A/N- last chapter was a shortie, but this one will be very significant. Yet
again, this is one you guys might not believe. But I hope you like it
anyways. I hope you guys like this story so far (I haven't got a negative
review yet!). In this chapter, which I think I will title "The Truth About
Snape", you will learn just why Snape is treating the Gryffindors well, and
so on. Oh, yeah, point: Ruth is actually older than Harry by a few years.
Yeah, thanks. Read and review!
Disclaimer- I own this much: 0. As in zero. As in nothing. It all belongs to the great Harry Potter people.
Read on!
Erika
Christmas break came. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all going home, and Gryffindor tower was going to be virtually empty (Meg and I both thought it had something to do with the Halloween occurences). Avery, Jewel, and Lucy were going home too, which was good (they're talking late in the night was getting ANNOYING). The day they left, Meg and I decided to leave the tower and wander around (hoping not to get lost). It was something to do, and we still didn't quite know our way around the vast castle. We weren't quite sure WHERE we were an hour later, and we were leaning against the wall, trying to figure out which way we came (through what door, which hallway, and so on), or hoping someone would find us. We heard footsteps coming down through the hall. "Somebody's coming!" Meg hissed. I nodded, "Hopefully they can show us the way back to the tower. This is the last time I ever go down a corridor that I don't know." Meg grinned. The footsteps drew closer, and we turned to see Professor Jones standing there, smiling at us. "Megan, Erika, you're a bit of a ways from the Gryffindor tower," Professor Jones said, smiling at us. I shrugged, "Well, we decided to go for a walk, try to figure out more of the castle." "And we got lost," Megan finished. Professor Jones nodded, "Happens to everyone. Why don't you two join me in my office for a cup of tea, then I can show you back to the tower?" Meg and I exchanged glances, and nodded, "Okay, sure." I was actually very eager to hear about Professor Jones' friends, mostly my mum. "Great." she said, and looked at her watch, "Allright, come over here." We walked over to stand beside her, and watched as a staircase suddenly appeared in front of us. "How did you know it was going to do that?" I asked. "At six minutes past every hour, this staircase appears. Did you forget who I was friends with?" she asked, and grinned at us. I was sure she was talking about my parents. Harry had told me our dad was what they called a "Marauder" and had constantly been getting into trouble. We went up the stairs, and followed Professor Jones down quite a few hallways, until I realized we were in fimilar territory. Professor Jones led us into her office. "Sit down, I'll go start the tea," she said, and hurried into the room. Meg and I sat down on some chairs, and looked around. It was comfortably furnished. There was a few pictures hanging on the wall. I went over to look at one. It was four girls, that looked just a little older than me. I reckognized one as Professor Jones, only a younger version of herself. The three others I had never met. "They're my best friends," Professor Jones said behind me, "That one's Netta Prewett. She always took the pictures. It's because of her I have so many of us. She was a photographer. That one's Andrea McKinnon. She had the most fashion sense out of all of us, and was constantly telling us that what we were wearing was all wrong for us. And that one's Lily Evans Potter, your mother." I stared at the picture. Harry had showed me some pictures of our parents when they were older, but I had never seen a picture of her that young. Her hair was short, and red, and she was smiling. "This was in our second year," Professor Jones said. "Professor Jones." I stared. "Call me Anya, please," Professor Jones interuppted smiling at me. I nodded, and started again, "Okay, then. Anya, what was my mother like, when you knew her?" "She was the best friend anyone could have asked for. She was very smart, but really nice. She was a lot of fun to be around," Anya told me. When we had sat down to drink the tea, Anya asked us how we liked school here so far. "Harry told me that Professor Snape hates us because of Mum and Dad, right?" I asked. Anya laughed, "Yes. We were quite evil to him in school, not that he didn't deserve it or anything, of course." "He's not mean to us anymore," Meg pointed out, "Ever since that first day, when he saw me, he stopped." I nodded, "That's right, isn't it? Anya, do you know why he's not so evil to us anymore?" Anya looked at us, back and forth, "Do you really want to know?" We nodded. "Alright, but you have to promise you won't tell anyone, okay? This is Snape's business," Anya said. "We promise," Meg and I agreed. "Okay, then. Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning. Snape was always mean to the Gryffindors because he hated them, he always has, but he was especially evil them because of my friends and I. After he got out of Hogwarts, however, he got married, as usual. He had a wife and a three year old daughter - I believe her name was Ariea, or something like that. Anyway, after Voldemort's downfall, a very important Death Eater decided that Snape was a spy, which he was. Without telling anyone, that Death Eater and a few others, when and attacked Snape's house nine years ago. He wasn't there at the time, but they killed his wife and daughter. They said it was a warning, and that they would be back. They never figured out who it was, and Snape never fully recovered," Anya explained. "Wow," Meg whispered, in shock. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me, and I asked, "Meg, does your sister look a lot like you?" Meg nodded, "Yeah. If she were my age, we'd be idenical." Then my thought struck her. "No . . . you don't mean . . ." Meg started. "Ruth was a murderer, right?" I asked. "Yeah, she killed tons of people," Meg answered, "You don't think it was Ruth, do you?" "It has to be, it all fits," I said. Meg nodded, "She is perfectly capable." "Girls, you've found your answer," Anya said. We finished up our tea, and said bye to Anya, then went back up to the tower before dinner. "We don't tell anyone," Meg said, "Even though Snape hate's us, we won't tell anyone. Okay?" I nodded, "No one."
On Christmas Eve, Meg and I wasted the entire day. I actually talked her into letting me sleep in until nine (a huge accomplishment, trust me). We played chess, Exploding Snap, and talked. The tower was basically empty (due, in some part, to the Halloween attack). We went down to the library to look at the copies of the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly (Hermione had left, along with her subscriptions). "Hey, Erika, look, they have something on the Halloween attack," Meg said, and handed me the Daily Prophet. I read it, and said, "They mention you, Meg." Meg looked down and read it, then scowled. "Will anyone get it through their head that I was NOT holding a polite little conversation with a Death Eater?" Meg asked, then threw the paper aside. I looked through some more. "There's an article about you, again," Meg told me, and handed me a recent copy of Witch Weekly. I took it, and read it. "This can't be good. It's written by Rita Skeeter," I said, and scowled. I read it, and was surprised. She actually hadn't said anything that incredibly bad about me. Just that Dumbledore, as well as the Minister of Magic, had come out and said that I was not a dark witch and, indeed, was Harry's sister. "Surprising," Meg said. "Very," I agreed, and then looked down at my watch, "Shoot, it's almost eight. If we're caught in the halls after nine, we'll be in huge trouble, and I have to go up to the owlery."
The next morning, I woke up early. I rolled over in bed, and looked up at the window. Frost rested on it, but rays of sunshine still snuck in. "Meg," I hissed, "Meg, wake up, it's Christmas." Meg groaned in her bed. I rolled my eyes, and threw open her curtains. "MORNING!" I shouted into her ear. She snapped up. "What? Who's dead?" she asked. "No one's dead, silly. It's Christmas morning," I told her, grinning at her, and her question about dead people. She gave me a look, "So?" "Presents," I pointed out, pointing to the smile pile of gifts at the foot of each of our beds. "Wow," Meg whispered, and climbed out of bed. I looked at my own small pile, and smiled. Meg and I exchanged glances, and then sat down. I opened my presents, slowly. Hermione had given me some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and Ron had sent me some Chocolate Frogs. Harry gave me a book on Quidditch ("Haha" read his card) and a new set of quills and ink (I was constantly losing my quills). Meg gave me a bag of stuff from Zonko's Gift Shop. "I hope you like it. I only get a small allowance from the Ministry once a month," Meg said, "It's for school supplies, but I splurged and did Christmas last month." I grinned at her, "It's great. Now I can play some tricks on Harry!" Meg laughed, and said, holding up a figure (imitating the professors), "Ah, yes, the brother-sister thing." I laughed. I opened Anya's next. It was a black school bag, much better than my regular one, which was a faded black-gray. I grinned as I rolled up the wrapping paper, and threw it in the wastebasket. "Erika, you missed one," Meg told me, and pointed to a small rectangle package wrapped in silver paper. I picked it up, and unwrapped it. I opened the box. In it was a key on a purple string, with a note. "What does it say?" Meg asked. I opened it, and she read over my shoulder. Erika, Your parents were always ones to think ahead. They entrusted this key to me with instructions. This is the key to your personal vault in Gringotts Wizard Bank. In it you will find a good amount of wizard money to provide for you. Merry Christmas.
"That's . . . weird," Meg said. I nodded, and pulled the key out. "It has the Gringotts symbol on it," Meg told me, "Here, wait." She stood up and went to her trunk. She opened it, and searched around for a second. "Here," she said, and sat back down. She handed me something. It was a key, identical to the one I held in my hand. I looked at the two. "Well, I guess it's authentic," I told her. She nodded.
That evening, Hedwig came to the tower, with a letter from Harry. I opened it, and read it by the fire.
Erika, Merry Christmas! I hope you liked what I got you. I thought the book might help you when (not if) you try out next year. I also thought you might need the quills and ink. I liked what you got me. So, thanks. We're going to go see the apartment tomorrow. I'll write you after that. Bye. Harry
"Meg, do you have a piece of parchment?" I asked. Meg nodded, and took some out for me. I told Hedwig to wait, and quickly wrote a letter to Harry.
Merry Christmas, Harry! Thanks for the book and quills. I needed them. We had a nice Christmas. It's really quite in the tower. I got this really strange gift from someone, I dunno who. They said it was a key to my own vault at Gringrotts Bank. Meg and I reckon it is, it looks like it is at least. I dunno what to do with it. Anyways, hope you had a good Christmas. Erika
At dinner, the entire Gryffindor table was empty (but there were a few others there, about twenty students). Meg and I could talk freely. "This is the first Christmas I've actually gotten anything for," Meg told me, "Before, it was just like any other day. My grandfather didn't let us celebrate Christmas, or pretty much anything. Halloween was his favorite holiday." I was surprised. Meg hardly ever talked about her life before Hogwarts. "You know the funny thing?" Meg asked. I shook my head, "What?" "No one there seemed to care," Meg answered, then changed the subject, "I'm hungry. Pass me a roll."
The rest of break was spent by Meg and I doing what we couldn't do with tons of other people around: being lazy. We walked around in our pjs, and didn't get out of bed until noon. It was lots of fun. But break ended too soon for our liking, and once again, Gryffindor tower was full of people. The night everyone returned, Meg and I were sitting in our room, talking and doing our homework. I looked down to add a sentence to my essay. When I looked up, Meg's quill and dropped from her hand, and she had gone into another trance. I took a deep breath, and remembered what Meg had told me. I pushed everything off her bed, and helped her lay down. I dashed downstairs, and over to where Harry sat. "Harry, can you go get Dumbledore? Meg needs him, fast," I told him. Harry nodded, and left. He knew all about Meg being a seer. Hermione and Ron looked confused. "It's nothing, really," I told them, "Meg just wants to ask him something." They nodded, and went back to their homework.
* * * A few minutes later As told by Megan Riddle
When I woke up, I was in my own bed. I grasped my neck, and felt it move when I breathed. I sighed and relaxed. The door opened, and Dumbledore walk in, shortly followed by Harry and Erika. He dismissed them, and walked over to me. "You were Seeing again, weren't you, Miss Riddle?" he asked. I nodded, sitting up in the bed, "I know what it means, Headmaster. I know what I Saw." Dumbledore nodded, and said, "What was it?" I took a deep breath and answered, "There's going to be another attack on Hogwarts."
A/N- end of chapter 8. Well, it's decided. I decided to change the title of this story to "Erika: The Legacy of Lily and James", which I hope will fit. So, next time I post, it will most likely be under that name. I'll try to post more often, I had a touch of writer's block, which is why this chap is short. Well, I hope you enjoyed it anyways. Now, REVIEW!!!!
Any additional comments can be given to me at StarlightEve111@aol.com
Disclaimer- I own this much: 0. As in zero. As in nothing. It all belongs to the great Harry Potter people.
Read on!
Erika
Christmas break came. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all going home, and Gryffindor tower was going to be virtually empty (Meg and I both thought it had something to do with the Halloween occurences). Avery, Jewel, and Lucy were going home too, which was good (they're talking late in the night was getting ANNOYING). The day they left, Meg and I decided to leave the tower and wander around (hoping not to get lost). It was something to do, and we still didn't quite know our way around the vast castle. We weren't quite sure WHERE we were an hour later, and we were leaning against the wall, trying to figure out which way we came (through what door, which hallway, and so on), or hoping someone would find us. We heard footsteps coming down through the hall. "Somebody's coming!" Meg hissed. I nodded, "Hopefully they can show us the way back to the tower. This is the last time I ever go down a corridor that I don't know." Meg grinned. The footsteps drew closer, and we turned to see Professor Jones standing there, smiling at us. "Megan, Erika, you're a bit of a ways from the Gryffindor tower," Professor Jones said, smiling at us. I shrugged, "Well, we decided to go for a walk, try to figure out more of the castle." "And we got lost," Megan finished. Professor Jones nodded, "Happens to everyone. Why don't you two join me in my office for a cup of tea, then I can show you back to the tower?" Meg and I exchanged glances, and nodded, "Okay, sure." I was actually very eager to hear about Professor Jones' friends, mostly my mum. "Great." she said, and looked at her watch, "Allright, come over here." We walked over to stand beside her, and watched as a staircase suddenly appeared in front of us. "How did you know it was going to do that?" I asked. "At six minutes past every hour, this staircase appears. Did you forget who I was friends with?" she asked, and grinned at us. I was sure she was talking about my parents. Harry had told me our dad was what they called a "Marauder" and had constantly been getting into trouble. We went up the stairs, and followed Professor Jones down quite a few hallways, until I realized we were in fimilar territory. Professor Jones led us into her office. "Sit down, I'll go start the tea," she said, and hurried into the room. Meg and I sat down on some chairs, and looked around. It was comfortably furnished. There was a few pictures hanging on the wall. I went over to look at one. It was four girls, that looked just a little older than me. I reckognized one as Professor Jones, only a younger version of herself. The three others I had never met. "They're my best friends," Professor Jones said behind me, "That one's Netta Prewett. She always took the pictures. It's because of her I have so many of us. She was a photographer. That one's Andrea McKinnon. She had the most fashion sense out of all of us, and was constantly telling us that what we were wearing was all wrong for us. And that one's Lily Evans Potter, your mother." I stared at the picture. Harry had showed me some pictures of our parents when they were older, but I had never seen a picture of her that young. Her hair was short, and red, and she was smiling. "This was in our second year," Professor Jones said. "Professor Jones." I stared. "Call me Anya, please," Professor Jones interuppted smiling at me. I nodded, and started again, "Okay, then. Anya, what was my mother like, when you knew her?" "She was the best friend anyone could have asked for. She was very smart, but really nice. She was a lot of fun to be around," Anya told me. When we had sat down to drink the tea, Anya asked us how we liked school here so far. "Harry told me that Professor Snape hates us because of Mum and Dad, right?" I asked. Anya laughed, "Yes. We were quite evil to him in school, not that he didn't deserve it or anything, of course." "He's not mean to us anymore," Meg pointed out, "Ever since that first day, when he saw me, he stopped." I nodded, "That's right, isn't it? Anya, do you know why he's not so evil to us anymore?" Anya looked at us, back and forth, "Do you really want to know?" We nodded. "Alright, but you have to promise you won't tell anyone, okay? This is Snape's business," Anya said. "We promise," Meg and I agreed. "Okay, then. Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning. Snape was always mean to the Gryffindors because he hated them, he always has, but he was especially evil them because of my friends and I. After he got out of Hogwarts, however, he got married, as usual. He had a wife and a three year old daughter - I believe her name was Ariea, or something like that. Anyway, after Voldemort's downfall, a very important Death Eater decided that Snape was a spy, which he was. Without telling anyone, that Death Eater and a few others, when and attacked Snape's house nine years ago. He wasn't there at the time, but they killed his wife and daughter. They said it was a warning, and that they would be back. They never figured out who it was, and Snape never fully recovered," Anya explained. "Wow," Meg whispered, in shock. Suddenly, a thought occurred to me, and I asked, "Meg, does your sister look a lot like you?" Meg nodded, "Yeah. If she were my age, we'd be idenical." Then my thought struck her. "No . . . you don't mean . . ." Meg started. "Ruth was a murderer, right?" I asked. "Yeah, she killed tons of people," Meg answered, "You don't think it was Ruth, do you?" "It has to be, it all fits," I said. Meg nodded, "She is perfectly capable." "Girls, you've found your answer," Anya said. We finished up our tea, and said bye to Anya, then went back up to the tower before dinner. "We don't tell anyone," Meg said, "Even though Snape hate's us, we won't tell anyone. Okay?" I nodded, "No one."
On Christmas Eve, Meg and I wasted the entire day. I actually talked her into letting me sleep in until nine (a huge accomplishment, trust me). We played chess, Exploding Snap, and talked. The tower was basically empty (due, in some part, to the Halloween attack). We went down to the library to look at the copies of the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly (Hermione had left, along with her subscriptions). "Hey, Erika, look, they have something on the Halloween attack," Meg said, and handed me the Daily Prophet. I read it, and said, "They mention you, Meg." Meg looked down and read it, then scowled. "Will anyone get it through their head that I was NOT holding a polite little conversation with a Death Eater?" Meg asked, then threw the paper aside. I looked through some more. "There's an article about you, again," Meg told me, and handed me a recent copy of Witch Weekly. I took it, and read it. "This can't be good. It's written by Rita Skeeter," I said, and scowled. I read it, and was surprised. She actually hadn't said anything that incredibly bad about me. Just that Dumbledore, as well as the Minister of Magic, had come out and said that I was not a dark witch and, indeed, was Harry's sister. "Surprising," Meg said. "Very," I agreed, and then looked down at my watch, "Shoot, it's almost eight. If we're caught in the halls after nine, we'll be in huge trouble, and I have to go up to the owlery."
The next morning, I woke up early. I rolled over in bed, and looked up at the window. Frost rested on it, but rays of sunshine still snuck in. "Meg," I hissed, "Meg, wake up, it's Christmas." Meg groaned in her bed. I rolled my eyes, and threw open her curtains. "MORNING!" I shouted into her ear. She snapped up. "What? Who's dead?" she asked. "No one's dead, silly. It's Christmas morning," I told her, grinning at her, and her question about dead people. She gave me a look, "So?" "Presents," I pointed out, pointing to the smile pile of gifts at the foot of each of our beds. "Wow," Meg whispered, and climbed out of bed. I looked at my own small pile, and smiled. Meg and I exchanged glances, and then sat down. I opened my presents, slowly. Hermione had given me some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and Ron had sent me some Chocolate Frogs. Harry gave me a book on Quidditch ("Haha" read his card) and a new set of quills and ink (I was constantly losing my quills). Meg gave me a bag of stuff from Zonko's Gift Shop. "I hope you like it. I only get a small allowance from the Ministry once a month," Meg said, "It's for school supplies, but I splurged and did Christmas last month." I grinned at her, "It's great. Now I can play some tricks on Harry!" Meg laughed, and said, holding up a figure (imitating the professors), "Ah, yes, the brother-sister thing." I laughed. I opened Anya's next. It was a black school bag, much better than my regular one, which was a faded black-gray. I grinned as I rolled up the wrapping paper, and threw it in the wastebasket. "Erika, you missed one," Meg told me, and pointed to a small rectangle package wrapped in silver paper. I picked it up, and unwrapped it. I opened the box. In it was a key on a purple string, with a note. "What does it say?" Meg asked. I opened it, and she read over my shoulder. Erika, Your parents were always ones to think ahead. They entrusted this key to me with instructions. This is the key to your personal vault in Gringotts Wizard Bank. In it you will find a good amount of wizard money to provide for you. Merry Christmas.
"That's . . . weird," Meg said. I nodded, and pulled the key out. "It has the Gringotts symbol on it," Meg told me, "Here, wait." She stood up and went to her trunk. She opened it, and searched around for a second. "Here," she said, and sat back down. She handed me something. It was a key, identical to the one I held in my hand. I looked at the two. "Well, I guess it's authentic," I told her. She nodded.
That evening, Hedwig came to the tower, with a letter from Harry. I opened it, and read it by the fire.
Erika, Merry Christmas! I hope you liked what I got you. I thought the book might help you when (not if) you try out next year. I also thought you might need the quills and ink. I liked what you got me. So, thanks. We're going to go see the apartment tomorrow. I'll write you after that. Bye. Harry
"Meg, do you have a piece of parchment?" I asked. Meg nodded, and took some out for me. I told Hedwig to wait, and quickly wrote a letter to Harry.
Merry Christmas, Harry! Thanks for the book and quills. I needed them. We had a nice Christmas. It's really quite in the tower. I got this really strange gift from someone, I dunno who. They said it was a key to my own vault at Gringrotts Bank. Meg and I reckon it is, it looks like it is at least. I dunno what to do with it. Anyways, hope you had a good Christmas. Erika
At dinner, the entire Gryffindor table was empty (but there were a few others there, about twenty students). Meg and I could talk freely. "This is the first Christmas I've actually gotten anything for," Meg told me, "Before, it was just like any other day. My grandfather didn't let us celebrate Christmas, or pretty much anything. Halloween was his favorite holiday." I was surprised. Meg hardly ever talked about her life before Hogwarts. "You know the funny thing?" Meg asked. I shook my head, "What?" "No one there seemed to care," Meg answered, then changed the subject, "I'm hungry. Pass me a roll."
The rest of break was spent by Meg and I doing what we couldn't do with tons of other people around: being lazy. We walked around in our pjs, and didn't get out of bed until noon. It was lots of fun. But break ended too soon for our liking, and once again, Gryffindor tower was full of people. The night everyone returned, Meg and I were sitting in our room, talking and doing our homework. I looked down to add a sentence to my essay. When I looked up, Meg's quill and dropped from her hand, and she had gone into another trance. I took a deep breath, and remembered what Meg had told me. I pushed everything off her bed, and helped her lay down. I dashed downstairs, and over to where Harry sat. "Harry, can you go get Dumbledore? Meg needs him, fast," I told him. Harry nodded, and left. He knew all about Meg being a seer. Hermione and Ron looked confused. "It's nothing, really," I told them, "Meg just wants to ask him something." They nodded, and went back to their homework.
* * * A few minutes later As told by Megan Riddle
When I woke up, I was in my own bed. I grasped my neck, and felt it move when I breathed. I sighed and relaxed. The door opened, and Dumbledore walk in, shortly followed by Harry and Erika. He dismissed them, and walked over to me. "You were Seeing again, weren't you, Miss Riddle?" he asked. I nodded, sitting up in the bed, "I know what it means, Headmaster. I know what I Saw." Dumbledore nodded, and said, "What was it?" I took a deep breath and answered, "There's going to be another attack on Hogwarts."
A/N- end of chapter 8. Well, it's decided. I decided to change the title of this story to "Erika: The Legacy of Lily and James", which I hope will fit. So, next time I post, it will most likely be under that name. I'll try to post more often, I had a touch of writer's block, which is why this chap is short. Well, I hope you enjoyed it anyways. Now, REVIEW!!!!
Any additional comments can be given to me at StarlightEve111@aol.com