by dr. z (used to be tranquillitas)
A/N: Chapter 6 up! Longer than usual, I assure you! Hope you enjoy! Reviews (constructive criticisms, suggestions, the occasional flame) are very much appreciated. Thanks so much to trina-k for beta-reading!
DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and co. doesn't belong to me! The names of the Blythes are not mine either!
.~*~.
Chapter 6: Shaken Up A Bit
As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun, especially if you have an energetic five-year-old to spice up the normal routine of school . Exactly one month had passed, as it was now early December at Hogwarts, and the bedecked halls showed off the coming Christmas holidays.
Harry lay in his four-poster, sleeping peacefully, resting up after a rigorous practice session the evening before. He was dreaming again of victoriously winning the House Cup. He could hear the resounding cheer of his Housemates. He was holding one side of the House Cup, Ron the other, both hooting and shouting almost at the verge of happy tears. He could also hear Gillian's voice amidst the cheers…
"RON! HARRY! WAKE UP! BREAKFAST!" Gillian was screaming herself hoarse. She stood in the space in between Haryy's and Ron's beds. Dean put his pillow over his head and squirmed under the covers . Seamus gave up after several moments and sat cross-legged on his bed, stretching his arms and yawning. He watched, to his sleepy amusement, as their little friend tried to wake-up his roommates as she did every morning. Neville was already downstairs, having woken earlier to prevent permanent loss of hearing.
Harry was slowly waking into the world of consciousness, the cries of the Quidditch victory slipping away. He opened his eyes to a blurry world without his spectacles. He made to reach for his glasses…
"HAAARRRRYYY!!! UP!!!" Gillian screamed, suddenly, causing him to fall over the edge of his bed. He groaned in annoyance and in pain, and pushed himself up from the floor slowly.
"I'm up, Gill," he croaked, putting his glasses on. He turned to see, with much clearer vision, a smiling and delighted Gillian Blythe, fully prepared for the day ahead. They had deemed her an honorary Gryffindor several weeks back and shrank one of Lavender's robes for her to use. Winky, using the money from the weekly salary Dumbledore gave the house elves, sent clothes of all sorts and several pairs of shoes for Gillian's use through Hermione.
"Yay! Go get dressed Harry! I have to wakey Ron now!" She ran for Ron's four-poster as Harry padded sleepily to the bathroom. On the way, he chucked the nearest pillow at the sniggering Seamus and pulled away Dean's covers. Giving up, Dean sat up and threw another pillow at Seamus. Harry closed the bathroom door behind him.
Ron had pulled the curtains around him the night before and groaned loudly when Gillian pulled the scarlet curtains back to let the sunshine in. "Good morning, Ronnie!"
"Go away, Gilly! Let Ronnie sleep in, for once!" He moaned from under the pillow.
"You want me to go away? You---y-y-you w-want me t-t-to go a-a-away?" tears started to fall from the little girl's eyes. She covered her tearing cinnamon eyes with her little hands and sat on the edge of Ron's bed, sniffing and hiccupping loudly.
Ron sprang up from under the covers and sat up, his eyes big with worry and surprise. He took Gillian in his arms and hugged her tight. He could feel his nightshirt dampen.
"No, no! I didn't it mean it that way, Gilly! Honest! I don't want you to go away! I---" He stopped when Gillian covered his mouth with her entire palm to silence him. She wiped her eyes, then reached up to whisper in his ear.
"I need to tell you something," she whispered.
"What is it?" he asked gently, leaning more to the side, toward her.
"GOT YA!" she screamed enthusiastically in his ear. Ron winced in pain and stuck a finger in his ear, annoyance written all over his face. She sped toward the door out of the dorm, laughing all the way, her black robe flowing behind her.
"She got you good, Ronnie," Seamus laughed.
Ron brandished his wand from the bedside table and banished all his bed things in the general direction of one Seamus Finnigan. He was satisfied only when he heard a yelp from the target after making contact with one of Ron's pillows.
.~*~.
While the boys got ready, Hermione and Gillian waited for them in the Common Room. Hermione sat on one of the loveseats near the stairs to the Boys Dormitory and picked a Muggle novel from her bag and opened it to a random page. Gillian, on the other hand, took her position on the floor by Hermione's feet and played with a pretty china doll. The doll was from Parvati, who had asked her mum to send it to give Gillian something to play with.
Hearing a door open, Hermione looked up from her book and saw her two best friends, their bags slung carelessly on their shoulders, walking down the stairs of the Boys Dorms. Looking very sleepy, she noted.
"Finally! I was wondering what was keeping you," she said. "Why do you both look so tired?"
"Well, good morning to you, too, Ms. Granger! You try waking up early in the morning after a draining evening of Quidditch practice!" Ron snipped. "Blame it on the Captain who wanted us to practice despite the cold and the snow."
"It's only seven o'clock 'Mione," whined Harry. "We have an entire hour and a half before classes start. What's so important that you had to sic Gillian on us?"
"'Cause 'fessor Dumblydor said he was going to say a very important nicement. Right, My-nee?" answered Gillian, standing up.
"Professor Dumbledore, Gillian," Hermione corrected, gently. "He is going to make an important announcement at breakfast this morning."
"And it's not My-nee, Gilly, it's Herm-own-ninny," Ron quipped, a smug smile on his face.
"My-nee's not a ninny, Ronnie," defended Gillian. She wrapped her arms around Hermione's neck as Hermione, still sitting down, wrapped her arms around Gillian's waist. Ron pouted. "She's smart and pretty…just like my first mum."
Hermione kissed the younger girl tenderly on the forehead and Gillian released her hold. Gillian then walked over to Ron and hugged his leg, as he was very tall. "And you're just like my first dad, funny and wonderful." Ron's pout was replaced by a genuine smile. He bent down to hug her properly.
"I didn't forget you Harry," Gillian voiced, as Ron released her from his embrace. She walked over to the black-haired boy. Harry kneeled on one knee and embraced Gillian. "You're like my favorite Uncle Albert, always there when I needed him."
When Harry let go of her, she skipped toward Hermione's book bag next to Hermione's seat and tugged at the shoulder strap. She became puzzled at the misty-eyed looks on Hermione, Ron and even Harry.
"Well? Come on! I want to hear the 'fessor's speech at breakfast!" she said impatiently. They trio quickly wiped their eyes and they all made their way to the Great Hall.
.~*~.
"As you have been informed, I have an announcement to make this morning," the murmurs and the clanging of cutlery abruptly stopped and everyone turned to the Head Table to hear the Headmaster speak. "The Christmas holidays are fast approaching. In line with this, please do not forget to sign your name on the sheets of parchment posted by the doors to the Great Hall if you are staying in the castle for the Holidays."
Dumbledore moved to sit but stopped, and stood up straight once more. "Oh yes, I almost forgot, tomorrow will be a Hogsmeade weekend. Third Years and up will please convene at Entrance Hall at eight o'clock in the morning," he smiled at the ecstatic cheer of the student population.
.~*~.
"You're one lucky little kid, Gillian Blythe, you must've charmed the socks of Dumbledore to get him to let you come along," Colin Creevey patted Gillian on the head as he and several other Gryffindor Fifth Years, including Ron's youngest sibling and only sister, Ginny, passed Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Ron was holding on to Gillian's right hand, the bracelet glinting in the sun momentarily. They never bother to take the bracelet off. Gillian was skipping and kicking at the snow.
"Hey Ron! You and Hermione should tie the knot to make things official!" Carl Knowings, another Gyffindor Fifth Year kidded.
Ron and Hermione blushed at the insinuation. Truth be told, they weren't really sure what level their relationship was on. Things were comfortable as it was. As Harry put it, "all they need is a push in the right direction" to get things interesting.
"Hush up, you two!" scolded Ginny, wagging her finger at them. "They'll tie the knot when they're good and ready!" She gave her brother an encouraging smile.
"I know how to tie a knot, Ron! Do you want me to show you so that you and My-nee can go tie a knot? It's really easy!" Gillian was pulling on Ron's arm to get his attention.
"Um, well, I --" Ron stammered, turning an even brighter crimson. He turned to Harry, his eyes pleading silently for help.
"C'mon, Gill, Remus will be waiting for us at the Three Broomsticks," said Harry and took hold of Gillian's hand from Ron. Now that Severus Snape was participating in the war effort, Remus Lupin took over his place as their Potions Professor.
They soon found Remus sitting in one of the booths, sipping from a foamy tankard. He stood to greet them and they took their seats. Harry sat in first, then Remus beside him. Ron let Hermione slide in the seats across Harry and Remus before taking a seat himself beside her. Gillian, however, approached the Professor and stuck out her hand.
"Good morning, 'fessor Remus," greeted Gillian, shaking his hand, firmly. She used both of her small hands to shake his much bigger hand. "I finished all the homework sheets you gave me yester-yesterday when My-nee was studying and Ron and Harry practiced."
"Two days ago, Ms. Blythe, not yester-yesterday,"
"And you know what, 'fessor?" she continued, ignoring his correction.
"What, Gillian?" he asked his little student.
"'fessor Dumbly -- I mean, Dumbledore -- said that I could come with My-nee and Ron and Harry today to go 'sploring! He said I deserved it for being a good girl!" She flashed him a triumphant smile.
"That's wonderful, Gillian! You should be very proud of your self! How do you like Hogsmeade so far?" Remus asked.
"Wonderful! Harry said that if I was well behaved he'd let me choose some sweets from, er --" she paused and maneuvered over to Harry. "What's the candy store name? I forgot," she whispered her question to him.
"Honeydukes," he whispered back.
Satisfied, she went back to face Remus. "Harry said that I could choose my own sweets from Honeydukes!"
"In that case, you'd better sit down, little girl," replied Remus and watched as she hurriedly jumped into her seat: Ron's lap. "Butterbeer's coming."
.~*~.
Gillian had never seen so many different kinds of candy goodness in her life! She couldn't quite decide on what to choose! She thoroughly enjoyed being inside Honeydukes, although, unbeknownst to her, she had once stepped into the sweet shop as a young child. She had already been to Hogsmeade in the past. The Blythe home, which now lay in obliterated ruins, was situated in the outskirts of Hogsmeade. A few times as a young toddler, hence the lack of recollection, her father brought her along when he purchased food stuff, supplies, and the like.
"Come on, Gill, we need to get back to the castle soon," said Hermione.
"Um, alright!" Gillian turned to one of the shop attendants. "May I have three Fizzing Whizbees, five sugar quills and a packet of toffee?"
Holding Hermione's hand and relishing the last bits of one of the confectionary quills in her mouth, Gillian stepped out into the street to join Harry and Ron who were already outside waiting for them.
As soon as they cleared Honeydukes, a loud booming sound made Gillian leap into Ron's arms. The smell of something burning hung in the air and wafted into their nostrils. People from the Hogsmeade Station were running away from it and toward the village proper, screaming. Ron noted the thick black smoke column rising from the station.
"Hogwarts students back into the carriages now!" Professor McGonagall's voice broke through the chaos. The students, clad in their winter things, scrambled for the horseless carriages, while the teachers present rushed toward the source of this riot. Hermione thought she saw the running figure of Professor Lupin for a fleeting moment.
Ron tightened his hold on Gillian as they themselves started running for the carriages.
"Hold it, Weasley! Hand over the charm!" But they paid no heed to the stranger. Ron shifted Gillian's weight on one arm and positioned his other hand on the small of Hermione's back to push her to go faster. Harry took up the rear, brandishing his wand, just in case. Hermione gripped the side of Ron's robes. Tears started to stream down Gillian's face. None of them noticed a bright blue light envelope the four of them, nor did the pursuer, apparently.
"Stupefy!" bellowed the voice behind them. Harry felt something bounce on the small of his back and was surprised to hear the attacker cry out in pain, followed by a thud. He stopped running to investigate. The blue light dissipated into thin air as he approached the stranger cautiously. Hermione and Ron stopped running as well.
A masked man lay face down on the gravel street, unmoving. His wand was still in his hand. Hermione took Gillian from Ron and was consoling the frightened little girl. Ron went to stand by Harry, who had brought out his own wand and knelt on one knee. He lifted the man's wand hand and checked for a pulse.
"Still alive. Stunned, but still alive," he said, unsure of what to think.
"What happened here, Mr. Potter?" asked Professor Flitwick.
"We need to see Professor Dumbledore," Harry answered simply.
The exchange was cut short when three more of the masked men came toward them, wands out and ready. Harry stood quickly and took on a fighting stance, raising his wand, ready to strike. Professor Flitwick lowered Harry's wand arm.
"Get Ms. Blythe to Hogwarts, Mr. Potter. Get that bracelet out of Hogsmeade," he said urgently.
Harry nodded and motioned for Hermione and Ron to follow him into the nearest carriage. On their way, they passed Professor McGonagall, who was walking briskly to where Professor Flitwick stood.
Inside the moving carriage, Gillian sat on Hermione's lap, crying very hard on the older girl's shoulder. Harry and Ron both sat across from Hermione and Gillian. Hermione had to gather all her strength to will herself not break down as well. She could only imagine the trauma Gillian experienced reliving that day a month ago. She and her mother were probably weaving through the Dark Forest, also dodging a masked assailant before coming across Ron and Hermione. She pulled Gillian tighter to her.
"I want my Papa," Gillian whimpered. "He told Mama to take me and run away! I miss my Papa…and my Mama…"
Ron leaned forward and rubbed her back in hopes of calming the poor child. She lifted her head and looked at Ron with watery eyes.
"Will you be my Papa, Ron?" she asked him, softly. Her cinnamon eyes bore into his blue orbs.
.~*~.
A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the cliffie! I've rammed myself into a brick wall and rebounded off a concrete pillar, finally landing on a cement floor, resulting in my incapacity to come up with a proper ending...hehehe!!! ~z