A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with Chapter 3 of SUSN! Sorry it took so long to get this up here, but you know how things can go. ...heh heh... Again, I'm sorry about the delay, but without further ado, I give you...CHAPTER 3! Enjoy!
The chairs that held Severus Snape and Evangeline Harpe were no longer standing as they should. Screaming and thrashing sounds were being heard and Snape's first name was being called by a woman's voice. Evangeline could barely make it up the stairs fast enough, Severus right on her heels, and when she turned the corner, time seemed to slow down.
Two people were bent over another screaming body that appeared to be covered in blood, dry and fresh. The man that Evangeline had first met in this house was at her sister's side, holding her hand and trying to keep her calm, but her sister wasn't having any of it. McGonagall sat on her other side muttering something over and over. Snape finally reached the top of the stairs after Evangeline and did a similar assessment, only faster, before shoving the shocked girl out of his way and rushing forward.
"Gwen…" She whispered before rushing forward too. When she reached her sister, the elder woman stood, allowing Evangeline to take her place next to her sibling, and disappeared. Grasping her hand, she lowered her face to Gwen's ear and spoke softly.
"I'm here. Shhh, its going to be alright. I'm here." She repeated this like a mantra several times until Gwendolyn began to relax. Placing her hand on the bloody forehead of her sister, she looked into her eyes and saw how much pain she was in, but also how much trust she had in her. Blinking once, she turned her gaze to her professor who stood over her, looking intently at the wounds and muttering quickly to himself. Evangeline noticed Gwendolyn's wounds beginning to heal almost instantly.
The woman returned with a vile of something, bent over Gwen's bloodstained body, and started dropping some of its contents on her sister's closing wounds. Evangeline moved some of the long, chestnut colored hair from her sister's face to allow the woman to drop some more of the healing liquid into the scattered cuts found there.
"What…what is that?" Evangeline asked, nodding to the vile McGonagall held in her hand.
"Dittany. It will help prevent scarring." The woman stated matter-of-factly.
"Will she be okay?" The question was barely above a whisper.
"I believe so." Relief spread through her body and she looked back to the face of her beloved sibling, eyes closed and chest raising slightly as she dozed, exhausted from her ordeal.
The man she met earlier, Kingsley Shaklebolt, stood then with a nod. His outfit now had some stains of blood around his knees from kneeling with Gwen. Evangeline could see the worry creased in his face and the processing of what was at hand, but beneath that, Evangeline could tell he had fear of something greater. Death Eaters ran through her mind. Where had that come from?
"We will need to get her better medical treatment. Quickly." Shaklebolt said then.
"Indeed."
"I believe we can take her to Madam Pomfrey. She just needs to be watched for a day or two." Spoke McGonagall as she stood from her crouched position. Turning to Kingsley, she spoke in his ear something of moving Gwen. He nodded, pulled his wand, and stepped back to the sleeping girl and in a flash, they were gone.
"Gwen!"
"Come now, the meeting is about to begin." The woman placed her arm around Evangeline's shoulders. From the comforting contact from the woman, Evangeline felt her thoughts; her worry over everything weighed heavily on her elderly shoulders. Evangeline knew she was sorry for the brisk manner she was treating her with, but it was necessary to their cause. Their cause? McGonagall then steered her down the hall and through a door she hadn't noticed before. An elderly looking man sat at the head of the table with a few others sitting randomly around.
When the man sitting at the head of the table looked up from his hushed conversation with the sallow looking man to his right, his eyes sparkled and he gave her a warm smile. With his hand, he motioned to her and companions to sit down near him and once they were all comfortably seated, the meeting began.
The first portion of the assembly seemed to have nothing to do with her at all, talk of a man and power that was increasing. Severus spoke most often on this subject, she noted. Slowly her composure was falling, her worry for her sister becoming too great for her to handle and tears pricked her eyes and began to fall down her cheeks and onto her folded hands. She hoped her long hair would hide her falling tears from everyone.
It didn't.
"Evangeline." It was the man who welcomed them in. "Do not cry. Your sister will be just fine. Dry your eyes, child." She did so. Then, after composing herself once again, she looked up at the man.
"I want to know what's going on." she spoke with conviction.
The man didn't seem the least bit surprised by her forwardness. Instead, he answered her directly.
"You are wanted by Voldemort for your power. An attack was staged at your home, and then where your sister and Professor McGonagall Apparated to kidnap you. Your sister and yourself have a very similar look and we believe that there was a mix up." He looked at her, speaking gently but intently.
Evangeline nodded, not truly understanding. "And, my sister. What happened to her? Why was she cut up? And, why does this Voldemort character want me? What power do I have?"
Severus spoke up on her sister's condition. "Gwendolyn was attacked by a curse, one that cut her severely. She could have died if she hadn't gotten here any sooner." His words were spoken quickly and curtly, almost as if she should have known that her sister was almost killed by some cutting-curse. She could feel her anger rising.
"Voldemort wants you because of your power. Its never been heard of before and it could be used to his advantage because no one understands it yet. We don't even understand it." The sallow looking man who had been speaking with the elder man running the meeting spoke here. "Oh, excuse me. I'm Remus Lupin."
"Nice to meet you." She mumbled.
"You are to be enrolled in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and will be taking classes designed to teach you as much as possible about our world, and in addition to formal classes you will be researching and learning with the help of Professors Snape, McGonagall, and myself-Professor Dumbledore." The elderly man said.
Evangeline only nodded.
The meeting continued on, all about her and how she'd get to Hogwarts and the things she'd do. Her mind wandered though, returning again to her sister to see she was alright. Before long, things went silent around her and she realized someone had spoken to her and an answer was wanted.
"Hmm?"
"Are you listening?" Professor Snape asked, a note of cruelty and impatience to his voice.
"I'm afraid not. I'm sorry, I can't seem to focus at now. It's all too much. I'm…sorry." She didn't look up from her hands as she spoke to Snape, but her words seemed directed to everyone in the room. Her mind was on overload trying to take all this new information in at once. At the moment, all Evangeline wanted was to find her sister, go back home, and sleep. Maybe all this was a horrible nightmare and she'd wake up happy and ready for normal, non-magical school the next day.
The elder man spoke again, softly and kindly, addressing the entire room this time.
"Evangeline is tired and needs her rest. A lot has been placed on her shoulders today and she needs time to process this new information. Let us all retire to our respective places. I will call a meeting again soon. Until then," and he stood up, dismissing everyone. "Evangeline, if you will come with me."
Dumbledore walked to a fireplace at the other end of the meeting room and grabbed a bowl containing a powder. He held it out towards her, telling her what to do.
"Grab a handful of the powder, toss it into the fireplace, step into it, oh it won't hurt I promise, and speak very clearly 'Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts.' Not hard at all, but you must focus too. Oh, and keep your elbows close to your body, just in case." He winked his twinkling eyes at her shocked expression.
She looked at the bowl apprehensively, but took a handful of the odd mixture anyway. Following his directions, she threw the powder into the fireplace and a bright green fire arose. Looking back at him, she stepped into the flames and spoke what she was told too.
The room she'd previously been in disappeared along with Dumbledore, and she was whisked away to who knows where for the second time that night.
Through the flames, she could see what looked like openings leading to parlors, entryways, anywhere with a fireplace it seemed, though she couldn't really make sense of it. Shooting through, she was amazed at how the green fire didn't burn her, how it almost seemed like they caressed her warm skin with cool tendrils of air. Her ride with them didn't last long, for soon after she disappeared from the meeting room she arrived in a cozy, circular room with books everywhere. Light filtered in through the many windows, though it wasn't daylight as she had hoped, but moonlight.
Moments after Evangeline's arrival, the elder man arrived in the same fashion as she had, covered in soot and upon a perusal of herself, she found that she, too, was blackened with soot. Weird. He walked towards a desk she hadn't noticed and took the seat behind it. A large, red bird made a quick squawk of recognition, and settled back into its perch next to the man. He reached up and scratched along the birds neck for a moment before returning to the matters at hand. He waved towards the seat in front of the desk.
"Evangeline Harpe. I would like to formally introduce myself to you. I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Since it is late, I won't keep you long, but there are a few things that need discussed immediately. First, your sister Gwendolyn is currently in the hospital wing recovering from her ordeal. In the morning, if you wish, you may see her before you leave." I'm leaving? "Second, tomorrow will begin the first day of school for everyone and in the evening the sorting will be done. You will take part in that with the other First years to decide your house." Will I be considered a first year? "However, you will not be grouped with any of the years until you've learned enough to put you with the students your age." Oh. "In the morning, Minerva will come get you and take you to meet with Remus Lupin, you remember him?" She nodded. "Good, good. He will be taking you to Diagon Alley to shop for the things you'll need." He paused a moment, allowing her gather everything. After a few moments passed, he continued. "You're parents have been notified and for their protection, are being guarded by members of the Order. Now, if you will please follow me."
He stood up and Evangeline followed suit, trailing him to the door near the back of the room. He mentioned something about where she would be sleeping for the night, and then they traveled down a moving, spiraling, stone staircase with a gargoyle at the top.
At the end of the staircase they entered a large, stone hallway. Out here, Evangeline felt a slight chill and when she touched the wall, a coolness seeped into her bones. The walk to their destination wasn't quiet, but Evangeline didn't have the energy or the will to keep up with the conversation so it eventually turned into the Headmaster humming quietly to himself as they traveled. Through corridors and up stairs they went to wherever she was to sleep for the night.
Her mind wandered to her sister for the umpteenth time that night; wondering if she was okay, how she was sleeping, if she needed anything. I'll get to see her in the morning, though. Eventually they arrived in a corridor with many doors that at first seemed to be devoid of any decoration but upon further inspection had intricate designs engraved into the wood. They seem to represent whoever resides inside.
"Here we go, your room. You'll be staying here for tonight. This is a hallway for helpers of Hogwarts so if you hear movements and such that disturb you, forgive us. School does start tomorrow you know." He winked, opened the door for her, and left once she was securely inside.
Looking around, Evangeline only took the time to notice where the bed was before running towards it and jumping under the covers. Sleep overcame her and then she slept.
A/N: So, there you have it. The third installment of Something Unknown, Something New (SUSN, for short(: ). I hope you liked it. Reviews are greatly appreciated!
