CHAPTER 2: THE VOICE FROM UNDER THE HOOD

Morning came quickly as the sun shined through the house windows. The smell and sound of sizzling eggs met Christmas' nose while she got dressed in her Hogwarts uniform. A white buttoned up shirt, gray sweater and skirt was on her upper and lower body along with gray knee socks and the same buckled shoes. She fixed her blue and bronze Raven tie and tucked it into her shirt. She pushed the curls behind her ears, her face pink with excitement and nerves. "Breakfast is ready! Better eat it before it gets cold!" Her mothers voice traveled well through the hollow walls of her room and she grabbed her luggage and the most important materials she would need.

The staircase creaked loudly as she hauled the large cases down the steps and into the living room. She threw her cloak on the sofa and hurried into the kitchen. The dishes were washing themselves as it scrubbed the grease stuck to the pans. It was a cozy room, light green walls with fruit paper for a banner, mahogany cabinets and a small round breakfast table for 3. Autumn had put Christmas' plate on the white tiled counter with a fork and knife. She grabbed her settings and sat down with the rest of the family. She poured herself a glass of milk while sprinkling salt on her eggs and jam on her toast. "Eat up quick dear we only have an hour. You know the train leaves at exactly 11 o' clock. We still need to get your things packed in the car." "I know mother I already set them down in the living room so Joseph didn't have to hurt his back like last year." "That was an accident. That ruddy picture of grandfather Eldrid called me a ugly bloke! Caught me off guard as I tumbled my way down to the sound of his horrid laughter. Still tries to see if I'll do it again he does." Her stepfather rubbed his back showing them where he twisted it and went to put his silverware in the sink. "I'm going to pack the stuff in the car while you two finish up. I'll be waiting outside when your ready."

The hour passed quickly as they rolled the trolley of bags onto the train station. There were 10 minutes left before she embarked on the journey she had for the past 4 years. Making sure no muggles were paying close attention to her, she ran straight through the brick barrier of platform 9 and 3 quarters closely followed by her parents. A large black train with the words "Hogwarts Express" painted themselves in gold letters on the red sign of the choo choo. The students were sticking their heads out of the windows saying their farewells to their loved ones as others just got on. "I'll see you in 9 months" Christmas hugged her mother and stepfather as the train taker loaded her things in the compartments. "Don't forget to write dear! Tell us how your duties are coming along!" Her mother yelled as she made her way on the train. "I won't!" She called back as she felt the floor begin to move. She sat alone in the back, an empty compartment to herself like always. She shut the door behind her and sat down staring out at the station trailing far back as they moved forward onto the rolling hills and giant trees touching the great blue sky.

The trip seemed to be taking forever, but maybe it was because she was lonely. She had already gone through 2 books in the past 5 hours and now she was getting restless with reading. A faint knocking sound erupted on the door of the area she resided in. The only person who it could be is Draco Malfoy she thought, coming to bother her some more. "Go away Malfoy! I don't need your sarcasm for last nights antics." But the knocking didn't stop. She threw her readings down on the empty seat across from her and whipped open the door to see a chubby witch with the candy cart. "Would you like anything to eat off the trolley miss?" She smiled, her wrinkles showing under her gray stands of hair. Apparently she hadn't heard Christmas; remark and she was grateful for the side effects of old age. She eyed the selves of chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts every flavored beans, lemon drops, gummy wands and all sorts of goodies packaged in front of her. "Well deary? I haven't go all day. I'm not young like I used to be." Proclaimed the witch. "Ummm..." She thought hard. Sweets aren't as fun when you didn't have someone to share the cavities with. "No thanks." She turned back in the compartment as the lady carried on to the next.

It was getting dark now, the sun was going down casting a purple shade across the lands. The dark clouds over head moved in quickly as the pounding of rain splattered on the steel roof. A low rumbling was coming in from the east, the thunder storm was close by. The rhythm of the pitter pattering drops made her eyes start to get heavy as the room began to dim and fade under her eyelids.

"Christmas go with your mother and find shelter!" A familiar voice was heard as she was back in London. It wasn't the same home as she lived in now, it was much older and larger. Wooden floors, dark dusty walls, foggy windows with the moonlight peering in on a little girls face. She had long dark curls, rosy cheeks and violet eyes wet from crying. "Go Chrissy hunny! Daddies going to be ok." "No daddy I don't want you to go!" The man was looking at her from the bottom of the stairs. He had a handsome face, tanned skin, dark wavy hair with blue eyes and a small goatee. "Chrissy please lets go!" It was her mother, much younger looking but with a frantic expression as she picked the little girl up. "No! I want daddy!" She kicked and screamed as the front door burst open. 3 tall hooded figures poured in, their wands ready at their sides. Her mother screamed as the nearest one stepped in closer to her husband. "Jacob! Jacob run!" She could feel her mothers tears dropping on her shoulder. The deatheaters grabbed the man by his arms while the leader rolled up his sleeve. A skull with a serpent peering out of the mouth was burned on his skin. "Now you will pay for feeding the ministry information Snow! Make no mistake of it." A cold deep voice said through under the cape echoing through the house. "Daddy!" "Adava Kadvara!" He screamed as a bright green light burst into the mans chest. His screams filling the air as he suffered. "Daddy no!" She watched as they murdered her father. She was being carried to a secret compartment in the house, in her mothers arms hiding for safety.

She woke up in a cold sweat. The faces of 4 people met her own. She was lying in a bad now, in a room filled with many beds and high ceilings. She was in the Hospital Wing. It was Professor Mcgonagall who caught her attention immediately. Her eyes wide and hands clapped over her mouth as she stared at Christmas, Professor Snape on the side of her with a repelled look, Madam Pomfrey with a glass of water and Professor Dumbledore who placed a hand on her shoulder pushing her back down to the pillow. "how'd I get here Professor?" She asked taking the water from Madam Pomfrey and sipping it. "Neville Longbottom found you, passed out on the floor screaming." She placed the glass on the stand beside her. She hadn't remembered falling asleep or screaming but it has happened to her once before. "Why did Neville come into my room for?" "He was looking for his toad again. Some things that happen all the time come in handy once in a while." Said Professor Mcgonagall who seemed to have calmed down a but her voice was slightly shaky. "I'll go alert the Ravenclaws that Ms. Snow is fine and will be in the common room as soon as possible." Professor Snape turned on his heel, his long greasy black hair swinging to the side as he did so and headed out into the corridor, his long black cape trailing behind him.

"Is the feast over?" She sat up hoping this time she wouldn't be forced down. Dumbledore nodded, his half moon spectacles stuck to his nose as he did so. She wondered how it stayed on without slipping down his crooked nostrils but everything that Dumbledore did or had seemed perfect. Christmas shook her head looking down at the wrinkled blue sheets. She had never missed the start of the term feast, until now and this year it seemed more important with her having the honors of Head Girl. "We had the house elves send a plate of food to your dorm along with your schedule for tomorrows classes." Proclaimed Mcgonagall smiling faintly under her large green curved hat.

When she was free to go she found herself thinking in the empty corridor, thinking about that voice of the deatheater. It sounded so familiar to her, something about it made her forget where she was going. She lingered in the silent stone hallways, she was no where near the Ravenclaw common, she was on the lower-levels. The corridors were darker there, bearing no windows, the low flickering torches giving off the only light. It was colder, small faint wisps of cold smoke blew from her shaking lips. She turned the corner seeing a snake on a door. She was down near the Slytherin common room but why did she lead herself down there? Two possible answers floated in her mind as she stared dumb founded at the entrance hole but she didn't quite know the questions to them.

She lay awake that night in her dorm. The curtains of her four poster bed closed as she opened a small locked book. It was a purple diary, thick and small. She dipped a quill into the ink bottle that rested upon the night stand and placed the tip to the old, crumpled, stained yellow parchment :

"Dear Diary:

Its happened again, the dream that I have every so often. It's more like a nightmare really but it was closer to the last time I had, about a month ago. It's starting to come in clearer. I can't stop thinking about the voice from under the hood. I found myself in the Hospital Wing after the dream had occurred. It's getting worse I'm afraid, I can't even control it anymore. I'm blacking out everywhere and anywhere. I just hope visions I see don't escape off of my tongue when people are around. No one can know about me..."

She stored her diary away under the mattress and put her writing utensils in her bag. She didn't fall asleep that night, maybe because she rested enough in the Hospital Wing, or it was just plain out of fear of seeing that dream again.