a/n Hey guys! Alright all of you out there who like to complain about me never updating, this is the chapter where I get to make you take back all your complaints! I spent a LONG time writing this chapter and making sure it made sense for you to read, as well as making sure I didn't leave out anything important. This is the chapter many of your long lost questions will be answered. :smiles: I do hope you'll find it worth the wait. Please enjoy it whole-heartedly.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I do own a Gryffindor tie! I got lots of funny stares when I wore it to school. Aren't you guys proud of me?
Chapter 18: The Plot Thickens…Literally
Aquinas gulped, afraid to move. He was certain that there was no excuse that could save him now. It wasn't so much that he was worried about Sirius knowing of his rare talent, it was more a matter of what he heard more than the fact that he heard at all.
"Erm…" Aquinas stuttered.
Sirius wagged his tail and panted in a happy manner. Oddly enough, he bent down and licked the top of Aquinas's head, barking in a way that suggested he was laughing amusedly on the inside. Aquinas cocked an eyebrow as the dog turned to leap down the stairs and exit the stadium. He blinked.
"Well…that was weird."
"How was the game?" Bethany asked as Claire returned to the dormitory after dinner.
"It was so much fun!" Claire said happily, taking off her cloak and throwing it on her bed. "Ravenclaw won, of course."
"I figured as much," Bethany commented, looking back and forth between her open Potions book on the floor and the parchment in her hand. Apparently she was answering some questions for Snape's class. "I'm glad you had a good time."
Claire sat down on the edge of her bed, kicking her feet back and forth in a precarious manner. She was still worried that something weird was going on with Bethany, and felt the need to ask her about it.
"Hey, Bethie—" she began.
"Have you done these questions yet?" Bethany asked, jabbing at the paper with her quill. "Number fourteen has me completely stumped…"
Claire blinked a few times, wondering why she had been cut off.
"Is everything okay, Bethany?" Claire asked.
Bethany looked up and shot Claire a quick smile.
"Everything's great aside for the fact that Snape's a git," Bethany replied. "Now about this question…"
"Oh," Claire said, jumping up. "Yeah, let me get my parchment out of my bag…"
As December rolled in, so did a new, cheery atmosphere amongst the students. Claire could hardly help smiling as she entered the Great Hall several days later to find that it had been decorated for the season. Frost-coated Christmas trees, two dozen strands of colorful tinsel, and garlands of holy and mistletoe were enough to make any Hogwarts student put a little spring in their step as they left breakfast to begin another day of classes.
But along with all this holiday cheer, something else surfaced that Claire had undoubtedly overlooked…
Two weeks before the end of term, Claire was sitting down to lunch with Bethany and Ginny, cramming for the Transfiguration test they were having directly following their meal. Slurping up a spoonful of chicken noodle soup, Claire caught sight of Professor McGonagall walking around the table, talking to the students and writing down names on a slip of parchment. Assuming this was for something that didn't effect her, Claire returned her attention to her soup.
"Oh, I forgot!" Ginny said, also catching sight of Professor McGonagall. "She's taking down the people who're staying for the holidays today."
"I'm going home this year," Bethany chimed in. "My cousins from London are coming to our house. I haven't seen them in ages! What about you, Ginny?"
"Yeah, I'm going home, too," she replied, flipping through her notes. "Mum's dinner is too much to miss."
Claire observed that Ginny's eyes darted down to the other end of the table where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were writing their names down on McGonagall's list. Almost instantly, Ginny's glance turned to Claire, but then quickly returned to her notes. Cocking an eyebrow at her, Claire shrugged and returned to her own studying material.
"Miss Weasley? Miss Anderson?" Professor McGonagall said as she approached the threesome. "Are either of you staying this year for the holidays?"
Just as Claire was beginning to wonder why the professor had not asked her if she was staying, the studious teacher turned her attention to Claire. With an almost sympathetic tone, she said, "Don't worry, Miss Woods, your name is already on my list."
Claire's eyes widened in surprise. How did McGonagall know she was going to be staying for Christmas? Did McGonagall know that she didn't have a family in this world to go home to? Or was Claire missing some important piece of information that should have been obvious? She swallowed hard, her heart racing. This wasn't right…
"I'm going home, Professor," Bethany answered, pouring herself some more juice.
"Alright, Anderson," McGonagall said, making a note. She turned to Ginny. "And you, Miss Weasley?"
Ginny glanced from McGonagall to Claire, and then back to McGonagall before anyone could take notice.
"I'll be staying at Hogwarts, too, Professor," Ginny answered.
Claire had to grip the table for support. Ginny went home for Christmas in the book! Only Harry, Ron, and Hermione had remained at school! Why was she staying! Something very strange was going on…
As McGonagall continued to make her way down the table, Ginny swallowed her last bite of soup and asked Bethany and Claire if they wanted to head out early.
"Sure," Bethany answered. She turned to Claire and was about to say something, but stopped when she saw how pale she was.
"Claire, are you okay?" Bethany asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're shaking!"
Claire reminded herself to breathe.
"I'm—I'm fine," she replied. "I think I studied the wrong chapter for this test and I just realized it. I'm gonna skim it for a bit, you two go on without me."
Bethany knew that wasn't it, but agreed. As Ginny got up and headed for the door, Bethany mouthed, "Tell me later." With that she followed Ginny and left Claire to puzzle over what had just happened.
"Curious, isn't it?" said a voice in her ear.
She jumped, realizing Aquinas had just landed on her shoulder. She let out a sigh of relief, happy that someone was here who could possibly answer her question.
"What the hell is going on!" she hissed at him in a panicky tone. "How did McGonagall know I was staying at Hogwarts? And…I don't even know if I'm supposed to be staying! But, I don't have anywhere else to go in this world, so I guess that's right but—"
"That," Aquinas said, grinning a grin that simply screamed I-told-you-so, "is where you'd be incorrect."
"Wh—what?" Claire said. It was as if someone had clamped shut the airways to her lungs. "I don't have anywhere else to go! I've never even been here before—!"
Aquinas chuckled.
"Oh you poor, poor, ignorant little soul," Aquinas said.
"Explain. Now."
"Well, I really can't now, seeing as it will obviously take a while, and you do have a test to be taking…"
"SCREW the test!" Claire exclaimed, putting Aquinas in a choke hold and shaking him violently. "What's going on!"
"Let go!" Aquinas gasped. Claire obeyed. Ruffling his feathers, Aquinas added, "Gather up your stuff and follow me. We'll go back to the dormitory."
Claire did so at a lightening speed, racing out of the Hall and flying through the corridors. A minute and a half later, Claire slammed the door to her dormitory shut and locked it tightly. Throwing down her bag, she looked up at Aquinas, who was perched atop the four-poster, and shouted once again for him to explain.
"See, this is where I get to have my fun," Aquinas muttered. Claire glared, and Aquinas abandoned his taunting to offer an explanation. "Alright, here's the deal. Unlike you, you're grandmother actually thinks before she acts."
"Oh, that really explains a lot, Quin!" Claire snapped.
Aquinas chuckled some more, but regained composure and went on.
"Do you honestly think your grandmother would send you into a story randomly, with not so much as a clue to give the other characters as to how you just appeared there?" Aquinas asked rhetorically. "Claire, don't you remember several weeks ago when you arrived here, Bethany knew your name and who you were?"
Claire nodded, feeling her knees begin to lock.
"Well, that's because, to her, you were always a character in this story," Aquinas explained. "When JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books, she mentioned that there were around a thousand students at Hogwarts. Naturally, Harry isn't going to meet every single one of them. They are people in the background; objects in the plot to take up space. The character of Claire Woods is one of these such students."
"You've lost me," Claire said, shaking.
Aquinas sighed.
"When your great-grandmother sent you here, she was putting you into one of these nameless roles. All of the students here have lives, personalities, families, and histories. JK Rowling just doesn't mention specifically who they are and what their lives are like. This gives people like your grandmother the possibility of putting kids into any of these characters that they so choose. People like your grandmother give kids what they like to call the Gift—the chance to literally be a part of a story they cherish by putting them into one of these nameless roles."
Claire licked her dry lips as the tidal wave of reality splashed over her. She should have realized all of this before now. When she had first arrived here, Ginny and Bethany knew her name. That should have been her first clue. And she had a feeling she was about to catch several more.
"When you're grandmother bestowed upon you this Gift, she was choosing for you which nameless role you were going to have. The way Gifts are supposed to be given is that the Bestowed is close to a character they are familiar with, but far enough away that they won't completely change the story.
"However, your grandmother knew that you wanted to save the life of Sirius Black. This is why she put you with a character that was much closer to Harry than the Bestowed usually get to be with."
"Wait—you're saying that there are other people in this story besides me!" Claire burst out.
"Possibly."
Claire's knees gave way and she sunk onto the floor. She had never even contemplated the fact that she might not have been the only one that had been lucky enough to get a trip to Hogwarts for her twelfth birthday…
Aquinas casually stretched his wings and continued, "Your grandmother observed that JK Rowling never really mentions who Ginny Weasley's friends are. The author never even gives them names. She thought that this would be a suitable role for you to fill, seeing as Ginny is Harry's best friend's sister. She assumed this was as close to Harry as she dare attempt."
"Holy shit…" Claire muttered, feeling slightly nauseous.
"Yeah, that about sums it up," Aquinas agreed, flashing a grin that was dripping with sarcasm. "Anyway, as soon as your grandmother realized you had other fish to fry besides the whale of an adventure you were sent here for, she employed me to come into the story and keep an eye on you. She wanted to make sure you didn't get in too close with any of the main characters." Aquinas's smile widened as he saw the horrified look Claire was sure she was wearing.
"Oh, how the tables have turned!" Aquinas added with satisfaction.
"Holy shit!" Claire exclaimed again.
"My goal was to get you out of the story as quickly as possible. I did my best, but technically, I'm not supposed to interfere much either," Aquinas went on, the grin fading off his face being replaced with a look of vague irritation. "In the end the decision to pull the pranks was yours and yours alone. I am simply a reference guide for you, a resource not many of the Bestowed are blessed with." He paused here for emphasis, closing his eyes in a bored way. "Apparently, you didn't pick up on that either. Most of the Bestowed would have been hounding me for some background information on themselves, wanting to be able to fill their character as best they didn't appear too suspicious. Another thing you didn't do."
"So what is my history then?" Claire said, grabbing her stomach and trying not to be sick. "And why the hell didn't you tell me all this before now!"
"You were supposed to realize all this for yourself, Claire," Aquinas replied, flicking some dust off his wing. "Nevertheless, here it goes…
"You, Claire Woods, are an orphan."
Claire slumped lower onto the floor.
"An orphan!"
"Yes," Aquinas continued. "You're parents were murdered when you were five years old. You've lived in an orphanage ever since and are typically a very grateful person, happy to be here instead of where you live in the summer. Although generally kind to everyone, you hold grudges very easily. You follow the crowd, not wanting to stand out and be noticed. Your character fits the perfect description of that girl in the background that no one can seem to remember the name of."
Her mind was spinning. No wonder McGonagall knew she would be staying for the holidays! She felt stupid once more, remembering how Ginny and Bethany also had kept asking her if she felt alright, thinking she was acting strangely. That would have been the second clue. She wasn't acting like the girl they knew before. She wasn't acting like her character at all…she had been acting like herself.
"Let me guess," Aquinas said helpfully. "Holy shit?"
Claire nodded mutely, afraid she'd ruin the carpet if she opened her mouth.
"Obvious to everyone except you, once again," Aquinas went on, "the show you've been putting has caught everyone's attention. People in the common room can now put a name to your face. Even Harry Potter knows who you are. Which brings me to my final point…"
Claire swallowed hard.
"You had another point?" she managed to say.
Aquinas nodded, smirking. He flew over to her bedside table and picked up The Prisoner of Azkaban with two taloned feet. He tossed it at her and said, "You'll find that an interesting read."
Claire stared at from the owl perched on her bed post to the book in her lap. A book she would never find boring, but certainly a book that had lost the element of surprise to someone like Claire, who had read it dozens of times.
"Aquinas, I've read this book before," she said, hoping against hope that he wasn't about to throw any more surprises her way.
"Oh really?" Aquinas asked, continuing to smirk in that annoying way. "Know it from front to back, do you?"
Claire shook her head and muttered, "I don't really know what I know and don't at the moment."
Thinking it would help her train of thought, Claire picked up the book and tossed it lightly from hand to hand. However, in the midst of doing this, the book thumped onto the floor as Claire's hand didn't get a good grip on it. But this wasn't because of clumsiness…
"It's…" Claire said, picking it up and flipping to the back, "It's thicker…"
"The pages seem to be multiplying, Miss Woods," Aquinas said with raised eyebrows. "And I fear this is only the beginning."
a/n DUN DUN DAAAAAAAAaaa! Was that worth the wait, kids? Hmm :grins evilly and leans back in her chair: Well, I'd ask my usual array of end-of-the-chapter questions, but this chapter is a lot to take in, so I'll let you soak it up and see you the next time I update…:cackles evilly: Things are about to get interesting. Brace yourselves…