This took me a while because I wasn't sure how to start it. I don't even know if I like how I did. Oh well, too late now. As last book was Eris' changing point, this is Draco's. It's a swim or sink situation for him and if you remember the way things went during this book I think you can determine why. I won't go into much besides saying that I will try to incorporate the sub characters a little bit more this time (Hermione had a big part in the third book so I'll delve into that.). Mystery and intrigue abound.
I finally found out who Eris' mother was. I had already named her but the details were still vague. I need to think of the finer points some more. More questions than answers this chapter but what can you do? Nothing, that's what! I'm as much a prisoner as you. I have no idea what I'm doing.
Thirteen is a magical year for anyone, Muggle or Magical. It is an awkward time when you are still a child but you're becoming an adult. The transition is filled with self doubt, exploration and the need to fit in. I will try to portray this age as justly as I possibly can but since I haven't been thirteen in a while, I'll have to go on memory.
Eris' pet name has a double meaning. Dysomnia, if you Google it, is a sleeping disorder which fits quite nicely in Eris' over active mind and inedibility to have a good nights sleep. Dysomnia is also the daughter of Eris in mythology.
Warnings: More cursing. There is some kissing (or rather one awkward kiss). Some violence and blood. Both the kissing and the violence will be in part two I think. I just need to get 'someone' angry enough for a physical attack. Kiss and make-up.
Disclaimer: Same old thing…not mine.
The Prisoner of Azkaban:
Eris stabbed irritably at the dry cracked Earth with a stick. This summer had been boring beyond anything she had ever experienced in her young thirteen year life. And knowing who her father was and the chores/studying he always had her do, this was saying something. She was so glad she was going back to school in another week and a half. It couldn't come sooner. The novelty of being with her friends and skipping out on lessons had run out around the first month of summer break.
"Eris, please stop that. What did the Earth do to you to deserve such hate?" Pansy was pulling pedals off of a daisy, who was she to talk?
"Draco is a stupid prat." Eris threw the stick and glared at Pansy as she lay lazily on her hammock. They had gone to the Zabini's manor in Venice for the summer. "Why didn't you fight harder to make him stay with us?"
"Why didn't you? Besides, his father requested he stay home this summer. Draco could never say no." Pansy sighed and got up. "Where the bloody hell is Blaise?"
"Blaise is a stinking prat too." Eris said petulantly. She couldn't shake her bad mood. She felt restless and trapped. She wanted Draco.
"What's wrong with you lately?" Pansy was shocked that someone like Eris was acting this way. It wasn't like her. The dark haired girl sighed and ran her hand through her hair. It was becoming unbelievably long, reaching almost to her lower back but she almost always refused to put it up. Pansy's own had grown somewhat. She was trying to make herself more distinguished. Pansy thought having long hair would make her seem more grown up. Eris didn't agree when it came to herself. She still looked too young in the face. Her features virtually unchanged from the oval faced, bright eyed, plump lipped "china doll".
"I'm sorry, Pansy. I guess I'm just frustrated. I would have liked it if we were all together this summer." And Draco was away from the influence of his father. Eris added silently. Who knew what Draco was picking up alone with the man who put everyone at risk loosing a Basilisk in a school full of kids?
"If I didn't know any better I'd say that you looooove Draco." Blaise's voice sprang out from behind some bushes before his grinning head popped up, kissy face and everything. "You wanted to kiiiissss hiiiiim!"
"Blaise, I swear to all that is holy…if you continue I will hex you so bad you'll miss a full year of school, got me?" Eris practically growled.
"Oooh! Did I hit on something good?" Blaise almost skipped around the bush in a dance but stopped abruptly when Eris spoke in a whisper, moved her wand with dizzying speed and hit him with a full body bind. He smacked the ground with a pain filled "oof". Pansy started laughing hysterically when Eris made the daisies in the yard start attacking Blaise's head without mercy. Eris approached the warring flowers and knelt down to smile innocently at Blaise.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" She said in her sweetest voice.
"Gah! I'm sorry! I'm SORRY! Make them stop! I have allergies!" Blaise wailed which only made Pansy laugh harder. She clutched her stomach and fought to stay upright. Eris stopped her spell and smugly got up and dusted off her knees.
"That's what I thought." She said airily and took Pansy's spot on the hammock. Pansy wasn't the least bit miffed at it. Eris had earned that spot by giving Pansy a show.
"Bloody hell, girl. You're the devil!" Blaise panted on the ground, surrounded by the fallen warrior flowers. He thrashed violently when Pansy picked up a daisy and started waving it at his face.
"I'm Slytherin. There's only a slight difference but I forgive you." Eris inspected her nails and idly wondered what Draco was having to put up with back home. Eris sighed again. "I miss school."
"Miss the school or miss SOMEONE who goes to that school?" Blaise leered while Pansy asked "Why?"
"I miss school!" Eris pointed her wand menacingly at Blaise, who was intelligent enough to shut up. She ignored Pansy's comment altogether. "What is it with you lately, Blaise? All you seem to think about is dating. Who's dating who? Who is crushing on who?"
"Puberty." Blaise said proudly. "It hit me like a Bludger. Haven't you noticed?"
"I try not to look at you." Eris said dismissively but truthfully she HAD noticed. While Eris simply got a little taller, Blaise had sprouted like a weed. He was starting to look more masculine and it only served to improve his already beautiful looks. Damn him. Pansy, also, seemed to have blossomed. She was already bigger than Eris on top and had a more rounded physique. Eris was worried she was always going to be small. Would she lose respect from her peers if she still looked like a child when she was an adult? While she was normal for her size when she was younger, it seems that she had been surpassed in the last couple of years and is now in the "small for her age" bracket. Eris shivered. She probably looked like a first year.
::
At the same time Eris was lamenting about the size of her body; Harry was glaring at the overly sized one of Aunt Marge. The bitch was a sniveling poor excuse for a Muggle and Harry had half a mind to tell her just how low on the "food chain" she really was. Of course, Harry was a good boy so he held his tongue. That is, until she made a one too many low level insults toward his parents. So he blew her up. Not in the messy sense where Aunt Petunia would be cleaning her out of the rug for months but in the trying to get her out of the tree like a kite kind of blowing up. Harry felt a satisfied smirk grace his face as he packed his bags and threatened Uncle Vernon with the same punishment should the man try to stop him. Then he ran away from home. All the time he was lugging his baggage behind him, Harry repeated over and over again that he would never go back to that awful house again. Dumbledore and his rules be damned.
As Harry cursed anything and anyone who had ever done him wrong, he also thought about what he was going to do now that he was for sure going to be expelled. He was pretty sure London had a healthy number of Outcast Wizards in the population that he could melt into. It wouldn't be a bad life. Plenty of excitement living on the lamb. Harry's gaze settled on a set of golden eyes in the darkness in front of him. It was startling but even more so was the size of the beast those eyes were attached to. Harry could only see the outline but that was enough to judge the magnitude. It scared the hell out of him. Harry stumbled backward and fell. He saw the beast move but it was suddenly cut off by the arrival of a bus. Harry blinked before recognizing it as a Wizarding World contraption. He was beginning to get a feel for all things Magical so he was able to tell the difference between that and Muggle things. He was relieved to see something he felt comfortable with.
The Wizarding World still amazed Harry. Having lived on the outside for the majority of his life so far, everything was a marvel. The Knight Bus even more so. Even the people were colorful. Harry was really taken with Daigon Alley. After having a peculiar conversation with the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, in which he WASN'T expelled from school for using magic out of school and in the vicinity of Muggles but rather was fed and given housing until school started. Quite the puzzlement. And then he was left to wander the streets of the Wizarding Shopping district until it was time to board the train to Hogwarts. Harry was bombarded left and right with all sorts of wonders. He ogled the new Firebolt Broom and ate ice-cream. He even finished all of his summer homework and bought the books he needed for the coming year. In one of the bookstores he happened upon, Harry saw a book with a big black dog on the cover. It reminded him of the beast he saw before the Knight Bus rescued him so, out of impulse, he bought it. He never bought anything out of impulse before but it felt kind of nice. Immerging out of the bookstore, object in hand, he practically ran into Ron.
"Woah! Hey mate! Watch it." Ron jumped out of the way then clamped his hand on Harry's back. "I almost didn't recognize you!"
"Spent a lot more time out of doors this summer." Harry grinned and greeted his friend. What really happened was that he left Hogwarts last year a little more confident. Facing a Basilisk will do that to you. Vernon and the rest of the Dursley's took a couple of level stares face on before they started to back off. It did wonders for Harry's complexion to be out in the sun more. Running from Dudley and his friends became a whole lot easier. Harry knew Ron exaggerated a bit, though. He didn't look all that different. Harry was a whole lot tanner and he developed a bit of muscles. He supposed he grew a bit too but not overly.
"Well you look better!" Ron smiled. Ron looked, well, taller. The red haired boy shot up over the summer. He was a couple of inches taller than Harry now and his adolescent shoulders jutted out awkwardly in the middle of squaring off. Harry gave him the school year to even out. Ron's voice was also squeaking horribly in the middle of lowering. Harry's had that every now and then too. Thankfully that was all that he had to deal with. Dudley looked like he had chicken pocks with all the acne riddling his pudgy face. Wizards apparently didn't have to deal with such things. Magic balances out the face but on more extreme cases, a potion could handle it within an hour.
Harry greeted Molly and the twins when they came over. Percy made it to head boy this year and the twins complain about their "Bighead boy" brother. Even then he was separate from his family and off doing his own thing. The Weasley's hardly hear from him as he keeps himself locked away in his room but they did manage to have a family vacation to Egypt in which Percy was tolerable. They ran into Hermione on their way to the pet store to buy rat tonic for Ron's pet rat, Scabbers, which looked rather sick lately. She decided to go with them because she might be interested in a pet since her parents had finally agreed to let her have one and Hogwarts always had an open pet policy (Some species restrictions applied). There, Hermione bought a cat, Crookshanks, which left Ron unhappy and Scabbers even unhappier.
::
Eris watched the two bickering Gryffindors and a silent one walk away from the pet store. Even the mousy Harry Potter looked older. Her glare turned into a snarl. Stupid good looking Harry Potter. She had been hoping he looked just as awkward as he did the first year.
"Oh! Eris, look at this quill in the window! It has a pink feather!" Pansy stepped from foot to foot in excitement as she looked in on the quill. "It has auto-write capabilities! Note taking will be a breeze!"
"Buy it." Eris said simply. "But you have to remember which teachers allow auto-write quills in their classes. My father, as you know, detests them."
"I know. I want it though, but I've spend my budget since the expenses of the summer and getting the bare minimum for school." Pansy was starting to whine but Eris had already reached into her pockets and pulled out some Galleons for Pansy. She handed it to the other girl without further ado. Pansy squeaked out a "thanks!" before rushing in the store.
Eris eyed the pet store before walking slowly toward it. Her father detested pets so she had never had one but if she were to buy one from under his nose he couldn't possibly tell her to take it back after she had bonded with it, could he? Entering the store she knew she was going to leave it with some sort of animal.
When she saw the critical golden eyes of the hawk she immediately strolled over to it. It wasn't overly sized but menacing anyway. The bird was brown and gold, not completely different from normal non-magic species but it had a distinct intelligence to it that made her think it was assessing her as well as she it. She hoped she measured up to it because she was quite impressed with the obvious power the bird held.
"Interesting specimen, that one." A hunchbacked man approached her. He had stringy hair and an unpleasant body odor. "Far too dangerous for just anyone."
"What breed?" Eris asked as the hawk seemed to glare at the shop keeper.
"A rare hunting breed. It is a subgenre so not recognized by the ministry but it has been labeled a snake predator." Eris laughed for she found this highly amusing. The Hawk seemed to be in good spirits as well. It reached around and started to clean the insides of its wings. Eris didn't miss (and was quite pleased) that the shop keeper flinched slightly at the bird's sudden movement. "I have some very interesting cats near the back…"
"Boy or girl?" Eris asked not wanting the shop keeper to think she wanted any other animal besides this one.
"The hawk?" The shop keeper seemed to shrink under the heated gaze of both Eris and the bird. "She's a girl."
"Lovely. Ring her up. I'll be taking her with me." Eris started toward the door.
"But, wouldn't you like a nice puppy or something?" The shop keeper whined. Eris turned around, opened the door and gave the disgusting man a hateful glare.
"Let's get this straight. I am not a puppy kind of girl. I am not a cat kind of girl. I want that hawk, you will charge the Snape account for the purchase and I will hear no more of your insistently grating voice!" Eris almost growled. The shop keeper widened his eyes but nodded dumbly. Eris turned to whistle to her new pet. Having already given her a name. "Come on Dysomnia, let's get to Hogwarts."
She was quite pleased that the hawk heeded her command and took flight after her and settled on her shoulder. Eris guessed that she passed the hawk's test.
::
"It's staring at me again…" Blaise leaned over as far as he possibly could as the snake hawk made menacing noises at him by clicking her beak in fast repetition and dancing from clawed foot to clawed foot. Eris looked up from her book and smiled.
"I think Dysomnia likes you."
"Well, I think Dysomnia wants to tear the flesh from my body!" Blaise cried. "Why does the animal get its own seat anyway? Why isn't it caged?"
"She's almost like a real person." Pansy said without looking up as she wrote with her brand new pink feathered pen. "I've seen it."
"Thank you, Pansy." Eris nodded to the girl. Pansy looked up briefly to flash her a smile before returning to whatever she was doing. Blaise glared mutinously at both of them before shrinking away again when Dysomnia got a little too close. He whimpered.
"Isn't Draco going to take that seat? Where is he? Has anyone seen him?" Blaise asked. The three of them were waiting for Draco in a cabin on the train but no one had seen him pretty much all summer. Eris made a "thinking face" where she tilted her head to the side and looked at the ceiling.
"If I know him, and I believe I do, I'd say he is at a certain scarred faced Gryffindor's cabin running his snarky mouth to said Gryffindor and probably about to hex that same Gryffindor. In which all Gryffindors will ban together to overtake him in retribution." After she spoke the three friends looked at each other silently. Dysomnia settled down on her seat and looked expectantly at Eris. Sighing Eris started to get up from her seat. "Damn it. Let's go save him."
As the three filed out of the cabin and down the hallway they caught site of Draco. He was doing exactly what Eris had predicted. Just when they were almost upon him the train seemed to jolt. The lights went out and Eris felt an icy cold wind on her back. She slowly turned around and let out a strangled squeak at the sight behind her. Blaise quickly brushed her with his arm against the wall where he and Pansy were, pinning her there. Her head seemed to vibrate from the inside and she had an uncontrollable feeling that she had been running. She heard whispers in her ear that she couldn't understand and the desire to flee escalated. Panting hard, Eris managed to look at where the Dementor was heading. She saw Draco pressed against the wall as well as the creature entered into the cabin that had to be where Harry was. She knew what the Dementor was doing to Harry. She could feel it. Feel it as it enjoyed tormenting him.
"It's laughing at him…" Eris whispered and tears stung her eyes. She didn't know how she knew but she would sometimes get what the Dementor wanted. It was like a flickering understanding that brushed at her brain. She felt dirty.
Suddenly a brilliant silver light in the form of a sphere erupted from the cabin and the Dementor seemed to disappear. Eris clawed her way out of Blaise's embrace and struggled to get near the cabin. She could feel the tears as they fell down her face and she gasped desperately for air. Draco was suddenly crouched down by her in alarm. She didn't even remember falling.
"Is she alright?" A man's voice asked. Eris looked up to see a sandy haired man in old shabby clothes. In his eyes flickered a sense of recognition before he blinked it away. "Are you alright, dear?"
"What happened?" Eris asked. "Where is he?"
"That was a Dementor. It's gone now." Remus was confused. She meant the Dementor, didn't she? The girl made an impatient sound before breaking away from Draco and bursting past the teacher in a rush to see Harry. She was worried about Harry. Who was she? Remus Lupin felt a little odd around her.
Eris saw that Harry was out cold on the floor surrounded by his worried friends. She made a small gasp and they all looked up at her. With her eyes stinging and now drying tears staining her face, she was in no position to say anything so she slowly backed out of the room.
"He passed out? Bloody brilliant, that! Hilarious!" Draco was laughing behind her. Blaise and Pansy had also come up and were gently pulling her away from the Gryffindors.
"He'll be alright." The older man said gently to Eris and she blinked up at him. Did he not understand what the Dementor did to him? Eris felt the creature's glee. She could only guess how it felt to be on the hostile end.
"I suppose he will. Mr. ?"
"Professor Lupin. I am to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts." The man smiled. The recognition was back in his eyes. "You look familiar. What's your name?"
"Eris Snape. If you're to be a Professor at Hogwarts you might be in acquaintance with my father, Severus Snape." Professor Lupin's eyes widened in shock. "Though, I must say, I look more like my mother, Maelstra."
"Yes…" Lupin's eyes were shifting uncomfortably and it startled Eris. "I…went to school with both of your parents…"
"You knew my mother!?" Eris got excited. Not many people spoke of her mother. She had asked her father about her a couple of times but she figured it just brought him pain to bring her up because the answers were always tight and never deep. The Malfoy's never spoke of her other than a few superficial comments like Eris had her nose and mouth. She never got to speak of what she was like. She knew her mother was a Slytherin but other than a few school time photos, those were it.
"Yes, a bit. We didn't talk much and I haven't seen her since we graduated. Now you four should get back to your own cabins." Professor Lupin was brushing her off! That was definitely not on! The man look uncomfortable talking with her and Eris wondered why. She stared at him far longer than necessary just to let him know she knew his game. His eyes shifted around again and he coughed but turned around and re-entered the cabin. With the huff Eris finally turned toward her friends and went back down the hallway.
Remus Lupin was perturbed to say the least. He hadn't seen Severus Snape for quite some time, Maelstra for even longer than that. Snape had never mentioned a daughter or that he had finally married the sweet Maelstra. Of course, Severus would never see a reason to give Lupin anything besides a sneer. It was quite a curious development. He thought that Maelstra had disappeared before they had all graduated from Hogwarts. He'd had to talk with Headmaster Dumbledore immediately upon arrival. The Professor looked down at the groaning Harry Potter. No use thinking about his old enemy's daughter. Now he had to see about his old friend's son.
::
"What?" Eris gritted out. She was tired of her friends staring at her expectantly. She simply didn't want to talk about it.
"You seemed worried about Potter." Draco said lowly. His voice had certainly turned. He was taller if the way his long legs sprawled out in front of him as he sat on the bench was any indication. He looked just as tall as Blaise was and his hair had been left loose. It looked baby fine without all the gel he had used in the past.
"Not that it is any of your concern who I worry about but it's not what you think." Eris gave her pet Dysomnia a piece of leather. She was sitting on her lap now that Draco had stolen her seat. The snake hawk tore at the leather with gusto. "I'm glad to see you too, after almost the whole summer of no contact."
"I had things to do." Draco said bitterly and looked to the side. "You going to tell me why 'it's not was I think'?"
"I'll tell you when you remember you have no control over me." Eris spat and Dysomnia took to flapping her wings and making angry noises. Pansy and Blaise were wisely silent.
"If you weren't always making moon eyes at - !"
"I'm not making any eyes at anyone!"
"Well, why not!?"
"Uh…" Eris stopped her momentum of being angry and was forcefully shoved into being completely shocked. Draco's cheeks were red and his eyes were blazing. "What?"
"You never thought about anyone else but stupid Charlie Weasley and then when Saint Potter frolicked on the scene you were always somewhere around him!" Draco wasn't going to let this go.
"You're jealous." Eris' lips twitched. Blaise and Pansy immediately looked cheerful as they glanced back and forth between Draco and Eris. "I thought you liked Granger."
"I didn't! I Never!" Draco paled. The domineering attitude he thought he'd have with Eris was starting to disintegrate. How did she always manage to do that? "I just thought she was smart…OH! And I'm not jealous!"
All three of his friends (and he swore the freaking bird as well) started laughing. Draco glowered in his seat. Eris leaned over and patted him on the knee. She looked almost exactly like she always did. Draco would have in no other way.
"Don't worry. I'll give you plenty of attention this year." Eris smirked. "But this doesn't explain why you didn't contact me this summer. I'm terribly cross with you."
"I…My father had me doing a lot of things around the house. I was busy most of the time." Draco looked a bit distracted. He eyed the hawk as it glared at him. "So, what's her name?"
"The beast is called Dysomnia and she'll rip you to shreds if you look at her cross eyed!" Blaise wailed. Dysomnia clicked her beak at him and he yelped in alarm.
"How did you know it was a female?" Pansy asked.
"Only a female pet of Eris' could glare at me like Eris can." Draco smiled at Eris.
::
Hermione was anxious for the new school year. She was given the ability and privilege to use a very important magical device so that she could fully attain all knowledge she can. The Time Turner will be exciting to use. She couldn't wait! Professor McGonagall had made her promise not to tell anyone about it though. Not even to Ron and Harry. It was only because of her credentials that she was given permission anyway. Hermione wasn't going to let the Ministry down. She will prove she is completely capable of handling the responsibility. Hermione wasn't without temptation, however. She wanted to desperately use it to keep that Dementor away from Harry. Or to perhaps scrutinize the peculiar look Eris gave when she burst into their cabin after the Dementor left. There was no doubt that she had been crying. The evidence was painted clearly on her cheeks. However, it was the look of worry that had Hermione's mind working overtime. Was Eris worried about Harry? It would seem so and based on the Slytherin girl's history, it wasn't the first time she had tried to protect Harry from harm. What was the reason? It couldn't be as simple as a crush could it? Eris was anything but simple. What else was she involved in?
"I'm telling you. I think she likes me." Ron's voice cut into Hermione's thoughts. The two of them weren't really getting along since Hermione bought Crookshanks. She didn't blame the red haired boy that much. Her cat was a bit of a handful and it always seemed to want to go after Scabbers.
"Who likes who?" Hermione ventured to ask. Harry, who was shaking his head at Ron as if the other boy was crazy, turned toward her.
"Ron seems to think that Eris Snape fancies him." Harry had an amused smile on his face. Obviously he thought the whole idea was ludicrous. Hermione agreed. Granted the dark haired Slytherin looked at Ron from time to time but it was in a sort of quizzical analyzing way. Then she usually wrinkled her nose as if Ron didn't quite measure up to her expectations and looked away.
"I'm saying she does! She always looks at me. Did I tell you about first year? She was practically making kissy faces at me during flying lessons! Then in the cabin she was so worried about me she was practically crying. When she noticed it was you who was harmed, she backed away. No offense, Mate." Ron shook his head. "How long has she had this crush? Since first year?"
"Ron, I think you might be mistaken…" Hermione tried to sound as sympathetic as possible while Harry tried hard not to laugh. Harry had heard about Eris rushing into the cabin when he was out but he attributed it to her being affected by the Dementors as well. He'd watch her a bit afterward and had noticed she seemed withdrawn and in pain. She probably just had a headache but Harry wasn't going to leave it alone until he figured out all there is to know about Eris Snape.
"Well what do you know?" Ron huffed. Then Harry DID burst out laughing. "What are you laughing at?"
"I'm so sorry! I just don't think she has it in her to think about anyone along those lines. She seems too clinical and systematic." Harry shivered. "Like she doesn't think about anything but the task at hand."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. The teary brown eyes of the girl they were referring to flashed in her mind. Harry was wrong. There was more to Eris than a snobby Slytherin. She was pretty sure Harry knew it too but was putting on an act. She stared at Harry until he met her eyes. He blinked, pursed his lips and looked away to start joking with Ron again. Yeah, he knew something. Maybe if Hermione found out who her mother was, she'd learn more about Eris. She thought she over heard her say her mother's name was Maelstra. She went to school with Professor Lupin and Snape. If she went back into the school records she'll find more information. But where would she find the time in between all of her classes when she was going back in time to make them anyway?
"…and I'm sorry to note…" Dumbledore's voice cut through Hermione's thoughts and she was quickly ashamed that she had not been listening to the opening speech. Everyone was in the Great Hall getting ready to dig into the first dinner of the year and she was thinking about other things. "Dementors will be guarding the perimeter of Hogwarts. You need not fear if you keep to yourself and not do anything that will cause their attention to be on you. Dementors are not known for their forgiveness and mercy."
The hall erupted in nervous chatter and Dumbledore waited patiently. Hermione noticed that Harry had gone dangerously pale. On impulse, she swung her gaze toward the Slytherins and noticed that Eris had her head in her hands while Pansy Parkinson rubbed her back soothingly and turned to say something to Malfoy. Malfoy looked over to Eris, got up quickly and pushed Pansy away from the other girl. He then took over comforting Eris while Pansy stuck her tongue out at him and stole his drink.
"Now now!" Dumbledore's voice rose above the clatter and people started to calm down. "You all should be aware that there is a purpose to their guarding the school. A prisoner from Azkaban prison has escaped. It has been called for by the Ministry to put them here for your own safety. To protect you from Sirius Black."
"Can you Believe All of this to-do about that prisoner Black? The Ministry, my dad and mum, Professor McGonagall, Dementors in the school and Dumbledore is going all out over it! You ought to be careful, Harry, after all, isn't he after you?" Ron leaned over to speak to him as Dumbledore introduced Remus Lupin as the new DADA teacher.
"You worry too much. With all of these people worried about it I'm protected, if he gets through them then I'll handle it." Harry replied while clapping for Lupin. "Besides, haven't I faced Voldemort twice now? What can this Black do?"
"A whole lot, I've heard" Ron muttered.
"Dumbledore isn't too worried." Harry said confidently. "He didn't appear too happy to have Dementors in the area. Can't say I don't agree with him."
"And a new Professor but certainly not new to Hogwarts," Dumbledore continued proudly. "Professor Hagrid, the new Care of Magical Creatures class."
The Hall erupted in applause from the people who knew and loved the friendly giant. Hermione noticed that Eris looked like the most animated Slytherin. She was smiling broadly while the rest of the Slytherins stuck there noses up at a celebration of any kind. Hermione thought it peculiar that Eris could be so different from the rest of her house. She was like an enigma. The daughter of a biased potions teacher and a mysterious Slytherin, who disappeared from history. Hermione wanted to find out her story.
::
Eris walked by as she heard Draco taunting Harry about fainting in the face of a Dementor again. She didn't want to get involved in such squabbles anymore. Not only to keep up her appearances as someone not caring one bit about Harry or any other Gryffindor but she wouldn't participate in school yard bullying when larger problems were presenting themselves. The Dementors were going to stay at Hogwarts. Even now she could feel them mulling around. She knew exactly where each one was. It was unnerving because she knew that they were keeping tabs on where Harry was at all times.
After breakfast, Eris moved slowly in the direction of divination class. She felt like her nerves were on edge. As if her body might pull apart at any moment and flee in every direction. She didn't know how she could last an entire year with this feeling; with the Dementors so close to her.
"Are you going to be OK?" Pansy asked again. She had been checking up on Eris' condition ever since her reaction to the Dementors. It worried the other girl to see her best friend so distraught. Even after the incident, Eris had been walking around like a phantom.
"I'm fine, Pansy. I'm just tired is all it is." Eris answered tonelessly which caused Pansy to frown. Eris was ok, really, other than her mind buzzing with the misty intentions of the Dementors, questions without any answers and worrying. She was Worrying that she was worrying about Harry. When had everything shifted from Weasley to Harry?
"…and now. Let's have some tea!" Oh? Was Professor Trelawney talking this whole time? Eris blinked and looked around the class. Everyone was sitting in class. Cups of tea in front of them. Eris leaned over the rim of her cup to look inside. "Try to read the leftover tea leaves. They are very good for predictions."
"Eris, this is stupid." Pansy whispered to her as Professor Trelawney whisked around the room.
"Just drink your tea and make something up. I heard that's all it takes in this class." Eris calmly rose the cup to her lips and sipped her tea. It was sweet jasmine with rose just how she liked it. She wondered if it had been enchanted to be her favorite. "Enjoy this class for what it is. An easy grade."
"You, dear!" Trelawney's airy voice raised a pitch as she approached Eris. Her eyes were wide with awe behind her huge glasses. She reached out a thin fingered hand and touched Eris' chin lightly. She peered into Eris' eyes and clucked her tongue. "Pity you don't see it. Pity you don't know it. You could save yourself a lot of grief if you only knew how to use it."
"What are you talking about." Eris' eyes narrowed. Trelawney's fingers were cold.
"You have the gift, my sweet girl, but you shouldn't trust it sometimes." Trelawney looked remorse. "Oh, what tragedy awaits you!"
"Maybe if I'm allowed to finish my tea I could SEE it." Eris said sarcastically. This teacher was out of her badly dressed head.
"Oh you won't find your answers in tea. Not for the questions you ask." Trelawney said dismissively and she moved away. "The answers and questions are in your head but you mustn't think of them."
"I think its all in YOUR head." Eris muttered irritably and she took another sip of tea as her friends sniggered around her. Professor Trelawney didn't hear but instead opted for going toward Harry and Ron as they laughed at each others predictions. She peered into Harry's cup and wailed mournfully.
"Oh, dear Harry! How awful it is that you have a Grim in your cup!" Professor Trelawney's voice wobbled with emotion. Eris' attention shot away from her cup, still not finished, and toward Harry. A Grim?
"You mean a black churchyard dog? The ones seen as a death-omen?" Harry finished for her. Both Hermione and Professor Trelawney seemed taken back at Harry's knowledge.
"He has a book." Eris said without thinking. She was getting close to the end of her tea and was a bit bored. The leaves at the bottom were becoming visible. "He bought it on impulse. I believe the prediction is coming to fruition."
Everyone turned to stare at Eris in shock, including Harry. Trelawney just nodded as if she knew all along. Hermione furrowed her brows. Eris had a way of knowing things others didn't expect her to so that was completely explainable. It was just a coincidence, all of it. Hermione didn't believe in Divination.
"Yes, I'm afraid Harry has a death omen upon him." Trelawney shook her head as if Harry was already dead.
"That's to be expected for The-Boy-Who-Lived. I think his omen comes in two forms." Eris agreed lightly as she took her last sip of tea. She was just making this stuff up anyway but it was funny that everyone was taking it seriously. Eris peered over the cup lid into her tea as everyone whispered nervously to each other. Hermione rolled her eyes and Ron and Harry exchanged nervous glances. Draco and the rest of the Slytherins sniggered evilly but Eris heard none of these. Inside her cup she was staring at the tea leaves as they formed into huge chomping teeth. Eris hastily shoved the tea cup away and refused to look at it again.
::
Harry nervously tapped his wand against his desk in Transformation Class. The prediction of his death was getting to him. Not only that but Eris' as well. Didn't Trelawney say that she had the gift? Eris knew about the book. Eris also didn't seem all that surprised about his death omen. The fact that he had seen a big black dog and felt compelled to buy the book in the first place also leaned toward the prediction being true. Now Harry was beginning to worry about this Black fellow.
"Mr. Potter, do pay attention to my class." Professor McGonagall pursed her lips with annoyance as Harry jumped in surprise and looked sheepishly up at her.
"I'm sorry Professor McGonagall." Harry said.
"Harry got a negative prediction in Divination class." Ron blurted out. Harry started to feel his face grow hot as everyone in the class looked at him. Thankfully they had Transformation class with Hufflepuff and not Slytherin. No body was laughing at him and Eris wasn't making other predictions. Like how horribly he was going to die or something.
"Oh." Professor McGonagall smiled faintly. She wasn't really one to overindulge in humor but she was slightly amused. "I wouldn't put too much stock in those predictions, Harry, Professor Trelawney has a flair for the dramatic. I believe she makes predictions about at least one student's death each year. None of them have ever come true."
"What about Eris Snape?" Ron blurted again and Harry willed him to shut the hell up. Even though he was curious he didn't think a discussion on his probable death was anything a class needed to participate in.
"What about her?" McGonagall seemed to pin Ron with her gaze.
"Professor Trelawney said she had the gift." Ron explained a bit more meekly. "and she agreed with the prediction."
"Eris is a Slytherin." Some girl spoke up in the back. Harry saw that she was Hufflepuff. "She was probably just teasing."
"Yes." McGonagall's amusement increased. "Professor Snape, although a brilliant Potions master, isn't known for his Divination. Such gifts are usually passed down genetically. Eris is most likely not a seer."
"What about her mother?" Hermione spoke up and McGonagall should have known the bushy haired Gryffindor would try to cover all the bases. Eris didn't just appear out of thin air after all. McGonagall sighed.
"Maelstra was a brilliant girl. I can't think of any evidence that might point to her being a seer, though." Professor McGonagall pretended to think it over. "Oh, it was so long ago. She simply didn't stand out too much. Transferred in late, did her work and graduated. Hardly anything noteworthy."
Hermione thought McGonagall was a shit liar. She knew a lot about Maelstra but wasn't letting on. What is it about Eris' mother that is so mysterious? Professor Lupin certainly knew of her as well but wouldn't talk about it. Eris definitely didn't know a lot. That could only mean that even her father didn't speak to his daughter about her mother. What happened? Who was Maelstra? Hermione looked at Harry and saw that he had grown deathly pale.
"Did you just say Maelstra?" He asked. Hermione remembered that Harry was passed out the first time Eris' mother was mentioned.
"Yes…Eris' mother." Professor McGonagall looked cautiously at Harry. How much did the boy know? "Do you know of her?"
"I-I don't know. The name sounds familiar…" Harry looked completely confused. "No…I guess I'm mistaken."
Harry had thought he recognized the name but it was quickly fading. Like a dream…Like he had dreamt of her.
::
Eris waited with the rest of the students on the ground for Harry to return with Buckbeak. Such a wonderful creature, a Hippogriff. Beautiful and majestic, they positively demanded respect and awe. Eris was enamored the first time she saw them. She was amazed when Harry had taken to Buckbeak and vice versa. He seemed to really appreciate creatures. Eris couldn't wait for him to return. Perhaps Buckbeak will let her ride him too. She respected him so surely he wouldn't have any objections.
"They smell." Draco, standing beside Eris, said. Crabbe and Goyle laughed while Pansy and Blaise snorted. Eris frowned. Draco had been letting himself go full blow this year when it came to taunts and teasing. "What do you think Nott? You think they're worth bowing to?"
Theodore Nott, someone Eris found rather distasteful, was a willowy boy with shifty eyes. Eris found him staring at her one to many times for her liking but as of yet she remained pleasant with him. He was a smart kid but too quiet for her tastes. She supposed that he could be considered similar to her but she hoped she wasn't as creepy. Nott looked slowly at Draco before gazing back at the Hippogriffs.
"I don't bow to smelly things." He said simply. Many surrounding Slytherins roared with laughter. Eris was scowling before she noticed Theodore's eye on her. "What do you think, Eris?"
"I think you smell." Eris said and the Slytherins laughed harder. "You might fit in well with them. No need to bow to equals."
"Hey! He's coming back!" Pansy squealed, affectively distracting the confrontation about to form. Pansy knew Theodore Nott had a huge crush on Eris. Better the smaller girl didn't know it. If Eris did, then Nott would be hexed daily.
"Equals, huh?" Draco sneered as Harry landed and started talking animatedly to his friends about the ride. "That beast isn't equal to me. If you ask me, I think it is the one that needs to bow."
"Draco…" Eris warned. "Don't…"
"Now now, Eris." Draco mocked as he swaggered up to the Hippogriff. The creature looked affronted. "You said it yourself. There is no need to bow to equals and since I'm far better than a smelly beast I figure that it needs to bow to me."
"Oh, you bloody fool!" Eris yelled and started to rush toward the two when Buckbeak reeled up and trampled Draco angrily for his arrogance. Eris gasped and felled down to the ground in a deep bow close enough to the stomping hooves to get kicked herself. She heard Hagrid yell something behind her but she placed her head on the dirt and stretched her arms in front of her. "Please stop! I beg you!"
Buckbeak settled down, obviously taken back by her humble posture. Hagrid rushed in to see to Draco, who was moaning loudly. Eris stayed in her position until she felt Buckbeak's beak move her hair. She looked up and gazed into the noble beast's eyes. She looked around her to see everyone eying her with big shocked eyes. Eris slowly got up, her face flaming hot in embarrassment and turned to see how Draco was doing. Hagrid had picked up the boy, whose face was pinched in pain.
"I'm takin' 'im to the medical wing." Hagrid's face was grave. "You children stay 'ere."
"Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle…" Eris wasn't even looking at them and she certainly didn't trust herself to look at Draco. No matter how mangled he might have looked, she had never been as angry at him as she was at that moment. "Go see to him."
As Pansy and the two other Slytherins followed Hagrid to the hospital wing carrying an unconscious Draco, Eris was fuming. Still, nobody approached or addressed her. Not even Blaise. Suddenly Eris heaved a frustrated sigh, glared at everyone as if they were at fault for everything and stormed off into the woods. Blaise was thankful that they weren't near the edge of the Forbidden forest because he wasn't too sure she wouldn't have stormed in there. When she left, everyone turned to him like he could give them answers. He shrugged helplessly and shuffled his feet. To think he could explain someone like Eris to them! It was impossible.
"She certainly likes to surprise, doesn't she?" Harry said and turned to grin at his friends. "I think I can finally understand her if I think she's going to do something I can expect her to do the opposite."
"You know nothing, stupid Gryffindor." Theodore spat. "Her reasons are far above you. You don't even deserve to lick the ground she walks on!"
The three Gryffindors watched as the skinny Slytherin stormed off in the same direction as Eris. They exchanged looks that amounted to "who the hell was that?" before shrugging again. Blaise took this time to melt away from the crowd and return to the castle. He wasn't going to get into anymore of Eris' crazy relationships. Being unpredictable had its advantages, yes, but it also had its downfalls. Even as he made the promise to keep to himself he knew that he'd inevitably fall into Eris' allure once again. She was just too much fun.
::
"So, she wasn't at dinner either." Harry shrugged. "Who cares?"
Hermione bit her tongue to keep from saying 'you do.' She thought it wouldn't get the desired effect. She had noticed Harry peering over at the Slytherin table throughout the feast but didn't say anything. It wasn't like he would admit that he was worried about it. Eris had reacted to Buckbeak's attack in a completely different manner than what one would expect of a Slytherin. A Slytherin who was as friendly to Draco as she was couldn't just ignore her injured friend, could she? No, Hermione witnessed the dark haired girl throw herself on the ground like a house elf and beg the Hippogriff for mercy. People were still whispering about it. Afterward, Eris didn't even visit Draco in the hospital. As a matter of fact, no one had seen her since the incident. If her Slytherin friends knew the girl's whereabouts, they weren't talking. Hermione, judging by their puzzled vacant expressions, thought they hadn't a clue.
"You think that one boy knows?" Ron asked. They were walking to Hagrid's hut to see how he was doing. It was a very stressful first day as a Professor.
"Who? Theodore Nott?" Hermione thought that might be the case as well. The tall Slytherin seemed to speak as if he knew her well but Hermione had never seen Eris speak more than a few words to him. If anyone knew, it would be her closer friends, Blaise or Pansy.
"Is that his name?" Harry wrinkled his nose. "I don't like that kid, he seemed a bit too creepy even for Slytherin standards."
"And that's saying something!" Ron snorted out a laugh. Hermione rolled her eyes. There was no doubt that Theodore was infatuated with Eris. His eyes were constantly following her. Eris seemed to be oblivious to it but Hermione knew the other girl was smart as a tack. Did she know?
"Oy! What are you doin' out so late?" Hagrid's booming voice brought the three friends to a stop as they watched Hagrid stumble up to them. He was obviously upset an obviously drunk.
"We were going to check up on you and see how you were." Harry began before Hagrid raised his hands up in alarm.
"'arry! 'mione! Ron! You can't be goin' around the grounds at night!" Hagrid started ushering the three Gryffindors back toward the castle. It puzzled them that Hagrid would mention this rule now after so many times they had snuck to his hut before. Hermione was very bewildered. What was different this night? Was it that he was playing it safe as a Professor now by obeying the rules? Was it Sirius Black? Hermione looked up at the night sky and noticed the full moon. What was going on this year?
::
Eris limped through to the castle slowly. When she had stormed off during Care of Magical Creatures class she had wandered the school grounds for hours, effectively missing the rest of her classes and dinner. It was already late into the night and she was sure that she had missed curfew. She would have made it back sooner if she hadn't taken chase after that bloody creature.
Eris had seen the Grim skulking around the grounds. Instead of being afraid as she knew she should have been, she yelled at it. She remembered that the black beast jumped as if she had startled it out of a deep thought and peered over its shoulder at her. It had turned around slowly and took a couple of steps toward her before thinking about it and stopping. It was almost like the black dog knew her and walked to talk. Eris had asked what it was doing on school grounds and had demanded it leave at once. The beast almost appeared to be chuckling.
Eris heard a howl from somewhere in the forbidden forest that startled both the dog and her. The Black dog took a couple of steps toward the forbidden forest but stopped and looked at her again. By this time Eris was getting irritated so she started to get closer to the beast. She was also getting closer to the forbidden forest and another howl echoed from the wood. This time closer. The big black dog leapt in her way and bared its teeth menacingly at her in warning. Eris took out her wand and told the beast that she knew it was intelligent and that if it knew what was good for it that it would take itself away from Hogwarts and away from Harry. Immediately the dog's ears perked up and the two stared at each other for a bit before another howl, closer still, came from the forest. The dog shot away from the wood and back toward the castle. Eris took chase after it, throwing hexes.
Thinking back on it, and favoring one leg over the other, Eris thought that maybe she wasn't the smartest witch for chasing a Grim. It didn't seem like the creature was there to offer her any harm so it didn't occur to her to be afraid. However, if it had only wanted to, she was sure a grim could have killed her. The chomping teeth in her tea leaves flickered through her memory but it was too late now. The creature had run back to the castle entryway before jutting away almost randomly. It was then that Eris felt the Dementor approaching. She grabbed at her head as it buzzed and then tripped on a rock. The dog looked like it was going to come back but she yelled at it to go away. She knew that the Dementor was after the Grim but she didn't know why. She told it as much and it looked at her oddly for a moment before Eris picked up the rock she tripped on and threw it at the beast. It ran into the night. Eris sat on the stairs of the castle to catch her breath as she felt the Dementor return to its post. Sighing she entered the castle. Her mood was still dark. The walk didn't help and Eris was sure that she wasn't going to get much sleep that night. Perhaps Dysomnia would keep her company.
::
"When is Draco going to decide to come back to class?" Eris asked while she twiddled with the quill in her hand. She went to Madam Pomfrey's that next morning after twisting her ankle and Draco was still moaning and whining about the pain. She knew the fool was just fine but playing it up. How long was he going to keep this up?
"He'll be here today." Pansy said. "I heard he complained to his father about the incident."
"Idiot." Eris spat. Who knew what Lord Malfoy was going to do in retaliation?
"Eris…" A voice to her right said. Eris turned to see Theodore Nott. He was ringing his hands a bit and shifting his eyes around. "I had been meaning to speak with you. To see how you were."
"I'm fine, Theodore. Thank you for asking." Eris said politely and turned to Pansy again who was looking just a little bit sick.
"Um…I had tried to find you after you had run off but…" Theodore offered another attempt at a conversation but Eris interrupted.
"But I didn't want to be found so you couldn't." Eris smiled sweetly before turning once again toward Pansy.
Pansy noticed that Theodore was about to make another attempt but was once again interrupted when Draco rushed dramatically into the room, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle and bandaged heavily. Blaise strolled in a bit more lazily soon after. Professor Snape had Draco sit in the back and issued out orders to help Draco do the physical parts of his potions. Blaise took up his seat directly next to Eris effectively cutting off Nott's field of vision to Eris anyway.
"We're going to have to cut his ingredients and stir his cauldron, aren't we?" Blaise asked in dismay. He knew that Draco wouldn't trust such things to Crabbe and Goyle so the task was passed down to his other "friends".
"Not we, you." Eris answered simply. Blaise was expecting that.
"I could do it." Theodore offered helpfully. He knew that if he could get in good with Draco he'd get close to Eris. It didn't even occur to him that Draco was closer than he could ever be.
So class rolled by, with Draco sitting by idly by while Nott and another classmate did his work for him, Draco gossiped about getting Hagrid fired from his job for negligence. Nott seemed animated about the prospect and the two were very chummy. Harry was irritated and by the looks of it, so was Eris. Draco was so busy trying to make it seem like all Hagrid's fault that he had failed to thank Eris for saving him. Harry was sure that if she didn't react the way she did, that Draco would have had more wounds than he did. Harry thought that Eris acted more like a Gryffindor sometimes than a Slytherin. Then again, she was smart and studious enough to be a Ravenclaw. The only house she didn't appear to fit right into is Hufflepuff. It was just as well since the majority of Hufflepuffs were scared of her.
"I'm surprised you're still here, Potter." Draco exclaimed to Harry at one point. "I would have thought you'd either be killed by Black or off getting revenge on him."
Harry didn't have a clue what he was talking about. He knew that Sirius Black wanted to kill him but he wasn't sure why. He also wasn't sure why he'd want to seek revenge on Sirius. He chose to glare at Draco but otherwise ignore him.
"You're not scared are you?" Draco mocked and Theodore, Crabbe and Goyle laughed heartily. Harry rolled his eyes dramatically. Draco was irritating but wasn't worth the effort it takes to deal with him. Besides, he'd rather not indulge the twerp.
Draco turned to look at Eris, noting her frown. She was not amused. Draco decided to leave his mocking of Potter alone for a bit. It seemed as if Eris still had a soft spot for the Gryffindor. She had been backing off more and more lately but Draco could tell when she was unhappy. Right now, Eris was just short of blowing up. It just didn't make sense that she would want to help the scar head. What did he have that interested her? Was it the "Boy-Who-Lived" title? Didn't she say she was going to pay more attention to him this year? She didn't even visit him once while he was in the hospital wing! What did he do?
::
Hermione was very tired. Who knew time travel could be so taxing? It was also tiring to make excuse after excuse to her friends when they confronted her about where she's been and how she could take several classes at the same time. She had taken it upon herself to research Eris' mother as well so that was an added weight.
She didn't find much. Maelstra Grindel was an obscure figure. She transferred to Hogwarts from Durmstrang School during the time that Professor Snape, Professor Lupin and surprisingly Harry's parents were in third year. She also attended with Draco's parents as well. Coming from Durmstrang insured that she be placed in Slytherin House. Durmstrang students learned the dark arts. Hermione delved further and found out that Sirius Black, the dangerous criminal, had also attended Hogwarts during that same period. It was disconcerting to know that they had all been nothing more than students so long ago. It was only when she looked at old photos from the school year that she noticed something odd. For one, Maelstra looked almost exactly like Eris. The similarities were uncanny. There were some differences, though. Maelstra was smiling kindly and leaning her head on the shoulder of what appeared to be a young Snape. She certainly didn't look like a Slytherin nor did the moving photo act like one because she was sure the girl was blushing and giggling slightly. Eris would never do that. Despite her innocent face, Eris was almost always frowning or if she did smile it was sarcastic. Hermione sighed irritably. Why was she so interested in this? Maybe it was the mystery. Maelstra disappeared two weeks before graduation. She was never heard from again. She needed to be alive two more years after that to birth Eris. Where was she for two years? Where was she after? The official records state that she died in childbirth. Was it to be trusted?
"Ms. Granger." Hermione spun around in surprise. She was making her way to Professor Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts class after having traveled back in time after her Arithmancy class. Nobody was to know where she was or where she had just been. Well, no one except Headmaster Dumbledore apparently. He would know everything. "Ms. Granger, a word please."
Hermione followed Dumbledore to his office. She wondered what it is that he wanted to talk to her about.
