Chapter 4
Decisions Decisions
Soraya stared at the table when they were back in the kitchen. It had been magically lengthened and two extra seats had been placed at either end. Snape was on the end closest to Soraya and Amily when they entered the room. He was nearest to the door and Snape looked like he wanted to leave as soon as possible. He sat next to Amily who sat next to Soraya. Dumbledore was at the other end and Soraya's new parents took up the other two seats on the other side.
The food was delicious as always and Amily probably ate more than anyone else. 'Well she is a growing child.' Soraya thought as she ate a tuna sandwich. But her stomach turned and so she didn't eat a lot. The hate she had for Snape still surged through her, for the words he said last night insulted the Hungs and still rang in her ears. But it was the feeling of Dumbledore's eyes flicking in her direction every now and then made her feel uneasy and she wanted to get away. So Soraya pushed her plate away and was about to ask to be excused when Snape said something and he too stood up to leave.
"I still stand by what I said last night headmaster."
"Oh really Serverus, and what would that be?"
"That the girl should have been let in to Hogwarts like any other student. Now if you'll excuse me headmaster I shall take my leave."
He just made it to the door when Dumbledore opened his mouth, he sounded calm but firm. Soraya could see that Dumbledore was a kind and generous man...but not one to cross at all.
"She will be coming now Serverus, if I said it before and I'll say it again that I stand by Lei's decision. Who knows what might have happened if she did go when she turned eleven. Like Harry she might have run in to Voldermort. But she has been safe by staying in the muggle world until now."
Soraya looked curiously at Dumbledore and her head buzzed more than ever. 'What danger?' But she had no time to contemplate this as Snape was talking again.
"Lie was always an incompetent wizard when it came to making decisions; you and I both know that Dumbledore. His wife was no better either, they were no better than blithering dunderheads to-"
He stopped as Amily attempted to make a full scale dive at him. But Soraya managed to grab her around the waist in the nick of time. They came crashing down to the ground and Soraya restrained her to the floor. Amily was still trying to get at Snape and was going berserk. If she could still talk then Amily would be screaming in anger. But even without a voice everyone could tell she was in a full scale fit of rage. Snape looked taken back that a child, who had no knowledge of magic, would be willing take on a fully qualified wizard.
"Serverus you have said enough, I think you had better go!"
Snape did not need telling twice, he quickly walked out of the back door and apperated behind it. Amily didn't stop struggling until he was gone and Soraya stopped restraining her. Amily sat bolt upright on the kitchen floor, her breathing was erratic and she shook with anger. She calmed down after a few minutes and stood up to leave for her bedroom. But Dumbledore called her name so she stopped and turned to face him.
"Amily please forgive me for not stopping Serverus before he said too much. I just want to know if your feelings towards Hogwarts haven't changed, then I promise the other teachers will be more understanding than Serverus."
Amily turned to Soraya who was panting at the use of force it took to restrain Amily, she signed to Soraya then left.
"She says she understands and will be fine. Just so long as she doesn't have to see his face for a few hours."
"Now that I can do, he and I shall be gone for the rest of the day."
Soraya smiled and was about to leave when something that bugged her all day had finally came out of her mouth.
"Oh yeah. Sarah, what are those plaques on our bedroom doors for?"
"Those things are to show something about the person who sleeps in a room. They show either the inside of a person, their animal or a lot of other things. But the explanations about them have been lost for centuries so no one really knows what they show half the time. But we do know that it is something to do with the person or persons. It takes one night for the plaque to change no more no less, and when the user has left it changes back into a golden disk. What's on you plaque Soraya?"
"A very proud and fierce looking gryphon holding a banner with Soraya's room on it. Amily has a Chinese dragon and I can understand that. The Chinese dragon symbolises Amily's bloodline as her father was Chinese and his farther before that and so on. But why do I have a gryphon on my door? I have nothing to do with a Gryphon. I even get Sarah and Derick's with the two hearts to symbolise two lovers. But as for me I have absolutely no clue what so ever."
Sarah and Derick looked just as mystified as Soraya, but Dumbledore on the other hand was smiling.
"Maybe it means you are destined for Griffindor house. Who knows it will just have to be left a mystery until it is revealed. Oh and by the way Soraya I want to thank you for restraining Amily. I wasn't so afraid of her getting hurt but more concerned of her killing Serverus. It would have been a great loss to the school to loose a potions master as skilled in the art of potions as he is."
Sarah and Derick laughed at Dumbledore's words, Soraya smiled but couldn't help thinking he was right. Soraya went up to Amily's room to make sure she was ok; she was smiling and had calmed down completely. Soraya told Amily what the plaques meant and she smiled, so she decided to bring Amily downstairs again. Dumbledore had left now; Sarah and Derick were in the kitchen waiting for them.
"So what would you girls like to do? Learn about the animals, watch T.V or- "
"How about a game of quidditch?" Derick interrupted with a note of excitement in his voice, Soraya and Amily signed to one another trying to come up with a decision.
"How about learning about animals till about five o'clock...and then play quidditch until night fall?"
"That sounds reasonable enough; I shall meet you two by the shed over there at five." He pointed to a shed out of the window which was big enough to be a garage. The girls nodded and left.
They flew with Sarah to where the workers lived; she introduced each and every one of them to the girls. There was Paul, Stan, Amy, Jane, Eric, Sam, Anthony and Alison. The workers were friendly so Sarah left them to get to know the girls better. Soraya and Amily instantly hit it off with all but one of the workers.
"The ministry pays you guys too?"
"Yep that's right Soraya."
"Ok Stan, since you're so great with the kids you show them around the place." The man who said this sneered and skulked off with Stan making a rude hand gesture behind his back.
"Who's he calling a kid? I'm 16 years old." Said Soraya in protest.
"Don't pay attention to Anthony he's very unsociable."
"Sounds like someone we know, right Amily?" Amily smiled feebly as Soraya laughed. Secretly Amily was still fuming about what Snape said at lunch.
After the introductions Stanley took the girls on a private tour of their new surroundings.
First he showed them the flobberworms patch which was very boring.
"I agree it's very boring but the mucus is used in many potions."
Then he showed them to the firewall. This name came round as it was the home to some very special fireflies.
"Oh they may look docile now but wait until you have to catch some of them. I have been burnt by these guys so many times when I have to catch them. Now you have to catch them before a window of thirty minuets closes. There are two very important rules you must follow so listen carefully. 1. Always wear gloves and keep your wand close to you. 2. Catch them quick before they solidify."
"Is it bad?"
"No its worse, a worker six years ago didn't catch them fast enough. Her watch was broken and so she didn't have a clue when the window closed and they solidified behind her. She barely escaped with her life. Her arms, legs and face were badly burnt. She packed her bags and left when she came out of a hospital for magic folk. I'll tell you something now, they are much worse than real dragons when they solidify too. They are faster, smarter and more dangerous."
Amily and Soraya looked at each other; they didn't like this story at all. They were relived when they moved on to other creatures. But the animals got bigger and more dangerous than the last. From Cornish pixies to unicorns, Hippogriffs and then last but not least to dragons. Unlike the other creatures which were either kept in stables or had the run of an acre of land the dragons were kept in a cave covered with a barn at the entrance. They slowly and quietly crept down the cave to the bottom where the lava pit bubbled. The dragons were all asleep and were situated around the lava pit. They were all green with brown wings and horns on their heads.
"They turn as white as unicorns when the moon is full whether they are inside the cave or out." They headed back to the cave's entrance taking care not to make any noise to wake them.
Soraya looked at the sky and saw the sun was almost setting. They had gone over the basics of everything that they needed to know about the animals so Stan let them go on their way with a lot of information that may come in handy one day. Soraya looked at her watch as they flew back and almost fell off her broom.
"Oh my god Amily its 5:45 and we said we'd meet Derick at 5:00. Fly to the back garden quickly!" So Soraya and Amily flew as fast as they could go. Well Soraya did anyway until she noticed Amily falling behind. So they only went a hundred miles an hour instead of a hundred and seventy. When they finally reached the back garden it was 6:00. Soraya could see Derick next to a quidditch trunk that held the balls for the game.
"Sorry were late Derick but we lost track of time."
"Don't worry. You would have been waiting for me for I have only just arrived." But Soraya saw he didn't quite meet her eyes when he said this.
Dumbledore was sitting on a comfy sofa with Snape sitting beside him; he had a most evil sneer on his face. Soraya shot a look of pure hatred at him. 'Oh great I wonder what he's gonna say? Probably something like. What's the point of you coming to Hogwarts if you can't even arrive on time for something like quidditch?' Amily took Soraya's advice as they flew back to the garden. 'Don't pay attention to Snape and just concentrate on the game.' So she did and seemed sort of happy...for now anyway.
Soraya looked about the garden and saw two other people had appeared. The woman had grey hair and strange cat like eyes, whilst the man had orange hair and a big grin on his face.
"This is Madam Hooch who teaches flying at Hogwarts and Mr.Weasley who works at the ministry."
The workers came up to see what all the fuss was about at the end of their shift. They looked happy and decided to play too. Sarah and Derick came as well so that made twelve. Madam Hooch decided to become the referee and Mr.Weasley took part too as a chaser.
"We have thirteen players and a referee...we still need one more player." Madam Hooch proclaimed when everyone was in the air and waiting to play.
Soraya noticed Dumbledore had turned to Snape and had a cheeky smile on his face. He said something quietly to him that made Snape sigh and get up with his own broom, a nimbus two thousand and one. There was only one place left on Amily's team and so he became a beater. Soraya thought he looked very odd on a broomstick but could fly very well none the less.
Since Soraya and Amily both had Firebolts it was only fair that they should be on one team each. Madam Hooch suggested that Amily become a seeker but she down right refused. Amily was good on a Firebolt but it was only her second day of flying it. Amily knew she couldn't fly it flat out like Soraya and so gave her Firebolt to a more experienced seeker. Anthony who was very unsociable had a past of being a seeker for Hogwarts. He was absolutely beside himself when Amily gave him the Firebolt. He hugged her tightly for a minute or two and looked very happy indeed. Snape who was a fellow Slytherin with Anthony when he was at Hogwarts looked sickened at his conduct over a broomstick. Amily looked stunned for a good few minutes when he let go and flew up with the others.
Dumbledore helped by making six rings levitate fifty feet in to the air just like a real quidditch pitch. Soraya was getting excited as the trunk that holds the balls were coming on to the do-it-yourself quidditch pitch. Madam Hooch made a sort of magical perimeter up and down so the balls won't go any further than that. Otherwise they'd end up flying all over the place and would be lost. 'To hell with the balls being lost, I wonder what would happen if they flew to the village near us? Geez people screaming as bludgers go hurtling through their windows and smashing things, the muggles wouldn't be safe.' Soraya thought in an amused sort of way. She knew she mustn't think like that but just couldn't help herself.
Amily became a chaser and Soraya really wanted to become a seeker as soon as she saw the snitch. Madam Hooch carried the trunk beneath the players and released the balls.
Amily caught the quaffle first and past it to one of the other players on her team. Soraya quickly went higher than the other players keeping her eyes peeled for the golden ball. Though she wouldn't have had to worry about Anthony though. Experienced seeker he may have been he looked more like he was trying to put the Firebolt through its paces. He was grinning stupidly as he did do and his normally cold and serious composure was lost all together. Snape looked absolutely disgusted with his behaviour and Soraya couldn't help but smile. It took all her strength to hold back a ball of laughter that collected in her stomach.
But that quickly passed as Snape aimed a bludger at him and earned Soraya's team a penalty. This time Soraya looked disgusted with Snape's face, he looked deeply satisfied at what he had done. Then he looked very angry indeed at Anthony, and Anthony quickly had his mind back in the game. He flew down to Snape who had a quiet word with him. He looked a little pale when he flew back up as though the living daylights were scared out of him.
Then Soraya spotted the snitch and dived. Anthony did the same as he had been tailing her through out the game after the little episode with Snape. 'Probably told him to do that as well....HEY!' She narrowly dodged a bludger and had to pull up sharply. She looked at Snape after he pelted it at her, was there a slight trace of disappointment on his face? Soraya didn't care and had to go up again to look for the snitch. She couldn't help but see that Snape was looking at her every now and again. He was hardly concentrating on the game at all and mostly on her. In the end Soraya shot a very puzzled look in his direction as she was not quite sure what to make of all this.
When Snape saw this he put his mind back in the game, though he needn't have worried as his team were leading by eighty to twenty. Amily's team were playing very well indeed and Soraya felt like cheering when she saw Amily score a few goals. Then she saw the snitch again glistening in the sunset hovering a foot above the ground. She dived for it and this time Snape had no bludger to hit her with, he had just used it to hit a chaser on Soraya's team to stop them scoring. Soraya was way ahead of Anthony. He had no chance to catch up with her as she weighed less than him so the broom went faster. She was two feet away from the ground and the snitch moved. She chased it and in no time at all felt her fingers close around the snitch. She rose up with her hand in the air with the struggling snitch inside of it.
Soraya had a grin on her face and nearly fell off her broom when her team came up to her. They hugged and patted her on the back before slowly floating down to earth in a tight ball of players.
Everyone congratulated each other about the game. The loosing team were very good sports about this apart from Snape who looked angry and disappointed. So Soraya decided to go up to him and have a word.
"Great game sir." He glared at her with malice as she walked away and went to join the others.
Dumbledore was clapping loudly and then everyone else did the same; Soraya could feel her face burning and looked down. 'I only caught a golden ball it's not that big a deal!'
"What a catch; and you say this is your first time playing as a seeker?"
Soraya nodded and looked up when her face stopped burning and smiled weakly. Everyone was congratulating her on the way she caught the snitch.
"I have only seen Harry Potter do such a thing and he's the Griffindor seeker."
"Who's Harry Potter?" Everyone looked at her as she said these words with very mystified looks on their faces. They were shocked at the idea that she had never heard of Harry Potter, the most famous wizard in the world to date. Snape looked almost gleeful that she hadn't heard of Harry. Soraya and Amily just looked at their feet trying to ignore the stares.
"Well I have been living in the muggle world for my whole life...well after I was six months old anyway. So what makes this guy so famous? Even Amily doesn't know anything about him."
Dumbledore decided to answer that question; he took Soraya and Amily away from the others to do so. He conjured up three comfy chairs and they sat down. He told them the whole story from Voldermort to Harry's past four years of fighting him. Soraya and Amily just sat there in a sort of stunned silence.
"He must be very brave then."
"Yes he is very brave indeed...Voldermort used to underestimate Harry's courage. But now he has found a way of manipulating this to gain power."
"Has Voldermort succeeded in gaining full power yet?"
"Before Harry was born Voldermort was very powerful and feared by witch and wizard alike."
"Except you of course, because he fears you and Harry."
"Yes indeed Tom fears me and Harry. But unfortunately it's his fear that promotes his power sometimes and that can be very disastrous for all."
"Tom?"
"Yes his real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. He has told very few about this and I knew this because I used to be his transfiguration teacher."
"You're the headmaster now right?"
"Yes I managed to get that title quite easily after I defeated Grindlewald. I love the school, so when the headmaster before me passed away I took his place. We should go to the others, it looks like dinner is ready and they are waiting for us to join them."
So Soraya and Amily stood up. Dumbledore cleared away his chairs and walked back with the girls to the others. Everyone was still talking about the match and saying things like 'you win this time but just wait until the next match' or 'good game'. Soraya looked at Snape who just seemed to sulk for a while. He didn't shake hands or congratulated the other team in any way at all. Anthony looked strangely both happy and angry at the same time. But then fear slightly appeared in his face when Snape had shot a look of hate at him for loosing the game. Anthony didn't look much different to Snape. Black hair (with no grease of course), unsociable, not a lot of colour in his skin and an emotionless face on an average day. 'He must have been happy about getting to go on the Firebolt for the match. I wish Snape would leave him alone though.' Anthony still had a slight look of fear in his eyes after the little chat Snape had given him.
There was a giant red a white chequered blanket laid out on the ground, plates and bowls filled with many different foods. Just then something made Soraya want to turn round before she heard a small 'pop' behind her. A woman had appeared dressed in green robes and had a black pointed witch's hat on. She came over to the others and Dumbledore looked up.
"Good evening professor McGonagall, is there a problem?"
Soraya thought that she should give this woman a lot of respect; she had never seen anyone look so strict before in her life. Even the teachers at the orphanage had nothing on this woman. Amily acknowledged this and signed to Soraya quickly.
"Blimey Soraya she looks more strict than Miss Baldwick and Snape put together." Soraya grinned as she nodded in agreement, and then looked over to where McGonagall stood next to Dumbledore. She talked to him with an unhappy look upon her face.
"Good evening Albus...you two must be Soraya and Amily."
"Yes professor. May I enquire as to what you teach at Hogwarts?" This sounded so stupid and formal that Soraya felt like kicking herself. But she thought it best to be as polite as possible around McGonagall...to Soraya she was very intimidating. But not a complete git like Snape so it just fell out of her mouth.
"You may, I shall be teaching you transfiguration." When Dumbledore said transfiguration Soraya was paying attention to his story of Harry and Voldermort. So Soraya and Amily looked very puzzled at this word and looked at each other to see if they knew what it meant. Amily shook her head and Soraya did the same. McGonagall looked curiously at Soraya and was only to happy to tell her what it meant. "To transform one object in to another."
McGonagall showed the girls by picking up a napkin and changing it in to cup. The girls were very impressed by this and kept watching as McGonagall turned it back in to a napkin.
"I am also the head of Griffindor house. So...have you two decided yet? I'm sorry Albus but the ministry wants an answer before midnight."
"Very well, it's all up to you two to make a decision. You can think about it while we are having dinner, there is plenty of time as it's only eight o'clock."
"Yes sir." Was it the stress of what they had to do or the panic of it all? The girls didn't know and just looked painfully at their half eaten meals. Then looked at each other as they both had the same idea and wanted to get away.
So they excused themselves and walked to a big oak tree that grew right in the middle of the back garden. They climbed up in to the branches and were hidden from view by the leaves. They sat in the branches and discussed what they were going to do so they listed the pros and cons. Soraya did the pros and Amily did the cons.
"1. We know the headmaster and the teachers seem quite nice. 2. They got their own quidditch pitch. 3. Dean will be there. 4. Three out of four houses are good to go to. 5. We will be learning magic."
Now it was Amily's turn to list the cons.
"1. We shall be leaving Sarah and Derick in a couple of weeks and we just got here. 2. We don't know anything about magic and may make fools of ourselves. 3. & 4. Snape will be there and he's head of Slytherin house. You remember what Dean said about him favouring the Slytherin's more than any house and hates Griffindor. He will take off loads of points from us if we are in it because he knows how to get under our skin. We also beat him in a quidditch match so he will be particularly nasty."
Soraya nodded and didn't even argue, Snape was worth two cons maybe more.
Just as they stopped signing Snape came up to the tree with a sneer on his face and called them down. They climbed down and landed beside him with thinking expressions on their faces and his sneer increased. To him it looked as though the girls hadn't decided to go or not and this made him very happy for some reason.
"Dumbledore sent me to get you two. So have you come to a decision yet?" Soraya looked at Amily and they smiled mysteriously.
"The pros out way the cons Soraya so I am willing to go...are you?"
"Yes Amily...very willing." They stopped signing to one another and looked back at Snape with very mysterious looks on their faces.
"Yes sir we have."
"...and?"
"...and we aren't saying anything to anyone but Dumbledore first. So I guess that will be in front of everyone then. Come on Amily lets go and tell them."
So they walked back with a slightly peeved Snape. He had a puzzled look on his face but the sneer was still there. 'That won't be there when I tell Dumbledore that we are going and you can't do nothing about it.' The girls reached the picnic and stopped in front of Dumbledore. Whilst Snape went back to his spot and sat down.
"So have you reached a decision?" His eyes were scanning them again but Amily and Soraya kept their faces straight as an arrow.
"Yes sir. We are pleased to say that we will be very honoured to come to your school."
There was a loud applause and Soraya was pleased to see Snape's sneer got wiped from his face in a second. Even Anthony clapped along with the others whilst Soraya and Amily grinned at this wonderful scene. Then Dumbledore put up a hand and silence reigned when he spoke.
"Then I welcome you two to Hogwarts with open arms." Dumbledore said beaming at them.
The celebrations went on well in to the night. McGonagall left as soon as the news was proclaimed in front of everyone.
Then it was time for bed so they all said their goodbyes and goodnights. Soraya was so happy that Snape was leaving tomorrow that she said. "Goodnight professor Snape and goodbye."
Snape glared at her and muttered. "Yes for now, just you wait until I get you in my potions class."
But Soraya was too happy to care. She was so tired and content that as soon as her head touched the pillow she was out like a light.
The next morning Soraya was woken early to a 'bang' in the hall outside of her bedroom. Someone was swearing loudly then gradually became quieter. Soraya got out of bed and put her ear to the door, she could still hear him swearing but now he was muttering. So she looked through a small crack between her door and the wall to see who it was. Snape was leaning against the wall holding his foot and still cursing. It seemed he had stubbed his toe on the chest next to him that now had a small crack on the side of the chest where he hit it. 'Aww poor baby, did you stub your ickle toe on the chest? Mummy will kiss it better...yeah right who would want go near you? Here's a tip learn how to walk properly and you won't hurt yourself.' It took all of her self restraint to not laugh when a disgruntled Snape hobbled down the stairs and out of site.
Then she ran and dived on to her bed and hid her face in her pillow and laughed madly. She stopped half an hour later and wiped tears of laughter out of her eyes. Then she looked at the clock, it was 5:45 so she walked over to her mirror and it spoke to her in an annoyed way.
"It's not nice to laugh at people when they get hurt you know."
"Hey he would have done the same. Well ...not laughed but have a sneer on his face the size of a broomstick."
Then Soraya went to Amily's room to wake her up for training. Every three days Amily and Soraya get up early to do some Nahunja training. Amily however was already awake and grinning like a monkey.
"You saw too huh?" Amily nodded as they gathered their swords, staffs and training clothes. Amily had an evil grin all the time as they headed to the garden.
"Now normally I would say don't laugh at that person's expense, but since it's Snape I am willing to over look it."
They could here voices coming from the living room. Soraya and Amily looked through the crack and smiled with satisfaction, they could see Snape had taken his shoe off and was now rubbing his foot. Soraya and Amily smiled as they continued their journey to the garden. They dumped their stuff by their brooms and trained near the garden shed which was as big as an elephant.
They trained behind the shed out of view from the kitchen window, it was a great time to start training as the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Even though it was summer this early in the morning it was nice and cool, so there was no chance of getting too hot too quick. Soraya missed the training she used to have with Amily's father and so took it upon herself to teach Amily self defence as he taught her. To keep the family tradition going as it were. Lei taught Soraya everything he could possibly teach her a week before he died. Amily was not far from Soraya but had a mountain to learn before she could reach Soraya's standards. Soraya knew that lessons in Nahunja are never over and there is always something knew to learn. But until then she taught Amily everything she knew.
After their exercises Amily and Soraya proceeded with staffs, stances, defence techniques and attacks. Soraya practiced with Amily and taught her about swords, the agility of a sword and its owner. Then how they can become one with the sword and how you can focus your energy in to it as well.
"This is so your strikes will become more powerful against your attacker. Now listen to this because this is very important. DO NOT under any circumstances use your sword on anyone unless absolutely necessary. Got that?" Amily nodded at the serious look on Soraya's face when she said this. Amily knew not to cross Soraya when she looked this way.
"So!" Said a voice so suddenly that it made them jump.
Amily jumped so badly that it made her drop her sword. Soraya turned round to see Dumbledore, who looked very impressed.
"I thought Lei stopped teaching when you arrived to his house Soraya. I guess I was wrong again. You two work very well together, I have never seen finer training. Lei couldn't have done better himself or your grandfather Amily who I knew personally."
Just then Snape came out in to the back garden from the kitchen door; he stopped and stared at Soraya and Amily. He seemed strangely uneasy for some reason. Soraya looked confused and didn't know what he was uneasy about until she turned to Amily. Her eyes were gleaming maliciously at Snape. His eyes flicked from the sword and then to Amily's eyes. Soraya knew what was going on and wrenched the sword from Amily's hands. She shook her head and looked deep in to Amily's eyes with a stern look. She looked back at Snape who limped towards Dumbledore. It seemed his toe was still hurting him. 'Jeez a full grown wizard with a wand scared of a little girl with a sword. Hmm...which one is more intimidating?'
Dumbledore noticed this and looked slightly disappointed at Amily. She on the other hand was looking right at Snape and then she looked at Soraya. Dumbledore's look of disappointment was replaced with a slight look of hope on his face.
"Did Lei teach you his special disarming move Soraya?"
"Yes sir, why?"
"May I see it before Serverus and I leave?"
"So what do you say Amily, you up for it?"
Amily nodded and took twenty paces back away from Soraya armed only with a staff. Soraya had no weapon to speak of at all.
"It works just as well with a sword but we haven't got that far yet. Ready Amily? Three...two...one...NOW!"
Amily ran at Soraya with the staff pointed straight at her, whilst Soraya just stood there looking very calm indeed. She only moved at the last second. In one swift move she took the staff and tripped Amily up with it. Amily fell to the ground and then turned round with the staff pointed at her throat.
Snape looked impressed. "I thought you would like that Serverus. I know it's a muggle trait but It's impressive none the less don't you agree?"
"Yes Headmaster. Now we really should be going as the others are waiting."
"All right Serverus let us be off then. Soraya keep teaching Amily and maybe she will reach your standards in the near future. I will see you sooner than you think."
He winked when he said this leaving a very puzzled couple of girls behind. Soraya watched Dumbledore and Serverus walk away and with a couple of small 'pops', they were gone.
"6:30am? I wonder what they were going to do so early in the morning."
They went back up to their rooms and Soraya stopped as she went inside her room. She stepped on something and looked down to see on the floor were two small letters. Soraya called Amily into her room and they opened them. They were letters welcoming them to Hogwarts and instructions of how to get there. There were also a list of books and equipment needed for their year at school. Soraya took one look at her book list then looked at Amily's. She had only six books on her list so Soraya looked at her own list again to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"Bloody hell Amily look at my book list. The Standard Book of Spells grades 1 -6, A History Of Magic, Magical Theory, Beginners, Intermediate and advanced transfiguration, One thousand Magical herb and Fungi and Magical Drafts and Potions. I don't think there's room in my trunk for all of those books let alone the clothes and other stuff I need. When I am at that muggle village I am going to have to buy a camping bag. You know, the kind you can stick a tent in."
After the shock of Soraya's list they stuffed the letters back in the envelopes and went down for breakfast.
For the next few days they were taught all about the animals and forgot about all about Snape. Even Anthony would tell them some things. He gave the impression that he was still happy he had a go on Amily's Firebolt and looked more relaxed when Snape left too. Soraya just seemed to absorb information whenever she was told anything about the animals. Amily took down some notes and asked Soraya if she missed anything.
One day Jane took the girls outside of the dragon's caves. The girls were a little apprehensive about it and with good reason as dragons could not be tamed.
"Dragon runs...its something we do everyday so the dragons can stretch their wings."
Just then Paul arrived on a nimbus two thousand and hovered just in front of the barn's doors. There were growls and bangs coming from the inside of the barn. Clearly the dragons were restless and excited. Jane had her hand on a lever that was attached to the side of the barn. This led to the barn doors to open them quickly and safely.
"Ready Paul?"
Paul nodded and Jane pulled the lever.
Just as the barn doors flung back a whole colony of dragons came charging out each one barging each other out of the way. Paul quickly rose and flew away with at least thirty dragons on his tail. He was dodging and diving to give the dragons a real work out. There seemed to be a certain route that Paul would follow. After skimming the cliffs with his feet as he rose sharply in to the air, he then dived in to the canyon and then rose out of the other side. Now here was where the more grown up and old dragons broke off and headed towards the lake. He then proceeded to take them in to a series of winding caves which had a lot of holes in it like Swiss cheese. The young dragons on the other hand chased Paul some more and only broke off when Paul arrived at the lake as well. To end the run he dipped the end of his broom's tail in to the water. The young dragons then landed in the water as Paul flew back to Soraya and the others. He was hot and red in the face but looked pleased with himself.
When he landed he turned to Soraya with a cheeky look on his face.
"I couldn't help notice how well you flew your Firebolt at the quidditch match. Your broom will out-strip the dragons easily. I was wondering if one day you would like to try the dragon run." At first Soraya was shocked that Paul would even suggest such a thing and stood there stunned. Jane had a thing or two to say about this.
"Paul you can't be serious...she will get hurt and then you will be fired...a- and what if she makes a mistake? One slip and..."
"Jane I can handle it! Paul I accept your challenge...Jane stop looking at me like that! At least let me try!"
"Oh alright then, but you have to ask permission from Sarah and Derick first!"
"Already taken care of Jane. I asked them and they said it would be a marvellous idea in case me and Anthony are both gone at the same time. You've said it yourself that not a lot of people are willing to do this ...so I say give the girl a chance."
Jane looked tiredly at Paul and reluctantly agreed. Amily looked just as horrified as Jane so Soraya gave some words of comfort for her worried sister.
"Don't worry Amily. Paul said I would have no chance of getting hurt when I am on my Firebolt." Amily sighed and reluctantly nodded. Now Soraya was actually looking forward to her dragon run lessons.
So the very next day at the same time her first dragon run was about to begin. Paul was beside her for the first one.
"Paul...what happens if they catch us?"
"Eh, don't know...that's never happened before. But the dragons enjoy just chasing us so we'll be fine." But Soraya wasn't so confident about this and Paul didn't sound so sure himself. They were in front of the barn and the dragons were scraping and growling inside.
"Ready?" Called Jane with a slight note of concern in her voice. Paul nodded straight away and Soraya nodded a few seconds later. Jane pulled the lever and Soraya could hear about thirty dragons coming after Paul and herself as they took off. Soraya performed the dragon run perfectly and Paul was impressed. They then proceeded towards the lake and dipped their tails in the water and landed.
"Very good Soraya...next time we need a substitute for the dragon run-"
"I will be more than happy too Paul." Paul grinned as they walked to where Jane and Amily were clapping loudly. Dragon runs after that felt like a freedom Soraya had never felt before. She did them three more times after that and then the last two on her own.
Then one day when Jane and Paul were taking Amily and Soraya home Soraya noticed a cave and could just see the inside of it. It looked like crystal and sparkled in the sunlight.
"Jane what's in there? No one told us about a crystal cave."
"Well Soraya you can go in there...but I must implore you and Amily not to touch the crystal mirror in the middle!"
"Why?"
"If you do then it will show you the worst thing that has ever happened in your life!"
"Ok Amily you and I stay away from there all right!" Amily didn't meet her eyes when she nodded and a sort of glassy look appeared over her eyes.
"Soraya I mean it...the cave amplifies the experience ten fold or more!"
Soraya and Amily agreed not to touch anything in the cave. If they actually went in there at all after hearing what Jane had just told them. But Soraya couldn't help feeling that Amily may not heed these words like her. For Soraya knew that Amily's worst tragedy in her life was when her parents had died, and Soraya wasn't sure to what lengths Amily would go to just to see her parents again. For when her parents died she lost the ability to talk. So what would happen if it was increased by ten fold? 'Probably turn her in to a vegetable.' Soraya thought as she flicked her eyes to Amily every now and again. Amily had a peculiar look on her face; it was as though she was giving some serious thought to this piece of information. But then shuddered and shook her head, Soraya breathed a sigh of relief. The same thought must have crossed Amily's mind too.
Time flew by for the rest of the day flying back to the house. Only did Soraya realise where they were when they landed. She looked at her watch to see it was 8 o'clock and time for dinner. Jane left Soraya and Amily at the back door leading to the kitchen. The table was already set when they entered.
"I have some news girls...tomorrow the Hogwarts students shall be arriving at ten in the morning."
"How will they get here Sarah?"
"Broomsticks I should think...or flying horse and carriage. I remember them when I used to go there."
"So it could be either?"
"Yes." Soraya smiled and ate her dinner quietly. 'Let's see I go to bed...then people from my new school arrive in the morning.' After dinner she and Amily went back up to their rooms, bid each other good night and then went to their own beds. Soraya decided to take a closer look at her letter and her heart stopped. She looked very worried indeed and muttered to herself as this was something that had to be said.
"Oh my god! They don't expect me to be in the first year...they expect me to be in the sixth year. Not only that, but how do they also expect me to do six years of work in a year? Impossible... and I bet you weren't going to tell me that before I said we were coming were you Dumbledore? What am I gonna do now? Help me someone please!"
But no one came and Soraya was in dismay when she went to sleep. But she kept on waking up and didn't sleep well that night at all.
*** Ok so it's not much shorter than the last chapter...but it's still a bit shorter.
Decisions Decisions
Soraya stared at the table when they were back in the kitchen. It had been magically lengthened and two extra seats had been placed at either end. Snape was on the end closest to Soraya and Amily when they entered the room. He was nearest to the door and Snape looked like he wanted to leave as soon as possible. He sat next to Amily who sat next to Soraya. Dumbledore was at the other end and Soraya's new parents took up the other two seats on the other side.
The food was delicious as always and Amily probably ate more than anyone else. 'Well she is a growing child.' Soraya thought as she ate a tuna sandwich. But her stomach turned and so she didn't eat a lot. The hate she had for Snape still surged through her, for the words he said last night insulted the Hungs and still rang in her ears. But it was the feeling of Dumbledore's eyes flicking in her direction every now and then made her feel uneasy and she wanted to get away. So Soraya pushed her plate away and was about to ask to be excused when Snape said something and he too stood up to leave.
"I still stand by what I said last night headmaster."
"Oh really Serverus, and what would that be?"
"That the girl should have been let in to Hogwarts like any other student. Now if you'll excuse me headmaster I shall take my leave."
He just made it to the door when Dumbledore opened his mouth, he sounded calm but firm. Soraya could see that Dumbledore was a kind and generous man...but not one to cross at all.
"She will be coming now Serverus, if I said it before and I'll say it again that I stand by Lei's decision. Who knows what might have happened if she did go when she turned eleven. Like Harry she might have run in to Voldermort. But she has been safe by staying in the muggle world until now."
Soraya looked curiously at Dumbledore and her head buzzed more than ever. 'What danger?' But she had no time to contemplate this as Snape was talking again.
"Lie was always an incompetent wizard when it came to making decisions; you and I both know that Dumbledore. His wife was no better either, they were no better than blithering dunderheads to-"
He stopped as Amily attempted to make a full scale dive at him. But Soraya managed to grab her around the waist in the nick of time. They came crashing down to the ground and Soraya restrained her to the floor. Amily was still trying to get at Snape and was going berserk. If she could still talk then Amily would be screaming in anger. But even without a voice everyone could tell she was in a full scale fit of rage. Snape looked taken back that a child, who had no knowledge of magic, would be willing take on a fully qualified wizard.
"Serverus you have said enough, I think you had better go!"
Snape did not need telling twice, he quickly walked out of the back door and apperated behind it. Amily didn't stop struggling until he was gone and Soraya stopped restraining her. Amily sat bolt upright on the kitchen floor, her breathing was erratic and she shook with anger. She calmed down after a few minutes and stood up to leave for her bedroom. But Dumbledore called her name so she stopped and turned to face him.
"Amily please forgive me for not stopping Serverus before he said too much. I just want to know if your feelings towards Hogwarts haven't changed, then I promise the other teachers will be more understanding than Serverus."
Amily turned to Soraya who was panting at the use of force it took to restrain Amily, she signed to Soraya then left.
"She says she understands and will be fine. Just so long as she doesn't have to see his face for a few hours."
"Now that I can do, he and I shall be gone for the rest of the day."
Soraya smiled and was about to leave when something that bugged her all day had finally came out of her mouth.
"Oh yeah. Sarah, what are those plaques on our bedroom doors for?"
"Those things are to show something about the person who sleeps in a room. They show either the inside of a person, their animal or a lot of other things. But the explanations about them have been lost for centuries so no one really knows what they show half the time. But we do know that it is something to do with the person or persons. It takes one night for the plaque to change no more no less, and when the user has left it changes back into a golden disk. What's on you plaque Soraya?"
"A very proud and fierce looking gryphon holding a banner with Soraya's room on it. Amily has a Chinese dragon and I can understand that. The Chinese dragon symbolises Amily's bloodline as her father was Chinese and his farther before that and so on. But why do I have a gryphon on my door? I have nothing to do with a Gryphon. I even get Sarah and Derick's with the two hearts to symbolise two lovers. But as for me I have absolutely no clue what so ever."
Sarah and Derick looked just as mystified as Soraya, but Dumbledore on the other hand was smiling.
"Maybe it means you are destined for Griffindor house. Who knows it will just have to be left a mystery until it is revealed. Oh and by the way Soraya I want to thank you for restraining Amily. I wasn't so afraid of her getting hurt but more concerned of her killing Serverus. It would have been a great loss to the school to loose a potions master as skilled in the art of potions as he is."
Sarah and Derick laughed at Dumbledore's words, Soraya smiled but couldn't help thinking he was right. Soraya went up to Amily's room to make sure she was ok; she was smiling and had calmed down completely. Soraya told Amily what the plaques meant and she smiled, so she decided to bring Amily downstairs again. Dumbledore had left now; Sarah and Derick were in the kitchen waiting for them.
"So what would you girls like to do? Learn about the animals, watch T.V or- "
"How about a game of quidditch?" Derick interrupted with a note of excitement in his voice, Soraya and Amily signed to one another trying to come up with a decision.
"How about learning about animals till about five o'clock...and then play quidditch until night fall?"
"That sounds reasonable enough; I shall meet you two by the shed over there at five." He pointed to a shed out of the window which was big enough to be a garage. The girls nodded and left.
They flew with Sarah to where the workers lived; she introduced each and every one of them to the girls. There was Paul, Stan, Amy, Jane, Eric, Sam, Anthony and Alison. The workers were friendly so Sarah left them to get to know the girls better. Soraya and Amily instantly hit it off with all but one of the workers.
"The ministry pays you guys too?"
"Yep that's right Soraya."
"Ok Stan, since you're so great with the kids you show them around the place." The man who said this sneered and skulked off with Stan making a rude hand gesture behind his back.
"Who's he calling a kid? I'm 16 years old." Said Soraya in protest.
"Don't pay attention to Anthony he's very unsociable."
"Sounds like someone we know, right Amily?" Amily smiled feebly as Soraya laughed. Secretly Amily was still fuming about what Snape said at lunch.
After the introductions Stanley took the girls on a private tour of their new surroundings.
First he showed them the flobberworms patch which was very boring.
"I agree it's very boring but the mucus is used in many potions."
Then he showed them to the firewall. This name came round as it was the home to some very special fireflies.
"Oh they may look docile now but wait until you have to catch some of them. I have been burnt by these guys so many times when I have to catch them. Now you have to catch them before a window of thirty minuets closes. There are two very important rules you must follow so listen carefully. 1. Always wear gloves and keep your wand close to you. 2. Catch them quick before they solidify."
"Is it bad?"
"No its worse, a worker six years ago didn't catch them fast enough. Her watch was broken and so she didn't have a clue when the window closed and they solidified behind her. She barely escaped with her life. Her arms, legs and face were badly burnt. She packed her bags and left when she came out of a hospital for magic folk. I'll tell you something now, they are much worse than real dragons when they solidify too. They are faster, smarter and more dangerous."
Amily and Soraya looked at each other; they didn't like this story at all. They were relived when they moved on to other creatures. But the animals got bigger and more dangerous than the last. From Cornish pixies to unicorns, Hippogriffs and then last but not least to dragons. Unlike the other creatures which were either kept in stables or had the run of an acre of land the dragons were kept in a cave covered with a barn at the entrance. They slowly and quietly crept down the cave to the bottom where the lava pit bubbled. The dragons were all asleep and were situated around the lava pit. They were all green with brown wings and horns on their heads.
"They turn as white as unicorns when the moon is full whether they are inside the cave or out." They headed back to the cave's entrance taking care not to make any noise to wake them.
Soraya looked at the sky and saw the sun was almost setting. They had gone over the basics of everything that they needed to know about the animals so Stan let them go on their way with a lot of information that may come in handy one day. Soraya looked at her watch as they flew back and almost fell off her broom.
"Oh my god Amily its 5:45 and we said we'd meet Derick at 5:00. Fly to the back garden quickly!" So Soraya and Amily flew as fast as they could go. Well Soraya did anyway until she noticed Amily falling behind. So they only went a hundred miles an hour instead of a hundred and seventy. When they finally reached the back garden it was 6:00. Soraya could see Derick next to a quidditch trunk that held the balls for the game.
"Sorry were late Derick but we lost track of time."
"Don't worry. You would have been waiting for me for I have only just arrived." But Soraya saw he didn't quite meet her eyes when he said this.
Dumbledore was sitting on a comfy sofa with Snape sitting beside him; he had a most evil sneer on his face. Soraya shot a look of pure hatred at him. 'Oh great I wonder what he's gonna say? Probably something like. What's the point of you coming to Hogwarts if you can't even arrive on time for something like quidditch?' Amily took Soraya's advice as they flew back to the garden. 'Don't pay attention to Snape and just concentrate on the game.' So she did and seemed sort of happy...for now anyway.
Soraya looked about the garden and saw two other people had appeared. The woman had grey hair and strange cat like eyes, whilst the man had orange hair and a big grin on his face.
"This is Madam Hooch who teaches flying at Hogwarts and Mr.Weasley who works at the ministry."
The workers came up to see what all the fuss was about at the end of their shift. They looked happy and decided to play too. Sarah and Derick came as well so that made twelve. Madam Hooch decided to become the referee and Mr.Weasley took part too as a chaser.
"We have thirteen players and a referee...we still need one more player." Madam Hooch proclaimed when everyone was in the air and waiting to play.
Soraya noticed Dumbledore had turned to Snape and had a cheeky smile on his face. He said something quietly to him that made Snape sigh and get up with his own broom, a nimbus two thousand and one. There was only one place left on Amily's team and so he became a beater. Soraya thought he looked very odd on a broomstick but could fly very well none the less.
Since Soraya and Amily both had Firebolts it was only fair that they should be on one team each. Madam Hooch suggested that Amily become a seeker but she down right refused. Amily was good on a Firebolt but it was only her second day of flying it. Amily knew she couldn't fly it flat out like Soraya and so gave her Firebolt to a more experienced seeker. Anthony who was very unsociable had a past of being a seeker for Hogwarts. He was absolutely beside himself when Amily gave him the Firebolt. He hugged her tightly for a minute or two and looked very happy indeed. Snape who was a fellow Slytherin with Anthony when he was at Hogwarts looked sickened at his conduct over a broomstick. Amily looked stunned for a good few minutes when he let go and flew up with the others.
Dumbledore helped by making six rings levitate fifty feet in to the air just like a real quidditch pitch. Soraya was getting excited as the trunk that holds the balls were coming on to the do-it-yourself quidditch pitch. Madam Hooch made a sort of magical perimeter up and down so the balls won't go any further than that. Otherwise they'd end up flying all over the place and would be lost. 'To hell with the balls being lost, I wonder what would happen if they flew to the village near us? Geez people screaming as bludgers go hurtling through their windows and smashing things, the muggles wouldn't be safe.' Soraya thought in an amused sort of way. She knew she mustn't think like that but just couldn't help herself.
Amily became a chaser and Soraya really wanted to become a seeker as soon as she saw the snitch. Madam Hooch carried the trunk beneath the players and released the balls.
Amily caught the quaffle first and past it to one of the other players on her team. Soraya quickly went higher than the other players keeping her eyes peeled for the golden ball. Though she wouldn't have had to worry about Anthony though. Experienced seeker he may have been he looked more like he was trying to put the Firebolt through its paces. He was grinning stupidly as he did do and his normally cold and serious composure was lost all together. Snape looked absolutely disgusted with his behaviour and Soraya couldn't help but smile. It took all her strength to hold back a ball of laughter that collected in her stomach.
But that quickly passed as Snape aimed a bludger at him and earned Soraya's team a penalty. This time Soraya looked disgusted with Snape's face, he looked deeply satisfied at what he had done. Then he looked very angry indeed at Anthony, and Anthony quickly had his mind back in the game. He flew down to Snape who had a quiet word with him. He looked a little pale when he flew back up as though the living daylights were scared out of him.
Then Soraya spotted the snitch and dived. Anthony did the same as he had been tailing her through out the game after the little episode with Snape. 'Probably told him to do that as well....HEY!' She narrowly dodged a bludger and had to pull up sharply. She looked at Snape after he pelted it at her, was there a slight trace of disappointment on his face? Soraya didn't care and had to go up again to look for the snitch. She couldn't help but see that Snape was looking at her every now and again. He was hardly concentrating on the game at all and mostly on her. In the end Soraya shot a very puzzled look in his direction as she was not quite sure what to make of all this.
When Snape saw this he put his mind back in the game, though he needn't have worried as his team were leading by eighty to twenty. Amily's team were playing very well indeed and Soraya felt like cheering when she saw Amily score a few goals. Then she saw the snitch again glistening in the sunset hovering a foot above the ground. She dived for it and this time Snape had no bludger to hit her with, he had just used it to hit a chaser on Soraya's team to stop them scoring. Soraya was way ahead of Anthony. He had no chance to catch up with her as she weighed less than him so the broom went faster. She was two feet away from the ground and the snitch moved. She chased it and in no time at all felt her fingers close around the snitch. She rose up with her hand in the air with the struggling snitch inside of it.
Soraya had a grin on her face and nearly fell off her broom when her team came up to her. They hugged and patted her on the back before slowly floating down to earth in a tight ball of players.
Everyone congratulated each other about the game. The loosing team were very good sports about this apart from Snape who looked angry and disappointed. So Soraya decided to go up to him and have a word.
"Great game sir." He glared at her with malice as she walked away and went to join the others.
Dumbledore was clapping loudly and then everyone else did the same; Soraya could feel her face burning and looked down. 'I only caught a golden ball it's not that big a deal!'
"What a catch; and you say this is your first time playing as a seeker?"
Soraya nodded and looked up when her face stopped burning and smiled weakly. Everyone was congratulating her on the way she caught the snitch.
"I have only seen Harry Potter do such a thing and he's the Griffindor seeker."
"Who's Harry Potter?" Everyone looked at her as she said these words with very mystified looks on their faces. They were shocked at the idea that she had never heard of Harry Potter, the most famous wizard in the world to date. Snape looked almost gleeful that she hadn't heard of Harry. Soraya and Amily just looked at their feet trying to ignore the stares.
"Well I have been living in the muggle world for my whole life...well after I was six months old anyway. So what makes this guy so famous? Even Amily doesn't know anything about him."
Dumbledore decided to answer that question; he took Soraya and Amily away from the others to do so. He conjured up three comfy chairs and they sat down. He told them the whole story from Voldermort to Harry's past four years of fighting him. Soraya and Amily just sat there in a sort of stunned silence.
"He must be very brave then."
"Yes he is very brave indeed...Voldermort used to underestimate Harry's courage. But now he has found a way of manipulating this to gain power."
"Has Voldermort succeeded in gaining full power yet?"
"Before Harry was born Voldermort was very powerful and feared by witch and wizard alike."
"Except you of course, because he fears you and Harry."
"Yes indeed Tom fears me and Harry. But unfortunately it's his fear that promotes his power sometimes and that can be very disastrous for all."
"Tom?"
"Yes his real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. He has told very few about this and I knew this because I used to be his transfiguration teacher."
"You're the headmaster now right?"
"Yes I managed to get that title quite easily after I defeated Grindlewald. I love the school, so when the headmaster before me passed away I took his place. We should go to the others, it looks like dinner is ready and they are waiting for us to join them."
So Soraya and Amily stood up. Dumbledore cleared away his chairs and walked back with the girls to the others. Everyone was still talking about the match and saying things like 'you win this time but just wait until the next match' or 'good game'. Soraya looked at Snape who just seemed to sulk for a while. He didn't shake hands or congratulated the other team in any way at all. Anthony looked strangely both happy and angry at the same time. But then fear slightly appeared in his face when Snape had shot a look of hate at him for loosing the game. Anthony didn't look much different to Snape. Black hair (with no grease of course), unsociable, not a lot of colour in his skin and an emotionless face on an average day. 'He must have been happy about getting to go on the Firebolt for the match. I wish Snape would leave him alone though.' Anthony still had a slight look of fear in his eyes after the little chat Snape had given him.
There was a giant red a white chequered blanket laid out on the ground, plates and bowls filled with many different foods. Just then something made Soraya want to turn round before she heard a small 'pop' behind her. A woman had appeared dressed in green robes and had a black pointed witch's hat on. She came over to the others and Dumbledore looked up.
"Good evening professor McGonagall, is there a problem?"
Soraya thought that she should give this woman a lot of respect; she had never seen anyone look so strict before in her life. Even the teachers at the orphanage had nothing on this woman. Amily acknowledged this and signed to Soraya quickly.
"Blimey Soraya she looks more strict than Miss Baldwick and Snape put together." Soraya grinned as she nodded in agreement, and then looked over to where McGonagall stood next to Dumbledore. She talked to him with an unhappy look upon her face.
"Good evening Albus...you two must be Soraya and Amily."
"Yes professor. May I enquire as to what you teach at Hogwarts?" This sounded so stupid and formal that Soraya felt like kicking herself. But she thought it best to be as polite as possible around McGonagall...to Soraya she was very intimidating. But not a complete git like Snape so it just fell out of her mouth.
"You may, I shall be teaching you transfiguration." When Dumbledore said transfiguration Soraya was paying attention to his story of Harry and Voldermort. So Soraya and Amily looked very puzzled at this word and looked at each other to see if they knew what it meant. Amily shook her head and Soraya did the same. McGonagall looked curiously at Soraya and was only to happy to tell her what it meant. "To transform one object in to another."
McGonagall showed the girls by picking up a napkin and changing it in to cup. The girls were very impressed by this and kept watching as McGonagall turned it back in to a napkin.
"I am also the head of Griffindor house. So...have you two decided yet? I'm sorry Albus but the ministry wants an answer before midnight."
"Very well, it's all up to you two to make a decision. You can think about it while we are having dinner, there is plenty of time as it's only eight o'clock."
"Yes sir." Was it the stress of what they had to do or the panic of it all? The girls didn't know and just looked painfully at their half eaten meals. Then looked at each other as they both had the same idea and wanted to get away.
So they excused themselves and walked to a big oak tree that grew right in the middle of the back garden. They climbed up in to the branches and were hidden from view by the leaves. They sat in the branches and discussed what they were going to do so they listed the pros and cons. Soraya did the pros and Amily did the cons.
"1. We know the headmaster and the teachers seem quite nice. 2. They got their own quidditch pitch. 3. Dean will be there. 4. Three out of four houses are good to go to. 5. We will be learning magic."
Now it was Amily's turn to list the cons.
"1. We shall be leaving Sarah and Derick in a couple of weeks and we just got here. 2. We don't know anything about magic and may make fools of ourselves. 3. & 4. Snape will be there and he's head of Slytherin house. You remember what Dean said about him favouring the Slytherin's more than any house and hates Griffindor. He will take off loads of points from us if we are in it because he knows how to get under our skin. We also beat him in a quidditch match so he will be particularly nasty."
Soraya nodded and didn't even argue, Snape was worth two cons maybe more.
Just as they stopped signing Snape came up to the tree with a sneer on his face and called them down. They climbed down and landed beside him with thinking expressions on their faces and his sneer increased. To him it looked as though the girls hadn't decided to go or not and this made him very happy for some reason.
"Dumbledore sent me to get you two. So have you come to a decision yet?" Soraya looked at Amily and they smiled mysteriously.
"The pros out way the cons Soraya so I am willing to go...are you?"
"Yes Amily...very willing." They stopped signing to one another and looked back at Snape with very mysterious looks on their faces.
"Yes sir we have."
"...and?"
"...and we aren't saying anything to anyone but Dumbledore first. So I guess that will be in front of everyone then. Come on Amily lets go and tell them."
So they walked back with a slightly peeved Snape. He had a puzzled look on his face but the sneer was still there. 'That won't be there when I tell Dumbledore that we are going and you can't do nothing about it.' The girls reached the picnic and stopped in front of Dumbledore. Whilst Snape went back to his spot and sat down.
"So have you reached a decision?" His eyes were scanning them again but Amily and Soraya kept their faces straight as an arrow.
"Yes sir. We are pleased to say that we will be very honoured to come to your school."
There was a loud applause and Soraya was pleased to see Snape's sneer got wiped from his face in a second. Even Anthony clapped along with the others whilst Soraya and Amily grinned at this wonderful scene. Then Dumbledore put up a hand and silence reigned when he spoke.
"Then I welcome you two to Hogwarts with open arms." Dumbledore said beaming at them.
The celebrations went on well in to the night. McGonagall left as soon as the news was proclaimed in front of everyone.
Then it was time for bed so they all said their goodbyes and goodnights. Soraya was so happy that Snape was leaving tomorrow that she said. "Goodnight professor Snape and goodbye."
Snape glared at her and muttered. "Yes for now, just you wait until I get you in my potions class."
But Soraya was too happy to care. She was so tired and content that as soon as her head touched the pillow she was out like a light.
The next morning Soraya was woken early to a 'bang' in the hall outside of her bedroom. Someone was swearing loudly then gradually became quieter. Soraya got out of bed and put her ear to the door, she could still hear him swearing but now he was muttering. So she looked through a small crack between her door and the wall to see who it was. Snape was leaning against the wall holding his foot and still cursing. It seemed he had stubbed his toe on the chest next to him that now had a small crack on the side of the chest where he hit it. 'Aww poor baby, did you stub your ickle toe on the chest? Mummy will kiss it better...yeah right who would want go near you? Here's a tip learn how to walk properly and you won't hurt yourself.' It took all of her self restraint to not laugh when a disgruntled Snape hobbled down the stairs and out of site.
Then she ran and dived on to her bed and hid her face in her pillow and laughed madly. She stopped half an hour later and wiped tears of laughter out of her eyes. Then she looked at the clock, it was 5:45 so she walked over to her mirror and it spoke to her in an annoyed way.
"It's not nice to laugh at people when they get hurt you know."
"Hey he would have done the same. Well ...not laughed but have a sneer on his face the size of a broomstick."
Then Soraya went to Amily's room to wake her up for training. Every three days Amily and Soraya get up early to do some Nahunja training. Amily however was already awake and grinning like a monkey.
"You saw too huh?" Amily nodded as they gathered their swords, staffs and training clothes. Amily had an evil grin all the time as they headed to the garden.
"Now normally I would say don't laugh at that person's expense, but since it's Snape I am willing to over look it."
They could here voices coming from the living room. Soraya and Amily looked through the crack and smiled with satisfaction, they could see Snape had taken his shoe off and was now rubbing his foot. Soraya and Amily smiled as they continued their journey to the garden. They dumped their stuff by their brooms and trained near the garden shed which was as big as an elephant.
They trained behind the shed out of view from the kitchen window, it was a great time to start training as the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Even though it was summer this early in the morning it was nice and cool, so there was no chance of getting too hot too quick. Soraya missed the training she used to have with Amily's father and so took it upon herself to teach Amily self defence as he taught her. To keep the family tradition going as it were. Lei taught Soraya everything he could possibly teach her a week before he died. Amily was not far from Soraya but had a mountain to learn before she could reach Soraya's standards. Soraya knew that lessons in Nahunja are never over and there is always something knew to learn. But until then she taught Amily everything she knew.
After their exercises Amily and Soraya proceeded with staffs, stances, defence techniques and attacks. Soraya practiced with Amily and taught her about swords, the agility of a sword and its owner. Then how they can become one with the sword and how you can focus your energy in to it as well.
"This is so your strikes will become more powerful against your attacker. Now listen to this because this is very important. DO NOT under any circumstances use your sword on anyone unless absolutely necessary. Got that?" Amily nodded at the serious look on Soraya's face when she said this. Amily knew not to cross Soraya when she looked this way.
"So!" Said a voice so suddenly that it made them jump.
Amily jumped so badly that it made her drop her sword. Soraya turned round to see Dumbledore, who looked very impressed.
"I thought Lei stopped teaching when you arrived to his house Soraya. I guess I was wrong again. You two work very well together, I have never seen finer training. Lei couldn't have done better himself or your grandfather Amily who I knew personally."
Just then Snape came out in to the back garden from the kitchen door; he stopped and stared at Soraya and Amily. He seemed strangely uneasy for some reason. Soraya looked confused and didn't know what he was uneasy about until she turned to Amily. Her eyes were gleaming maliciously at Snape. His eyes flicked from the sword and then to Amily's eyes. Soraya knew what was going on and wrenched the sword from Amily's hands. She shook her head and looked deep in to Amily's eyes with a stern look. She looked back at Snape who limped towards Dumbledore. It seemed his toe was still hurting him. 'Jeez a full grown wizard with a wand scared of a little girl with a sword. Hmm...which one is more intimidating?'
Dumbledore noticed this and looked slightly disappointed at Amily. She on the other hand was looking right at Snape and then she looked at Soraya. Dumbledore's look of disappointment was replaced with a slight look of hope on his face.
"Did Lei teach you his special disarming move Soraya?"
"Yes sir, why?"
"May I see it before Serverus and I leave?"
"So what do you say Amily, you up for it?"
Amily nodded and took twenty paces back away from Soraya armed only with a staff. Soraya had no weapon to speak of at all.
"It works just as well with a sword but we haven't got that far yet. Ready Amily? Three...two...one...NOW!"
Amily ran at Soraya with the staff pointed straight at her, whilst Soraya just stood there looking very calm indeed. She only moved at the last second. In one swift move she took the staff and tripped Amily up with it. Amily fell to the ground and then turned round with the staff pointed at her throat.
Snape looked impressed. "I thought you would like that Serverus. I know it's a muggle trait but It's impressive none the less don't you agree?"
"Yes Headmaster. Now we really should be going as the others are waiting."
"All right Serverus let us be off then. Soraya keep teaching Amily and maybe she will reach your standards in the near future. I will see you sooner than you think."
He winked when he said this leaving a very puzzled couple of girls behind. Soraya watched Dumbledore and Serverus walk away and with a couple of small 'pops', they were gone.
"6:30am? I wonder what they were going to do so early in the morning."
They went back up to their rooms and Soraya stopped as she went inside her room. She stepped on something and looked down to see on the floor were two small letters. Soraya called Amily into her room and they opened them. They were letters welcoming them to Hogwarts and instructions of how to get there. There were also a list of books and equipment needed for their year at school. Soraya took one look at her book list then looked at Amily's. She had only six books on her list so Soraya looked at her own list again to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
"Bloody hell Amily look at my book list. The Standard Book of Spells grades 1 -6, A History Of Magic, Magical Theory, Beginners, Intermediate and advanced transfiguration, One thousand Magical herb and Fungi and Magical Drafts and Potions. I don't think there's room in my trunk for all of those books let alone the clothes and other stuff I need. When I am at that muggle village I am going to have to buy a camping bag. You know, the kind you can stick a tent in."
After the shock of Soraya's list they stuffed the letters back in the envelopes and went down for breakfast.
For the next few days they were taught all about the animals and forgot about all about Snape. Even Anthony would tell them some things. He gave the impression that he was still happy he had a go on Amily's Firebolt and looked more relaxed when Snape left too. Soraya just seemed to absorb information whenever she was told anything about the animals. Amily took down some notes and asked Soraya if she missed anything.
One day Jane took the girls outside of the dragon's caves. The girls were a little apprehensive about it and with good reason as dragons could not be tamed.
"Dragon runs...its something we do everyday so the dragons can stretch their wings."
Just then Paul arrived on a nimbus two thousand and hovered just in front of the barn's doors. There were growls and bangs coming from the inside of the barn. Clearly the dragons were restless and excited. Jane had her hand on a lever that was attached to the side of the barn. This led to the barn doors to open them quickly and safely.
"Ready Paul?"
Paul nodded and Jane pulled the lever.
Just as the barn doors flung back a whole colony of dragons came charging out each one barging each other out of the way. Paul quickly rose and flew away with at least thirty dragons on his tail. He was dodging and diving to give the dragons a real work out. There seemed to be a certain route that Paul would follow. After skimming the cliffs with his feet as he rose sharply in to the air, he then dived in to the canyon and then rose out of the other side. Now here was where the more grown up and old dragons broke off and headed towards the lake. He then proceeded to take them in to a series of winding caves which had a lot of holes in it like Swiss cheese. The young dragons on the other hand chased Paul some more and only broke off when Paul arrived at the lake as well. To end the run he dipped the end of his broom's tail in to the water. The young dragons then landed in the water as Paul flew back to Soraya and the others. He was hot and red in the face but looked pleased with himself.
When he landed he turned to Soraya with a cheeky look on his face.
"I couldn't help notice how well you flew your Firebolt at the quidditch match. Your broom will out-strip the dragons easily. I was wondering if one day you would like to try the dragon run." At first Soraya was shocked that Paul would even suggest such a thing and stood there stunned. Jane had a thing or two to say about this.
"Paul you can't be serious...she will get hurt and then you will be fired...a- and what if she makes a mistake? One slip and..."
"Jane I can handle it! Paul I accept your challenge...Jane stop looking at me like that! At least let me try!"
"Oh alright then, but you have to ask permission from Sarah and Derick first!"
"Already taken care of Jane. I asked them and they said it would be a marvellous idea in case me and Anthony are both gone at the same time. You've said it yourself that not a lot of people are willing to do this ...so I say give the girl a chance."
Jane looked tiredly at Paul and reluctantly agreed. Amily looked just as horrified as Jane so Soraya gave some words of comfort for her worried sister.
"Don't worry Amily. Paul said I would have no chance of getting hurt when I am on my Firebolt." Amily sighed and reluctantly nodded. Now Soraya was actually looking forward to her dragon run lessons.
So the very next day at the same time her first dragon run was about to begin. Paul was beside her for the first one.
"Paul...what happens if they catch us?"
"Eh, don't know...that's never happened before. But the dragons enjoy just chasing us so we'll be fine." But Soraya wasn't so confident about this and Paul didn't sound so sure himself. They were in front of the barn and the dragons were scraping and growling inside.
"Ready?" Called Jane with a slight note of concern in her voice. Paul nodded straight away and Soraya nodded a few seconds later. Jane pulled the lever and Soraya could hear about thirty dragons coming after Paul and herself as they took off. Soraya performed the dragon run perfectly and Paul was impressed. They then proceeded towards the lake and dipped their tails in the water and landed.
"Very good Soraya...next time we need a substitute for the dragon run-"
"I will be more than happy too Paul." Paul grinned as they walked to where Jane and Amily were clapping loudly. Dragon runs after that felt like a freedom Soraya had never felt before. She did them three more times after that and then the last two on her own.
Then one day when Jane and Paul were taking Amily and Soraya home Soraya noticed a cave and could just see the inside of it. It looked like crystal and sparkled in the sunlight.
"Jane what's in there? No one told us about a crystal cave."
"Well Soraya you can go in there...but I must implore you and Amily not to touch the crystal mirror in the middle!"
"Why?"
"If you do then it will show you the worst thing that has ever happened in your life!"
"Ok Amily you and I stay away from there all right!" Amily didn't meet her eyes when she nodded and a sort of glassy look appeared over her eyes.
"Soraya I mean it...the cave amplifies the experience ten fold or more!"
Soraya and Amily agreed not to touch anything in the cave. If they actually went in there at all after hearing what Jane had just told them. But Soraya couldn't help feeling that Amily may not heed these words like her. For Soraya knew that Amily's worst tragedy in her life was when her parents had died, and Soraya wasn't sure to what lengths Amily would go to just to see her parents again. For when her parents died she lost the ability to talk. So what would happen if it was increased by ten fold? 'Probably turn her in to a vegetable.' Soraya thought as she flicked her eyes to Amily every now and again. Amily had a peculiar look on her face; it was as though she was giving some serious thought to this piece of information. But then shuddered and shook her head, Soraya breathed a sigh of relief. The same thought must have crossed Amily's mind too.
Time flew by for the rest of the day flying back to the house. Only did Soraya realise where they were when they landed. She looked at her watch to see it was 8 o'clock and time for dinner. Jane left Soraya and Amily at the back door leading to the kitchen. The table was already set when they entered.
"I have some news girls...tomorrow the Hogwarts students shall be arriving at ten in the morning."
"How will they get here Sarah?"
"Broomsticks I should think...or flying horse and carriage. I remember them when I used to go there."
"So it could be either?"
"Yes." Soraya smiled and ate her dinner quietly. 'Let's see I go to bed...then people from my new school arrive in the morning.' After dinner she and Amily went back up to their rooms, bid each other good night and then went to their own beds. Soraya decided to take a closer look at her letter and her heart stopped. She looked very worried indeed and muttered to herself as this was something that had to be said.
"Oh my god! They don't expect me to be in the first year...they expect me to be in the sixth year. Not only that, but how do they also expect me to do six years of work in a year? Impossible... and I bet you weren't going to tell me that before I said we were coming were you Dumbledore? What am I gonna do now? Help me someone please!"
But no one came and Soraya was in dismay when she went to sleep. But she kept on waking up and didn't sleep well that night at all.
*** Ok so it's not much shorter than the last chapter...but it's still a bit shorter.
