Disclaimer: The song "Minstrel Hall" belongs to Ritchie Blackmore.
A/N: I was forced to visit Malta with some of my classmates – that's my excuse for neglecting my updates. I hope you'll forgive me because I can assure you the trip was not nice at all. If you have a chance, listen to any version of the song "Greensleeves" or Stratovarius' "Visions"-LP. It will get you into the right mood for this chapter.
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4. Encounters
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Armies have conquered and fallen in the end
Kingdoms have risen, then buried by sand
The earth is our mother, she gives and she takes
She puts us to sleep and in her light we'll awake
We're part of a story, part of a tale
We're all on this journey, no one's to stay
Where ever it's going
What is the way?
"Never-Ending Story" by Within Temptation
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Where have you gone, my beautiful one?
I have been searching for you, looking everywhere to find you, to steal a glimpse of your perfect golden tresses, a whiff of your heavenly scent. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find you. Somehow you managed to slip away.
I couldn't even detect you with the help of dark magic. A powerful spell shelters you from me and the knowledge that I may never see you again drives me insane! How can you do that to me? You are so kind to everyone but you never recognized the pain I am in. You never even looked at me. No, the smile on your face was only directed at those worthless creatures that could never understand you.
I am the only one who understands. And as soon as I find you I will show you what you have been missing all the time. I'll be the one to keep you warm at night. I will shelter you from the rest if the world and keep your beauty only for my eyes to see.
I have never felt more alive than in the moments when I was watching you and now I cannot even do that.
But no matter how long it takes to discover where you are – be sure I will find you, my love. And then we will be together, for all eternity.
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The journey to Hogwarts had been surprisingly uneventful. Candice had expected it to be much worse than it had actually been. Although she was pretty sure that she would avoid any kind of broom in the future, riding one with Sirius hadn't been as painful and terrifying as she had remembered it from the past.
They'd been flying for some hours when Candice had first seen the outlines of a huge castle in the distance. Some minutes later she felt a faint tingling sensation and she knew that they had passed Hogwart's first security ward. There would be six other wards until they'd reach the castle.
From the distance Hogwarts looked threatening and very old. But the closer they got to the building, the less ominous it appeared to be. With a smile on her face she had noticed the large forest that surrounded the school grounds. It would be interesting to find out which secrets it held.
After landing on the inner courtyard of the castle she told Sirius goodbye and nodded in the direction of the other wizards. There was no need to be overly friendly with them.
"I will miss you, you know?" she had told the dark-haired man who had become her friend in the short time they'd spend together.
"I have a feeling you won't have enough time to miss me," he had said mysteriously before disappearing into the air.
Albus Dumbledore had left her in the care of an old woman who he'd called 'Minerva'. She'd introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor. Candice's first impression had been that she was a strict teacher but had a nice personality. She had only looked at her strangely for about two seconds, before regaining her composure. As she showed Candice the way to her room, her voice held no hostility.
The interior of the castle was… well, different. She couldn't possibly find suiting words to express her first impressions of this place. It was like nothing she had ever seen or experienced. Just like Black Manor there were pictures that moved and communicated with each other. What scared her most were the moving staircases… and the fact that the castle was colossal. She feared she would get lost in the endless corridors if she wasn't careful.
Candice had been glad when they'd reached their destination. Her room was hidden behind the beautiful painting of a unicorn standing in front of a waterfall and raising its head to the sky.
"You need to choose a password," the Professor had told her. "The door will only open to you and those who know the password. Since your roommate has not arrived yet, you need to choose one." After thinking for a short while she chose 'Minstrel Hall', in remembrance of the person who was the reason for her presence at Hogwarts.
Now Candice was sitting on the comfortable couch of the living room and stared into the flames of the large fireplace opposite from her. There were two doors on the far side of the room – one of them led into a luxurious bathroom and the other to a spacious bedroom.
It didn't take a genius to figure out this place was only meant to hold one person, not two. She was intruding on someone's private space – the Head Girl's private space no less – which was bound to be a problem for their relationship.
Candice sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. It was hard to relax when there were so many things she should worry about. But before she could find the connection to her fea and try to meditate to calm herself down she heard someone knocking on one of the doors. Quickly she turned around just as the bathroom door opened and a boy with blond hair entered the room.
"Well, Granger, thought I'd say hi since you seem to have arrived early as well," he drawled, sarcasm dripping from every syllable he spoke. A frown appeared on her face at his obvious disrespect of the Head Girl, but then he looked up and froze when he saw her sitting on the couch. Their eyes locked and to her surprise she could feel him connecting with his own fea and then reaching out for hers. Candice concentrated on her fea to show him she knew what he was trying to do. Immediately he drew back and looked at her, just as confused as she was.
I didn't know there were other wizard's who had access to their fea she thought. The only other persons she knew who could do it were Gwyneth and some of the other minstrels. But she couldn't deny that the strange boy's fea was rather powerful, though it couldn't compete with hers.
Candice got to her feet and bowed to him in acknowledgement, just as it was expected. As the one with the stronger willpower she had to take the initiative. He mimicked her gesture and swiftly regained his composure.
"Come in," she invited the boy and he hesitantly entered the room. "What's your name?"
"I'm Draco Malfoy," he replied in the deep, melodious voice that was customary for males with Ancient Blood in their veins. Although she had to admit that his voice sounded better, silkier than those of the male minstrels of their kind she had met before.
"My grandmother was a Veela," he answered the unspoken question in her eyes.
Pleased with his answer she smiled at him. "My name is Candice Armstrong. I've come here as a transfer student and I will share this room with the Head Girl," she supplied the information in exchange for the ones Draco Malfoy had given her. "Maybe you could tell me what you were doing in our bathroom?"
Now it was his turn to frown. Candice could tell that he wasn't exactly used to be asked questions he didn't want to answer. He seemed to be used to people who obeyed his commands and be in charge of what happened around him. But there was something in his grey eyes that told her he was holding back much of his personality. His fea had not felt cold or unpleasant. It had been warm and there was an underlying sadness he kept hidden from the world – and probably from himself as well.
"My rooms are on the other side of the wall. Since it is a large bathroom, we'll have to share it."
Candice hadn't noticed a second door in the bathroom, but then again she hadn't looked very carefully.
"That's fine with me. I'm used to share my bathroom with other people." She thought of the flat she and her friends had lived in. They were six people and only had two bathrooms.
"I have to unpack my things," Draco Malfoy said and turned around to disappear again.
"Please do yourself a favour," she called after him. Surprised at her words his step faltered.
"Yeah?" he said, trying to look impassive.
"Don't peep."
A grin spread on his face. "Same to you," he responded slyly and before she could say anything else he entered the bathroom and closed the doors behind him.
Candice chuckled. It would be fun to tease this strange Veela-boy in the future. Her mood had lightened considerably so she picked up the guitar case from the floor and took out her beloved acoustic guitar. She would use the time until her roommate appeared to distract herself from the seriousness of the situation.
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The dark brown owl reached Remus Lupin while he was on his way back to the Order's headquarter. He had been sent on a mission for Dumbledore, who had been informed where he could find five of the missing spies. Remus had found two of them who were still alive – the rest was still missing and probably dead.
In his disheartened state of mind it took him some time before he noticed the small owl that had been flying beside the window of the driver seat. The car Dumbledore had provided for the mission was old and more than once he'd feared it would simply stop functioning at some point. Living in the wizard world held many positive aspects concerning the way of travelling. But the place where he'd picked up the lost spies was in the Muggle world and there had been no other way to get there without being noticed. And since he was the only member of the Order who had a driver's licence he had to accept the mission, despite the fact that there were more important things he needed to take care of.
As soon as possible he stopped the car and opened the window to let the small creature in. Remus detached the small piece of paper from its leg and watched how the owl took off immediately without claiming a reward for its efforts or waiting for a reply. A frown appeared on his forehead, but then he shrugged and unfolded the paper.
It was only a small note, scribbled down in a hurry but not lacking the usual neatness and elegance that was customary for the writer. He quickly read the words and for the first time in the last two weeks a weak smile crossed his face.
I made some interesting discoveries that could be useful for our project. Owl me when you're available.
SS
As Remus continued to drive towards London, he wondered if Severus Snape's discoveries could rival with the information he had gathered on his trip. Their next meeting would surely be interesting.
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On the way to the Great Hall Harry noticed for the first time how quiet Hermione had been the whole time. While he and Ron had been talking – well, most of he time Ron was the one talking and Harry let his thoughts wander to far off places – their friend had almost never felt compelled to answer to one of the idiotic remarks Ron had made or complained, when they were talking about Quidditch for longer than five minutes.
She seemed to be even farer away with her thoughts than Harry, and that was definitely not a good thing.
When Ron finally shut up, he turned to Hermione and asked her, with concern in his voice: "Is something wrong?"
Hermione blinked a few times, then a weary smile spread on her face. "Yeah, I guess. It's nothing."
"It has to be something if it makes you stay quiet all day," he remarked.
The brunette sighed. "I… I'm not sure. It's just… about the exchange student and…"
"I can't believe you're still worried about that. I'm sure you'll get along with whoever will be your room mate, 'Mione," Ron flashed her a grin. "We know you'll be able to deal with her."
"Thank you, Ron." Now her smile seemed to be a little more honest but it quickly disappeared from her face, when Professor McGonagall approached them.
"Good evening, Professor," they greeted her and she bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement. Then she turned to Hermione with a serious expression on her face.
"Miss Granger, could you go to your rooms and tell your new roommate that she should come down for dinner? I'm afraid the castle still confuses her."
Hermione's eyes widened in disbelieve. "She's here already?"
"Yes. Miss Armstrong has arrived earlier than expected." McGonagall looked at Hermione for a while, before her thoughtful gaze focused on Harry and Ron. Her eyes lingered on Harry a little longer before she shook her head and turned to the Head Girl again.
"I would like you to accompany her on her first days at Hogwarts. She is new here, after all, and I'm sure she would be glad to have someone to show her around the castle and help her organizing her schedule."
Hermione nodded, still looking a little shaken but she quickly regained her composure and with new determination she declared: "I will do my best, Professor."
"Thank you." With a curt nod she left the trio to continue her way.
Harry stared after her until she disappeared from his sight. The old woman had not behaved oddly – only the thoughtful look was unusual. Like she knew something they didn't. And he had the strangest feeling that it had something to do with the new girl.
Hermione seemed to be troubled as well. She blinked a few times and then sighed.
"I guess I have to go," she said quietly.
"Good luck," Ron said and patted her shoulder. He didn't seem to be concerned at all and for the first time it occurred to Harry that his thoughts had been running wild again. It happened far too often that he misinterpreted what was going on around him and maybe because of his past he was always inclined to think the worst of a situation.
So when Hermione was out of sight he let Ron drag him to the Gryffindor's Table and distracted himself by joining the lively discussion of his mates.
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Slowly, Hermione approached her quarters on the fifth floor, much slower than she usually would. With every step the knot in her stomach became even tighter. She didn't want to reach the rooms she had been so keen on possessing ever since she got to Hogwarts. At this rate, she knew they were going to be late for the dinner, but she didn't care.
When she finally took the first, hesitant step into the corridors which lead to the Head Girl's rooms, she felt someone bumping into her. With an indignant yelp Hermione fell to the floor, with the stranger's body landing atop of her. For a moment she felt dazed; it took her some time to realize what had happened. In the meantime, she couldn't help but notice the hard body that pressed her smaller one down. She could feel well-defined muscles on the stranger's chest and even through the several layers of clothes both of them wore, Hermione could feel warmth radiating from the other one.
Her breath quickened, and then suddenly she was aware of the rapid beating of the other person's heart – the same, irregular pounding she felt coursing through her own body.
A strange feeling spread through her and she gasped involuntarily, effectively destroying the moment. As quick as he had landed atop of her, the stranger stood.
Troubled grey eyes were staring down at her, clouded with emotions she didn't recognize. The platinum blond hair covering his elegant features was slightly tousled and free of the usual sticky substance which held it plastered to his head. In this short moment the young man before her didn't look at all like the Draco Malfoy she knew and had hated for such a long time. He looked like a stranger, a mysterious, emotional, human – and undoubtly hot – person.
Then all emotions, the surprised look on his face as well as the warmth in his eyes, vanished. In no time Draco Malfoy was back again. But instead of commenting on the strange situation, he just turned around and left without looking back.
Hermione sat on the ground and stared after him. Utterly confused by the strange situation, she tried to get rid of the warm feeling that had settled in the pit of her stomach, and the feeling of his strong body so close to her. It had felt like nothing she had ever experienced before.
Get a grip, she told herself angrily. This was Draco Malfoy, the bane of your existence, the one who had called you names all life long. You cannot possibly feel warm at his touch.
But despite common sense she did. A small part of her wanted to feel his touch again.
Hermione shook her head violently and got up from the floor. She ignored her legs, which were still trembling a little even though they shouldn't. Then she took a deep breath and continued her way down the hall.
Much too soon she reached her destination. The unicorn on the painting had bowed its head and drank from the small sea beneath a huge waterfall. It didn't even look up when she came to stand in front of the hidden entrance.
Only then Hermione, who had thought herself to be quite smart, noticed she had forgotten something important – she didn't know the password she needed to enter the room.
With a groan she put her hand on her forehead and closed her eyes. How could she have been so stupid? If the new girl had entered the quarters before her of course she had to choose a password. Which one had she chosen? It could be anything!
But when she opened her eyes, she noticed that the unicorn had stopped drinking and had raised its head, like it was listening to something. Hermione stared at the creature, not knowing what to make of it. But then suddenly she heard a strange melody coming from the other side of the wall. It sounded like at least two guitars were playing a harmonious, but solemn tune. She didn't recognize it, but it sounded so beautiful, that she thought she could stand there and listen to it all day long.
And for some reason Hermione wasn't surprised to see the unicorn neighing softly and the portrait moving aside to let her enter the room.
Cautiously she did what she had to do and followed the melody inside the spacious living room. Despite of the warm temperature outside a small fire was burning in the fireplace and two large bags were standing next to the huge sofa. The red and golden wand hangings made the room look almost exactly like the Gryffindor common room, though the room was only half its size. A red, soft carpet covered most of the tile floor and a large window dominated the wall opposite from the door. Hermione could see the sun setting behind the Forbidden Forest.
Only then she let her eyes travel to the person who occupied the sofa in front of the fireplace. At first she could only see a mass of golden curls that matched the deep red colour of the furniture perfectly. The melody was coming from only one guitar, Hermione noticed in awe. She had never met anyone who could play an instrument that well. But then again what did she know about music? Not much, obviously. She hadn't known it was possible for anyone to play like that.
When the stranger stopped playing and turned around, Hermione's hands flew to her mouth. Again she had to gasp when she saw the angelic features of a person she never thought she would meet in private. The small, friendly smile on Selene's face was genuine as she stood up and bowed before a shocked Hermione.
"Welcome to Minstrel Hall," she proclaimed with a voice so heavenly it could melt stones if she wanted to. How on earth did someone like her end up being the roommate of Selene?
Candice looked at the girl in front of her – Hermione Granger, she reminded herself – with an unfaltering smile. She had felt the presence of someone outside the portrait hole and decided to let the person in. By playing the tunes of the song "Minstrel Hall" the portrait obeyed her command and opened up. The moment she saw the bushy-haired, tall brunette, who was now gaping at her with her jaw almost touching the floor, she knew they would get along. Briefly she summoned her fea and let it touch the alien one before her, but then she felt the barrier someone had erected around her soul protectively and accepted the other person's claim.
This girl was obviously the mate of some other creature with Ancient Blood and since she could feel the strength of the protecting charms around her, Candice quickly drew away.
How interesting, she thought with a smile. She's protected by a creature of light and doesn't even know about it.
"Hello," Candice tried again, when the girl just continued to stare at her dumbfounded. "My name, as you probably already know, is Candice Armstrong. I'll be your roommate this year."
Hermione Granger gulped and shook her head a few times, before she finally caught herself. "I'm Hermione Granger. And I'm sorry if I behaved impolitely, it's just that…" She swallowed again. "I've seen you on stage about two weeks go," she blurted and her face grew red, before she lowered her gaze to the floor.
Candice chuckled at the girl's obvious self-consciousness. "Oh, so you've been at the concert. Did you like it?"
"Yes. Yes, of course I loved it. My friends liked it, too." Hermione's face was still a little red, but her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Especially the first song was great. But otherwise I prefer the slower ones."
"You're the first one to say that," Candice admitted. "Usually we are asked to do more of the fast ones."
"It' not that the faster songs were bad. That's not what I wanted to say, I just…" She interrupted herself, obviously afraid she'd said something wrong.
Now Candice couldn't stifle her laughter any longer. Laughing heartily, she covered the distance between them and hugged the flustered girl. "I won't bite, you know. I'm glad to meet you, Hermione Granger."
At first she felt Hermione stiffen at the unexpected embrace, but hen she relaxed, and she also laughed quietly. When they parted, Candice noticed that the girl looked less nervous than before.
"You see? Nothing happened." With that she took a step backward, glad to see a smile on Hermione's face.
"Why did the portrait open up even though nobody said the password?" the other girl asked as a frown spread on her face. "I thought I had to stand outside all night."
"The password is 'Minstrel Hall.' The portrait reacted to the melody I played, because the song is called 'Minstrel Hall.' I heard someone standing outside and thought maybe it would work if I played the song."
Hermione's smile widened and her eyes were sparkling in the dim light. "It was amazing. The song, I mean. I've never heard anyone play a guitar that well. I thought two people were playing the song."
Candice had to laugh again. "Thank you for the compliment. It's all about practising." She turned around and walked back to the sofa to put her guitar away. The brunet followed her and watched how she closed the lit of the guitar case carefully.
"How long have you been here?" Hermione asked. She thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure," she admitted finally. "For some hours I guess. I've already met our neighbour some time ago. I think he was looking for you."
A frown appeared on the other girl's face. "Our neighbour? Who…?" Then she gasped. "Oh, you mean Malfoy? I almost forgot he's the Head Boy. I hope he hasn't been impolite to you. He has a tendency to be, well, mean to people." A soft blush spread on her face as she spoke. Was it out of anger or something else? Candice couldn't help but ask herself.
"On the contrary, he had been quite nice. A little arrogant maybe, but not impolite."
Hermione's eyes widened with disbelief. "Draco Malfoy? Nice?" She shook her head. "I'm not sure we're talking about the same person."
Candice shrugged and dropped the topic. "Why are you wearing your uniform already? I thought we only had to dress like this in class."
The brunette blinked, and then quickly caught herself. "At the start of the new term everyone has to participate dinner in the Great Hall. We have to put on our school uniforms and the first years will be sorted into their houses…" Hermione paused. "Have you heard of the different houses yet?"
She smirked as she remembered Sirius's lectures on his pride of being a Gryffindor and how evil Slytherins were. Even though she meant to form her own opinion she couldn't help but be prejudiced already. "Yes, I have."
"Good. You won't need to be sorted into a house, since you're a transfer student." She looked at Candice with narrowed eyes and then smiled. "But I have no doubt the hat would've put you into Gryffindor."
Candice returned the friendly smile. She started to like the girl even more while they continued talking.
"So I take it you're a Gryffindor."
"Yes," she replied proudly. "And all my friends are in Gryffindor as well."
When her friends were as nice as her she would like to get to know them as well. But she didn't say it aloud and instead asked: "I should change my clothes as well, right?"
Hermione's eyes widened at that. "Oh no, we will be late for dinner!" she exclaimed. "It won't make a good impression to be late on the first evening."
"Alright, I'll change quickly and then we can go downstairs." Candice walked to the bags and started searching for the right clothes. "By the way, would you mind if I sleep on the sofa in this room? You can have the bedroom, after all you're the Head Girl."
"Are you sure? I mean-"
"It's fine with me," she interrupted the girl while taking off her black T-shirt. "I'm used to sleep at the worst places." She remembered the bare tile floor in front of the Mason's fireplace where she used to sleep after her family had abandoned her. The dreadful two weeks she stayed at the foster home before she decided to run away. Only then her life got better and she had the luck to meet people who cared for her.
Quickly she shook her head and decided she didn't want to go there. Looking back the moments of happiness outweighed the bad ones, and it wasn't good to waste too much time thinking about it.
Although she found herself at yet another turning point on her young life she had a feeling this one would be much more exciting than the ones before.
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