Unexpected Things
KeysCanHurt: Hahah! Gotta love Rosie :)) They're OC's =)) well... the dark-haired guy may or may not be someone you know :P I'm considering either a character of JK's or an OC. YESH. Dirk is the weirdest! :D
Guess Who!: Hurray for your happiness :P Yesh, Kronnywonny got all scawed.
MalfoyMaiden: 21) Whut the?! LOL xD 22) HAHAH! You won't believe how possible that is in real life =)) I know someone :)) Gotta give Rose credit for being the one to take action for once =))
crazy-wee-cat: Nope, sorry. The black-haired dude wasn't Harry. Lol, I'm proud of Rosie too xD Raph WAS being a bonehead that time, hahah! Thankies :D
mimimi213: Thanks :D
yellow 14: You ARE very observant. The answers to your questions and confrimation of your theories, unfortunately, won't be in this chapter, but they WILL be in the next one ;) Lol, Rose and Raph were tons of fun to write in that scene xD Thanks :)
Bottled Sunshine: Heheh, thanks :) Unfortunately, it's been more like chapter every other day :| But I'll try to keep up the everyday as much as I can :) Thanks a bunch! I'm glad I've caught your interest :D
TheMOE and tamara72: thanks fer adding this to yer Story Alert list :D
rentswwriter: Thankya for the Author Alert add and fave-ing Times of Change :D
Chapter Twenty-Three
A Memory
They were enjoying themselves, entertained by each other and excited by their hiking trip. A smile plastered on her face, she hurried after them since, being the youngest, shortest and the only girl, she lagged behind without meaning to.
Ignoring branches that tried to swat or claw her, she managed to catch up to them.
They were already making camp. Danny was gathering wood for their campfire while dad was pitching one of the tents. She asked how she could be of help. Dad told her to help Danny with the firewood.
When everything was ready, they gathered by the fire, roasting marshmallows.
"Dad?"
"Yes?"
"Why don't we ever see grandma and grandpa anymore?" She was curious. Ever since Danny started going to that magical school, their grandparents stopped visiting them and they stopped visiting their grandparents.
"It's because…" Dad looked uncomfortable and he avoided her eyes. Glancing at Danny, Dad sighed and then looked at her. "Because… erm…"
"Because they think I'm a freak, right?" Danny looked at her. "Because they think we're freaks."
"Not… I mean…"
"Is it because of Hogwarts?" she asked.
"Yes and no…" Dad paused and she waited for him to continue. "Your grandfather… has reason to dislike the magical world since he hasn't encountered a wizard or witch who hasn't pissed him off one way or another. Your grandmother… she doesn't really like the magical world… but she doesn't hate it as much as your grandpa does."
"Oh…"
It was sad.
Their grandparents were so much fun! And they always gave the best, most expensive presents. Grandma and grandpa did everything to make them happy. Now… they never saw them anymore…
"Dad…" Danny's voice was soft, curious but it sounded like he dreaded the answer too. "What do you think?"
"Hmm…" Dad was quiet for a while. "The owl and the letter surprised me. But… I think it's good. Magic… isn't bad. It took me years to realize that when I was a kid. But by now, I know that."
Danny grinned. "Thanks, dad."
Suddenly, her attention to the conversation slipped away since all her senses suddenly focused on something hidden among the trees. The easiest part to notice was the pair of glowing amber eyes. Then as she continued to stare, she could make out a figure that was definitely canine.
Were there wolves in this area?
The figure -possibly a wolf- moved closer. She could see it's shaggy grey fur; its massive white-ish paws; the huge build; and what scared her most- the long, pointed teeth. It terrified her!
Those horrifying eyes continued to stare at her, holding her in place.
The big paws moved, bringing the strange, gigantic wolf closer.
"Don't look at it! Don't make eye contact! Dominant dogs are challenged by eye contact! Same would go for wolves!"
Her brother's voice cut through her trance. The guy was a dog-lover who took after their Great-Aunt Marge. "Marigold, don't be scared. They can sense fear. Just take it easy, dad'll handle it."
Not be scared? How the hell was she supposed to do that?
Before she could yell a retort at her brother, the wolf moved speedily towards her, charging with bared teeth.
Instead of a yelled retort, a shriek of terror was what escaped her.
Reflexively, she put her arms in front of her when the wolf pounced.
Screams of pain filled the air as she felt daggers ripping open the flesh of her forearm, just beside the elbow. She struggled to free her arm from the wolf's grasp, but the beast was strong.
"Shit! I don't think that's a normal wolf!"
NOT A NORMAL WOLF?!
Her arm was being ripped out of her, and the wolf's oddness was all her brother could think about?
BANG!
A gunshot, maybe dad had taken action.
Marigold screamed again, trying to free her arm.
The teeth began to feel less sharp, less pointed, but the pain remained and the grip had not loosened. The pain was still there, and unbearable.
"LET GO OF ME! DON'T EAT ME, YOU MONSTER!"
"Marigold! Marigold, wake up!"
Her eyes snapped open.
She was on the floor in the Slytherin Common Room. She often slept on the sofa, since Renee's snoring irritated her in their room. Someone was on top of her, gripping her arm, and uncomfortably, the hand was clutching her scar.
When she was more aware of her surroundings, she realized that the Malfoy boy was pinning her down. "GET OFF ME, YOU PERVERT!"
He got off her and stood up, staring down at her.
"Next time, Al, YOU wake her up!"
Then she realized that he wasn't the only one. Potter and Weasley were here, as well as Goyle, who acted like some freaky overprotective older sister. She had enough of it from Danny, she didn't like Goyle doing it too. A few other Slytherins were staring at her too, a number of them she recognized as people interested in joining Dirk's club.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL STARING AT?" she shrieked at them, the humiliation making her furious.
Most of them backed away from her warily while a few went back to their dormitory rooms. Potter didn't move. He was eyeing her like the way Dirk Kron did, observing her like some frog she once studied when she attended Muggle school. "What do you want, Potter?" she spat.
Potter put his palms up and stepped back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare." Why did he always sound so… nice? Why would he want to be her friend? He probably pitied her. Marigold hated being pitied.
"You didn't answer the DAMN QUESTION! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?"
"I just want to talk to you!"
"Al, you really are too nice."
"Scorpy's right."
"You know that, don't you?"
Potter ignored Malfoy and the twins. "I wanna know what happened to you."
"Why do you care?" She glared at Goyle and the other people surrounding her. "Why do you all care? You don't, so leave me alone!"
That did it. Most of the spectators left. Goyle still stayed there.
"Georgia, I'll handle this." she heard Potter whisper to her.
"You sure?" Goyle asked.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Alright. Night, Al, Scorpius, Theo, Tom." She patted Potter's shoulder then left.
"Marigold," Potter crouched down next to her. Feeling uncomfortable, Marigold patted the wound on her arm, which wasn't as painful anymore, but still hurt slightly. She couldn't help feeling exposed and at their mercy, outnumbered and on the floor while three out of four of them were standing. "I care because I'm your cousin. We're family."
Marigold rolled here eyes. "Like I haven't heard that one from you before. It hasn't stopped irritating me." Even if antagonizing Potter wasn't such a good idea, Marigold just wasn't in a friendly mood.
"Marigold… are you hurt?"
Stroking her arm, Marigold snapped defensively. "NO!"
"Are you sure?"
"What's it to you?"
"I'm concerned. You kept screaming and touching your arm like it hurt or something, your roommates said that you've done that before in your sleep. Scorpius tried to wake you, you attacked him and fell off the sofa."
"Did I hurt him?"
"Yeah, thanks for the bruises and scratches."
Marigold answered smugly. "You're welcome!" She took pleasure in the fact that she had inflicted pain, her revenge for this humiliation.
"May I ask what you were dreaming about?"
She felt the smile fade from her face. Part of her wanted to talk about it, since he sounded sincerely concerned, and he was the first person to ever ask. No one ever asked what she dreamed about. Her roommates just snapped at her and told her to shut up. Renee as well as Sam Nott were really irritable when their sleep was interrupted. The other girl (Marigold didn't know her name) somehow managed to sleep through Marigold's noise. Kron was also really irritable when she awoke with screams.
But she wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of talking to Potter… the idea of opening up. "I don't want them to hear." she glared at Malfoy and the twins.
"Scorpius, Tom, Theo…" Potter looked at them. "Please?"
"Sure."
"We were getting bored anyway."
"Good luck with that."
The three left the Common Room.
Al waited for her to speak.
She looked like she was scared of sharing the events of her dream, but she also looked like she wanted to talk about it. Inwardly, he was getting excited. Finally, she was going to talk to him! He wanted to get to know the two cousins he didn't grow up with. Danny Dursley didn't want to talk, and often avoided them. Marigold had been the same, but with a lot more attitude.
A sigh escaped her. "Look." Slowly, with all her uncertainty and discomfort plain on her face and movement, she pulled the long sleeve of her shirt upwards, until it was rolled up above her elbow.
Al gasped and stared. The flesh on her arm looked like it had just barely healed and closed over a wound that might have nearly torn her arm off.
"I dreamt about how I got this."
"The werewolf gave it?"
She nodded. Al hid the shock he felt at how the hostility had left her. She spoke calmly… sadly. It wasn't the furious shriek she so often spoke with. "Dad thought that if he took me to a Muggle hospital… they'd cut off my arm. But Danny suspected that the wolf might have been a werewolf." A shiver rattled her as the memory filled her mind.
"It was dark, and confusing… and painful… urgh! That would be the worst night of my life!"
"So Uncle Dudley went to my dad for help?" The pieces were starting to fit and make sense.
"Yes. I woke up at St. Mungo's, and they told me that I'll be able to keep and use my arm, but there was permanent damage. At first, I thought they just meant a scar… then…" she closed her eyes and shivered again. Her eyes opened. "They explained the werewolf thing. I worried that it would get in the way of me going to Hogwarts, but McGonagall said that it wouldn't be the first time Hogwarts saw a werewolf student. Dad told Danny to make sure I wouldn't get into any trouble and that I always took my Wolfsbane, which I get from Madam Pomfrey at the start of every month."
A smug grin appeared on her face. "But since Danny annoys me when he gets all protective, I avoid him every full moon."
"But you're with Dirk Kron instead?" Al asked.
"Well… he isn't an annoyingly overprotective brother. But he is still annoying sometimes." Marigold rolled her eyes, and then laughed a short laugh. "But he has his uses."
"May I ask what those uses are?"
The aggression returned. "NO!"
"Then I'll respect your privacy."
"Erm…" Al could see his reaction surprised her, but she recovered quickly enough to say. "Good."
For this chapter, I showed more of Marigold, in the next one, it's Kron's turn to reveal a little bit of detail, but not nearly as much.