A/N: ok, I promised a longer chapter so here it is! Enjoy! (And please review!)
Chapter 13
The streets of Hogsmeade were clogged with a sea of black. The hundreds of students scuffling down the streets had churned the snow into a gray slush. Breaths of mist issued out of every mouth as they laughed, talked and shrieked. Pasha was among them, breathing warm air into her hands in an effort to revive them. Harry, Ron and Hermione were there, the hem of their cloaks soaked from trailing in the snow behind them. They wearily trooped their way through the throng of students, heading for the tempting warmth of the Three Broomsticks. They had been going from shop to shop for the past hour, more for Pasha's sake, as she had never been to Hogsmeade before. At least, not that she recalled. Her memory had not fully recovered yet, but it was getting there. It was coming back in bits and pieces.
"I can't feel my hands," announced Ron, furiously rubbing his hands together.
"Nearly there," panted Hermione, spotting the Three Broomsticks.
A young girl dressed in the Hogwarts robes, probably a first year, suddenly jumped out in front of Harry. "Can I have you're autograph?" she asked, giggling.
Pasha could tell by the look on Harry's face that he didn't want to. "Why don't you just piss off?" she snapped angrily, surprising the three of them, and even herself.
The girl's eyes widened and looked at her fearfully before scurrying off.
"Why'd you do that?" asked Harry.
"Because I can," she replied coolly. That was about the twentieth person who had asked for his autograph today.
Ever since the headlines in the Daily Prophet a few days ago, stating that 'the Chosen One' had defeated the Dark Lord, the wizarding community had been celebrating. Every night seemed to be one full of celebrating, drinking and partying.
Of course, not all of the Death Eaters had been captured; Voldemort had only brought a few of them with him during his 'visit' to Hogwarts. There had been no news as to the whereabouts of the other Death Eaters, but that was only a minor defect. No one was really worried about them; they were thought to have scattered and now in hiding, just like the first time Voldemort had been defeated. Of course, he hadn't been truly defeated then. This time, though, he was well and truly dead. There were some people, mostly paranoid, senile, witches and wizards, who believed the Dark Lord wasn't gone. They would make public announcements of how You-Know-Who would use another one of his vile tricks of the Dark Arts and rise again. They were mostly ignored.
Everyone knew Voldemort was gone, as they had found his body. Although nobody knew what the Ministry had done with it, it was said that they had had a burning ceremony, or thrown it in the lake in front of Hogwarts School for the Giant Squid, or even left to rot. Nobody knew for sure, but there were quite a lot of rumors surrounding the matter, and most of them were of the gruesome variety.
Finally reaching the swinging double doors of the Three Broomsticks, they breathed a sigh of relief. Warmth flooded her body as Pasha stepped into the tiny inn. A whirlwind of snowflakes took the opportunity to come in with them, but they soon melted on the stone floor. Pasha saw Harry pull his hood up to his face to hide himself so he wouldn't be recognized. The Daily Prophet had said it was Harry that had defeated the Dark Lord. They did mention Pasha once or twice, but described her as his 'sidekick'.
They sat down at the nearest vacant table, with Harry slouching in his seat, hiding his face in the shadow of his hood. Madam Rosmerta, a curvaceous woman with a pretty face came up to their table. "What will it be dears?"
"Three Butterbeers, please," said Ron, his ears turning slightlyred when she smiled at him.
She jotted down their order in a little notebook and walked off to get the drinks.
"Is it safe to come out now?" Harry asked quietly from beneath his hood.
"Yeah, it'll be fine," said Hermione. "Just take off your glasses and cover your scar."
Harry hastily pulled off his glasses and tucked them away into his robes. He pulled down the hood and made an effort to flatten his unruly hair. "There?"
"Don't even recognize you," reassured Ron.
Harry let out a breath. "Good."
Pasha saw Madam Rosmerta approaching carrying three foaming tankards of hot Butterbeer. "Here you go," she said, setting them down on the table. "Three Butterbeers."
"Thank-you," said Harry, paying her.
"Happy Christmas!" said Ron happily, raising his tankard.
Pasha drank deeply. The hot, foaming liquid warmed her insides as it slid down. She quickly took another gulp. In a matter of seconds, she had finished the whole tankard and was eager for more. "I'm going to get some more," she said, standing up. She reached inside her robes and tried to feel for her money purse. It wasn't there. She cursed under her breath.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"I think I left my purse on the counter in Honeydukes," she said. "I'll be right back."
"I'll come with you," said Harry, standing up.
Pasha waved him off, "no its fine. I'll just be a minute."
Harry sat back down again. "Ok, we'll meet you back here."
Pasha gave him a small smile and walked back out the doors into the frigid air. She gasped as the bitter wind hit her but continued to weave her way through the crowd of people. It took a lot of elbowing and pushing to finally make it into Honeydukes. She reached the counter and began explaining her situation to the stout woman behind the counter.
"Ah," she said. "Yes its right here." The woman bent down and began rummaging through a box. She straightened, holding a purple money pouch. "Here you go."
"Thank-you," said Pasha gratefully.
The woman gave her a kind smile, "don't worry, happens all the time."
Pasha gave her another nod of thanks before shoving her way through even more students and back out onto Diagon Alley.
In the corner of her eye, she noticed a narrow alleyway. She stopped and turned to see where it leaded to. Pasha squinted her eyes, (her eyesight still had not improved) but couldn't see the end of it. She glanced up at the old wooden post with an arrow pointing down the dark alleyway. It had Knockturn Alley scratched clumsily on it. Knockturn Alley, Knockturn Alley, she repeated to herself. I've heard of it before. Soon, her curiosity got the better of her and she turned and walked into the dim alley.
The dark alleyway twisted and turned, leading her down several steps before she emerged ontodark street. Dingy little shops lined both sides of the road; they seemed devoted entirely to the Dark Arts. There weren't nearly as much people here as there had been in Diagon Alley. A pair of shabby looking wizards watched her, muttering to each other. An old witch with a humpback was shuffling along in front of her, clutching what appeared to be a cage full of large, hairy spiders.
Pasha strode down the street, peering curiously in through the shop windows. She reached a shop near the end of the alleyway, it seemed to be one of the biggest. The sign outside the door read Borgin and Burkes. She didn't know what made her do it, but she suddenly felt herself being drawn in. She pushed open the grimy door and entered the shop. Hundreds of artifacts lined the shelves, all devoted to the Dark Arts. Along one wall was a display of grotesque-looking shrunken heads. An assortment of human bones lay upon the counter and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling. A pack of bloodied playing cards lay strewn across a small table and along another wall; a collection of eyeballs (which looked suspiciously human) bobbed up and down in a green liquid in glass jars. Near the front of the shop, a hooded figure stood with its back to her.
Pasha felt something pulling her towards something in the corner of the shop. It felt as if it were nagging at her, tugging at her soul. She cautiously walked towards it. It was a plain gold necklace, nothing special. She wondered why she felt so drawn to it. The dark figure watched her as she fingered the fine chain. Without thinking, she grabbed it and walked towards the counter. The old man peered at her curiously, probably wondering what a Hogwarts student was doing here.
"Are you going to tell me how much it is or not?" she asked bluntly.
"Ten Galleons," he said hoarsely.
Pasha paid him and pocketed the chain. She walked briskly out of the shop and back out into Knockturn Alley. Thoughts buzzed in her mind. Why did I just do that? No matter how much she thought about it, she could not figure it out. Pasha glanced back behind her and noticed the hooded figure following behind her. Great, she thought. She quickened her pace, trying to shake it off, but it continued to follow her. She made a sharp turn at the first street and entered a narrow alleyway. Pasha immediately realized the mistake she had made. It was a dead end. Uh oh, I'm in trouble.
Pasha turned to face the threat, pulling out her wand at the same time. "Who are you?"
The person didn't reply, but simply pulled down its hood in answer to reveal the face of a dark-haired woman. She had heavy-lidded eyes and a strong jaw. Her dark, matted hair hung just past her shoulders. Pasha knew who this was; it was Bellatrix Lestrange, Death Eater.
Big thanks to c.vigil xX, LyndseyHattaway, amrawo, Kittels, Baby-Vixen, ShortandTuff, Half-Blood-Rebecca and darth mojo the spork (your tips were really helpfull!) for reviewing the last chapter! I really appreciate it! (Although I dont know if O.O is a good or bad review though... oh well, lol, I'll just assume it as the first one!
An assortment of human bones lay upon the counter and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling. Ok, ok, I admit it. That line came straight from the book. Bad writer! Bad!
Ok, this chapter wasn't that long but at least its longer than the other chapter! Tell me how I did! Was it good? Bad? Smells like shit? WHAT? I need to know! REVIEW, PPL! REVIEW!
Ahem (coughs and recovers posture) Please review.