None of these characters belong to me, except for Thalia.
Thank you for all the comments and words of encouragement.
CHAPTER THREE IS NOW UP!
(Sorry for the short chapter 2.)
A few miles away from Hogwarts, in an old and abandoned shack, lay a pale and skinny man.
He looked rather odd as he had extremely pale skin, red eyes and small slits for his nose. He was seated on an armchair in front of a roaring fire, enjoying the warmth.
Another man, who was short and stubby, was kneeling in front of the pale and skinny man. He had lost a finger and seemed to be pleading for mercy.
The pale and skinny man was none other than the notorious dark wizard, Lord Voldermort. The other man, who was on his knees, was his follower, Wormtail.
"You have failed me yet again, Wormtail." Voldermort hissed, and Wormtail trembled, his voice coming out in squeaks. "But my Lord, we do not need the boy! I could simply-." He was cut off my Voldermort who threw him a venomous look.
Voldermort stood up and spoke, his voice echoing around the abandoned shack. "Wormtail, remember what I told you at the start of this year?"
Wormtail trembled uncontrollably, and uttered a single word. "Yes." Voldermort stared at his follower, as if to challenge him. "What did I tell you then?" He asked.
"You told me to keep an eye on Potter. You said somebody related to Potter is coming. You said to use her as a pawn." Wormtail recited. "Precisely, Wormtail." Voldermort said, as he glanced out of the tiny window.
Voldermort continued his speech, ignoring Worm tail's muttering and trembling. "We must find out her weakness, and then we can capture her, use her. Potter would surely come to save her. Then- we have him." He announced, crushing his fist as if Harry Potter was inside it.
"So, Wormtail, you must not fail me now. Go according to the plan. If not- You know what will happen." Upon hearing this, Wormtail threw himself at Voldermort's feet, sobbing and trembling.
"No master, please! Have mercy…" He croaked.
Voldermort stared at him with disgust. "Get up you pathetic piece of vermin." He hissed, practically spitting. Wormtail acted on his instructions and stood up uncertainly.
"Go and initiate the plan now." Voldermort rasped as he glanced over his shoulder, looking at the blood-red sunset, as Wormtail whimpered once more and left.
Over at Hogwarts.
Thalia slumped onto the ground, in daze. She had detention already? And it was only her second day at school. "Stupid cat." She grumbled and lifted herself up.
"Who are you talking to?" A voice rang out from the other side of the common room and Thalia fell back onto the ground in fright.
"Hey- Who do you think you are? It's not funny to scare someone out of her wits. Especially when she is talking to herself, you evil-." She glanced up to look at her "attacker" and stopped momentarily.
It was Harry.
Shoot. Of all times, did it have to be her half brother? She nearly called him an evil cockroach. She gulped and forced a smile on her lips.
"Oh, it's you. Hi." She said flatly. She was in no mood to entertain him by acting over-enthusiastic. "Evil what?" He asked, a glint in his eye. "No one. Errmm.. Slip of a tongue!" She said, laughing nervously and edging to the girls dormitory.
"Oh, okay." He said and an awkward silence filled the air. Thalia sighed. "Look, if you don't want to talk to me, just say it." She said flatly, as to prove a point.
Harry's head jerked up. "Huh? Not talk to you? I didn't mean that!" He protested, and Thalia stifled a laugh. "So… Why are you ignoring me?" She pressed on, as she traced the pattern on the girl's dormitory steps with her finger. Harry remained silent.
After what seemed like eternity, he finally spoke up. "I just found it weird. I didn't my mum had flings everywhere." He said, and looked away quickly.
Thalia squirmed uncomfortably. "Well, I guess she couldn't help it." She mumbled. "Yeah, I suppose so." He said quietly and the silence fell over the once again.
Thalia spoke first. "Why don't we start again. Let's just pretend I am completely unrelated to you and we are just friends. How about that?" She asked tentatively.
Harry stared at her in what seemed like disbelief. She stared back at him anxiously. To her relief, he nodded and stretched out his hand.
She grinned and shook his hand and Harry smiled at her faintly before launching into a conversation that ranged from Quidditch to lessons. Thalia had told him privately what she had said to Filch.
She had expected him to shake his head and tell her she was in big trouble. What she didn't expect him to do was to laugh uproariously.
"What's so funny about that?" She said indignantly. He snickered and shook his head. "Hey, it's late already. Lessons are starting soon and I still need to wake Ron. See you later?" Harry asked. " Yup." She replied and headed up to the girls dormitory, hoping to be able to sleep for at least twenty minutes.
She jumped onto her bed and closed her eyes. She was about to drift off to deep sleep when someone's alarm clock rang. Everybody started scrambling out of their beds and Thalia groaned.
"I hate these stupid rules to all eat breakfast at the same time." She grumbled and got out of her bed, awaiting for the challenges the day would bring her.