Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did, I own nothing of the Harry Potter characters and whatnot.
Note to readers: Here's chapter eleven. Not much to be proud of, but it's here, nonetheless. Chapter twelve will be out soon, so have a little patient. This chapter is basically introducing things to come… So have fun, kids! Remember, no ships have been decided yet, so don't get your hopes up… Oh, and some people have asked me: "Whatever happened the DADA professor?" Well, she's still here and will remake her entrance soon. Now with that out of the way, here are my usual, personal thank yous:
To Feather – YAY! You were finally a first reviewer! Once again, I must comment on how much I love your reviews. You leave long, good, and touching reviews. The one-word and same wordx48 reviews aren't as pleasing… Everyone likes Rouge so much, but I'm worried they won't like her later because of her period of evilness. Oh, well… The fic must go on, which I'm sure you're pleased about. Sorry, I can't help you with the dolt brother. For I have no dolt brother, sister, or any siblings at that! Just little ol' Hayley…
To LittleMaggie – Thank you so much for reviewing all three chapters, for you were one of the few that did. You, my faithful reader, would never miss out on three whole chapters. If you missed just one, I'd be e-mailing you to no end, yelling "WHERE'S MY REVIEWS!!!" and so on… I agree. Mary-Sue is evil, blood sucking, and stupid. But don't compare me to J.K.! I AM NOT WORHTY!!! Uh… sorry. And I devote myself to writing because, basically, I have no life! bows Yep, No life for me. The internet (meaning you guys), Harry Potter, and writing is all the life I have. "The owl flew away without another thing said (hooted?)" I, too, am rather fond of that… And you're not the only one who's hyper! I had a venti mocha frappachino with a shot of raspberry from Starbucks while writing this! WOOHOO!!! CAFFEINE!!! I'm sorry to say there won't be a "friendship" between Hermione and Rouge, but later they will see each other in different lights. I did SOOO much research on Tarot cards! I had an entire reading set up for Rouge, but not all of it made sense, and it was a bit too long and repetitive, so I narrowed it down to the important stuff. I might add more flashbacks later on, but I haven't decided on any yet… I really like Everclear ("Father of Mine" belongs to them)… They're really good. You should check 'em out! Draco won't be "mean" through all of this, just a little cold. I see him as a good guy, sometimes, but I just don't want to stray too far off his character. I've abused my privileges for out-of-character-ness with Harry and Hermione, as it is. Oh, well… Thank you for saving my sanity with long reviews and being a faithful reader!
To Ashley Malmstrom – Questions of Ron shall be answered eventually. Have patients… Draco's not too nice is he? Wonder where I got that idea?… Valgaav couldn't have had anything to do with that… Just kidding, I love ya Valgaav! I hope this chapter will keep Mr. Vipertooth away, at least for awhile… See you in the message boards!… maybe…
To Kiota – Born to be a writer, eh? Haven't heard that one yet… jots it down in her compliments notebook Here are the answers to your questions:
Who is her father?
gapes at the question for a few minutes, shakes herself violently, then forces herself to answer Rouge's father is Voldemort! bellows VOLDEMORT!!! DO YOU HEAR THAT EVERYONE?! HER FATHER IS VOLDEMORT!!! stops suddenly Uh… sorry… Got a little carried away there…
What is happening with Snape? Didn't he LEAVE the death eaters? Okay, he came back, but why? And wouldn't Voldemort kill him?
These are very good questions, I do admit. What is happening with Snape is that he's once again become a spy against Voldemort. Remember the ending of book four? They hinted around with that… Yes, he left the Death Eaters, but that doesn't mean he won't return as a spy. He came back to be a spy. Under normal circumstances, yes, Voldemort would kill him. But let's leave the why he hasn't killed him for later chapters…
What was Proffesor Trelaway's reaction to Rouge's crystal ball?
As far as we know, nothing. As far as we know, she was off predicting someone else's doom. But that doesn't mean I can't do something with it later… I might… but nothing at the moment.
What's between Draco and Rouge?
At the moment, nothing. That's up for you (as in all you readers) to decide. I'll have a poll later so you can decide if anything shall be between them… But at the moment, the only thing between them is their loathing for each other, and that they're both Death Eaters.
Where are the message boards?
The message boards are at under the chat section. I'm always in the roleplay section…
I happen to LIKE Everclear… I know I messed up the song a bit, but oh well… Here's your chapter…
To AMB3R - pleads for forgiveness I tried to tell you I posted the chapters! I really did! But my precious laptop wouldn't let me review for awhile and I don't know why! But I can review now, and all is good. Your short review is forgiven because I know how much school stinks. And all your questions about how much Hermione know shall be answered soon… Probably in the next chapter…
To Skade – WHY MUST EVERYONE COMPARE ME TO J.K.?! I AM NOT WORTHY!!! But thanks for the review, anyway. Once again, you left be grinning like a madwoman for at least an hour… bows at Sharon's clapping, but trips, and falls flat on her face Ow…
To Draco Malfoy (Valgaavsan) ) – Ah… you read it… shuffles feat in an embarrassed sort of way Well, thanks for the great review. You've always been really nice to me, even about RPG. Sometimes I doubt I deserve it… especially from you. I'd love to RP Gundam with you! But I warn you; I'm terrible at it! Really, really terrible… Well, see you in the message boards!… No, I shouldn't say that anymore. I never go to the message boards anymore. Oh, well… Ja ne, Jason-chan!
To CaptinIHaveAHeadache – I like the name. Yes, it has been awhile since you've reviewed. No, I haven't left Yes, the server is probably down again. I've read "Things Harry Potter Characters Would Never Say" and reviewed it. Good job. WHADDA YA MEAN YOU CAN'T GO ON NEOPETS ANYMORE?! FIRST, YOU LEAVING NEOPETS, NOW JACKIE AND HER STUPID EXCUSE FOR A REVIEW!!! YOU ALL ARE TRYING TO TORTURE ME!!!
To PotterGirl – grumbles 'bout time you read the new chapters… Computers stink. I hurried and I wrote more. Is it worth a rushed chapter? No. But that's the price to pay for no patience.
To CloudChick – Okay, I must admit that the "kewlies!" review scared me. Really. A lot. But thanks for the reviews, anyway. And about Rouge's quality not wanting to be her like her father- stops suddenly with a sigh oh, you'll all find out soon enough… On a lighter note: any new chapters of your fic out? I really like it… you need to write more…
To jmr – I don't know why I'm writing a reply to this, Jackie. I know you won't read it, but I want to say it anyway. Your review hurt me. A lot. More than any flame ever could, especially since it was from you. You just couldn't walk away without saying something like that, could you? I just want you to know how I feel about it…
To WaterLynx – Thanks for the "flames", MGD! blinks and stares at her thanks for flames Okaaaaaaay… I know Harry and Hermi are badly out of character, but do you really expect me to do a good job with that? I'm no J.K…. I know Ron's pretty weak at the moment, but he'll play more of a part later on… Just have patients. As for Snape, he's a spy for Dumbledore again, and not really back with the Death Eaters. I'm just going with what I think will happen in book five. And Draco's problem? Well… he's… Draco. He's a stupid schmuch and there's nothing more too it. But… you… chokes like… the whole child of Voldemort thing? Uh… MGD? You don't read enough fanfics. "Heir of Voldie" fics have been done a million times and this is just about the most unoriginal thing ever thought of. But I'm glad you like it anyway! Thanks for reading!
I've gotten 74 reviews so far, but I can't say I love them all anymore, because I don't. And you can blame 'jmr' for that points accusingly at 'jmr' BLAME HER!!! But I love about 73 of them! And I'd really like some more! So read, review, and have some fun!
Chapter 11: Quidditch is Not the Only Game
Rouge moaned with the pain (pain-hangover, really) as she awoke the following morning. Birds chirped sweetly from somewhere nearby and she swore at their blasted noise. She was horrified to discover that the Cruciatus Curse hadn't killed her. She ached terribly and thought she'd have been better off if the curse had killed her. Light poured through her eyelids and she realized that she hadn't opened them yet. So she opened her eyes and immediately blinked with surprise and bewilderment. The last thing she remembered from the previous night was passing out during her torture, lying in the dirt. But now she was lying in her four-poster bed in the fifth year girls' dormitory, which seemed to be quite an improvement from the dirt. She strained her memory for an explanation of how she had gotten back to her dormitory, but all she found was that straining her mind hurt as well.
She figured Wormtail had brought her back up, and Severus had probably given him the password, but Rouge's thoughts lingered on Wormtail. She actually wasn't sure what his real name was, but she sure it wasn't "Wormtail".
It's Peter... something, Rouge thought with a shrug.
Her father always referred to him as "Wormtail", and Wormtail seemed to have no complaint on the matter. He was at almost every meeting, so he and Rouge saw quite a lot of each other. He'd spend time with her, though they had little in common, except how they were viewed by Voldemort, but they had almost nothing in common personality-wise. Wormtail was a lying, back-stabbing, murdering scumbag to his old friends and a frightened, worthless, and disloyal follower to his master, but, hey, company is company. He pitied Rouge and comforted her after her torturing and beatings, healing her wounds and such. He'd show her his gleaming silver hand and give her the same speech on such occasions.
"Be more loyal to the Dark Lord. He rewards his faithful servants," he said as he admired his silver hand, each curve catching the moonlight, making it shine as though it radiated power. "And besides, Rouge, is it really worth the scars and bruises to refuse?"
No, she thought, listening to the birds, it's not.
Rouge turned onto her other side beneath her blankets and she noticed she was still wearing her watch. It was a very nice watch, a little scratched here and there, but still a very nice watch all the same. It had a pearly white face surrounded by a glinting gold frame on a perfectly fitting onyx band. Beautifully colored planets moved along the edge of the face. She would have enjoyed it a considerable amount more if she didn't have the unfortunate habit of checking the time at the times she later wished she didn't know the time.
This was one of those times.
With a wave of nausea, she realized she was late for Transfiguration.
Rouge sprinted down the corridor, still partially pulling on her robes with one hand and her bag in the other, swinging from side to side as she ran. She skidded to a halt in front of the classroom door, wondering why she hadn't simply skipped this class and stayed in bed until the next. Or she could have said she was sick, for she definitely felt it. Being late would draw more attention to herself than just skipping the first class of the day. And to top it all off, trying to get away with being late in McGonagall's class is a suicide mission. But Rouge had a duty to her Transfiguration grade, so a silently as she could, after having a raging, inner battle with herself, she opened the door. She crept as quickly and quietly as she could towards a desk in the back, but was stopped about half way.
"Miss Magie!" Professor McGonagall barked as she turned away from the board upon Rouge's entrance. "You are almost twenty minutes late, and I do not tolerate tardiness in my class."
"Sorry, Professor," Rouge muttered, looking down at her feet. "I-"
"I don't want any excuses, just take your seat, and fifteen points from Gryffindor."
Rouge flinched and nodded, too afraid to say any more because of the annoyed glares from her fellow Gryffindors and Professor McGonagall, two of the few gazes she felt as though she could die under. She took her seat. She could distinguish Hermione's face from the others, for she glared in a disapproving sort of way, but seemed to have a hint of knowing behind her brown eyes, which Rouge found extremely unnerving. She had the firm belief that Hermione knew too many things, whatever they were.
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted by Miss Magie," Professor McGonagall said, as though she wanted Rouge to specifically hear her censure along with the rest of the class, which was quite effective and made Rouge wish she could sink into the floor. "I thought we'd have a bit of fun today to mark the beginning of the Quidditch season."
But at these words, Rouge's heart leapt. She, like so many other wizard children, was a Quidditch fan, but she had almost forgotten about it over the summer and here at Hogwarts. It hadn't really seemed important, with everything else in her life. She was beginning to doubt Hogwarts had Quidditch teams at all since no announcements had been made, until now, and this was a great relief.
"Each of you will be turning a muggle football – or as know by you few Americans, a soccer ball – into a Quaffle," Professor McGonagall instructed. "It's just a simple change in size, color, and surface texture. It shouldn't take too long."
Rouge then noticed the spherical, black-and-white-colored ball sitting on her desk. She stared at it in astonishment, for she had never seen a football before; she was raised by her pureblood witch mother who didn't bother with 'muggle nonsense' – muggle things just weren't important. And football wasn't nearly as popular in France as it was in England, especially in the wizarding community. But her gawking at the ball was nothing compared to Ron Weasley's. Rouge distinctly heard him mutter to Harry only a few seats away, "You mean muggles play a sport with these? Weird..." and she heard Harry chuckle.
"But before you begin, I have a few announcements," Professor McGonagall continued, a little too late for Hermione since her football was already scarlet and the circle imprints on her ball were almost completely gone. "The try-outs for the Gryffindor Quidditch team are this evening at six o'clock, as I'm sure you've all seen on the common room notice board. Yes, I know it's a little late, with try-outs usually on the second week of school, but there was some debates on whether or not there would be Quidditch this year at all. The staff decided to allow it, and so the season is starting now, albeit rather late. Only the keeper position is available, so if you are qualified for that position, I encourage you to try out. If you have any further questions, see Madame Hooch."
There was a faint gasp from the class and many students looked around at each other in excitement. A place on the Gryffindor Quidditch team hadn't been available for almost five years. Ron threw a look at Harry that clearly, more or less, said 'I'VE GOT TO TRY OUT!' and Harry returned it with an encouraging smile. Even Rouge looked content with her luck. She felt as though she needed a happier change, and a spot on the Quidditch team would be particularly welcome.
Professor McGonagall waited patiently for the class's excited whispers and cheers to die down before she continued, starting to wish she had saved the announcements for after class.
"And after much debate among the staff, we have decided to bring back by much popular demand…" Professor McGonagall paused, stretching the anticipation before... "The Yule Ball." Professor McGonagall waited as though for a response before continuing, "The same conditions as last year apply. Dress robes will be worn, the ball will only be open to fourth years and above, though you may invite a younger student if you wish." Professor McGonagall waited again for a response, but still nothing came. "And the ball will begin at eight o'clock on Christmas day and will end promptly at midnight in the Great Hall."
For a few moments there was complete silence at the shock of this news. Then, simultaneously, almost all the boys in the class sighed miserably at the thought of having to go through the humiliation of asking a girl to be his dance partner, all over again. Several heads hit their desks. And almost all the girls began to giggle uncontrollably at the thought of having another ball to obsess over all over again. Lavender and Parvati were beginning to turn bright shades of pink that have most likely had never been achieved before in face color. Without a doubt, those two girls were almost entirely responsible for this when it comes to 'popular demand'.
Next to the majority, it seemed that only one girl wasn't giggling. Rouge was staring, quite calmly and almost intently, at a boy only a few seats down. As though trying to put pieces of a puzzle together in her head, she stared at Harry Potter.
The rest of class went by with talk of nothing else but Quidditch and the ball with severe mixed emotions. Most of the boys talked only about their excitement of Quidditch's return as if not to think about the ball and to leave it to think about later. Most of the girls only talked about the ball, because quite frankly, they didn't care about Quidditch with such a topic as a ball on their minds. In any case, most of the footballs were forgotten (except for Hermione's, of course, as it had been turned into a perfect Quaffle fifteen minutes into class).
When the bell finally rang, the class packed up and left, still talking animatedly without a change of subjects. Lavender could be heard chatting enthusiastically with Parvati as she walked out of the classroom ("Oh my god, Parvati! I need to get new dress robes! Isn't there a robe shop in Hogsmede? Gladrags Wizardwear, right?") But just as Harry reached the door, Professor McGonagall called for him, "Potter? May I have a word with you?"
Harry felt a sudden sensation of déjà vu and slowly walked up to her desk as he tried to remember what he was feeling déjà vu from. Professor McGonagall looked extremely serious, which was not much of a surprise, but something to note on. She leaned forward over her desk as Harry approached, looking confused.
"Potter, the ball, as you know, is a part of Hogwarts tradition," she said, keeping a steady gaze on Harry.
"But only for the Tri Wizard Tournament, right?" Harry added quickly, a sense of dread creeping over him.
"Correct, but in a case like this, we want to keep it as traditional as possible."
"You don't mean-"
"We'd like you and your partner to open the ball again, since you were Hogwarts champion in the tournament last year," Professor McGonagall continued as though she hadn't heard Harry's last comment. She paused with an irritable glare as Harry let out a low groan. "We would have Cedric do it," she added coldly, "but of course..."
That was a low blow. Harry held up a hand to signal that her point had been made. He didn't want to hear anymore, not with Cedric being brought on the subject.
"I'll do it," Harry muttered gruffly, his eyes lowered to the ground.
There was an awkward pause in conversation as Harry slowly, for a dramatic effect, turned to leave. But as he, for the second time, reached the door, Professor McGonagall called back to him, "Cedric would have wanted you to open the ball, Potter. He would have wanted the Tri Wizard Tournament to be remembered."
Harry didn't turn to Professor McGonagall has he left. He didn't say a word; he didn't trust himself to speak because he knew he'd end up saying what he really thought Cedric would want. Cedric wouldn't want tradition and remembrance at a time like this. If there was anything Harry was sure Cedric wanted, it was for everyone to be happy and without cares, not having everyone grieving and fearing what's to come, and, of course, to be alive. But it couldn't be helped now, and neither could tradition.
Note to readers: Yes, the infamous Yule Ball has returned! laughs evilly MWAHAHAHA!!! stops laughing suddenly Uh… right… Please review. I will have chapter twelve out soon! I'll give you a bit of a preview: A lot about the Yule Ball and Quidditch! Not much change from this chapter, eh? Oh, well…