Lady Darkness: Era Obscurum
I do not own Harry Potter...do you think Hermione would have married Ron, then!?
Dedicated to: nature love 95, anangelwithnoname, xfictionfanx, unicorngirl14, Shadow-The Black Queen. Those awesome reviews made my day! Also, thanks to everyone who add me to favourites/alert! Hope you like the next chapter!
TWO
Observer No More
That day, it was still fresh in my mind; I remember everything like it was yesterday, Bellatrix grasping me by the throat, her fingers digging into my skin, her wand pointing at my neck. I remember looking at Father, feeling helpless. I watched as Harry stood in front of Sirius, challenging Voldemort to a duel. I watched as Father threw a dark spell at him, but Potter dodged it. I watched as Sirius took the blow, writhing in pain. I watched as Potter became enraged and threw an Unforgivable at him. I watched as he fell to the floor, motionless. I watched as Bellatrix screeched. I watched as all the remaining Death Eaters disapparating immediately.
I watched – that's all I ever did. I watched as Potter killed my Dad. I watched as Ministry Aurors came to take his body away. I was always the observer, and I was sick of it.
Now, I wasn't going to sit around, waiting to become older so that Father could proclaim me as his heir. No, there was no bloody way I was going to stay in my dark corner, while stupid Potter and his posse pranced around like they won the Quidditch World Cup and faced off against the Mighty Salazar Slytherin at the same time. No, there was no way that I was going to give up. My Father will rise again, and this time there will be no prophecy to be fulfilled. This time, Potter will die.
I was always the observer, but not this time.
---
Nobody noticed we were gone, and I mean nobody. Not even Parvati, who was acclaimed to know where everyone was and when. As soon as Ginny and I walked into the Great Hall, we'd expected someone – presumably Potter or Ronald – to come bounding over, asking us where we were last night, but there was nothing. Just the same, usual greetings with a touch of excitement in them...Ginny and I exchanged glances, they usually weren't this ignorant, but who were we to complain? On the contrary, this worked out perfectly for us!
I smiled sweetly at them, suppressing a gag as Ron greeted me with a sloppy, wet kiss. I shot a look at Ginny, and I felt like I wanted to vomit! Literally, he had shoved his tongue down my throat and...EW! I don't even want to think about it anymore! I sighed, as I watched Harry kiss Ginny on the cheek. At least he was more subtle, unlike a certain someone I know.
I shook my frizzy brown hair, and turned to the Head Table, where Headmistress McGonagall was currently getting up to do his speech. This was new – the Headmistress only ever gave two speeches, one at the start of the year and one at the end. I inwardly shrugged and reached for my goblet which was filled with pumpkin juice. I swallowed down half of it, thankfully ridding my mouth of that horrible taste.
Licking my dry lips, I watched with curious, but suspicious eyes as McGonagall began her speech, "Students of Hogwarts, today will consume your first day of lessons! We wish you all good luck today! As I didn't have a chance to explain last night, we have some replacement teachers! As you can see, we have six seats missing and five available places."
"First, in the place of Reubues Hagrid, who has retired as our gamekeeper and professor, we have your new teacher – Maria Roberts," the Headmistress declared. Everyone clapped, politely as a girl with curly blonde hair walked in. She bowed when she reached the front and took her place in Hagrid's old seat. I could see Harry's smile drop at the mention of the buffoon's retirement. I wanted to smirk, really, I did.
"Now in the place of Sybil Trelawney, we have Vylanna Longbottom," She introduced. At this, everybody started clapping and shooting Neville sickly happy smiles. Neville was beaming, smiling at everyone as his Aunt – or so I presumed, a tall lady with black waist-length hair, walked up the aisle and took her place next to Professor Roberts. I shot Neville a fake smile and he grinned back at me. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at the purely Gryffindor action, no-one with my status would do that.
"In the place of me, your new Transfiguration teacher will be Minh Hallow," A sharp-looking man with an aristocrat appearance and high cheekbones appeared. He strode over to the table, brushing his orange hair behind his ear. He looked fairly strict, I recalled, and for some reason I felt that I had seen him before. I looked at Ginny, who had a calculating expression on as well. Maybe during the Yule Ball, he might have been there? No, he was much too old...
The Headmistress's voice interrupted my thoughts, and she called out, "The Potions position will be filled by an ex-graduate in Potions at Hogwarts, please welcome Professor Celena Ravenclaw."
The room went silent, and Ginny and I exchanged glances. Celena Ravenclaw...now that was only too familiar. I watched as a girl with curly brown hair and chocolate coloured eyes walked into the room. I knew her...it was her, only this time she was using her maiden name, Ravenclaw. I watched as everyone clapped, Ravenclaw louder than others. I turned and locked eyes with the woman.
What was my mother doing here?
"Now as most of you know, Susan Bones has lifted the magical creature restrictions, and has taken more...justifying acts towards the Ministry. So, due to some letters insisting that the students have a particular teacher, for the first time, the Defence against Dark Arts position will be occupied by two professors."
I shook my head, I knew where this was going, and I didn't like it one bit! Nevertheless, the Headmistress voiced out loud, "The position shall be taken by none other than Remus Lupin and Sirius Black."
The applause was deafening. Potter and Weasley were clapping until their hands were red. All the other houses – including a few Slytherins – were clapping hard when the two men made their appearance. Sirius seemed to be flattered and Remus blushed deeply. They both took their seats at the table and Ginny and I seethed, silently. It was another five minutes before the applause stopped, much to my disgust.
And once again, I watched, like I always did.
Always the observer...
---
"I figured it out," I whispered to Ginny, as we made our way to our first lesson, which was ironically Potions, "Remember how I told you about how we have to brew the potion? Don't you think it would be easier if my mum just happened to be Potions Professor and have access to the entire Potions Supply cupboard, hm?"
"Oh Merlin," Ginny realised, "Your mother is a genius!"
I was about to reply to her, when Ron came up behind us and snaked his hands around my waist, kissing the top of my head. I quickly put on my love-sick demeanour and smiled up at the lanky red-head. He greeted us, smiling, "So, you girls talking about the best year of DADA we will ever have?"
"Yeah," Ginny babbled, and if I didn't know better, I would've believed her straight away, "I mean, Professor Lupin was the best DADA teacher ever! Plus, now Harry gets to see his godfather every day, without being on the constant lookout for that...traitor...Pettigrew and...You Know Who!"
"Ginny," Harry sighed, "Why do you insist on calling him You Know Who? Why can't you just say his name? He's dead for Pete's sake! See...Voldemort, Voldemort, Voldemort...am I dead? NO!"
Not yet at least, I wanted to mutter. I watched as Ginny flinched convincingly and Potter decided to quickly drop the subject, and Ginny and I followed the two boys to the Potions Classroom. Ron was currently talking to Harry about how bad this Potions Professor will be and I wanted to slap him in the face.
"I bet you 2 galleons that she will be as horrid and ruthless as Professor Snape," Ron challenged, pulling out two galleons. I gasped at his accusation and I felt my eyes flicker a dark red colour, just like Voldemort's.
"Ronald Billius Weasley!" I screeched, attracting everyone's attention, "How can you say such a thing!? Just because you didn't like Professor Snape doesn't mean you can have a prejudice against every one! I can't believe you would stoop so low to hate someone before you have met them! For all you know, this could've been the best Potions teacher we have ever had and all you do is whine because of your bad experience with Potions! If you're going to act like immature Slytherins, then don't bother to talk to me!"
With that, I stalked off straight into the Potions classroom. Behind me, I could hear Ginny saying, "Sorry guys, Mione's right and she's my best friend, so until you guys can act more mature, I guess I can't talk to you either."
Two minutes later, I saw Ginerva Molly Weasley pick up her bags and sit right next to me. I smiled at her and she grinned right back at me, "That felt so good, we should do that more often!"
I giggled at her comment and waited for Mother – sorry, Professor Ravenclaw – to walk into the classroom, anticipating the lesson that awaited us.
For once, I wasn't the one watching. And it felt good.
---
"Welcome to the class," Celena smiled at us, "Now, I understand that you have had some bad experiences with your past Potions teachers, so I'll do my best to make this enjoyable for you! Okay, so, we'll start off with a fairly simple potion, just to see how far you lot are. I have been told that you haven't done this potion before, so it'll be good to have some fun with the basics before we move on to seventh year stuff."
Boy was I glad that Professor McGonagall had decided to mix the Sixth and Seventh Years up; otherwise I don't know what I'd do!
Mother motioned to the books, "You will find your potion recipes on Page 389 so please begin and feel free to make use of the ingredients before you. If any of you need any help, I'll be happy to assist you in your potion."
Immediately, students got up and stood in line to get their ingredients, which were written on the board. Ginny volunteered to go get it, while I stayed behind and flicked through the abnormally large book. I stopped when I got to page 389 and held back a gasp. My eyes flickered nervously, and once Ginny had arrived I motioned to the book.
Prosapia Nemus
Classified: Ancient, 2nd Class Rank
Prosapia Nemus, most commonly called Nemus, is Latin for "Family Tree". Like its name suggests, the potion, once mixed with one's hair, will reveal the person's whole family heritage. This spell is often used in the hands of adopted children, as the Nemus potion always bares the truth. It is incapable of producing any other than that.
"It never lies, Ginny," I hissed, "My birthright will be on there, for the world to see!"
"I'm sure your Mother has a good reason for it," Ginny murmured, eyeing the recipe wearily, "We'll talk to her later..."
The lesson passed quickly, with no disruptions at all, which was surprising since I was convinced Longbottom would make some sort of mistake. Ginny and I both worked in silence, occasionally whispering to each other. It was – by far – the best potions lesson I've ever had. Minus the fact that Potter and his companion were constantly staring at us and murmuring under their breaths.
The bell tower rang, signalling the end of class. I picked up my books, when I hear Celena call Ginny and my name, "Miss Weasley and Miss Granger, please stay behind for a few moments. We need to discuss your...outburst."
I doubted that was all she wanted to discuss, but I stayed behind anyway. As soon as everyone had left, I let my angry mask drop and ran over and enveloped my Mother in a hug. She grinned at me and kissed my cheek, "Oh, Mione, baby! I missed you so much!"
"Me too mummy," I cried, happily.
"You too Ginny, I'm so glad to see you again," Mother smiled at Ginny, giving the red-head a hug, "You really must visit the Manor more often!"
"I will," Ginny beamed, "Hermione and I have been busy with plans..."
"You mean the extravagant ones that Mione was scheming over the holidays?" Mother laughed and I shot Ginny a playful glare.
"Anyway, what's this about the Nemus potion, Mother?" I asked, brushing back my ruffled hair, "You do know what my potion will show...?"
"That's exactly my point," Celena smiled, "I can easily tamper with another batch of Nemus, projecting different names, but your...friends, won't realise that. That should eliminate all the possible doubt from their minds, just in case they find out about you." I gaped.
"Like I said," Ginny laughed, "Your mother is a genius!"
The rest of the day passed by quickly and didn't hold anything of much interest. We had a double period of history with Professor Binns after our Potions double, as well as a period of Arthimancy and Ancient Runes. Thank god that Ginny and I shared all our classes together; otherwise I would've felt like first year all over again!
Lunch was a boring affair, as Ginny and I sat right at one end of the Gryffindor table, and Potter and Weasley sat at the other. We spent the minutes in silence, occasionally hissing about how boring Binns was becoming and how silly Potter was being to take sides – not that we would've supported him if he chose us, anyway. It was, after all, an act. After the horrible Lunch, Ginny and I decided that it would be better if we could head straight to Salazar's Quarters and get one of our house elves to get dinner for us. That way we could talk about Operation Azkaban.
---
Operation Azkaban –
PLAN: Get the Dementors out of the way, and somehow smuggle the loyal DE out of Azkaban, and find where they are keeping Voldemort's body and the Hocrux pieces. Create clones for the few DE that we smuggle out, to make sure things don't get chaotic, just yet...
I put down my quill and looked at Ginny, who was nodding in satisfaction. I re-read the small description and pursed my lips, turning to look at the female Weasley, "When are we going to pull this off?"
"I'm thinking the next weekend we go to Diagon Alley," She murmured, ticking her fingers off, "That is in a month – October 9th, I think it is."
I nodded, conjuring up a calendar with a flick of my hands – yes, I can use wandless magic. I am Voldemort's heir, am I not? I quickly circled October 9th putting a little star next to it. Ginny hovered behind me, biting her lip as if she was thinking something through.
"Mione," Ginny asked, fiddling with her red hair, "Are we going to house the DE in your Manor?"
"I guess, if Mum allows it," I murmured, fiddling with my quill, "Until then we have to figure out how to create ideal clones, the counter curse to Avada, the potion which we will brew to bring Father back to life and how exactly to break into Azkaban."
"And how exactly are we going to do that?" She asked, sceptically.
I sighed, again, "We will, somehow."
---
"What's up with Hermione and Ginny?" Ron asked, as he walked into the library.
Harry fiddled with his glasses, staring at one of the bookshelves, "I don't know mate, but she's never been this mad before. Usually she only gets in silly spats with you and Malfoy, but now she's...changed."
"What you mean, is that she's never questioned us before," Ron snorted, "She's always been sort of like a...witness?"
"Yeah, I guess," Harry shrugged, walking over to where Madame Pince was sitting, "Like an observer, but I shouldn't be saying that! She's our best friend, Ron!"
"And we're her only friend," Ron muttered, under his breath. He was obviously in a grumpy mood.
I clenched my hands behind a bookshelf where I was hiding. So all I was to them was a pitiful observer? They were my friends because they – they pitied me? My eyes turned a dark red as I placed a concealment charm on myself and stormed out of the room. I'll show them who should be pitied. Oh, yes I will.
No longer was I going to be a 'witness' to them. Perhaps it was time to scale our plans up a bit. It would pay to see those traitors suffer! They wouldn't dare cross me again!
Observer no more...
OBSERVER NO MORE
OMG, thank you to everyone who reviewed, I was so happy! This chapter is shorter than the other one, but I hope you liked it anyway! Okay, so here are to those awesome people who reviewed, I am so thankful to you all!
Three reviews for the next chapter, once again!
FashionStarlet xx
Nature Lover 95 – I'll take that as a compliment! I actually worked hard to make it a bit airy, because my original draft was ten times darker than that. I used the word smirk and sneer about fifty times...
Anangelwithnoname – Of course Hermione will be with Draco! It wouldn't be a story if it wasn't! I am a 100% D/Hr fan, so I'm dying to write a few fluffy moments...Oh, and the secondary coupling will be Blaise/Ginny, at least that's what I'm contemplating now.
xfictionfanx – As you wish, *bows* Hehee, hope you liked this update, since it's what you asked for. Be warned though, I'm not giving you any Christmas Presents!
Unicorngirl14 – Thank you, so much! I'm glad you liked it!
Shadow-The Black Queen – That was the idea! I absolutely love the saying (since I made it, not to boast or anything, hehehe), so you can use it, as long as you give me recognition! I couldn't think of a good title for this one *weeps* and make it stick, but hope you liked it anyway!
