Haunted
By Be Boring
Chapter 2: Glimmer of Hope
Necia was most certainly not looking forward to her first day of school. She would be surrounded by a bunch of kids that already knew each other like they knew their own families, she wouldn't be able to work at her own pace like she did back when her mother home schooled her, and she'd have to see Professor Snape again. She hadn't been able to get him out of her mind ever since their brief but uncomfortable meeting a few days ago. His dark eyes had seemed to burn a hole through her soul, as though he'd seen inside her and there was something nasty there that he wanted to get rid of. From the drained feeling that he'd left her with, he might have succeeded.
Actually, one of the things that she was the most nervous about was starting the school year under a false name. Shortly after her mother's death, an owl had shown up with a letter from Narcissa Malfoy, the wife of the cousin that her mother had gone to school with. She had said that she felt an obligation to take care of her husband's family. It hadn't taken much to find out that the cousin was Lucius Malfoy, one of the people who had been arrested as a Death Eater over a year ago. At first Necia hadn't even considered taking up this woman's offer, but after hearing that Narcissa would pay the fees to enter her into Hogwarts as a transfer student, and even under a different surname, she changed her mind. Although she knew the reasoning behind Narcissa's eagerness for a name change was to keep the identity of a bastard Malfoy a secret, she couldn't help but be grateful. She didn't want anyone to know who she was any more than Narcissa did.
Instead, her name was going to be Necia Holt. It wasn't a common name in the wizarding world, so she would be brought in as someone with magical Muggle-born parents. Not that it bothered her, she'd heard that Hogwarts held the most Muggle-born students of any wizarding school in the world, so she wouldn't feel too out of place. The thing she found to be the funniest was that she'd be in the same class as Harry Potter, so the school year was bound to be interesting. Voldemort had finally been killed just this past summer, and all that the newspapers would tell the public was that it had happened somewhere in the Department of Mysteries and Harry Potter had been there as well. Duh, I think most people figured it would come down to something between the Dark Lord and the Boy Who Lived. Anyone who has ever read a mystery novel would come to that conclusion. I'll have to talk to him when I'm at school. It wasn't that she was going to become some star-struck girl, she actually wanted to know what had happened.
The school loomed up in front of her almost like some monster waiting to swallow her into its dark inner corridors, but instead she started comparing it to a medieval castle. She could almost see Professor Snape leading a line of other dark-robed teachers who were all waiting to take her to the rack, shove her naked into a vat of bubotuber pus, or some other unspeakable torture.
It honestly surprised her when the front doors opened just as she was coming up the stone steps. An old man with a long, snowy beard, twinkling blue eyes, and half-moon glasses greeted her with a serene smile on his face and his arms held wide. She easily recognized him as Albus Dumbledore. "Good morning, I do believe you must be Necia Holt. Let's go to my office and see which house you'll be placed in, shall we?"
"I thought that would happen at the Sorting Ceremony?" Necia commented nervously. In spite of the quiet happiness that seemed to radiate from the old man, she couldn't help but feel incredibly intimidated by him. Similarly to how she felt with Snape, but not in such an invasive way, she sensed that he knew what was going on inside her head. Unlike Snape, however, it seemed that whatever he found to be lying dormant inside her pleased him entirely.
"Normally it would, but I don't wish to embarrass you on your first day at a strange school by setting you up in front of the entire school with a group of eleven-year-olds. Despite what most people think, I do remember what it's like to be young, and I know it wouldn't set off your first day the way it should be. The way I see it, we're going to give you a chance to start out everything just like a normal seventh year would. The rest of the students won't even make it here until the evening. As a matter of fact, it's still a few hours before they have to be at the train station to come here. So I'll tell you the idea I had, and we'll see what you think."
Necia started following him through a confusing mixture of corridors, stairways, and hidden passageways until they ended up in what appeared to be a very commonly used hallway that held a gargoyle statue. Dumbledore stopped directly in front of it and said "Shrinking Sugarplum," before stepping onto the moving staircase that appeared in front of them. At her questioning look, his eyes seemed to twinkle even brighter. "It's a creation some former trouble-making students here came up with. I dare say it's helped them eavesdrop on a few more important matters that they had no business with, but that's never stopped them before." Although the words he said would have sounded disapproving if they had been coming from anyone else's lips, if anything he seemed amused. Apparently the thought of these former students getting into trouble didn't concern him too much. Then again, from all I've heard about him, I should trust his judgment. If he thinks there's nothing to worry about, then those kids are probably just fine.
Dumbledore's office was certainly a place of wonder. All the little silvery things she saw dazzled her and made it hard to focus, but even when she did manage to get a good look at one of the gadgets, she had no idea what it was. Dumbledore sat down at his desk and gestured for her to seat herself in one of the chairs that was just in front of it. Her face flushed a deep red as she realized that he was watching her reaction to his office with the utmost amusement. He seems to be entertained easily. How many times have I already seen him with that kind of expression in the last few minutes?
"Now, I'll share my idea with you before I bring down the Sorting Hat. Since you might feel more comfortable if you met some of the students before they all get to school, I was thinking that perhaps we could send you to a friend of mine in London that lives near the train station. She would make sure that you got on the train on time, and this would give you a chance to talk to some students and maybe have some friends by the time you returned here. How does this sound to you?"
Necia hadn't really expected that, but it did sound like a good idea. Meeting some of the kids before school would make everything so much easier, and maybe she'd be able to tag along with them to her classes until she got her bearings in this huge castle. "I guess that sounds pretty good, but I hope you know I'll be uncomfortable meeting them all whether I meet them on the train or right here. My social skills are right up there with a dog's flying skills."
He chuckled and leaned back in his chair, folding his long fingers together neatly so that he could observe her just over the top of them as he rested his elbows on the armrests of his chair and his hands gently rested against his chin. "There's no need to feel nervous. Unlike other students starting here, you'll already know which house you'll be in, so you'll be able to seek out your roommates. Not that you shouldn't make friends with other house members, I encourage it in fact, but you'll be able to follow your roommates to all your classes. There should be at least one that you share the same electives with." How strange, it was like he was mirroring her thoughts. Suddenly, he climbed to his feet and went to a wall full of shelves just over to her left and reached up to pull down a tattered old hat.
She jumped slightly in her seat when a tear near the brim opened and the hat said, "Hmm, another transfer student. They're so hard to place when their minds have already been set in their ways." Before she could ask why that mattered, the hat added, "I place first years in the house that holds the most potential for them, so they'll grow into an adult with the ideals of that house surrounding them. Students who come in their last few years have already nearly grown into adults, so it hardly matters which house they're placed in because it probably wouldn't make a difference in the way they turn out other than the friends they'll have after they're done with school." She glanced nervously at Dumbledore. Was the hat saying that at this point, she was either doomed or not as far as her life went?
"Don't give it too much thought," Dumbledore whispered to her. "It's all up to you whether you change or not. Now, let's find out where you will be, shall we?"
The hat seemed to fall down over her face without touching the sides of her head, so she was enveloped in almost complete darkness. The hat's voice came quietly into her ear, although she felt certain that somehow Dumbledore knew what it was saying. "Hmm, I remember your mother was a Hufflepuff, wasn't she? She asked me to place her in that house because she wanted to be sure of not going into Slytherin, although I wouldn't have placed her there anyway. She was much more suited for Ravenclaw. You, however, I'm not sure belong in either of those. You're running from something, I'll guess your family, so perhaps Slytherin wouldn't be suitable for you. I guess there's only one choice left. GRYFFINDOR!" The hat's voice said the last word much louder, so there was no mistaking where she would be placed. She felt a rush of relief as she pulled the hat off and the light came back to greet her eyes.
"Gryffindor, hmm? I should have guessed, you look like that's where you belong. Is there anything you'd like to ask me?"
How had he known that she had more questions for him? "Well, could you tell me about the girls I'll be staying with? I'd like to know their names at least, and maybe if I'll have a lot of classes with the other Gryffindors in my year."
With just a wave of his hand, a list of what appeared to be schedules flew to him from one of the many drawers in his desk. He straightened his glasses on his crooked nose and held them up closer to his face, then smiled with a strange look of satisfaction. "Ah, yes, you'll be staying with Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Gladys Cade, and Hermione Granger. The Gryffindor boys in your year are Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Neville Longbottom, Ronald Weasley, and Harry Potter. From what I can tell, you share all the same classes as most of the others with the exception of Miss Cade and Miss Granger. Pick whomever you like to follow to class, and be sure it's someone you can trust not to let you step through a trick stair. A couple of the gentlemen might find it entertaining, and there's one in particular who wouldn't do it deliberately, but he often forgets where they are himself."
Well, that was a relief. Now she just had to be careful that nobody found out her true surname. For some reason, she just didn't want anyone to know she was a Malfoy. Hell, most of the Malfoys didn't even know they had an extra relative. She was surprised that Narcissa had known. "I guess there's nothing else I really need to know except for how in the world am I supposed to pack, meet this friend of yours from London, and still be on time for the train?" Although she was of age, Necia wasn't allowed to do magic without her mother's supervision just yet. For students who were home schooled, a test was required before they could perform magic without a parent or guardian nearby, and Necia had been just two weeks away from taking it when her mother died. Needless to say, that test had been the furthest thing from her mind and she had skipped it. Now she regretted it.
Now Dumbledore turned, grabbed a handful of Floo Powder from a bowl near the fireplace, and threw it in. "Could I have a word?"
It sounded as though something was moving in the fireplace, whoever it was seemed to be trying to keep from being summoned. "I'm busy right now," a male voice grumbled, sounding as though he was lifting something very heavy.
Dumbledore rolled his eyes and threw in another small handful. "Now, Severus. You already agreed to do this little errand for me this morning, and besides, it will do you some good to get out of that dungeon and away from all those potions ingredients. You can finish stocking your shelves later."
'Did he just say what I thought he said?' Necia thought with some panic. A moment later, Snape's dark frame appeared in the fireplace. His eyes landed on her for only a moment, then he dismissed her in his mind and turned back to the headmaster. "What was this errand you wanted me to run? I was just unpacking that shipment of dragon bile that finally came in."
"I'd just like you to help this young lady pack and get her sent on her way to Tonks's home. I've already told Tonks that she might be getting a visitor this morning, and I know she's excited to have some company. Because of her circumstances, she can't use magic on her own, and the only way she'll be on time is if her things are packed magically. Now, I'm sorry to have to leave so soon, but I have some things to get prepared before the Sorting Ceremony tonight." Before either Necia or Snape could say a word, he was out the door and heading down the spiral staircase. They turned and looked at each other as though they'd much rather be scrubbing toilets with their bare hands, but finally turned and grudgingly walked towards the door.
Why? Of all the things Dumbledore could have done to make him get out of his dungeons, why did it have to be baby-sitting a teenage girl? The only thing that made Snape feel any better was the fact that the girl didn't seem much more happy about the situation than he did. She was shuffling along next to him as they made their way to Hogsmeade, not saying anything out loud but saying volumes with the expressions that ran across her face. She was so easy to read, yet at the same time so difficult. While he could read what was on her face easily enough, Snape got the sense that it wasn't what she was truly feeling. In other words, she was lying with her face. "Are you just going to mope around while we're doing this?" he asked irritably. "If so, maybe I should just do it alone."
"There's no way I'm letting you go near my things without me being there to supervise. Besides, what do you want me to do, talk about the weather?"
"I don't see why not, it's a tried and true method of starting a conversation."
He heard her snort behind him. "If you hadn't noticed, we're already having a conversation, unpleasant though it may be. But, for the sake of humoring my future professor, I must say it looks like it will be a lovely, sunny day." All of this was said in a very flippant, sarcastic manner.
Now he simply had to smirk. It was so strange how she reminded him vaguely of Lucius as a teenager. "Odd, I thought I felt a cold front coming in just now." He just barely caught her startled expression as he picked up the pace and finally headed onto the main street of Hogsmeade. "Where are you staying?"
"The White Charm Inn."
"That's hardly fitting." Before she could snap back, he continued, "I've just realized that you already know who I am, but I have no idea who you are. Would you be so kind as to share your name with me?" His false politeness had the desired effect of making her just barely choke back what he was sure would have been a very negative comeback.
"Necia… Necia Holt." Why had she hesitated? The way the name rolled off her tongue didn't sound natural, it was like she wasn't used to saying it out loud.
"I suppose I won't be confusing you with anyone else then, will I?"
"Probably not." She sounded so unhappy to be near him and speaking to him at all that he held back the pleased smile that threatened to make its way onto his face. They remained silent until they reached the White Charm, and he merely nodded politely to Madam Cassa, who appeared more than a little flustered by the sudden appearance of her lovely young guest with a significantly older man. Necia must have given her a rather disgusted look, judging by the way she blushed and turned away quickly. He didn't give it any thought, he just wanted this all over and done with.
The room was quaint, tiny, and decorated in a manner that he could only describe as cute. It wasn't bad by any means, but he could have laughed at the thought of staying in a place like this for even one night. It looked like it belonged to a little girl. A noise behind him made him turn on his heel, only to see Necia standing with one hand just pulling out of the pocket of her robes. His eyes moved down to the suitcase next to her. Judging by the perfectly rectangular discoloration on the side of it, she must have just ripped off something like a name tag. Why would she do that? Rather than question her about it and make the entire situation even more uncomfortable than it already was, he chose to ignore it and pull out his wand, preparing to start the packing. Although she had completely unpacked her things into the closet and dresser that were in the room, he didn't think that she'd been staying here that long. It was more like she was just trying to give off the impression that she had stayed here for a couple weeks. Still, he started moving things into the open suitcases.
Snape heard Necia seat herself onto the bed behind him, and the bed squeaked loudly enough to let him know that she hadn't been gentle in lowering herself down. He didn't know why it satisfied him so much that she didn't like being around him, but it did. Drawers from the dresser opened one by one as he emptied their contents. Just before he reached the bottom drawer, she jumped to her feet and grabbed his arm. "I'll do that drawer myself," she hissed, moving forward to prevent the drawer from popping open as his wand remained pointed at it. She grabbed the nearest suitcase and turned to glare at him. "Could you turn around, please?"
He sighed and compliantly turned around, hearing the mirror snicker behind him. "No wonder you didn't want him seeing all of those."
"Shut up if you want to keep your surface in one piece," she replied nastily. Snape had to hold back his own snicker, now he almost felt like thanking Dumbledore for making him take Necia to get packed. This was the most fun he'd had all summer, but then again, the summer hadn't been that great. The highlight had been Voldemort's death, which seemed to lift a huge weight from his shoulders. It was more stressful being two-faced than most people knew.
"All right, I'm done. How are you sending me to that Tonks person's house, Floo Powder?"
Snape pulled a tiny case out of his pocket that contained just enough Floo Powder for two trips. They had to make room for mistakes. "As a matter of fact, yes." He handed the case to her and started moving the suitcases in front of the fireplace. "Tonks's home is 118 Hinkle Place, so be careful unless you want to end up in a dark magic shop which is 118 Hinkly Place. You wouldn't believe the number of Tonks's friends that have been disfigured by being sent there. Are you ready?"
Her face had paled slightly at his words, but she nodded. It didn't really matter whether she screwed up the address or not, 118 Hinkly Place was nothing more than a Muggle costume shop that was owned by a wizard who had insisted on having the Floo Network connected to his home. 'Hmm, lying to a student. Dumbledore wouldn't be pleased.' He watched as she threw a bit of Floo Powder into the fireplace, shoved her suitcases into the now green flames, stepped in herself, and said clearly, "118 Hinkle Place!" In a whirl of flames, she was gone. Snape reached down and picked up his wand from where he had set it on the bed, then headed for the door. It was back to the dungeons now.
Necia ended up stepping out into a brilliantly decorated living room, which seemed to be a combination of medieval artifacts and cheerful paintings with bright colors. Although they clashed miserably, the room still seemed to fit together rather well. She carefully stepped out of the fireplace and started dragging her suitcases out onto the very fluffy white carpet, giving her the feeling of walking on fur. Glancing furtively around, she slid off her shoes and started sliding her bare feet through the soft carpeting, holding back a giggle as ticklish shivers ran up her legs. She almost felt like a little kid again, but was startled out of it by the appearance of a young woman with spiky, electric blue hair. The woman laughed.
"I don't blame you for doing that, I do it every day. It's the reason I had that carpet put in, it's so much fun to walk around barefoot. I take it you must be that transfer students from Hogwarts?"
Necia nodded and slid her shoes back on. "Yeah, that's me. I'm Necia Holt."
"Nymphadora Tonks, but please call me Tonks. Nymphadora definitely would not have been my first choice for naming a child. So, have you had breakfast?"
A couple hours later, Necia was feeling completely at ease in Tonks's presence, and now wished that she didn't have to go to school. Why couldn't she just stay here? She still didn't even know what she was studying to be, anyway. Potions had used to interest her, but she had the feeling that was going to be over very soon. How could she possibly enjoy being taught by that strange man? He'd probably fail everything she did anyway.
"What are you thinking about with such a serious face?" Tonks asked as she loaded the suitcases into a Muggle car she had rented so that they could get to the train station without attracting too much attention.
"Nothing, I'm just nervous about starting so late at a strange school. I was home-schooled before, so everything's going to be completely different."
"Yeah, but Hogwarts is a wonderful place to be. Now that there's no more danger to worry about, this year should be a blast. Besides, the meals you get there will more than make up for any bad times. I swear those house elves outdo themselves every year."
Necia quickly learned that Tonks was not used to driving Muggle vehicles, because she wound up sliding low in her seat so she couldn't see the other cars driving straight at them as Tonks continuously crossed into the wrong lane. Even worse was how she felt the need to come speeding up to the traffic lights when they were red, and stop just short of the intersection. By the time they reached the train station, Necia was thanking her lucky stars that she was still all in one piece. Her knees almost buckled as she stepped out of the car, she was forced to grab the door just to stay upright. Tonks, however, didn't seem any worse for the wear. In fact, she seemed as cheery as when Necia had first come out of her fireplace.
"Why do you look so green? You're not still nervous about meeting everybody, are you?"
"Uh, yeah, that's it. I'm just nervous," she stammered, still struggling to stop the world from spinning around her. Although she normally would have insisted on doing it herself, she allowed Tonks to place her suitcases on a trolley and push them into the station. Necia meekly followed along behind, wishing that her mother were still there to continue their life like always, rather than having to go through something this nerve-wracking alone. She knew it was selfish to think something like that, but she couldn't help it. She'd never had to go through anything completely alone before. While common sense was telling her that she wasn't alone, Dumbledore would at least be watching out for her, her heart was still telling her that no one was there for her anymore. It took almost all of her strength to hold back the sudden tears that threatened to come out. It was so odd that she hadn't cried that much since her mother's death. It was more like she felt numb, like nothing had really happened. If she turned and went home right now, Cassandra would be waiting there laughing over yet another botched meal and they would once again be forced to use Adele's Automatic Meals, which weren't bad, but the occasional meal attempt that did succeed was usually a million times better.
Tonks led her into the station, right between platforms nine and ten, then pointed to the barrier between them. "All you have to do is walk straight into that wall. I know it looks solid, but you don't have to worry about giving yourself a concussion, you'll pass right through. I'll be right behind you, but it's better if we go one at a time to keep from attracting too much attention."
Necia just nodded, suddenly so nervous that it felt as though her throat was about to close itself off. She grabbed the trolley so that something would be in her hands, and then started walking briskly towards the barrier. Just before she reached it, she squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for an impact. When she seemed to have gone longer than she should have without crashing, she popped her eyes back open to see a scarlet steam engine directly ahead, surrounded by kids that were either wearing Muggle clothes or different colors of robes, including the black Hogwarts robes. If she had been expecting some strange breed of monsters, she was pleasantly surprised at how normal all the kids looked. Many were laughing and greeting friends that they hadn't seen since last year, while first years wandered around looking as lost as she felt.
"Tonks! What are you doing here? I didn't think there would be a need for an Auror here," came a young woman's voice, sounding thrilled but slightly confused. Necia turned around to see a beautiful teenage girl come running up to Tonks, who had just come through the barrier. She had curly brown hair that was slightly bushy but not quite unruly, and warm brown eyes that showed she definitely knew who Tonks was.
"Oh, Hermione, I was hoping to see you and your friends here. Where are Ron and Harry?"
"Right here," came another cheerful voice, this time coming from a tall, lanky, redheaded boy with freckles scattered across his face. Right behind him was a boy who was shorter than the redhead by about five inches, which probably put him at about five feet and ten inches, also making him not much taller than her. It didn't take much to figure out who he was. Wild black hair, bright green eyes, thick black glasses, and a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt across his forehead quite obviously meant that she was looking at Harry Potter. I was always under the impression he was ugly, but he's not so bad. Not someone to drool over, but he has plenty of positive aspects. The redhead startled her out of her thoughts. "I thought all the danger was gone, so why are you here?"
Tonks laughed. "It's not that serious, Ron, I'm just running an errand for Dumbledore." This was when she tipped her head in Necia's direction, so for the first time the trio's eyes landed on her. "This is Necia Holt, a transfer student. She was home schooled until this point, so Dumbledore thought it might be nice for someone to come along and at least see her onto the train safely."
"I'm surprised your parents aren't here, wouldn't they normally see you off?" Hermione asked curiously. Necia hadn't prepared herself for a question like that, but Harry seemed to catch her deer-in-the-headlights expression and stepped forward.
"I think Hermione's being a little rude. We should at least introduce ourselves first. I'm Harry Potter, and these are my best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. We're in Gryffindor house. Are you going to be placed in a house at the Sorting Ceremony?"
Necia finally found her voice, wishing that it didn't feel like a spotlight was being shone right down on the three-foot square around her body while everything else was wrapped in darkness. "I've already been sorted. Dumbledore wanted it taken care of before school started so that I didn't have anything else to make my first day more uncomfortable. I'm in Gryffindor too. Are you all seventh years?" Although she already knew the answer, she felt it would be polite to ask.
"Yeah, and I'm personally not that excited. Hogwarts has felt more like a home than any other place I've been, and I don't want to have to leave it after this year. I'm sure you'll be pretty happy there." Well, that certainly brightened her spirits. The castle hadn't seemed that cheery when she'd been there, but perhaps it felt homier with all the students milling through the corridors. To her surprise, the trio each leaned down and picked up a few of her bags, leaving her holding only one of her suitcases. "Shall we?" Hermione asked brightly. Necia couldn't help but feel hopeful as she stepped onto the train. Maybe this year wouldn't be so lonely after all.
