class on time?" Kelly's spine stiffened at the icy tone, and her eyes hardened as she looked at Snape.
"He hasn't changed one bit," she thought. Out loud, she said, "terribly sorry Professor Snape, but I was unaware that I was late."
There was silence in the room as all heads snapped back to the professor, anxious to see what his reaction would be.
He raised one black brow and a sneer curled on his thin lips. "Well then, perhaps you should make it a point to get an accurate watch. To encourage you, I'll take 10 points from Gryffindor. Be thankful that it wasn't more," he added, as Kelly's lips began to move. She closed them, sensing Hermione's piercing gaze at her back, and the other Gryffindors' pleading ones. Sighing, she nodded, and then took her seat next to Harry.
As Snape turned back to the rest of the class, to begin his long lecture on whatever loathsome topic he happened to select, Harry turned to Kelly. Leaning close, he whispered, "I know how enjoyable it can be to talk back to Snape, and how it's everyone's dream, but please, never do that again. You have no idea how nasty he can get." She smiled reassuringly at him.
"Don't worry 'bout me Potter. It's not the first time I've dealt with.. people like Snape," she added hastily. He gave he a curious look, but just shook his head and turned to listen to Snape.
Closing her eyes, Kelly reached out for Dante. She felt a tiny part of her subconscious leave her body, flowing out of the school, flying about in the air. It finally located the majestic Halcon, connecting girl and bird.
"Dante, this isn't working,"
"What isn't working?" was his somewhat irritated reply.
"This, all of it. I'm no good at lying to these people, I told you I wouldn't be."
"Come off it, you've lied to hundreds of people before without breaking a sweat."
"I know, but this is different, somehow. I don't know, maybe because it's Hogwarts. The emotional connection or some such. I don't know, but I feel so guilty, especially around the Weasleys. They've been so kind to me, and trusting, and how do I repay them?"
"Rachel, you must contain your emotions. Think of what is at stake. Think of who is at stake. She needs you Rachel, and secrecy is key to it all. Telling the truth will only slow us down, and just think of what will happen if one of your new friends tells a parent, and then that parent tells another and so on, until all of Europe knows what we're up to. How fast do you think the Ministry will be on us then, hmm? How do you expect to..."
"Alright! I know, I know, you're right. I just feel guilty, that's all."
"I know Rachel," Dante's tone softened slightly, "I do too."
"I'll talk to you tonight."
She felt her mind drift back to the school, through the entrance doors, down into the dungeons and back to her body. Opening her eyes, she picked up her quill, dipped it into her ink well and began to take notes on a sheet of parchment.
"I hate this."
"Question; why are we always separated at meals?" Kelly and Ginny looked questioningly across the lunch table at Fred, who was looking thoughtfully back at them.
"What are you talking about?"
"Well sis, we," he motioned to the two girls, George and himself, "always sit at this end of the table, while they," he pointed down the table where Harry, Ron, Hermione and some of the fifth year Gryffindors clustered, "sit at that end."
Kelly shifted uncomfortably. "That would be my fault, I believe. If you couldn't already tell, Hermione and I don't really get along. You guys should sit with them though, don't stay on my account."
"Nonsense," Ginny said her honey brown eyes firm, "I'm staying right here."
"Us too," Fred and George answered in unison.
"Fred!"
"George!" The twins turned to see Alicia and Angelina sitting with the rest of the seventh years. Both girls were smiling and beckoning to the boys to come and join them. Fred turned to George, and identical cringes spread across their faces.
"Talk about your bad timing, eh?" George muttered.
Kelly shook her head at them, "go!" she ordered.
She received two genuine smiles.
"Thanks Kel," Fred spoke, "we owe ya one."
Kelly just shook her head as the love struck twins scampered off to sit with Angelina and Alicia. She and Ginny watched them for a few moments.
"They all look so cute together," Kelly commented.
"Yeah, that's the happiest I've seen Fred and George in a while." Ginny sighed, and lapsed into silence. Kelly watched as Ginny's gaze drifted from her brothers in the middle of the table, to the end of the table where a certain black-haired, green-eyed, fifth year Gryffindor sat eating his lunch, talking and laughing.
"Go talk to him," Kelly whispered.
Ginny jerked back to reality, realizing that she had been caught staring. "I can't," she said remorsefully. "He's Harry Potter, one of most well-known wizards in Europe! He defeated the Dark Lord at the age of one, for Heaven's sake! I'm just Ginny, regular, plain old, not too famous Ginny, his best friends little sister. Come on," she looked up at the older girl, "you can't honestly think he'd want to talk to me." Kelly looked at her friend sadly. She was so confident that she would fail, that she never even tried.
"If that's really how you want to think..."
"There's no other way to think. I'm not like you Kelly, I can't just walk up to people and start a conversation."
"That's not true."
"Yes, it is."
"I know for a fact that it's not." She waved her hand up in the air to stop Ginny's protest. "Here's a scenario for you: a new student goes to the train station, and becomes totally confused when she can't find Platform 9 3/4. She is on the verge of giving up when a friendly stranger come up to her, and generously offers to show that new student how to get to the train. In the process, Friendly Stranger strikes up a conversation with New Student, resulting in what eventually becomes a friendship," she looked at Ginny, a gleam in her eyes, "And you try and tell me that you can't just walk up to someone and start talking. You can and you have. So, problem one is officially settled. Problem two; walking up to someone that you do know and like and starting a conversation. That might take a little while to build up the courage, but I promise you, you can do it."
The bell signaling the end of lunch rang, and Kelly hurried to collect her books so that she wouldn't be late for class.
"Kelly?"
She turned around to see Ginny collect her own books, then turn to face her friend.
"Thanks."
Kelly smiled broadly, "No problem," then turned and exited the Great Hall.
Tears flowed freely down Adele's cheek. She had lost it. How on earth could she have lost it? The thing most precious to her in the entire world, and now it was gone! In times of pain and sorrow, she would hold it close to her, and she felt along her neckline to do so again, out of habit.
"Fool," she told herself, withdrawing her hand, "it's not there, idiot, you lost it, remember?" More tears flowed down past her nose, falling onto the green bedspread.
There was suddenly a knock on the dormitory door.
"Adele?" a voice whispered, opening the door just a hair. "Adele, are you in there?"
Wiping the unshed tears from her gray eyes, Adele got up off her bed and crossed the room to the door. Opening it, she found Draco standing there, his arms crossed and a rather put out look upon his face.
"Where have you been?" he demanded, "You were supposed to meet me at the library half hour ago, remember?" He paused as he finally noticed her red, watery eyes and trembling lip. "What the bloody hell happened to you?"
As hard as she tried, she couldn't contain herself. Adele flung herself at her cousin, sobbing heavily into his shoulder.
"I lost it," she mumbled, her words barely distinguishable, "It's gone Draco, gone!"
"What's gone?" he asked, prying her from his shoulder, gripping her arms firmly with his hands to steady her.
"It is," she muttered, hanging her head low.
"Wha..." realization finally came to the boy, and he had to lean against the nearby wall to keep from falling as well. "You lost the...?" She nodded miserably.
"Father's going to kill me, isn't he. He'll kill me!"
"No he won't," Draco said firmly, looking her straight in the eye.
"Yes he will. Once he finds out that I've lost it, he'll come and take me away from the school, then go to some remote place and have me cursed to death. He will, I swear it. He has before, to other people who angered him."
"No he won't," Draco repeated, "because he's not going to find out. We'll find it, and he'll never be the wiser."
"But... I thought that you have been ordered to send him and uncle owls on my progress and anything that goes on in the school. Surely you are required to tell them..." He shushed her with a wave of his hand.
"I won't say a word about it, you don't honestly think I'd do that to you, do you? For now, this will be our little secret."
"Draco, if we can't find it... They'll kill you too, for not telling!"
"Well," he started, a sneer spreading across his face, "we'd had better find it then."
Adele's gratitude was beyond words. Fresh tears spilled down her face and again she hugged her cousin fiercely. He patted her awkwardly on her shoulder.
"You and your emotions," he said, in what was meant as a harsh and disdainful tone, but came out soft and understanding. Well, he supposed that it was all right for him to be kind to Adele, not as if she'd had an easy life. As long as it didn't get out, he could deal with being nice to one person.
Kelly sat in the library, thinking hard. She played with the tiny charm in her pocket, turning it over and over with her fingertips. If only she could figure out how it worked! There was no doubt in her mind that it had some sort of magical power, but what and how she could tap into it remained a mystery. She supposed she could ask Dante, but she didn't really feel like bothering him twice in one day. He would never tell her, but Kelly knew that she could wear down his patience on occasion, and she hated to trouble him.
She shut her eyes tight, concentrating hard on the charm in her hand. Her grandmother had taught her, or rather, tried to teach her, how to read and understand spelled objects when she had been a young girl. Emily Banis had been amazingly powerful when it had come to charmed, cursed or otherwise spelled artifacts, and she had always left her granddaughter in awe after a demonstration. She could pick up any object, and tell you what kind of magic had been placed on it. It had been amazing to witness.
As she focused her thoughts on the miniscule cat, she desperately wished that she had had Emily's powers of perception. She concentrated for several minutes, finally gaining two things; the first, the knowledge that her grandmother's skills were not hereditary, and secondly, an aching headache.
Kelly tucked the trinket back into the pocket of her robes, and then proceeded to rub her throbbing temples.
"I had better get to the Infirmary, see if Madame Pomfrey has a cure for headaches," Kelly thought, getting up from her small table and pushing in her chair. She walked quickly towards the door, hardly noticing that she bumped into a harried figure on her way. She muttered a quick, "sorry," then exited the library.
Adele walked quickly up the dungeon steps, headed for the library. She had been in there earlier, and she thought that perhaps she might have lost it there. Draco had scoured the common room, finding nothing save for a little dust and someone's Transfiguration report. He had left to check the classrooms, while Adele had taken the library, Great Hall and the hallways she had been in. They were to meet back in the Slytherin common room in two hours, and if they still hadn't found it, they would have to formulate a new plan.
Adele stepped into the large and magnificent library, looking not at the rows upon rows of books, but instead at the floor. She was looking so carefully at the highly polished wooden boards that she didn't even notice anyone was walking in her vicinity. She did notice when a person walked headlong into her, almost knocking her to the ground.
"Sorry," the girl muttered, not really meaning it, just saying it out of instinct. Adele was about to say something like, "that's okay," or some such, when a powerful wave of magic washed over her, calling her to it. There was no doubt in her mind; it was close, very close.
Forgetting about how foolish she must look, Adele dropped to all fours and began clambering about like an animal, feeling every nook and cranny with her outstretched hands. After several minutes, she sat back, leaning against a wall.
"I know it was here!" she thought frantically. The connection had been so powerful, but now it was faint, she could barely feel it. What had changed? She hadn't moved out of the general area, the connection was fading so quickly that she knew that she hadn't left it. Which meant that the thing itself was moving.
"How could that be possible?" Then it hit her. The girl. Adele thought hard, trying to remember who it had been who had bumped into her. "Who was she? Let's see, I think her hair was blond, no, more of a reddish blond, and she wasn't much taller than I am... oh!" Adele finally remembered, "it was the other transfer student, Kelly Banson!"
Adele practically ran out of the library, looking frantically for the girl. She hadn't realized that Kelly had the charm fast enough however, for the girl was long gone by then. Adele pressed her hands to her head, groaning loudly.
"I had better find Draco," she thought, still cringing, "maybe he'll know how to get my charm back from this girl."
Kelly walked up to her dormitory, the soles of her shoes clunking softly on the stone steps. Everything was quiet on the staircase, as practically all of the Gryffindors were participating in a chess tournament Ron had started. Needless to say, he was cleaning everyone else's clocks. Kelly was relieved for all the commotion, because that meant that she would have a little time to herself for once. She opened the girls' dormitory door quietly, tip-toeing across the distance between the door and her four-poster bed.
Walking to the end of the bed, she flicked her wand at her slate blue trunk to open it. The lock undid itself and soundlessly opened up. Reaching inside, Kelly gripped the edges of the trunk and felt gingerly along it, applying pressure in certain spots. Suddenly, what had looked like the bottom lifted up slightly, revealing a hidden compartment.
Kelly stuck her hand in the small space, withdrawing a small bag made of fine emerald-green silk. Golden cord kept the bag securely fastened, and anyone who tried to open the bag would receive a nasty shock, as it was spelled with many powerful security charms. Kelly put the top of the bag to her lips, and began to chant softly in a slow, lilting language, one that today is never used.
Ever so carefully, the cords began to untwine as Kelly continued to chant the ancient spell. Finally she stopped, and the two gold cords flopped to either side of the bag, which was now open.
She stuck her hand inside carefully, and withdrew one of the things kept inside it; a small scrap of paper. It was very old with one of the corners ripped off and some of the edges were tattered, but it was still obvious what it was. It was a picture, a magical picture at that, for it was moving, and in the picture there were two figures. One of the people was a woman who had blonde hair, mischievous brown eyes, full red lips and a nice complexion.
The other person was a young girl, presumably the other woman's daughter. She had the same blond hair, red lips and complexion. Her smile was like the other woman's as well, real and full of joy, and the girl seemed to radiate peace and happiness.
But there was a difference between the two, and that was the younger girl's eyes. They were dark brown, almost black, and the most intense eyes you could imagine. The two orbs were startlingly beautiful and powerful, and it was as if pools of endless knowledge were welled up behind them. One look from them could remind you of everything you've every seen or done, all flooding back in a second to encompass you in memory. They were the type of eyes that you could take comfort in, just by looking at them, or that you could fear for the sheer power behind them.
The corners of Kelly's full lips curved into a smile as she looked at the mother and daughter, happily sitting together on a park bench. Rain was falling all around them, but the two figures in the picture didn't care, simply because they had each other.
Tears began to well up in Kelly's brown eyes as she rubbed the edges of the crinkled photograph.
"My sweet Kamy," she whispered, looking straight into the picture girl's deep dark eyes. "Don't worry darling, Dante and I are coming for you soon. You shall not suffer any longer my angel."
Tears coursed down her cheeks, splattering the photo. Kelly wiped the sleeve of her robe across the picture to dry it, then did the same across her cheeks. "We'll save you Kamy, we will!" Her whispers intensified as she looked at the picture, the two people still smiling and waving. "We've almost got all the supplies for the potion, and I think the spell might be in the library. I promised you I'd come. I know it's taken me far too long, but I swear that within a year, sooner if all goes well, we will come and rescue you from... him." She spat out the word 'him' with such an intense and total hatred that she practically yelled it.
Her hands shaking slightly, she tucked the picture back into the silk bag. Whispering another spell, she resealed the bag and replaced all the security charms. Then she slipped the bag back under the lining of her trunk in the secret compartment and closed the lid. Placing one final locking charm on the trunk, she stood up and crossed the room, exiting it as quietly as she had entered.
Hermione, once she was sure that Kelly was gone, peeked around the curtains of her own four-poster bed. Her eyes were wide and her lips were open in a soundless gasp.
"I knew it!" she thought, suddenly excited, "I knew that girl was up to something. Now the only question is... What is she up to? And who's Kamy? And who is 'him'?" Similar questions swam around Hermione's head as she tried and failed to piece things together. "I've got to find Harry." She counted to one hundred and twenty, to make sure that Kelly wasn't coming back, then quietly got up off her bed and walked down the staircase to look for her friend and the only person who believed her.
As she snuck into the Common Room, Hermione was relieved to see that Kelly was not there. Just to be certain though, she walked over to Ginny, who was standing on top of a chair, trying to see over the heads of the rather large crowd that was gathered around one of the tables.
"Hello Ginny."
"Hi Hermione," Ginny said, still straining her neck to see what was going on. Hermione looked at her curiously.
"What's going on in there?" she asked.
Ginny finally stopped trying to see and turned to the older girl. "It's the Chess Competition finals. Ron against Angelina. Angelina's not bad, but everyone knows that Ron will win."
"Oh. Say, Ginny, have you seen Kelly anywhere?"
Ginny shrugged. "Nope, not since dinner. Why?"
"Oh no reason. Do you know where Harry is?"
Ginny pointed to the crowd, "in there somewhere."
Hermione sighed heavily. There was no way she'd be able to get through that crowd to talk to Harry, as no doubt he'd be right in the think of things, by Ron's side. She shrugged, and then turned away to go back to the dormitories. She'd just have to tell him later.
Monday morning was cold and slightly rainy with a nasty breeze that could chill one down to the very marrow. For once, the Gryffindor students were not looking forward to the daily Care of Magical Creatures class, where they would have to trudge across the extensive grounds to Hagrid's hut, and then stand out in the cold for the lesson. Harry was looking forward to seeing Hagrid, however, for it had been a while since they had last talked (outside of classes, that is), which was why he was so thoroughly disappointed when he arrived at the hut.
Filly was there, as ever, waiting patiently for the students to arrive, but Hagrid was not. Harry assumed at first that the half-giant was just around back, preparing the creatures, but when class had begun and still no sign of him, Harry began to worry.
He was about to ask Filly where Hagrid had gone off to when the bell rang, but she apparently had the same idea.
"Harry," she asked him as he approached her, "could you come with me please, there's a message for you inside." Slightly bemused but immensely curious, Harry followed the young assistant into Hagrid's familiar hut. He was ever so surprised to see that the interior had been very much changed.
In the far corner of the room, there was a little cot, the sheets slightly rumpled as if someone had been sitting on them. At the foot of the cot there was a long, mahogany desk, covered with parchment paper, quills, an ink well and numerous framed pictures and books.
Filly rummaged around in one of the desk drawers, finally producing a folded sheet of parchment.
"Here we are," she said, handing the paper to Harry. He took it, unfolding it eagerly, happy to see Hagrid's familiar scrawl.
"Dear Harry," it began.
"I'm sorry that I didn't get ta say goodbye to you and Ron and Hermione, but I've got some special business to take care of for Dumbledore. Don't worry about me, I'll be back in a few months, hopefully by Christmas at latest," this news dismayed Harry; Hagrid would be gone perhaps until Christmas? He shook his head and continued the letter.
"Have some fun while I'm gone, I'm sure Filly will plan some great treats for all of yer in class. Oh, and I probably won't be back by Halloween, so tell Ron and Hermione Happy Halloween for me.
Hagrid"
Harry scrunched up his nose and adjusted his glasses. He didn't like that fact that Hagrid would be gone for so long. And on special business for Dumbledore? The last time Hagrid had gone on special business, he had brought the only known Sorcerer's Stone to Hogwarts, where Dumbledore had thought that it would be safe. Voldermort had learned about it though, and had sent in one of his followers to retrieve it for him. He'd almost gotten it too, only Harry, Ron and Hermione had gotten wise to the plot, and managed to stop it.
Harry had met Voldermort, when he had saved the Stone, and Harry shuddered to remember it. That cold, merciless face, with eyes like slits, framed with red vengeance and the cruel, lipless mouth... then suddenly Harry's mind flashed back to a more recent meeting, the Tri-Wizard Tournament... The Goblet of Fire... Cedric.... Voldermort's rebirth...
The memories came flooding back at Harry like a flood that has broken free of a dam, drowning him with the horror of it all.... he watched Cedric die, over and over again, heard that cold-hearted laugh, saw the hideous creature swathed in dark robes. A flash of blinding light, agonizing pain, the stab of a knife.... Harry crumpled to the floor, writhing in pain, clutching his lightning bolt shaped scar. He wanted to die right then and there, just so long as the pain would go away...
And then, miraculously, it did stop. Harry opened his eyes to see Filly Black crouched uncertainly over him, her eyes widened in fear.
"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
"I... I think so," Harry responded, shaking even harder than his teacher did.
"What happened?"
"I don't know... I was just reading the letter, and then all these memories..." he paused, debating on whether or not he should tell her what he'd seen. She was brand new here, and he didn't know yet whether she could be trusted. However, she was a friend of Hagrid's, and she did seem genuinely concerned about him. Something about her was vaguely familiar too, although Harry still couldn't place it. He decided that she was trustworthy and continued speaking. "I had these memories, from when... from when I met Volder-- er, You-Know-Who, for the first, well, second time really, and then from the last time I saw him, at the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and all the horrible thing that happened, and then there was this awful pain..." he stopped, suddenly noticing that Filly's jaw had dropped. "What?"
When she spoke, her voice was just slightly above a whisper, "you've seen You-Know-Who? Well, besides when you were a baby, I mean and in your first year. I'd hear about the incident with the Stone, but you've seen him again?"
Harry nodded miserably, "last year. Wait a moment, how did you find out about the stone?"
Filly stood up, walking back over to her desk. She picked up one of the framed pictures, then walked over and handed it to Harry. The picture showed to smiling figures, one male, the other female. They were sitting close together, and the man had his arm around the woman and both were waving at the camera. Harry looked closely and saw that the woman in the picture was undoubtedly Filly, and the man was...
"Lupin!" Harry exclaimed. Filly, the real one that is, grinned broadly at him.
"Yes, my dear friend Remus told me all about your exploits in first through third year, and I have to say, I was astonished. And," she looked at him, the cheerful gleam in her eyes changed to one that was very serious, "thank you, for what you did in third year. Thank you so very much."
Harry was about to ask just what it was that he had done, when Filly suddenly clamped her hand to her lips.
"Foolish me," she exclaimed, "I had completely forgotten that you still have classes!" She jumped up, and Harry followed suit. He grabbed his books in a hurry and started for the door; he had also forgotten about the rest of his classes, pushed to the back of his mind by all the excitement, fear and discovery that had passed in the recent minutes.
"Here," Filly said, hurriedly scribbling a note on a spare piece of parchment, "give this to whoever you have next." She stuffed the late pass into his outstretched hand, then hustled him out the door.
Professor Sprout was not altogether pleased that Harry was so late, but as he had a signed teacher's note, there was really nothing that she could do, save give him one disproving scowl. She was not a bad sort, however, and within a few moments she was back to her cheery self and all was forgotten.
Harry settled down in his usual seat beside Ron. The redhead turned anxiously to him as he set out his Herbology supplies on the table.
"Where you been mate?" Ron asked him.
Harry sighed heavily and shook his head. "Professor Filly had a note for me, from Hagrid," he said, reaching into his pocket for the slightly crumpled letter. He found it, and handed it to Ron, who read it eagerly.
"Gone till Christmas? Well that's bloody disappointing. Hagrid'll miss Halloween, and the first Quidditch game. Say, speaking of Quidditch, you got anyone to replace Wood yet?" A hopeful gleam was in Ron's eyes as he mentioned the only open spot on Gryffindor's Quidditch team.
"I dunno," Harry said truthfully, "you'll have to ask Fred, George, Alicia or Angelina about that. Angelina will probably know, her being captain and all."
"Yeah, maybe I'll ask her later," Ron said, beginning to drift into his own thoughts.
Harry, however, still had more to say to his friend on his meeting with Filly. Ron listened, wide-eyed as Harry recounted everything, ending with the discovery that Filly knew Lupin.
Ron leaned back on his chair to think, but he leaned slightly too far. The chair toppled over underneath him, sending him flying into the wall, which, thankfully, was covered in greenery.
"Oh my!" Professor Sprout cried, running over to the poor Weasley. Creepers had begun to spread over his unsuspecting body, and they wrapped him up in their dark foliage.
"Stop that this instant!" Professor Sprout banged on the shrubbery with her wand, and the thing released Ron, reluctantly, and pulled itself close together like a child that has just been scolded by his mother.
Professor Sprout shook her head, and gave the plant a little pat. "Now, now, don't be sad," she said, directing her comments at the plant, to the amazement of everyone in the room.
She then walked over to Ron, who had set his chair back in the correct position and was once again seated atop it.
"Now dear, you must be careful. Winthrop would never intentionally hurt anyone, he just gets a bit, overexcited, sometimes. That was actually a hug he just gave you, not any type of death squeeze. He feels terribly for alarming you, he says he like to apologize."
By that time every jaw had dropped. Most had when Ron had crashed into the bush, some others waited until the thing began to squeeze him tightly. Still more jaws touched the ground as Professor Sprout had called it by a name, but those few jaws still tightly closed had finally let go of their hold as their teacher announced that a plant would like to apologize to one of their fellow students.
Ron nodded uncertainly, and followed Professor Sprout over to the wall. She told him to hold out one hand, and he did so. Then, the plant, or Winthrop as he was called, let out one of his leafy creepers and gently rubbed Ron's outstretched hand.
Ron let out a slight laugh as the plant rubbed his hand, then finally pulled the creeper back into itself.
"That, er, he, is wicked!" Ron whispered excitedly as he went back finally to the table.
The bell rang then, and the students hurried to collect their things. Ron waved to Winthrop as they left, and to his delight, the plant waved back.
"Totally wicked," Ron said again, as the Gryffindors returned to the castle for their last class.
Draco Malfoy had never been so furious in his life. It wasn't just the fact that another student had it, but that it was a Gryffindor student who was in possession of his family's deepest, darkest secret... Draco clenched and unclenched his fists angrily, his rage practically radiating out of his body. The other Slytherins had left the common room, looking for shelter in their dorm rooms. Never before had they seen Draco Malfoy so livid, and all desired to be far away when he finally exploded, as he undoubtedly would. Only Adele remained in the room, her head in her hands as she wept silently.
A glimmer of hope had come to her as she had raced to find her cousin on Friday night after she had uncovered the whereabouts of that which was most precious to her family. She had thought, "Draco will know what to do for certain!" But as she had told him, and seen his face loose all of the little color it possessed, that tiny speck of hope had been swept away. They had looked for Kelly on Saturday and Sunday, but it appeared that she had stayed in the Gryffindor Tower all weekend. Each day that had gone by that they hadn't been able to find her, Draco had gotten more and more furious. Adele thought that he must be close to the bursting point, what with all his anger filling him up rapidly, but then she got a bit of a surprise.
Draco finally began to calm down. He took a long, deep breath before turning to Adele.
"Well...," he trailed off, unsure of what to say.
"What are we going to do?" she asked him, the hopelessness of it all evident in her voice.
"We'll have to find her, and get it back from her, that's what." Adele nodded. "Well then," he still didn't know what to do, but he wanted to look like he at least had some kind of clue. Then an idea struck him. "Pansy," he said, his eyes looking straight at Adele, but not really seeing her. He looked as if he had drifted into another dimension, and a nutty one from what Adele could tell.
"What are you talking about?"
Draco got an excited look on his face as he snapped back to reality. "One night, Pansy was bugging me real bad, going on and on about how she had gone to the Owlry and she saw this weird blond girl there, with a huge black bird. She said that she must have seen the two of them every time she'd gone to the Owlry this year, and how odd that was." He paused, grinning broadly.
"So, to the Owlry then?"
Kelly sat on the ledge of the window in the Owlry, talking mind to mind with Dante, who perched in the rafters above.
"I can't make sense of it Dante," she said toying with the charm in her hand, "there's magic in it, but no kind I'm familiar with. I can't identify it."
"Well, you never have been good with identifying magic, other than knowing if some type of it is there or not." She scowled at him, but he took no notice. "Let me see it."
Dante flew down from his comfortable spot, and took the tiny charm from Kelly's outstretched hand with his firm claws. He gave a slight yell, then dropped it, the charm landing softly in the hay on the ground.
"What's wrong?" Kelly asked, startled. Dante shook his feathered head slowly, his eyes never leaving the silver glint on the floor. "There's powerful magic in that," he said, keeping his voice to a whisper, even though they were mind speaking. "Very powerful magic." He reached down again with his claws, gripping the charm carefully with his talons. "I've never encountered magic like this before," he studied the charm closely, holding it now with his wing and bringing it within an inch of his fiery red eyes.
"Is it as powerful as the Ancient Ones?" Kelly asked, her mind-voice shaking.
"No," he reassured her, "not half as powerful, not even as powerful, I'd say, as Lord Voldermort, but still, this charm had been filled with a huge amount of power, and a strange type to. I'm not surprised that you couldn't tell what it is, for this is a newly invented spell. Or perhaps it has been immersed in a potion, or both. I cannot tell, the pattern is so intricate."
He dropped the charm back into Kelly's hand. She looked at it again, still searching for some trace of recognizable magic. There was something that felt somewhat like an Animangus potion, but changed, and mixed with other things. She began to get another headache, concentrating so hard.
Suddenly, Kelly and Dante both whirled around; they could hear footsteps. Kelly tucked the charm into the deepest pocket of her robs as Dante flew to the highest rafter on silent wings. Kelly leaned back against the edge of the window, trying to make it seem as if she just liked the view from the lowest of the owlry windows.
The footsteps became louder, and then they stopped. Kelly pretended that she didn't notice as two people entered the room and came to stand several feet behind her, waiting. They stood frozen in position for several moments, yet Kelly still did not turn to face them.
Finally, one of the newcomers lost his patience. He cleared his throat loudly, glaring at the back of Kelly's blond head.
"Yes?" she said sweetly, turning slowly to see who it was that had come to bother her. She wanted to jump out the window as she looked at their faces. There was a boy and a girl. The boy didn't matter, and Kelly vaguely remembered him as one of the more annoying and pig-headed Slytherins, but it was the girl that made her wish desperately for some type of escape. It was the girl, the one who's powerful charm was hidden in Kelly's robes.
She gulped several times, hoping that the Slytherins wouldn't notice how scared she was. She hadn't done all the things she had and seen life at its darkest to fall apart at the hand of two children though. She faced them with an impassive expression, silently praising the acting lessons she had been given as a small child. She had learned how to hide emotion from those courses.
It was the boy who spoke first. "I believe that you have something that belongs to my cousin." He glared at her, as if she were a school bully and he was the older brother of the kid who was always picked on or beat up.
"I don't know what you mean," she said, still with a confidant mask over her true thoughts. The jig was up, but Kelly wasn't going down without a fight.
He took one menacing step towards her, and spoke with a lowered voice. "I think that you know exactly what I mean. It's just a cheep trinket, now give it back."
"If it's so unimportant, then why are you making a big deal of it?" she said, her voice deadly soft.
He gritted his teeth and took another step forward, "that thing does not belong to you, so I suggest that you hand it over now, before I take it back myself."
Kelly wanted to laugh out loud. As he talked, his right hand moved slowly down to his robe pocket, no doubt to retrieve his wand.
"Foolish boy," she whispered, a touch of cruel humor in her eyes. She waved her hand once in the air, freezing him just as he was about to whip out his wand. A panicked fear filled his normally cold eyes as he saw that Kelly had just done magic without a wand.
In truth, she hadn't, or at least, she hadn't used her own magic. Halcons could perform spells with a wave (or flap) of their wings, or a swish of their tail feathers, and Kelly's bond with Dante caused some of their individual powers to blend. The boy, Kelly decided, didn't need to know that. He would be much more wary if he thought that she was so powerful that she didn't even need a wand for magic.
She walked around him once, smiling broadly as he panicked. Finally, she stood before him.
"Are you ready to behave like a civil human now?" she asked fiendishly. He could do nothing but stare, wide-eyed, at her. She waved her hand again, and he collapsed to the ground. The girl ran to him, and helped him to his feet. She stared at Kelly with fear and amazement as the powerful young witch just laughed.
"Now, I think that we can skip the fun and games, seeing as how we both know quite clearly what it is that you want." She reached into her pocket, retrieving the charm that meant so much to the boy and girl. She tossed it lazily from hand to hand, her cold eyes never leaving the boy's startled face.
"I know that I've met you two before, but I'm just terrible with names. If you wouldn't mind..."
"I'm Adele Stason," the girl whispered, her voice shaking, "and this is my cousin, Draco Malfoy. Please, can't I have it back? My father gave it to me as a gift..."
Kelly cut her off, her eyes lighting up mischievously. "Vinson gave this to you, now did he? Ah yes, things are all beginning to come together now. And I suppose the Lucious helped him with it?" she looked questioningly at Draco, who only stared defiantly.
"Oh, we're going to be secretive about it, are we? Pity. I suppose we'll have to do things the hard way then. Dante?"
The giant of a bird came soaring down, planting himself between Draco and Adele and the door. Adele looked as if she was going to faint as she saw the giant Halcon, his eyes gleaming viciously. Kelly's smile only widened.
"Ready to talk?"
****************************************************************************
phew.... that was just.... I dunno if I can say that it was hard to write, cause it wasn't, but I defiantly can't tell ya that it was easy either!!!! I was going to make this a bit longer, but the sections I cut out just gave way too much away, so I'm saving that stuff for later chapters.
Did you guys like it? I have to say, I'm terribly proud. I think that this has been my best work ever. I'm getting down on me knees know, and begging people to not flame this chapter, please! I've put my heart and soul into this one, and more hours than I'd care to count.
I hope that things are beginning to come together somewhat for everyone. I think (or hope) that certain details have become much more clear =D
I've got tons of thank you's to put out here, so I'll get to them....
WhetherRose- thank you sooooooo much for all your encouraging words! I always look forward to your reviews!!! I must say, you're very insightful too, with your thoughts on the characters! And I'm glad that you enjoyed some of the humor! I don't have much of it, but I always try to add a little bit of it in each chapter. I always enjoy humor when I read fics, so I like to give my readers that same enjoyment! I hope that you liked the clues in this chapter.... oi, there were a lot! more than I had originally planned, actually! Yes, but thanks ever so much for being sooooooo great!!!!
Quiet One- your reviews crack me up!!! hmm. let me see if I can answer some of your questions.... Erm, Kelly isn't telepathic, exactly, but she and Dante do share a... 'bond' that will eventually be explained, and through that bond they are able to communicate without speaking. does that help? *looks for more questions to answer* uh, I can't answer the name question...I think I sort of cleared up the animangi question (or made it more confusing, don't know which!) Thank you for your wonderful reviews!!!! and update your fic, all of em!!!
ps. FARIN FARIN FARIN FARIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT LEGGIE, FARIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
luza- I dearly wish that I could answer your questions, but that would ruin the ending for you, and I don't want to do that!! I hope that this chapter maybe cleared some things up! I must say, I was a little startled when I read one part of your review.. all I'll say is that you are an amazingly insightful person! Thank you soooooo much for reviewing, I'm thrilled that you have enjoyed this!!!!
Fawkesnflame- Well, Remmy's sorta in this one... *g* and don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Star! oh, and thanks for the info on the ring, I'm working on an idea to incorporate that in here now! Star and the ring will probably make their appearances in chapter 9 or 10. Thanks bunches for reviewing!!! And thanks again for loaning me Filly, I think her character is really gonna help the story, I've gotten so many ideas!!! Thanks soooo much!!!!
T.H- yes, it is annoying when you read something and aren't able to review. But you wanna know what's even worse? SEEING THAT YOU HAVE POSTED A NEW CHAPPIE BUT NOT BEING ABLE TO READ IT!!!!! it's driving me even crazier than I already am, not being able to r/r chapter 14!!! hopefully, by the time this is posted, I'll have read it, but who knows? My teachers seem to be intent on completely loading our plates as much as possible before Christmas Break... (5 days left till then, hallelujah!) As for the subject of Draco, yes, it is entirely (or mostly, anyways) the bad boy thing. It's just gotta be! *sighs dreamily* darn, who was it that I saw? I watched some movie and I saw this guy who was absolutely gorgeous (and only, like, 15) and now I can't for the life of me remember who he was! aargh! Well, I'll remember eventually.... he wasn't cuter than Tom tho, nope. *g*
Darn, this is really killing me. Everyone is asking questions (very good questions, might I add) but I can't really answer anything!!! You haven't asked too many questions... but you've made a lot of statements in your latest review that are.... *firmly clamps hand over mouth* no, I won't say anything, besides the fact that your observations are *Kelly whips out wand and freezes Hollie before she can spill anything else*
Kelly: good grief, she's a blabbermouth, that one. I'll have to keep my eye on her when she writes things now. Well, I'm sure that Hollie is most appreciative of all your helpful comments and such, I know I am. This story would be a pitiful mess if it weren't for reviewers who can correct Hollie's multiple errors.
So, you can't figure me out, eh? Not too many can. Even that Potter and his meddling friend Granger don't know the half of it. Don't worry though, unfortunately, she *points at frozen authoress* doesn't want to keep all of you in suspense much longer about my true identity. I'm sure everyone will be shocked though, when they do find out. *begins muttering to self* I can't wait to see the look on grimy old Severus's face....
*Hollie finally unfreezes* Kelly, go away! *Kelly disappears with a pop* At least I have a tensy bit of control now. (Dante has lent me some of his magic, so I can have somewhat of power over these rambunctious OCs. For once though, I do agree with Kelly! Your help has been soooooo awesome! I appreciate every speck of it!
PinkPineapple- Oh finally, a question I can answer! (I've been going so crazy with people asking me stuff that I can't really answer, so I am THRILLED that you've asked one I can answer!) No, Hermione doesn't know anything we don't. She just gets a really weird feeling around Kelly, and her natural genius keeps telling her that something about Kelly just doesn't add up. Sorry to all that I didn't really make that clear. My mistake! :) Hey, you're a Farin supporter too?! Cooli! (*to Quiet One* Farin and Kolia! Farin and Kolia!!!!!) *g* Thanks again for the awesome reviews, oh, and post more of your fic! I luv it!
Torrential Zephyr- How on earth could I hate you! I'm the one who should be sorry... You have a buncha chappies that I haven't read yet, a couple on Tom, and that last one on Truth Secrets and Lies... aargh, I've got soooo much catching up to do, and soo few time to read! I think I might have to wait until Christmas Vacation (which is in a week) to read you chapters and T.H's. *sniffles* evil homework, evil school!
Thank you bunches for all the great comments and observations! Geeze, nothing gets past you, does it! Thank you for a bazillion times for all you reviews and everything! You rock!!!!!!!!
Salysha- Hey, your back! I know it will probably be a while before you get to this thank you, but still, Thanks!!!! Goodness, I feel so special, being the only HP fic you've read! I'm very glad that you're liking it! Don't worry, there will be lotsa Dante... he's just the bestest! He and Adele are my favies, so I try and incorporate them as much as I can! You are the sweetest, thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!
Krissi- Thank you very much! Welcome to the fic! I liked the opening of your Lily fic as well, continue it soon please!
Well, I think that's it. Deepest apologies if I forgot anyone! Thanks again guys, it is on your support alone that I've gotten this far!
Oh hey, I've got a bit of a hint for everyone. If you look up some of the names of the characters (ie. Adele, Dante, Kelly) you get a bit of insight on the characters. Not much more than you already know, but if anyone's interested, I'd recommend looking them up. :)
Well, thanks everyone for suffering through this, I dearly hope that it's been worth your time! I'm really very proud of it, and I sincerely hope that everyone liked this chapter!
"Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me!
Happy birthday to me-eee,
Happy birthday to me!"
This is my birthday present to myself, a chapter that I can be really proud of!
Oh also, I hate to do this, but.... If you all wouldn't mind checking out two of my original fics, The House on 19th Street and Madness, it would be soooooooo very appreciated! They are both kind of lacking in reviews (but thanks Quiet One, you've reviewed, like, every fic I've written... and you're reviews are always too funny!) and I'd luv some more input on both of them.
Well, once again, all you guys rock and I luv ya so much!!! I think I must be the luckiest fanfiction writer ever, to have so many terrific reviewers!
huggles to all!
luv bunches,
hollie
ps. I know it's a tad early, but Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and all the other holidays that people celebrate this time of year to you all!
