No, i haven't fallen off the face of the earth... i'm really sorry for not updating! Give me incentive to do so! review!
From now on, my fanfiction is AU –alternate universe, because otherwise I would have to basically rewrite the entire thing, including an explanation for almost everything… and I barely have time to write this. So, I'll leave you with the chapter. Have fun! ) Please review – I want to use the new "reply to review" button...
Devil's Minion: Part 2
Chapter 8: Life Doesn't End
A flash of red light erupted from the end of the death eater's wand, hitting Colin full force in the chest. Colin crumpled to the ground, a look of shock on his face.
"NO!"
"Ginny, wake up! Wake up!"
My eyes snapped open and I saw Hermione standing over me. For a moment I forgot where I was. Then my brain registered my surroundings. The hospital wing. I turned my head and looked at the bed to my left. I could only see a mop of bright red hair on the starched white pillowcase.
"You were screaming, Ginny was it the same nightmare again?" Hermione sat down in the chair next to my bed and looked at me worriedly.
"Yeah – Colin… again," I said.
Hermione sighed. "Hasn't Madam Pomfrey given you anything for this?" she asked. "You've been here almost two weeks!"
"Yes. But it hasn't helped."
"Obviously," said a disgruntled Hermione. "You can't just keep missing classes!"
"I'm making up the work," I said indignantly.
"Well, yes," Hermione admitted, fiddling with the edge of the sheet. "But it's not the same. If you want to be a healer you have to have the highest marks, and right now you're not cutting that."
What the heck? I thought. "How do you know?"
Hermione turned slightly pink. "Well, I was going through your papers yesterday, trying to make out a studying plan for you, and I saw a few of your scores."
I couldn't help grinning. It was just like Hermione to do that. "All right, do what you want with it."
"Good," Hermione said. She pulled a neatly folded piece of parchment out of her pocket. "Here's what I've thought of."
I snorted, and rolled my eyes.
"It seems you're not putting forth your best effort in Potions – you've got an "A," but you need an "O" – so I think we should be devoting an hour or so each day to work on that. You're fine with Defense Against the Dark Arts, since you've got extra time to finish your assignments. Charms, you should probably go over the old stuff to refresh your memory. Herbology – Neville's extra help is definitely helping you improve – I'm helping him with transfiguration in your place –"
"Oh yeah… thanks, Hermione," I interjected quickly. She nodded quickly, and continued as if I had said nothing.
"Your own transfiguration is great – but don't forget to do that assignment about Animagi – Alexandra can help you with that; I saw hers and it's really good –"
"Alexandra can't help me."
"Why not? She knows what she's doing, and her project is very detailed and accurate," Hermione asked, confused.
"Because she's too busy with Malfoy," I said turning over, away from Hermione.
I stared out of the icy window next to me. Late January snow covered the windowsill. It was still and quiet outside.
"I'm sorry, Ginny. I forgot," Hermione said softly.
"It's okay," I mumbled.
"Well, I'll send someone up to help you with it later. Who do you want?" Hermione asked.
"Anyone really," I said, turning back over. "Anyone who will, or has time."
"All right, then." Hermione stood up. "I promised to help Harry with Potions around two-thirty, and that's in five minutes… so I'll come up and see you later tonight."
"Okay."
"Get something done, and don't sleep!" Hermione said, gathering up her books. She smiled and walked out of the room.
I sighed, but pulled my Potions book out of my stack and began to study.
"Side-effects of the "Instant-Knowledge" potion include depression, day-dreaming, crying for no reason, flashbacks –"
"Ginny?" a voice interrupted me.
I looked up. Harry sat down on my bed. I lay my book down, my finger marking my place.
"Hmm?"
"Hermione sent me up to help you with your Animagus project," he said.
"Oh. Right!" I remembered. I glanced at a clock on my bedside table. It was already past five! It was dark outside. Had I been studying Potions that long?
"Yeah, I know. I didn't mean to take this long, but I got distracted."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Er – Dumbledore wanted to talk to me," Harry said, but refused to explain anymore. He quickly changed the subject. "What're you studying?" He picked up my book.
"Don't lose my place!" I said quickly.
"I won't," Harry promised. "Y'know, muggles have this great thing to mark places with. Sticky-notes. I used to sneak some of Dudley's, and use them to mark my place in my spell books."
Harry grinned and snorted. Then he looked down at my book.
"Instant-Knowledge…" he laughed. "I took that one once, as I remember, it didn't turn out too well…"
"It didn't turn out well at all!" A voice interrupted him.
I whipped my head over to see Ron sitting up in bed. "Ron!" I exclaimed, smiling. "You're awake!"
"Thought I heard your voice, mate," Ron said, shifting in bed and grimacing. "If I remember rightly, we both failed McGonagall's test, and landed in detention."
"For two weeks," said Harry with a twisted smile.
"Cleaning out Professor Snape's extra cauldrons –"
"Some of the most disgusting stuff in those old things, too!"
"Polishing every trophy in the trophy room – no magic!" Ron exclaimed.
"For the whole second week we had to organize Filch's files," Harry said. "It was some of the most recent stuff. Fred and George dominated the drawer, but Ron and I definitely took in second."
"Bloody persecution, I call it," Ron muttered. "The professors expected us to keep up and get passing grades during it, too! I remember coming back to the common room, and going straight to bed."
"Hermione almost had kittens one night," Harry mused.
"Yeah… I remember that," Ron said, nodding slightly. He blinked, and looked at Harry. "Why are you up here, again?" He asked.
"I came up to help Ginny with her Animagus project," Harry responded.
Recollection passed over Ron's face, but disappeared quickly.
"Why don't you do some of your homework, while Harry's helping me?" I asked him. I pointed to a pile of books and parchment slightly under his bed.
Ron groaned and pulled the sheets over his head.
Rolling my eyes, I reached for my wand on the bedside table.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" I levitated Ron's Charms book and hit him on the head with it.
Ron yelped, but took the book and opened it to study. He eyed me suspiciously.
Calmly, I put my wand away and turned my attention to Harry.
"Okay, well, you're supposed to write this paper on a person who has been an Animagus in the past. I'm doing my dad. Ron got Sirius. Who'd you get?"
"Um, this random person – Juliet Henry, she was a Ravenclaw about fifty years ago. I haven't really done anything with this. Hermione found a couple Daily Prophets where she's mentioned - mentioned in the loosest sense of terms. She was a prefect, and then Head Girl, but I don't know who the Head Boy was, because someone spilled something on the paper and the rest of the article is illegible."
Harry made a face of annoyance. "Oh well… we could probably find some kind of record somewhere in Hogwarts of who it was, although it probably doesn't matter too much."
"Yeah, it doesn't really. She got a job at the Ministry after that, but didn't really do anything important, until she got a promotion and was nominated for Order of Merlin, Second Class. The reason why isn't explained, so it leads me to believe that maybe it was somewhat 'crooked.'"
"Hmm, that is strange. You'll have to look into that one."
"I'll try to remember to do that when I finally get out of here," I said, making a face.
"I can't wait for that day," Harry said. "Because Hermione will finally get off my back about studying, because she will be too busy catching you up!"
A week later…
I opened my eyes to familiar red surroundings. Smiling, I stretched and turned over to look at my clock. Five minutes to eight. I had to be at Charms in 15 minutes. I sighed, but sat up and looked around. Alexandra's blond hair peeked out from under her red sheets – at the end of the bed. The next bed was perfect, right down to the person sleeping in it. Mia lay curled up, a few curls from her long black braid framed her face. Aida was lying on her stomach on her already-made bed finishing some homework. In the bed next to me, Caitlin wrinkled her nose and mumbled something. Her eyes snapped open for a moment, and then she yanked the sheets over her head.
I snorted, and threw a pillow at her. "You've got to finish Charms homework – and be on time for class in less than fifteen minutes."
Caitlin groaned, but sat up anyway. "I hate having to get up earlier than I need to."
Aida looked at her and laughed. "I'd say you have some serious fixing-up to do before seeing the light of civilization."
Caitlin glanced in a mirror, and wrinkled her nose. "Oh! Let them see me like this!"
A sleepy-eyed Mia pulled herself out of bed and into some clothes lying on the floor half under the bed. Without saying anything, she stumbled out of the room and down to the common room.
"I don't get it," Caitlin said. "How can she just DO that, and look fine? If I did that… I would be a wreck."
"She must have some kind of a touch," Aida said, shaking her head. She scribbled one more thing down on her parchment and slammed her book. "Done!" She announced.
Five minutes later, I left the bedroom fully dressed and equipped for class. I had left Alexandra still sleeping, with five minutes to class. I had just stepped off the stairs into the common room when I realized I had left my Charms book under my bed. Quickly, I raced back upstairs to retrieve it. I burst into the room to find Alexandra sitting in front of a mirror applying make-up – still not dressed. I dived under my bed and came out carrying my book. I stood watching Alexandra for a moment and then spoke.
"You do know you have to be in class in less than five minutes?"
She nodded. "Mmhmm."
"Well… I'm going to barely make it now, and you're not even dressed," I said.
"So I'll be late," she said putting her mascara down and picking up a brush.
"Doesn't that bother you?" I asked.
"Um, well, not really," she picked the pieces of loose hair off her shoulders.
"You'll lose us points."
"Not more than five," she responded, finally pulling on a shirt. She turned to look at me. "It's Flitwick! He may not take any points at all."
"But you might miss something important if you're late enough!" I exclaimed. She really didn't care, did she?
"I can always copy your notes," she said, tying her skirt sash on the side. "Or Mia's, or Caitlin's, or Aida's," she added as a second thought.
"You assume too much," I said coldly, walking out the door.
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slytherinphoenix7