Chapter Three
Noelle Granger was not enjoying her first week of school but she tolerated it because she was looking forward to a certain date.
James couldn't believe that she had actually plucked up enough courage to actually end up asking a boy out. "I wish that would happen to me…" James said wistfully.
"What, Elle asking you out?" Ian said as the three of them finished their homework in the Common Room.
"No, just any girl asking me out," James replied. "Half the girls in this damn school are scared of me."
"Because you awe just the cutest wittle boy!" she said in baby talk, putting the final touches on her Transfiguration paper. She threw her pen down and ripped the sheet of paper from her yellow notebook, laughing at them as they watched in astonishment.
"That's the third essay you've finished this hour!" Ian said. "Are you sure you're not cheating?"
"Darling, you've been here watching me the whole time," she said. "I'm not cheating." She tucked the paper in her folder and opened her assignment book to cross off that bit of homework.
"Do our homework!" Ian complained. "We've got so bloody much and I'm tired of writing."
"That is because you insist upon using those extremely impractical quills and ink bottles," she said, closing all her books with a wave of her wand. "I would recommend pens. They are so much easier."
"Muggle tools," Ian scowled.
"Ian," Noelle said, standing up and watching her books pile themselves neatly in a stack, "Muggle's aren't savages and it won't make you a Muggle to use their tools. You use electricity here and that's a Muggle invention. You also wear Muggle clothes and use toothbrushes and toothpaste." She leaned close to him. "Using a pen won't kill you." Then she stood up and jabbed her wand at her books. She reached down and opened the flap of her bag. "Now, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen," she said as the books arranged themselves neatly into her bag, "I have a late Potions lesson to get to."
"Have fun with Snakey Pie," James said, teasing her.
"Ohh, yeah, tons," she said.
"Maybe you'll run into Clion on the way and he'll simply perk up your day," Ian said.
"Ian, you've already perked up my day with your infectious happiness," she joked.
"You're funny!" Ian said as she waved at them, yanking open the portrait hole. "I don't even know why you like that weirdo! He never smiles or talks! Are you sure you spoke with him?" But she long gone.
"If she had heard you, she would have thrown you out the North Tower window," James said.
"I know," Ian said. "That's why I waited until she left to really say anything."
"She's really into Snape," James said. "Which is strange. She not interested in anyone."
"Except Snape." Ian sighed and threw down his quill. "Maybe she's right."
"About what?"
"The pens."
Noelle reached the dungeon a little early to catch Clion before he headed up to his dormitory. Sure enough, he was sitting at a table and writing something on a sheet of parchment.
"Hello," she said, sitting across from him. He looked up and nodded. She had gotten used to his lack of facial expression but that made her like him even more. She had to prod him to talk to her but she liked that as well. She hated it when guys ranted on and on. "What're you working on?"
"A Transfiguration paper," he said. "The two-rolls one."
"Ah," she said, nodding. "I just finished mine."
"Supergirl, it's nice to know someone with a brain can finish their homework on time," Clion said. "I can't seem to finish mine."
"So what's the problem?" she said. "Running dry of ideas?"
"A little," he admitted.
"It's a practical paper," she said. "Just think about it."
"I can't seem to concentrate."
"So don't," she said. "Take a break. Drink something. A wonderful Replenishing Potion, for example, which is exactly what we're starting tonight."
"Interesting," Clion said. "So what's it do?"
"It replenishes your energy and your brain cells that you lose during the day," she said. "It's basically coffee but much much stronger. You can stay awake for days if you drink more than recommended."
"Very cool," he replied.
"But I take it you already knew that," Noelle said, smiling.
He shrugged, nodding. "I finished it last year."
"I don't understand why Snape picked me and Malfoy," she said. "Why not you?"
"Blatant favoritism," Clion said.
"Ah. Now I see." She was quiet. "So tell me," she finally said, "is this
Replenishing Potion difficult?"
"For you," he said. "Nah. For regulars…maybe."
"Thanks," she said just as Professor Snape and Tristan Malfoy walked in.
Clion stood up. "Are you done with your homework?" Snape asked his son. Clion shrugged.
"Almost," he replied. "I can finish the rest later."
"Very well," Snape said. "Do you want to stay?"
Clion left, muttering goodbye to his father as he went. Snape nodded as Malfoy grinned at Noelle. Noelle gave him a look of disgust and began taking Moste Potente Potions out of her bag. "You may begin," Snape said. "If you run into any problems, I'll be at my desk."
Noelle yanked her wand out of her bag and waved it in a graceful arc towards the book. It fell open on the page that they wanted. Quickly, Noelle and Tristan assembled the ingredients and took a quick look at the directions before starting.
"Three cups Mandrake Juice," she read aloud as Tristan threw the purplish liquid in the cauldron. "Let that simmer for three minutes."
"Good job, Granger," Malfoy said to her.
"For what?" she asked suspiciously.
"Everyone in the school thought you were same-sex orientated," Malfoy said. "I must say how proud the whole school is to see that you're finally taking an interest in the opposite sex."
"I don't care what the whole school thinks," she said, dropping lacewing flies into a bowl.
"Yes, you do," he hissed.
She looked up at him as he was standing about three feet away from her. "No, I don't," she said. The intensity in her eyes frightened him and he looked away uneasily.
After the Mandrake Juice had simmered for a while, they threw in another cup of diluted bobutuber pus and sprinkled in a teaspoon of powdered horn of bicorn. "Wait for thirty second before throwing in two lacewings," Malfoy read aloud from the book. "Two lacewings every thirty second after that."
"Constant stirring," she reminded him. He nodded. As he took the ladle, she dropped in lacewing flies in response to the directions, both of them working quietly.
"Then…shit," she muttered, jabbing her wand at the book again. A slight breeze had lost her page. The book flipped immediately back to the Replenishing Potion page. "Ummm…some lion's brine?" She didn't know what that was but Malfoy apparently did.
"Stand back," he warned, yanking the cork out of a bottle filled with a disgusting colored liquid. Noelle took three large steps back as Malfoy poured a quick shot of it in the cauldron and stepped back quickly. The cauldron nearly exploded. A mushroom cloud of smoke erupted from the surface of the potion, a bright coral color. It raged for another few seconds before falling back into the cauldron. Tristan looked across the cauldron at Noelle. She was laughing, pushing a disobedient lock of hair away from her face and staring at the cauldron.
"Was it supposed to do that?" she asked as they both stepped cautiously back to the cauldron.
"Yep," Malfoy said, looking at the book. "A cloud of coral steam should erupt."
"Now what?"
"Let it simmer for twenty minutes, then add in a dash of dragon's blood," Malfoy said.
"Alright." She gently eased herself on a table and watched as the tiny little bubbles surfaced themselves in the dangerously colored potion. The room was silent except for the shuffling of Professor Snape's papers and the sound of the bubbling potion.
"Granger?"
She was feeling suddenly sleepy and tired in the stuffy dungeon. The warmth closed around her like a womb and she wanted to curl up on the table and sleep for ages. "Hmmm?" she hummed, not really paying attention.
"How did Clion strike your fancy?" Malfoy asked.
"What?" she looked at Tristan. "What kind of a question is that?"
"A fair one, I would think," he replied.
"It's stupid," she said. "I don't know how."
"Why, then?"
"Why do care?"
"Just wondering."
"Please, like I'd ever tell you," she replied. Then she shrugged. "I dunno. I'd never talked to him before. I just…asked him out."
"For fun?"
"A little," she admitted, not believing that she was having this conversation with Malfoy. "But mostly because he was so quiet."
"You didn't think he was gay?"
"I didn't care," she said. "It's not like I invited him to jump in bed with me." Malfoy chuckled and in that chuckle, Noelle got the sinister feeling that he knew something she didn't. She disliked the chuckled almost as much as she disliked him.
For the rest of the twenty minutes they were silent until Malfoy got up and threw in the dragon's blood and turned off the heat. The potion thickened immediately and Noelle nearly laughed. She had actually had a civil conversation with Tristan Malfoy. She knew James and Ian would scold her and so she didn't tell them as she headed back to bed and found them still in the Common Room, finishing off the last bit of their homework. They both looked tired and worn out.
"Here," she said, setting a bottle of Replenishing Potion on the table. "Drink this. It'll make you feel better."
Then she went to bed.
The days were passing steadily now. Noelle attended Quidditch practices religiously. The weather got steadily worse, but James had yet to cancel a practice. Noelle would often come in soaking wet and covered in mud. Silver and the other girls would click their tongues as she entered. Slowly, though, Noelle began noticing a change in her body. During the summer, her muscles had become soft and fatty but now they were tight and toned from the hours of exercises James made them do. She belted her pants, afraid they would fall off her body if she didn't wear a belt. Also she had missed a period because her body fat count was off. She told Megan who said she should be worried. "Meg," Noelle said, "a person who isn't having sex can't get pregnant." Megan nodded but still looked worried.
One evening, after a Quidditch practice, she found Clion leaning against a wall in the Entrance Hall and grinning.
"What are you smirking at?" she asked him, leaning against the wall next to him.
"Found out next Hogsmeade weekend," he said.
"Really?" she said, excited. "When?"
"This weekend."
"Yes!" She rested her broom against the wall and managed a smile. "So, where do you want to meet?"
"How about right here? At ten?" he suggested.
"Here?" she said. "Against the wall?"
"How about by the wall?" he said.
"By the wall, okay," she said. "I'll be here."
"Elle," James was saying from the staircase, "c'mon."
"Bye, Clion," She said, hurrying up the stairs.
"Goodbye, Noelle," he said quietly to himself. She waved at him from the top of the stairs and headed up with James and Ian. When they reached the Common Room, Noelle was sagging.
"I'm taking a long hot shower and going to bed," she said. "Do not disturb me." She went up and, ignoring the clucking noises coming from her roommates, she took a long hot shower; lathering soap up her legs and letting the razor skim off the suds. She scrubbed her skin clean and washed her hair leisurely. She dressed in sweats and a tank top with a black zip-up sweater over it. As she pulled socks on her shivering feet, she realized that she wasn't as sleepy, just tired.
She went down to the Common Room. It was nearly empty. Molly was in there, talking to a friend. She smiled at Noelle as Noelle stretched languorously on the sofa, wincing as her muscles protested. "Feeling better?" James's voice said above her. She opened her eyes and smiled.
"Much better, thank you," she said. "I thought I told you not to disturb me?" He took a seat in one of the winged chairs and shrugged.
"You weren't asleep."
"And how sure are you about that one, Boy Wonder?" she asked him, smirking.
"Pretty sure," he replied. "The fact that you woke up right when I asked you how you were feeling, etc." They were silent for a while. It was extremely comfortable sitting there in the front of the fire while a storm raged outside. Noelle's skin felt very warm and she started to feel sleepy. "Drowsy?"
"A little," she admitted. "I think I'll go to bed now." She got up, kissed his cheek, murmuring, "Good night."
"Good night, Elle," he said, getting up himself. She climbed the stairs and fell into her very comfortable bed, pulling the warm blankets up to her chin, burying her face in the pillow which smelled fresh and falling into a heavy sleep.
The next morning, she awoke at seven and smiled into her pillow, closing her eyes and trying to sleep again. Her hair smelled of shampoo and conditioner and she wanted to remain in bed for as long as she could. Her body was sore but the kind of sore that is very comfortable.
"Noelle," Hannah's voice floated in, "James is waiting for you downstairs and you'd better hurry or you'll be late for classes." Noelle sighed and got up.
"Aren't you going to shower, Princess?" Elisabeth asked as Noelle took some clothes out of her bureau.
"Don't call me 'Princess' and I showered last night after Quidditch," Noelle said, glaring at Elisabeth. Elisabeth glared back. Noelle quickly dressed in a green t-shirt and long black pants with athletic shoes.
"Uh, uniform?" Hannah said.
"I don't care," Noelle answered. "Half the school runs around without uniform and the school doesn't care as long as we wear our robes." She pulled her robes on, adjusting the collar and clasping the first three silver clasps. Then she shook her head and went into the bathroom to pee and brush her teeth. As she was peeing, she applied a minimal amount of makeup: a spot of foundation to cover up a pimple, mascara and lip gloss. Then she brushed her teeth and, grabbing her bag, went downstairs. James was waiting for her in a winged chair.
"Finally," he said. "I brought you breakfast since it seems that you have to get right to classes." He gave her a small paper plate with half a piece of toast, a piece of bacon and a quarter of an apple.
"Thanks, Jamie," she said as he held her juice box of cranberry juice as she ate ravenously, finishing the apple last. Then she slurped up her juice, wiped her hands on a napkin and jabbed her wand at the trash James held. It disappeared. "Instant recycling," she grinned.
"Nice," he said. "I'll see you at break. Where are you going?"
"Ancient Runes first," she said. "Then Arithmancy. I'll meet you and Ian in the courtyard." She looked around. "Where is Ian?"
"Got sick last night," James replied. "Food poisoning but he should be alright. You'll see him at break."
"Ah, poor baby," Noelle said. "Is he in the Hospital Wing?" James nodded. She checked her watch. "I'll go visit him, I still have fifteen minutes." She dashed down the stairs, bidding James farewell as she skidded down the corridor and into the Hospital.
"I'm visiting Ian," she told Madam Pomfrey as she walked down the aisle of beds until she found Ian. He was retching in a giant green pail. He didn't see her as she came in but she winced and gently patted his shoulder. He glanced up and smiled.
"You don't need to look at this, Elle," he said. "I stole your juice last night at dinner, remember? I think it's my bad karma."
"Nah, I'll bet it was the crab that you ate," Noelle said. "Crab always is more susceptible to disease than any other seafood."
"Not true," Ian said.
"Alright, fine, I'm a liar," she said. "Are you feeling better?" He wasn't vomiting anymore; she handed him a glass of water and he drank some. She put it back on the bedside table and put her hand on his head. "You're feverish," she said. "Hmmm."
"Miss Granger, classes are about to start and this time I cannot write you a pass so I suggest you hurry." Madam Pomfrey sounded irritated.
"What's wrong with him?" Noelle asked as she left.
"Food poisoning, dear," Madam Pomfrey said. "We're having everything tested now to see what was wrong. He'll be having tests himself to see what went wrong. There's never been a case like this at Hogwarts. The food's always been perfectly alright so what happened?"
Noelle cast a worried glance back at Ian and headed down the stairs to her Ancient Runes class. Professor Sharp was a tiny little man with a bald head and pointy ears. He was a maniacal sort of man and taught at very high speeds so the entire class had learned to adopt a shorthand way of taking notes. Today, however, Professor Sharp wasn't feeling well so he assigned reading and stayed at his desk the entire time.
"No homework," he called out weakly as the bell rang.
"Not up to par, is he?" Megan asked as they met up outside the classroom.
"He's ill, can't you tell?" Noelle said as they started up a set of stairs. "Just like Ian."
"Ian's ill?" Megan asked. Noelle grinned.
"Glad to see you're so concerned," she said, smiling deviously.
"I've always had a crush on him and you know it," Megan giggled.
"He's got a secret crush on you!" Noelle said. "He wants to looove you."
"Yeah," Megan snorted. "A straight-laced person like Ian with a person like me? Sure."
"You're both decent and cute and smart," Noelle said. "That's really all that counts. And Ian's pretty out there himself. He has a Save the Whales poster."
"Yeah, that's so out there," Megan said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"Shush," Noelle said. Then she sighed. "I'm not in the mood for Arithmancy."
"Your mother would disown you if she heard those words come from the mouth of her offspring," Megan said.
"She won't find out, will she?" Noelle said, glaring at Megan.
"Of course not," Megan quailed under Noelle's glare.
"I'm just kidding, Meg," Noelle said, lightly punching Megan's arm. "C'mon, let's go."
Arithmancy was Noelle's favorite subject as she was quick with numbers. During her summers in LA, she had taken summer school in a regular high school where she had taken advanced math classes and aced them. The teacher, Mr. Hotep, had told her that she should attend school during the regular year. Noelle had replied, "I go to a school abroad during the year." She couldn't tell him she went to a Magic school. He wouldn't have believed her anyway. He would have called her mother and recommended that she take therapy.
Professor Vector was a brilliant teacher who, unlike Professor Sharp, taught slowly so that the students understood the material. Arithmancy was Noelle's only challenging class. She struggled with it which was why she enjoyed it. "Problem set number thirty one should be finished next time we're together," Professor Vector called as they left for break.
"Granger!" Noelle heard her name being called. She turned away from Megan to see Malfoy calling for her.
"I'll catch up with you later," Noelle told Megan, whose eyebrows were threatening to disappear in her hairline. Noelle stood, waiting for Malfoy to wade through the thick crowd of students.
"Granger," he breathed. "Snape says no lesson tonight because of Hogsmeade tomorrow. It's been rescheduled for Sunday night."
"I have to attend Quidditch tryouts Sunday night," she replied. "I can't be there."
"Discuss that with Professor Snape," Malfoy said, grinning maliciously. "However, it's not tonight."
"Yeah, I figured that out the first time you said it," she said.
"Never know with you half-breeds," Malfoy said, racing down the stairs.
"Asshole!" Noelle called down at him. He looked up and grinned. She blew her bangs out of her face and tucked them behind her ear with her fingers, then glanced at her watch. She had fifteen minutes of break. She sighed and set off towards the dungeons in search of Professor Severus Snape. She entered his office.
"Professor Snape?" she said timidly. He was sitting at his desk, as always, writing something.
"Miss Granger, come in," he said. "Can I help you?"
"Uh…sir," she said, approaching his desk, "did you reschedule my Potions lesson for Sunday night?"
"Yes, I did. Is there a problem?"
"Sir, I have to attend Quidditch tryouts with the rest of the Gryffindor team," she said. "I can't make it."
"Ah, the infinitely stupid sport everyone makes a big deal about," Snape said. "Tell me, Miss Granger, what is so useful about the sport of Quidditch?"
"Nothing useful," she said, anger building up inside her chest like a rising tide. "It's unique. It's really the only Wizarding sport next to Quodpot." He nodded, a disgusted look on his face.
"The rest of your team cannot attend without you in attendance?" he asked.
"Uh…they could but we like to see how the new players react with the whole team there," she said. Snape looked at her critically, then shrugged.
"Then I suppose there is no lesson Sunday night," Snape said. "I'll make the Potion. Mr. Malfoy and yourself will partner up Monday morning and do the regular lesson."
Noelle felt happy. "Thank you, Professor." She made to leave but Snape stopped her.
"Do you see Mr. Malfoy anytime today?"
"Unfortunately."
"Let me write a note for him. Wait a moment." He got up and went into his office, closing the door behind him. Noelle stood quietly for a minute, then glanced at his desk. Something extremely curious caught her eye.
There was a sheet of parchment on Snape's desk that looked very much like a letter that Snape was writing. It began:
Dear Hermione,
I cannot begin to tell you…
The rest was covered up. Why is Snape writing to my mum? Noelle wondered. What can't he begin to tell her? She reached out with her right hand to move the offending parchment to read on but the office door opened and she yanked her hand back, fixing her eyes on Professor Snape.
"Here you are, Miss Granger," he said. He handed her a folded sheet of parchment marked: Tristan Malfoy. Noelle nodded, tucked the note in the front pocket of her bag and sped out of the dungeon.
As soon as she was out in the Entrance Hall, she slowed down, her mind racing. What was happening here? She couldn't understand exactly what was going on. Snape had been considerate of her. She had always felt that Snape treated her differently than he treated any other student: he was mean to her but when she was in need of his help, he always helped her. He wouldn't do that for James or Ian, or even Tristan. Why was he helping her? And why in the world was he writing a letter to her mother?
The bell rang and she swallowed, her throat very dry. She had to write to her mother but she didn't understand how she could say what she just saw. Noelle had always thought that Hermione would never lie to her but now she was having doubts. She could imagine the letter she would write:
Dear Mum,
Why is Snape writing letters to you?
Love,
Elle
Even in her head it sounded stupidly suspicious. Besides, Hermione Granger wasn't the only Hermione in the world. Maybe there were others. Noelle knew that in the famous Disney movie Mary Poppins there was an actress named Hermione. Hermione seemed to be an uncommon name but maybe it wasn't as uncommon as Noelle thought. Dazed and confused, she headed out towards the greenhouses for her Herbology lesson.
She found the class milling around in front of Greenhouse Five. She unbuckled the front pocket of her bag and pulled out the note. She found Malfoy talking to Clion and Aidan Hannigan.
"Here," she said. "It's from Professor Snape about the Potions lesson."
"I take it you've already read it," he said, taking the note and looking at her suspiciously.
"As if I don't have better things to do than to read your personal correspondences with teachers," she said. "Are you sure you aren't hiding something, Malfoy?" Tristan sneered put the note in his bag, a black contraption with only one compartment. Noelle looked at the bag in distaste and found Megan, who was upset about something.
"Ian's not well," she said abruptly as they waited for Professor Sprout to unlock the door and let them in. "There was some serious poison in the pumpkin juice he drank last night."
"What?" Noelle said, images of Ian's pale face flashing through her mind.
"Yeah, they tested his vomit," Megan said. Noelle shuddered. "As disgusting as that sounds, the only thing that was poisoned was the pumpkin juice."
"He drank my pumpkin juice," Noelle said. "I don't understand…is he going to be alright?"
"He's extremely dehydrated," Megan told her. "He'll need an IV, which is guess is—"
"I know what an IV is," Noelle interrupted. "Megan, he drank my pumpkin juice; he told me this morning when I went to go visit him."
"What does that mean?"
"Someone was trying to poison me!"
Author's Note: Ooooh, suspenseful! To be continued…
Fae