Author's Note: Okay, so this may be my last update for awhile. I am in the long haul for the end of term (only forty-four long days) and then my end of term exams will be completed, and summer break will be upon me. So, please don't kill me. I love the person who reviewed.
Disclaimer: I only own Grace Riddle. Everyone else is JKR's imagination.
Chapter Four:
The day started out smoothly, and while Grace refused to sit with Harry and his friends at breakfast and lunch, she did agree to walk to class with them. He didn't know if this was because she had no idea where she was going, or because she wanted to, but either way he was happy. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Grace were walking through the hallway on their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts, when the most dreadful thing happened; Malfoy and his gang came sauntering down the hall towards them. Harry got an uneasy feeling in his stomach, and he chanced a glance at Ron and Hermione who seemed to feel the same way he did. In no time, Draco Malfoy was on top of them, and they had no where to turn.
"Potter, Weasel, and Mudblood," sneered Malfoy, tilting his head towards each one of them as he said their name. He was still mean, but now he had an air of politeness about him too. It made him all the more unbearable.
Hermione was about to retort when Grace stepped forward and silenced all of them. "Draco, do you not have class? I was under the impression that Slytherin had Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors, and I am positive Professor Lupin would want you to attend class."
Draco's mouth fell open as he recognized the girl standing in front of him, "Grace Riddle, I was under the impression that you had gone away and would never return. Why did you destroy our hopes?"
Both Harry and Ron made to jump Malfoy; Harry because he wanted to defend Grace, Ron because any reason was a good reason to beat up a Malfoy. Once again, Grace was too fast, "I was seriously considering it, but then I remembered you, and I just had to rush back here at once." A sick feeling rose in Harry's stomach again as he watched Grace reach out and touch his arm, while batting her eyelashes furiously. However, a smile replaced this sickening feeling when Malfoy backed away nervously at the contact, and managed to find himself, and his cronies cornered against a wall.
"Now, Draco," cooed Grace, in a voice that made Harry's skin crawl, "run to class, you will be late, and we wouldn't want Grandfather to find out your falling behind in your studies. That would be most unfortunate."
"Yes, of course, Ms. Riddle. I will get right to it," and with that he burst past them all, Crabbe and Goyle right behind him.
Grace turned around with a smile on her face that quickly vanished when she saw the faces of those who had witnessed the event. Ron was redder than the night before, Hermione's jaw had a habit of falling open, and Harry just look starry eyed.
"What," she asked, her voice no louder than a whisper, her eyes cast downward.
"You made Malfoy run away!" screamed Ron, as he jumped up and down doing some sort of victory dance.
"I have never seen him so scared, that was bloody brilliant, Grace," said Hermione, who was busy trying to calm down Ron, while flashing her a smile.
Relief flooded Grace as she looked at the people she was beginning to think might become loyal friends. "Thanks, but we have class." With that, everyone was running down the hall so as not to be late to Professor Lupin's class.
The four of them entered the classroom just as Professor Lupin was about to start his lesson for the day. Since they were the last students to arrive seats were scarce, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron opted to sit in the back, while Grace choose a seat in the front. Professor Lupin began his lesson discussing the proper wand technique for the various spells they had learned the previous lesson. Harry took this time to lean across the table and whispered to Ron and Hermione, "Do you think she is okay, now?" He nodded his head in Grace's direction. Both of them mumbled 'yeah' before something Professor Lupin was saying caught all their attention.
"Ms. Riddle, will you please stand up," he asked, turning his head towards where Grace was seating. He titled his head and raised his eyebrows at her.
"Of course, Professor," replied Grace, pushing her self back from the table where she was working on some muggle schoolwork, and stood.
"Yes, thank you. Over there please," said Lupin, motioning to a blank spot across from him in the front of the classroom. "Now, I am under the impression that a few years ago you were taught how to fight the Imperius Curse." There were murmurs through-out the classroom verifying his beliefs before he continued, "Dumbledore has granted me permission this year to teach you the basics of wand less magic, but in order to do so you must first be able to overpower such curses as the Imperius."
Harry was now throughly confused. He thought wand less magic was impossible, and apparently Hermione had the same thought as her hand shot up in the air. "Professor Lupin," she said, "I was under the impression that it was impossible to do wand less magic."
Lupin smiled. "You are only half right Ms. Granger. Many advanced witches and wizards are able to do simple spells without wands if they learn to target their magic. As you know, magic is in the blood, not in the wand. Now, overpowering such a curse as the Imperious is simple will power, and in that will power lies the wand less magic. If you do not wish to succumb to a curse or spell, most cases you will not. If you wish to summon something from across the room, you will. Anamagi do not mutter spells before turning into their animal, they simply want to, and do. Does that answer your question, Ms. Granger?" finished Lupin, again titling his head, this time smiling while raising his eyebrows. Harry was positive he had seen a similar head tilt before, but he could not place where.
"Yes, Professor, but may I ask why you need a muggle like Ms. Riddle to help you?" asked Hermione, motioning towards Grace with her hand. Grace turned and faced Hermione, eyebrows raised and head titled to the left.
Professor Lupin turned his gaze towards Grace, his own head tilted, and eyebrows raised in question. Harry looked back and forth between the two of them, their identical looks sinking into his head. Lily's quirky head tilt was the same one Lupin gave his students when he asked them a question. Harry raised his own eyebrows in question, but why would they have the same quirky trait? he asked him self.
Grace's gaze turned and met Lupin's and she merely shrugged. Lupin seemed to take this as an adequate answer to his unasked question and pressed on with the lesson. "Now, like I told Ms. Granger, your own will power can over rule almost any curse thrown at you. I will demonstrate." He turned towards Grace, "Would you like to throw a curse at me, or I at you?"
"Well, I can't exact 'throw' curse, so I choose option B," replied Grace, her voice very calm, noticed Harry, even though she was about to have a controlling curse placed on her.
"Very well. Gra-I mean, Ms. Riddle, please let the curse hit you, but not affect your judgement," and with that, he said the curse, and it hit Grace square in the chest. He looked generally pleased about something, a smile spreading across his face. He said one word, "Jump."
Grace, however, just stood there. Harry remember the amount of concentration and power it took him to attempt to overpower the curse a few years earlier. And even then, the curse won out in the end, and he half jumped causing severe pain in his knees as they were pulled between jumping and not. She did not looked fazed, and just stood there, eyebrows raised, staring at Professor Lupin.
He muttered, Finite Incantatum, before pressing on, "You let it hit you, Grace. And you did not do what I told you once hit, very good. You may sit down."
Lily merely shrugged as she bee-lined for her seat. "I did what you said," she said as she pulled out her chair and sat down.
Confusion masked Lupin's face, and he asked her, "You did?"
"Yes, I did. You told me to let it hit me, and then not be affected by it. That is precisely what I did."
"She is right, Professor, she did exactly what you told her," came Hermione's voice from the back of the classroom. Everyone turned to look at her. "Thank you, Hermione," came Grace's reply to this.
Lupin turned his attention back to Grace, and asked, "Are you saying that had I told you not to fight the curse, or to not let it hit you, you would have done just that?"
"Most likely," responded Grace, who was now looking back and forth between an open textbook on her desk, and the notes she had taken down on it before her demonstration.
"Why would you do that?" asked Lupin, who seemed to be quite unnerved by that fact that Grace had listened to his instructions. Harry sat through all this thinking both Hermione's and Lupin's actions were strange. Hermione was trying to defend someone she had hated no more than an hour earlier, and Lupin was upset because a student had listened to him.
"You were trying to prove a point, Professor. A point to help the students learn, and I believe that is why they are attending this class. To learn." Both Harry and Hermione's mouth dropped open at her blatant, but truthful statement, and Ron just sat their looking back and forth between the two as if it was a tennis match.
"Next time, I must ask you to not listen to my instruction, Ms. Riddle, and do what comes as instinct."
"Alright, I can do that," said Grace, as she waved her hand in front of his mouth, while closing her eyes.
Professor Lupin opened his mouth to say more, but no words, or sound came out. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water for a few moments, before he continued to yell at her even though nothing could be heard. Lily packed up her book bag, and made for the door. She turned the knob, and pushed the door open, before turning around, and muttering Finite Incantatum. Professor Lupin's shouts could be heard all the way down the hall, as Grace walked towards the statue that marked the entrance to her room.
Grace walked very quickly away from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom seeking the silent solitude of her room. Lost in her thoughts and paying no attention to direction or time it was thirty minutes before Lily rounded the last corner and found herself in the last corridor leading to her destination. Her mind elsewhere, she did not notice the sound of footsteps approaching down the other corridor, and when she turned the corner she found herself plowing into a large object, the momentum causing her to tumble backwards.
A bit dazed from the accident Grace was surprised to find herself staring up at a very tall boy that had to be her age, with dark brown hair and very deep blue eyes. To say he was handsome would be an understatement. He reached out a hand to help her up.
"My apologies," he said as she took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. He had a calm and smooth voice, and was very strong. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
Grace looked up at him smiling, noting how much taller than her, he was. "No apologies needed. I must admit I was lost in my own thoughts."
"Theodore Nott," he said holding out his hand in introduction.
"Grace Riddle," she replied, taking his hand and shaking it, never once breaking the eye contact they were holding throughout the whole ordeal.
"You're the Riddle girl," he stated, looking her up and down, taking in every last detail.
Grace gave him a strange look, as if thinking how to reply to this simple statement; it only took her a second for one to come. "Last time I checked, but I suppose things could have changed since then. I'll inform you when I get the next memo."
A smile spread across Theodore's face, and he even let out something that resembled a laugh. "Your funny," he said before shaking his head and moving on, "Don't you have class?"
"Double potions with Snape," she said, a hint of disgust beneath her friendly tone. "I don't really feel like going."
Grace was unaware of the fact that they had been walking for the duration of their conversation and had ended up in the dungeons. "Well, we're here now," said Theodore motioning to the door a few feet ahead of them, "Do you care to come to class now?"
Grace laughed at the whole situation. She had intended to go to her room, take a long mind-clearing bath, and finish her essay for her history class. But here she was, talking with an incredibly cute boy, who had lead her to her potions class. "Sure, but what's your excuse?" she asked him in a snobbish know-it-all tone as if she was thinking he didn't have a proper excuse.
He took a folded piece of parchment out of his robes and waved it in front of her eyes. "Flitwick," he stated simply and clearly as if this one word made complete sense.
Grace shook her head and let out a small laugh. She had to admit there was something about this Theodore Nott boy that made her smile and laugh involuntarily; he was just funny. She took a few steps towards the Potions classroom, but Theodore did some half skip-step to beat her to it and opened the door politely. "After you, Gracey'" he said, holding a hand out indicating to walk through the door.
"Thanks, Theo!" she exclaimed, laughing and smiling as she brushed past him into the potions classroom.
"Hem, hem."
Both Grace and Theodore dropped their flirtatious banter and looked up into the cold stare Professor Snape was giving them. Grace's hand shot up to cover her mouth as she tried to suppress the fit of giggles that threatened to overcome her. Professor Snape rounded on Theodore first, "Mr. Nott, why are you late?" he asked, irritation behind his tone.
Theodore held up the note that was still in his hand and muttered something barely comprehensible about Flitwick and charms tutoring. Snape ripped the parchment out of Theodore's grasp and read it twice over before nodding and motioning towards an empty seat in the front of the classroom.
"However, Mr. Nott," said Snape, turning around to face the back of Nott's head, "Next time please come straight to class instead of flirting with muggles such as Ms. Riddle here." He finished turning again to look at Grace with a look of disgust, but could she feel the pleasure he took from insulting her behind it.
"Now class, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, this is a N.E.W.T. level class, and how half of you made it thus far is amazing. You will be split into small groups and will remain in said group the remainder of the year. Understood?" Their were murmurs of understanding from the class accompanied by sighs and eye rolls. "Granger, Malfoy, and Longbottom, you are group number one. Potter, Nott, and Brown, you are group number two. Crabbe, Weasley, and Zambini, you are group number three. And last but not least, Parkinson, Patil, and Riddle, you are group number four. Please arrange you seats so you are sitting with your group members"
There were grunts of disgust and a few squeals of happiness as the classroom adjusted to fit Snape's requirements. Grace found herself walking towards a desk where Pansy and Parvati had situated themselves towards the front of the classroom, most likely to be better observed by Professor Snape, though Grace could not see why anyone would want to be seen by that excuse of a man. She sat her stuff down and took a seat next to Parvati and felt the uneasiness at the table, and the looks of worry on her partners faces.
She leaned across the table and whispered, "I am not a dog, I won't bite." She heard the table behind her suppress giggles and turned around to see Harry and Theodore trying very hard to keep a straight face. She adjusted her chair backwards so she could speak to them without being caught by Snape.
"I've always been horrible at whispering, but at least you two think I am funny. That is more than I can say for these girls," said Grace, waving her hand at her table mates who were eyeing her suspiciously.
"Ms. Riddle," came the sound of Professor Snape's voice from in front of her. She raised her head, a smile tugging at her lips, and muttered to Harry and Theodore 'busted' under her breath. "Ten points from..whatever house you are apart of. ."
Grace's smile never faltered as she asked, "Whatever for Mister Snape?" She fought back the urge to laugh as Snape fought back anger, his face growing paler, however he somehow managed to stay calm.
"Talking," he answered simply. "There is to be no talking out of turn in this class."
"Alright, no talking," she repeated, as she reached into her bag pulling out a pen and piece of paper, while the rest of the class looked at her as if she was committing a crime. She quickly scribbled something down on the paper, turned around, and placed both pen and paper on the desk in front of Harry. Harry looked down at the paper in front of him which said, Fine, I won't talk then. I have to say, my comment a few minutes ago was not that funny., and back up at Grace who was smiling innocently.
"Ms. Riddle, another ten points from your house," this time Snape's voice sounding very angry.
"Ah, what did I do now, Mr. Snape," asked Grace again, that same sickly sweet tone in her voice Harry had heard her using hours before on Malfoy.
"I told you, NO TALKING!" yelled Snape, as the entire class scooted backwards in their chairs to be as far away from him as possible, all the while looking back at Grace to see how she would respond.
Grace's temper was starting to rise, but she forced her voice to remain calm and sweet, knowing this would get to him above all else. She could feel his anger rising as well, threatening to boil over, and she knew just what buttons to push and when to get this to occur. "I did not say a single word."
"You wrote a note to Mr. Potter after I told you not to talk. That is in violation of a rule, Ms. Riddle."
The entire class was now in awe of the argument going back and forth between Professor Snape and Grace, and no one had any doubt Grace would be the one winning this one. Her voice was much colder now as she addressed their potions teacher, but it was no less sickening to hear her speak that way.
"You told me not to talk. I did not talk, I did not utter a single word, instead, I was creative and wrote a note to Harry. That is not in violation of any rules I knew of. Unless, of course, you are sick and twisted and have a problem with creativity." Just as she was about to continue her rant there was a knock on the door. Professor Snape's glare left Grace's face and turned to stare at the door. Whoever knocked did not wait for an answer, opened the door, and rushed into the classroom.
"Excuse me, Professor, but I must speak with Ms. Riddle this instant," said Dumbledore as he walked over to stand in-between Grace and Snape. Harry looked at Theodore, who looked back at him, and they both smiled and looked back up at the scene unfolding before them. Harry reckoned it was a good idea for Dumbledore to stand between the two because otherwise one of them might end up severely injured or dead.
"That is not a problem, Professor Dumbledore. Please escort her away from my classroom immediately." With that Grace hoisted her book back onto her shoulder, and followed Dumbledore swiftly out of the classroom.
Grace anxiously followed Dumbledore down the corridor and away from the potions classroom. She was sending Snape telepathic messages of hatred. It wasn't long before Grace found herself standing in front of the statue that marked the entrance to Dumbledore's office. She followed him up the spiral staircase and entered his office a bit reluctantly. He pointed at a chair by the fire, and she obliged taking a seat across from him.
"Grace I understand that this must be hard for you, but I must ask you, please do not use your powers. There are those here that wish you to be dead, and they will not hesitate to warn You-Know-Who," finished Dumbledore stirring his tea while staring fixedly into the fireplace.
That is one way to get to the point, thought Grace. She watched the shadows of the flames dance across the rug while thinking of a way to respond to Dumbledore. When she was about to reply he spoke again, "Look, Grace, I understand this must be hard for you to lose both of your parents, but please help the Professors here. They all know you possess a unique talent, and are going to try and ease understanding into these students. Please, just help them. They can help others understand you in a way you will never know." He looked up at her, and pleading look behind his eyes.
Grace was instantly reminded of her mother. Her mother always gave her the same pleading look when she was learning to control her powers and was tempted to use them on other people who aggravate her, or those she wished to help. Please darling, they do not understand our kind. Please darling, they are looking for us, do not give us away. They can track you. Please darling, I know you want to help, but you are more powerful than you know. Magic cannot solve everything. Grace was fed up with everyone asking her, pleading with her, begging her not to use her powers; they were hers to use, why couldn't she? This time it wasn't her mother's voice she heard in her head, but her father's. Grace, my love, don't be rash. Control yourself. Magic cannot solve everything. Have fun, and enjoy life. You are, after all, still a child. A smile played across her lips as she thought of her father.
"Alright, Professor, I understand," she responded, getting up to leave, but another thought came across her mind. "Sir, may I ask you why I am here? I mean apart from staying safe, I know there is some other reason. What is that?"
His voice calm and the usual twinkle hiding behind his gaze, Dumbledore looked up at Grace before answering. "You will discover that when the time comes. Until then go to your common room and relax. Have a little fun, Grace. I know you are capable of it. You take after your father"
Grace sighed, knowing she would get no farther than that. She looked at him seeing that the familiar twinkle was still in his stare. She turned to leave him staring off into his fireplace, and made her way towards his door when something on the bookshelf caught her eye, Primal Magic Uncovered. A mixture of emotions hit Grace, as she turned to look back at the old man sitting in the armchair, shadows of flame dancing across his old yet strong figure. Noticing that he was paying her no attention she reached out and took the book off the shelf before continuing towards the door. She made her way down the spiral staircase, down the hall to the entrance of her own room.
The moment she set foot in the silent solitude of her room she was overpowered by another fresh wave of emotion, this time not from herself. Grace sat down on the edge of her bed, placing the book next to her, and focused more intently on where the emotions were coming from. Fear, hatred, anger, and remorse all flooded her being without warning. Her eyes snapped open as she realized who she was in contact and lay back on her bed to submit to the emotions once more.
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 people 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 spider webs 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.
She reached out and touched his portrait on the wall, rubbing her forefinger over his hair, down his cheek, and across his lips. His dark brown hair, always messy and in need of haircut made a familiar smile play across her lips, while his chiseled cheek bone and the way his lips pulled into a carefree smile made her fill with want and desire. A sudden charge of energy overcame her as she turned back to her task and she proceeded down the dark musty hallway. She must get to him before it was too late, must make it past that doorway and into the light. She looked back at his portrait, kissing the glass, removing a layer of dust. His voice came again, this time fear ringing in it.
Please Read and Review!
