Chapter two: Lightning
As Eve opened her eyes, blurry images of white linen sheets slowly came into focus. She guessed she was in some sort of hospital room or something. I'm surprised I'm not dead, she thought. Where the hell am I? A kind-looking woman who she figured was a nurse came to her bed. She had a strange look of relief and hesitant apprehension.
" Oh, you're finally up, dear. You have been unconscious for a couple of days. I daresay the headmaster will be glad you've finally come to." She said while she straightened out some sheets in the bed next to her.
" Headmaster? Where am I?" she was still a little groggy and her hoarse voice showed it. Then with a sharp sting in her heart she suddenly remembered, sat up, and cried out," My mom! Where is she? What happened? Somebody killed her and attacked me! Please, I need help." She couldn't bring herself to say anymore and she felt tears falling down her hot cheeks. Madame Pomfrey sat down next to her and gently held her as a tender grandmother would. "You are at Hogwarts school, dear. Your mother, I'm afraid, is gone. You poor thing, I'll go fetch Dumbledore, and we'll see if we can straighten this whole thing out."
Wondering if this Dumbledore was a headmaster of this school with a funny name, Eve said, "I'll come with you."
" Oh, heavens, no. You need your rest."
"I said, I'm coming." Her momentary despair turned into agitation. She sprang up from bed as if she merely had overslept and was feeling wide awake now. The cool breeze on her bare calves reminded her that she was wearing a nightgown.
" Where are my clothes?" she asked, a tone of impatience creeping into her voice.
"All right, I'll go get your clothes, and I'll see if I can find a clean uniform." Either Madame Pomfrey saw that there was no use arguing with her, or was that even a slight fear creeping into her eyes? Whatever the reason, Eve was glad she had consented to letting her go, though she sensed she was a usually strict woman. She came back with her newly laundered jeans and sweater, and laid a new, black robe on her bed.
Expecting a polo shirt and a plaid skirt as a uniform, Eve eyed the robe curiously. "Is this what the students wear?"
" Of course, it's the traditional style witches and wizards of our school have been wearing for centuries."
" Witches and wizards?" Her green eyes widened in bewilderment.
" Oh my, you don't even know. I'll take you to the headmaster at once." Madame Pomfrey hurriedly helped Eve get dressed. She was glad the nurse was in too much of a rush to notice the small tattoo on her forearm or the birthmark on her back. She didn't feel like answering questions at that moment, especially if she herself didn't quite know the answer to them. Now fully dressed, with her robe brushing against her ankles, she was being whisked by the nurse out of the room and up a flight of stairs.
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None of the students at Hogwarts would see Eve and Madame Pomfrey when they passed through the corridors heading for Dumbledore's room. The entire school was too busy watching the first Quidditch match of the school year.
Harry was the first of his team who stepped out into the green field. He was met with loud cheers from the crowd, and he winked at Ron and Hermione, who were sitting in the front row of the stands. The cool breeze billowing through his hair and scarlet robes gave him a rush of excitement. Last year he had been made captain of the Gryffindor team, and that year they had won the Quidditch Cup. Needless to say, the Slytherins were even more incensed towards the famous Harry Potter. Draco Malfoy was wearing his usual sneer as the Slytherin team, decked in green and silver, lined up across of his team. Even though he was quite a tall 17 year-old, Harry had almost reached him in height and looked him straight in his eyes.
" You won't get by so easily this year, Potter. I've been waiting all summer to pummel you to the ground," he hissed.
" I'm glad. Perhaps you'll provide somewhat of a challenge this year," Harry answered through the corner of his mouth.
" You'll be eating those last words, I'll make sure of that.," Malfoy glared threateningly at him as they mounted their brooms and waited for Madame Hooch's whistle.
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The room that Eve had been brought into looked strangely familiar, and the soothing sound of the crackling fire calmed her nerves a bit. Then she noticed something very strange. The old witches and wizards in the paintings were moving, and they all seemed to have a keen interest in her, moving about tensely and whispering furtively to one another. Eve quickly shifted her eyes away from them when she heard a sudden squawk. Sparkling with gold and scarlet plumage, a bird the likes of one she had never seen before was standing on a perch, gazing at her. It was just as fascinated by her as she was of him. Inexplicably, Eve felt a strange desire to say something to it, but before she could, the door opened, and in came a venerable looking old man, with twinkling blue eyes, and a river of a white beard. Eve couldn't help but smile when she saw him.
" Good evening, dear. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of this school, Hogwarts, that you have so amazingly transported to."
" Um, hello, sir," was all Eve could reply, but gathering courage, she said with much more momentum, "Sir, I don't know how I got here, but something awful has happened to me, and I'm all alone and I don't know-''
" It's alright, I know what happened. In fact, I know more about it than you even know at this moment."
"Oh, then please tell me who was that, that – monster – that attacked us and…and… killed…" Her voice broke off at that moment, as she couldn't bring herself to say anymore.
" Once again, the truth is sometimes more startling than any fictitious story we can imagine…" began Dumbledore in a solemn voice.
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With Madam Hooch's whistle, Harry kicked off into the air into a totally different, invigorating world, one where he was free to soar as high and travel as fast as he wanted. The sound of the cheering crowd seemed very far away, as it was blurred so much by his speed. Dean Thomas's voice boomed into the air, and it seemed that he was keeping up Lee Jordan's tradition.
"Gryffindor in possession, as the new Chaser, Michelle Lovegood catches the Quaffle. This spunky fifth year has a lot of potential, she's filling in Katie Bell's spot quite nicely. Yet another wonderful decision by the superb Captain, Mr. Potter…"
"Dean, what did you promise?" came Professor McGonagall's strict voice.
"What? I'm just stating the facts!" exclaimed Dean, but his tone quickly changed after one of her stern glares. "Sorry, Professor," he murmured.
Harry saw that the Slytherin team wasted no time in acting ruthlessly, as one of their burly beaters, Malcom Braddock, struck a Bludger toward Michelle. But their team was too good for them. A Gryffindor beater, Jeremy O'Malley, struck the heavy black ball back to the team. Fred and George had taught him well.
" Sally-Ann Perks scores! Ten points for Gryffindor! Although she started a bit late, she's yet another great addition to the Gryffindor team." Dean avoided Professor McGonagall's look when he said this.
Furious, the Slytherin team played even more recklessly. With the Snitch out of sight, Malfoy busied himself with dives that very conveniently knocked the Gryffindor chasers off their courses.
"After that disgusting display of cheating, which obviously deserved a foul,"
"Thomas!"
"Alright, alright. Lovegood goes for the penalty goal and makes it with ease." Dean continued. Amidst the excitement of the match, not many people noticed the dark gray clouds gathering across the skies, and a light drizzle began. Harry didn't mind it much. He was used to being frequently soaked in practices and matches. The cheers grew even louder as Sarah Fawcett, yet another Gryffindor chaser, made a goal. Their team was in the lead, thirty to zero.
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Eve was listening rapturously to Professor Dumbledore, hanging unto every word he said. " What almost everyone in the wizarding world knows, except you, my dear, is that your mother was a witch. Not an ordinary one, by far. She was one of the best Aurors I had ever seen."
" What's an Auror?" Eve quickly interrupted.
" Those very brave people who tracked and captured evil dark wizards and witches, often endangering their lives to keep us safe," he replied. Eve's eyes brightened in amazement as he continued.
" But what was even more wonderful about her, was that she was the last remaining descendant of the very ancient line of Merlin himself."
" Merlin? Like in King Arthur's time? You mean to say that all those stories were true?"
"Yes, very true. I'll bet my beard on that," Dumbledore chuckled. "This line has been extending for nearly a thousand years. It is one of the oldest and most admired of wizarding families."
Eve was trying to find her voice as Dumbledore was talking, and she finally managed to ask," You mentioned dark wizards. Was the man who attacked us one of them?"
"Not only one of them, but the leader, the most powerful and feared one of all. He has killed and tortured so many that our people are afraid to even utter his name, Voldemort. He underwent so many transformations and experimented with Dark Magic to the extent that he is barely human now. He gradually gained power until one day, he unsuccessfully tried to kill a baby, named Harry Potter." Eve started at the mention of this name, which seemed vaguely familiar… distant, foggy.
" Do you know him?" Dumbledore looked at her curiously.
"Uh, no. Its impossible that I could have. I just found out I was a witch today." She couldn't help but squirm a little, though, through Dumbledore's piercing stare, which made her feel as if she was being x-rayed. She changed the subject. "What was so special about this, this little boy, that a powerful evil wizard couldn't kill him?" At this question Dumbledore smiled comfortingly.
"His mother died saving him, and therefore left a strong, everlasting protection onto him. This is very strong, ancient magic. That night, Voldemort lost his powers, becoming a mere shadow of what he once was. Thirteen years passed, and he regained power about three years ago. Since then, he has gradually been gaining power and influence, and I am fearing that we are entering another dark era as before, with the rise of this evil, dark wizard. The one who is the Heir of Slytherin himself, who was destined to try and wipe out all non-magical people."
Even though all of this seemed incredible to hear, what Dumbledore said next made Eve weak with astonishment, and tears spill out of the corners of her emerald eyes.
"That evil, dark wizard, my dear, was your father…"
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Meanwhile, the Slytherin team was losing spectacularly at the hands of the superb Gryffindors. Only once were they hindered so far. A small lightning bolt had cut the sky off in the Forbidden forest, ripping the thundering clouds and bringing forth a torrent of rain. The spark of light and immense roar had startled Sarah Fawcett, making her drop the Quaffle, which was immediately picked up by a Slytherin Chaser and scored. The score was 150 to 50 now. The lightning bolt had startled Harry, too, the reason why he hadn't tried to block the Slytherin Chaser. He didn't know why. He had played in storms before, but this bolt was especially bright. He couldn't help seeing the concerned look on Professor McGonagall's face at the increasing storm. Then he heard Madame Hooch's whistle. The Slytherins had called a time out. No doubt to wait for this storm to ease up, thought Harry with disdain. He lowered his broom and landed on the ground, meeting his team in a huddle.
"Sarah, are you okay? You had quite a fright," he asked.
"Oh, I'm alright, thanks," she answered, although she still was a little pale. He started discussing strategy when he saw Hermione in the stands, yelling a question at him and pointing up. He looked to see that Professor McGonagall had gone. Then he saw her reappear through the crowd with Dumbledore.
"Oh, even Dumbledore is here to watch us, Harry, and in this blasted storm, too." Jeremy said. Harry felt something was wrong. Why was this time out taking so long? Then he saw Dean rushing up to him.
"Harry, Dumbledore is asking if you want to stop playing because of the weather. We could continue this game tomorrow. The Slytherins have agreed, the cowardly gits," he said with a slight smirk, "but we need both teams' approval. What do you say?" How strange. Dumbledore never called for a suspension of a match before. Harry looked at his team, and by their faces he could tell that they would go along with whatever he said. He knew they had top notch resistance and could handle this storm. They had the upper hand on the Slytherins now. He decided to take a leaf out of Oliver Wood's book and keep on playing, no matter what. Harry answered with a smile,
"You go tell them that we Gryffindors can play through anything, and we don't want to chicken out of any match."
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At Dumbledore's mention of her father, Eve felt that she had been hit by a truck. She tried to realize the full effect of what she had heard, barely noticing the flash of lightning and thunder outside.
" My, my, it's really pouring out there. I wonder how our Quidditch teams are holding up." The old man had said, his eyes sparkling. Eve was too occupied to even ask what Quidditch was. How could this be true? Her mother had showed her pictures of her father and told her that he had died before she was born. He was a handsome man with light brown hair and blue eyes. But there was a point, though. She had her mother's eyes, but always wondered where she had gotten her dark hair from. And she had seen a whisp of dark hair from that horrific caped figure. But then she remembered something else he had said.
"You said that this -evil- wizard had undergone so many transformations, that he was barely human. But I remember that the person who attacked us had dark hair."
"Really? That's quite fascinating…" Dumbledore answered thoughtfully. They were suddenly interrupted by a curt knocking on the door.
"You may enter," answered Dumbledore.
The door opened and Eve saw a tall, wet, yet stern-looking woman with glasses.
"Headmaster, I'm getting worried about the students out in this weather. Do you suppose we could suspend the match?"
Dumbledore looked at Eve. "You must excuse me, my dear. I have to got out and see how these conditions are and see how the rest of our students are faring. I doubt this storm will whet their spirits, though. They've been waiting for this match a long time." He smiled at her. "Oh! Excuse me. This is Professor McGonagall, our transfiguration teacher. Minerva, this is our new student, Eve. You've heard about her appearing in our school, I daresay?"
The woman looked a little apprehensive when she saw Eve, but she shook her hand and answered, "Yes, I have. Quite extraordinary circumstances. You must have gone through so much. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here." Eve managed to give a weak smile, although she resented this interruption of the most important conversation she had ever had. She didn't want Dumbledore to leave; she still had a million questions burning into her. To her dismay, he was rising up, and going toward the door. While he passed the scarlet bird that Eve had totally forgotten about, he petted it and said, "Look after her for a minute, Fawkes, she will be a very special student. I know it." He smiled one more time at her, and left Eve to her own thoughts.
The bird flew off its perch and landed on Dumbledore's desk. Eve ruffled the feathers on its neck adoringly. It closed its eyes, apparently enjoying it. Then it opened them and flew on to her lap, resting its graceful neck on her shoulder.
"Thanks, Fawks. I needed some comfort now." All of a sudden she had felt so exhausted. She tried to close her eyes and just occupy herself with stroking the beautiful bird. Its warm weight was so calming. She began to have that strange urge to talk to it some more. She opened her mouth but Dumbledore had opened the door once again, and the bird flew off her and back onto its perch. He was chuckling to himself in an amused way.
"That Harry Potter. He never gives up, that boy," he murmured to himself.
Eve tried to stop herself from trying to figure out where she had heard that name before. There were more pressing matters now.
"Tell me the very beginning of the story. Who was the man I had thought was my father all these years?"
Dumbledore immediately became serious.
"He's the man who your mother fell in love with and married. A very nice Ravenclaw boy, I might say. Looking at the puzzled look on Eve's face, he continued. "Well then you're wondering how an evil man ever became your father."
"Of course. My mother is definitely not evil. Did they meet before he turned to the Dark Side?" Eve thought saying 'the Dark Side' would be appropriate.
"Quite the contrary. He was quite into the height of his power."
"Then what happened? Did he fall in love with her?"
" During his year's of power, Voldemort's ultimate goal was to defeat the undefeatable – death. Well, the only way to gain eternal life is to give life. This is the most ancient form of magic in existence. Of course, he probably thought it would be best to have the most powerful heir as possible. Your mother, with her beauty, talent, position, and illustrious ancestry, seemed the perfect candidate. One day he killed the man she had married, and with a potion, assumed his form."
"You mean there's an actual potion that can do that?"
"Of course. Well, your mother thought he was the man she had married. You can imagine her shock when she found out the truth. Everyone thought the baby would be evil, had some vile purpose. That birthmark you had seemed to exacerbate the situation."
"How do you know about my birthmark?" cried Eve in astonishment.
"That mark is truly a sign that you are destined to do great things. Great things indeed…" Dumbledore had suddenly become very thoughtful. Eve politely waited a few minutes, but she couldn't take it anymore. She interrupted his musings.
"Then what happened?"
"Well, your mother was shunned from the witching community. One day, Voldemort came to take you. He wanted to raise you in his own way, teach you to become his heir. I had many trusty informers, and immediately found out of his plan. I warned your mother, told her to flee. She was afraid that Voldemort might find you, wherever you went. We staged both your deaths, saying she had gone insane from despair and killed you and herself. Your mother fled to a different part of the country. There, I put a form of ancient protection on you. Fortunately, Voldemort lost his powers soon after your mother fled. Two years ago, he regained his powers and body. He has finally been strong enough to find out where you were and to get through my magical protection. Quite an accomplishment, I might say."
Eve had been listening and was even more amazed by every word. All the while, her mouth had been slightly open in shock. Her face was wet with tears which were still streaming, and she could barely stifle a sob. Dumbledore put a fatherly hand on her shoulder and Fawks flew to her once again. These gestures of warmth comforted Eve somewhat. She managed to stop crying, at least. She was glad she had done so, because a knock came on the door.
"Come in," Dumbledore answered casually.
A sour-faced, hook-nosed someone with greasy hair entered. He looked extremely displeased with something, but managed to keep his anger enough to be polite to the headmaster. He said quickly without noticing Eve,
"Sir, I'm sorry, I have to ask you to terminate this game. These conditions are unbearable and quite dangerous to all those who are out there. I can't believe you are listening to a reckless 17 year old who arrogantly believes nothing can stop him. He is obviously overlooking - "
Dumbledore held up one hand and interrupted him. "Severus, we have played Quidditch games in conditions like these before. When I went outside, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, despite a bit of rain. The rule book says that both teams must consent. Besides," Dumbledore added with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes, " you're taking too sorely the fact that your team seems to be losing at this moment." He smiled a mischievous smile. Snape's sallow face went purple with rage for a second, but he maintained his composure.
" You're taking this all wrong, professor. I merely have the best interests of the student body at heart. But if you refuse to believe me…"
At this point Eve was getting tired of being ignored and cleared her throat loudly.
"Forgive me once again, my dear. Professor Snape, this is our new student, Eve Riddle. Eve, this is Professor Snape, your new Potions master." Snape nodded to her, but Eve couldn't help but feel a coldness about him toward her. Because he had been in such a bad mood, Eve was a little reluctant to shake his hand. Nevertheless something about this man fascinated her. Snape looked into her eyes with a piercing look when he shook her hand. Everybody wanted to mentally analyze her, it seemed. Then a strange look appeared on Snape's face. There was a hint of a curious smile.
" Has she been Sorted yet, Headmaster?"
"No, not yet. Bring out the hat, Severus. Now is just as good a time as any."
Eve wondered what being Sorted meant. Snape opened a cabinet door and pulled out a raggedy, old wizard's hat. He placed it on Dumbledore's desk.
"Put the hat on, Eve, and listen to what it tells you."
Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Eve put the hand on her head. It was so big it covered her head completely. It took so long that the abrupt voice that came into her ears startled here.
'Excellent. You have astonishing potential. The world is in your hands, my dear. You have the power to do anything you wish. You have the blood of all the great wizards flowing in you. Yes, you have brains, ambition, and talent; more talent than I've ever seen before. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. And you're, my goodness, I don't believe it-'
"I'm what??" Eve yelled at the hat, but it of course changed tack.
'Well, which house to put you in? I believe that we need a separate house just for you. But no, that won't do. Intelligence, hmmm… Ravenclaw might suit you. You're dignity and honor would make a good Hufflepuff… Bravery, amazing how much of it I see here. Perhaps Gryffindor? Oh, but you're ambition, the thirst to fulfill your great potential…that's Slytherin alright. The first time I don't know what to do. Gryffindor? Slytherin? And with you being what you are…'
Eve was pushing hard with her mind to hurry up the hat. She was urging it as much as she could.
'I can't decide, I can't. Stop urging me, my , you're difficult to please.' The voice in the hat was growing tenser, and the hat itself was tightening on her head, yet Eve could feel the top filling with some sort of air. 'I can't choose. Alright, best to go with your nearest lineage. SLY-'
But the hat had so much pressure building inside of it that the entire room roared with a loud exploding noise. The hat and blown into thousands of pieces. Sparkling, magical particles were falling to the ground. At the same instant of the hat's explosion, a gust of wind had opened a window and an enormous, intensely bright bolt of lightning had connected with the hat and extended outside. The roar of thunder deafened everyone's ears, and it was accompanied by screams from outside in the field. The rain was pouring inside, furiously hitting their faces. Dumbledore raised his wand and the window closed.
He looked from one astonished face to another.
"Oh my God, I'm so, so sorry…" was all Eve could mutter.
"Severus, I'm sorry to say that you were right about the danger in this storm. Let's see what happened." Eve had risen from her chair. The rain seemed to have especially fallen on her, for she was dripping wet and shaking.
"No, Eve, you stay here. Bye the way, Severus, looks like you've got yourself a new student in your house. The hat was unmistakably about to call Slytherin's name." Snape gave an approving nod. Dumbledore also smiled for an instant and swept out of the room with Snape at his heels.
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Before Eve had tried on the Sorting Hat, there was a furious battle going on outside in the field. The Slytherins had abandoned all pretense of playing fairly, viciously tearing across the field and hurting as many Gryffindors as possible. In fifteen minutes Madame Pomfrey had blown her whistle more times than the whole match put together. However, the fouls were little help: the rain was so intense and the visibility so poor that the chasers were unable to make many goals. The Slytherins eagerly took advantage and were gaining points quickly. Harry was flying frantically from one side of the field to another, trying to block whatever flashes of green he saw from the goals, and from the chasers, who all had numerous bruises by now. Then he saw Malfoy diving through the air. Not wanting to take any chances, Harry immediately followed him, but Malfoy had been feinting. He rose back up when he was an inch away from the ground. Harry, who had been able to pull back from dives for years, didn't crash, but his distraction left a Slytherin chaser free to ram into a Gryffindor chaser, steal the Quaffle, and make a goal. He saw the malevolent smile on Malfoy's face.
Harry's nose and cheeks were freezing from the bitterly cold wind and rain; he thought that he'd never had been this wet in all his life. The roars of the clouds were so deafening that his ears had gone numb with the noise. On top of it all, the flashes of lightning were becoming more numerous; he could tell whenever one occurred from the gasps of the crowd. I don't care, we're going to win this one, Harry drilled into his brain. Suddenly, he saw it. The Snitch was glinting right in the middle of the field, but the strange thing was that it was floating in the same place, not whizzing back and forth. The waterfall of rain was apparently the only reason why nobody else could see it. Harry wondered if this was another one of Malfoy's traps. But no, he saw Malfoy suddenly flying toward him with all the speed he could gain; he had seen the Snitch too, but Harry was much closer. He flew to the Snitch, stretched out his hand-
A blinding flash of whiteness and heat and screams from the stands was all Harry knew before he was thrown into inky darkness.
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A/N: oooh! Cliffhanger! Hehe. Is this enough action or what? But don't worry, ill be uploading the next chapter VERY soon, there's much more to come! In the meantime, please be sweethearts and review!! I'll appreciate it more than u can know! Thanx 4 reading!
As Eve opened her eyes, blurry images of white linen sheets slowly came into focus. She guessed she was in some sort of hospital room or something. I'm surprised I'm not dead, she thought. Where the hell am I? A kind-looking woman who she figured was a nurse came to her bed. She had a strange look of relief and hesitant apprehension.
" Oh, you're finally up, dear. You have been unconscious for a couple of days. I daresay the headmaster will be glad you've finally come to." She said while she straightened out some sheets in the bed next to her.
" Headmaster? Where am I?" she was still a little groggy and her hoarse voice showed it. Then with a sharp sting in her heart she suddenly remembered, sat up, and cried out," My mom! Where is she? What happened? Somebody killed her and attacked me! Please, I need help." She couldn't bring herself to say anymore and she felt tears falling down her hot cheeks. Madame Pomfrey sat down next to her and gently held her as a tender grandmother would. "You are at Hogwarts school, dear. Your mother, I'm afraid, is gone. You poor thing, I'll go fetch Dumbledore, and we'll see if we can straighten this whole thing out."
Wondering if this Dumbledore was a headmaster of this school with a funny name, Eve said, "I'll come with you."
" Oh, heavens, no. You need your rest."
"I said, I'm coming." Her momentary despair turned into agitation. She sprang up from bed as if she merely had overslept and was feeling wide awake now. The cool breeze on her bare calves reminded her that she was wearing a nightgown.
" Where are my clothes?" she asked, a tone of impatience creeping into her voice.
"All right, I'll go get your clothes, and I'll see if I can find a clean uniform." Either Madame Pomfrey saw that there was no use arguing with her, or was that even a slight fear creeping into her eyes? Whatever the reason, Eve was glad she had consented to letting her go, though she sensed she was a usually strict woman. She came back with her newly laundered jeans and sweater, and laid a new, black robe on her bed.
Expecting a polo shirt and a plaid skirt as a uniform, Eve eyed the robe curiously. "Is this what the students wear?"
" Of course, it's the traditional style witches and wizards of our school have been wearing for centuries."
" Witches and wizards?" Her green eyes widened in bewilderment.
" Oh my, you don't even know. I'll take you to the headmaster at once." Madame Pomfrey hurriedly helped Eve get dressed. She was glad the nurse was in too much of a rush to notice the small tattoo on her forearm or the birthmark on her back. She didn't feel like answering questions at that moment, especially if she herself didn't quite know the answer to them. Now fully dressed, with her robe brushing against her ankles, she was being whisked by the nurse out of the room and up a flight of stairs.
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None of the students at Hogwarts would see Eve and Madame Pomfrey when they passed through the corridors heading for Dumbledore's room. The entire school was too busy watching the first Quidditch match of the school year.
Harry was the first of his team who stepped out into the green field. He was met with loud cheers from the crowd, and he winked at Ron and Hermione, who were sitting in the front row of the stands. The cool breeze billowing through his hair and scarlet robes gave him a rush of excitement. Last year he had been made captain of the Gryffindor team, and that year they had won the Quidditch Cup. Needless to say, the Slytherins were even more incensed towards the famous Harry Potter. Draco Malfoy was wearing his usual sneer as the Slytherin team, decked in green and silver, lined up across of his team. Even though he was quite a tall 17 year-old, Harry had almost reached him in height and looked him straight in his eyes.
" You won't get by so easily this year, Potter. I've been waiting all summer to pummel you to the ground," he hissed.
" I'm glad. Perhaps you'll provide somewhat of a challenge this year," Harry answered through the corner of his mouth.
" You'll be eating those last words, I'll make sure of that.," Malfoy glared threateningly at him as they mounted their brooms and waited for Madame Hooch's whistle.
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The room that Eve had been brought into looked strangely familiar, and the soothing sound of the crackling fire calmed her nerves a bit. Then she noticed something very strange. The old witches and wizards in the paintings were moving, and they all seemed to have a keen interest in her, moving about tensely and whispering furtively to one another. Eve quickly shifted her eyes away from them when she heard a sudden squawk. Sparkling with gold and scarlet plumage, a bird the likes of one she had never seen before was standing on a perch, gazing at her. It was just as fascinated by her as she was of him. Inexplicably, Eve felt a strange desire to say something to it, but before she could, the door opened, and in came a venerable looking old man, with twinkling blue eyes, and a river of a white beard. Eve couldn't help but smile when she saw him.
" Good evening, dear. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of this school, Hogwarts, that you have so amazingly transported to."
" Um, hello, sir," was all Eve could reply, but gathering courage, she said with much more momentum, "Sir, I don't know how I got here, but something awful has happened to me, and I'm all alone and I don't know-''
" It's alright, I know what happened. In fact, I know more about it than you even know at this moment."
"Oh, then please tell me who was that, that – monster – that attacked us and…and… killed…" Her voice broke off at that moment, as she couldn't bring herself to say anymore.
" Once again, the truth is sometimes more startling than any fictitious story we can imagine…" began Dumbledore in a solemn voice.
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With Madam Hooch's whistle, Harry kicked off into the air into a totally different, invigorating world, one where he was free to soar as high and travel as fast as he wanted. The sound of the cheering crowd seemed very far away, as it was blurred so much by his speed. Dean Thomas's voice boomed into the air, and it seemed that he was keeping up Lee Jordan's tradition.
"Gryffindor in possession, as the new Chaser, Michelle Lovegood catches the Quaffle. This spunky fifth year has a lot of potential, she's filling in Katie Bell's spot quite nicely. Yet another wonderful decision by the superb Captain, Mr. Potter…"
"Dean, what did you promise?" came Professor McGonagall's strict voice.
"What? I'm just stating the facts!" exclaimed Dean, but his tone quickly changed after one of her stern glares. "Sorry, Professor," he murmured.
Harry saw that the Slytherin team wasted no time in acting ruthlessly, as one of their burly beaters, Malcom Braddock, struck a Bludger toward Michelle. But their team was too good for them. A Gryffindor beater, Jeremy O'Malley, struck the heavy black ball back to the team. Fred and George had taught him well.
" Sally-Ann Perks scores! Ten points for Gryffindor! Although she started a bit late, she's yet another great addition to the Gryffindor team." Dean avoided Professor McGonagall's look when he said this.
Furious, the Slytherin team played even more recklessly. With the Snitch out of sight, Malfoy busied himself with dives that very conveniently knocked the Gryffindor chasers off their courses.
"After that disgusting display of cheating, which obviously deserved a foul,"
"Thomas!"
"Alright, alright. Lovegood goes for the penalty goal and makes it with ease." Dean continued. Amidst the excitement of the match, not many people noticed the dark gray clouds gathering across the skies, and a light drizzle began. Harry didn't mind it much. He was used to being frequently soaked in practices and matches. The cheers grew even louder as Sarah Fawcett, yet another Gryffindor chaser, made a goal. Their team was in the lead, thirty to zero.
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Eve was listening rapturously to Professor Dumbledore, hanging unto every word he said. " What almost everyone in the wizarding world knows, except you, my dear, is that your mother was a witch. Not an ordinary one, by far. She was one of the best Aurors I had ever seen."
" What's an Auror?" Eve quickly interrupted.
" Those very brave people who tracked and captured evil dark wizards and witches, often endangering their lives to keep us safe," he replied. Eve's eyes brightened in amazement as he continued.
" But what was even more wonderful about her, was that she was the last remaining descendant of the very ancient line of Merlin himself."
" Merlin? Like in King Arthur's time? You mean to say that all those stories were true?"
"Yes, very true. I'll bet my beard on that," Dumbledore chuckled. "This line has been extending for nearly a thousand years. It is one of the oldest and most admired of wizarding families."
Eve was trying to find her voice as Dumbledore was talking, and she finally managed to ask," You mentioned dark wizards. Was the man who attacked us one of them?"
"Not only one of them, but the leader, the most powerful and feared one of all. He has killed and tortured so many that our people are afraid to even utter his name, Voldemort. He underwent so many transformations and experimented with Dark Magic to the extent that he is barely human now. He gradually gained power until one day, he unsuccessfully tried to kill a baby, named Harry Potter." Eve started at the mention of this name, which seemed vaguely familiar… distant, foggy.
" Do you know him?" Dumbledore looked at her curiously.
"Uh, no. Its impossible that I could have. I just found out I was a witch today." She couldn't help but squirm a little, though, through Dumbledore's piercing stare, which made her feel as if she was being x-rayed. She changed the subject. "What was so special about this, this little boy, that a powerful evil wizard couldn't kill him?" At this question Dumbledore smiled comfortingly.
"His mother died saving him, and therefore left a strong, everlasting protection onto him. This is very strong, ancient magic. That night, Voldemort lost his powers, becoming a mere shadow of what he once was. Thirteen years passed, and he regained power about three years ago. Since then, he has gradually been gaining power and influence, and I am fearing that we are entering another dark era as before, with the rise of this evil, dark wizard. The one who is the Heir of Slytherin himself, who was destined to try and wipe out all non-magical people."
Even though all of this seemed incredible to hear, what Dumbledore said next made Eve weak with astonishment, and tears spill out of the corners of her emerald eyes.
"That evil, dark wizard, my dear, was your father…"
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Meanwhile, the Slytherin team was losing spectacularly at the hands of the superb Gryffindors. Only once were they hindered so far. A small lightning bolt had cut the sky off in the Forbidden forest, ripping the thundering clouds and bringing forth a torrent of rain. The spark of light and immense roar had startled Sarah Fawcett, making her drop the Quaffle, which was immediately picked up by a Slytherin Chaser and scored. The score was 150 to 50 now. The lightning bolt had startled Harry, too, the reason why he hadn't tried to block the Slytherin Chaser. He didn't know why. He had played in storms before, but this bolt was especially bright. He couldn't help seeing the concerned look on Professor McGonagall's face at the increasing storm. Then he heard Madame Hooch's whistle. The Slytherins had called a time out. No doubt to wait for this storm to ease up, thought Harry with disdain. He lowered his broom and landed on the ground, meeting his team in a huddle.
"Sarah, are you okay? You had quite a fright," he asked.
"Oh, I'm alright, thanks," she answered, although she still was a little pale. He started discussing strategy when he saw Hermione in the stands, yelling a question at him and pointing up. He looked to see that Professor McGonagall had gone. Then he saw her reappear through the crowd with Dumbledore.
"Oh, even Dumbledore is here to watch us, Harry, and in this blasted storm, too." Jeremy said. Harry felt something was wrong. Why was this time out taking so long? Then he saw Dean rushing up to him.
"Harry, Dumbledore is asking if you want to stop playing because of the weather. We could continue this game tomorrow. The Slytherins have agreed, the cowardly gits," he said with a slight smirk, "but we need both teams' approval. What do you say?" How strange. Dumbledore never called for a suspension of a match before. Harry looked at his team, and by their faces he could tell that they would go along with whatever he said. He knew they had top notch resistance and could handle this storm. They had the upper hand on the Slytherins now. He decided to take a leaf out of Oliver Wood's book and keep on playing, no matter what. Harry answered with a smile,
"You go tell them that we Gryffindors can play through anything, and we don't want to chicken out of any match."
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At Dumbledore's mention of her father, Eve felt that she had been hit by a truck. She tried to realize the full effect of what she had heard, barely noticing the flash of lightning and thunder outside.
" My, my, it's really pouring out there. I wonder how our Quidditch teams are holding up." The old man had said, his eyes sparkling. Eve was too occupied to even ask what Quidditch was. How could this be true? Her mother had showed her pictures of her father and told her that he had died before she was born. He was a handsome man with light brown hair and blue eyes. But there was a point, though. She had her mother's eyes, but always wondered where she had gotten her dark hair from. And she had seen a whisp of dark hair from that horrific caped figure. But then she remembered something else he had said.
"You said that this -evil- wizard had undergone so many transformations, that he was barely human. But I remember that the person who attacked us had dark hair."
"Really? That's quite fascinating…" Dumbledore answered thoughtfully. They were suddenly interrupted by a curt knocking on the door.
"You may enter," answered Dumbledore.
The door opened and Eve saw a tall, wet, yet stern-looking woman with glasses.
"Headmaster, I'm getting worried about the students out in this weather. Do you suppose we could suspend the match?"
Dumbledore looked at Eve. "You must excuse me, my dear. I have to got out and see how these conditions are and see how the rest of our students are faring. I doubt this storm will whet their spirits, though. They've been waiting for this match a long time." He smiled at her. "Oh! Excuse me. This is Professor McGonagall, our transfiguration teacher. Minerva, this is our new student, Eve. You've heard about her appearing in our school, I daresay?"
The woman looked a little apprehensive when she saw Eve, but she shook her hand and answered, "Yes, I have. Quite extraordinary circumstances. You must have gone through so much. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here." Eve managed to give a weak smile, although she resented this interruption of the most important conversation she had ever had. She didn't want Dumbledore to leave; she still had a million questions burning into her. To her dismay, he was rising up, and going toward the door. While he passed the scarlet bird that Eve had totally forgotten about, he petted it and said, "Look after her for a minute, Fawkes, she will be a very special student. I know it." He smiled one more time at her, and left Eve to her own thoughts.
The bird flew off its perch and landed on Dumbledore's desk. Eve ruffled the feathers on its neck adoringly. It closed its eyes, apparently enjoying it. Then it opened them and flew on to her lap, resting its graceful neck on her shoulder.
"Thanks, Fawks. I needed some comfort now." All of a sudden she had felt so exhausted. She tried to close her eyes and just occupy herself with stroking the beautiful bird. Its warm weight was so calming. She began to have that strange urge to talk to it some more. She opened her mouth but Dumbledore had opened the door once again, and the bird flew off her and back onto its perch. He was chuckling to himself in an amused way.
"That Harry Potter. He never gives up, that boy," he murmured to himself.
Eve tried to stop herself from trying to figure out where she had heard that name before. There were more pressing matters now.
"Tell me the very beginning of the story. Who was the man I had thought was my father all these years?"
Dumbledore immediately became serious.
"He's the man who your mother fell in love with and married. A very nice Ravenclaw boy, I might say. Looking at the puzzled look on Eve's face, he continued. "Well then you're wondering how an evil man ever became your father."
"Of course. My mother is definitely not evil. Did they meet before he turned to the Dark Side?" Eve thought saying 'the Dark Side' would be appropriate.
"Quite the contrary. He was quite into the height of his power."
"Then what happened? Did he fall in love with her?"
" During his year's of power, Voldemort's ultimate goal was to defeat the undefeatable – death. Well, the only way to gain eternal life is to give life. This is the most ancient form of magic in existence. Of course, he probably thought it would be best to have the most powerful heir as possible. Your mother, with her beauty, talent, position, and illustrious ancestry, seemed the perfect candidate. One day he killed the man she had married, and with a potion, assumed his form."
"You mean there's an actual potion that can do that?"
"Of course. Well, your mother thought he was the man she had married. You can imagine her shock when she found out the truth. Everyone thought the baby would be evil, had some vile purpose. That birthmark you had seemed to exacerbate the situation."
"How do you know about my birthmark?" cried Eve in astonishment.
"That mark is truly a sign that you are destined to do great things. Great things indeed…" Dumbledore had suddenly become very thoughtful. Eve politely waited a few minutes, but she couldn't take it anymore. She interrupted his musings.
"Then what happened?"
"Well, your mother was shunned from the witching community. One day, Voldemort came to take you. He wanted to raise you in his own way, teach you to become his heir. I had many trusty informers, and immediately found out of his plan. I warned your mother, told her to flee. She was afraid that Voldemort might find you, wherever you went. We staged both your deaths, saying she had gone insane from despair and killed you and herself. Your mother fled to a different part of the country. There, I put a form of ancient protection on you. Fortunately, Voldemort lost his powers soon after your mother fled. Two years ago, he regained his powers and body. He has finally been strong enough to find out where you were and to get through my magical protection. Quite an accomplishment, I might say."
Eve had been listening and was even more amazed by every word. All the while, her mouth had been slightly open in shock. Her face was wet with tears which were still streaming, and she could barely stifle a sob. Dumbledore put a fatherly hand on her shoulder and Fawks flew to her once again. These gestures of warmth comforted Eve somewhat. She managed to stop crying, at least. She was glad she had done so, because a knock came on the door.
"Come in," Dumbledore answered casually.
A sour-faced, hook-nosed someone with greasy hair entered. He looked extremely displeased with something, but managed to keep his anger enough to be polite to the headmaster. He said quickly without noticing Eve,
"Sir, I'm sorry, I have to ask you to terminate this game. These conditions are unbearable and quite dangerous to all those who are out there. I can't believe you are listening to a reckless 17 year old who arrogantly believes nothing can stop him. He is obviously overlooking - "
Dumbledore held up one hand and interrupted him. "Severus, we have played Quidditch games in conditions like these before. When I went outside, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, despite a bit of rain. The rule book says that both teams must consent. Besides," Dumbledore added with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes, " you're taking too sorely the fact that your team seems to be losing at this moment." He smiled a mischievous smile. Snape's sallow face went purple with rage for a second, but he maintained his composure.
" You're taking this all wrong, professor. I merely have the best interests of the student body at heart. But if you refuse to believe me…"
At this point Eve was getting tired of being ignored and cleared her throat loudly.
"Forgive me once again, my dear. Professor Snape, this is our new student, Eve Riddle. Eve, this is Professor Snape, your new Potions master." Snape nodded to her, but Eve couldn't help but feel a coldness about him toward her. Because he had been in such a bad mood, Eve was a little reluctant to shake his hand. Nevertheless something about this man fascinated her. Snape looked into her eyes with a piercing look when he shook her hand. Everybody wanted to mentally analyze her, it seemed. Then a strange look appeared on Snape's face. There was a hint of a curious smile.
" Has she been Sorted yet, Headmaster?"
"No, not yet. Bring out the hat, Severus. Now is just as good a time as any."
Eve wondered what being Sorted meant. Snape opened a cabinet door and pulled out a raggedy, old wizard's hat. He placed it on Dumbledore's desk.
"Put the hat on, Eve, and listen to what it tells you."
Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Eve put the hand on her head. It was so big it covered her head completely. It took so long that the abrupt voice that came into her ears startled here.
'Excellent. You have astonishing potential. The world is in your hands, my dear. You have the power to do anything you wish. You have the blood of all the great wizards flowing in you. Yes, you have brains, ambition, and talent; more talent than I've ever seen before. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. And you're, my goodness, I don't believe it-'
"I'm what??" Eve yelled at the hat, but it of course changed tack.
'Well, which house to put you in? I believe that we need a separate house just for you. But no, that won't do. Intelligence, hmmm… Ravenclaw might suit you. You're dignity and honor would make a good Hufflepuff… Bravery, amazing how much of it I see here. Perhaps Gryffindor? Oh, but you're ambition, the thirst to fulfill your great potential…that's Slytherin alright. The first time I don't know what to do. Gryffindor? Slytherin? And with you being what you are…'
Eve was pushing hard with her mind to hurry up the hat. She was urging it as much as she could.
'I can't decide, I can't. Stop urging me, my , you're difficult to please.' The voice in the hat was growing tenser, and the hat itself was tightening on her head, yet Eve could feel the top filling with some sort of air. 'I can't choose. Alright, best to go with your nearest lineage. SLY-'
But the hat had so much pressure building inside of it that the entire room roared with a loud exploding noise. The hat and blown into thousands of pieces. Sparkling, magical particles were falling to the ground. At the same instant of the hat's explosion, a gust of wind had opened a window and an enormous, intensely bright bolt of lightning had connected with the hat and extended outside. The roar of thunder deafened everyone's ears, and it was accompanied by screams from outside in the field. The rain was pouring inside, furiously hitting their faces. Dumbledore raised his wand and the window closed.
He looked from one astonished face to another.
"Oh my God, I'm so, so sorry…" was all Eve could mutter.
"Severus, I'm sorry to say that you were right about the danger in this storm. Let's see what happened." Eve had risen from her chair. The rain seemed to have especially fallen on her, for she was dripping wet and shaking.
"No, Eve, you stay here. Bye the way, Severus, looks like you've got yourself a new student in your house. The hat was unmistakably about to call Slytherin's name." Snape gave an approving nod. Dumbledore also smiled for an instant and swept out of the room with Snape at his heels.
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Before Eve had tried on the Sorting Hat, there was a furious battle going on outside in the field. The Slytherins had abandoned all pretense of playing fairly, viciously tearing across the field and hurting as many Gryffindors as possible. In fifteen minutes Madame Pomfrey had blown her whistle more times than the whole match put together. However, the fouls were little help: the rain was so intense and the visibility so poor that the chasers were unable to make many goals. The Slytherins eagerly took advantage and were gaining points quickly. Harry was flying frantically from one side of the field to another, trying to block whatever flashes of green he saw from the goals, and from the chasers, who all had numerous bruises by now. Then he saw Malfoy diving through the air. Not wanting to take any chances, Harry immediately followed him, but Malfoy had been feinting. He rose back up when he was an inch away from the ground. Harry, who had been able to pull back from dives for years, didn't crash, but his distraction left a Slytherin chaser free to ram into a Gryffindor chaser, steal the Quaffle, and make a goal. He saw the malevolent smile on Malfoy's face.
Harry's nose and cheeks were freezing from the bitterly cold wind and rain; he thought that he'd never had been this wet in all his life. The roars of the clouds were so deafening that his ears had gone numb with the noise. On top of it all, the flashes of lightning were becoming more numerous; he could tell whenever one occurred from the gasps of the crowd. I don't care, we're going to win this one, Harry drilled into his brain. Suddenly, he saw it. The Snitch was glinting right in the middle of the field, but the strange thing was that it was floating in the same place, not whizzing back and forth. The waterfall of rain was apparently the only reason why nobody else could see it. Harry wondered if this was another one of Malfoy's traps. But no, he saw Malfoy suddenly flying toward him with all the speed he could gain; he had seen the Snitch too, but Harry was much closer. He flew to the Snitch, stretched out his hand-
A blinding flash of whiteness and heat and screams from the stands was all Harry knew before he was thrown into inky darkness.
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A/N: oooh! Cliffhanger! Hehe. Is this enough action or what? But don't worry, ill be uploading the next chapter VERY soon, there's much more to come! In the meantime, please be sweethearts and review!! I'll appreciate it more than u can know! Thanx 4 reading!