Guys...this is my third time trying to upload this chapter. I have no idea what's going I need a bigger disclaimer? THIS BELONGS TO JK ROWLING.
AN: UPDATED NOTE - okay, I've just realized that I must not have uploaded this chapter and the next correctly? Maybe I uploaded them too closely together, but I thought something seemed off and then I searched my story and it looked like only three chapters were showing up, so I just deleted chapter 4 and am reuploading, and five will follow again shortly after. Sorry for any confusion.
Hi guys! Nothing has changed since the last chapter, I'm still not JK Rowling. I really, really really appreciate the reviews I've gotten since my last upload, I appreciate each of you guys so, SO much. This chapter is for you, naimam380, scarletmidnight19, and marvynthephoenix. All of your reviews made me so so happy and I'm so glad you liked it!
Chapter 4
The moment we stepped into the Great Hall, all of the worries of the last few days melted away. I was joking and laughing once more with Lily and my other friends, grinning up at the hundreds of floating candles hanging just beneath the enchanted ceiling, which showcased the beautifully clear night sky peppered with stars.
"I can't wait for this, I'm starving!" I announced loudly, rubbing my hands together with excitement as we took our seats at the Gryffindor table, eagerly looking towards the doors we knew the new first years would soon enter from.
"Watch it, Mudblood," I heard a voice hiss from behind me towards Lily as she was jostled into me. She let out a gasp, and we both whipped our heads around at the same time to face Lucius Malfoy, wearing an ugly sneer, and Antonin Dolohov, sporting the same.
"Fuck off, you ugly gits," I snapped angrily, my hand on my wand in my pocket. My temper immediately flared. Lily was my best friend, and these disgusting Slytherins had been pigs to her - and all Muggle-borns alike - for ages. And now, given the current climate in the world...well, things were getting a lot worse. I wanted them to know that Lily had friends who were willing to stick up for her.
"It's okay Isa, just ignore them," Lily whispered quietly, her face red with embarrassment. A year ago, Lily would have been right in their face with me. But she, too, had been reading the headlines. And I couldn't blame her. I tucked my arm firmly into hers and we turned around, my face hot with anger.
"You'd better watch out, Muggle Lover," Dolohov breathed in my ear, sending unpleasant chills down my spine. "You're on the list, too." And then they were gone.
I shook off the lingering feeling of eeriness, bringing myself back to the present. They were lucky James hadn't heard them.
He and the other boys were down the table a ways, looking very secretive with their heads bent together. Black was nodding his head emphatically, while Remus was shaking his with just as much fervor, arms crossed across his chest. James was talking animatedly to the both of them, hands moving wildly while Peter nodded eagerly along with everything he said. I realized I was smiling fondly at them - I quickly righted my face and turned back towards my friends as the last of the students filed in through the huge entrance.
"As soon as we get our schedules we have to compare - I've dropped about three classes this year and I'm worried I'm not taking enough now," Marlene was fretting, twirling a strand of her light brown hair around her fingers like she did when she was nervous.
"You'll be just fine Marlene, you're one of the best in the year at Defense Against the Dark Arts. You're going to make a killer Auror," I reassured her, staring longingly down at the empty plates shined to perfection, reflecting the dancing candle flames above us.
"Only as long as you're right next to me," she nudged my shoulder, and we shared a grin.
"Welcome, students!" Dumbledore's voice suddenly boomed out, and a hush fell over the Great Hall like a blanket. I couldn't keep the grin off my face. There was something truly magical about the Great Feast, that feeling of freshness, of beginning anew, that accompanied a new school year. A blank slate. A time to start over.
"To old and young. I present to you, Hogwarts' newest first years. I trust you will all welcome them, help them learn, and grow on their journey of magical education. The ties of friendship are more important than ever this year," Dumbledore continued cryptically, and Lily and I exchanged a look. "And I expect each and every one of you to hold each other to the highest standard of honor during these times. After all, only light can drive out darkness. And, on that happy note, Professor McGonagall, you may lead them in."
Excited whispering once again broke out over the hall as older siblings waved frantically to the first years; a group of the smallest, scrawniest, most terrified looking kids I'd ever seen stumbled in, blinking hard as if they were under harsh lights. I couldn't help but stifle a giggle.
"D'you think we ever looked like that?" Alice leaned forward, whispering.
"God, I hope not," Marlene breathed. "Look, there's Rosie, my cousin!" She nearly rose out of her seat, waving enthusiastically at a tiny girl with spiky dark hair and combat boots near the back. The girl caught sight of Marlene, beaming back at her.
"Adams, Fridley!" McGonagall called the first student up. A small, vibrantly red-headed boy stepped forward out of the group, knees knocking together.
I placed my chin in my hand, letting my mind drift. I still remembered my own sorting ceremony, as every student did. But what I remembered just as vividly was what happened after that…
Legs shaking with fright, I took the first step onto the boys' staircase in the Gryffindor common room. I tried to breathe quietly from underneath my brother's invisibility cloak; it wasn't much use being invisible if I could be heard. I had to flatten myself against the wall as two older boys came barreling down, laughing loudly and causing my cloak to flutter around my feet.
I let out a sigh of relief as they continued on, oblivious. It was strange, going up this side of the common room - I had only been here a few hours, but already it felt like home, and this was the boys' side. Everything was mostly the same, but mirrored. Thank Merlin this morning James had packed in such a hurry that he'd forgotten the invisibility cloak. I'd seen it hanging on his door at the last second, and shoved it into my own trunk.
And just why was I nicking my brother's cloak? Because just hours earlier at the Sorting Ceremony, I'd seen something that shook me to my core - even more than the talking hat, more than the shock and excitement of finally being at Hogwarts, of being sorted into the same house as my slightly older brother, who I looked up to more than anyone in the world. That's why I was doing this - I had to make sure he was safe.
I had seen the boy from my dreams at the sorting ceremony, and now I had a name. Remus Lupin. He was a werewolf. And James had befriended him - was living with him, sleeping in the same room as him. I had to make sure he was okay. I didn't know anything about werewolves besides the scary bedtime stories I'd heard, but maybe if I just saw for myself, spied a little bit...then I would know my brother was safe.
Taking a deep breath, I continued to creep up the stairs until I reached the first landing. First Years, the wooden sign on the door read. I stared at it for a moment. Would it be too conspicuous if the door suddenly opened by itself? This was Hogwarts, after all, where entire staircases moved by themselves. I'd found that out just minutes before, with a nice girl named Lily Evans.
Pressing my ear against the door, I listened closely - silence. I had seen both James and that other boy he was friends with now - what was his name? Brown? Black? Down by the fireplace, so I knew at least they would be out of the way. After determining the coast was probably clear, I let a hand out of the cloak to float, disembodied, towards the handle.
Once I had started, I moved quickly. I slipped in and closed the door quickly and quietly behind me, taking in the seven gold and red four poster beds that looked almost exactly like the ones on my side.
And then I waited. It felt like hours, but in reality it was probably only thirty minutes or so. I had taken my position, crouched on the floor at the very end, under the window. A tall gangly boy had come and gone, but he hadn't been Remus - I thought his name was Frank, possibly. I had seem him trip over the massive pile of things on the floor in the middle of the room, and then look over his shoulder as if to make sure no one had seen it. I had had to clamp my hands over my mouth to cover my giggles.
Finally, the door began to open - I held my breath, gripping my wand tightly between both hands. I knew exactly three spells - Wingardium Leviosa, Lumos, and a tickling charm. None of them would be helpful if Remus really was dangerous.
The boy - Remus Lupin - it was him, thankfully - walked in, alone. I couldn't believe my luck. A thrill of excitement and fear coursed through me, and I leaned forward slightly. The boy walked forwards to the second to last bed, sitting on the end of it and opening the book he had placed there earlier. I noticed that his pants were just a little bit too short for him, as were his robe sleeves. I crawled forwards slowly and quietly to get a better look. I frowned slightly as scratch marks and scars came into view; this, paired with the clearly too-small clothing, made my fearful heart go out to the boy. I knew, even at eleven, that I was lucky. James and I had two parents that loved us, and we had a pretty privileged upbringing. Clearly this boy didn't share the same story.
Inexplicably, tears welled up in my eyes as more memories came back to me of the dream I'd had that night. Watching Remus transform, seeing him cry out in pain. I wanted to leap up and wrap him in a hug. I was overwhelmed, in that moment, with staggering certainty that this boy was no more dangerous than my house elf.
His head raised slightly, staring at a spot in front of him. He gasped loudly, throwing his book to the side and jumping to his feet. I froze, suddenly terrified that he'd heard me. But he ran forward, kneeling down in front of the spot in the middle of the room where the boys seemed to have all agreed to dump their things without any rhyme or reason.
He was cupping his hands around something that I couldn't see, talking to it softly. I scooted forward even more, now just a couple meters from the boy who was completely oblivious to my presence.
It was a mouse. A tiny, brown mouse. I watched Remus in wonderment as he quickly stood, lifting the trunk which looked like it had been placed directly on its tail. To my surprise, the mouse didn't immediately run away when it was freed; Remus crouched back down, picking it up gently in his hands and crooning to it.
"It's okay, little guy!" He was saying softly, and as soon as the creature was being held its tiny little pitiful cries stopped. "You're free now. Go on and be with your family." Remus carefully set the mouse down on the floor once more, and it darted towards a minuscule hole in the wall.
I stared at the boy, with his long, light brown hair and kind brown eyes. I felt ashamed at ever even suspecting that he could be dangerous. I had to fight the urge right there and then to rip off my invisibility cloak and introduce myself to the boy so we could be friends.
"Remus!" Another boy burst in suddenly, startling us both. I teetered backwards slightly from my squatting position, landing on my arse - thankfully the noise was lost in the entrance of this new first year. "Let's go, quick - the coast is clear!" The new boy's grey eyes flashed excitedly.
"Okay - if you're positive we won't get caught," Remus replied worriedly, shooting his book one last longing look before dashing out of the room.
Breathing a sigh of relief as the door slammed shut behind them, I stood to my feet and tread carefully around the pile of stuff. I needed to get out of here before I was discovered.
"-almost forgot my broom!" The door was flying open again quite suddenly, and the dark haired boy rushed forward, directly towards me, eyes unseeing -
"Ah!" I yelped, foot catching on the edge of the invisibility cloak as I tried in vain to step backwards out of his path. I threw my hands out as I crashed down. Feeling something snap underneath me, and I landed hard onto the wooden floor, pain shooting up my body. The invisibility cloak flopped down around my shoulders, revealing only my head. Quickly pushing the messy dark curls out from over my eyes, I stared up in shock and horror at the boy above me, who was looking back with the same mixture of emotions.
"Oh, my god - a floating HEAD!" He yelled, face draining of color.
"I'm not a floating head!" I announced hotly, quickly squirming out of the cloak. "Don't get your knickers in a twist."
"Well who the bloody hell are you then?" The boy asked suspiciously, keeping his wand half-raised. Not that he could do anything with it; it was our very first day of Hogwarts. I would be shocked if he could levitate a feather.
"Isabel Potter. Who are you?" I countered, grabbing the cloak and standing up quickly.
"I'm Black. Sirius Bl-argh!" The boy's eyes flickered down, and his face drained of color all over again. "My broom!" He wailed, sinking to his knees. I stepped back quickly until my back hit the wall, staring in horror at the broomstick that I had broken neatly in two. That must have been the snapping I'd felt when I landed.
"First years aren't even allowed to have brooms!" I blurted. It was all I could think to say.
The boy - Sirius - looked up at me, pure hatred radiating from his steely grey eyes. "My Uncle gave this to me, you absolute cow!" He cried.
"I'm sorry, it was an accident! I-I'll buy you a new one!" I said, beginning to panic. I was eleven; what money did I have to buy him a new one?
The boy lifted his wand at me, and before I could even think to react, a burst of blue light was rushing towards me.
I was knocked backwards with the blast, my shoulders against the wall. Almost immediately, a funny tingling, buzzing sensation spread through my limbs, up over my face, and down my back and stomach.
"What did you do to me?" I yelled at the boy, striding forward as I finally found my courage. He smirked, holding up the pieces of his broken broom.
"Nothing you didn't deserve," the boy said hotly, standing to his feet. We were exactly the same height. I glared at him and he glared back, until his eyes travelled up and down my body. His lips twitched into a smile.
"You're off your rocker," I announced. "What are you grinning at?"
"You'll soon see," Sirius said darkly, crossing his arms. "Now, get out of my room!"
"Eugh, as if I wanted to stay in it!" I snapped, balling my fists and getting in his face. "You're terrible!" I turned on my heel and stalked out of the room, seething. My body still felt quite odd, but I was too angry to notice much.
As I descended back into the common room, I could hear hurried footsteps pounding towards me from behind-
"Everyone! Iza-bell Potty's got dragon pox!" Sirius Black mispronounced my name as he bellowed over the railing, and I glared up at him.
"Black!" I hissed angrily. "What are you on about? Leave me alone!"
But, for some reason, those who heard him began to gasp in horror and point. In confusion, I looked down at my arms - and nearly cried. They were absolutely covered in green and purple bumps, and as I watched, still more were popping up. I did the only thing I could think of - I fled the common room. One thing I knew for sure - Sirius Black would pay for this.
I had stayed a week in the hospital wing as they tried to figure out what was wrong with me, and I had spent the entire time nursing a lifelong hatred for Sirius Black. For the first month of school, no one would come near me. Lily Evans was the first one to sit next to me at the table in the Great Hall, and after that, Dorcas, Alice, and Marlene followed quickly. I didn't speak a single word to James for a month after "The Incident" either, because he and Sirius - to my complete horror - were now the best of friends.
Not only them, but two other boys as well - Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. They functioned as some sort of weird unit. At first I hated it; I felt like I had lost my brother. Especially to someone I loathed. But, over the years, I got used to it - well, every part of it except Black, that is. And I hadn't breathed a word, ever, about Remus being a werewolf - though I had a strong suspicion that the other three already knew. They weren't exactly subtle with his nickname, 'Moony' - although the other three I didn't understand at all. Padfoot? Prongs? Wormtail? Was it some sort of sexual thing? I shuddered with disgust. Maybe the four of them were involved in some sort of weird orgy club. Now, that was a terrifying thought.
Shaking myself back to the present, I snuck a peek back towards the Marauders. James was staring longingly at his empty plate, as was Peter. Remus had apparently snuck a book in and was reading under the table, and Sirius was leaned back leisurely against the table, legs out in the space between our table and Ravenclaw, as if he owned the place. I couldn't help but snorting softly. Nothing had changed.
His eyes flickered to me suddenly, and I jumped slightly in my seat and jerked my head back around quickly. Forcing myself to focus back on the Sorting, I could practically feel his eyes boring holes into the back of my head.
For the first time ever, I didn't pay much attention to the Sorting; my thoughts had drifted back to Amalia. I felt my stomach lurch uncomfortably as the whole situation was brought again to the forefront of my mind. How could this have happened? Why had she given me up? I had so many unanswered questions, and no way to find out more.
For the first time ever, I felt stuck at Hogwarts. I wondered again, for the billionth time that night, if I'd ever be able to sneak out and over to St. Mungo's. But I doubted that was possible. Resigning myself to my fate - at least for now - I satisfied myself with the promise that I would write to my parents soon, demanding answers. Maybe even a Howler, I thought with relish. Forcefully pushing all thoughts of Amalia out of my mind, I returned my attention to the Sorting Ceremony just in time to see 'Zabini, Aziel' sorted into Slytherin. The green and silver clad table erupted into cheers. Staring over at them, seeing Malfoy, Dolohov, Crabbe, and the lot of them made me shudder. I wondered how many of them were involved with the disappearances last summer.
"Ah, yes," Dumbledore raised his hands, and the Great Hall immediately quieted once more. He was wearing his usual dark blue robes, speckled throughout with crescent moons and stars. He stared over his spectacles at us, taking us in. "The magic of beginnings. Lifelong friendships will be forged here, tonight. Nothing is more powerful, not even the magic we teach in these halls.
"I have grappled with my thoughts these last several days trying to determine wether or not to bring this up and potentially tarnish this first night at Hogwarts, fresh with hope. But recent events have made it so that it would be inappropriate not to mention what I am about to say. Many of you know that our world right now is facing a sharp divide - a man - Lord Voldemort - is currently gathering forces, as we speak."
Uncomfortable whispering rippled out through the Great Hall. My eyes, unconsciously, slid over to the Slytherin table. I could feel Lily's hand slip into mine, squeezing it tightly before letting go. We locked eyes, green on green, sharing the same moment of fearful uncertainty. We knew who they were targeting, we know that we both - well, especially Lily, being a Muggle-born - were on the hit list.
"There are those who wish that I would not speak to you about matters such as this. But I disagree," Dumbledore continued solemnly. "I believe that each and every one of you, now or in the future, will face a choice. You must choose between what is right, and what is easy. It is, after all, our choices who show who we truly are. Not our pasts, not our mistakes, not our abilities. But what we choose to make important in our lives."
Was I imagining it, or did his eyes slide over to mine, for the briefest of moments? A chill ran down my spine. Sometimes I thought Dumbledore knew too much.
"And on that note," he continued, straightening slightly and clapping his hands together. "I believe it is time for our feast, and a rather marvelous one at that. Tuck in!" He retreated back to the staff table. It took us perhaps a moment or two longer than usual to resume our busy chatter, but the moment the food appeared back on the table the normal dull roar steadily returned.
Even though things were changing in the world right now, and we had no clue what was going to happen next...I felt safe. Surrounded by friends, my brother, Dumbledore - I had almost all the people I loved around me. This was going to be a good year, I could feel it.
xXx
"Lily," I pleaded, putting my hair into a high ponytail in front of the mirror in the Gryffindor dorm. "I'm your best friend. I feel like it is illegal not to tell me."
"Isa," Lily sighed, plopping down on my bed. "I already told you. Nothing happened that night with James and me. It was just a normal night, we were both a little drunk, and we Floo'd home from the party. Which actually brings me to a counterpoint," she added mischievously, meeting my eyes in the mirror. I ran a brush through my ponytail, eyes flickering away and suddenly staring intently at what I was doing. We were alone in the dorm - Lily was actually now occupying the Head Girl's dorm, which, as she had shown me last night, was posh as fuck. She said she'd split her time between the two, but I wasn't so sure. I'd seen that bathtub.
"Which is?" I dabbed a bit of mascara onto my eyelashes before tossing my new textbooks into my bag - today it was Divination (Dorcas had begged us to keep it on our schedules), Defense against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Herbology.
"We couldn't find Sirius when we were getting ready to leave," Lily said slyly.
"Oh, couldn't you?" I struggled to keep my voice neutral. It had honestly completely missed me that James and Lily may have noticed Sirius's absence. I certainly never expected them to link it back to me. All I knew was that I wasn't ready to confide in either James or Lily about my parent situation; I felt somehow like that would make it more real. I'd have to actually face it then. Better to confide in Sirius - and him in me - and then pretend like it never happened.
"No, we didn't. Curious, don't you think?" Her voice was light, but I could hear the hidden accusation.
'Go on Lils, spit it out," I rolled my eyes, turning to face her. She threw her hands up in defense, a grin tugging at the corner of her lips.
"I'm just saying. There's certainly a lot of tension there. Are you quite sure none of it's sexu-"
"No!" I shrieked, leaping out of my seat and quickly busying myself with packing the rest of my bag. "Lily, don't be daft. Black and I have as much sexual tension as me and the Giant Squid."
"Jumpy, are we?"
"Sod off, Evans. And stop changing the subject!" I scolded as we walked down through the common room, exiting the portrait hole. I readjusted the strap on my bag, tossing my ponytail over my shoulder as we joined the fray of students rushing to and from their first classes.
"Lily!" A male voice called from behind us, and an uncomfortable chill went down my spine. I knew that voice.
"Lily, Isa, hey!" Landon Diggory came up behind us, grinning widely. Landon was Amos's fraternal twin, and the resemblance was strong - same deep blue eyes, wavy golden hair, tall, fit stature. In short, they were both absolutely gorgeous. Amos was Seeker for Hufflepuff, and Landon was one of the Beaters. "How are you guys going?"
"Alright, how are you?" Lily answered politely, and I smiled an unnaturally bright smile at Landon to cover up the slight awkwardness I was feeling. I stared at Lily, gauging her reaction. She usually lit up like a glow bug when he was around, but right now she was the definition of calm, cool, and collected. Was her years long crush starting to fade? James would certainly be pleased.
"I'm just so excited to start with classes, you know. I started cracking open the textbooks last month, but now I'm worried it wasn't early enough," she continued. "How was your summer?"
Landon opened his mouth to respond, but was stopped by a sudden interruption-
"Oi, wait for me!" I braced myself slightly, jumping as I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder.
"Hey there!" Amos fell into step with us, grinning. Lily's smile faltered slightly while looking at him, and she issued him a slightly less than warm greeting. What a great foursome we were, walking to class. I was pretty sure my face was growing redder with every step.
"How's it going, Isa? It was great seeing you at the party," Amos said to me as Landon and Lily fell into conversation about NEWTS.
"Oh, you too!" I answered quickly, fiddling with my wand the way I did when I was uncomfortable. Eleven inches, dragon heartstring, Silver Lime Wood. What an oddity, Ollivander had said.
"Isa, are you alright?" Amos asked kindly, and I whipped my head up to look at him.
"Yeah, of course! Why wouldn't I be?" I lied.
"You're fiddling with your wand. You only do that when you're getting anxious," he said gently, blue eyes searching mine. I nearly tripped over my feet, shoving my wand quickly back into my robe pockets.
"I'm definitely fine, no worries." My voice was light, the complete opposite of how I felt. "So, how was your summer?"
"Oh, swell, thanks for asking," Amos answered, holding open the door for us as we entered the Divination classroom. I was hit immediately with the scent of lavender and orange, which shouldn't have mixed well together but somehow did. The room was already mostly full of 7th year students, most of whom were there to secure the easy "O" that Divination usually provided, a cushion for NEWT year GPA. At the very front were Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black - the latter of which was leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head, smiling charmingly at Mary MacDonald, another Gryffindor in our year. He didn't turn his head at our entrance. "We went to France to visit our grandparents - remember them?"
"Oh - yeah," I answered, caught off guard. "Mmhmm."
"Well, we're going to go over there with the Hufflepuffs, I think," Amos said, putting a friendly hand on my shoulder again. I stared down at it, then back to him. I would never understand this boy. Sometimes I wondered how we dated for three years; we were complete and polar opposites. "We'll catch you later, yeah?" I nodded, smiling back at him before sinking down, relieved, into the seat next to Lily - which also happened to be at the same table as Black and Pettigrew.
"That was so fucking awkward," I hissed to her quietly, as an extra precaution - the boys were involved in an animated conversation with Mary MacDonald and Linda Davies at the next table over. "Why does he have to try so hard to be friends? He-erm, we - broke up."
"I think he's just trying to be polite," Lily replied quietly, her green eyes serious. "Although, I do have something to tell you. D'you want it now or la-"
"Now," I responded immediately, propping my head up on my hand and staring at her intently.
"Well," Lily muttered, leaning in. "Apparently, Amos has got himself a new girlfriend."
A/N - I will try to get the next chapter out ASAP, I'm currently isolating because I was around someone with COVID, so plenty of time to write, is the positive side of it. I hope everyone is staying safe.