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Gemini Enchantress
Disclaimer: I don't own harry potter I don't own ANYTHING so stop rubbing it in… ;)
Chapter 3
Harry sat silently in the kitchen waiting for the rest of the group to come down. They were off to Diagon Ally today. Normally, Harry would have been looking forward to his first glimpse back into the wizarding world, but not this year. Going to Diagon Ally to pick up their school things always signified that start of school was not so far away, and this year Harry was in no rush to get back. He was worried about what the papers may have said about him over the summer, worried how the other students would treat him.
Mrs. Weasley watched him anxiously. It had been 3 weeks since Dumbledore had performed the spell on Harry and the others. At first, Harry was fine, but the closer start of term came, the more distant Harry got. She couldn't fathom why he acted so. In previous years, he had been so excited to go back to school. Mr. Weasley had to remind her more than once that this year wasn't like the others. This year Harry was returning to school without his godfather's comforting presence and with the knowledge the Voldemort was gaining power. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione entered the room.
"Oh, C'mon Harry," said Ron, "Don't look so down! School's starting soon. It won't be that bad. Plus Fred and George just told me, they're coming back to do –uh -- something. I don't think it was to teach though. No, I can't see them doing that." Harry chuckled. Ron was right. He should be happy to return to Hogwarts. After all, it had been his home for the past 6 years.
"Your right, Ron," said Harry standing. He picked up his school letter, and stuffed it in his pocket.
"I love it when I'm right," commented Ron accepting a handful of flu powder from his mother.
"Thanks, mum." Ron through the powder into the fire, and stepped into the green flames. "Diagon Ally!" He shouted.
"Harry you next." Harry obliged, taking a handful of the stuff himself. "Diagon Ally!"
Harry found himself, a few minutes later out in the sunshine. He, Ron, and Hermione pulled out their school lists, as they walked down the crowded streets.
"Let's see, I've gotten into Transfiguration, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Arthimancy—"Hermione mumbled the rest of her subjects off; the subjects needed for being an auror.
"What about you two?" she asked.
"I've got the classes for becoming an auror, plus divination." Harry grimaced; he had hopped to give up divination this year.
"Better than me. Dumbledore's assigned me muggle studies, with a note saying it will be good for me to take this subject. I have that instead of divination. But," he glanced over at Harry's list, "I have the rest of my subjects same as Harry. I can't believe I was accepted into potions. Dumbledore must have something to do with that." Harry stopped short.
"I've got to get new robes. I'll do that first. You guys don't have to come," Harry told them.
"No, I need knew robes too," said Hermione. Ron shrugged following them inside Madame Malcolm's Robes for All Occasions. The smiling witch at the counter gestured for Hermione and Harry to stand up on the stools.
"Harry," Hermione knew that this time he couldn't get away from her questioning, "are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Ron sat up in his chair.
"You've been saying that all summer, mate. Harry we're your friends you don't have to lie to us."
"All right, I'm not ok, but I'm not dead either. You don't need to worry about me." He smiled at their worried expressions. "Things will get better once we're back at Hogwarts, right?"
"All done with you dear," said the witch to Harry, who hopped down from his stool, and paid the witch at the front counter, then took a seat next to Ron, peering out the window and only half listening to Ron ask Hermione about Krum.
A girl ran past. She seemed familiar. She was dressed in a short black skirt and white shirt, a black robe, and a black traveling cloak. Harry followed her with his eyes. She waved cheerfully, calling out a boy's name. The boy came striding into Harry's view. It was Malfoy, with his mother. Soon the three were lost in the crowed. "All done, sweetie," said the witch to Hermione.
The three spent the next hour gathering various school supplies and a few odds and ends. They soon found themselves in the Leaky Cauldron sipping butterbeer waiting for the others to finish their shopping. There was a flurry of noise as a large group entered the dreary pub. Through the gloom Harry could make out the girl he'd seen earlier. She looked around the pub meeting Harry's gaze for a second, with the stare of a stranger. Malfoy called her name and turned smiling as he introduced her to Crabbe and Goyle. She nodded a greeting.
Harry couldn't hear what they were saying but the girl turned to the bartender and Draco strode over to the table nearest Harry.
"Hey Potty, Weasel. Have a nice summer? Tell me Potter, did you cry when Black kicked it?" Harry stood in one quick movement, his wand clutched in his hand in his pocket. Malfoy was the same. Obviously neither had forgotten the events of last term. The girl walked over holding a tray of butterbeers, and a cup of hot chocolate. She set down the tray.
"Draco, sit down. Don't be ridiculous." She turned to Harry and the others. She looked a bit agitated at the situation.
"I'm sorry for whatever Draco said to you. I'm sure it was rude." The girl had green eyes, like Harry's.
"My name's Harry Potter."
There was an intake of breath, and the girls face faltered, though he noticed her eyes showed a bit of sadness as she said, "That's nice." She picked up her hot chocolate, which was in a cup to go. Mrs. Malfoy strode over to the group.
"Time to go, come along you two", she said.
"See you at school," Draco said to Crabbe and Goyle. The three turned to leave. Harry couldn't contain himself.
"Wait," he said to the girl, "I didn't catch you name." Even through the gloom, Harry could almost sense that something was paining the girl.
"That's because I didn't give it," the girl answered peering down in Harry with apparent disgust. The party turned and disappeared.
"The must have used a portkey," commented Hermione.
"I wonder if she's coming to Hogwarts," Harry said out loud.
"Who cares? She seems stuck up, just like Malfoy. Hey, there's Fred and George." The twins entered the room from the busy streets of Diagon Ally.
Harry waved them over. "Hey guys. How's the store going?"
"Good, we've got Lee Jordan watching it for us while we're doing a favor for Dumbledore," said Fred. Harry's eyes shifted, in the shadows where he could vaguely see a figure with a wooden leg. He shook his head. He knew he was being followed. Fred and George were probably coming back to tail him too.
"Harry," George said breaking his thoughts, "It's time to go. C'mon."
"Shouldn't we wait for the others?"
"No," said a rough voice from the shadows, "it's time to go, now." Harry understood, and it would have been lying to say he wasn't upset. Ever since Voldemort had returned Harry had known his life was going to change, but that didn't stop him from being angry at the fact that he couldn't go anywhere without being followed.
Harry stood following, noticing the tension emanating from Moody. Something must have happened, but what? Harry's eyes shifted looking around the gloomy pub as they walked to a private room. He scanned for any signs of danger, yet found none. There seemed to be just the usual crowd of tired shoppers and some doggy looking fellows crowding their drinks. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing at all.
~Tara's POV (still 3rd person)~
Tara nearly dropped the tray she was carrying when she spotted Harry, but she managed to keep a cool, calm outward appearance. Since she had left the Order and met her new life head on, she had changed. Tara knew it too. She could feel the difference in the way she acted; it was crueler, darker, and withdrawn. Dumbledore had told her this might happen, but "Don't loose sight of who you really are, Tara," he had said to her. He worried she might loose herself in the lie.
"I'm sorry for whatever Draco said to you. I'm sure it was rude." Tara looked away trying to act like they didn't matter; from what she could tell, she did it well. They were about to leave when Harry asked for her name. Unnoticed by all Tara's wondering green gaze caught Moody's odd blue one. He shook his head slightly, what was left of his face scrunched in anticipation of how they scene would play out.
"That's because I didn't give it to you", Tara said, her face masked, but her eyes full of pain. She didn't like what she was turning into. It was like dying, but with out death to look forward to. The potion she drank prevented anyone from telling if she was lying or not and also protected her from any sort of invasion of minds. Living a lie was not fun. What have I gotten myself into? She thought miserably as she peered out the train window watching the scenery change dramatically.
~Grimmauld Place, September the First~
Harry and Ron rushed around their room, packing last minute parcels. This was the day that they would be returning to Hogwarts. Harry's insides fluttered, from excitement or apprehension, he couldn't tell. He decided to try to look forward to going back to Hogwarts after all "it's been your home for the past five years, Harry" as Hermione persisted have him see it as "going home". Harry pushed the thought aside. For the moment, he was concentrating on just trying to find Ron's Prefect badge, which had mysteriously disappeared after visit from Fred and George.
"Ron, I think…" Harry began before hearing a "FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY!" From down the hall. Both Harry and Ron rushed to see what happened. Hermione stood red faced. She had found her prefect badge along with Ron's; they were intertwined with little hearts. Ron stood speechless, while Ginny and the twins tried not to laugh. Harry held his breath hoping against hope he would not laugh, mostly because the situation wasn't all that funny. Ron had told Harry that over the summer he had told Hermione how he felt about her. She had apparently turned him down. Deep down, Harry had been glad. He wasn't sure how he liked the idea of the two of them dating. Hermione pulled out her wand, looking ready to hex the brothers.
"Now Hermione, let's not get violent", said George with full knowledge that Hermione could hex them into oblivion, but she didn't. She simply untwined the two badges and retreated downstairs. Ron took his also and returned to his room. Shrugging at the twins Harry followed Ron back, past the wall of heads, to their room.
"Look Ron, don't think much of it."
"Lets not talk about it, ok Harry?"
"All right."
Harry couldn't believe it. The summer was over, and somehow he had made it without his godfather. When he had gone back to the Dursley's' Harry sat for hours just staring into space. Now that he was alone, he had all his time to think of Sirius. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't imagine life without Sirius. Harry peered out of the train window. Ron and Hermione had left him alone after he had remained silent for most of the journey. So now, Harry sat alone in his compartment, left to ponder his thoughts. The sky had grown dark and cloudy, and it began to rain. The compartment door slid open. Harry glanced over at the door, where a girl was standing, silent as stone. It was the girl who had been with Malfoy at the Leaky Cauldron. His green eyes pierced hers.
"Hello," Harry said. The girl opened her mouth to speak, and then shut it swallowing hard.
"Hi. Do-do you mind if I join you?" The girl asked; rather timidly in Harry's opinion for a girl who was a friend of Malfoy.
"No, come in." The girl sat down near the window, opposite from Harry. She looked at him, aware of the uncomfortable silence.
"Look, I'm sorry about, you know, how I acted in Diagon Ally. I was rude." Harry noticed that her voice held a foreign accent -- American most likely.
"Anyway," she continued", I'm just sorry for acting like that."
"Ok, no hard feelings. So", Harry started hoping to squash that awkward silence, "This'll be your first year at Hogwarts, right?"
"Yep. I'm really nervous. Everything is so different than what I'm used to. This place is so different", she said her voice trailing off; her eyes distant were staring out into the rain-filled night.
"Don't worry I'm sure you'll love Hogwarts."
"My name's Tara, by the way," Tara said casting her eyes aside, avoiding Harry's gaze.
"Harry Potter," he responded holding out his hand. She took it, blushing at the simple act. The moment lasted longer then it was meant to. The compartment door slid open and standing in the doorway stood Draco Malfoy flanked as always by Crabbe and Goyle. Both Harry and Tara looked to the door, they're hands still held in that friendly handshake. A look of pure disgust crossed Malfoy's face.
"What's going on here?" he asked his voice rising in anger. Tara stood quickly, dropping Harry's hand in the process. In an instant, Tara's haughty attitude had returned.
Tossing her hair she said, "I was just leaving." She threw Harry an apologetic glance before disappearing into the corridor. Harry sat back. That girl was definitely a puzzle. He went back to staring out the window, but with a small smirk on his face. For some reason he hoped to God, she was in Gryffindor.
