Hello Everybody!
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Ok ok ok. It's been two months. Blame me not the school! I mean... blame the school not me. Bleh. They expect too much of their students and think we're wonder kids. Anyways... here is chapter six, and I'm sorry. Hopefully chapter seven won't be too far away. :o)
The Dream
Daughter Verity,
Do not expect to come home for the Christmas holidays. Do not expect to come home for the Easter Holidays.
Do not expect to come home at all.
I will no longer accept you in my house.
At the end of the year you will graduate from Hogwarts. You may come back to the house to collect any belongings still remaining there.
You will then leave and you will not return.
Where you go from there, I do not know. I do not care.
From this point on, I disown you.
You are no longer my daughter.
Leanne.
Verity's stomach lurched as she read the letter in front of her. Lily reading over her shoulder, gasped.
Reeling with shock, Verity sank down onto her bed. The parchment slipped from her grasp; floating down to the thick carpet by her feet.
This was it. This was the end of it.
"Oh my God... Verity..." Lily whispered. "She can't be serious."
Verity couldn't even speak. With a soft groan, she buried her head in her hands, desperately trying to keep the tears at bay.
"What are you going to do?" Lily asked quietly.
Verity sat silently, staring at a spot on the wall. She shook her head. "I don't know." she croaked. "I... let me just... think." she mumbled. She wandered away from the bed to the window, looking out upon lake and the newly risen sun; glimmering gold fire just beyond the horizon.
Her vision blurred, hot tears leaking out of her eyes. Suddenly the shock was gone.
All she felt was a pure, white-hot anger.
She screamed and swung her arm across the window sill, bottles and photo frames scattering across the room. There was a fire inside of her, as if she was possessed and the demon was yearning for release.
Lily shank back in shock. "Verity?"
Verity turned to her wildly. "How could she do this!" she screamed. "How could she do this? I'm her daughter! She's meant to care for me! Love me! Believe me, for heaven's sake! It's as if she's thrown me out with the trash!" She kicked at her bed in fury. "I hate Patrick! I hate him!"
Then, as quickly as it had overtaken her, the anger left. She slumped on her bed.
Lily looked thoughtful. "Has your mother always been slightly insane, or is this just recent?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well..." Lily threw her hands up in the air. "Your mother seemed relatively normal until she met Patrick. Then all of a sudden, she's not believing anything you say and disowning you."
Verity shook her head. "I still don't know what you're coming to."
Lily sighed. "I was thinking... perhaps she's under the Imperious curse?" she shrugged.
Verity's heart thudded. Of course! The Imperious! Why did she not think of it before?
It would explain everything. Her mother's irrational behaviour. The sudden wedding. Her absolute stupidity.
"Of course!" she cried. "Oh, thankyou Lily!" she rushed forward and engulfed her friend with a hug. "I must see Professor McGonagall!"
Verity flew from the tower and sped towards her head teacher's office yet again.
Out of breath, she hammered on the door. There was a sigh. "Come in, Miss Chambers."
Verity came into the room. Professor McGonagall stared at her severely.
"I suppose you are here again over the matter of your mother and Mr Patrick Malus?" she inquired.
Verity nodded urgently. "She's under the Imperious!" she babbled. "It makes such perfect sense! I know she is! You see-"
McGonagall held up her hand and Verity fell silent.
"My dear Miss Chambers. You do not believe I did not already think of that?"
Verity's heart fell.
The Professor continued on. "After you left our last meeting with your mother, I asked Mr Malus and your mother to comply with a little test to see whether or not she was under the influence of the Imperious. She was not."
Verity's excitement died instantly. "But..." she swallowed, desperately searching for a reason."Maybe you did the test wrong?"
McGonagall raised her eyebrows. "No, Miss Chambers, I assure you the test was valid. Your mother is not under the Imperious Curse; nor any other kind of spell that I could tell."
So that was it.
"Oh… well… thankyou, Professor." she shuffled out of the office in despair. Her mother wasn't under the Imperious. She really did disown her. Tears slipped from her eyes onto the cold stone floor beneath her feet.
There was the sound of running and Lily came into view.
Her smile slipped when she saw the state Verity was in. "Good grief," she breathed. "What happened?"
She couldn't stand it anymore. She ran past Lily, up the corridor and around the corner. Then she was gone.
Several hours later, Lily was worried. Verity had just run off and couldn't be found. Lily had enlisted the help of Crystal and Lyla, but they hadn't returned with any news. Where could she have gone?
Sighing, she slumped into the armchair by the fire in the common room. Oh well. Verity could look after herself. She just needed some time alone.
Crystal and Lyla appeared abruptly by Lily's chair.
"Oh um, Lily," Crystal murmured. "We asked around to see if anyone's seen Verity. Bethany Marian from Hufflepuff says she was sending a message to her mother when she saw Verity in tears hanging round the owlery."
Lyla nodded. "Apparently she's in a real mess. Do you think perhaps you should go?"
Lily bit at her lip. "I'm not sure."
"Maybe go... if she doesn't want help, then leave her be, but if she does, at least your there for her. But it's up to you. You know best; you're her best friend." Crystal got up and pulled back Lyla with her. The two departed quietly from the common room.
Verity sat underneath the tiny window in the owlery, her head bowed, her eyes closed. She barely even heard the footsteps echoing dimly from the stairwell, or noticed the red-headed girl who had sounded them.
Lily moved closer, and Verity looked up. Upon seeing Lily, she lowered her head once more.
"If you want me to go, I'll go." Lily offered.
Verity shook her head.
Lily edged towards her and seated herself by her friend's side.
"I take it Leanne isn't under any spells?"
Verity nodded.
"Ah."
The two sat in silence for a while, just listening to the fluttering and hooting of the many owls above.
"I always come to the owlery when I feel sad." Verity breathed. "I discovered the owlery is a nice place to go when you're feeling alone. Hardly anyone comes up here. It's so quiet and peaceful."
"I see."
"Why would she do this to me?" Verity raked her fingers through her hair in despair. "I mean… she isn't… she doesn't... she's just not supposed to do this. She's my mother. She's left me all alone. I don't have anyone now."
Lily put an arm around Verity. "You have your Aunt Kate." she suggested. "And you have me. I've been your best friend ever since you knocked the lights out of Miranda in our first year when she called me a mudblood."
Verity smiled half-heartedly. "I didn't mean to. That was really an accident."
Seven years beforehand…
"You think you're so smart, Evans! Just because you fluke a few good test scores you think you can tell me what to do?" An eleven-year old Miranda shouted at a minute Lily.
"Hey back off!" Verity cried, her arms full of books. "You're just jealous because you're a dimwit and she's a genius!" She shifted around, trying to get the books in a a good position so she wouldn't drop them.
"I'd rather be a dimwit than a mudblood like her!" Miranda snarled.
"Why you..." Verity started towards Miranda, but tripped on Lily's book bag. The books she carried flew out of her arms as she crashed to the floor. They sailed gracefully through the air and struck Miranda in the side of the head, who collapsed into the arms of her Ravenclaw friends.
"You killed her!" Allison Veene shrieked.
And so had begun the never-ending war between Miranda Cerritus and Verity Chambers.
Lily snorted. "Accident or not, it was still funny."
Verity couldn't bring herself to laugh. She sighed and rested her head on her knees.
Lily patted Verity's back. "I'm sure your mum will reconsider. She's an intelligent woman."
"Not anymore." Verity moaned.
"I'll buy you a double chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce, sprinkles and chocolate chips at our next Hogsmeade visit if she doesn't."
"I'm not going to the next Hogsmeade visit."
"Oh come on Verity, we need time to relax. The homework's been killing us and I've seen you study non-stop. Now with this added pressure, you have to come."
"I'll think about it." Verity muttered. "But don't expect me to go."
Lily sighed. "Don't worry. It'll probably work out for the best."
The next few weeks became extremely hectic for all the Seventh Year students. With the upcoming NEWTs, the workload soon started overloading everyone.
Most students were walking a very fine line indeed between sanity and complete madness.
Crystal Shore was one of these. Emily Apylbie was too.
Verity came downstairs early one morning to find the two unconscious on the floor of the common room as they attempted to study all through the night. It didn't seem to have worked.
One of the paintings on the second floor wasn't helping either.
"Hahaha you pesterous students! You're all going to fail your NEWTs you know that?" slurred an Indian girl as she leant heavily on an elephant, the ground around her littered with the remains of many drinks. She shook her fist from the painting at the passers-by's.
Most were used to her by now: Anjali the drunken Indian girl who was accompanied by Emma the Elephant and Harriet and Hayley the Happy Monkeys. It was said they had once originated in a circus, but were cursed to live in a painting for the remainder of their lives by a witch.
Anjali often threw insults at a certain Lyla Sapientia for some unusual reason. As of habit, Lyla usually avoided that corridor in the second floor.
Rumours had it the painting was to be sold at the end of the year. Good riddance said Lyla.
With several exams, many essays to be written, and a stack of homework nearly as tall as Verity herself, she had little time to feel sorry for herself. For now, Leanne and the git called Patrick were at the back of her mind. It was as if they didn't even exist. The only thing that mattered now was her study.
She had plenty chance to try and reconcile with Leanne. But she only had one chance at her NEWTs. For now that was what mattered.
"Come on..." Lily coaxed, pulling on Verity's arm. "It's Hogsmeade... you have to come!"
Verity shook her head as she attempted to write the remainder of her essay about Waldric the Wacked. He had attempted to transfigure himself into a walrus, but messed up and spent the rest of his life waddling around and eating fish.
"But you have to come!" Emily wailed. "It's the Hogmanay festival today! Hogmanay! Free Chocolate! Free!"
Lyla snorted. Emily stuck her tongue out at her. "You can't turn down free chocolate!" she cried at Verity.
Crystal lazed back on the plush chair by the portrait hole. "It's once a year Verity. This festival's only held on the last day of the year and only seventh years get to go."
Lyla frowned. "It's not the end of the year."
Emily rolled her eyes. "They hold it early every year because if they held it on the real last day, most kids would be at home for Christmas and not many would attend." she explained patiently.
Verity's chest tightened. Most kids would be at home for Christmas... most, not all. Like her. She shook her head more firmly. "No." she said.
Emily sighed loudly. "Well I'm not missing out of free chocolate for anything." With that, she left through the portrait hole.
Lily rubbed Verity's arm. "Ok, so you've been under a lot of pressure lately. The trouble with your mum. The homework. The NEWTs! But even better reason to get out and relax with the little time you actually have to do that."
Verity swallowed. Crystal, Lyla and Lily were all staring at her. "Fine," she muttered. "But I'm only going for you."
Lily cheered.
Verity wandered through the main street of Hogsmeade. Banners flapped all around the village. Honeydukes was crowded with a mass of chocolate-addicted children. Emily and Lily were somewhere in there, among the mass of shouting and eager students. Crystal and Lyla were with her as they waited for the two to return with some chocolate for the group to eat
Letting out a breath, she flopped down on the wet ground. The weather was getting colder, and soon the snows would come. She looked around her at the tall trees, swaying gracefully in the wind and the cosy little buildings that lined the paved street.
She shivered. Crystal and Lyla were standing right next to her and there were people all around her, but suddenly she felt as if she was alone in the little street.
From the shadows of a nearby alley, someone watched.
Lily broke out from the crowd by Honeydukes, her arms filled with chocolates.
"Verity I got some!" she shouted.
She stumbled over to the sitting girl and let the chocolates fall into Verity's lap.
Emily then too, appeared from the store and also staggered to where the group was now sitting, eating hungrily, dropping the treats all over the ground.
They all ate happily in silence.
"Told ya it'd be good," Emily mumbled through a mouthful of chocolate, waving a half-eaten chocolate frog at Verity.
She stood up and stretched. "I'm going back to get more!" she announced. She turned to go back to the store and promptly cannoned into someone. She screamed as they fell to the ground.
"Why has that been happening lately?" Verity wondered aloud.
Emily untangled herself from James as Sirius laughed and pointed at them.
Verity got up and greeted Sirius. "Hi," her voice sounded flat. He looked at her strangely. She cleared her throat. "Oh um, I have a cold." she lied. She didn't feel like explaining her family troubles to Sirius at this moment.
The figure in the shadows beside Honeydukes stirred and drew his wand as the girl stood up.
"Oh yes, lots of people have been getting sick around this time of year," Sirius was saying. "Just before winter you know."
He grinned at a small kitten that had hopped down from a bin nearby and trotted towards them.
"Oh a cat!" Emily cried, jumping up and running past Verity, all thoughts of chocolate forgotten; her arms outstretched as she tried to hug the kitten that had wandered past.
What happened next was unclear.
There was a flash and a bang and a single scream.
The next thing, Emily was lying face down on the ground, unmoving. Crystal yelled out in fright, and Lyla ran to Emily to see if she was alright.
The flock of students by Honeydukes stopped and turned to see what had happened; staring at the scene curiously.
There was another flash of blinding light and then Lyla too, was collapsed next to Emily.
Suddenly the flock of chocolate hungry students by the candy store where no longer hungry. Shouts rang in alarm.
No longer curious, the wave of teenagers started screaming and yelling as they tore away from the store and began to run madly in all directions.
"What the...?" Sirius shouted. There was a roar and someone emerged from the shadows a few metres away.
He was hooded, a dark cloak concealing his face and body. He raised his wand and pointed it straight at Verity. "DIE!" he bellowed, slashing his wand through the air like a knife.
A jet of silver light flew from the wand at Verity. The spell blazed past her, searing her skin and robes. She fell heavily to the ground.
"We're all going to die!" Miranda's friend Allison shrieked as she bolted past, followed by a crowd of friends.
Swearing, Sirius ran off with them.
Lily was babbling in fear as she ran for Verity. "Verity are you alright?" she shrieked, trying to pull Verity to her feet.
The man came at them, his teeth bared under his hood. Lily was rooted to the ground in fear as he pointed his wand at her throat.
"Goodbye," he sneered.
Then without any warning, He was thrown off his feet as a boy tackled him to the ground.
"Get away Lily!" James roared as he struggled to keep the man pinned under him. "Get away!"
Lily stumbled to her feet, dragging Verity with her. Crystal ran to help her. "What about Emily and Lyla?" she gabbled wildly.
"Never mind them. They'll be alright. He's after Verity. Just get her out of here." Lily panted to her.
James cried out as the man struck him and threw him off. A wave of the wand and James instantly flew through the air and lay unmoving in the thinning snow.
Lily screamed. The man turned and stared at the three terrified girls, before coming at them again.
"I will finish this!" he bellowed.
Liam Clemens abruptly appeared from nowhere, bringing down a heavy bin lid onto the back of the man's head.
He grunted and staggered forward, his arms flailing. Then he was swinging around, wrestling the lid from Liam and smashing it violently against the boy's head.
The face under the hood grinned madly as Liam dropped to the ground.
Shouts and bangs echoed from up the street as several Professors from the school appeared, alerted by the panicked students who had previously fled the scene.
The man swore. His eyes connected with Lily's.
"Let her know she will never escape me. She... and her mother." he growled. He twisted and disappeared as Crystal and Lily looked on in horror.
Professor McGonagall appeared by her side an instant later, out of breath. "What's been going on here?" she spluttered.
Verity sat shivering, covered in a blanket in the Hospital Wing. Lily sat forlorn by her side as Madam Pomfrey attended to the many casualties of the hooded man. Crystal sat facing them in silence.
Lyla, Emily, James and Liam lay in beds along the wall.
James and Liam were going to be fine according to Madam Pomfrey. James had only been hit with a simple spell and Liam only had a mild concussion.
Lyla and Emily, however, were another matter.
Professor McGonagall paced up and down the room.
"So tell me again girls: what happened?"
Crystal fidgeted awkwardly. "Well... as we told you before, we were sitting in the street eating chocolates from the giveaway at Honeydukes. Then James and Sirius came along... and then Emily saw this kitten and tried to pat it."
"Then like there was this huge bang and this light and Emily was... unconscious." Lily broke in. "Then it happened to Lyla and everyone was running around and screaming."
McGonagall sighed. "But can you describe to me what the light looked like?"
Lily paused. "Bright?"
"And it was silver. I think it was the same one that almost got Verity." Crystal put in.
"Yes well we still don't know what happened to her, but that she was very lucky indeed." Pomfrey commented as she wrung a piece of cloth over the sink.
"And did you see anything of the man that might help the Aurors on their search?" The Professor asked.
"No... not really. He... he told us to tell Verity that..." Lily frowned.
Crystal started. "I remember what he said. He said 'Let her know that she will never escape me... and her mother too,' or something along those lines."
"It's Patrick." Verity said immediately. She was pale. "He tried to kill me and now he's going to kill mum."
"It can't have been Patrick, my dear. He was with your mother today; I contacted her to let you know that you had been hurt."
"Like she'd care..." Verity muttered. "He's involved in this I know he is. She's probably covering for him now."
"Miss Chambers!" McGonagall looked severe. "Enough of this. You are to stay in the hospital wing for Madam Pomfrey to monitor your condition. Miss Evans, Miss Shore, you may now attend dinner. If you wish, you may see Miss Chambers again tomorrow morning."
Lily stood up and grasped Verity's hand. "Everything will be okay," she murmured.
She and Crystal exited the room, with Verity noticing Lily glancing worriedly at James's bed as she passed.
"Now off to bed," Pomfrey fussed.
Sighing, Verity slid beneath the covers of the bed. Madam Pomfrey waved her wand and the light dimmed, leaving Verity in darkness.
Drowsily she rolled over as sleep came to her.
She was in her room.
Normally inviting and cheery, it seemed unusually dark.
All the posters of her wizarding idols had been ripped down, and she found all her possessions had been taken and stuffed into a trunk lying on the bed.
She heard a creak outside, and crept out into the hallway.
"Who's there?" she hissed, her call small and distant.
'Don't be silly...' A voice whispered to her. 'This is just a dream...'
A figure stood by the top of the stairs, staring out the window by them.
She recognised her. It was her mother. What was going on here?
Someone else appeared behind her mother. He was creeping slowly and quietly.
Oh no. Patrick.
Silently, he grasped a vase and lifted it high above his head.
She tried to cry out or warn the woman somehow, but it was too late.
The vase smashed against Leanne's temple.
With a cry she fell forward, crashing down the staircase.
She came to a rest at the bottom, still and motionless.
She was dead.
Author's Note:
Thankyou to Carmen for giving me essential ideas on this chapter! You should really start on your own fanfiction sometime soon...
Also the usual thankyou to Lydia and Carmen and Emma for checking this chapter before I posted. You lot are the bestest! Yay!
And thankyou to Carmen and Alisa for helping me shamelessly advertise my stories! Lol.
Oh and, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! Reviews are the best!
Reviews make me happy and give me a high which aids in my typing up new chapters. :o)
So therefore... more reviews more chapters! Yay!
Thankyou to everybody!
Little Kity
