Heiress to Slytherin's Legacy
Author's note: Hello everyone! Welcome back! If you are enjoying the story feel free to let me know what you think and as per usual, happy reading!
-M
DISCLAIMER. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, only the OC belongs to me.
Chapter 4
"Loraleen." The girl in question arched an eyebrow to signal she was listening. "Professor McGonagall asked me to tell you that she will be expecting you in her office before breakfast is over," said Evans firmly. "I would have told you last night, but you were already asleep by the time I got back," she added, somewhat sheepishly.
"That's alright," replied Loraleen as she finished buckling her Mary Jane platforms. The young witch stood, feeling several inches taller and ready to tackle the day. Facing Evans, she questioned, "Did she mention what she wanted to talk to me about?"
"Not really," murmured Evans distractedly, platting her hair with ease. "Although I suppose it might have to do with your class schedule. She was sorting those out yesterday when I reported to her office."
Loraleen hummed in response, frowning as she reached for her bag. She knew for a fact her OWL results and her preferred courses for this year had been owled alongside the rest of the enrollment paperwork several weeks ago.
"I have duties to attend to before breakfast, but Remus offered to show you to Professor McGonagall's office," said the red head securing her braid with a broch. "He should be waiting for you at the Common Room by now."
Loraleen's eyes snapped up upon hearing her declaration and grimaced at the prospect of making someone wait.
"And why didn't you say so before?!" Before Evans could reply, Loraleen opened the room's door and rushed down the spiral staircase, hoping the clicks of her heels weren't as deafening to her sleeping roommates as they felt to her.
Being 7.15 in the morning, both Marlene and Alice, who she had yet to meet, were still sleeping in their beds with their curtains drawn. From what she could gather from Evans, they had stayed up late last night and as such, she assumed it was safe to infer the other Gryffindor girls were asleep as well as she hurried down and passed by their closed dorm doors.
Loraleen had woken sometime around 6.30, used to early mornings, and she had decided to take a quick shower and get ready for the day as if suspecting it was in her best interest to do so, which had totally paid off, considering her surprise meeting.
As Loraleen rushed into the Common Room she noticed the lack of people, which quickly confirmed her earlier inference, and easily spotted a sandy brown-haired boy reading comfortably by the fire. Lupin rose from his seat as soon as he noticed her making her way towards him, a friendly smile on his lips.
Loraleen gave him an apologetic smile, "I am sorry to keep you waiting, Evans just told me you were here."
"Nothing to apologize for," said Lupin playing with the corners of his book. "I didn't expect you to be up so early, but if you are ready, we might as well head out. That way you will have a chance to have breakfast after meeting Professor McGonagall."
"That would be perfect, thank you."
Lupin led the way out of the Common Room, walking her back to the stairs in contented silence. As they went down, Loraleen admired the castle as natural light filtered in. Somehow it made it seem less never-ending as she looked up and at the same time more mystical.
"Did you sleep well?" Asked Lupin breaking the silence.
"I did, the dorm is gorgeous and even if it is not my bed, I must admit the four-poster is rather comfortable," said Loraleen with satisfaction. "What about you? Evans said the girls had stayed up most of the night, but she didn't elaborate."
"The lads and I stayed with them until midnight and then retired to our room, not that we slept much, mind you, but we wanted to catch up, among other things."
Loraleen spotted the playful glint in his eyes and wondered what exactly 'among other things' consisted of. The witch raised an eyebrow to signal she had noticed but decided not to question his statement and settled herself for small talk as they approached Professor McGonagall's office on the first-floor corridor.
"Would you like me to stick around?"
"That's alright," said the witch. "I recognized the staircase leading to the Great Hall as we passed by, I shouldn't have trouble finding my own way. As for the meeting, Professor McGonagall seems like a sensible woman, I don't believe she has any reason to expel me as of yet," added Loraleen with a wink. "I'll be fine."
Lupin nodded amusedly and wished her good luck, retreating the way they had come. Loraleen fixed her gaze on his back, watching him disappear down the hall and after taking a deep breath she knocked twice.
Professor McGonagall's voice bid her to enter and Loraleen did so with the poise and grace she reserved for when in presence of her elders. The office resembled more a small study than an airy space as the young witch had expected. A roaring fire warmed the room in the large fireplace, crackling away in merriment. The large windows overlooked the training fields and not far off, the Quidditch Pitch proudly stood, currently empty. Sitting behind her desk, her Head of House watched as her srudent's eyes wandered about the room, with a firm yet kind look behind her spectacles.
"Please Miss. Ollerton, have a sit," said Professor McGonagall motioning towards the empty chairs in front of her desk. "I am sure you must be wondering what this meeting is about."
"I am not going to lie Professor, I am rather curious," replied the witch as she took her seat, focusing her attention solely on her instructor.
"You see Miss. Ollerton, before a student takes their O.W.L.s during their fifth year a meeting is scheduled with their Head of House with the main purpose of giving career advice. It is a way for us professors to help the students figure out which exams they need to excel at in order to pursue they ideal career," explained Professor McGonagall, tackling a topic Loraleen had not expected. "Your O.W.L.s are exceptional, eight "Outstandings" and two "Exceeds Expectations" is no small feat, and as I suppose you know, it gives you the opportunity to pursue pretty much any career you wish. Regardless, I felt it necessary to address the topic with you prior the start of term, which brings the question forth, what would you like to do after you graduate Miss. Ollerton?"
Loraleen considered the question carefully, racking her brain for a truthful answer and yet, she came up blank.
"To be truthful professor, I am undecided," replied the young witch levelly. "I have considered pursuing a Mastery in either Charms, Arithmancy or Ancient Runes and becoming a professor myself. I have also explored the idea of becoming a Curse Breaker, however I am unsure as to which will be my final choice." Loraleen pondered her own words before adding, "Maybe it won't be either of those."
Professor McGonagall regarded her with an inexpressible face, seemingly considering her words.
"Is that the reason you didn't drop but two subjects for your N.E.W.T level classes?"
"Partially."
Loraleen wanted to be straightforward, she really did. She wanted to explain to the older witch how she didn't expect to get the opportunity of exercising either of those professions if the war took a turn for the worst and as such, sitting down to wrack her brain in order to choose a career was kind of a pointless affair in her book. She wished she could tell her that the real reason she was taking as many subjects as she was had more to do with the fact that she didn't want to be taken by surprise. She wanted to be proficient in every field to be able to protect those she cared about when the time came. She wanted to be prepared, just like her parents had wanted her to be, and multiple subjects gave her that reassurance.
"Well Miss. Ollerton, from what I can tell you wouldn't have any difficulty if you decide to pursue a Mastery in your desired subjects, considering your O.W.L.s and the fact that you have already stated your interest in taking the N.E.W.T courses for said subjects, I would say you are covered. As for your other option, curse breaking requires N.E.W.T.s in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, and Ancient Runes, which again, are subjects you already mentioned being interested on in your enrollment papers."
Professor McGonagall took a rolled-up parchment from her desk, extended it in front of her and tapped it twice with her wand. Black writing started to appear, and it quickly covered the parchment creating a schedule.
"I do believe you are one of our most promising students Miss. Ollerton, regardless of which path you choose," said the witch handing her the scroll with a caring tightlipped smile. "If you ever need to discuss your career plans, my office is always open."
Loraleen smiled to her professor and reached for her schedule, quickly looking it over to verify her subjects were in fact those she wanted to take.
"Thank you, Professor McGonagall. I'll keep it in mind."
Professor McGonagall dismissed her and wished her a lovely first day after making sure she knew how to get to the Great Hall for breakfast. Loraleen made her way back to the Entrance Hall, down the main stairs and into the spacious Great Hall without trouble, a little smile curving the corners of her mouth as she went.
"Well, look who finally decided to join us," teased Marlene, spotting her as she walked confidently to their table, where the witch, Black and Lupin sat comfortably making small talk.
"Did the sheets glue themselves to you, doll? Or were you just gathering courage to face this dashing face?" asked Black as she reached them.
"I'll have you know, Sirius Black, that I have been up longer than you have," replied Loraleen.
"Now, how can you be so sure, darling? Have you been spying on me?" Backfired the boy with a suggestive wiggle of his brows.
Loraleen groaned, "I'd rather spy on the giant squid than following you around like a mindless fool, it would provide more entertainment than you would."
Lupin laughed at her remark but kept on finishing his breakfast. Deciding to go easy on her stomach, Loraleen made a beeline for the fruit bowl and contemplated the pros and cons of getting a butter bread with the tempting strawberry jam laying just out of her reach.
"Do have your schedule? Lily dropped ours earlier today."
At Loraleen's nod Marlene exclaimed, "We should compare!" And immediately reached for her bag. Loraleen passed hers to her excitable companion without too much fuss, letting her do as she pleased.
"Dear Merlin!" exclaimed Marlene openmouthed as she analyzed Loraleen's schedule. "Do you have a death wish? How come McGonagall allowed you to sign up for eight N.E.W.T level subjects?!"
"Is there a problem with that?" replied Loraleen carelessly.
"Five or six is the average and yet, most people struggle to keep up with the coursework, how are you going to handle eight?"
"At the expense of her social life I would bet," butted in Black. "It's a shame doll, I was looking forward to spending some quality time with you."
"I would rather sacrifice my social life in order to gain knowledge than sacrifice my academic life in order to become an easy lay," fired back Loraleen. "In any case, don't worry about me, I'll handle it just fine. Which subjects are you taking?"
"Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology, and Charms. Five in total, which is a sensible decision."
Loraleen rolled her eyes, "My eight are totally sensible as well." She pondered the subjects Marleen had listed before adding, "Auror?"
"Yes," confirmed the witch with a delighted smile.
"Well doll, it seems Prongs and I will be delighting your day for the next two years, seeing as we are taking the same subjects as Marlene and by default, you."
Loraleen made a split-second decision and addressed Lupin rather desperately.
"Please," begged the witch. "Tell me you are taking the same subjects; I don't think I can handle being in his presence for long periods of time without a mediator or someone to keep him leashed."
"Oi! I resent the leashed part."
"Four out of five," answered Lupin with a small grin. "I am not taking Herbology, so you are on your own for that one."
"Thank Merlin for small mercies," exclaimed Loraleen raising her hands dramatically in what everybody assumed was a thank you sign.
As Loraleen lowered her hands a parliament of owls flew in, most of them dropping The Daily Prophet and a few parcels to the present students. A long-eared owl with light brown and slightly golden feathers approached the Gryffindor table swiftly, landing in front of Loraleen with a hoot, which the witch took as a greeting.
"Good morning to you too, Taistealaí," said Loraleen passing the owl a piece of bacon, keeping it entertained as she took the letter attached to its outstretched leg. "Have a safe flight home," added the witch as the owl took off with another hoot.
"That's one hell of a gorgeous owl," whistled Black as he admired the animal fly off.
Loraleen resisted the impulse of making an inappropriate remark to his statement and simply explained, "It's my mother's."
"What's its name again? I didn't quite catch it," asked Lupin watching the bird disappear as well.
"Taistealaí," answered Loraleen with a smile. "It's Irish for traveler."
"I didn't know you could speak Irish!" exclaimed a surprised Marlene, much to her friends' enjoyment.
"I do not, but my mother thought it was a fitting yet original name, she's always been fond of the language."
Eyeing the letter, Loraleen slipped it inside her bag's inside pocket, deeming it wise to wait until she was alone to read it. Finishing her fruit and deciding to stay away from the tempting jam for now, the witch stood with the rest of her companions and together, they made their way to the third floor for their Defense Against the Dark Arts class, talking amicably amongst themselves as they went.
Loraleen memorized the route, set on becoming an independent wanderer of the castle as soon as possible and placed a mental tab on the room's door as they arrived to their destination. The classroom was composed of a rectangular space with a large set of windows behind the professor's desk. Shelves full of books and other questionable items framed the windows on both sides, reminding her of a library. A crystal chandelier cast a warm glow over the room, harmoniously reaching the corners the natural light did not. The rest of the space was filled with tables and chairs, four rows of double desks were spread out for the students, with ample space for walking unobstructed.
As soon as the quartet crossed the threshold Black proceed to drop down next to Potter, who was already sitting a table chatting away with a friendly-looking blonde.
"Alice! Finally!" exclaimed Marlene. "I've been trying to introduce you to Loraleen since the feast."
The girl who appeared to be the missing roommate turned their way immediately upon hearing her name, halting the conversation. The petite girl had wavy ginger blonde hair and a fair complexion, her dark green eyes seemed full of kindness and a natural smile seemed to light up her face with a charming yet resolved air.
"You make it sound like I have been purposely avoiding you which is not the case at all," said the girl with a laugh. Facing Loraleen, she extended her hand and introduced herself properly. "I am Alice Fortescue; it is a pleasure to meet you."
Loraleen shook her hand, pleased with her new acquittance. "Loraleen Ollerton."
Students from the other houses started to file in, quickly filling the empty spots at the other tables. Evans waltzed into the room and headed in their direction, dropping her bag and books in one of the empty desks as she went.
"Evans!" exclaimed Potter delightfully, leaning forward on his desk and plastering a mischievous smirk on his face. "Are you willing to honor me with the pleasure of your enchanting company during the first Hogsmeade weekend?"
"No, not the first, nor the second, nor any weekend, Potter," replied the witch with a scoff, which quickly turned into a kind smile as she addressed Loraleen. "I wanted to apologize for this morning, I didn't think it would upset you so and I hope you were not late."
"There is nothing to forgive, I reacted a bit dramatically in hindsight. Although the apology is highly appreciated," replied Loraleen being completely honest. Lily Evans had struck her as the self-righteous kind of girl how never asks for forgiveness and was pleasantly surprised to discover she was not.
Looking happy with her answer, Evans whisked Marlene away in a flurry of words and hand gestures quickly reciprocated by the later.
"Come," said Alice, rolling her eyes at the pair. "Marleen and Lily usually sit together at the front; you and I can share a desk behind them."
Setting her things next to Alice's she found herself sandwiched between Gryffindors. Lily and Marlene sat in front of her, Sirius and James behind her and to her left Remus had joined Peter Pettigrew. The Slytherins were sitting to Alice's right but she could only recognize Snape, who was effectively ignoring the world in favor of the Potion's book he had in the train. The Ravenclaws were mostly in the front, next to Lily and Marlene and the Hufflepuffs were scattered about, not exactly banding together.
"Welcome! Welcome!" exclaimed an exuberant middle-aged woman with an extremely cheerful and high-pitched voice as the clock struck nine. The apparent professor wore professional black robes and arranged her hair in a tight bun making it seem like a poor imitation of Professor McGonagall's perfectly neat hairstyle. She walked with a skip to her step and leaned back on her desk facing the students, a smile perpetually stuck to her face.
"First and foremost, I'd would like to congratulate you on your O.W.L results, if you are in this classroom you must have achieved either an Outstanding or an Exceeds Expectations and that is a merit on its own," said the witch eyeing the students one by one, as if trying to memorize every single detail on their faces. "My name is Idony Fontaine and I will instruct you on your journey to N.E.W.T level greatness in Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. As you can probably imagine, as a N.E.W.T level course, this year's class will demand more from every single one of you and I expect you to raise to the challenge accordingly, as your future is practically being written as we speak."
Loraleen glanced at Alice out of the corner of her eye, wondering if she was the only one utterly taken aback by the unbelievable amount of cheer and sweetness radiating from Professor Fontaine.
"I would usually start the year by doing a full review of the topics covered last year but as I am sure you are sick of those after all the studying you had to do for your O.W.L.s we are going to dive right in into our 6th year curriculum by addressing the last topic you covered last year and linking it to our first practical class," she made a dramatic pause for effect and added, "Dementors."
Loraleen laid back on her seat, interested despite herself on the curious ways of her first Professor and wondered to herself if all of them would follow a similar pattern. Picturing her Head of House teaching Transfiguration which such cheerfulness made her smile to herself. Extreme cheeriness was definitely not going to be a pattern.
A few students raised their hands drawing Loraleen's attention to the class once again.
"Miss…" started Professor Fontaine looking at Lily.
"Evans, Professor." The teacher nodded for her to continue, adding a gesture with her hand to make her instruction clear.
"A dementor is a wraithlike creature, known for sucking the happiness out of their victims in order to feed, thus generating a sense of despair and hopelessness in their preys which can cause the inability to focus on anything else but their depression after long exposure."
"Very well, Miss Evans. Five points to Gryffindor." said the witch with a satisfied nod. "Dementors are one of the foulest beings in existence. They thrive in the darkness they create, and as such tend to inhabit places full of bleakness, where they can bask in the decay and chaos. These creatures are as soundless as a wraith and as such a human cannot hear them approach. However, it is possible to sense them," lectured Fontaine, walking through the desks. "How?"
A Ravenclaw introduced herself as Miss. Catchlove and answered, "When a dementor approaches all warmth is replaced by cold as the darkness closes in, so a way to infer they are near is by recognizing drastic temperature changes."
Professor Fontaine congratulated the student and after awarding points she continued on. She discussed the physical appearance of dementors and stressed the fact that they are unseeing creatures, which are usually drawn to humans when they feel fear in their victims. The class discussed their nature and the possible desires that drive a creature such as this, other than the wish to feed that is, and finally, they focused on their mortality.
"There is no known way to kill a dementor, but they can be driven off by the Patronus Charm, an ancient and highly difficult spell which can evoke positive energy in the form of a Patronus, which is Latin for guardian. Expecto Patronum is one of the most powerful defensive incantations and therefore, today's attempt is only practice in order to familiarize ourselves with the words and wand movements. It is not expected to be accomplished at first try like other charms and because of its historic difficulty it is not part of your N.E.W.T examination in a practical sense, consequently we will only dedicate this class to its practice."
Loraleen looked around the room at her classmates, everybody seemed rather excited at the prospect of casting and getting hands on training which stroke her as rather odd. She had to admit though, even if she found Professor Fontaine unnerving and somewhat unnatural in her mannerisms, she certainly knew how to work the student body. The young witch droned her out as she explained the difference between a corporeal and an incorporeal Patronus and how the caster must focus on their happiest memory to accomplish the charm.
"Isn't this great?" asked Alice in a whisper, leaning close to Loraleen. "Last year's professor was as dull as a spoon; it is a miracle we all achieved a decent O.W.L on this subject."
Loraleen frowned, so much for a respectable institution. Regardless, she smiled and cheered Alice on as she tried to conjure her Patronus, relishing the fact no one seemed to care she was not trying at all. The young witch observed with delight as Lily, Remus, a Ravenclaw boy and Snape managed to produce small wisps of silver light, not enough to count as an incorporeal Patronus but enough to cause determination in the other students.
Her relief was not long lived as she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning her back on Alice she was faced with a not so cheerful Professor starting her down.
"What is your name Miss?" asked Fontaine noticing the lack of wand on the girl's hand.
Loraleen refused to cower or seem embarrassed over her lack of participation and as such mustered her politest smile and said with a proudful air, "Loraleen Ollerton."
"Well, Miss. Ollerton, as enjoyable as seeing your classmates perform and produce results is, it is not an excuse to not try yourself. Where is your wand?"
Drawing her wand from her arm holster, she waved it as to say 'Here it is'. Keeping the polite façade on, Loraleen did her best to ignore the unexpected chill that filled her body at the Professor's words, refusing to make an omen out of it.
"A very nice wand Miss. Ollerton. I suggest you put it to good use, in fact let's see you cast the charm."
Loraleen did not want it to be common knowledge that she could cast a Patronus as she was hoping to disguise herself as an average student, never mind the amount of N.E.W.T.s she would be studying for. Keeping that in mind, she did a half-hearted attempt with the right intonation and wand movement but without focusing on a memory, effectively failing the charm.
"That will not do at all, Miss. Ollerton," said Professor Fontaine. "Stand up," instructed the witch with such a volume that the other students stopped focusing on their own casting and observed the display. "Now, I want you to think about your happiest memory and cast it again," ordered Fontaine as Loraleen stood.
Forgetting herself and her manners for a second the young girl snapped, "I already know how to do it."
"Let's see it then," said the teacher, which might have been positive encouragement or a mocking remark, depending on where you stood.
Loraleen pondered for a second, she wanted to show off, badly. She wanted to see the look of surprise in Professor Fontaine's eyes, as well as in her classmates; just as she used to see it at home with her instructors when she accomplished something big. But above all, she wanted to distract herself from her own foolishness, what would have cost her to wave her wand around as if she had been practicing? Eyeing her classmates, she saw Lily's sympathetic expression and Snape's mocking one, but to her left she saw Lupin's faithful look and it reminded her so much of the way her mother would encourage her along that her mind lost the battle to her heart.
Closing her eyes for a second, she let her memories engulf her. Her heart swelled as laugher filled her ears, her fingers tingled in recollection of that long-gone touch and her lips curved against her will into such a placid smile that it seemed like she was lost to the world. Her eyes flashed open and with a flourish of her wand and soaring spirits her mouth yelled the words, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
Light burst from the end of her wand, bright and full of life, leaving those looking momentarily blinded. A blink after a long and slim, shimmering adder slithered through the room, showing its fangs as it went. Silence reigned as the snake inspected the room and soared around its caster, making her laugh with glee. Her laugh seemed to act as a catalyst for everyone snapped out of their shock and started pointing and speaking at the same time, thrilled at the display.
"Your Patronus is an adder?!" cut Black's voice through the sea of noise, sounding amused, outraged and disbelieving all at the same time.
Loraleen turned around to tell him exactly what she thought of his remark when her Patronus left her side and revolved around Sirius, as if assessing a prey. The witch closed her mouth and stared, cocking her head to the side with a confused expression mirroring the one on Black's face, who looked her way with an expression that clearly asked for an explanation.
"Well," said the witch, stunned. "It has never done that before."
Loraleen observed perplexed as Black laid his palms on the table and stretched his arms to raise from his chair, unconsciously giving her Patronus room to accomplish its goal. As soon as Sirius had risen, the adder coiled itself around one of his arms, stealthy making its way up to his shoulder.
"I didn't know a Patronus could do that," said Marlene, watching with rapt attention as the magical creature slithered up Black's arm, who seemed too dazed to react.
"Are you commanding it?" asked Potter, watching his friend with mild concern.
Loraleen denied with her head, too out of sorts at the strange development to answer with words. The adder laid its head on Sirius shoulder and stayed still for a second, eyeing Loraleen from her spot with an almost sentient look. Apparently making some sort of decision, the silver adder opened its mouth, flashing its fangs to the students and without warning, sank them on his shoulder, straight through his robes.
Gasps filled the room and not a second later the beautiful Patronus dissolved into a shimmering mist, leaving no apparent proof of her queer display other than the memories of the stunned students.
Or at least, so thought Loraleen, until Sirius Black's scream pierced the room.