Out of the Shadow

Two weeks into the school year I found myself standing next to Harry as he explains to Hermione and Ron that Professor McGonagall took him to see a man named Oliver Wood. "What for?" I asked. "They want me to be the seeker for Gryffindor." Harry said. I sighed heavily. "But you are a first year." I pointed out and Harry just shrugged. Just then Draco Malfoy had approached them with his cronies. I had learned from Harry that Malfoy hated him. I stood a half a step behind Harry as his argument with Malfoy escalated.

"Let's duel then Potter. Let's see how great you really are."

"Tell me when and where." Harry said. Hermione stepped in. "Absolutely not! That is breaking the school rules!" Harry accepts it anyway and I find myself preparing my best escape from the Ravenclaw tower. I wasn't about to leave my brother on his own, even though I knew Ron would be there to support him. It wasn't the same.

That night I creeped out of my common room and rushed to the Gryffindor one just as Ron and Harry were stepping out, Hermione close behind them. "What are you doing here?" Harry hissed at me. I didn't answer him as we all rushed down to the trophy room. The moment we arrived we knew Malfoy wasn't coming. "It was a trap!" Hermione hissed. "Hide!" I hissed as the door began to open. We all scattered and hid the best way we could, before sneaking back out the now open door. Filch had arrived, and we were not supposed to be here.

We ran with Mrs. Norris close on our heels. "Quick in here!" Harry said and we all piled into an empty classroom. It was then that I realized we weren't in a classroom at all. "Cerberus?" I said mostly to myself as my jaw dropped open at the sight before me. Standing there, growling at us was a large three headed dog. I was pretty sure I was the only one who didn't scream. We bolted from the room as fast as we could and rushed back towards the Gryffindor common room.

"What was that thing?" Ron asked before we split off. "According to Greek mythology that is Cerberus! The three headed dog that guards the underworld." I rattled off. They all looked at me. "So, the underworld is in Hogwarts?" Harry asked giving me a glare. I shook my head. "No, I was just telling Ron what that was. Now I'm going to bed." I said rushing back to my own common room.

I climbed into bed, somehow, with no one having a clue that I had left at all. All I could do was lay there in bed thinking about the dog I had just seen, and how much I wanted to punch Malfoy myself for being such a coward. I was still fired up when I went down to breakfast the next morning. Ignoring Rhea protesting beside me I marched up to the Slytherin table and leaned over to whisper in Malfoys ear. "Coward." Then walked away. I could feel daggers being throw at me from his gaze, but I kept my head high and kept walking.

Suddenly a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. "What did you say to him?" Harry's voice sounded in my ear as we reached each other near the main doors. "I called him a coward." I said flatly. Dropping my wrist, Harry sighed heavily. "I'd like to avoid any more confrontation, okay?" He said. I shrugged. "Malfoy is all talk." As we walked back towards the tables, we noticed everyone gathered around the Gryffindor table.

Harry and I glanced at each other before walking over to see what was going on. There was an odd package on the table between Ron and Hermione. Hermione handed Harry a letter and I scanned it over his shoulder. I felt some instant irritation rise inside me. Together with Ron and Hermione we rushed off to the courtyard, Harry carrying the large package.

Once outside away from the rest of the group Harry ripped open the package; inside was a brand-new Nimbus 2000. I closed my eyes resisting the urge to roll my eyes. The broom was from our parents, and Professor McGonagall had attached a note telling Harry to meet Oliver Wood for practice that night. "Wow. Youngest seeker in a century and a brand-new broom? You sure are making our parents proud." I could hold the bitterness back any longer. "Enjoy your new toy. I'm off to class."

I turned on my heels and headed back inside to find Rhea. I noticed Malfoy walking with Professor Flitwick towards Harry. I should have warned Harry, but I was so jaded that I just kept on walking. Harry was going to have to dig himself out of this one. Later that morning in Charms I sat with Rhea as far away from Harry as I could get.

I knew I shouldn't have been so bitter towards my own brother, but it was hard sometimes. He was the one that everyone worried about, the one with all the luck, so to speak. I sighed and grumbled to myself, knowing my bad mood was affecting my magic, but I couldn't shake it. My emotions were running so high. It wasn't until Rhea turned to speak to me that I could focus on something other then my own internal battle

"I can't wait to see what kind of Halloween feast they lay out for us tonight."

"Wow. Halloween already? Hang on, didn't you just eat breakfast?"

Rhea giggled. "I enjoy food, okay?" Together we dissolved into giggles until Professor Flitwick shushed us

I couldn't believe how quickly Halloween arrived. Being at Hogwarts was so intoxicating I couldn't help getting lost in time. I loved learning, and having my own group of friends, not that I didn't enjoy the handful of times I spent with my big brother and his friends. Hermione and I often ran into each other in the library and held conversations regarding schoolwork. I found myself slightly disappointed that the Twins hadn't approached me again. I figured they picked someone else, besides I'm just the left-over Potter girl.

I sighed sinking into my own rain cloud again. Rhea looked over at me. "What's wrong?" She asked. I shrugged. "I don't know. Is it weird that I'm disappointed the Weasley twins haven't talked to me since they last request?" Rhea shook her head. "No, they are…"

"Legendary, yes I know."

"Behind you."

I jumped as Rhea finished her sentence with a small smile on her face. I turned my head to look over my shoulder and saw the twins standing side by side behind me. "You two are seriously creepy sometimes." I said to them before standing up. I hadn't reached five foot in height and standing next to the twins made it plainly obvious. They had to already almost be six feet tall.

"We just wanted to see how you were feeling about our little offer?"

"I've been thinking about it."

"And?"

"I think I need more information."

I crossed my arms trying to let them know I meant business, but they didn't seem to care. The twins looked at each other and shrugged. "We'll meet tomorrow. Down by the black lake?" George asked me. I nodded. Then we all returned to our tables. Rhea leaned over and whispered. "I think they like you." Trying to hold in a laugh I ended up nearly spiting my drink out. "RHEA!" I gasped at her. Before we both broke down into fits of giggles. I didn't think about boys like that, but its nice knowing someone wants me on their team.

Halfway though dinner all good feelings disappeared as Professor Quirrell burst into the great hall screaming. "A TROLL! A TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS!" Then he just fainted right there in the middle of the great hall. Everyone burst into hysterics. "SILENCE!" Dumbledore's voice boomed though out the room. "Prefects will take the students back to their dormitories, and teachers will follow me to the dungeons."

Rhea grabbed my arm and we rushed off after our prefect and back into the dorms. Rhea and I retreated to the bedroom and laid homework out on our beds. "I don't know if I can focus on homework right now!" Rhea said. I could see her body shaking out of pure fear. "Hey. Come on. It's just a mountain troll, okay? They aren't that smart – you know that. The teachers will get it under control."

Slowly Rhea nodded and sat beside me on her bed. I pulled out the potions essay knowing that it would distract her for long enough. We worked late into the night before finally calling it quits and crawling into bed. We hadn't heard anything in the castle for hours, and it was easy to fall asleep assuming the troll had been taken care of.

The following morning, we walked to breakfast and the only thing I could hear was a story about the three Gryffindor first years who stopped the mountain troll. "Three first years?" Rhea said looking at me with a questioning look. I rolled my eyes. "Three guesses who. I swear my brother has a hero complex." I finished my breakfast quickly and rushed off to the black lake to meet up with the twins.

When I arrived no one was there, and I took the chance to blow off some steam. I practiced my levitation spell, doing much better on my own then I had in the classroom, and started chucking small rocks into the lake. The rumor was that a giant squid lived there. "Just swallow me whole, why don't you." I said to the murky water.

"Did you just ask a giant squid to eat you?"

I jumped as one of the twin's voices approached me. I shrugged. "It has to be better then listening to people talk about my brother." I was surprised that the twins agreed with me on that. "You aren't alone, first we have to compete with Bill and Charlie and now apparently Ron." As George said that I laughed. "You are kidding right? I mean all I ever hear is how legendary you two are!"

Fred and George laughed at that. "Well of course we are, but we aren't in the ways that matter." I looked down at the ground while I let Fred's words sink in. I looked back up at them with a small smirk on my face. "Alright. What do you need me to do?" And just like that everything changed for me. It wasn't a drastic change, but for once I felt like I belonged to something just by being myself, and not because I was Harry Potters sister.

"Filch has something of ours." George started.

"And we need it back."

"Which is where you come in."

I sat on the grass with the twins as we went over what we needed to do. As we filed up towards the school again George passed me something small. "Put that in your pocket and be careful." I knew instantly this was a Dungbomb. I giggled. "My dad and I got these banned from our own house." George smiled down at me. "Exactly why we wanted you here. You got that trickster in your blood." He nudged my shoulder slightly.

We positioned ourselves around the door of Filch's office. I was kneeling at the lock and I whispered the unlocking spell as I slowly pushed the door open. The boys scattered to the side. "WHOS THERE?" Filch yelled from inside before I softly tossed in the bomb. I jumped behind the open door just as Filch ran out hold his nose and yelling wildly. I stood behind the door, my hand covering my mouth, so I didn't laugh. Before I realized it, George was grabbing my wrist and the three of us were running down the hallway.

We didn't stop until we reached the Quidditch pitch. It was then I noticed Fred was holding a broom. "One of yours?" I asked sounding like an idiot. Obviously, it was one of theirs. Fred nodded. "Why would he take it? He knows you guys are on the team!" I said sounding shocked. Fred and George both shrugged as they put the broom back in the locker. "He really doesn't like us." Fred added chuckling to himself.

I found myself walking towards the entrance to the pitch. I leaned against a wooden frame gazing out over the empty pitch. "Are you going to play?" George asked coming up from behind me. I shrugged. "Maybe. My dad used to play with Harry and I all the time when we were kids. I'm sure I'll try eventually." I let a small smile cross my face but I didn't turn to look at the twins. "How do you feel now?" Fred asked. I looked at him now, confused. "About what?"

"Hanging out with us, of course. We are legendary after all." George added. I laughed at that. They treated their legendary status as a joke, like many other things in their lives. I smiled. "Honestly, I rather enjoyed it." Both the twins smiled at that. "We'll keep you in mind then. Now let's go, there's a game this afternoon and I don't want to be here for it."

"Who?" I asked not remembering any big game lined up for this weekend. "Slytherin versus Hufflepuff." I nodded. Of course, I didn't remember, it wasn't Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, so I had no real reason to watch either. I followed the twins back up to the castle as they told me all about the different prank's they had pulled though the course of their childhoods.

I was sitting in another charms class a couple days later when Professor McGonagall walked in and interrupted the class. "Excuse me, Professor. I need to steal Harry and Holly for a moment, please." Professor Flitwick simply nodded. Harry and I looked at each other from across the room before following Professor McGonagall out. "What is this about Professor?" Harry asked her. She guided us down the hall until we reached a large Eagle looking statue.

"The headmaster will explain."

Harry and I exchanged worried glances before stepping on to the winding staircase. I probably would have taken more time to look around the office that housed the Hogwarts headmaster, but the somber look on his face as we entered kept my attention on him. As we approached the desk, he gave us a small smile. "Seeing the two of you together is like stepping back in time." Harry and I tried to give him warm smiles, but something was telling me we weren't going to like what was coming next.

"Sir? Are we in trouble?" Harry asked. Dumbledore shook his head and motioned for us to sit across from him. "I'm afraid I have some bad news. It seems as though there has been a target on your parents heads; They have gone into hiding, and request that you two stay here for the Christmas holiday." I sunk down in my seat. "What?" I said not able to process what he was saying.

"Sadly, that isn't all." Dumbledore started to say, and I snapped my eyes back up to him. "It seems as though Sirius Black was at your house looking for your parents when law enforcement showed up, and he was taken into custody."

"What?" Harry and I both said. Dumbledore hung his head for a moment. "The entire Order has gone into hiding." With the last sentence barely out of Professor Dumbledore's mouth I could feel my heart breaking. We have no one else to fall back on. Sirius was in prison, while our parents and Lupin were in hiding. "We are doing everything we can, but you must remain here for the holidays. Do you understand?" Harry and I nodded.

I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. Our parents were in hiding because one of Voldemort's followers had gone after them. Did that mean Voldemort had returned? After a while Professor Dumbledore asked us if we were ok to return to our dormitories, and we had nodded. We had decided to hang out in the courtyard for a while just to have a moment to gather our thoughts.

For the first time ever, it was just Harry and I. "What are we going to do if they can't come out of hiding before school is over? We won't be able to go home or stay here. Harry, we have no where else to go." Harry grabbed my hand. "Hey, we can't think like that. They'll be fine, and we'll be with them. Dumbledore said only though the Christmas holiday."

We jumped apart as we heard someone calling our names. We turned to see not only Ron and Rhea, but Hermione and the Twins running up behind them. "What happened?" Rhea asked. "Did you get in trouble?" George asked me and I shook my head. I knew he was referring to the broom incident. Harry and I shared a glance before Harry told them what happened. Not surprisingly he didn't mention Sirius getting arrested. A lot of people were skeptical of him since he was accused of murdering an old friend of theirs.

"We were just told we have to stay here for the Christmas holidays because our parents had to go into hiding. Apparently, some of you-know-who's followers have been targeting them."

Everyone looked at us horrified. After a while Ron finally said. "I know Mum and Dad said that some of the order was still looking into his disappearance. I didn't realize that it was your parents." Harry and I shrugged. "Neither did we." Rhea, seeming to have come to, rushed over and hugged me. "Oh Holly! Do you want to stay too? I can write to my parents and let them know." I gave her a small smile and shook my head. "But you'll be so lonely!"

I laughed. "I'll have Harry! Besides sleeping in different dorms isn't much different then sleeping in our own rooms at home." I added. I felt a tinge of sadness course though me again, but I pushed it away, trying to show our friends that this was totally okay. It was weird; I missed my parents so much. It didn't seem as bad before, when I knew I could hear from them, or that I was going home for Christmas but now with the future so unknown, I just wanted to see my moms warm smile, or hear my dads laugh.