Hi! I have finally finished Chapter Three of Do You Believe In Magic? (NAH REALLY?), and I hope you all enjoy it! I am elated at how many people are reading this and enjoying it, and I hope that everybody continues to do so!
Thanks again to nymphxdora who reviewed on my last chapter, and picked up on my mistakes again! You're amazing! I think all of you should go and check out her amazing story, "The Escapades of Teddy Lupin"! It's a really good story, and I can't wait for the next update myself!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The only thing I own is the plot, the OC's you will be introduced to throughout the story, and on occasion Oliver Wood, Fred and George Weasley, because they are just so hot! All known characters belong to the wonderful creator of the HP world, J.K. Rowling!
I awoke the next morning, my usual wavy, blonde, tameable hair, was knotted in ringlets and practically piled on the top of my head. I rubbed the sleep out of my baby blue eyes, which were still sore and puffy from crying last night. I opened my eyes to see near-transparent curtains, tinted with gold, a beautiful red duvet, with a gold intricate pattern on the bottom quarter. The pillows consisted of both red and gold, and they were so comfortable. I sat up and ran a hand through the owl's nest I called hair. I pulled back the gold curtains, threw back the duvet, and stepped out onto the cold, stone floor. I looked around to see four other beds, similar to the one I had just climbed out of around the edges of the room, all diagonally placed. There was a small fireplace in the centre of the room, and trunks at the end of each bed. Wardrobes littered the areas to the right hand side of each bed, and above each bed, there was a shelf carved into the stone of the wall. I wonder where I was. The room looked strange and unfamiliar, but for some really strange reason, I felt safe. I felt like I belonged.
"Sav!" I heard my voice, before I was tackled into a hug from each side. I pulled away from them, before I noticed it was Angelina and Alicia.
"Hey!" I cried, before giving them both another hug. "Umm, where are we?" I asked, my earlier confusion coming back into play.
"This is our dorm room! We're in the Gryffindor Tower! We were so worried when the Prefect brought you up here last night! But she said you were fine, just exhausted, so we put you straight in to your bed. We have separate dorms from the boys, and our staircase is charmed so the boys can't come up here. The common room is downstairs, but the bathrooms are the floor below the entrance to the common room. The entrance in is a painting of the Fat Lady, and the password," Alicia began before taking a breath, Angelina and I just stared in shock, as Alicia looked around, she leant in very close. "Is Braveheart." She finished, her voice had dropped to an immediate whisper.
"What did you do? Read every word in the Introductory Guide?" I asked sarcastically. Angelina giggled, but Alicia slapped my arm.
"By the way," Angelina started, with an amused grin on her face. "A guy was looking for you this morning. Gryffindor. Good looking." She winked the last part. I rolled my eyes, but grinned all the same.
"When's breakfast?" I asked, as my stomach let out a deep growl.
"About an hour. We already went and freshened up. You probably should as well! It looks like you've been playing Quidditch with your eyes closed!" Alicia laughed. I poked my tongue out at her in a childish manner, before grabbing my toiletries, my new school robes and my Gryffindor tie and turned to Angelina.
"Guide me?" I asked jokingly.
"Come on!" She laughed, as she tugged on my wrist. We walked out of our dorm, down an absolute ridiculous amount of stairs, and came to a beautifully decorated room, the same colours as our dorm room. There was another set of stairs, which I'm guessing went up into the boy's dorm, but my attention was completely diverted to the fact that we were walking towards a wall. Then suddenly, something swang out into the brightly lit hallway. Angelina tugged me out through the wall that had just appeared, and I just had a chance to take a glimpse of the portrait that smiled kindly at me. I smiled back, and threw a wave, before Angelina pulled me through a series of hallways. I tried to remember which way we were going but it wasn't easy. We went left, then right, down some stairs, and into an incredibly intricate bathroom. The tiles were a beautiful shade of cream, and light grey bricks made up the walls. The ceiling was incredibly high, with a complicated chandelier giving off an insane amount of light. A bath the size of my swimming pool times ten, was in the middle, with red tiles. Showers lined the eastern wall, also with red tiles, and there were even a few toilets and sinks littered around the other walls.
"Wow." I whispered, still in complete awe.
"I'll leave you here; you'll remember how to get back to the Common Room right?" She asked, as she laughed at my reaction.
"Yeah Angie. I should be fine." I smiled, as I started to walk toward the showers. I turned on the water, and started to change out of my pyjamas. I then stepped underneath the hot water, which instantly washed away all my worries, problems and fears, and before too long; I knew I would have to get out before I missed breakfast. I reluctantly stepped out of the blazing water, and changed into my uniform; I put the tie on, and tied it quickly, before throwing my Gryffindor cloak over the top. I brushed my teeth, and did my routine smile that I have been doing ever since I was little. Stupid, I know, but it helped. I brushed the nest that I called my hair, and in a few minutes it was finally back to being the wavy blonde locks that I was so used to. I pulled it back into a loose braid, and let it sit over my shoulder. I collected my things, and walked out of the bathroom, and down the hallway.
I walked up the stairs, then I turned left, then right and I came back up to the portrait that I had seen when Angelina was dragging me away. The Lady in the painting wore a very puffy and very pink dress with ruffles. The background in the painting looked to be an old vineyard in old England.
"Password?" She asked politely. Oh no. What was it that Alicia said?
I chewed on my lip thoughtfully, completely forgetting what Alicia had told me before. I looked up to the patiently waiting Lady.
"I'm sorry. I forgot." I looked down at my shoes in shame.
"I'm sorry dear. Without the password, I can't let you in. The portrait I reside in is charmed not to let anyone in without the password. You will have to wait until someone comes back from breakfast." She sighed sympathetically.
"Braveheart." A very thick Scottish accent said from behind me. Only him.
I turned around to be met by the chocolate brown eyes that made me melt every single second in a minute, every single minute in an hour, every single hour in a day, and every single day in a month. I think you get the picture.
"Oliver." I smiled, as I was generally happy to see him.
"Hey Sav. How are you?" He asked, as general concern laced his voice, probably from the events last night. I looked down at the shoes, and focused on the little spots on the marble stone floor.
"Yeah, I'm ok," I started, as I looked up at him through my naturally coal black lashes. "Thanks to you." I whispered. I swear he turned a bright shade of red, before he walked into the common room, me following shortly after him. It was only then I realised what he was wearing. Scarlet red and gold robes, with white pants, brown boots and leather protective gloves.
"Go up and get your books and stuff for first lesson, I'll meet you down here in a few minutes. I was going to go down and do some practice, but I didn't even make it to the pitch." He smiled, and I laughed. "I'll walk you down to the Great Hall." With that, Oliver walked up the stairs to his dormitory, and I walked up the stairs to mine. I pushed open the door I remembered walking out of, to see that my bed had been made, the fire that had been slowly burning this morning, had dulled into a pile of ash and embers. I looked at my timetable, which had been placed on the bedside table, and looked to see what I had first.
History of Magic, and Charms. I think Oliver might know more about this then I do. I grabbed the respected books for the lesson, a bunch of quills, an inkpot, and a bunch of parchment, and raced down the stairs, to see Oliver leaning casually against the wall, next to the stairs, dressed in his Gryffindor robes.
"About time!" He cried, he grabbed my hand, and laced his fingers through mine, before dragging us out into the hall. We went left and right, down stairs, and to be honest, I think I was getting dizzy. All I could hear were Oliver and I laughing, but I knew my face looked the shade of scarlet that represented Gryffindor at the sight of Oliver holding my hand.
We finally arrived at the doors that I recognised from the previous night. Oliver dropped my hand, and was about to push the doors open, when I gripped his hand in mine. He sent me a questioning glance, and I sent him a small, nervous smile, but he smiled reassuringly back at me. He pushed the doors to the Great Hall open, and I was thanking Merlin that the whole school were preoccupied with their breakfast, so they couldn't see my face turning a beet red.
Oliver walked me over to my friends, and let go of my hand. Angelina and Alicia raised their eyebrows in suspicion, but quickly dropped it when I glared at them. Oliver sat me down, and then sat down next to me.
"What do you have first?" He asked, as he brought out his timetable from his robes pocket.
"History of Magic, and Charms." I replied, as I shovelled eggs, bacon and toast onto my plate. "What about you?" I asked him, as I turned my attention away from the pile of yummy breakfast goodness sitting in front of me.
"I've got Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology." He smiled. I smiled back, as Fred and George walked in the Hall. Both twins sat down across from me, each pointing to their cheeks.
"Not today boys." I laughed as I winked. Both of them looked absolutely crest-fallen.
"You're no fun Miss Chambers." The one on the right said. But little did they know I knew who they were.
"Now, now Fred. What's the fun in that?" I winked again, as both of them looked shocked.
"How did you know?" George asked in disbelief.
"Well, Fred has a birthmark on the side of his neck. I noticed it last night, but I didn't say anything." I smiled. They both smiled as well, but they both stopped and looked over my shoulder in fright. I became confused and looked over my shoulder.
Standing behind me, was the one and only, Christian Chambers. My brother. I rolled my eyes, and turned back to my food, but I was shocked at what I heard afterwards.
"Get away from my baby sister, Wood." He practically spat with venom lacing his voice. I whipped my head around to see that Christian was really mad. Like super mad.
"Why should I Chambers? You hurt her! I have the right to comfort my friends." Wood retaliated with an equal amount of venom. My head snapped towards Oliver, as I looked at him in disbelief. What was going on?
"I won't tell you again." He growled. His hands were clenched into fists at his side, and his body was shaking. I looked at Oliver to see his reaction.
"So what? While you were prancing around with my sister, I didn't say anything to you. So why can't I be friends with Sav?" He asked. By now, the whole Great Hall was looking at us.
"Oliver." I whispered, as I sensed everyone's attention.
"You do not have the right to call her Sav!" He yelled, as he began to tower over Oliver, who had stood up during that sentence. I saw red.
I shot up out of my seat, and got between Oliver and Christian.
"At least he's honest Christian. At least he tells me what he does! At least he believes in honesty! How dare you say he doesn't have the right to call me by my name? How dare you think you can protect me after all those years that you didn't once say you knew anything about who I was!? If anyone doesn't have the right to call me by my name that would be you." I spat. What was happening to us? I saw hurt cross Christian's face, as he tried to gather me up in my arms.
"Savan-" He started, but I cut him off.
"Save it Christian. I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses." I turned back to the Gryffindor table, and sat down, bringing Oliver with me.
"Christian!" I heard a Scottish voice yell. At first I thought it was Oliver, but he hadn't said anything. I turned around to see a beautiful girl, which was the epitome of beauty. She had pale, fair skin, green eyes that could rival the emerald hills surrounding Hogwarts, and stunning auburn red hair that fell down her back in loose ringlets.
"Five points from Ravenclaw for starting a scene." She said sternly. Could she do that? Oliver must have sensed my confusion, because he leaned over and whispered to me.
"She's a prefect; she can deduct points from any house. Prefects are chosen to see things that teachers don't." I nodded in understanding, before turning my attention back to the girl.
"As for you Oliver," she began, and I saw Oliver tense beside me. She walked over to us slowly, and wrapped her arm around his shoulders from behind. "As much as I love my baby brother standing up for me, I don't need you to. Five points from Gryffindor, for retaliating." She whispered. She planted a kiss on his cheek, and walked over to the rest of the fifth years.
"Ew, Eleanor!" Oliver cried, as he wiped his cheek, in a futile effort to get rid of the pink lip-gloss that now stained his cheek.
"Who was that?" I asked, as she sat down next to Percy, as she smiled and laughed with the rest of her friends.
"My sister, Eleanor. She used to be with your brother, but they broke up not long after they started dating because of Eleanor's dedication to her O.W.L.s. She wants to become a Healer at St. Mungo's." He finished, as he finished his attempt at getting the lip-gloss off his now red cheeks.
"I wish I had a sister. Someone to talk to about sappy romance novels, and feelings." I whispered, as I turned away from Oliver, so as not to let him see my red cheeks.
"I'm sure she'd be more than willing to be your substitute sister." I heard him whisper in my ear.
When we finished eating breakfast, Oliver took my book-bag as well as his.
"You don't need to do that." I laughed, as he then pulled me up from my position of sitting on the wooden bench.
"That's what friends do." He smiled, as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders in an almost protective manner. I could swear I heard somebody growl from behind me, but to be honest, right now I was too happy to care.
Oliver and I walked to my History of Magic classroom, and when we got to the door, he handed me back my book-bag.
"A word of advice, Professor Binns doesn't like being reminded he's a ghost, so try to keep the staring to a minimum. He's got a real monotone voice, so try not to fall asleep, he finds it very offensive." Oliver laughed, as he picked a piece of stray hair off my shoulder.
"Thanks Oliver," I started, as I surprised both myself and him, by wrapping my arms around his waist. He slowly wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and rested his head on top of mine. I could hear his heartbeat. It was soft, but fast. "For everything." I finished, as I pulled away, before walking into the classroom. I turned around at the door and waved him goodbye, before finding my seat next to Angelina and Alicia.
"Who was that!?" Angelina asked, as I sat down, and placed my book-bag on the desk.
"His name is Oliver Wood." I shrugged nonchalantly, as if it didn't really matter, but of course he did.
"He's hot!" Angelina whispered, as she tried to peak her head around the door, to catch a lasting glimpse at Oliver.
"Yeah, I guess." I whispered, trying to shrug off the growing feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"YOU GUESS?" Angelina asked in absolute disbelief.
"Yeah?" I answered, but still making it a question.
"He's got eyes for you Sivvy." Alicia wiggled her eyebrows in a suggestive way.
"He does not!" I laughed defensively, but couldn't help but laugh even more when she kept wiggling her eyebrows.
"Come on Sav! It's obvious!" Angelina nudged me in the side. I had instantly hit it off with the girls, but honestly, they were a little over the top sometimes.
"Oliver doesn't like me. We're just friends." I replied, as I tried to tune into the ghost, which had startled most of us by floating through a solid stone wall.
"Good morning everyone! I am Professor Binns, your History of Magic teacher! I hope you are willing to learn about the History of this magical and incredible world!" The professor grinned, and I instantly took out some parchment, a quill and my ink pot, before turning to the blackboard which was being covered in noted by our floating professor.
I felt something being slid in front of me and looked down. I didn't recognise the handwriting, obviously because I had only been here for a day! So I looked around, to see Fred staring at me, with a smile on his face.
Hey Savy-Pie. What's going on with you and Wood? ;)
Absolutely nothing! We're just friends.
Could have fooled me.
Why are you getting so defensive?
He's just using you Savy-Pie.
I think I would know if somebody was using me Fred. Why are you so against Oliver anyway?
Savannah. He's not the guy for you.
And you are?
No, I only meant that you should settle for someone else. Someone you know better.
I'm not going to "settle" for Oliver. We're just friends. Which is less than what I can say for you.
Sav…
Don't. I don't want to hear it.
Now I was in a permanent cranky mood. How dare he say that!? Oliver was a nice enough guy, and I knew it! I didn't believe he was using me, and I didn't believe that he would use anyone. But I knew one thing for sure, I was not going to stand around and let Fred say something about my friends! I sat, silently fuming, while Angelina and Alicia had poked me, and prodded me, and annoyed me until I finally gave in and gave them the note. We walked out of History of Magic, with Angelina and Alicia still fuming over the note.
"He has no right to tell you what's good for you! Oliver seems like a nice guy!" She defended him.
"Who's a nice guy?" I heard from behind me. I turned around to see Oliver.
"No-one." I said quickly. I shot Angelina and Alicia a warning glare, and turned back to Oliver. He didn't look convinced, but he dropped the subject. For now.
"What do you have after Charms?" He asked, as he took my book-bag from my hands. I took my own timetable from my robe pockets, and unfolded it and looked to lines three and four.
"Transfiguration and Potions." I replied, as I looked back to Oliver. He grimaced at the mention of Potions.
"Aw, you poor, beautiful soul!" He cried gently, as he pulled me underneath his arm, as he had wrapped it around my shoulders. "Let's get you to Charms." He whispered, as he laughed slightly at the red blush that graced my cheeks.
Angelina and Alicia shot me a knowing look, but I ignored it with a passion.
"What do you have next?" I asked to get the attention off of me for a change.
"Well, I have Herbology now, then Defence Against the Dark Arts, then Transfiguration." He replied, as he smiled down to me. I saw Christian out of the corner of my eye, as he glared at Oliver, and I thought it only fair to glare back. His eyes radiated hurt, but I didn't care. Just to annoy him more, I wrapped my spare arm around Oliver's waist. He jumped and then laughed.
I must have looked confused, because he turned to me and smiled.
"Ticklish." He whispered. I laughed and smiled. Nobody had made me laugh and smile as much as he had in the past hour. Never.
"You just surrendered yourself to tickling competitions." I smiled with a wink.
"If it's you, I wouldn't mind." He smiled again, as he winked back. I felt myself going red, but I still tossed my head back in a laugh.
We stopped outside of a classroom, and he looked directly at me, completely ignoring Angelina and Alicia.
"I'll see you later." He whispered with a discreet wink, and he hugged me slightly before giving me my book-bag again.
I returned the hug, before taking my book-bag, and walking into Charms, completely ignoring the "cuties" comments I was getting from Angie and Alicia. I saw a small man with a white beard, and sparkling eyes standing on the top of a pile of books, smiling and directing the rest of the class to their seats. We shared this class with all the other houses. It was fun! You know, while it lasted.
"A wizard's most useful skill is levitation. You swish your wand, but not too stiff, and not too much flourishing of your wands, and then flick it quickly, but not harshly. So swish, and flick!" He cried, in a high-pitched, squeaky voice.
"Swish and flick!" The class replied, as we did the motions with our wands.
"And now, for the pronunciation. Wingardium Leviosa. Without your wands please." He then indicated for us to say it.
"Wingardium Leviosa." I replied, as I placed my wand on the table. I didn't want to accidentally levitate anything.
"Now with your wands. Remember to speak clearly, and feel the connection between you and your wand. Now do you all have your feathers?" He asked, as one of the Ravenclaw girls held hers up in the air. "Very good. Now, Wingardium Leviosa."
I picked up my wand, and started the swish and flick motion.
"Wingardium Leviosa." I said. Nothing happened. I looked at the feather, and thought to myself. I needed to feel the connection. I needed to feel something in order to connect to my wand. Happy memories?
"Wingardium Leviosa." I heard Angie say from next to me. I cast a quick look in her direction, only to see that she wasn't having any luck with her feather either.
"Wingardium Leviosa." I repeated, but still the feather didn't even budge. I glared at it in frustration, but I knew that there was no point in staring at it. It wouldn't fly up on its own. Some of the other students were having at least some success with making their feathers dance around the table.
I looked at the feather and focused. I closed my eyes, took a deep breathe, and remember instantly about Oliver. The way he smelt of wood, ironically, the forest and the salt in the air by the sea. I remembered him standing up for me this morning against Christian, and his comforting words last night in the tower. I remembered the small wink that he gave me before Charms, and how nice it was for him to walk me to class. I opened my eyes and focused on the feather.
"Wingardium Leviosa." I cried, but I nearly jumped out of my seat in shock and happiness, as the feather began to float off the desk.
"Congratulations Miss Chambers! What a wonderful charm! You've done well! Very well indeed! Five points to Gryffindor!" Professor Flitwick cried, as I turned to Angie and Alicia who were both jumping up and down. I guess my excitement was contagious. The Ravenclaw's looked mad, but the other Gryffindor's were jumping up and down as well.
It wasn't long before Charms was finished, and Angie, Alicia and I walked out the door and into the hallway, which was quickly becoming crowded. I saw Oliver leaning against the wall, but when he spotted me, he pushed himself off the wall and walked over to me.
"You look happy." He said, as he took my book-bag from me again. I might as well just start handing it to him. I don't think he'll stop taking it.
"I did it! I learnt the Levitation charm! Then I got five points for Gryffindor for doing it so well!" I cried, as I practically flung my arms around his mid-section. I heard a few cat calls from some of the older students, but to be honest, I didn't want to bother myself with saying the same thing I've been saying all day.
"Gee Wood! Didn't know you were so cozy with a first year!" A voice cried from down the hall. I felt Oliver tense around me, and feeling the change, I instantly pulled away.
"Ollie?" I asked him, but his focus was completely away from mine, and focused on a boy walking down the hall wearing a green and silver tie. He reached us, and took my spare hand that had fallen away from Oliver, and kissed the back of it. I shuddered in complete disgust as he smiled a creepy smile.
"Marcus Flint. Slytherin. Pleasure to meet you." I knew it wasn't, because I could definitely hear the meaning behind those words.
"Savannah Chambers. Gryffindor." I finished, as I turned back to Oliver.
"So tell me, Savannah. Do you prefer top or bottom?" He asked, as he sent me a sly wink. I might be eleven, but I knew what he was insinuating. Especially by the way Oliver tensed even more.
"Sorry Flint, but I don't have a bunk bed." I smiled a sickly sweet smile, as I turned back to Oliver, to drag him away from the creep. I could hear people going, 'oh!', which practically meant that he had been burnt by a first year Gryffindor. He wasn't going to live that one down anytime soon. Oliver dragged me away, before he burst into laughter. He actually had to lean against a wall, to keep himself from falling onto the floor.
"Oh Merlin! You're amazing." Oliver cried, as he wiped tears away from the corners of his eyes.
"Come on, I have to get to Transfiguration." I laughed. He just took my hand, and dragged me to another classroom, but I could only bet that it was going to be severely boring!
I got to the classroom to discover that I was just in time. I filed in with the rest of the students, before sitting next to Fred, as Angie and Alicia had ditched me, to sit together. I glared at him, and ignored him for the whole lesson. He tried to get my attention, to apologise, but I didn't want to hear his apologies. If he had a problem with Oliver, he had a problem with me.
It was a long fifty minutes before Transfiguration ended, and to be honest I was glad. I practically stormed out, and into Oliver's waiting arms. He just let me stand there for a few minutes, while he rested his chin on the top of my head.
"Don't worry, Vannah. The first day is always the worst." He comforted. He then tried to drag me away, but I grumbled a response. I heard him chuckle, and felt his chest rumble with laughter. "Come on Vannah, we have to go. You have Potions, with Professor Snape now. He doesn't like Gryffindor's, so you might want to get a move on." He whispered, as he took my hand. I held my book-bag out to him and he chuckled lightly. "How did you know I was going to grab this?" He asked. I shrugged.
"You had that look in your eye?" I offered, as I smiled. We both walked down to the dungeons, which were smelly, dark, cold and disgusting and to the Potions room. Students were still standing out the front, so I'm guessing we were early.
"I'll see you at lunch Vannah. Try and have some sort of fun." He whispered and winked, as he walked away from me to go to his last class before lunch. I took a deep breath and walked into the classroom, where cauldrons bubbled, and it stunk of rotten ingredients.
"There will be no foolish wand-waving in this class. I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. But I can teach you how to make a living draught of death. Potions is a tough and demanding subject. Work hard and maybe, though I doubt you will, achieve." He said in a bored, monotone voice. I swear, this is even more boring than Muggle school.
I walked out, and nearly collapsed next to Angie and Alicia. I opened my mouth to say something, but I was interrupted by Professor McGonagall, and Percy, who was one of the Gryffindor prefects.
"You might want to come quickly Miss Chambers. Your brother is in the Hospital Wing." At that last sentence, nothing else in the world could bother me. I practically dropped my book back, on Alicia's toe, which she cried out at, and raced after Percy, who was more than happy to lead me. I passed Oliver, who yelled out to me, but I didn't even hear what he said.
Christian might be an idiot, and he might be a lying, deceitful little git. But he was still my brother, and I still love him. The doors to the Hospital Wing were shoved open, and I collapsed into the floor in shock.
"Christian?" I asked, as my voice broke. It came out more like a whisper, like nothing at all. That's all I remembered before everything went black.