So hey guys. I was pretty bummed out about this next chapter. We had a power outage—thanks to a really bad storm—that knocked out my laptop and deleted part of this chapter. I stupidly had left the story up on my screen, unsaved, and forgot to come in my room and turn off my laptop when the power switched off. In conclusion, MacBooks, be it a Pro or not, shut off after about three hours time. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy.
I hope everyone else who is on spring break is doing well. If you aren't on spring break yet, well, I'm very sorry. But it will come soon enough!
Disclaimer: I am so excited. I finally reserved my Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at Borders! But I realized that I was not JK Rowling when the guy at the checkout asked me my name. Obviously, if I had written Harry Potter or owned any part of it, the guy would have known that my name was JK Rowling. So obviously, I am not JK Rowling, and so Harry Potter is not mine. Get it? Good.
Ps. Thank you Gryffindor777 for being so awesome! You always leave me nice comments and tips about for my fic. You are basically my favorite person on this website.
There was much excitement in the school after Lily had been made the Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Some of the excitement came from her own house: Many were happy that another Potter was placed on the team, because Potter spelled "excellence" and "superior quidditch skills" in there books. A few in the house—though a very small few—thought that perhaps Sirius would have let Lily on the team no matter what, simply because she was his little sister. Obviously, those people did not know how well Lily and Sirius got along: Not very well.
Other houses were sharing in the excitement. Naturally, the Slytherins began to pass rumors that Lily had only been placed on the team because she was Sirius' sister, and that Lily was truly awful. The only Slytherin who was happy for Lily was her cousin Connor, who whispered to Lily before Defense Against the Dark Arts class a few days after her tryout that he was happy for her.
The Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs were having mixed emotions. They would much rather not see another Potter on the Gryffindor team. The best flying since Harry Potter himself was seen when Sirius played, and thanks to his Seeking skills Gryffindor had yet to lose the House Cup. On the other hand, they did not mind Lily being on the team because Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs tended to get along fairly well with Gryffindors.
And so the news spread throughout the school. Lily, who was unused to any rumors about her, was surprisingly okay with Slytherins whispering about the reason she had been made Keeper.
Let them believe what they want she thought to herself as she passed a group of Slytherin girls containing Rayna Perfusus. They'll see that I'm just as good as Sirius, my mum, and my dad when I fly in the first match.
Also on the Slytherin list was Malfoy and his posse of menacing wannabe Death Eaters. Every time Lily passed Malfoy, he mimicked crying like a baby, or calling for Lily's dad. It drove Lily crazy, because she had no idea why he was doing this. Usually he couldn't keep his mouth shut, but it seemed as if he was not in a position to give Lily any clues.
Speaking of Lily's father, he was so overjoyed at his daughter being made Keeper that he had wanted to send her a broomstick. According to Lily's mother, Ginny Potter, her father had not known about the Lightener she had bought for her, but was only angry at the fact that he had not gone to pick it out himself.
But the best part of being made Keeper was Michael Chang. Michael happened to be the Seeker on the Ravenclaw team (Lin Chang was rumored to horrible at Seeking, and was apparently quite put out that she could not follow in her mother's footsteps) and was so happy for Lily's appointment that he sent her Singing Sousaflowers. These were delivered by a purple tinted owl from the very popular Lady Flora's Magical Flowers shop, and sang beautiful harmonies to a surprised but ecstatic Lily. Even more excited was Thomas, who highly approved the exclusive flowers. He dubbed them the "best quality singing flowers" he had ever seen, which meant a lot to Lily because she knew that Thomas shared the same love and knowledge for plants that his father did.
Ari, on the other hand, did not approve of the flowers. It turned out to be that Ari was allergic to singing sunflowers, and left the Great Hall that morning in a frenzy of spots, and sneezes that were oddly melodic. She spent most of History of Magic in the infirmary, and emerged stuffy-nosed and irritated at Michael Chang and his thoughtful gift.
Lily was in the best mood she had experienced at Hogwarts so far. There was the prospect of (officially) being Michael Chang's girlfriend; she had been made Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team; and her father wasn't even mad that Lily had kept her flying a secret from him.
The only thing that put a slight damper on Lily's spirits was the empty bed in her dormitory. Naturally, the prospect of failing potions this year did not make Lily any happier, but at least she could try and control her grade. The empty bed situation however was out of Lily's control. She had yet to stay awake long enough to see who had slept in Charlotte's old bed, and had yet to awake early enough to catch them.
"I think you should stop worrying about it," Ari sneezed. It was two days after the Singing Sunflowers incident and Ari was still suffering the side effects of her allergic reaction. Though Lily had given the flowers to Professor Sprout, Thomas had smuggled a Singing Sunflower from the bouquet to examine it. Just one little speck of pollen from the sunflowers had sent Ari into another whirl of sneezes.
"Are you not the least bit curious about our new roommate?" Lily asked incredulously, not looking up from the cap she was mending. Her favorite oversized knit beret in Gryffindor-scarlet had developed a large hole in it, and the weather was becoming chilly.
"Quite frankly, I'd be more concerned about your Potions grade," Thomas said nonchalantly. They were in the common room, and Thomas was strewn across his favorite comfy chair as if he were king of the room. "I mean, your grades in there have never been top notch, so I wouldn't get so distracted if I were you."
"Shut it!" Ari yelled at the same time as Lily.
"Ignore him," Ari said soothingly to Lily, while pointing her wand behind her and sending a jet of water at Thomas' face.
"Hey!" he sputtered, his arms flailing.
"I take back what I said. I don't want to agree with anything Thomas the Git has said," Ari said calmly as she put her wand away. "I am a bit curious, come to think of it."
"Excellent!" Lily said happily as she slapped hands with Ari.
"Are you kidding me? You're going to encourage—" Thomas was cut off by another jet of water from Ari's wand.
That night, Ari and Lily went to bed right after dinner to start on their homework. From eight until half past eleven, they sat in bed doing homework lit only by the soft glows emitting from their bed lamps and the nearly full moon outside.
"I'm glad you're awake," Lily said, looking up from her Potions book.
"It's not a problem," Ari grinned. "I can stay awake for the entire night! I just prefer to sleep. But really, I don't see what the big deal is. Honestly…I only said I'd do this because it made Thomas angry." Ari gave Lily a pathetic look and leaned forward in her direction. "Don't tell Thomas I told you this, but you really should be concentrating more on Potions. You can't let Vintigo win!"
"I'm trying!" Lily said angrily. "You don't understand. You have these easy calming and sleeping potions, while I have to attempt O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. level stuff! It would have been easier if I were old enough, or if I had…"
"The Half-Blood Prince's book?" Ari asked slyly. Lily had been told the story of the book, and she of course had told it to Ari.
"I wouldn't use that book even if I thought it could help me!" Lily said quickly. "I don't care that Snape turned out to be innocent, that book really got my dad into trouble!"
"But I thought you liked trouble," Ari leaned back against her pillows and folded her arms.
"Yeah, I do, but I would also prefer to start my own adventures, and not recreate my dad's sixth year here."
"Well, you really can't escape the fact that Harry Potter is your dad. Look who your enemy is: A Potions teacher, and Draco Malfoy's son! Look who your best friends are: Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegoods son, plus the daughter of one of your grandfather's best friends!"
"That just makes your dad sound really old," Lily chuckled.
"Well, he is, come to think of it…" Ari said thoughtfully. "But hey, my mum loved him, so age obviously isn't a problem."
"Look, it's midnight!" Lily pointed to the grandfather clock across the room that was beginning to chime midnight. "I never make it past midnight, make sure to wake me!"
"Not a…not a…prob…prob…problem," Ari yawned widely.
"Did you just yawn?" Lily asked quickly. Her eyelids were beginning to feel heavy.
"No, I was simp…simp…simply clearing my-ay-ay," Ari yawned again and rubbed her eyes. "Throat." Ari's head suddenly lolled onto her shoulder.
"Ari, no!" Lily scrambled out of bed and lunged with all of her strength at Ari's bed. But just as she reached the edge of Ari's bed, Lily fell to the ground. The life drained out of her body, and her limbs became weak and tired. As Lily lay on the wooden floorboards, her eyelids closing, she could have sworn that she saw a phoenix fly past the window yet again.
"Ouch…" Lily groaned. Sunlight was streaming through the window, and Lily had a gigantic headache. She raised her hand to her head and blearily opened her eyes. Beams of light and dust particles hit her face. The moment Lily had raised her hand she had hit a bed skirt and released dust from it.
She sat up stiffly. Not only was her head in pain, but also her back and limbs were aching.
"I can't believe I fell asleep on the floor!" Lily muttered to herself. Indeed, she was on the hard wooden floor next to Ari's bed. She pulled herself up and was given a small shock. Resting on Ari's pillows was a pair of feet.
"Ari!" Lily yanked the bedding off to reveal Ari's head at the foot of the bed.
"What's…huh?" Ari blinked open her eyes and looked up at Lily. "Morning Lily!" Ari sat up and looked questioningly at her friend. "What's with the lines on your face? You looked like you slept on the floor."
"I did sleep on the floor!" Lily snapped. "If I remember correctly, I was trying to stop you from falling asleep before me."
"Oh yeah…" Ari grinned. "I dunno what happened. I never get tired like that. I felt like I'd been hit by some kind of sleeping spell."
"Me too!" Lily suddenly felt more awake. "Why didn't I realize this before? I felt like I had been drugged, or hit over the head with a large mallet each time I tried to stay up past midnight."
"You know what this means?" Ari asked as she glanced over at Charlotte's old bed. Yet again, the sheets were twisted and used but there was no body in them. "Whoever is sleeping in here with us is using magic on us. But why would they do that?"
Lily was staring hard at the bed. "I don't know, but it's pretty obvious that whoever is in here with us doesn't want us to know." Lily remembered something. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Every time this happens, I keep thinking I see a phoenix flying around outside the window!"
"You're probably just hallucinating. I thought that I saw a giant Chocolate Frog hurtling towards me last night, but it must have been you trying to wake me up!" Ari giggled.
Lily shook her head. "I know I'm not hallucinating. Something weird is going on here, and I intend to get to the bottom of this. There's an easy solution, too." Lily grabbed her dressing gown and threw it on, then wrenched the door to their room open.
"Where are you going?" Ari asked, getting out of bed.
"To the Great Hall. It's still early," Lily pointed to Ellie Aria's and Lilac Finnegan's beds. Both were still sleeping. "Whoever is already in the Great Hall is up earlier than they have to be. Let's go see what Gryffindors are awake!"
Ari complained the whole way down to the Great Hall about being in her dressing gown, but Lily knew that they had no time to waste.
"You look fine!" Lily snapped when Ari said she wanted to turn around and change.
They burst through the doors and into the Great Hall. The staff table was completely empty, but the usual spread of breakfast foods were already on every table.
The Slytherin table was empty save for Connor Weasely, who was picking moodily at a piece of toast. At the Hufflepuff table, a group of fifth years were grumbling about a practice O.W.L. test over their porridge. Seated at the Ravenclaw table was a small group of sixth years had books propped against milk jugs. Each person had a fork in one hand and a quill in the other.
"Not again!" groaned one of them as they examined their quill. They had just dipped it into a bowl of potatoes and there was now one sticking off the end of the quill.
Much to Lily's delight, there were very few people at the Gryffindor table. Lily and Ari began to walk down the row next to the table. They dismissed the two second years whispering, a sleepy looking Tessa Oakes who smiled at Lily, and came up to Erick, who was reading The Daily Prophet.
"Good morning Erick! I haven't seen much of you this week," Lily greeted him apologetically.
"That's okay, I don't mind," he smiled and looked up from The Daily Prophet. A bemused expression came over his face. "What are you doing in your dressing gowns?"
"Oh…" Lily glanced down. Ari turned bright pink and pulled her gown tighter around her. "We're kinda in a hurry. Hey, you haven't seen any third year girls down here, have you?"
"Just Fiona," he jerked his thumb over at Fiona Featherstone, who was at the other end of the table. She wasn't eating, but was reading what looked like a very thick, very old book. "I've been here for awhile too. Where are you going?"
Lily and Ari had rushed off to Fiona. Breathlessly, they slid into the spaces on either side of Fiona.
"Good morning, Fiona," Ari lowered her eyebrows. "If that really is your name!"
"It is my name," Fiona said, puzzled. "Are you alright, Ari?"
"The question isn't if I'm alright. The question is if you are alright!" Ari slammed her fist down on the table.
"Ari, I'll take it over from here," Lily whispered and calmly pat Ari's fist. Ari crossed her arms and shot menacing looks at Fiona. Lily turned to Fiona and crossed her arms.
"So Fiona, I have not really gotten the chance to speak with you."
"You've been very busy. I saw what Professor Vintigo gave you in Potions." Fiona nodded her head understandingly.
"Yeah, well, that's no excuse," Lily said sweetly. "Although I haven't seen you around outside of classes and, of course, meals. With whom are you rooming? I would have thought you would be in my room, with the other third year Gryffindor girls."
Fiona gave Lily a strange look. "You do know you are in your dressing gown, right?"
"Don't try changing the subject!" Ari burst out. "We know what you've been doing!"
"What have I been doing?" Fiona asked calmly.
"Uh…" Ari glanced at Lily.
"Fiona, you've been putting some kind of sleeping spells on us and then sleeping in Charlotte's old bed," Lily equaled Fiona's cool tone.
Fiona laughed. "I have not been putting sleeping spells on you! But I have been sleeping in your dorm."
"How come we've never seen you?" Ari asked suspiciously.
"I cannot tell you much," Fiona said slowly. "All I can say is that it is crucial for me to not draw too much attention to myself."
"I think an empty bed that looks like it's been slept in every night draws a little attention," Lily couldn't help but smile.
"But only you and Ari have noticed," Fiona said quickly. "Obviously I have not drawn too much attention." She began twisting a piece of her magnificent hair around her finger and bit her lip.
"Look, I think this is kind of weird, but if you want us to keep it a secret we will," Ari said. "Just stop doing the weird sleeping thing." Ari winked at Fiona.
"I am afraid that you will continue to fall asleep at midnight if you are in the dormitory," Fiona said seriously.
"So you have been putting sleeping spells on us!" Ari exclaimed.
"I did not actually say that," Fiona picked up her book again. "I think the two of you had better go upstairs and change before the entire school gets here." Just as she said this, a large group of students came pouring into the Great Hall.
"What the—" Ari began, but Lily grabbed her and pulled her away.
"See you later, Fiona!" Lily called as she dragged Ari.
"That was weird. I'm not satisfied, she's not telling us everything!" Ari crossed her arms as she and Lily walked back upstairs. They darted behind a statue of Frida the Flouter as Michael Chang and a group of fourth year Ravenclaws walked past.
"Me too," whispered Lily. "But we're not going to find anything out if we keep hanging out in the dormitory at midnight. Our best bet would be to wait in the common room, but we can't do it tonight. We should wait until she least expects it."
The coast was clear, and Lily and Ari jumped out and started off quicker than before.
"Just wait until we tell Thomas," Ari rubbed her hands maliciously. "I can't wait to see his face when we tell him that not only did we find the person whose been sleeping in our dormitory, but the person happens to be his Fiona."
I know this was a shorter chapter than the others, but I needed to get this part out of the way as soon as possible. It is very crucial to the plot, and I had been planning on doing it earlier. Now the plot can finally start picking up pace!
I am way excited for the plot now. I hope you are enjoying it.
And as always, PLEASE COMMENT!