A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing, I am forever grateful! About this chapter, it will be a bit slow, for I must tie up some loose ends and get the characters settled in Hogwarts already! Enjoy!
Chapter Four – Charisse Mabel
Still Friday, September 1st
- Hermione's Story –
The pain was unbearable as I lay on the hard ground, covered in dirt. Thoughts of uncomfortable times swirled through my head…Being ridiculed by the other girls for acting strangely, not being into clothes or boys…The Sorting Hat on my head, waiting nervously to be sorted…An enormous troll banging on the sinks and toilets in the girls' bathroom while I was there, frightened and alone…Ron's knight falling over in a life-size game of chess, the blood, the fear of facing Voldermort…Being attacked by the Whomping Willow, while searching for Ron…dueling Death Eaters two years ago in the Ministry of Magic…
At that moment, I felt someone lift my limp body into the air, then a painful THUMP.
"Watch her head! Careful…" a commanding voice said. Everything seemed so far away, the voices seemed distant, shapes were the only things I saw…
My eyes fluttered open slightly, the yelling somewhere too close was deafening. I heard two people distinctly shouting, involved in a heated argument. I tried to decipher the words, but only caught snatches of the conversation, for they were screaming nearly incoherently.
"You …to believe…How DARE…Hermione -" Suddenly, I knew who that was: Ron. He was yelling at someone, about ME!
"She's …yours…I ….helping her!" An enraged voice shouted back. That voice, too sounded familiar, but I couldn't exactly place it. "She…attacked…her!" I got cautiously out of my bed, (where'd the bed come from?) and moved closer to the door, only realizing then where I was. I was still aboard the Hogwarts Express, I saw in amazement, when I noticed the sliding compartment doors and my trunk. I slowly slid the door slightly open, so I could hear what was being said.
"You think that I WANTED to touch that foul Mudblood?" And from that, I knew who the second speaker was: none other than Draco Malfoy. "I only helped her because I didn't care for the idea of filling in for her when we had to patrol the corridors!" he continued his bellowing. Oh my God! My mind was screaming at me, but I couldn't do anything. The boy I loved and the one I hated the most were fighting about me! Me! Ron was protecting me!
"Don't you DARE lay your filthy Pureblood paws on her; EVER AGAIN! UNDERSTOOD!" Ron cast a few spells at the wall, accentuating each of the last words. Malfoy just grumbled something inarticulately, then stormed down the corridor.
"Oh, Ron," I said, jumping into his arms, and planting a huge kiss on his lips. I winced slightly as my leg hit his, but didn't pay much attention to it. "Thank you…" I whispered into his ear. Then a thought floated into my head. Where had Ron been when the Death Eaters attacked? Where had he been when I needed help with holding up the protection ward? Automatically, I pulled away from him, looking him in the eye.
"Ron…" I began slowly, "where were you? Why weren't you here to help me- to help us?" I asked, trying to hold back the anger that had welled up inside me.
"Oh, 'Mione!" he laughed. I was very ready to slap him when he went on. "Charlie needed much help in Romania with the dragons; they had started to rebel all over the country. I left Grimmauld Place early August to assist him, and together, his friends and I, rounded up the rogue ones. We had them all under control, when one night a fight broke out between the males, and by the time we got there, most of the dragons had left.
"It took weeks to find them all, but finally we found and confined every one, that is, almost all. There was a viscous dragon still on the loose: a Peruvian Vipertooth." He smiled at me again, and I felt all my anger rushing away.
"Well," I said jokingly, "looks like you should owl Charlie and tell him that you found his Rogue Dragon."
"Yes," he answered, then took me by the hand and led me back into the compartment. When he slid the door open, I saw that the little room was stuffed full of people, Harry, Professors Lupin and McGonagall among them. Then I noticed that the "little room" was not little anymore. It was enchanted to look small, but be enormous. A group of about fifty or sixty people were gathered.
"Are you alright, 'Mione?" Harry asked, just as Professor Lupin inquired, "Hermione, how are you feeling?"
"I'm alright!" I grinned at them all, hugging Harry and Professors Lupin, McGonagall and Pompfrey in turn. "How is she?" I questioned, lowering my voice to a whisper. "How is Tonks?"
Harry looked away, while Professor McGonagall fiddled with her robe. It was Professor Lupin who answered me.
"Not too well, I'm afraid," he said grimly. "The imprisonment really had a big effect on her…" I nodded, understanding fully.
"Can I see her?"
"No, I'm sorry, Hermione," Lupin told me. "She was Apparated to St. Mungo's a half hour ago."
"Oh…Okay," I whispered. Harry took me by the shoulder, past hordes of people (Neville, Luna, though not Malfoy, I noticed) and led me to my portable bed.
"You should rest, 'Mione, until we arrive at Hogwarts," he commanded, covering me with a blanket. "I'll wake you up later."
I wanted to protest, saying I was as fine as any of them, when I felt pains shooting up and down my leg, nearly intolerable. I mumbled, then nodded off into a deep sleep.
"Hermione, wake up…" Someone was shaking me gently by the shoulders. "We have arrived." I muttered, "I'm up," sleepily, then stumbled out of the bed. Unhurriedly, I donned my school robes, and found my wand. "I'm ready," I finally told Harry, who was waiting patiently by the door.
"Right, then, let's go," he said, taking me by the arm, and leading me out into the cool night air. He took me towards one of the carriages led by invisible horses, as Harry had told me, and helped me up.
"Hi Hermione!" Many people yelled as I entered the small space. I smiled at Ginny, Neville, Ron, Luna, and a few other Gryffindors as I sat down. The ride up to the castle was uneventful, but I can't say that about the rest of the long evening ahead of us.
The Great Hall was filled with many students and teachers, and by the time I arrived there, most were seated. It was strange to see Professor Dumbledore's seat empty up at the staff table, since Professor McGonagall refused to take his seat. I was grateful, for I felt that Professor Dumbledore deserved to have his seat forever vacated.
Professor Vector entered a moment later, leading a large group of scared-looking first years. But the unusual thing was there was a young girl walking next to Professor Vector, looking almost as frightened as the first years.
"Harry, who is that?" I asked, leaning over to whisper into his ear.
"I dunno, maybe an assistant deputy headmistress," he said as a joke. I frowned at him, certain that this was not why she was there, and unappreciative of his joke. Professor Vector lead the students up to the Sorting Hat, which stood on its ancient stool, and took a scroll out of her robe pocket. But before she started reading off the A's, Professor McGonagall stood up, raising her arms much like Professor Dumbledore had done.
"Students, I would like to welcome to our school a new Seventh Year: Miss Charisse Mabel! She was transferred from Beauxbatons School, in France, and she will continue her education here, at Hogwarts. I am sure that you will accept her into whichever house she is sorted into." And with that, Professor McGonagall sat down, and motioned for the Sorting to begin.
Charisse Mabel went first, and after much thought, the Hat placed her into Hufflepuff. The Hufflepuff table erupted in cheers; the boys were screaming the loudest of all.
"Is she really that pretty?" I asked, leaning over once more.
"Uh…what? Uh, oh, no!" Ron said falteringly, tearing his gaze away from the newcomer. Blushing, he grinned sheepishly. "She's nothing compared to you, 'Mione!"
"Thanks," I told him unbelievingly, then turned back to the Sorting. A tall boy named Antoinette McGregary was placed into Ravenclaw, while a prim looking girl named Lynette Nathon was placed in Slytherin. A pretty girl, named Alaina Nearlal was placed in Gryffindor (Yay!) and a cute little boy, Nathaniel Opalele, was sorted into Ravenclaw.
After lot's of cheering and screaming, all the first years found the place amongst the Houses, and the feast began with a flourish. I ate an enormous amount, surely enough to fill an ogre, because that earlier fight had really taken the energy out of me.
After dessert, which consisted of blueberry pie and ice cream, all the students were ushered out of the Great Hall by their prefects. I oversaw everything, making sure that all flowed smoothly, then turned on my heels to catch up with Professor McGonagall.
"Professor," I said, "you said something about meeting a certain house elf? Well, I forgot and er..is he still available to show me to my quarters?" I asked, embarrassed.
"Why, of course! Let me call him…Dobby!" With a loud POP a tiny house elf turned up, beaming ridiculously.
"You called Dobby, Headmistress?" he questioned in a squeaky voice. Then, he noticed me. "Oh, Miss, I didn't see you, the friend of Harry Potter," he yelled, coming over to bow.
"Hello, Dobby," I greeted him, smiling. "Shall we go?"
"Yes, at once, follow me!" He said with a flourish, then rounded the corner. "Are you a-coming, Miss?" I followed him up many flights of stairs and around many corners, when finally Dobby came to an abrupt stop.
"Here it is, Miss!" He looked positively delighted with himself. I stared at the blank wall in front of him, not wanting to hurt his feelings but needing to ask "Where?"
"Right here! Look, you just say a password, and tap this brick" he pointed to said brick "like this, and BOOM!" The bricks rearranged themselves, much like those in Diagon Alley, and a stone archway appeared. "In here!" Dobby pointed, then bounded into a spacious room.
"The password is "Fawkes", I thought that you would remember that… you can change it if you like. This here is the Common Room, shared by you and Mr. Malfoy," he said, stumbling over Malfoy's name. "In here is the kitchen, where you can prepare food, if you don't want to go down to the Great Hall. In here is Miss's room," he continued, pointing into an enormous room, filled with furniture in red and gold, the Gryffindor colors.
The canopy bed was queen sized, at least, and the desk, bookshelf, bureau, and wardrobe were all made out of rich mahogany wood. A door led out of one side of the room, and I walked over, touching the mattress on my way. (It was made of quality owl feathers, extra comfort, I could tell.)
Pushing the door ajar, I entered a magnificent bathroom, the size of my bedroom at home (!) and stared at the furnishings. The tub and sink were made of pure marble and the handles and knobs were genuine silver. The towel hanging down had my name embroidered on it, and there was one next to it that read…Draco!
"Uh…Dobby? Um, this is all very beautiful, but why is there a towel hanging here that says DRACO?" I asked.
"Oh, Miss, I thought you knew…You and Mr. Malfoy share a Common Room, kitchen and bathroom…otherwise do you like it?" he asked eagerly. "Dobby furnished your room and the bathroom, because Dobby wanted it to be nice when Miss Hermione got here." He was absolutely thrilled with his work, and I felt that I had to thank him very much.
"Dobby, it is amazing! Your work is wonderful…and no one told me that Malfoy would be living in the same quarters as me, but…" my voice trailed off as I thought of having to live with that ferret. I suppressed a shudder, then thanked him again, before assuring him that I didn't need anything else, and ushering him out of the room.
After he was gone, though I felt tired, I decided to unpack before going to sleep. I made my way to the common room, which was dark, except for a few embers that were glowing in the fireplace, and looked around for my trunk, knowing it had to be here somewhere. Sure enough, it stood by door/archway that led into the Common Room. I went over, then used Wingardium Leviosa to raise it in the air and carry it to my room. As I was turning to follow my floating trunk, I heard something behind me.
"Well, if it isn't Mudblood Granger doing some late-at-night unpacking…" I jumped, and the trunk fell to the ground with a thump. "You!" I yelled at the familiar voice. "How dare you?" I challenged him, when my wand lit up the room.
"What? Do what? Stand in my own room, leaning against the wall?" he mocked.
"You pathetic excuse for a human! You disgust me!" I screamed, then dragged my trunk into the room and band the door really hard. Oh, how I wanted to kill him! I promised myself that I wouldn't bother anymore about that smug teenager, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep…
When I woke up, the birds were singing outside my window, and the sun shone down on me pleasantly. Smiling, I got dressed quickly, eager to see Harry and Ron at breakfast. Grabbing my schoolbag and wand, I rushed out of my room (being careful to lock it with a password-ed ward) and headed to the door. While I was trying to figure out how to work the stupid thing (which brick did I press? Was it the same password for going in and out?) the bricks began to shift, and finally the doorway appeared.
Proud to have opened the door, I started forward when I noticed someone standing there.
"Oh, Draco…" a girl cheerfully sang into the room, and only then did she realize that I was not Draco…
A/N: Thanks again for reviewing and whomever can guess who is the girl on the other side of the door gets a round of applause! (I assure you, once you think about it, it's not that hard! ) Anyway, also want to give credit to my beta, scarletheartedlioness, and to MrsRonWeasley for the help with the names! Thanks you guys! D