Thanks to all reviewers! Although there have been very few of you, I appreciate every single one I receive, so thanks for taking the time to read my humble little story and review it. My mailing list addy didn't come up on the previous chapter... *wails* so here it is. http : / / au. groups. yahoo. com/ group/ shukis_untitled/ ?yguid = 138897045 Please remove all spaces to get to this addy, k? Have fun skids!
Chapter 3 – I'm related to a what?!
Angel turned the page and gasped.
Her mother's picture graced the page, as on the one before it, except that she looked muchly different on this one. Her hair, normally glossy blue-black, was now mousy brown and her eyes were a plain and boring shade of blue rather than the purple flecked with gold that she was used to seeing. She was not smiling in this picture, but rather, yelling at someone not in the photo. A figure made its way into the frame, entering from the left. A foot, then a hand entered. She could see the edge of a Gryffindor patch on the robes. The book was snapped shut and she jumped.
"Just what do you think your doing? That book is private. For me and me only. You understand?!" Her mother was absolutely livid at the intrusion on her privacy, but at the same time, Angel felt her own sense of outrage.
"I think I have a right to know about my own family! Can't you understand what it's like to have no family? You chose to abandon yours, dammit. I want to know them! I have no bloody family and it's all your fault. So why won't you tell me who they are... who I am?! It's just not fair..." Shuki's expression softened at her daughter's sense of hopelessness.
"Look, I'll tell you about your family after the first week of school... ok? I'll tell you and Charlotte together, but you have to wait a week. Will that do for you both?" Angel nodded dumbly. "Good, then the pair of you are to come down after classes on Friday afternoon and I will tell you everything, but you are both to keep it all to yourselves. Not a single person in this school is to know. As things stand, no-one, with the exception of Dumbledore, knows who I am and the only reason HE knows is because he always knows. And before you ask, my family were all Gryffindors with an over-exerted sense of pride and bravado and also an overdose of stubbornness, stupidity, and naivety. Oh, and I did not ever choose to leave the family. They kicked me out. Disowned me. It was never a choice I was given." They drank their tea in silence and Angel left, deep in thought.
~*~*~*~*~
Back in the Gryffindor tower, most of the students had gone to bed. Charlotte had cast a charm that allowed her to watch muggle movies from the comfort of her own bed. When her curtains were closed, the rectangle that was formed at the top of them became a movie screen onto which the image was projected. The sound was played directly into her head and she had a wide selection on dvd's to choose from. Tonight she was watching 'Priscilla: Queen of the Desert'. She was laughing loudly and was constantly wiping tears from her eyes whilst gasping for breath when Hermione Granger ripped the left curtain open, dispelling the image immediately.
"What do you think you're doing?!" The bushy-haired girl was extremely furious for some reason.
"Nothing! What's the matter?"
"You are disturbing the sleep of every person in this room with your laughter. Now what on earth is it that you're listening to anyway?" Charlotte signalled for Hermione to hop onto the bed, then closed the curtain. She resumed the movie, allowing for the other girl to hear it and it wasn't long before Hermione herself was letting off peals of laughter.
When the movie was finished Hermione went back to her own bed feeling rather happy and light-hearted. Unable to sleep, she went out to the common room where she sat looking into the fire, occasionally allowing a small giggle to escape. Her favourite line in the whole movie was "Um, do you have any copies of the 'Texas Chainsaw Mascara'?" and just thinking about it made her laugh. A red mop of hair appeared at the entrance to the boys' dorm and Ron Weasley emerged. He wandered down into the common room and joined Hermione on the lounge chair.
"Hey 'Mione..."
"Hi Ron. What's up?"
"I could ask you the same question! Out of bed after curfew? Tsk tsk. If you really need to know, I couldn't sleep. I've been thinking something over and I've come to a decision, so I'm glad you're here." His brow furrowed in concentration. "Hermione Granger, will you go out with me?" A blush crept up his neck and over his face, turning it a delightful shade of red that matched his hair quite perfectly.
"Of course I will! Took you long enough to ask though!"
The pair sat for a while, just enjoying each other's company, and then parted ways, each heading off to their bed.
~*~*~*~*~
Morning came all too soon for the inhabitants of Hogwarts, with the exception of Severus Snape, who enjoyed the fresh morning air and was happy to take advantage of a lack of students and go for a walk. He started on his usual circuit around the school grounds, making his way around the Quidditch Pitch, past Hagrid's cottage and by the lake. Pausing in his travels, he spotted a dark figure in the distance, sitting under a tree over the other side of the lake. The other person hadn't spotted him yet, so he ducked down to hide himself from view and observed. Using a basic charm that allowed him to see clearly at a distance, he discovered that the figure was none other than Shuki Mitchell herself.
Since she had arrived the night before, Shuki had been in his thoughts constantly. He had felt a strong desire to discover her secrets and, depending on what they were, exposing them to the world. Severus knew that whatever the woman was hiding had to be something massive, or else why go to so much trouble to disguise the truth from everyone? In any case, he was now wondering as to why exactly she was sitting under a tree in the chill morning air. She wasn't even wearing a warm coat, for Merlin's sake! The thought of her sitting there alone, shivering in the cold almost prompted him to go over and give her his cloak... almost. Until she could give him any justification for her existence, he felt absolutely no need to do anything to ease her discomfort. It was, after all, her own fault for sitting there.
Severus pulled his fob watch out from the folds of his robes and checked the time. It was already nearing 7:30, which meant that it was most definitely time to be heading in for breakfast in the Great Hall. As he stood to leave, Shuki turned to face his directions and glared at him, before standing up and, in a swirl of robes that would make Severus jealous, left.
*I wonder what that was about?* Shrugging it off, he left.
~*~*~*~*~
Up in the Great Hall, Hogwarts' earlier rising students had made their way in to get breakfast. These students were found in very small amounts with the largest group being gathered at the Ravenclaw table, in fact, the only other occupant was a Gryffindor. Harry Potter preferred to be up early as it enabled him to dodge the crowds which included the Creevey brothers, who, after four years, were still making following Harry their life's ambitions. Sitting at the table, he reflected on the past seventeen years of his existence. They had been an overwhelming mix of joy and sorrow mushed into one big blob of emptiness. For every happy moment he had been a party to, four moments of sorrow were incurred. It was as though someone out there was keeping a tab on things and trying to ensure that once the battle with Voldemort was over, he would go insane from the pain and suffering that he had endured.
Harry's musings were interrupted when a flurry of black robed swirled their way into the room. He scowled at the figure then went back to staring at his food. He had promised Charlotte that he would at least try to eat, so he figured that he could at least give it a go... for her sake anyway. Lifting the fork up to his mouth, he could smell the aroma of the scrambled eggs. Fighting off waves of nausea, he put the fork in his mouth, chewed and then swallowed. It wasn't so bad after all! Within a matter of minutes, he had polished off an entire plate of food and he was feeling proud of himself, but he decided against a second serving, after all, he didn't really want to push his luck. Seeing Charlotte enter, he waved her over to sit down with him. When he gestured to a clean plate, she shook her head and he was confused.
"I don't eat breakfast at all, sorry Harry. But congrats on yours! That's excellent!" The girl beamed from ear to ear and it was a very warm and reassuring smile that made Harry feel safe, protected, and a deep sense of joy. He wondered what it was that made her feel so special to him. It was on the very edge of his mind, but like a pleasant dream, once he woke up, he couldn't remember exactly what it was.
"Um, Charlotte..." He began to fidget.
"What's up?" Charlotte noted the fidgeting and the blush rising on Harry's face.
"I was just wondering... about your family. Is it just you, your sister and your mum? Or are there more people... I'm sorry; I'm being rude here, aren't I? I just have a thing about family. That's all."
Charlotte studied the face of the boy before her. He was truly looking embarrassed and yet curious at the same time. She knew of the boy's past; who didn't? There was something about Harry that endeared him to her quite strongly. It was this unknown element that pushed her to tell him her family secret.
"Well... we tend not to talk about our family at all, but that's because, and I've never told anyone this before, mum has never told us about our relatives! Neither angel nor I know who our father is. We don't know if he's alive or dead. We don't know if we have any aunties or uncles, aside from the one mum hates so much, and she won't even tell us if he's alive or not and to be completely honest, I don't think she even cares." Charlotte looked as though she was about to cry, and a tremor in her voice showed that she was. "It's just not fair Harry! I think we have all rights to know everything... a right to know our family! She's keeping everything from us and I can't stand it... I feel like I could explode, but she just tells us both that it's not important because we have her, and that's all that matters. But I'm fucking sick of this shit!"
Harry was shocked as tears began to spill down Charlotte's cheeks. He reached up a hand and wiped them away with his thumb, before resting his hands on top of hers on the table.
"Shhhh, it's ok. I understand how you feel, sort of. I never knew either one of my parents, so I think it's great that you have your mum at least. The only family I had, well, he wasn't quite family but I counted him as family, was my godfather, Sirius, and he died two years ago... and I know it was my fault too... but I really have no family at all. My mum's sister and her husband took me in when I was little... but they hate me. They hate me so much that every time I see them, all I can feel is the overwhelming hatred pouring off them. It burns like a fire in their eyes... you're lucky to have someone who loves you... really lucky." Harry gave the silently weeping girl a quick hug before noticing her sister heading over to the table.
"You must be Angel. Nice to meet you! I'm Harry." Harry extended his hand. Angel looked at it for a moment and raised her eyebrow before shaking it.
"Nice to meet you too... are all you Gryffindors this friendly?"
"I like to think so." Harry grinned and both girls felt a sense of happiness and security. Angel snapped out of it first.
"Charlotte..." she bent down to whisper in her sister's ear, "Friday, straight after classes. Go down to mum's rooms. She's planning to tell us everything... no more insecurities. This is it." With a Snape-like swish of her robes, Angel sauntered over to the Slytherin table where she sat down and began to eat. Charlotte turned to Harry, her face a mix of excitement, joy, and horror.
"Harry... she's going to tell us! You have to come with me! Please Harry... I want to share this with you. Please?" Harry looked doubtful. It was, after all a family thing and he would feel like an intruder, but as he stared at Charlotte's vivid blue eyes, he couldn't help it.
"Ok... if you really want me there, then I'll be there."
~*~*~*~*~
Well, that's it for another chapter. I apologise for the lateness of this one... I really should work more often!!! PLEASE REVIEW *breaks down in tears*. All I want r some reviewers, but u r all so harsh and not reviewing my story. I need reviews to carry on and u people r all MEANIES. Yes, MEANIES. And for those who ARE reading without reviewing, I will torture you by having dodgy scenes that will FORCE you to respond one way or the other *shifty eyes* so watch out... PRAISE BE TO STRAWBERRY POCKY. Also we must give praise to THE DEFENDERS OF THE RAYANESS... cuz that be me *cheeky grin*. :P get over it peoples.
Xel: Somebody review!!! Just to shut her up!!!