Chapter Two:

Harry rushed into the great hall out of breath, eyes searching for his two best friends, Hermione and Ron. He needed to talk to them, and straight away. He had to tell them all about Grace Riddle before Dumbledore made his opening speech for the day, and ruined her reputation. Harry knew people would react the same way he did, with his mouth dropping open and making a rude comment, or even worse. He shuddered at the thought of what other Gryffindors might do to her, even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff would harm a potential threat to him and their cause. His mind raced as he sprinted the short distance from the doors of the Great Hall to where his friends and he always sat for meals. He sat down winded, and Hermione looked up from her time-table to give him a questioning look.

"I have to talk to you two, now," he said bending his head closer to imply that it was secretive.

At this point the sound of a knife hitting a water glass resounded through-out the great hall and Hermione turned away from him saying, "Shh, Dumbledore has something to say."

This was it. Grace Riddle was done for. There was no good to come from this. He knew no one would see the girl as he did, as a person who was just as threatened by Lord Voldemort as he was. No one would believe that Tom Riddle would kill his own flesh and blood, no one would believe what he believed. But, no one knew the rath of Tom Riddle either. No one but Harry, Ginny, and Grace really understood the measures of his wrath. He winced, and layed his head in his hands as Dumbledore began to speak.

"I have an annoucement," Dumbledore's voice rang out across the great hall, "I would like to introduce to you our new transfer student from America, Grace Riddle."

A great uproar of whispers spread throughout the hall. Harry took this time to look, and saw Grace emerge from a door near the teacher's table. She looked positively radiant, and was no longer in absurd clothing meant for summer. Now she was decked out in elegant red robes, and underneath he saw a black pleated skirt, white button down shirt, and black shoes. He smiled as he noticed her hair seemed to be a shade darker, and was now straight and curled up at the ends. Her eyes also seemed to lighten up as the morning sun gleamed in behind her.

"Quiet down, please, quiet down. Now, Ms. Riddle will be attending classes here until we deem it safe for her to go back home. We ask that you extend your Houses hospitality, for it must be hard for her to uproot and leave everything behind. Thank-you," he finished his speech and silence echoed off the walls. He turned to Grace, whispered something in her ear, and she nodded. Dumbledore returned to his seat, and Grace, head held high, walked past everyone, to the far end of the Gryffindor table, and took a seat. Harry noticed her close her eyes again, and suddenly open them, as a book bag flew out of the room next to the teachers table, and land graciously next to her on the table. She spared a glance at Dumbledore, cocking her head to the side, and raising her eyebrows, as if testing him to challenge her. When he merely smiled back, she opened her book bag and retrived a text book, and binder, and began working away.

Harry turned his attention back to his friends who were gaping down the table, along with everyone else in Gryffindor, and the other three houses, at the girl who sat there. He hung his head down, before getting up and picking up his bag. He began to walk when a voice stopped him.

"Where are you heading, Harry?" Hermione said looking up at him.

Harry didn't even bother turning around, "To sit with a friend." With that he continued down the narrow path and sat across from Grace who didn't look up from her studies. Why am I here, she didn't even acknowledge me, obviously I shouldn't be here. But once again, his thoughts were brought to a stop when Grace spoke to him. He made a mental note on how calm and cool her voice was.

"That is a good question, Harry, why are you here," she looked up at him, and thier eyes locked, and he could see her gazing past his eyes and into his mind. He could feel her digging through his feelings, his memories, his past, his present, his future. He could feel her searching through his life, looking for something he couldn't identify. He shuddered, and automatically resorted to Occulumcy. He focused, and shut her off from his mind. Her eyes immediately snapped shut, and she screamed, before falling back off the bench. He stood up and peered over the table at her, her face was extremely white and her eyes were pinched shut, and her mouth was moving at an alarming rate, as if she was talking to someone.

"Move over!" shouted Hermione, as she graced the scene with her presence, wand pointed at Grace.

"Accio!" And suddenly, Hermione's wand was no longer in her hand, but in that of Dumbledore's. "I wouldn't do that. She has to fight this herself. Just wait, and watch."

Everyone in the hall watched as Grace's muscles began to tense up, and she shook uncontrolably. And just like that, a few minutes had barely passed when she began to relax and color return to her cheeks. Her eyes were no longer pinched shut, and a smile spread across her face; she looked like she was in a state of overwhelming happiness and serenity.

"Ah, she has won yet again, Mr. Potter, please take Ms. Riddle up to the Gryffindor common room and apply a cold towel to her forehead. Take Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley with you. Everyone else, I believe classes begin shortly." Dumbledore turned and strode off across the Great Hall only to dissapear behind the door to the adjoing room by the teacher's table.

Hermione sighed before muttering Locomotor corpus, and Grace levitated into the air. Harry packed up her book bag, and followed Ron and Hermione out of the Hall and up to the common room where they spent the rest of the day lulling L Grace out of a strange coma.


Grace didn't know exactly why she was doing it, digging through his head, she had no reason to, but at the same time she felt she had to. Some unknown force was beckoning her to follow it into his mind, into every corner of his mind. She wanted, no she needed to know the infamous Harry Potter on a more real level, a level where there are no secrets, a level where you can hide behind nothing. He did not react as well as she thought he would have, and shut her out of his mind. Her eyes snapped up and met his one final time before she was sucked back into the nightmare.

Everything was cold, and she could see her breath as little clouds in front of her as she made her way down the hall. The hallway had a familiar presence about it, and she glanced around her as she continued towards the door. Pictures hung on the wall, some poeple she knew, like her mother, Amelia Riddle, and her father, and a few other nameless relatives she knew only by face; some people she did not know, but they were all connected to him, all were connected to her. The door was calling to her, begging her to walk through it, to give into temptation, to throw it all away. The hall had a musty smell, and the lighting was dim, and she could only just make out spiderwebs along the walls and floors, and she could feel the dust that had collected over the years. That was when his voice game to her, it always did, and every time it did, she smiled.

Something snapped in her mind, she could feel it. Grace could feel she had been moved off the cold stone floor in the Great Hall, and now felt as if she was lying on a couch or bed of some type. She also recognized voices around her, and sensed it must be late in the day from the way they were talking in hushed tones as if they did not wish to be overheard. She felt water dripping down her face and across her jaw, and realized she was either sweating, or had water on her head. She tuned all this out, and focused on the three voices.

"Harry, what was she doing to you?" came the voice of a female, and a face popped to the front of Grace's mind. This girl had bushy brown hair, comforting brown eyes, and a soft voice, and Grace could tell that she was a close friend to Harry.

"It was strange, one minute I was sitting there thinking, and the next she was in my mind. It was like Leglimency, only it felt like she could go much deeper than you can with that. She did it at an alarming pace, like she needed to find something or else she would die," Harry's voice trailed off, and Grace knew he had turned to look at her. She knew she must look peaceful, she was always told that she did when she was listening to his voice. It was just calming.

"Harry, mate, you should be careful. She is a Riddle, related to You-Know-Who, maybe she was trying to pry you for information for him. I mean, their lot, they are all bad. Every. Last. One." the deep voice of a male came to her, and another face popped into her head. This one had bright red hair, blue eyes, and many freckles, and the last time she'd seen him, he was smiling joyously. Now, she was sure his smile was no longer present. They are all bad. Every. Last. One. The voice of the red-head rang over and over in her ears, until she had finally heard enough.

Without warning Grace bolted up right and the wet rag that was on her forehead slide down to her lap. She looked at it, a small smile tugging at her lips, while she fought the urge to roll her eyes at the same time. Ah, the Gryffindors took care of me. How sickly sweet. She looked at Harry, then turned her attention to the bushy haired one. Grace tilted her head as she examind her up close, and she could feel the fear emminating from her. Head held high, the girl tried to hold up her facade of bravery and fearlessness, but Grace knew better, and it made her sick.

Hermione sat perfectly still in a chair opposite Harry and Grace. She kept her eyes on both of them, and when Lily turned to face her, she forced her head up. Oh, my. She is going to read into my mind. She will hurt me like she hurt Harry; good going Ron! She will hurt us all, damn Riddles! Ron is right, they are all horrible. Every. Last. One., thought Hermione, her eyes staring straight back at Grace's.

A smile broke on Grace's face and this action scared Hermione even more. "Don't worry, Hermione, is it?" asked Grace, cocking her head to the side, and raising her eyebrows in question. Hermione noticed a small spread across Harry's face at this gesture, and her eyes dropped immediately to capture his. However, for once, her glare did nothing for Harry because he was already locking his eyes with Grace's.

"Harry! Don't do that! You know what she did to you last time," came her voice, must smaller and quieter than she intended it to be. Both Harry and Grace returned their gazes to Hermione, causing her to sink back a little in her chair.

"Fear not, brave Gryffindor, for I am the least of your worries. May I ask you something," mocked Grace, a smile playing at her lips the entire time.

"Of course you may, Grace."

"Why does it bother you when Mr. Malfoy calls you a Mudblood?"

Hermione looked dumbstruck at Grace, how could she know about that! Grace seemed to understand completely and tapped her right temple twice. The answer became clear, and she answered, "I am not a bad witch or a bad person just because I am not a pureblood, and it is cruel and close-minded." Hermione crossed her arms as if she could see no point in this conversation.

A small crowd had gathered since classes were now over, and students were pouring into the common room. Everyone who was present huddled around the couch and chairs by the fireplace to witness the arguement between Hermione Granger and Grace Riddle.

Grace continued, "Then, why may I ask, am I automatically a bad person because I am a Riddle? I do not believe that my blood line makes me a foul person, and you clearly think that bloodlines are not important, so why, may I ask, are you lumping me in with the rest of my family? Why, Ronald Weasley," her eyes moved from Hermione to Ron in a split second, "am I horrible becuase of my blood, if she is not?"

Their was a communative gasp throughout the room as all Gryffindors just realized that the Golden Trio had been beaten at their own game. That all of Gryffindor tower was proven hipocrits for their actions. Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock, and Ron's face was boiling red with anger. Grace simply smiled, and walked throught the parting crowd towards the portrait. Upon reaching the portrait she turned and faced the crowd, her eyes seeking out one black boy. Her eyes found her target and locked onto him in a second, "No, Dean, technically I am not disgracing your house by being here, I am disgracing my family name and the House of Slytherin. I am related to our late Salazar, after all." She turned and walked through the portrait hole. No one spoke after she left, and instead they all looked over at the Dream Team, all who had their eyes on their shoes. Never before had they been so stuned.