To Die For- Chapter Nine
The following Monday found Harry, Hermione, Christine, and the two youngest Weasley's rushing around the Burrow in last-minute search of long-misplaced belongings (Christine found it astounding how quickly and far her possessions had spread around the Weasley's home during the month she briefly spent there). Mrs. Weasley bustled frantically around the kitchen, preparing what would be their last meal from her until they returned for the Christmas holidays, muttering anxiously under her breath about being late.
The whole house was in a state of disaster in everyone's haste to get finished on time, and by the time everyone had situated around the Weasley's warm, packed kitchen, everyone looked worn, and rather out of breath. Exhausted already, they talked very little, and scarfed down their meals quickly- they were in a race against the clock, and, so far, they were not winning.
When they had finished eating, everyone donned their traveling cloaks and gathered in the living room, and performed final checks on their trunks, making sure that they hadn't forgotten anything, as they waited for the "guard" to appear. Already finished, or perhaps too exhausted to care about checking, Christine slumped on her trunk; she had already stayed up past midnight as it was, and they had all gotten up so early she might as well have not slept at all. Her eyelids seemed far too heavy to keep open and she considered rubbing her eyes before it occurred to her that she had make-up n. So, instead, she stood up and slowly paced, until gradually the guard began to appear.
The first to arrive was Mad-Eye Moody, and Christine was quite pleased with herself to see that the so-called deranged ex-auror had nothing to criticize her about. Next to show up was Hagrid, who greeted them all with a cheery hello and a bone-crushing hug, before going out to play with chickens, as he was far too tall to stand in the house. Not long after followed Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Mundungus Fletcher. Finally, the guard was completely assembled when Remus Lupin arrived and they were all about to exit when a loud popping resounded from outside, followed by an anxious, but none-the-less delighted cry of "Tonks!" from Hagrid.
"Oh for the love of all that is holy!" Remus groaned exasperatedly, raking his face with his hands. "She's going to be the death of herself, the baby, and ultimately me, I swear. I told her not to come!"
"Remus," Hermione chastised, rolling her eyes at his exasperation. "You really should try to be a bit more understanding of her position."
"And what would that be?" Remus asked, just as sarcastically; he could already hear the chickens in the front yard squawking and flapping about in panic as Tonks made her way across the front yard.
"Well, "Hermione said, in a tone that suggested that the answer were as simple as the fact that two plus two equals four. "She used to be one of the top guns, an extraordinary auror, and all of a sudden she can't afford risking being brave and valiant wrangling up Death Eaters. She's having a baby, and you're off saving the world every day, where the most exciting that her life gets is stuffing her mouth with crisps all day on the couch. She just wants to feel like she's important, you know?"
"That's not the point!" Remus said frustrated, "She's two weeks from her due-date. She can't just be going out and doing things like that. She'll hurt herself and the baby."
"Speak of the devil," Harry muttered just as Tonks waddled into the room, looking extremely unbalanced and extremely pregnant, and her stomach whacking the door so hard that it slammed against the wall, and she giggled, nearly tripping on the carpeting. Remus seized her quickly by the arms, and pulled her upright before she was able to fall, leading her over to the couch where he gently eased her down.
"Nymphadora! What are you doing here? I already told you you can't come! Its' too dangerous." Remus growled in his frustration; she glared back just as fiercely.
"And I already told you I don't care! I'm coming whether you like it or not, and I told you not to call me that!" She snapped angrily, her hair- which had just been a bright purple- flaring red in her anger, but then faded just as quickly. She reacquired her mellow cheery disposition before grinning at the rest of them with a chirpy, "'Allo, mates!" as though nothing had happened and they had not just witnessed a marital spat.
"You're not going, Tonks, and that's the end of discussion. " Remus said in a final, clipped tone. "You're staying here, and that's that."
"Make me." She snapped viscously, glowering at him, resonating heat and fury. It only took her a minute to understand what she said would mean to Remus, but it was too late for her to prepare herself.
"Expelliarmus." Remus chanted softly and Tonks's wand flew effortlessly from her robe pocket, sailing over to Remus, who caught it, and placed it on top of a high, out-of-reach shelf, before raising his own wand again, this time, aiming it at Tonks.
"Petrificus Totalus!" he muttered; Tonks's whole body snapped into a straight, rigid position, with her legs together, and her arms pinned to her side, before she slid off the couch and onto the floor on her back. Carefully, Remus scooped her up into his arms and laid her on the couch.
"Sorry, love, but I have to go now." Remus said sincerely, his expression apologetic, as he kissed her cheek and forehead gently. It was obvious that he did not enjoy having to resort to such extreme measures to merely protect her from herself. He summoned a portable DVD- a birthday gift to Mr. Weasley (who, for a wizard, displayed an odd fondness for muggles, or non-wizarding folk as they were called, and their strange contraptions) from Hermione the previous year-, still playing Sponge-bob Squarepants from when Mr. Weasley had been watching it earlier and set it on the table in front of Tonks so she could watch it.
Since Tonks was under the effects of the full-body-bind curse, she was only able to move her eyes, which glared glassily at Remus, her gaze full of betrayal and angry accusation. Had she been able to speak, Christine had the distinct impression that it would not be very nice. Everyone, even Hermione, turned to Remus, feeling sorry for him. Remus loved her more than her own life, and he was going to pay dearly when he returned for merely trying to protect her and the unborn baby.
Everyone bid Tonks farewell, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Christine all taking turns to hug her (Ginny shoving Christine surreptitiously to get to Tonks first). Afterward, they left the house, shutting the door behind them, and, with a sharp turn, and a swish of their cloaks, disapparated, just as they made it outside of the gates…
About an hour later, after saying goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the rest of the guard and getting their luggage situated, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Christine sat comfortably in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, watching the scenery fly past in the window and talking casually (Ginny had left to sit with her friends). Christine sat unusually still in her seat beside Harry, taciturn. She would occasionally nod and gave a vague, irrelevant reply when spoken to, but was otherwise unresponsive.
Are you alright?" Harry whispered in her ear, concerned. His hand twitched toward Christine's, and he grasped it, holding it gently in his own.
"I'm fine." She said nervously. "If being terrified and anxious can qualify as being fine." She looked at him slowly, her icy-blue eyes worried. "They're going to find out." She said. This is not really what was on her mind- she was not scared of the Slytherin's or Draco for that matter. Nor Crabbe and Goyle. She just wanted nothing to do with them. She hated them right now, and desired absolutely no contact. She really had grown quite fond and attached to her new friends; they made her feel safe, happy- normal.
That's all that mattered right now- her friends. The one's that protected for no reason other than the kindness of their hearts, despite everything they did and did not know about her and her family.
She'd spent the most of the previous night thinking about solutions to her conflict. She'd find a way to save to them all when the time would come that it would matter. She'd find a way to save Harry; to save herself from both death and the guilt and sorrow of killing someone she cared about and whom had defended her from the very start; to save his friends and family from the grief of his death, but most of all to save him.
"No, they can't. Remember?" Harry reminded her, gesturing to her reflection in the window- only it wasn't her reflection. Where Christine should have sat, beside Harry, sat a pretty girl with pixie-like features. She had pale skin, rosy cheeks, gold-flecked blue-green eyes, and straight, light brown hair that hung to the middle of her back. The girl's eyes widened in surprise, and Christine instinctively pulled at a strand of her real hair- long golden curls- and sighed in relief.
The enchantment had been Hermione's idea of course; and ingenious one at that. To anyone whom Christine did not consider to be a friend or family, she would appear to be a completely different person- the girl in her reflection, for instance; but if, say, Mrs., or Harry were to look at her, all they would see would be Christine, no different in appearance than she had been before the spell had taken effect.
However, there was a set-back that Hermione could not have foreseen. Draco and Christine were now connected in the most concrete way, whether she liked it or not. Also, she knew that, beneath the surface of her anger towards him, she still cared about him, though exactly how much, she wasn't sure. In the past few days she had been growing closer and more affectionate towards Harry than she could ever have dreamed possible. As for Crabbe and Goyle, she never loved them, pursay, but they were just too stupid to be held accountable for their decisions. They were like robots, almost- with Death Eaters for parents and friends they had been practically programmed to turn out the way they did. Regardless of what she knew they were and what they were capable of, she felt a smaller, more protective form of affection for them. Hogwarts and the rest of the wizarding world would see her as Shannon Brody, but Snape, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle would still know her to be Christine; she needn't worry about Snape, though- he understood her; he could be trusted.
"It's hard to get used to; I keep forgetting that only we can see me as myself." She said quietly, lowering her gaze to the floor. If only she had a normal family, if her parents hadn't joined the Death Eaters, perhaps she would be sitting here exactly as she was, but happy, unorphaned, and unburdened by guilt and potential death.
"Don't worry," Hermione said reassuringly, with a smile, "We'll help you remember. Besides, if you forget your new name you can just mutter something in French and pretend not to understand."
"Oh, yeah. That's right." Christine agreed- she hadn't thought of that. Putting on her poker-face, Christine grinned, and said. "Well maybe I should go practice with my new identity. I have to use the bathroom."
"Okay," Hermione said, looking relieved to see that she had made Christine feel a little better. "Now, what's your name, and why did you transfer?"
"My name is Shannon Brody, and I'm the daughter of Mrs. Weasley's illegitimate half-sister; my father left me when my mother was still pregnant with me, and my mother was tortured and murdered for information by the Death Eaters. The ministry tracked down my Aunt Molly, and she is now my legal guardian?" Christine said uncertainly. It was a lot to remember, and confusing to recite.
"Perfect," Hermione said with an encouraging smile. "Just don't forget."
"I won't," Christine promised before ducking out of the door and into the crowded hallway. At least she could be grateful for that- if Draco was hanging out with his friends in the hall, the crowd would make it less easy to spot her.
She hadn't actually intended to use the bathroom; she just wanted to take a small walk to cool down and blow off some steam. However, she decided, now that I'm here, I might as well go in so I can keep up appearances.
So she entered the small one-person bathroom and stood in front of the sink, looking at her- or rather, Shannon's- reflection in the cracked and scratched mirror. It was a strange thing- Christine knew that she was herself- with fair skin, dirty-blonde hair, and blue eyes, but the raven-haired beauty in the mirror looked so real that it was mind-boggling. She suddenly realized that if someone were to touch her hair it might be suspicious if they felt curly tendrils, rather than smooth, straight, shiny locks and made her a mental to stock-up on more Sleek-Easy potion.
She was sure that at least ten minutes had passed since she left the others by now, so, not wanting them to worry, she opened the door and felt her jaw drop.
"Oi, Chrissy!" Crabbe's low, powerful voice rumbled a small smile, or rather grimace it looked more like, turned up the corners of his mouth. He pulled into a one-armed, bone-crushing hug- her eyes popped open in shock; she had been caught off-guard.
"Cree-see?" Christine gasped her own nickname, quickly adapting the French accent she had learned to mimic from listening to her parents and the other students of Beauxbatons. Most people found it amusing that she kept an English accent when her parents' were so profoundly French, but she had been born and raised in Britain. Though she spoke French fluently, she found it an unnecessary hassle to speak it unless needed, and didn't accent unless actually speaking the language.
"Qui? Je ne parle pas anglais!" She spluttered in rapid-fire French, pushing him away and backing off slightly, hoping to keep the appearance of being alarmed. "Qui êtes-vous?"
"Huh?" Crabbe said, his large furry eyebrows scrunching together to form a unibrow, a crease wrinkling his forehead as he concentrated on thinking. "Christine! I didn't know you speak Italian!"
Christine almost smirked- almost. It would be one thing if she had been speaking Spanish and he confused it with Italian. But French? She could never stay mad at Crabbe and Goyle- they were just so dumb, they had always been the closest thing to having a sibling to her. But she couldn't be with them now- he was in Slytherin, and she had already been reserved a spot in Gryffindor- two rival houses.
Christine's gaze followed Crabbe's as his attention suddenly moved past her, farther down the hallway, although she already had a pretty good idea at what had distracted him. "Oi, Malfoy! Christine's here!" Crabbe bellowed in excitement.
Christine threw up her hood over her head and attempted to hurry away before Draco could get to them, but Crabbe grabbed her by the neck of her robes and effortlessly dragged her back. Draco approached with a broad grin, snatching off her hood.
"See! Told you she's here!" Crabbe said delightedly, looking quite pleased with himself. "Told you it was Christine!"
"No, Crabbe. That's actually not Christine- Christine had red hair remember? This girl is blonde." Draco said in his smooth, manipulative voice, lying without even breaking a sweat, a grin gracing his face.
Crabbe contorted his face in concentration, as he thought, trying to remember, and turning pink from the effort of it. Finally he said, in a more quiet, less excited tone, "Oh, yeah, I remember!"
"This is my new girlfriend- I told you about her, remember?" Draco continued, but suddenly broke off, looking at Christine expectantly.
"Shannon." Christine said flatly, obviously displeased, dropping the accent- Crabbe wouldn't notice the difference, he didn't pick up on small things like that. She glared angrily at the two of them, annoyed.
"Come on." She said through clenched teeth, opening the door to the bathroom, and walking in, and he followed in, shutting the door behind himself.
"Well this will be interesting," he said smugly, grinning as he slipped his arms around her waist, and lowering his face to kiss Christine, but she seized his face and pushed him away roughly.
"What the hell are you doing?" Christine snapped, shooting him a look that gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "if looks could kill".
"What does it look like?" Draco asked, still confused, "Are you mad at me? What did I do?" he reached for her hand, but she slapped it away impatiently.
"Don't touch me, okay." She said- it wasn't a request, it was an order. "Just leave me alone, alright? I don't want this anymore, we can't be together, get it?"
"Why not?" he demanded, losing his patience now as well, his cheeks flushing pink in his frustration.
"Think logically, Malfoy," Christine said coolly, and he flinched at her use of his surname. She moved towards the door, and he stood in her way. "You're a Slytherin, I'm in Gryffindor- think about it." She said. She was afraid to tell him that the real reason why she was dumping him was because she was falling for her victim and growing fond of the Weasley's, and the muggle-born Hermione Granger. Draco was rash, and when pushed too far could be dangerous.
"Finally satisfied, Draco moved aside and followed her into the hall. "I get it, now." He said mischievously, grinning. "This could be exciting, you know, dating a Gryffindor- like a game." He suddenly pulled her into his arms and kissed her, not hard and sloppy- soft, but some intimacy lingered.
"No, stop it, Draco," she begged, wriggling in his embrace to escape, but he held tighter, and she almost whimpered. "That's not what I meant." When he refused to relinquish his hold, she bit his shoulder hard, and he finally loosened his grip enough for her to move, swearing loudly. She started to walk way but he grabbed her again by the hand.
"I said don't touch me! Leave me alone!" She screamed. And, surprisingly, he did- though he did not release his grasp on her, it slackened slightly, his mouth curling into an arrogant smirk at something she couldn't see. She felt someone tug on her free hand and tuned to see Harry, Ron and Hermione on either side of him, all of whom had pointed their wands directly at Draco.
"Stay away form her," Harry growled, and Hermione gave him a disgusted look-Ron looked furious. "You don't get another warning." At first it looked as though Malfoy was about to come up with a witty retort, but Christine ripped her hand from him, biting her lip to stifle a whimper as she embraced Harry, and Draco was lost for words.
His mouth dropped open in shock and horror, arms limp at his sides, unable to move or speak. All he could do was watch as Christine left with Ron, Harry, and Hermione, both of which had slung a comforting arm around Christine. Before turning around the corner, she peeked over her shoulder for one last look at Draco's, shocked but composed face, her eyes glassy with unshed tears.
Christine and Draco were both different from each other in so many ways, in one way they were alike. She could see in his steely-grey eyes determination and fury, and knew that he was too stubborn to give up on her- he never would, that's just how he was. He always got what he wanted, and when he did not, he was relentless until he finally received it. Christine had always been the more guarded of them, she had learned at an early age that only the weak allowed themselves to be seen vulnerable, and only the powerful and strong-willed could survive in the world- petty emotions were mediocre. Thus, Christine was too stubborn to let him see her cry. She was much too dignified for that.
The rest of the ride went by much faster, and after a while, Christine lightened up. When the snack trolley came around, they pooled their money to buy a small mountain of every sweet and candy they had to offer. After they had consumed all or must their snacks, they entertained themselves by playing Exploding Snap.
When it came close to the time they would board off the Hogwarts Express, they pulled on their robes over their clothes. Finally, the train came to a stop, and they all left the Hogwarts Express, finding a carriage with Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom, both of which Christine took an instant liking to. It was quite pleasant- both Neville and Luna were equally friendly and inviting, and Christine wished she had tried to spend more time to get to know Luna at the wedding- she found her rather amusing.
When the carriages finally trundled to a stop, they hopped out, and only then was Christine able to fully see the greatness of the castle. "How does it compare to Beauxbatons?" Hermione mused, delighted by Christine's amazed expression.
Christine was in awe- she had seen Hogwarts in pictures of course, but they did no justice to the beautiful, massive castle. She enjoyed the brightly lit halls of the elegant palace that served as Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, but it was much too flamboyant and royal for her style.
Hogwarts had an alluring mysteriousness that Beauxbatons lacked, even the air crackled with magical energy, and it gave her the excitement of hidden secrets just waiting to be discovered. The walls were of pale stones, and hung with tapestries of the house-teams of Hogwarts- red for Gryffindor, blue for Ravenclaw, yellow for Hufflepuff, and green for Slytherin; marble and tiled floors, and rich carpeting. It was like walking into a medieval fairytale. "Cool." She breathed.
They led her into the entrance hall and she sub-consciously glanced to the table where all the Slytherin's sat, relieved, and yet somehow alarmed to see that Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle's seats were all vacant, before sitting with her friends at the Gryffindor table... After a few speeches and toast from the new Headmaster, Professor McGonagall, they dug in the for the annual Beginning of the Year feast and ate their hearts out, until even Christine thought her jeans felt a little tight around her waist. It was then that they made their way up the several flights of stairs, down the seventh-floor hallway, and gave the new password (Flabby Crabs) to the Fat Lady, they relaxed in the Gryffindor common room for a while, Christine trying to avoid stares, before deciding to retire for the evening.
Bidding Ron and Harry goodnight, and parting him with a kiss (causing yet another angry outburst from Ginny), she and Hermione ascended the flight of spiral steps to the seventh-year dorm. Warm, full, and sleepy from over-indulging in the delicious food, she exchanged night wishes with Hermione before climbing under the sheets in her bed, feeling peaceful and completely at ease. She knew that everything had just become much more dangerous, and that the conflict would only increase, but, lying in her warm, fluffy, four-poster bed in Gryffindor tower, surrounded by her friends and the strong, sturdy, protective stone walls of the castle, Christine couldn't remember a time when she ever felt more safe and happy.