Disclaimer: I'm playing in J.K. Rowling's sandbox. She is kind enough to share her toys with me. No, they're not mine. I'll give them back when I'm done.
Author's Notes: Thank you for the review, vhChick! It motivated me to complete the second chapter, which was only half done. I do appreciate reviews, like any writer. :) Read on.
Between Two Worlds – Chapter Two
I took a deep breath and looked up at the girl again.
"I am not Eleanor Branstone. My name is Heather Winter. I would like to know how I got here, what I am doing here, what this place is and who you are."
She knitted her eyebrows together, her brown eyes looking confused as I felt my heart sink. Of course. She didn't believe me. Why would she, anyway? If somebody told me he wasn't who I thought he was, I'd laugh my head off. I hesitated a little before opening my mouth again, but the girl immediately cut me off.
"Are you sure?"
It was all I could do to prevent myself from sighing exasperated. Yes, I was sure. What did she think, that I was mad? Or dangerous?
She struggled to her feet again and hastily pulled out a thin wooden stick, like they apparently all had around here. She pointed it right at me. Her hand was shaking and her facial expression was contorted in fear. Was she afraid of me? A little thirteen year old who was unarmed?
"Who are you? Tell me!" She jabbed the stick at me, nearly poking my eye out. I nervously leant back.
"I –I told you, my name is Heather. Just – just that. Heather Winter. Stop waving that – that thing at me, you might stab me in the face."
The girl shook her head, her posture stiff. "Right. Are you under the Imperius curse? Or – or are you a Death Eater on Polyjuice Potion? I – I'm not stupid, you know? Just because I'm thirteen and underage doesn't mean I'm stupid!"
Imp – what? Polyjuice Potion? What were those things? Death Eater sounded like some kind of thing that sucked your nightmares out. Or some idiot eating bodies. God, I wanted to go home as fast as possible. I wanted to go back to Kyle and tell him off for spilling soup. I wanted to –
"Answer me!" The girl was trembling, obviously trying very hard to be brave. "If you aren't my friend, say who you are and what you are doing here! Where is Eleanor? You're a Death Eater, aren't you?" She held the dark stick with both hands to steady it, her knuckles white.
I vigorously shook my head. "No, I don't even know what a Death Eater is! You've got to believe me – and I already told you my name, and for why I am here, I don't have a clue either." I felt tears spilling over my cheeks again. "Believe me, please. I have no clue of where I am. I – I just woke up in here after I went to sleep in my own bed."
She lowered the stick slightly, but still eyed me apprehensively. "The Ministry told us not to trust anybody who acts oddly. You act odd. You're babbling nonsense."
The Ministry? What Ministry was she talking about? She had to understand me – she had to understand me, now that she knew I wasn't this supposed Eleanor. An ungraceful sob left my lips. I hated this. Wasn't there anyone I knew in this with me?
I heard a sigh, and the girl sat down, folding her legs under her. She observed me curiously for a while, cocking her head slightly. I met her eyes, trying to pass my urgency for information in my gaze.
"Where am I?"
"You mean this castle?"
"This," I gestured around the room and at the high windows, "is a castle?"
"Yes. Hogwarts castle."
Again that 'Hog'. What was with that? "And what is that – that Hogsmith you were talking about? All this stuff makes me think of farm animals."
The girl laughed a little bit. "It's Hogsmeade. It's a village nearby – only third years and up are allowed to visit it at certain times, and today is the first time for – for us. And Hogwarts is a kind of flower, if I remember correctly."
"It doesn't look like a castle."
"That's because we're in the basements, near the kitchen. That's where the Hufflepuff common room and the dormitories are located."
"Huff – sorry?" I had the feeling I had a lot to learn in here, with all the new words popping up every few sentences.
The girl groaned. "I think this is going to take awhile. Let's start with introductions. I'm Laura Madley." She put out her hand. I gratefully took it.
"You know my name. Why is it going to take so long?"
Laura sighed, twisting her fingers in her lap. "It's – well, you don't even know Hogwarts, so it's all going to be terribly confusing for you from now on, I'm afraid. You see, this is a school for magical people."
I gasped. "A school for what?" I had heard her perfectly well, though. Magic. That was what everything was about. The candles. The hair. The stick – no, the wand. I tried to wrap my mind around it. Magic. Real magic. That was impossible. How could it be? It didn't exist.
"It's a school where we learn magic," Laura said, clasping her hands together. "I – Merlin, I don't know where I should begin." Her laugh was forced and unreal. "The school was founded by four people – Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Got that?"
I nodded and signalled for her to go on. She took a deep breath.
"Well, the school has four Houses each named after one of them. We are in Hufflepuff's House. We just call it Hufflepuff."
Four Houses, and we are in Hufflepuff. It sounded rather interesting to my ears. I glanced at the other two beds in the room. "Who are the other girls?"
"The one with the black hair is Emma Dobbs. The other one, with the long blond hair, is Nina Davies. Nina's a halfblood, Emma's Muggleborn."
"Excuse me?" I had lost count of how many times I had heard words I had never encountered before. It was starting to confuse me. How was I supposed to remember all this? I had to keep it all in mind if I wanted to act normal around everyone else – I needed to look like this girl I was supposed to be.
Laura blushed. "Eh – oh, blimey – in the wizarding world, there are certain… prejudices. There are people who have only wizards – well, almost only wizards – as ancestors. There are also people who are born out of Muggle families – Muggles are people who can't do magic," she added, spotting my lost expression. "I think you were one before you somehow got in here, and in Eleanor's body."
I drew a shuddering breath, willing myself to stay calm. Calm, yes. Stay calm, Heather, you are going to get out of this mess. "Okay, so I was a – Muggle, you say? What was Eleanor?"
"She was Muggleborn. That's good, because you won't have to worry about acting magical around her parents." Laura's face fell. "I hate talking about her in the past tense. It's like she's dead."
"Sorry," I mumbled. Another question sprung to mind. "So, are people with pure blood better at magic than the – than the Muggle ones?"
"No!" Laura shook her head, her eyes wide. "You didn't let me finish – a lot of purebloods think they are better because they are, you know, pure; but they aren't better than the ones that don't have generations of wizards behind them, of course not." She uncertainly looked around. "I think we need to go to breakfast. The others will wonder where we've gone."
I nodded, and Laura carefully helped me to my feet. She then picked up the wand I had dropped earlier from the ground and gave it to me.
"Here. You need to – you need to be armed. We – that is, the wizarding world – we're in war. No, I'll explain later," she said, waving my new batch of questions off. "Just stick close to me – I'm sorry, but it's a long story."
A war? Great… I was in a world that used magic, with people I didn't know. There was apparently a lot of discrimination going on about blood instead of skin tone. They were also in a war of some kind, and I didn't have the right to ask questions?
Laura led me out of the room and went left. I still felt quite ridiculous in my robes. I couldn't shake off the feeling I was standing out and that the rest of the world would stand to the side and laugh.
I suddenly realised something, and I violently tugged Laura back by the sleeve of her robes. She turned around. "What?"
"Did you say this was a school?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yes. Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"And… and you, you know, learn magic?"
"Yes, of course," Laura said, confusion now evident on her face.
"But," I said, my throat dry, "Laura, I don't know any magic! How am I supposed to do in classes? I've never learned anything!"
"Oh, damn – well, it's Saturday, we will worry about that later," Laura reassured me, though she looked very harried herself with the prospect of lessons. "Come, the common room is this way."
I followed her into a large room, full of lumpy chairs and beautiful tapestries. The walls and floor were, again, in yellow and black – it made me think of bumblebees. Sunlight filtered through the high windows and fell on a great stone badger next to an equally huge fireplace. A few other people were hanging around, sitting at a small round table to the right playing some kind of card game.
"Stop looking like you're talking to the Boy Who Lived himself," Laura hissed ear. "You're supposed to look like you have lived here for more than two years, remember?"
Before I could compose myself, or even wonder about who this 'Boy Who Lived' was, something exploded on the table to our right, making me jump in surprise. When the little cloud of smoke disappeared, I was able to see a blond boy with an upturned nose and scorched eyebrows. He scowled as his friends roared with laughter. I managed to suppress a giggle myself; the boy looked incredibly stupid now.
I leaned towards Laura. "What was that?"
"Exploding Snap," she muttered back. "I'll learn you sometime, if you want." Then she made way to the other side of the room. I quickly followed in her wake.
We reached a ladder going upwards; it appeared to stop at some kind of trapdoor. Laura grabbed a rung and started climbing. I awkwardly went after her; I didn't like ladders, since they were so wobbly and sometimes hurt my feet.
Laura pushed the trapdoor open and hitched herself out. After assisting me clambering up as well, she slammed it shut, making a few dust bunnies fly away. There was an old-fashioned ring on the trapdoor, which we probably had to pull if we wanted to get back in. However, Laura snatched my wrist and started pulling me through the long corridor ahead.
We had turned several corners and ascended a few stairs before I heard a distant mumbling and clattering. Laura halted rather abruptly, but since she was still gripping my wrist tightly, I didn't bump into her.
"What?" I asked, looking around. The hallway we were in now was full of paintings made of fruit – not anything different than the past few corridors had been. In fact, they made me quite hungry; I hadn't eaten anything since – my stomach lurched – the soup at home.
"Well," Laura said, turning to face me, "don't go acting all flabbergasted when we enter the Great Hall, all right? It's – it's kind of grand." She laughed. "Oh, what am I saying – it is grand. Keep close to me."
It was nerve-wracking to imagine the Great Hall, as Laura called it. I kept thinking of sophisticated meals and glittering minerals. If this really were a castle… it wouldn't be wrong to think that they might serve far better food then at home, right?
Laura had let go of me and I had to move a bit faster to keep up with her; this body was a little shorter than the one at home. It felt strange thinking like that about my body – bodies? Like they were exchangeable.
I was led up one last set of stairs and then I felt my mouth drop open on its own accord.
The chamber we had just entered was huge. Two of my house could almost certainly have fitted in it; I could barely see the ceiling as I craned my neck to look up. Flaming torches lit the grey stone walls, in front of me was a big, oak door, and to the left of the spot I was standing was an impressive marble staircase. I walked over so I was in front of it. It was amazing.
Laura tugged my sleeve and gestured towards a set of double doors I had somehow missed. Wordlessly, I trailed behind her as she opened them.
If the previous room had been magnificent, I didn't have words to describe the Great Hall. Four long tables stretched out to the left, all of them occupied with people, who were all wearing black robes. At the end was another table with a large chair in the middle, though nobody was sitting in it. As I looked up, I held my breath; the ceiling was gone. I could see the same clear blue sky as could be seen out of the windows. Remembering Laura's warning about the Great Hall, though, I tried to keep a straight face and look as if seeing rooms without ceilings was an everyday occurrence for me. I saw a free spot at the closest table and almost walked over before Laura jerked me back.
"Idiot, that's the Slytherin table!" she whispered. "I told you to follow me!" She turned and strode over to the back of the Hall, taking the third table. I scuffled after her, feeling my face burn. This House system was pretty new to me.
It appeared that Laura had found her – our, I reminded myself – roommates and was now eating a well-sized plate of porridge. I slipped into the seat next to her, amazed with the cutlery. It was all gold – even the goblets! I picked my own up curiously, to see if it was real, but Laura kicked me under the table and I quickly set it back again. The others didn't seem to have noticed; they were immersed in a conversation. I pricked up my ears; maybe I could catch some more information about this world. I nervously reached for some fried eggs as I listened in to what the black-haired girl – Emma, I believed her name was – was saying.
"Really, don't you think it'll be great? Let's go to the Shrieking Shack as well – a sixth year told me it's haunted and full of ghosts."
The girl who had used her wand to curl her hair shook her head. "I don't know – it's awfully cold outside. I want to see the best and then we will see if we stay or not."
"How can you be so… so… not excited?" Emma exclaimed, her blue eyes sparkling.
"Calm, you mean?" I suddenly interjected, surprising myself. As long as I kept clear of magical subject, I thought, I could join the banter, right? After all, I had liked to talk a lot at home with my friends – even thought they hadn't always been there.
Emma nodded, grinning. "Yes, that's what I meant!" She took a bite from her sausage, the ketchup dripping off. "I mean, I know you've visited before, Nina, but for El and I –" she quickly winked at me, "it's the first time. So be happy for us." She crammed the rest of the sausage in her mouth and smirked at the blond girl, Nina, who shrugged.
"Sorry. I am happy for you, but it's just hard to be so enthusiastic as you are if you've already seen the whole place. Though I do want to go to the Three Broomsticks –" she stopped as I choked on my eggs.
Laura giggled and smacked me on the back several times before filling my goblet with an orange liquid. "Here, have some pumpkin juice." She was smiling, but the message in her gaze was obvious: behave normal.
I gulped down the pumpkin juice (which I had never had before, but was unexpectedly delicious) and finished my breakfast, before allowing my thoughts to roam through my head again.
Broomsticks. They had mentioned broomsticks – in such a casual way I was certain it was very normal. Somehow I doubted that they used brooms for sweeping the floor here: the image of an evil witch cackling loudly while riding a broom swam in front of my eyes. I sighed softly so the other girls couldn't hear.
After breakfast, the plates suddenly cleared themselves (earning myself another kick from Laura as my eyes went wide with shock) and the four of us left the Great Hall, which seemed smaller now a good amount of students filled it. Emma was bouncing up and down with energy as we stormed to below after her to collect our scarves and gloves.
When we reached the trapdoor, I assumed Emma would just pull it up, but she paused and turned to us.
"What is the password again?"
"Oh, Emma," Laura said, rolling her eyes. "It's honeybees."
"Right," Emma said, and turned to the trapdoor again. "Er – honeybees!"
The trapdoor creaked and to my astonishment, it opened on its own, slowly until we could all easily enter the common room below. Laura grinned and winked at me. I just shook my head, wondering what else was waiting for me here.
I had a bit of trouble finding my winter clothes – or Eleanor's, if I was going to be fair – in the trunk behind my bed, but Laura helped me find them and we whirled upstairs again.
Nina inquired if I was all right as we stood in line to leave the castle. I just nodded; I didn't feel like telling my story again where anybody could hear us. I even managed a genuine smile and thanked her for her concern, which seemed to satisfy her.
We finally got through; it seemed that the line was held up because of security measures. Laura sent me a look that clearly said that this was because of the war, and I silently took several stabs with an unpleasant looking instrument held by a similarly unpleasantly looking man. Sadist, I thought, as he gleefully poked me in the ribs with it.
We had to hold our scarves in front of our faces as me walked to the village ahead; the wind was like a knife cutting my face. A few people turned back halfway through, apparently not wanted to waste their time with only their eyes exposed. I thought it was rather funny looking, all those people with scarves held to their mouth – though I didn't really blame them. I couldn't feel my own cheeks.
Nina pulled us towards a building – the Three Broomsticks. We tumbled inside, eager to get into the warmth and out of the cold. Never mind it was horribly crowded and I was practically breathing in somebody else's breath; it was warm.
"Anyone fancy a Butterbeer?" Laura asked, squeezing my hand a little as to reassure me. I squeezed back. I had the feeling not much could surprise me anymore. Even when an old man in a painting on the wall waved at me, I only felt a slight jolt in my stomach, but I didn't jump.
Laura returned with four bottles. Since all the tables were occupied, we were glad to find a corner to sit down and drink our Butterbeers. It was very nice – I started feeling my cheeks again at the first nip. Nina launched into a story about her first visit to Hogsmeade and I was a little shocked to realise I was enjoying myself, giggling along with the others. It felt better than wallowing in self-pity – that was for sure.
After we finished our drinks, we visited the sweetshop, named Honeydukes. I failed to restrain a grin as I entered; the scent hanging around was heavenly. The shop – and with that, I meant it's contents – was amazing. Everything in this world was amazing, actually. I could see every single kind of candy I could think of, and more. I talked Laura into buying two large bars of chocolate for me, as I didn't have any money with me. She paid with large, round slabs of gold, called Galleons, and smaller pieces of silver, Sickles. Emma had a few little bronze coins, which she called Knuts.
"Wizarding money," Laura whispered in my ear as she stuffed her moneybag in her pocket again. "You're starting to get better at hiding your surprise, by the way."
I was still grinning. "Thank you."
We went to a few other places, despite the terrible cold. The post office, where I gave a little squeak at the sight of so many owls (though it was drowned out by Emma's yell of wonder), the Shrieking Shack, which I didn't find very interesting as it was just a boarded up house, and a little shop which sold feathers were the places we visited before we turned to the castle.
Emma wanted to eat all the sweets she had bought immediately ("As if you haven't got enough sugar in your system," Laura had said) and so we descended to the common room and placed ourselves in front of the fire. I got introduced with all new kinds of sweets, and even though the others already knew about them, I managed to discover what everything was. My first Chocolate Frog escaped the box, however, giving Emma an excuse to bounce around the room before bringing it back to me.
When all the sweets were gone, nobody felt like going to lunch and dinner, so Laura convinced Nina to show me her new hair spells. I clumsily wrapped a strand of hair around my wand – well, Eleanor's wand – and mumbled something what sounded like random gibberish. My first attempts gave no results, so Nina did my hair for me, the others giggling.
When Nina was finished, Laura yelled across the room at an older student: "Hey Ivy, can you conjure a mirror for us?"
Ivy, a tall girl with thick dark hair, turned around, her eyes searching the room for who had called her name. Laura waved to grab her attention and she came over. "Yes?"
"I want you to conjure a mirror for us," Laura declared. I supposed they were sisters; Ivy had the same hair as Laura did and I would never talk so disrespectfully to an older student if they weren't family.
Ivy rolled her eyes, but did what was asked; she swept one time with her wand and swiftly held up a mirror, though when Laura tried to snatch it, she held it above her head. "Say please, little Laurie."
I felt a slight twinge inside at the mocking nickname, though I hadn't bat an eyelash when the mirror suddenly appeared. How often had I called Kyle 'Kylie'? And how often had he called me, in all his originality, Feather Heather? Did Eleanor have siblings here? And if she had, could I tease them like I was their real sister? I didn't know if I could do it.
"Ellie, look!"
My head jerked up and I felt my fresh curls bounce. Nina was holding up the conjured mirror, smiling widely. I looked in it and winced inwardly.
Would I ever accustom myself to this new look? I looked so sulky, despite the playful curls dancing beside my face. I attempted a smile. Ah, better. I felt my hair. It was glossy and smooth – I actually wanted to learn those spells.
"What do you think?" Emma asked, throwing her arm around me and pressing her cheek against mine, grinning broadly. "You look fabulous."
I hesitated, but told myself to get over it and hugged her. "Yes, I do. Thank you, Nina," I told the other girl, who smiled and held out her hand.
"Come on – let's go to the dormitory."
It was only later that night, when I had changed into one of Eleanor's nightgowns and crept under the covers again, that I thought of my family. Was I perhaps gone missing – just disappeared? Or maybe my soul had left my body to come here, and now my family thought I was dead? Then how did that happen? Or was Eleanor in my body? Did she want back?
I pushed all the questions to the back of my mind. No, I wouldn't think about them now – I had more time the next day. Maybe this was all just a dream – maybe I'd be back in my own body by tomorrow. With that thought, I planned to fall asleep, only to realise one important question had been left unanswered.
What was going on in this war?
