Finally a new chapter: Enjoy!
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The night was quiet. All quiet except for the shifting and snoring of sleeping forms. Everyone slept through the night and at about seven in the morning, many people were waking up and talking. The shapeshifters in the main room were still sleeping soundly, regaining their energy. A few of the adults woke up and were in the room, talking quietly to one another about what they needed to do. They were also making sure that anyone coming into the room was quiet so they wouldn't wake the teens.
"Dumbledore, what are we going to do?" McGonagall asked the headmaster. "We can't keep all the students down here the whole time while we wait until the castle is rebuilt."
"We need to keep them here as long as it takes unless we can find another place," Dumbledore answered. "We need to find a place where the students can be safe."
"How long do you think it will be until we can go back into the castle?" McGonagall asked quietly.
"It could be for a very long time. The castle was damaged, more than ever. Voldermort almost took it over," Dumbledore answered, his eyes grave. Everyone was silent in thought.
"This is a nightmare," Sirius commented. He rubbed his eyes. His eyes looked sunken in. They looked like they did when he was in Azkaban.
"I would offer letting everyone come to the House of the Gifted but it might be too close to muggles," Stacy said.
"Are they're wards around the house?" McGonagall asked.
"Of course. Wards for protection are up as well as ones so no one can sense the magic around it," Stacy answered.
"It might be dangerous having all of the students there. It's so close to the muggle world," Remus remarked.
"When at home usually I'm in the muggle world doing things," Stacy said.
"We need to think this over," Dumbledore said.
The noise in the room had gotten noiser over the conversation. More and more people woke up and talked. The shapeshifters awoke one by one. Liz awoke early but let her friends sleep on as she checked out the new underground area. Others on the other hand, like Jake couldn't wait for everyone else to wake up.
"Wake up time," he said as he hit a sleeping Matt in the face with a pillow. Matt awoke with a start.
"What was that for?" he asked through a yawn as he sat up.
"I didn't want to be the only one awake," Jake answered.
"Then why did you have to wake me?" Matt asked.
"I don't know," Jake answered, a hand rubbing his chin in thought. "Just felt like it."
"You're an idiot," Matt said picking up his pillow and hitting Jake back. Jake's eyes narrowed.
"This means war!" he exclaimed before grabbing his pillow and raising it above his head. He stood on the couch before jumping down to attack. Matt hit him back with his own pillow.
"Jake, stop this minute or I'll set you on fire," Caroline said tiredly, her eyes were still closed and her head was rested on her pillow.
"Oh come on," Jake said. "Come play." He hit her in the face.
"I meant it!" Caroline said grabbing her pillow and hitting him back.
"I leave for one minute and look what happens!" Liz exclaimed as she reentered the room and took a look at Caroline, Matt and Jake in the middle of a pillow fight.
"She started it!" Jake exclaimed pointing to his girlfriend.
"Hey!" Caroline exclaimed.
"I find that hard to believe," Sirius said, walking into the room. "You should keep it down. Ashley and Harry are still sleeping."
"How can they sleep through this?" Matt asked looking at the two sleeping forms. Harry's animal was in the form of a small puppy and was sleeping by Harry's head. Harry's head was halfway under his blanket. Ashley's dragon was in a small size and was sleeping on the arm on the couch that Ashley was sleeping on.
"They're the babies," Jake said. "They use up more energy quicker than we do and it takes them longer to replenish what is lost." Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"Okay two things," Caroline started. "One: we're all the same ages so they're not younger and two: how did you know that?"
"One: I'm going by months. Even months have big effects. Harry and Ashley are the babies. And two: I just seemed to recall that small bit of information. I don't know where but I remember it," Jake answered.
"Jake, remember something? A miracle," Matt commented even though he knew they all had photographic memory. Everyone laughed. Jake gave him a look before hitting him with the pillow. Matt hit him back. Jake hit him again and Matt returned it. Jake raised his pillow and hit Caroline. She gave him a glare before setting the pillow on fire.
"Hey!" Jake yelped, dropping the pillow. Matt put out the fire quickly.
"I told you I didn't want to be hit!" Caroline said.
"Why does it smell like something is burning in here?" Hermione asked as she walked into the room.
"My pillow died," Jake answered.
"Really?" Hermione asked, a little confused. "I don't get it."
"I set it on fire. He wouldn't stop hitting me with it," Caroline clarified.
"Oh, I get it now," Hermione said with a smile.
"It smells bad in here," a soft voice commented from a couch. "Bear, what did you do this time?"
"I didn't do it!" Jake said in defense. From the couch, Harry untangled himself from his blankets. His puppy jumped down onto the floor and stretched. Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Morning," Sirius said.
"Morning Padfoot," Harry said with a smile. He looked around. "We actually slept through the noise in this room?"
"We were awake for awhile," Liz said. "Only you are Ashley were still sleeping."
"Now only Ashley is," Matt said taking a seat.
"No but I want to go back to sleep," Ashley said from her spot, surprising them all. They thought she was asleep.
"Then go back to sleep," Harry said.
"I tried for awhile but couldn't," she answered sitting up. "I've been awake for a while. I think I woke up after Caroline."
"Where's Ron?" Harry asked Hermione.
"He's doing something with his brothers. I hope he's not doing anything that could get him into trouble," Hermione answered. She sat down next to him.
"How could they get into trouble down here?" Ashley asked.
Suddenly they heard a loud noise followed by, "Misters Weasleys! What did you do this time?!" from Professor McGonagall.
"Is it too late to take that back?" Ashley asked.
"Just a tad," Jake answered.
"The twins can find trouble anywhere they go," Liz commented. Everyone agreed.
"Harry? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Hermione asked quietly. She motioned him over to a corner of the room. Harry followed her over.
"What is it?" he asked. Hermione shifted in her spot.
"I have a huge favor to ask of you," she started.
"What is it?" Harry asked. "I'll do anything for you, you know that."
"I need help with something," Hermione said. She took a deep breath. "I wanted to know if you could teach me how to fight."
"You want to learn how to fight? What do you mean? Duels?" Harry asked.
"Not only duels but physical fighting. Especially after what happened, I want to be prepared for anything and since I would be hopeless without my wand, I was wondering if you could teach me to fight," Hermione explained.
"You want to fight as in kicks, punches, and swords as well as more magic?" Harry asked.
"Anything I can learn I want to learn," Hermione answered. Harry thought for a moment.
"When do you want to start?" he asked. Hermione's eyes lit up.
"You mean it? You can teach me?" she asked.
"Of course. If you want to learn, I'll teach you. It's not like I'm training you to beat up an innocent person but I'm teaching you self defense which is very important," Harry answered.
"When are you free?" Hermione asked.
"First we need to find out how everything is. How we're going to deal with being underground and such. I guess we can start after dinner," Harry said. "Unless they need me for something else, I'm free."
"Where should I meet you?" Hermione asked.
"I'll find a room and tell you later on," Harry answered.
"Thanks Harry," Hermione said with a smile before walking away.
"What was that about?" Jake asked as Harry returned.
"She just wanted to get something off her shoulders," Harry replied. He wasn't going to tell them that she wanted to learn fighting techniques. If she didn't want to ask Harry in front of the group, then she must not want them to know. "Where's Ashley?"
"She's trying to find her parents," Caroline answered.
"Thanks," Harry replied before heading off down a hallway, his white puppy right behind him. He saw Remus down another hallway.
"Remus, do you know where Ashley's parents are? I'm trying to find Ashley and the others told me that she was with her parents," Harry said.
"They're right around the corner, I believe," Remus answered. "There are so many rooms in this place. I think we found a few rooms for you and the others."
"No more sleeping on couches and being awoken by friends having pillow fight?" Harry whined.
"No, sorry," Remus answered playing along.
"I guess I'll just have to sleep in a quiet room all alone," Harry replied.
"I guess so too. Poor you," Remus said with a smile.
"Yea, poor me," Harry said. "I have to find Ashley now and see how her parents are handling living down here in the underworld." They said their good byes before heading separate directions. Harry stopped in front of the door that Remus had guided him too. He knocked on the door.
"Come in!" a voice said from inside. Harry opened the door slowly and looked in. Ashley was sitting on the bed with her mom while her dad sat in a chair. Ashley's dragon was sitting on the bed beside her. They looked as if they were talking when he came in.
"I'll come back at a later time if you'd like," Harry said.
"No! Stay!" Ashley said rising from the bed and opening the door more.
"You can come in unless you're scared of us," Ashley's dad, Paul said with a smile.
"Don't scare him off!" Ashley exclaimed with a smile as she grabbed Harry's arm and led him away from the door. "You're so mean!"
"Me mean?" Paul replied, putting a hand to his heart as if he was shocked. "Never!"
"Sit down," Ashley said to Harry as she pulled up a chair.
"I can leave if you'd all like to be alone to talk," Harry said. He didn't want to barge into family conversations. He was taught not to enter or disturb anyone while in a discussion. "I have no problem with it."
"I want you to stay," Ashley said.
"So do I, Harry dear," Christine, Ashley's mother said. "You don't have to leave. Don't be ridiculous."
"I just wanted to ask how you were," Harry said. " Everyone is taking living down here differently and I wanted to make sure that you were okay." He looked around the small room. No windows of course. It was a very small room in Harry's claustrophobic mind. He wrapped his arms around him as an instinct to make the room seem bigger. It didn't work.
"It's a little different down here," Christine answered. "It might be exciting living with young wizards and witches for once." Her and her husband were muggles.
"Who knew that when living with wizards and witches you'd have to live underground?" Paul commented. Suddenly a small sneeze was heard. Everyone looked down at Harry's puppy.
"Did he just sneeze?" Paul asked. The puppy looked up at him with a smile. "Bless you then." The puppy barked a happy bark. Everyone smiled.
"He's so cute!" Ashley commented. "Our animals are adorable!"
"Surprises just jump out at us don't they?" Harry asked. He sat down next to Ashley on the bed. "Who knew that we would get animals as well? Being an elemental is complicated."
"I'm sure you'll get it one day," Christine said. There was a moment of silence. Suddenly the puppy whimpered.
"What's the matter this time?" Paul asked. The puppy whimpered again and looked at the door. The dragon growled and grabbed Ashley's sleeve. He pulled it towards the door.
"What's the matter?" Ashley asked. She stood and followed it toward the door. The dragon stopped in front of the door and looked at it with sad eyes. Harry's puppy went up to the door and scratched at it. He sat down in front of it and stared at it, scratching at it every so often.
"I don't suppose they want the door opened," Christine said.
"I think that's exactly what they want," Harry said. His puppy wagged his tail happily. Ashley opened the door. Harry sighed. The room wasn't as small anymore.
"Is that better for you?" Christine asked Harry. Harry gave her a questioning glance. "Is that better? You don't like closed in spaces do you? I saw you feeling uneasy as soon as you came in."
"I'd like to avoid them as much as possible," Harry replied. His puppy returned to him, wagging his tail. Harry scratched him behind the ear.
"Ashley's claustrophobic but not as much as you it seems," Christine observed. "We'll keep the door open."
"You'd think that I'd be used to closed spaces since I've lived in a cupboard for years," Harry said to no one. Christine and Paul looked at him.
"Lived in a cupboard? What are you talking about?" Paul asked.
"I lived with my aunt and uncle since I was one year old. They made me live under a cupboard under the stairs. It was a small space so I would think that since I lived in there for so long, that I would be used to small spaces," Harry explained.
"They put you in a cupboard?" Christine exclaimed. "That's it, you're not living with them anymore."
"I live with the others at the House for the Gifted," Harry replied.
"If anything happens and you need to go somewhere, you always have a place at our house," Christine said. Harry smiled.
"We have a guest room," Paul said. "We'll make it officially yours."
"Thanks," Harry said softly with a smile.
"Anything, dear," Christine said. She had grown fond of the boy since she first saw him on the battlefield. She and Ashley had exchanged numerous letters and Christine had wanted to meet him for the longest time.
"That would be nice," Ashley said. They were silent for a little bit.
"Could I ask you a question?" Harry asked.
"Anything," Paul answered.
"How did you get here?" Harry asked.
"We were at home when we heard glass break," Paul said. "To make the story short, we were scared to death when people in black robes and wands came into the house. They took us by surprise and brought us here."
"It's a good thing that our son wasn't home," Christine said.
"Son?" Harry asked.
"Yes, our son Brian," Christine answered. "He's a few years older than Ashley. She and him don't get along that well. Brian thinks it's bad to have a witch in the family. I think it's funny when Ashley shows him up." Harry looked at her surprised. Christine was a mother who actually LIKED when Ashley used magic to attack and scare her brother.
"It's funny to see his friends faces when things start to float around the room," Ashley said. "His friends are so scared and that they don't want to hang out at our house anymore."
"That would be funny to see," Harry commented.
"It is funny to see but afterwards I get such an evil glare from him," Ashley replied.
"I wonder why," Paul asked sarcastically. "Not that his friends think our house is haunted or anything."
"So the holiday season is coming up," Chrisinte commented. It was the middle of december and Christmas was just around the corner.
"I can't wait until the holidays," Ashley said laying down and putting her arms under her head as she looked up at the ceiling. "It's going to be so much fun!"
"As usual for our holidays you'll be scaring your brother and your cousins," Christine remarked. She turned to Harry. "And you're welcome to spend the holidays with us if you'd like. We'd love to have you."
"Yeah! It'll be great!" Ashley exclaimed.
"I have to ask Sirius and Remus but if it's okay with them, then I'd love to come over," Harry said.
"Sirius is you're godfather, right?" Paul asked. Harry nodded. "Okay, I'm finally beginning to get everyone down."
"I'm hungry," Ashley said.
"Me too," Harry replied.
"Then let's see if there is anything for us to eat down here in the underworld," Christine said standing. The group made their way through the halls to where food was the other night. Sure enough food was still on the tables.
"This place gives me the creeps," Ashley remarked. "Imagine living underground you're whole life?"
"I'd prefer above ground thank you very much," Harry answered. Christine and Paul separated from them to talk to some of the adults. Ashley and Harry made their way to the other shapeshifters. The other students seemed nervous about living under the gound. A few were puzzled on what to do. People seemed anxious, not their normal selves.
"And where were you two this whole time?" Jake asked with a smirk.
"Talking to my parents," Ashley said with a smirk of her own. She and Harry sat between Hermione and Ginny.
"Did you ever find out when we can go back into the castle?" Ginny asked Harry.
"No, not yet. Hopefully we can live back in the castle soon," he replied. He helped himself to some of the food on the table. When he was moving around something on his plate he heard Fred and George snicker about something. "What did you do this time?"
"How can you always suspect that we did something whenever someone laughs?" Fred asked trying to look innocent. Harry raised an eyebrow. "Oh fine, look over at the Slytherin table."
"What did you do this-" Harry started to say before he looked over. Some of the Slytherins had neon color hair. Some had poka dots of different colors.He laughed a little, trying to hide it. Fred and George smiled and snickered softly.
"What is it?" Ashley asked. Harry nodded his head towards the Slytherin table. Ashley covered her mouth when she looked over. She hid her smile. She elbowed Hermioen slightly and pointed over to the table. Hermione looked over. With a look of surprise she looked over at the twins and pointed to them as if asking if they did it. They nodded back. Hemione smiled slightly. It was immature and she knew she shouldn't be laughing but it was hard to conceal a slight smile.
"What will happen when the teachers find out?" Hermione asked. Several other students saw the Slytherins and laughed. Soon they realized what food was making their hair change colors and to their surprise, they started eating them! They laughed as they saw what color their hair changed to. A few girls were showing it off and asking my friends, "How does this look?" While her friends would respond sarcastically, "It suits you perfectly!"
"I didn't expect this," Ginny replied looking around at many neon colored heads.
"Neither did we," Fred and George said.
"Weasley!" McGonagall yelled. "What did you two do this time?"
"We didn't mean for this to happen professor!" Fred replied.
"I should give you a full years detention!" McGonagall yelled.
"Oh, don't punish them, Minerva," Stacy said coming up behind the headmistress. "They got the rest of the students to forget their worries of living down here for the time being and are having fun. Plus it's going to wear off soon with no effects. They helped to ease the tension between the students and helped the time down here be more enjoyable."
"I guess you're right," McGonagall said. "You two are free for now." She walked away.
"Watch it you two. I won't be around everytime you do something. Plus I can't get you out of everything! It's just convenient that we're down here with all this tension!" Stacy said quietly to them before leaving. Her and the other adults left the room.
"Professor Miller is official my favorite teacher," George said. Fred agreed.
"She's already used to us," Jake said.
"Who do you mean by 'us'"? Caroline asked.
"Mainly me," Jake said. "And Matt." Matt opened his mouth to say something but just waved it off. He didn't feel like arguing with Jake.
"Smart choice," Jake commented when he noticed Matt's movements. "Don't even bother, you know I'm going to win." He didn't see Caroline, who was next to him, pick up one of the dishes of mashed potatoes.
"Hey Sweetheart," she said holding the dish.
"What is it?" Jake asked as he turned. The next thing he knew, food was in his face. Caroline had smushed Jake's face into the mashed potatoes. From behind him, Matt dumped a bowl of baked beans on top of his head. Behind Jake they exchanged a high five. Everyone got quiet as they looked at the situation at the Gryffindor table.
"I can't believe you did that," Ron commented. Jake didn't move. Finally Jake's hands came up to wipe the food out of his face.
"Hey Sweetheart," he said.
"What?" Caroline replied cautiously. Jake threw some of the food in her face.
"I can't believe you did that," Ron repeated. Jake wiped the food off of his face with a smile.
"Under the table?" Liz asked.
"Definitely," Ginny replied as she slipped under the table with Liz. Harry, Ashley, Hermione and Ron joined them. They hid out under the table. Fred and George came down a few moments later.
"What are they doing?" Liz asked them.
"Eyeing more food around the table," Fred answered.
"I should grab more before they start throwng it," Ron said returned to the world above the table. More food ended up on the floor next to them. He came down a second later empty-handed. "Maybe not."
"What happened?" Harry asked.
"I didn't want to touch anything. They've started throwing more things," Ron replied.
"This might take awhile," Ashley said.
"Are they always like this?" Hermione asked.
"You've been with them for a few months, what do you think?" Harry asked.
"Good point," Hermione replied. They stayed down there for a few minutes after food was constantly landing on the floor.
"Do we have to stay down here for awhile longer?" Ginny asked.
"Hopefully not," George said. Food stopped landing on the floor.
"Maybe they stopped," Fred said.
"I'll go check," Ginny said crawling out from under the table. A few seconds she quickly came back under, food was on her shirt. "Nope, false alarm."
"Here," Ashley said waving a hand over Ginny's shirt. It was instantly cleaned.
"Why aren't the adults stopping them? Wouldn't the professors want them to stop?" George asked.
"I don't see any," Ron said looking around. "Remember they left?"
"Oh yeah," George said. "Where did they go?"
"To another room five doors on the right down the hallway to the left of this room. They're discussing what they're going to do with us," Harry said. Everyone looked at him shocked.
"How did you know?" Hermione asked, Harry tapped his head. "Oh yeah. I forgot you can do that."
"We'd better make them stop before the teachers come back," Liz said.
"I think they're running out of food to throw," Ron said noticing the decrease in the amount of food that was falling on the floor.
"Hopefully it's not a false alarm agan," Ginny said.
"Well, we have to get them to stop anyway," Harry said.
"Let me check to see what they're doing now," Ashley said, disappearing from under the table. Harry looked around the floor. It was a mess. Surprisingly enough, the food was just in one area. The rest of the students didn't pick up the whole 'Food fight' situation and joined. It was as if the students just watched instead of getting involved. With a wave of his hand the mess disappeared.
"Good idea," Hermione commented.
"The teachers left the room," Harry said.
"We better get them cleaned up then," Liz said. "Ashley hasn't returned so I think the coast is clear." She left from under the table. Everyone else followed her. When they saw the sight above the table, few could hold back a laugh. Jake, Caroline and Matt were covered in different types of food. Students that were sitting next to them or near them had moved away and went to another table. The table was covered in food as well.
"Well, I hope you two had fun," Liz said as she cleaned the table with a wave of her hand. Caroline cleaned herself and Matt. She refused to clean Jake. He had to do that himself.
"The teachers are coming back into this room," Harry said as they all sat down quickly. In a few seconds the teachers walked in. They were talking amongst themselves and failed to notice the amount of students who had moved away from the table of the bickering shapeshifters. They just sat at their own table.
"That was a close one," Ashley commented.
"Nah, if I thought it was an extremely bad thing if we were caught, I would've told you that they left the room and headed this way sooner," Harry replied. Ashley looked at him.
"You amaze me," she said. She had a few things on her plate but moved them around, not taking a bite. Suddenly Dean and Julia walked into the room and up to them. They stopped a few feet away when they noticed that no one was sitting by the group.
"Is there something I should know about?" Julia asked.
"Not unless you should know about a food fight between Bear, Cat and Shark," Liz commented without looking up from her plate.
"What did the teachers do?" Dean asked as they sat down.
"Nothing. They don't know," Ron said. Dean gave him a puzzled look. "They had left the room when it happened and the mess was cleaned up before they returned."
"I get it now," Dean replied as he started to eat some of the food at the table.
"So, where have you two been this whole time?" Jake asked with a smirk.
"Here we go again," Harry said as he rolled his eyes. Jake ignored him.
"Well, we found about twelve rooms next to each other. They all connect to another room. We can all take those rooms," Julia said. "We already asked Stacy. She said that was fine."
"They connect?" Caroline asked. "How so?"
"They form a circle. They are connected by a room in the center," Dean answered. Caroline nodded in understanding. They talked through lunch about things like Quidditch before people began to get up and leave the room.
"It's boring down here," Ron said.
"Very boring," Fred agreed.
"Why don't you two show is the rooms you were talking about?" Ashley suggested.
"Why not?" Dean said as they all stood up.
"Are you coming?" Harry asked Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny and Ron.
"There's nothing to do here," Hermione said as she and the others followed them out of the room. Thye walked down numerous hallways past millions of roms before stopping.
"Here we are," Julia said. "Here's one of the rooms." She opened the door. It was a plain room with no furntiure.
"Obviously we have to add our own things," Dean said. He entered the room. The other followed. "This is what we were talking about with them connecting. He opened a door on the other side of the room and stepped in. The room was a large room with no furntiure. It was a circle room with many doors .
"All these doors lead to other bedrooms," Julia explained. She looked at everyone in the group. "Let's pick our new rooms!"
"Even us?" Ginny asked.
"Of course!" Julia said as she headed over to a room and disappeared by the door. She came out a few seconds later and pointed her wand at the door. Her name appeared on a name plate.
"I'll take this one," Jake said disappearing off into his own room. Harry picked a large room next to Ron. Fred and George decided to share a room. Ginny picked her own as well as the others. Harry put his wand to both doors in his room and put his name on the nameplates. Once inside he started to make the room seem more like a bedroom. He added a bed before a few other things to keep his mind off the fact that he was living underground. He was still a little uneasy about being underground and couldn't wait to breathe in fresh air. Finally he had settled in to his new room for the time he was stranded down underground.
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The days went on. Everyone had settled in underground. The room in the center was used for talking and Hermione and the Weasleys were trained physically and magically by the elementals. The elementals also took the time to train themselves. Each had become even stronger than before. They had each learned something new to do with their element. Many times Christine and Paul watched the shapeshifters train. Christine had her hands over her eyes most of the time, afraid to see Ashley get hurt. She sighed in relief everytime Ashley made it out of a practice battle nearly unscratched.
The elemetals were each given a small locket. A stone was locked insdie each locket. This stone was where their animals would stay when not needed. The stone glow, giving off a soft light.
They were undergorund for weeks when finally they opened the heavy door to see a fglorious castle. The castle was prepared and stronger than before. Everyone had settled into their own rooms and their life in the castle, happy to be back. Chrisitne and Paul had decided to stay until the holidays. During the holidays they were going to go home and bring Ashley with them. Harry was to join them as well. Sirius had assured him that it would be fine for him to go. Sirius was even invited to Ashley's house for the holidays in which he accepted. Christine and Paul had sent home a note with Snow for their son telling him where they were stranded. Their son had wittern back saying that it was fine for him ot be alone and not to send any more owls. They scare him and his friends.
The days flew past until it was finally it was the night before the holiday vacation. It was the last night for everyone to be together before departing for the holidays. Ron, Fred, George and Ginny were going home to spend time with their family. Jake, Matt, Liz, Caroline, and Julia were going home to their own families. Dean was going home to a friend's house. He had told his friend that he was taking the train in and to meet him at the station since his friend was a muggle. Hermione was going to spend her holidays with her family. Sirius was going to go over Remus' house until Christmas when he was going to visit Harry at Ashley's house. Stacy was going to go between Hogwarts, the House for the Gifted and Remus' house. Everyone was busy for the holidays.
Because of the events, the Yule ball was cancelled. It was to be rescheduled.
"Another hoiday has come upon us," Dumbledore started at the end if the dinner feast. "I hope that everyone goes home and enjoys the holidays. It is a joyous time with family and friends. Go home and relax your minds. Come back with a mind that's ready to learn! I would like to announce a new event to happen tonight. I would like to celebrate the holiday with music. Music effects the mind and spirit of others and I would like to share songs of the holiday to et everyone is the holiday spirit. I would encourage any of you who would like to share a song, come up here and sing it. We have instruments up here. You can either play one or we can bewitch them to play a tune. Who would like to be first?"
The Great Hall was decorated as usual. Hagrid picked the perfect christmas tree to decorate. Everything was beautiful. The shapeshifters were sitting at the Gryffindor table. Ashley's parents were sitting next to her at the table. Sirius was sitting next to Stacy and Remus at the teacher's table. A Hufflepuff raised her hand to Dumbledore. She was called up to sing. There was a platform in front for the students to stand on. Once in the front she sat at the piano. Dumbledore had a microphone hooked up to it so she could sing into it. He thought it was a good idea to add microphones. The students could sing without having to yell or have a charm put on them to make them sound louder. She had sung and played a song that she had learned from her mother, a witch. When she was done, everyone clapped.
Many people went up to sing. Many were good. Some were funny. Some Gryffindor's went up. A few boys went up to rap a song. It had everyone cluching their sides in laughter. When another girl was singing, Harry nudged Ashley.
"What?" she asked him quietly. She had been watching the bewitched instruments play.
"You should sing a song," Harry said.
"No way," Ashley repleid right away. "Not in front of everyone."
"Why not? You're great," Harry commented.
"I don't want to. Plus this is for the students and I'm not a student here!" Ashley said.
"That doesn't matter," her mother said. "Dumbledore never said that it as for only the students here."
"Sing a song!" Liz said to Ashley when the other girl had finished.
"Yeah!" Caroline added.
"Please?" Ginny pleaded.
"I don't want to," Ashley said quickly. She looked up and saw Dumbledore looking at her, a smile on his face. Everyone had gone quiet as they listened to what was happening at the Gryffindor table.
"Miss Stone, would you like to sing a song for us?" Dumbledore asked. Ashley looked at him. Harry nudged her again. She looked at him. There was no way she was able to get out of this now. She took a deep breath before looking back at Dumbledore and standing up. Her friends at the Gryffindor table cheered as she approached the front. Dumbledore smiled at her when he handed her the microphone. She stepped up onto the platform. Looking around at the instruments she waved her hand over one. It floated into the air and began playing a tune. Ashley stopped it and picked a few more. She had them play a tune before making a few change to a different beat. Son she had them all where she needed before making them silent once more.
"Look like we have a professional," Dumbledore said with a smile. Ashley smiled slghtly and looked back at the students. Some of the Slytherins were laughing. Most of the other tables were waiting patiently for her. Harry was smiling at her. She took a deep breath before talking.
"I'm going to do a song that my mother taught me when I was little. This has to be one of my favorites. It's called Draw Tua Bethlehem or in other words Far Over Bethlehem" she said. When she turned around to start the instruments she heard a few people clap and cheer her on. She gained her confidence before letting the instruments play. They played a soft tune before she turned back to the group and started with her eyes closed. Her voice was beautiful. It was perfect for classical or even opera music. It was a high soprano.
Draw uwch y ddaear mae cysgod y nos,
Ond yno mae golau un seren dlos.
Draw uwch y ddaear mae lluoedd y Nef
Yn llawen gyhoeddi ei ddyfod Ef.
Everyone was silent as they listened to her. Ashley opened her eyes as she gained more confidence. She moved the microphone away when she sung louder or higher. She moved her hands when she sang. Everyone listened closely. It was beautiful.
Far in the city with no room to spare,
A stable is let to the gentle pair.
Far in the city they both watch and pray
O'er Jesus asleep in his bed of hay.
Draw at y bryniay mae'r noson yn fwyn
Ar dawel ffriddoedd y defaid a'r wyn.
Over the hillside the shepherds draw near
The angels glad tidings of joy to hear.
Draw dros y twyni mae cwmni ar daith
Yn dilyn y seren ar siwrnai faith.
Over the hills now the wise men do bring
Their gifts for our Lord and his praise to sing.
The music got louder as she sung higher. Everyone listened closely. Most haven't heard the song before. It was unbelieveable. Harry smiled at her as she sang. He knew she could do it.
Draw tua Bethle'm mae toriad y wawr
Ac yno mae bore'n foliant yn awr.
Far over Bethlehem glad voices call,
To worship and praise the Saviour of all.
The music played before dying down as the song ended.Everyone started to clap loud. Ashley smiled as they clapped for her. Several people, mainly the Weasley twins, were whistling.
"Well I don't believe I'm the only one to believe that we have a real talented professional in our school," Dumbledore commented with a smile. Ashley smiled and handed back the microphone. When she was walking to her seat, the clapping continued even after she sat down.
"Where did you learn to sing like that?" a first year Gryffindor asked.
"Lots of practice, patience and devotion," Ashley answered. Everyone started to ask her questions. Even people from the other tables were asking things. Soon it became late and Dumbledore dismissed them from the Great Hall. Ashley walked down the hall answering more questions and receiving comments.
"Why would you want to keep your voice a secret?" Hermione asked as they entered the common room.
"What do you mean?" Ashley asked.
"You never sing and you didn't want to sing before. Why don't you share it?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. I don't think I'm that great so I don't sing much," Ashley replied. Hermione rolled her eyes in a playful fashion before saying good night. Everyone headed to their rooms for the night. It was late and there was going to be massive chaos in the halls the following day.
Harry smiled as he laid in bed. Tomorrow he was leaving the castle for the holidays. He couldn't wait. He put a hand around the locket on his neck before drifting off to sleep.
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Wow, finally a chapter done huh? Sorry for the wait. I was running out of ideas. Sorry if this chapter is a bit useless. I know that I didn't follow some ideas (sorry Tom Riddle's son) but I hope that you like it anyway. Maybe something with happen in the future...I don't know..we'll see...yes WE'LL see. I don't even know what I type sometimes.
Yes, I actually remembered that I never had them celebrate christmas...imagine: all of this happening to you in a few short months ....hehe. Crazy. AS always send in any comments and ideas. Your ideas always help.
Happy fourth of July!!!!!!! I hope all of my readers stay safe and has a good time....next chapter is christmas..oooooooooo what could happen now that they don't have the protection of Hogwarts AND they're in the muggle world? We'll see..
I've actually decided to respond to my reviewers of last chapter. I got soooo many reviews for one chapter!! It's amazing! Thanks guys! I'll begin to respond again.....To my reviewers:
Joanna-I'm glad you like it. I bet you could write like me. I don't think I'm that great. Maybe if I work harder and I don't try to get chapters out for people then it would be better but I love writing for people who love it. I don't know about your idea. He's already powerful so I don't want t make him a mage but you never know...you might see something I write that might just follow something of your idea...we'll see...
Magus- I hope you like that I added your idea. I'll work it more in next chapter or soon at least. Thanks for reading.
Hpver7- Thanks for answering my question iwht muggles finding out. It helps me keep readers reading what they want to read. Thanks for reading the reviewing.
KC- I'm glad you like it. I'm glad you like the animals. I was worried about how people would react to them. I'm definitely going to do your family idea. It's a great idea!!!! Thanks. I'll work it in soon I hope.
Noraseves- I'm glad you like it. Thanks for R/R.
Queen of Redwall- sorry I forgot all about the wand thing. I'll be more careful next time. You're the only one who pointed that out...thanks for r/r.
SakuraPotter- There will definitely be an epilouge or something saying that the story will end. I won't just leave it I promise you. It just might take ne awhile to type 17 pages..
Fantasydima- I'm glad you like it. Thanks for r/r.
Giraffe- I'll add more romance later over the next chapter. I just can't get too romantic if you know what I mean..I'll get it in there though. In the first chapter I didn't know how to update properly so that's why the paragraphs were pushed together.sorry.
VysseII- You really think mines the best???? Are you serious???? Nah, you're just saying that...right?? Wow, I'm SOOOOO happy! Thanks for reading and reviewing..wow, and thanks for the comment!
BookObsessed- I'm a little confused with your review: Well not we'll. If it's a spelling mistake than sorry. I type fast and I just want to get chapters out ASAP. Even when I read it, I think it says something different so I don't see the mistake..sorry.
Tasidia- Thanks for reading. Sorry for repeating.I think I do that when I stop at an area and come back to it the next day. I don't remember my train of though..sorry. I'll work on that. Thanks for helping me improve!!!! Thanks for not just saying: You repeat too much and I hate it.thanks it means a lot!!! Really. Thanks for r/r.
Shadowsurfer- I'm going to make it a few muggles if any..we'll see..thanks for answering my question with muggles It means a lot ..really. Thanks for r/r.
Naomi Silverwolf- I remember you. I'm glad you like my story. Thanks for r/r. I hope you like my new chapter as well.
Lady Reaper of the Shadows- wow, cool name. Thanks for answering my question with the muggles. You're right. They would clash horribly wouldn't they?
Bluefire-2113- I'm glad you like it. Thanks for r/r.
Bookmaster 3000- I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for r/r.
Ficfan- I'm glad you liked it..well, let's see....they disappear for a few weeks for the holidays.. I think they'll improve...ooooo.You'll definitely see more things. More powers and aspect...if you want of course.. Thanks for r/r.
Shdurrani- I'm glad you're back and reading! I remembered your name right away. I'm glad you like it still. Thanks for r/r.
Chaser- I'm glad you like it. Thanks for r/r.
Tom Riddle's son- Sorry if I didn't use all of your idea. It was a really good idea! Really!! But now that they know it's there...who knows what they can do now???..we'll see..we'll see...thanks for reading and reviewing.wow, just think. The only reason you're reading this is because you helped me post it...remember..wow..hehe. Thanks for everything!
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The night was quiet. All quiet except for the shifting and snoring of sleeping forms. Everyone slept through the night and at about seven in the morning, many people were waking up and talking. The shapeshifters in the main room were still sleeping soundly, regaining their energy. A few of the adults woke up and were in the room, talking quietly to one another about what they needed to do. They were also making sure that anyone coming into the room was quiet so they wouldn't wake the teens.
"Dumbledore, what are we going to do?" McGonagall asked the headmaster. "We can't keep all the students down here the whole time while we wait until the castle is rebuilt."
"We need to keep them here as long as it takes unless we can find another place," Dumbledore answered. "We need to find a place where the students can be safe."
"How long do you think it will be until we can go back into the castle?" McGonagall asked quietly.
"It could be for a very long time. The castle was damaged, more than ever. Voldermort almost took it over," Dumbledore answered, his eyes grave. Everyone was silent in thought.
"This is a nightmare," Sirius commented. He rubbed his eyes. His eyes looked sunken in. They looked like they did when he was in Azkaban.
"I would offer letting everyone come to the House of the Gifted but it might be too close to muggles," Stacy said.
"Are they're wards around the house?" McGonagall asked.
"Of course. Wards for protection are up as well as ones so no one can sense the magic around it," Stacy answered.
"It might be dangerous having all of the students there. It's so close to the muggle world," Remus remarked.
"When at home usually I'm in the muggle world doing things," Stacy said.
"We need to think this over," Dumbledore said.
The noise in the room had gotten noiser over the conversation. More and more people woke up and talked. The shapeshifters awoke one by one. Liz awoke early but let her friends sleep on as she checked out the new underground area. Others on the other hand, like Jake couldn't wait for everyone else to wake up.
"Wake up time," he said as he hit a sleeping Matt in the face with a pillow. Matt awoke with a start.
"What was that for?" he asked through a yawn as he sat up.
"I didn't want to be the only one awake," Jake answered.
"Then why did you have to wake me?" Matt asked.
"I don't know," Jake answered, a hand rubbing his chin in thought. "Just felt like it."
"You're an idiot," Matt said picking up his pillow and hitting Jake back. Jake's eyes narrowed.
"This means war!" he exclaimed before grabbing his pillow and raising it above his head. He stood on the couch before jumping down to attack. Matt hit him back with his own pillow.
"Jake, stop this minute or I'll set you on fire," Caroline said tiredly, her eyes were still closed and her head was rested on her pillow.
"Oh come on," Jake said. "Come play." He hit her in the face.
"I meant it!" Caroline said grabbing her pillow and hitting him back.
"I leave for one minute and look what happens!" Liz exclaimed as she reentered the room and took a look at Caroline, Matt and Jake in the middle of a pillow fight.
"She started it!" Jake exclaimed pointing to his girlfriend.
"Hey!" Caroline exclaimed.
"I find that hard to believe," Sirius said, walking into the room. "You should keep it down. Ashley and Harry are still sleeping."
"How can they sleep through this?" Matt asked looking at the two sleeping forms. Harry's animal was in the form of a small puppy and was sleeping by Harry's head. Harry's head was halfway under his blanket. Ashley's dragon was in a small size and was sleeping on the arm on the couch that Ashley was sleeping on.
"They're the babies," Jake said. "They use up more energy quicker than we do and it takes them longer to replenish what is lost." Everyone looked at him in surprise.
"Okay two things," Caroline started. "One: we're all the same ages so they're not younger and two: how did you know that?"
"One: I'm going by months. Even months have big effects. Harry and Ashley are the babies. And two: I just seemed to recall that small bit of information. I don't know where but I remember it," Jake answered.
"Jake, remember something? A miracle," Matt commented even though he knew they all had photographic memory. Everyone laughed. Jake gave him a look before hitting him with the pillow. Matt hit him back. Jake hit him again and Matt returned it. Jake raised his pillow and hit Caroline. She gave him a glare before setting the pillow on fire.
"Hey!" Jake yelped, dropping the pillow. Matt put out the fire quickly.
"I told you I didn't want to be hit!" Caroline said.
"Why does it smell like something is burning in here?" Hermione asked as she walked into the room.
"My pillow died," Jake answered.
"Really?" Hermione asked, a little confused. "I don't get it."
"I set it on fire. He wouldn't stop hitting me with it," Caroline clarified.
"Oh, I get it now," Hermione said with a smile.
"It smells bad in here," a soft voice commented from a couch. "Bear, what did you do this time?"
"I didn't do it!" Jake said in defense. From the couch, Harry untangled himself from his blankets. His puppy jumped down onto the floor and stretched. Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Morning," Sirius said.
"Morning Padfoot," Harry said with a smile. He looked around. "We actually slept through the noise in this room?"
"We were awake for awhile," Liz said. "Only you are Ashley were still sleeping."
"Now only Ashley is," Matt said taking a seat.
"No but I want to go back to sleep," Ashley said from her spot, surprising them all. They thought she was asleep.
"Then go back to sleep," Harry said.
"I tried for awhile but couldn't," she answered sitting up. "I've been awake for a while. I think I woke up after Caroline."
"Where's Ron?" Harry asked Hermione.
"He's doing something with his brothers. I hope he's not doing anything that could get him into trouble," Hermione answered. She sat down next to him.
"How could they get into trouble down here?" Ashley asked.
Suddenly they heard a loud noise followed by, "Misters Weasleys! What did you do this time?!" from Professor McGonagall.
"Is it too late to take that back?" Ashley asked.
"Just a tad," Jake answered.
"The twins can find trouble anywhere they go," Liz commented. Everyone agreed.
"Harry? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Hermione asked quietly. She motioned him over to a corner of the room. Harry followed her over.
"What is it?" he asked. Hermione shifted in her spot.
"I have a huge favor to ask of you," she started.
"What is it?" Harry asked. "I'll do anything for you, you know that."
"I need help with something," Hermione said. She took a deep breath. "I wanted to know if you could teach me how to fight."
"You want to learn how to fight? What do you mean? Duels?" Harry asked.
"Not only duels but physical fighting. Especially after what happened, I want to be prepared for anything and since I would be hopeless without my wand, I was wondering if you could teach me to fight," Hermione explained.
"You want to fight as in kicks, punches, and swords as well as more magic?" Harry asked.
"Anything I can learn I want to learn," Hermione answered. Harry thought for a moment.
"When do you want to start?" he asked. Hermione's eyes lit up.
"You mean it? You can teach me?" she asked.
"Of course. If you want to learn, I'll teach you. It's not like I'm training you to beat up an innocent person but I'm teaching you self defense which is very important," Harry answered.
"When are you free?" Hermione asked.
"First we need to find out how everything is. How we're going to deal with being underground and such. I guess we can start after dinner," Harry said. "Unless they need me for something else, I'm free."
"Where should I meet you?" Hermione asked.
"I'll find a room and tell you later on," Harry answered.
"Thanks Harry," Hermione said with a smile before walking away.
"What was that about?" Jake asked as Harry returned.
"She just wanted to get something off her shoulders," Harry replied. He wasn't going to tell them that she wanted to learn fighting techniques. If she didn't want to ask Harry in front of the group, then she must not want them to know. "Where's Ashley?"
"She's trying to find her parents," Caroline answered.
"Thanks," Harry replied before heading off down a hallway, his white puppy right behind him. He saw Remus down another hallway.
"Remus, do you know where Ashley's parents are? I'm trying to find Ashley and the others told me that she was with her parents," Harry said.
"They're right around the corner, I believe," Remus answered. "There are so many rooms in this place. I think we found a few rooms for you and the others."
"No more sleeping on couches and being awoken by friends having pillow fight?" Harry whined.
"No, sorry," Remus answered playing along.
"I guess I'll just have to sleep in a quiet room all alone," Harry replied.
"I guess so too. Poor you," Remus said with a smile.
"Yea, poor me," Harry said. "I have to find Ashley now and see how her parents are handling living down here in the underworld." They said their good byes before heading separate directions. Harry stopped in front of the door that Remus had guided him too. He knocked on the door.
"Come in!" a voice said from inside. Harry opened the door slowly and looked in. Ashley was sitting on the bed with her mom while her dad sat in a chair. Ashley's dragon was sitting on the bed beside her. They looked as if they were talking when he came in.
"I'll come back at a later time if you'd like," Harry said.
"No! Stay!" Ashley said rising from the bed and opening the door more.
"You can come in unless you're scared of us," Ashley's dad, Paul said with a smile.
"Don't scare him off!" Ashley exclaimed with a smile as she grabbed Harry's arm and led him away from the door. "You're so mean!"
"Me mean?" Paul replied, putting a hand to his heart as if he was shocked. "Never!"
"Sit down," Ashley said to Harry as she pulled up a chair.
"I can leave if you'd all like to be alone to talk," Harry said. He didn't want to barge into family conversations. He was taught not to enter or disturb anyone while in a discussion. "I have no problem with it."
"I want you to stay," Ashley said.
"So do I, Harry dear," Christine, Ashley's mother said. "You don't have to leave. Don't be ridiculous."
"I just wanted to ask how you were," Harry said. " Everyone is taking living down here differently and I wanted to make sure that you were okay." He looked around the small room. No windows of course. It was a very small room in Harry's claustrophobic mind. He wrapped his arms around him as an instinct to make the room seem bigger. It didn't work.
"It's a little different down here," Christine answered. "It might be exciting living with young wizards and witches for once." Her and her husband were muggles.
"Who knew that when living with wizards and witches you'd have to live underground?" Paul commented. Suddenly a small sneeze was heard. Everyone looked down at Harry's puppy.
"Did he just sneeze?" Paul asked. The puppy looked up at him with a smile. "Bless you then." The puppy barked a happy bark. Everyone smiled.
"He's so cute!" Ashley commented. "Our animals are adorable!"
"Surprises just jump out at us don't they?" Harry asked. He sat down next to Ashley on the bed. "Who knew that we would get animals as well? Being an elemental is complicated."
"I'm sure you'll get it one day," Christine said. There was a moment of silence. Suddenly the puppy whimpered.
"What's the matter this time?" Paul asked. The puppy whimpered again and looked at the door. The dragon growled and grabbed Ashley's sleeve. He pulled it towards the door.
"What's the matter?" Ashley asked. She stood and followed it toward the door. The dragon stopped in front of the door and looked at it with sad eyes. Harry's puppy went up to the door and scratched at it. He sat down in front of it and stared at it, scratching at it every so often.
"I don't suppose they want the door opened," Christine said.
"I think that's exactly what they want," Harry said. His puppy wagged his tail happily. Ashley opened the door. Harry sighed. The room wasn't as small anymore.
"Is that better for you?" Christine asked Harry. Harry gave her a questioning glance. "Is that better? You don't like closed in spaces do you? I saw you feeling uneasy as soon as you came in."
"I'd like to avoid them as much as possible," Harry replied. His puppy returned to him, wagging his tail. Harry scratched him behind the ear.
"Ashley's claustrophobic but not as much as you it seems," Christine observed. "We'll keep the door open."
"You'd think that I'd be used to closed spaces since I've lived in a cupboard for years," Harry said to no one. Christine and Paul looked at him.
"Lived in a cupboard? What are you talking about?" Paul asked.
"I lived with my aunt and uncle since I was one year old. They made me live under a cupboard under the stairs. It was a small space so I would think that since I lived in there for so long, that I would be used to small spaces," Harry explained.
"They put you in a cupboard?" Christine exclaimed. "That's it, you're not living with them anymore."
"I live with the others at the House for the Gifted," Harry replied.
"If anything happens and you need to go somewhere, you always have a place at our house," Christine said. Harry smiled.
"We have a guest room," Paul said. "We'll make it officially yours."
"Thanks," Harry said softly with a smile.
"Anything, dear," Christine said. She had grown fond of the boy since she first saw him on the battlefield. She and Ashley had exchanged numerous letters and Christine had wanted to meet him for the longest time.
"That would be nice," Ashley said. They were silent for a little bit.
"Could I ask you a question?" Harry asked.
"Anything," Paul answered.
"How did you get here?" Harry asked.
"We were at home when we heard glass break," Paul said. "To make the story short, we were scared to death when people in black robes and wands came into the house. They took us by surprise and brought us here."
"It's a good thing that our son wasn't home," Christine said.
"Son?" Harry asked.
"Yes, our son Brian," Christine answered. "He's a few years older than Ashley. She and him don't get along that well. Brian thinks it's bad to have a witch in the family. I think it's funny when Ashley shows him up." Harry looked at her surprised. Christine was a mother who actually LIKED when Ashley used magic to attack and scare her brother.
"It's funny to see his friends faces when things start to float around the room," Ashley said. "His friends are so scared and that they don't want to hang out at our house anymore."
"That would be funny to see," Harry commented.
"It is funny to see but afterwards I get such an evil glare from him," Ashley replied.
"I wonder why," Paul asked sarcastically. "Not that his friends think our house is haunted or anything."
"So the holiday season is coming up," Chrisinte commented. It was the middle of december and Christmas was just around the corner.
"I can't wait until the holidays," Ashley said laying down and putting her arms under her head as she looked up at the ceiling. "It's going to be so much fun!"
"As usual for our holidays you'll be scaring your brother and your cousins," Christine remarked. She turned to Harry. "And you're welcome to spend the holidays with us if you'd like. We'd love to have you."
"Yeah! It'll be great!" Ashley exclaimed.
"I have to ask Sirius and Remus but if it's okay with them, then I'd love to come over," Harry said.
"Sirius is you're godfather, right?" Paul asked. Harry nodded. "Okay, I'm finally beginning to get everyone down."
"I'm hungry," Ashley said.
"Me too," Harry replied.
"Then let's see if there is anything for us to eat down here in the underworld," Christine said standing. The group made their way through the halls to where food was the other night. Sure enough food was still on the tables.
"This place gives me the creeps," Ashley remarked. "Imagine living underground you're whole life?"
"I'd prefer above ground thank you very much," Harry answered. Christine and Paul separated from them to talk to some of the adults. Ashley and Harry made their way to the other shapeshifters. The other students seemed nervous about living under the gound. A few were puzzled on what to do. People seemed anxious, not their normal selves.
"And where were you two this whole time?" Jake asked with a smirk.
"Talking to my parents," Ashley said with a smirk of her own. She and Harry sat between Hermione and Ginny.
"Did you ever find out when we can go back into the castle?" Ginny asked Harry.
"No, not yet. Hopefully we can live back in the castle soon," he replied. He helped himself to some of the food on the table. When he was moving around something on his plate he heard Fred and George snicker about something. "What did you do this time?"
"How can you always suspect that we did something whenever someone laughs?" Fred asked trying to look innocent. Harry raised an eyebrow. "Oh fine, look over at the Slytherin table."
"What did you do this-" Harry started to say before he looked over. Some of the Slytherins had neon color hair. Some had poka dots of different colors.He laughed a little, trying to hide it. Fred and George smiled and snickered softly.
"What is it?" Ashley asked. Harry nodded his head towards the Slytherin table. Ashley covered her mouth when she looked over. She hid her smile. She elbowed Hermioen slightly and pointed over to the table. Hermione looked over. With a look of surprise she looked over at the twins and pointed to them as if asking if they did it. They nodded back. Hemione smiled slightly. It was immature and she knew she shouldn't be laughing but it was hard to conceal a slight smile.
"What will happen when the teachers find out?" Hermione asked. Several other students saw the Slytherins and laughed. Soon they realized what food was making their hair change colors and to their surprise, they started eating them! They laughed as they saw what color their hair changed to. A few girls were showing it off and asking my friends, "How does this look?" While her friends would respond sarcastically, "It suits you perfectly!"
"I didn't expect this," Ginny replied looking around at many neon colored heads.
"Neither did we," Fred and George said.
"Weasley!" McGonagall yelled. "What did you two do this time?"
"We didn't mean for this to happen professor!" Fred replied.
"I should give you a full years detention!" McGonagall yelled.
"Oh, don't punish them, Minerva," Stacy said coming up behind the headmistress. "They got the rest of the students to forget their worries of living down here for the time being and are having fun. Plus it's going to wear off soon with no effects. They helped to ease the tension between the students and helped the time down here be more enjoyable."
"I guess you're right," McGonagall said. "You two are free for now." She walked away.
"Watch it you two. I won't be around everytime you do something. Plus I can't get you out of everything! It's just convenient that we're down here with all this tension!" Stacy said quietly to them before leaving. Her and the other adults left the room.
"Professor Miller is official my favorite teacher," George said. Fred agreed.
"She's already used to us," Jake said.
"Who do you mean by 'us'"? Caroline asked.
"Mainly me," Jake said. "And Matt." Matt opened his mouth to say something but just waved it off. He didn't feel like arguing with Jake.
"Smart choice," Jake commented when he noticed Matt's movements. "Don't even bother, you know I'm going to win." He didn't see Caroline, who was next to him, pick up one of the dishes of mashed potatoes.
"Hey Sweetheart," she said holding the dish.
"What is it?" Jake asked as he turned. The next thing he knew, food was in his face. Caroline had smushed Jake's face into the mashed potatoes. From behind him, Matt dumped a bowl of baked beans on top of his head. Behind Jake they exchanged a high five. Everyone got quiet as they looked at the situation at the Gryffindor table.
"I can't believe you did that," Ron commented. Jake didn't move. Finally Jake's hands came up to wipe the food out of his face.
"Hey Sweetheart," he said.
"What?" Caroline replied cautiously. Jake threw some of the food in her face.
"I can't believe you did that," Ron repeated. Jake wiped the food off of his face with a smile.
"Under the table?" Liz asked.
"Definitely," Ginny replied as she slipped under the table with Liz. Harry, Ashley, Hermione and Ron joined them. They hid out under the table. Fred and George came down a few moments later.
"What are they doing?" Liz asked them.
"Eyeing more food around the table," Fred answered.
"I should grab more before they start throwng it," Ron said returned to the world above the table. More food ended up on the floor next to them. He came down a second later empty-handed. "Maybe not."
"What happened?" Harry asked.
"I didn't want to touch anything. They've started throwing more things," Ron replied.
"This might take awhile," Ashley said.
"Are they always like this?" Hermione asked.
"You've been with them for a few months, what do you think?" Harry asked.
"Good point," Hermione replied. They stayed down there for a few minutes after food was constantly landing on the floor.
"Do we have to stay down here for awhile longer?" Ginny asked.
"Hopefully not," George said. Food stopped landing on the floor.
"Maybe they stopped," Fred said.
"I'll go check," Ginny said crawling out from under the table. A few seconds she quickly came back under, food was on her shirt. "Nope, false alarm."
"Here," Ashley said waving a hand over Ginny's shirt. It was instantly cleaned.
"Why aren't the adults stopping them? Wouldn't the professors want them to stop?" George asked.
"I don't see any," Ron said looking around. "Remember they left?"
"Oh yeah," George said. "Where did they go?"
"To another room five doors on the right down the hallway to the left of this room. They're discussing what they're going to do with us," Harry said. Everyone looked at him shocked.
"How did you know?" Hermione asked, Harry tapped his head. "Oh yeah. I forgot you can do that."
"We'd better make them stop before the teachers come back," Liz said.
"I think they're running out of food to throw," Ron said noticing the decrease in the amount of food that was falling on the floor.
"Hopefully it's not a false alarm agan," Ginny said.
"Well, we have to get them to stop anyway," Harry said.
"Let me check to see what they're doing now," Ashley said, disappearing from under the table. Harry looked around the floor. It was a mess. Surprisingly enough, the food was just in one area. The rest of the students didn't pick up the whole 'Food fight' situation and joined. It was as if the students just watched instead of getting involved. With a wave of his hand the mess disappeared.
"Good idea," Hermione commented.
"The teachers left the room," Harry said.
"We better get them cleaned up then," Liz said. "Ashley hasn't returned so I think the coast is clear." She left from under the table. Everyone else followed her. When they saw the sight above the table, few could hold back a laugh. Jake, Caroline and Matt were covered in different types of food. Students that were sitting next to them or near them had moved away and went to another table. The table was covered in food as well.
"Well, I hope you two had fun," Liz said as she cleaned the table with a wave of her hand. Caroline cleaned herself and Matt. She refused to clean Jake. He had to do that himself.
"The teachers are coming back into this room," Harry said as they all sat down quickly. In a few seconds the teachers walked in. They were talking amongst themselves and failed to notice the amount of students who had moved away from the table of the bickering shapeshifters. They just sat at their own table.
"That was a close one," Ashley commented.
"Nah, if I thought it was an extremely bad thing if we were caught, I would've told you that they left the room and headed this way sooner," Harry replied. Ashley looked at him.
"You amaze me," she said. She had a few things on her plate but moved them around, not taking a bite. Suddenly Dean and Julia walked into the room and up to them. They stopped a few feet away when they noticed that no one was sitting by the group.
"Is there something I should know about?" Julia asked.
"Not unless you should know about a food fight between Bear, Cat and Shark," Liz commented without looking up from her plate.
"What did the teachers do?" Dean asked as they sat down.
"Nothing. They don't know," Ron said. Dean gave him a puzzled look. "They had left the room when it happened and the mess was cleaned up before they returned."
"I get it now," Dean replied as he started to eat some of the food at the table.
"So, where have you two been this whole time?" Jake asked with a smirk.
"Here we go again," Harry said as he rolled his eyes. Jake ignored him.
"Well, we found about twelve rooms next to each other. They all connect to another room. We can all take those rooms," Julia said. "We already asked Stacy. She said that was fine."
"They connect?" Caroline asked. "How so?"
"They form a circle. They are connected by a room in the center," Dean answered. Caroline nodded in understanding. They talked through lunch about things like Quidditch before people began to get up and leave the room.
"It's boring down here," Ron said.
"Very boring," Fred agreed.
"Why don't you two show is the rooms you were talking about?" Ashley suggested.
"Why not?" Dean said as they all stood up.
"Are you coming?" Harry asked Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny and Ron.
"There's nothing to do here," Hermione said as she and the others followed them out of the room. Thye walked down numerous hallways past millions of roms before stopping.
"Here we are," Julia said. "Here's one of the rooms." She opened the door. It was a plain room with no furntiure.
"Obviously we have to add our own things," Dean said. He entered the room. The other followed. "This is what we were talking about with them connecting. He opened a door on the other side of the room and stepped in. The room was a large room with no furntiure. It was a circle room with many doors .
"All these doors lead to other bedrooms," Julia explained. She looked at everyone in the group. "Let's pick our new rooms!"
"Even us?" Ginny asked.
"Of course!" Julia said as she headed over to a room and disappeared by the door. She came out a few seconds later and pointed her wand at the door. Her name appeared on a name plate.
"I'll take this one," Jake said disappearing off into his own room. Harry picked a large room next to Ron. Fred and George decided to share a room. Ginny picked her own as well as the others. Harry put his wand to both doors in his room and put his name on the nameplates. Once inside he started to make the room seem more like a bedroom. He added a bed before a few other things to keep his mind off the fact that he was living underground. He was still a little uneasy about being underground and couldn't wait to breathe in fresh air. Finally he had settled in to his new room for the time he was stranded down underground.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
The days went on. Everyone had settled in underground. The room in the center was used for talking and Hermione and the Weasleys were trained physically and magically by the elementals. The elementals also took the time to train themselves. Each had become even stronger than before. They had each learned something new to do with their element. Many times Christine and Paul watched the shapeshifters train. Christine had her hands over her eyes most of the time, afraid to see Ashley get hurt. She sighed in relief everytime Ashley made it out of a practice battle nearly unscratched.
The elemetals were each given a small locket. A stone was locked insdie each locket. This stone was where their animals would stay when not needed. The stone glow, giving off a soft light.
They were undergorund for weeks when finally they opened the heavy door to see a fglorious castle. The castle was prepared and stronger than before. Everyone had settled into their own rooms and their life in the castle, happy to be back. Chrisitne and Paul had decided to stay until the holidays. During the holidays they were going to go home and bring Ashley with them. Harry was to join them as well. Sirius had assured him that it would be fine for him to go. Sirius was even invited to Ashley's house for the holidays in which he accepted. Christine and Paul had sent home a note with Snow for their son telling him where they were stranded. Their son had wittern back saying that it was fine for him ot be alone and not to send any more owls. They scare him and his friends.
The days flew past until it was finally it was the night before the holiday vacation. It was the last night for everyone to be together before departing for the holidays. Ron, Fred, George and Ginny were going home to spend time with their family. Jake, Matt, Liz, Caroline, and Julia were going home to their own families. Dean was going home to a friend's house. He had told his friend that he was taking the train in and to meet him at the station since his friend was a muggle. Hermione was going to spend her holidays with her family. Sirius was going to go over Remus' house until Christmas when he was going to visit Harry at Ashley's house. Stacy was going to go between Hogwarts, the House for the Gifted and Remus' house. Everyone was busy for the holidays.
Because of the events, the Yule ball was cancelled. It was to be rescheduled.
"Another hoiday has come upon us," Dumbledore started at the end if the dinner feast. "I hope that everyone goes home and enjoys the holidays. It is a joyous time with family and friends. Go home and relax your minds. Come back with a mind that's ready to learn! I would like to announce a new event to happen tonight. I would like to celebrate the holiday with music. Music effects the mind and spirit of others and I would like to share songs of the holiday to et everyone is the holiday spirit. I would encourage any of you who would like to share a song, come up here and sing it. We have instruments up here. You can either play one or we can bewitch them to play a tune. Who would like to be first?"
The Great Hall was decorated as usual. Hagrid picked the perfect christmas tree to decorate. Everything was beautiful. The shapeshifters were sitting at the Gryffindor table. Ashley's parents were sitting next to her at the table. Sirius was sitting next to Stacy and Remus at the teacher's table. A Hufflepuff raised her hand to Dumbledore. She was called up to sing. There was a platform in front for the students to stand on. Once in the front she sat at the piano. Dumbledore had a microphone hooked up to it so she could sing into it. He thought it was a good idea to add microphones. The students could sing without having to yell or have a charm put on them to make them sound louder. She had sung and played a song that she had learned from her mother, a witch. When she was done, everyone clapped.
Many people went up to sing. Many were good. Some were funny. Some Gryffindor's went up. A few boys went up to rap a song. It had everyone cluching their sides in laughter. When another girl was singing, Harry nudged Ashley.
"What?" she asked him quietly. She had been watching the bewitched instruments play.
"You should sing a song," Harry said.
"No way," Ashley repleid right away. "Not in front of everyone."
"Why not? You're great," Harry commented.
"I don't want to. Plus this is for the students and I'm not a student here!" Ashley said.
"That doesn't matter," her mother said. "Dumbledore never said that it as for only the students here."
"Sing a song!" Liz said to Ashley when the other girl had finished.
"Yeah!" Caroline added.
"Please?" Ginny pleaded.
"I don't want to," Ashley said quickly. She looked up and saw Dumbledore looking at her, a smile on his face. Everyone had gone quiet as they listened to what was happening at the Gryffindor table.
"Miss Stone, would you like to sing a song for us?" Dumbledore asked. Ashley looked at him. Harry nudged her again. She looked at him. There was no way she was able to get out of this now. She took a deep breath before looking back at Dumbledore and standing up. Her friends at the Gryffindor table cheered as she approached the front. Dumbledore smiled at her when he handed her the microphone. She stepped up onto the platform. Looking around at the instruments she waved her hand over one. It floated into the air and began playing a tune. Ashley stopped it and picked a few more. She had them play a tune before making a few change to a different beat. Son she had them all where she needed before making them silent once more.
"Look like we have a professional," Dumbledore said with a smile. Ashley smiled slghtly and looked back at the students. Some of the Slytherins were laughing. Most of the other tables were waiting patiently for her. Harry was smiling at her. She took a deep breath before talking.
"I'm going to do a song that my mother taught me when I was little. This has to be one of my favorites. It's called Draw Tua Bethlehem or in other words Far Over Bethlehem" she said. When she turned around to start the instruments she heard a few people clap and cheer her on. She gained her confidence before letting the instruments play. They played a soft tune before she turned back to the group and started with her eyes closed. Her voice was beautiful. It was perfect for classical or even opera music. It was a high soprano.
Draw uwch y ddaear mae cysgod y nos,
Ond yno mae golau un seren dlos.
Draw uwch y ddaear mae lluoedd y Nef
Yn llawen gyhoeddi ei ddyfod Ef.
Everyone was silent as they listened to her. Ashley opened her eyes as she gained more confidence. She moved the microphone away when she sung louder or higher. She moved her hands when she sang. Everyone listened closely. It was beautiful.
Far in the city with no room to spare,
A stable is let to the gentle pair.
Far in the city they both watch and pray
O'er Jesus asleep in his bed of hay.
Draw at y bryniay mae'r noson yn fwyn
Ar dawel ffriddoedd y defaid a'r wyn.
Over the hillside the shepherds draw near
The angels glad tidings of joy to hear.
Draw dros y twyni mae cwmni ar daith
Yn dilyn y seren ar siwrnai faith.
Over the hills now the wise men do bring
Their gifts for our Lord and his praise to sing.
The music got louder as she sung higher. Everyone listened closely. Most haven't heard the song before. It was unbelieveable. Harry smiled at her as she sang. He knew she could do it.
Draw tua Bethle'm mae toriad y wawr
Ac yno mae bore'n foliant yn awr.
Far over Bethlehem glad voices call,
To worship and praise the Saviour of all.
The music played before dying down as the song ended.Everyone started to clap loud. Ashley smiled as they clapped for her. Several people, mainly the Weasley twins, were whistling.
"Well I don't believe I'm the only one to believe that we have a real talented professional in our school," Dumbledore commented with a smile. Ashley smiled and handed back the microphone. When she was walking to her seat, the clapping continued even after she sat down.
"Where did you learn to sing like that?" a first year Gryffindor asked.
"Lots of practice, patience and devotion," Ashley answered. Everyone started to ask her questions. Even people from the other tables were asking things. Soon it became late and Dumbledore dismissed them from the Great Hall. Ashley walked down the hall answering more questions and receiving comments.
"Why would you want to keep your voice a secret?" Hermione asked as they entered the common room.
"What do you mean?" Ashley asked.
"You never sing and you didn't want to sing before. Why don't you share it?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. I don't think I'm that great so I don't sing much," Ashley replied. Hermione rolled her eyes in a playful fashion before saying good night. Everyone headed to their rooms for the night. It was late and there was going to be massive chaos in the halls the following day.
Harry smiled as he laid in bed. Tomorrow he was leaving the castle for the holidays. He couldn't wait. He put a hand around the locket on his neck before drifting off to sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Wow, finally a chapter done huh? Sorry for the wait. I was running out of ideas. Sorry if this chapter is a bit useless. I know that I didn't follow some ideas (sorry Tom Riddle's son) but I hope that you like it anyway. Maybe something with happen in the future...I don't know..we'll see...yes WE'LL see. I don't even know what I type sometimes.
Yes, I actually remembered that I never had them celebrate christmas...imagine: all of this happening to you in a few short months ....hehe. Crazy. AS always send in any comments and ideas. Your ideas always help.
Happy fourth of July!!!!!!! I hope all of my readers stay safe and has a good time....next chapter is christmas..oooooooooo what could happen now that they don't have the protection of Hogwarts AND they're in the muggle world? We'll see..
I've actually decided to respond to my reviewers of last chapter. I got soooo many reviews for one chapter!! It's amazing! Thanks guys! I'll begin to respond again.....To my reviewers:
Joanna-I'm glad you like it. I bet you could write like me. I don't think I'm that great. Maybe if I work harder and I don't try to get chapters out for people then it would be better but I love writing for people who love it. I don't know about your idea. He's already powerful so I don't want t make him a mage but you never know...you might see something I write that might just follow something of your idea...we'll see...
Magus- I hope you like that I added your idea. I'll work it more in next chapter or soon at least. Thanks for reading.
Hpver7- Thanks for answering my question iwht muggles finding out. It helps me keep readers reading what they want to read. Thanks for reading the reviewing.
KC- I'm glad you like it. I'm glad you like the animals. I was worried about how people would react to them. I'm definitely going to do your family idea. It's a great idea!!!! Thanks. I'll work it in soon I hope.
Noraseves- I'm glad you like it. Thanks for R/R.
Queen of Redwall- sorry I forgot all about the wand thing. I'll be more careful next time. You're the only one who pointed that out...thanks for r/r.
SakuraPotter- There will definitely be an epilouge or something saying that the story will end. I won't just leave it I promise you. It just might take ne awhile to type 17 pages..
Fantasydima- I'm glad you like it. Thanks for r/r.
Giraffe- I'll add more romance later over the next chapter. I just can't get too romantic if you know what I mean..I'll get it in there though. In the first chapter I didn't know how to update properly so that's why the paragraphs were pushed together.sorry.
VysseII- You really think mines the best???? Are you serious???? Nah, you're just saying that...right?? Wow, I'm SOOOOO happy! Thanks for reading and reviewing..wow, and thanks for the comment!
BookObsessed- I'm a little confused with your review: Well not we'll. If it's a spelling mistake than sorry. I type fast and I just want to get chapters out ASAP. Even when I read it, I think it says something different so I don't see the mistake..sorry.
Tasidia- Thanks for reading. Sorry for repeating.I think I do that when I stop at an area and come back to it the next day. I don't remember my train of though..sorry. I'll work on that. Thanks for helping me improve!!!! Thanks for not just saying: You repeat too much and I hate it.thanks it means a lot!!! Really. Thanks for r/r.
Shadowsurfer- I'm going to make it a few muggles if any..we'll see..thanks for answering my question with muggles It means a lot ..really. Thanks for r/r.
Naomi Silverwolf- I remember you. I'm glad you like my story. Thanks for r/r. I hope you like my new chapter as well.
Lady Reaper of the Shadows- wow, cool name. Thanks for answering my question with the muggles. You're right. They would clash horribly wouldn't they?
Bluefire-2113- I'm glad you like it. Thanks for r/r.
Bookmaster 3000- I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for r/r.
Ficfan- I'm glad you liked it..well, let's see....they disappear for a few weeks for the holidays.. I think they'll improve...ooooo.You'll definitely see more things. More powers and aspect...if you want of course.. Thanks for r/r.
Shdurrani- I'm glad you're back and reading! I remembered your name right away. I'm glad you like it still. Thanks for r/r.
Chaser- I'm glad you like it. Thanks for r/r.
Tom Riddle's son- Sorry if I didn't use all of your idea. It was a really good idea! Really!! But now that they know it's there...who knows what they can do now???..we'll see..we'll see...thanks for reading and reviewing.wow, just think. The only reason you're reading this is because you helped me post it...remember..wow..hehe. Thanks for everything!