Title : A Cradle of Argument and...
By : Setsuna
Disclaimer : Harry Potter and its characters belong to J.K. Rowling and ONLY J.K. Rowling. The original Character belongs to me though.
Chapter 1 – Leaden Wings
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger met up on Platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross Station on the morning they were setting off for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry and Ron figured Hermione looked uneasy that particular morning. She kept looking about the platform and in and out the Hogwarts Express.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, you looked like you lost Crookshanks or something," said Ron.
"N-No... It's nothing, really..." Hermione answered, not even looking at them, still looking around the platform.
Harry and Ron looked at each other and sighed.
Hermione; finally looking at them; frowned and asked, "What?"
Harry and Ron gave her the 'spill-it-or-we'll-force-you-to' look. Hermione sighed heavily and gave in.
"Oh, alright. My cousin is starting 6th year at Hogwarts as well..." said Hermione.
"That's a bad thing why?" Harry asked.
"My cousin is half Irish, half Japanese. She's been studying at a magic school in Japan called Shijin Institute of Magic. And she, my aunt and uncle just moved to London and now she has to study in Hogwarts."
"I still don't see the crime in this whole story but go on," said Ron.
"My cousin isn't, well, isn't like me." Ron gave a thank-god sigh. Hermione gave him an angry look, "She's into Da-"
A tall girl dressed in all black bumped into Harry from behind and continued walking without apologizing. She stopped and looked at them. Harry spotted she was wearing a pair of 3 inch platform boots. But he sensed that even without those, she would still be taller than them.
"The infamous Harry Potter." She smiled a twisted smile.
She had long, straight black hair, her ears were covered with piercing, her right eyebrow was pierced, and she had on thick black eyeliner. Her long fingernails were painted black with little white flames on them. She wore a long sleeved gothic dress. She held a guitar case in her right hand.
She looked at Hermione, "See you around," she said. "Cousin."
She walked away. Harry and Ron's jaws dropped. They looked at Hermione who's now looking down at her feet.
"You mean to say that THAT was you cou-"Ron was cut short by the train's whistle.
"Come on. Let's get on the train before it leaves," said Harry.
Harry, Ron and Hermione boarded the Hogwarts Express. Noisily, it left King's Cross Station.
The train reached Hogwarts in time before the feast. The Great Hall was filled with students, old and new. The teachers sat at their usual seats. The first years lined up in front for the sorting ceremony. As the sorting ceremony went by, Harry, Ron and Hermione continued their discussion about Hermione's mysterious cousin.
"Her name is Shiina. Shiina Hayama... She was in Seiryu house when she was at Shijin. About the same level as Slytherin house, really. She's really into Dark Arts. She's able to do magic without a wand, she's better than me in her studies –"Hermione was cut off.
"Wait a minute. Smarter than you? Is that even POSSIBLE, Hermione?" Ron asked.
"Shut up, Ron. Anyways, although I don't like to admit it, she's a better Quidditch player than you, Harry. You see those 3 inch platforms? Yeah, she STANDS on her brooms in those."
They looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Shiina talking and laughing. The Slytherin lot was laughing along with her. They took it as she was already popular with them. Shiina spotted them and waved 'innocently' at them and she and the Slytherin laughed again.
Professor Albus Dumbledore stepped up to give his usual 'welcome back to Hogwarts' speech. The feast followed suit.
"By the looks of it," Ron started, with his mouth stuffed with chicken wings, "you and Shiina don't really get along too well, ey?"
"Of course not. She's always sucking up to my parents and they ADORE her. Can you believe it?! THEY adore HER. Of all the people in the world..." said Hermione, frustrated.
Hermione stared at her cousin as she was talking to Draco Malfoy. Malfoy was laughing. Hermione knew the fact that Shiina can really charm someone into liking her. To Shiina, it was a gift.
To Hermione, it was a curse.
It was break time in Hogwarts. Harry, Hermione and Ron hung out in the Great Hall, waiting for their next class. The Gryffindors sat at the Gryffindor table, Ravenclaws at the Ravenclaw table, Hufflepuffs at the Hufflepuff table and of course, Slytherins at the Slytherin table.
"Hey Hermione," someone shouted. Hermione looked up to see the bitch-of-a- cousin of hers, smirking, calling her from the Slytherin table.
"What do you want, Shiin?" Hermione shouted back, annoyed.
She watched Shiina as she shuffled through her Tarot cards. Shiina was still looking at her, was still grinning evilly at her. Hermione stared daggers at her. Shiina laid the Tarot cards faced down, one by one. The other Slytherins were watching her.
"How would you," Shiina started, placing the last card face down, "and your friends, of course, like a free Tarot card reading? Courtesy of moi."
"Please, Shiin. Tarot card reading is such rubbish," Hermione sighed with utmost annoyance.
"What are you? Scared? Miss Hermione Granger, afraid of a little fortune telling," Shiina taunted her Muggle born cousin.
"Me? Afraid of you and your silly 'fortune telling'. HAH! That's a good one. Come on, try me."
Shiina closed her eyes and took a deep breath as though mimicking a gypsy Tarot reader. She waved her hand above the faced down Tarot cards and stopped. She flicked a card out of thin air and gasped the way Professor Trelawney does when she looked at the card. She tossed it to Hermione. The card landed on the table, in front of Hermione.
It was the Death card. Hermione looked up at Shiina with an angry stare. Harry and Ron shifted away from Hermione, fearing that she might blow up in anger. Hermione stood up, gripped her Ancient Runes textbook and hurled it across the room, towards Shiina.
Shiina waved her hand and the book turned back towards Hermione. Hermione covered her face with her arms to avoid the textbook from hitting her right in the face. She heard a loud 'thump'. She uncovered her face and saw the book lying on top of the Death card.
Shiina got up and left the Great Hall with the Slytherins behind her. Frustrated and obviously not satisfied, Hermione went after her. She called Shiina at the corridor.
"What is your problem, Shiina?" Hermione's voice boomed the corridors.
"Nothing, cousin. What made you think I have any problems?" Shiina answered sweetly.
"Why do you keep on picking on me?"
"Because I can, that's why. You ARE aware that you are nowhere IN my league. Face it, cousin; I'm smarter, stronger, prettier and more popular than you are. And you bloody hate that, don't ya?"
Hermione felt anger flowing inside her body. She felt her blood boiling listening to Shiina make fun of her. She whipped out her wand and pointed it at Shiina. She wanted so much to knock Shiina off her feet there and then.
"Expelli-"Hermione was cut off by Professor Snape.
"Miss Granger, what do you think you're doing?" Snape demanded, looking down at Hermione.
"She was going to cast Expelliarmus on me, Professor Snape sir," said Shiina, with a fake scared tone.
"Was she really, Miss Hayama? Five points from Gryffindor." Snape walked off.
Hermione stuffed her wand back into her robe pocket and stared daggers at Shiina. Shiina just smiled at her.
"Please, Hermione. Save yourself humiliation. You DON'T want to mess with a witch who is on a higher level than you are. You'll get yourself hurt," Shiina said, turning around to walk away.
"You think you're so hot, don't you, Shiina? Be prepared to eat up your words," Hermione retorted, feeling angrier than ever. Ever since her first year at Hogwarts, the professors had called her the brightest witch of her time.
Shiina just laughed and waved her hand above the air as she walked off with the others like a queen. Harry and Ron tried to calm her down but she just stormed off, fuming mad.
a/n : my first EVER Harry Potter fic so I hope I did okay for a beginner. :x