AN: Here it isss. Hope you enjoy this one. I enjoyed writing this chapter. Halley seems so young in the 'flashback' to me. Partly cause I wrote that section years ago, and partly because so much has happened to her over second year.
Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter and thank you all for the views and the comments and the favourites. I love it!
Chapter 8: Please take me away from here
1st September 1993
There weren't many Slytherin First Years this time, but the seven or so that had been sorted followed the Head Boy, the Prefects and the upperclassmen through the halls and down to the dungeons where the Common Room was located.
The usual excited chatter by the First Years or the upperclassmen was gone. The atmosphere was tenser than normal, and it didn't take a genius to know it was because of the Dementors.
Soon the group reached the entrance to Slytherin House and Sir McAllen - the portrait - stared at them with distaste and judgement. It was like that every year; Halley had heard that one or two of her year group had been locked out of the house on the mere principle that they were disregarding the Slytherin values in her first year. Funnily enough, rumour had it that one of the students had been Malfoy.
The door opened when Sir McAllen was given the password, and the First Years clambered over the large step and through the entrance into the common room for their first time.
The warmth from the already-lit fireplaces helped soothe Halley a little, but she didn't think it would help much for the First Years. They were already pretending to be confident about starting Hogwarts and the familial expectations that came with that, but now they had to deal with the looming presence of Black and the subsequent Dementors.
She felt somewhat sorry for them, but the likelihood they would encounter a Dementor or Black was already so small that it wasn't necessary to worry. And if they let fear and anxiety cloud their minds so early on into the term, there was no way they'd last the whole seven years.
Slytherin was unforgiving in the face of weakness past a certain point. They'd learn that soon.
She was about to go to her dorm with Parkinson and Greengrass, but Rowle and Sonia Helleway - the 6th year Prefect - stopped and stared at them all solemnly. "All years under 5th, stay here," Helleway said.
A quick glance around the Common Room showed that most were listening, lips pursed and foreheads tight with worry. This had never happened before, as far as Halley had known at least. Greengrass gave a little sigh from next to Halley, and Parkinson muttered 'good' from behind her. Halley was tempted to ask them what was happening but everyone was silent, waiting for Rowle or Helleway to speak.
Rowle spoke first. "First Years, you need to come to understand very quickly that Slytherin is not treated with the same courtesy that the other Houses are. Get that through your skulls now." He levelled them a stare, one by one. Most looked away, but some stared back defiantly or angrily.
"The school has, for the most part, never placed Slytherin's safety at the same level as others. Recent years have shown this," Helleway said, her voice tinged with annoyance.
Halley remembered her first year and how no-one had realised that their Common Room was in the very same dungeon that a great big troll was traipsing around in and considered Helleway's restraint a testament to too many things.
"As such, we've taken it upon ourselves to warn you about the Dementors," Helleway continued.
"Do not go near the boundaries. You will feel them," Rowle said sternly. He held the presence of a man who knew exactly where he was going to be in two years' time and Halley envied the confidence. The assurance. "Dementors are vile creatures; Dumbledore was right that they won't care who you are, so stay away!"
"If you start feeling a bone-deep chill, incredibly sad, depressed or angry, or you notice a shift in your behaviour or the behaviour of your peers, move away from the area quickly and efficiently," Helleway said.
"Don't look back. Go to the infirmary and ask Madame Pomphrey for chocolate. There should be a steady supply on hand this year," Rowle said.
Why chocolate? Halley wondered. What was so special about chocolate that it could help ward off the effects of something so...vile.
Suddenly, Rowle seemed to be pinning Halley down with his grey eyes. It was almost impossible to look away so she kept his gaze, trying not to show how much it was worrying her. "They'll affect some of you more than others," he said weightily. "For those of you for which that is the case, I'm sorry."
Then it was like a switch was flicked in him and Rowle let out a charming grin. "Well now that that's out of the way, welcome to Slytherin! If you're gonna do something stupid, don't get caught. Helleway here will do the rest of this talk, I think. Try not to piss her off."
Helleway scoffed as he winked at them and then started the usual speech that Halley had herself gotten. Look out for each other, don't engage in stupid rivalries and don't show up the house. With that, everyone else was allowed to leave.
Most, including the girls she shared a room with, went to their dorms to go and unpack. And while Halley was almost itching to say hello to Hedwig, she made a beeline to Rowle. He was lounging with some of his friends in front of the fire, somehow already drinking Firewhiskey and laughing at some stupid joke they'd told.
Halley walked up to Rowle, making her presence known.
"Potter," he greeted, "Professor Snape wants to see you. Something about wasting his time with unanswered letters?"
Halley nodded, filing away that information for later. "I wanted to ask you something," she said.
"I don't think so, Potter," he said.
"You don't even know what I'm going to ask you," she said with a little bit more exasperation in her voice than there should have been. But it was hard, and she already felt like she was drowning in everything; it was only the first day back!
At the laugh Rowle's lackeys gave, she cleared her throat. She was a Potter. She wasn't to be spoken down to by anyone.
"I didn't know you were ok with your charges constantly fainting, Rowle. Not very becoming of a Head Boy," she said.
He snorted. "I can't give you what you're after," he said. "I wasn't able to master that spell."
"What's the spell?" she asked.
"Not like you'll be able to cast it, Potter," one of the lackeys said. "What are you? Eleven?"
"What's the spell?" she asked again.
Rowle sighed. "It's called the Patronus Charm. High level magic that isn't compatible with a lot of Wizards, though," he paused and gave her a nasty look, "with your father's penchant for Light magic, you may get away with it. When you're older."
They all laughed whilst Rowle took a drink and Halley wondered if that was all people would ever use to try and make her hurt? Her parents, who she would never know? Her blood status that she couldn't control and somehow didn't make her any less powerful than her peers?
It was almost pathetic.
"Where can I learn it?" she asked.
"I told you, you can't."
"Yes, I heard you Rowle," she bit out. "But seeing as we're both aware I won't be listening to you, you may as well just tell me."
She heard him mutter little bitch under his breath and took another sip of his drink. Then he turned his assured grey eyes on her again and sneered. "Restricted section will have books on it, but I hear that the new DADA Professor casts it well enough," he said. "Of course, I don't know how much I'll trust his tutelage. He looks quite homeless, doesn't he?"
There was a loud round of agreement from the lackeys but Halley had all she needed to know. "Much appreciated, Rowle."
She turned to walk away but Rowle stopped her. "Oh, I must have forgotten. Professor Snape wanted to see you tonight. At 7.30."
Halley looked at her watch and shot a glare at Rowle who just laughed. It was 7.45. Just perfect.
1st September 1992
She was nervous when she got to King's Cross Station. Her promise to Dobby was at the back of her mind, so much so that she found herself unable to sleep the night before, which led to her being late the next day.
Halley had a few minutes to spare when she got to the barrier however, which was why when she crashed into a solid brick wall, she almost cried in sadness. She didn't know enough about promises between magical creatures.
And she couldn't even see if her magic had been affected because of all the Muggles.
Halley wanted to scream when the clock struck 11 am. There was no other way to get to Hogwarts that she knew of, and if she wasn't there when term began then she was scared she would be expelled.
The Dursleys wouldn't take her back, she was sure.
What was she going to do?
"Are you alright?" A young man asked from beside her.
Halley looked up at him, tears in her eyes and shook her head. No, nothing about this situation was 'alright'. Least of all, her.
"Have you lost your parents?"
"No - I missed my train."
The man looked at her wearily, and Halley had to admit, she probably looked very out of place with Hedwig - Hedwig!
If she could get somewhere secure, and not full of muggles, she would be able to send a letter to Hogwarts and at the very least let the professors know what the situation was. Now if she could only get away from this man. But he had that persistent look about him.
And he was talking again. " - want to find a telephone? Then you can call your parents and sort this out."
Halley looked at the muggle and smiled. "Thank you, mister. That would be a lot of help." He wasn't going to let her walk around, that much she could tell. And because there wasn't a way to get rid of him - without drawing unnecessary amounts of attention to herself - she would have to stay with him.
"Come along then," the man said. "Let's find you a telephone."
"If you don't mind, I want to check on Hedwig first."
"Hedwig?"
"My owl."
The muggle man looked at the cage as Halley opened it. He listened as she murmured to the large bird and stroked the ruffled feathers, all the while wondering what a young girl was doing with a big pigeon.
"I don't think you're supposed to let animals out of their cages here," he said nervously, as the small girl took the bird that was bigger than her head out and continued to pet it.
Halley looked at the man and sighed. How was she going to get a letter to Professor Snape with him next to her the whole time?
Well, there was one place that the man couldn't enter by law. "You're right, I'm sorry. But I think Hedwig scratched her wing when the trolley crashed into the wall. I'm worried about her; I think there's some blood. I need to clean it before it gets infected."
The man looked around him like there was someone else standing behind him. "Umm, I'm not sure if you're allowed to do that."
"Would you ask for me?" Halley let the frustration she was feeling with the whole situation well in her eyes. Most men, she'd noticed, didn't like seeing people cry. Especially little girls.
He definitely seemed uncomfortable.
"Please? She was a present from my grandfather before he died. I don't want anything to happen to her. Please!"
Halley didn't even have to push much before the tears came, and when the man gave in, she promptly wiped them away. Then she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
As he hugged her back awkwardly, Halley took the pen she'd noticed hanging out of his back pocket.
When he went off to find someone to open the disabled toilets - the cage was too big to take into the women's - Halley quickly scribbled out a note for Professor Snape.
Dear Professor Snape,
Apologies for encroaching on the last moments of freedom the summer presents you, but I find myself in a predicament; due to some sort of tampering I was unable to get through to Platform 93/4. I wasn't able to get on the train and am subsequently stuck in Muggle Kings X.
I would kindly request I be collected and taken to Hogwarts, or sent instructions on how to get to Hogwarts in time for the first sorting. I wish to greet my future underclassmen.
Kind regards,
Halley Potter
She had to finish it in the toilet, but once she had she sent Hedwig on her way with the letter. She wondered how long it would take for a reply, be it physical or written.
Halley covered Hedwig's cage with the cardigan she had been wearing - Dudley's old clothes had come in useful for once in her life. She carefully carried the cage out of the toilet where the man and an attendant were waiting outside for her.
"Was the bird ok?" the man asked. Halley nodded with a watery smile.
"She's bruised her wing, but it'll heal ok. I will need to get her to a vet soon though."
"Right! Let's get your parents on the phone."
How was she going to pass that off? The only ones she knew were for the Dursleys. They would laugh in her face and probably leave her there. Especially seeing as they'd just dropped her off.
"Do you know where a telephone is?" the man asked the attendant who'd just finished locking the toilet back up.
Halley tuned them out as they started walking to wherever the telephone was located - an office most likely. Who could she call? The only other number she knew was the Baker's. But she didn't know if they'd be in the house or not. She didn't want them to actually answer.
Still, if they did answer, how would she be able to talk to them without the people listening to her know what she was saying? She couldn't use magic - not that she knew anything that could help anyway!
"In here sir." The attendant led them into the room, the trolley was left outside as it obviously couldn't fit. Halley looked back at the cage and the man stepped in behind her. "It's ok. I'll stay outside with your owl and look after it."
Her! she wanted to snap. But she didn't. "Don't move the cardigan please. She needs to sleep." Halley couldn't help but emphasise the 'she' just a little. The man must have gotten the message because he looked sheepish as he left the room.
Now all that was left was the attendant and the question, who did she call?
The attendant moved to the phone and pressed a button, number 9. "Tell me the number," he said.
"Umm," she paused. What number? "Could I do it, please? It's easier to remember the number when I press the buttons and I don't want to waste your time."
The attendant shrugged and handed her the phone.
She walked around the desk and looked at the buttons. As she did, she saw a small clock on the office desk: 12.06. That meant the Dursley's may not be home yet. There was still a small window of time which meant Petunia might not pick up the phone!
Quickly, she pressed 9 before entering the rest of the numbers. She waited as the phone rang, heart in her throat.
She looked to see if the attendant was looking at her. He was. She smiled and began moving her hands over the buttons. The ringing was too loud, he could hear. She was sure.
Halley sighed in relief when it went to voicemail. "Hello mother." She waited for the appropriate time. "No, I had an accident and missed the train. I need to be picked up." Another couple of seconds. She looked at the attendant. He was watching her closely. "Oh. Ok, I understand…no, a gentleman is taking care of me. Ok, I'll wait by the platform where you left me. See you soon. Goodbye."
Halley placed the phone down. Petunia was going to be mad, she was sure, but what else could she do? "Thank you for letting me use the telephone."
"It's fine. So, who's coming to pick you up?"
"Well, either my uncle or my aunt. They should be here within an hour I expect. They live a distance from Kings Cross."
"Why aren't your parents coming?"
The attendant asked a lot of questions. But they had got to the door and the man - Halley realised she still didn't know his name - was waiting outside for them.
"Did you make the call?" he asked.
Halley nodded. "My aunt or uncle should be coming to collect me in about an hour."
"That's good." He seemed very relieved by that. She wondered if he would be the same once someone from Hogwarts came.
That was, if they did come.
She didn't know what she would do if an adult didn't come to collect her. Halley doubted the man would just let her get on a train by herself. Especially after what she'd just told him.
She'd kind of put herself in a corner she wasn't sure how to get out of.
"I told them I would wait by platform 10. She looked towards it. "You can go if you want."
"No, it's ok. I'll wait with you."
Of course he would. Because why would he leave a little girl all alone in a big train station? Although, now that she thought about it, why was he here?
"Do you want to get something to eat?" he asked.
"I don't have any money."
"What? You don't have to pay. I've got it," he said.
"Why?"
"Why am I paying for your food?"
"Yes."
He looked at her for a moment. Really looked at her to see if she was joking. But she really didn't seem to understand why he was offering to get her food. "Because you're a kid, and I'm hungry, and I can't very well eat food and make you watch."
You could - she wanted to say. The Dursley's had done that very thing often enough. So it wasn't that he couldn't.
"You could," she said quietly. She wanted to see how he would respond to that.
"Well...you're right, I could. But it wouldn't be nice of me. I wouldn't be being responsible."
"So, it's not that you couldn't, it's that you wouldn't," she said to him slowly. He nodded.
"I suppose so."
So, was that it then? Was that distinction between words the only thing that separated the good people from the bad? She wasn't sure.
Because she would do things that her teachers told her were bad but only in the name of keeping herself safe.
Well she doubted that what she'd done was wrong in those situations, but there had been times when she'd been so hungry she would steal fruit in the shops when Petunia had taken her with them. It was wrong to steal, people went to prison for it - a lot of people had in Vernon's workplace - but she had been starving.
Was it wrong then? She didn't think so.
What about what Dumbledore had said last year? He'd made everything sound so cut and dry. Like good and bad were diffinitives, and there was nothing that separated the two. Somehow the idealism was disturbingly soothing.
It was so simple. Painfully so.
"Where do you want to eat?"
The man's question shocked her out of the daze she was in, and Halley turned to the stranger and put a thankful smile on her face. He'd so unknowingly provided an insight into something more and she didn't know where she would be if she hadn't had that.
"Anywhere is fine."
So they began moving towards one of the small restaurants within the station. Halley didn't pay much attention to where they went, but when she saw all the choices in front of her she frowned intensely. Eventually she chose some sort of chicken salad and she anxiously waited.
When the food did finally arrive, she had to hold back tears. It had been so long since she'd last eaten something so nice. July to be exact.
She'd have to manage her food intake though. It wouldn't be a good idea to go back next summer used to a full belly. The Dursleys surely wouldn't accept it.
"Are you ok?" the man asked her. He'd seen the tears.
"Yeah. I burnt my tongue," Halley quickly said. She didn't need him and his hero complex keeping her from whatever person came to collect her because he thought something fishy was going on.
He laughed. "I bet, with how quickly you inhaled the first bite, you'd think you'd not eaten all week."
"I forgot to eat breakfast this morning." She measured his face to see if he'd believed the lie. When Halley had no reason not to think he had, she went back to eating.
It wasn't long before she'd finished and was anxiously looking at the clock. She bit her lip as she realised that she hadn't said where to meet up on her letter. Still, she was sure a Professor would have the presence of mind to go outside the platform.
Hopefully anyway.
Halley wasn't sure how many of the professors were used to the Muggle world.
"I think I need to head back to Platform 10 now."
"Of course," the man replied. He paid quickly and then left, making their way across the station.
Halley looked around nervously as they got closer to the platform and when she saw Professor Snape, she found it incredibly funny that she was relieved, before she became worried about his glare.
"You kept me waiting," was the first thing out of his mouth.
"I'm sorry uncle Severus," she said happily. As she knew he would, Professor Snape embraced the greeting easily. "Thank you for coming so quickly."
"Say goodbye to the man and let's go." He waited for her as she turned to say goodbye. Halley realised once again that she didn't know his name.
"Thank you, Mr…?"
"Oh, that's right. I never gave you my name. It's Jamie Russo."
"Thank you for helping me Mr Russo. I'm not sure I would have known what to do otherwise." She was laying it on a bit thick, but she was thankful he was there. Halley might have broken down if she wasn't forced to keep her composure.
"It's alright. You were an interesting girl to talk to…"
"Eileen Evans."
"Interesting name."
"I had interesting parents. Anyway, thank you."
"No problem. Bye Eileen."
"Bye Jamie." She turned and pushed her trolley, walking with Professor Snape. They got a fair distance to the exit before he talked to her again.
"You directed your letter to me, not the Headmaster. Is there a reason for that?"
Halley wanted to comment on how he was being so direct with his questions when he never had been before, but she kept her mouth shut. He probably wouldn't just leave her in Kings Cross, but he could make the journey unpleasant.
"You're my head of house."
"That cannot be the only reason."
"No." She wondered if she should tell him. He'd helped her before, hadn't he? "Professor Dumbledore is hiding something from me."
Snape curled his lip. "Do you think your reasoning is above Albus Dumbledore's?
Halley shook her head. "No, I think I can learn very much from the Headmaster. But every time I've talked to him, I've felt like he's hiding something from me. And everyone is entitled to their own secrets, I just think his secrets involve me in some way."
She looked at Snape and smiled demurely. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to be so open with him, but she'd already started.
"I know that probably sounds very arrogant. It probably doesn't help what you think of me, but Voldemort is back. There is something going on, and if nothing else, he'll probably begin to target me once he's regained his strength."
Snape blinked. She seemed too assured of her words, and he had no doubt that the Dark Lord had returned, and that he would target the girl. But for her to realise it...What had Dumbledore said to her?
1st September 1993
Snape's office was just like it had been in her first year, but he was considerably angrier.
There was no point in trying to tell him why she was so late; he wouldn't care. But bearing the quiet fury wasn't hard either. At least she knew he couldn't hurt her - even if he wanted to. She doubted Dumbledore would be able to ignore the actual physical abuse of a student by one of his teachers.
And she doubted it would ever get that bad, but he was very angry. "Do you think I have nothing better to do than wait for you?" he asked. "To chase after you?"
"I'm sorry, sir. I was unexpectedly detained." What else could she say? "Thank you for waiting," she said quietly.
She tried not to make eye contact with him, if for no other reason that Snape seemed to thrive on subjecting the students he was angry with to withering glares. It happened enough with Neville Longbottom that she could identify it, and it happened enough to her that she had long since figured out when it was better to just lay low with him.
Halley stayed quiet, letting him decide whether or not he was done with making her feel like shit. It seemed like he was because his mouth curled into that familiar sneer that he was so fond of. That Slytherin house, it seemed, was fond of.
"Why didn't you make the school aware what electives you're taking?" he finally asked. There was still something that radiated his disapproval clinging to the words but at least it wasn't anger. Or if it was, then it was barely restrained anger.
But Halley was confused. What electives? "Sir?"
"Your electives you idiotic girl. Why did you not make Professor McGonagall aware?"
"I didn't receive that letter," she said quietly.
"What do you mean you didn't receive it?"
Halley wondered if he actually wanted her to answer that. "One owl arrived with a letter about the texts and Hogsmeade permission slip -"
"Which you also did not return," he interrupted.
Halley shook her head. "I didn't know I had to. The owl left as soon as I took the letter." More like she shooed it off before Vernon could pluck and hang it.
The look he gave her spoke volumes. He thought she was stupid. He thought she was careless. He thought she was purposefully ignorant. She carried on talking.
"There wasn't a list of electives, Sir."
"That you think I'm willing to believe that the school would fail to send you the list of electives shows more about you than you think, Potter." He spat the name. "Tell me them now."
She didn't know what they were.
She had a vague understanding of most of the subjects that were on offer and classes like Care of Magical Creatures or Herbology was self-explanatory. Arithmancy was just maths, and she'd been alright at that when she'd gone to primary school. But what was Ancient Runes? And how would they help her?
"Now Potter!" Snape snapped.
That he had not even risen from his desk or raised his voice once was a testament to how well he'd mastered being vicious. Halley felt a pulse of something around her that threatened anger and violence. She shivered, though she tried not to show it.
Snape must have seen it though. Even if he'd not given a visible indication because his eyes had been trained on her since she'd stepped into the room. But not on her eyes. Very rarely did he look her in the eyes.
The pulse went away a second later and Halley let out a small breath. She was tired and upset. On edge from the train and Riddle being out and about somewhere, planning something that probably involved her.
She just wanted to see Hedwig.
"Arithmancy and Divination," she said quickly.
"I expected more," Snape shot back just as quickly, "now leave." He took out a roll of parchment and a quill from its stand and then dipped it in the opened ink bottle. Snape then began to write something down, just shy of furiously, but with a certain amount of intention that suggested he expected no more interruptions.
But she couldn't leave. There was another thing she needed from him, though she wished she'd just asked Dumbledore when she was in his office. It might have been easier.
She gathered whatever calm was left under her frazzled emotions and took a tiny step towards Snape to gain his attention. He didn't stop writing; his quill seemed to be moving as quickly as it had been as soon as he dismissed her, but he still spoke.
"I told you to leave."
"I need the textbooks -"
"Obviously," he drawled out. "As you cannot go to Hogsmeade, the school can loan you the textbooks."
"Thank you, Professor," she said. "Only, I need all of this year's textbooks. The core subjects too," she added so that she was making herself abundantly clear.
Snape looked up from his writing and glared at her. "Why did you not purchase them like the rest of your peers?" he snapped.
Halley heard the judgement beneath the annoyance, and it bit at her. She was judged from so many angles that it made her head spin and it wasn't her fault!
Maybe, maybe, if she were able to compartmentalise her feelings well enough then after Riddle had fucking kidnapped and abandoned her in Knockturn Alley, she would have had the sense of mind to be able to get her Third Year textbooks.
Maybe she would have been able to go to Gringotts and demand gold without her key, or a guardian. Maybe she could have stolen the gold, or the books, and been back with enough time to hide them in Mrs Fig's unkempt shrubbery, or the Baker's front garden.
But she couldn't! And she was thirteen! With no-one to take her to Diagon Alley and get her measured for a bra, or new robes. Or give her a burn treatment when she'd burnt herself rather than being the one who'd pressed the metal into her shoulder!
"You know why," she said bitterly. "Or, at the very least, professor, you can guess."
She stared up at him and he finally looked at her for a moment, just one moment, before turning away. He said nothing to her but Halley didn't expect him to. They never said anything when they were faced with a problem.
But there was nothing more for her to say. She turned around and left the office heading straight for the tower that held Hedwig. Fuck curfew. The Prefects weren't out and about on the first night anyway.
She spent most of her night helping Hedwig preen her feathers and snuck into her dorm and bed too late for the early rise of September 2nd.
But when she did wake up, at the foot of her bed was a full set of texts, including the ones for her electives and the timetable she'd need for the upcoming year.
AN: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Anyone know where the name Eileen comes from? It's not really a trick question.
Also, I don't think I'll be posting a chapter next week as I haven't gotten chapter 9 edited yet and one of my beta's is quite busy this week. But if it gets done then I'll deffo post. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a good week :)
