Disclaimer: It's not mine, okay? Only Terran is. Everything else is J.K. Rowlings. And I cry at night because of it.
Double Potions. Harry and Ron had a look of utter distaste on their faces. Snape had just informed them that they were to be brewing a potion that would enable them to understand any tongue spoken to them. Harry, who had been receiving very poor grades last year and was only accepted into potions because of his good O.W.L. grade, begged Hermione to sit next to him in order to help him do well on the first potion of the year. She had, of course, agreed, and sat at a table with Harry. Ron and Terran took the table behind them and read over everything needed then gathered the appropriate ingredients needed.
As expected from Snape, the potion was amazingly complicated:
1 pint of Dragon Blood
4 oz. Mugwart
Stir clockwise for six rotations
Let sit until 76 degrees
Stir counterclockwise for 45 seconds
Lower flame to second degree
Add 1 oz. May-apple
Add 1 1/8th unicorn hair
Stir clockwise for 56 secondsIt went on like that for two chalkboards. Ron groaned. "This is impossible!" He turned to Terran who was all ready measuring out her Dragon Blood. "Are you any good at Potions?" He asked her helplessly.
Terran smiled at him. "It's my best class."
"Really?" Ron asked excitedly. "Wow, you must be really good, considering how well you did today in Transfiguration."
Terran blushed and shook her head. "I'm really not that good, I just asked McGonagall what we were going to be working on today after I saw her in the hallway after Lunch. She told me, so I spent the rest of the day working on it until I could totally transfigure the mouse I was working on. Birds are a little different. I'm really not that good." She finished easily as she dropped in the mugwart and began stirring. "You'd better get started if you want to finish today." She added.
He groaned again. "Will you help me?" He asked as he began measuring out the Dragon Blood on their table.
Terran grinned. "Sure." He gave her a grateful smile and dumped the blood into his cauldron.
"Your potion should now be dark brown and emitting a red vapor," Snape said as he moved around the room. Ron looked at his potion and grinned, it wasn't exactly red, there was some orange in the steam, but he couldn't get too many points off for that.
He filled it into a flask and as he passed Terran to take it to the front he paused next to her ear and whispered, "You're amazing."
Terran's cheeks flushed a deep red as she paused to stop from spilling her own potion. Then, after a moment she filled the rest up and corked it. The colour faded quickly from her cheeks as she looked up to see Draco Malfoy staring at her intensely, a look of disgust evident in his eyes. She tilted her head at him. Why should he look at her like that? She shook her head and moved to the front of the room.
Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Terran all slumped down at the table, laughing heartily. They had just seen Crabbe and Goyle get yelled at by McGonagall for shoving a second year into the wall and rummaging through his pockets, obviously looking for sweets. They had both been given detention for giving the poor kid a bloody nose and threatening him not to tell any teachers.
"I hope that boy's all right. I can't believe no one went to help him." Hermione said, taking a break from laughing and clutching her stomach.
"Well didn't you see?" Terran asked breathlessly as she reached to pour herself a glass of apple juice. "Everyone in that hall was a fourth year or younger. I mean, they're not going to challenge a sixth year are they? That'd be like—suicide." She drank thirstily from her cup.
"Yeah, not to mention—" Ron began darkly, but Hermione stepped on his toe. He coughed suddenly, "Not to mention he's enormous. I doubt any of the spells they know at that age would be able to bring him down." He looked at Hermione. Terran pretended not to notice.
"Yeah, we didn't learn stunning spells until around the end of fourth year didn't we?"
"With Mad-eye Moody!" Ron said. Harry coughed.
"Are you guys getting sick or something?" Terran asked, strained irritation in her voice.
"What?" Harry asked innocently. "No, not at all." Then buried his face into a steak and kidney pie.
"Thanks again for helping me today in Potions, Terran." Ron said easily as he served himself some mashed potatoes.
"No problem." She winked at him.
"Jeez." Hermione said from beside Terran.
"What?"
"Malfoy is staring daggers at you." She looked to Terran, who looked to Malfoy. Terran tilted her head towards him, then, to the shock of those around her, lifted her hand to her lips and blew him a kiss.
"What the hell are you doing?" Harry asked, choking on his pie.
Terran laughed. "He's such a stuck up jerk. And he thinks he's so gorgeous just because that cow of a girl, Pansy, is always hanging off his arm. I figure a kiss from a Gryffindor, even a fake kiss, would shake him up." She laughed again and looked over to Malfoy, whose head was now firmly down and a slight tinge of pink was resting on his pale cheeks. "And apparently I was right."
Harry and Ron whipped around, looking at Malfoy, then howled with laughter and looked back at Terran. "That's hilarious." Harry said as he paused to take a deep breath. Terran smiled at them before serving herself some salad.
."It must be done. I must have it." A cold, high-pitched voice filled the room
"She will not allow you, Master."
Darkness. An inky blackness filled the room, only broken occasionally by torches that hung on the walls. Water dripped somewhere far away.
"She will in time." Boots echoed on the stone ground and splashed through a puddle on the ground. They stopped suddenly, a cloak ruffled. "Crucio." The cold voice echoed again.
Squealing—a rat squeaked in agony as the spell was inflicted upon it. Flickering firelight caught a white hand that was suddenly extended out of the cloak. The first finger, decorated with a nail that extended half an inch off the finger, bent slowly. Squeaking again echoed off the grimy walls. It finally stopped as something cracked. "Accio." The voice said calmly. A rat flew from the ground into that pale hand.
Wide eyes glazed over with death shone from its head. Its back was bent drastically back; the crack that had been heard only moments later belonged to the breaking of the rodents' spine.
Cold laughter…
"Where's Terran?" Harry asked sleepily.
"She said she had to ask McGonagall something this morning." Hermione shrugged. "Harry, you look terrible. Are you all right?"
"I didn't sleep well last night." He said as he rubbed his eye.
"Are you having dreams again?" Hermione asked, her voice low. Harry shook his head.
"I don't remember. I feel like I should have dreamed something last night, but I don't remember…" He put his head in his hands for a moment.
"You weren't talking at all last night in your sleep, mate." Ron said soothingly.
"Was he tossing or turning anymore than usual?" Hermione asked. Ron shook his head and grabbed some toast. "Well then I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe it just wasn't a good sleep night, Terran said she wasn't feeling too well this morning either."
"What's wrong with her?"
"Why don't you ask her?" Harry said, nodding towards the door.
Terran did indeed look ill. Her face was pale and dark bags hung under her eyes, which were bloodshot. Her brow was creased as though she was still thinking about something important, and she fiddled with her hands as she walked between tables, gesturing jerkily with her hands as though she were arguing with herself about something.
She glanced up, and upon seeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting at the table looking at her, her face smoothed and she smiled. "Good morning." She greeted them.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Hermione asked after a quick glance to Ron, who was now busy shifting his eggs around his plate.
"Fine, just didn't sleep well that's all. My back is kind of sore." Terran admitted, then without further ado, braced herself against the table and twisted so back cracked violently. Then, turning the other way it cracked several more times.
Harry and Ron looked at her with shock. "That's disgusting." Harry finally said. Terran grinned, then, picking up a spoon she looked at herself.
"What's disgusting is how I look right now." She pulled out her wand and tapped the skin under her eyes gently once, then watched as the darkness faded and the skin became her usual colour.
"That's cool." Hermione said appreciatively. "Where did you learn it?"
"One of my friends from Ravenclaw. She's not a big girly-girl but she doesn't like looking horrible either. She thinks make-up is a waste of money, so she just does it magically." Then, putting her spoon down she served herself some fruit.
"Mail's here." Ron observed as the rush of normal owls flew into the room. A Screech Owl landed in front of Hermione and stuck out its leg for her to take off the delivery of the Daily Prophet and stick a Knut into the pouch on its leg.
"Anything interesting?" Harry asked, glancing up at Hermione.
"Nah, just the usual stuff—you know, good defensive spells for the home, pointers on patronus's…no new news on the Death Eaters." Terran watched them with slight interest as Harry and Ron both glanced up to the head table towards Snape, who was finishing his breakfast and then exited the main hall.
A Barn Owl landed easily in front of Terran. "What's this?" She asked, glancing at the owl, then at the letter on it's leg.
Terran Ferrik. "It's for you." Ron said, looking at her. Terran's brow creased as she took off the envelope and opened the letter. Her eyes opened the slightest as she read on, then folded the better and shoved it into the pocket of her robes.
"What was it?" Harry asked.
"Just a letter from my mum." Terran shrugged. "I should go write her back." She grabbed a slice of toast and stood, "See you all in Charms." Then with a wave she quickly exited the hall.
The three remaining looked at each other and shrugged. "Hey, look at that." Hermione said, gesturing to the table behind them. "Malfoy's leaving too." Her eyes narrowed.
"There's a girl from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff leaving too." Ron observed. "They've got letters too…"
"So does Malfoy…" They all looked at each other again.
"Do you think it has anything to do with Terran?" Harry asked.
"I don't know." Hermione admitted. "Terran said she's got friends from the other houses, maybe they're just meeting."
"But then why would she lie to us?" Ron asked.
"Well, maybe it's just coincidence." Harry suggested.
"Right, we have no reason to be suspicious of Terran. For all we know she has no reason to lie to us." Hermione nodded pointedly to Harry and Ron, then turned back to her breakfast.