DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING JK ROWLING OR ALPHAVILLE DOES!
CHAPTER ONE"Well, I've had a great time this summer, Sirius. I almost hate to see it end," Harry said as they stood facing each other on the platform.
"I've had a good time too, Harry. I still can't believe how much you've grown. It seems like yesterday that I was hearing Lily and James discussing diapers and baby clothes. How time flies." Sirius smiled fondly at the memory. "Well, soon you'll be a fully grown wizard. Now, you'd best get going before I start getting all teary. Off you go then," Sirius said as he pulled Harry into an embrace.
"See you next summer Sirius!" Harry called as he rushed to meet the Weasleys. He soon found them.
"…and I had better not hear anything that even suggests anything about a ninth year or else…" Harry grinned as Mrs. Weasley gave the twins a good reprimanding before they had even gotten on the train to go to school. He spotted Ron a little farther away with his father and Ginny and Hermione.
"Hello," Harry said to them all, just as the train pulled up. They all boarded and soon found a compartment.
Before they knew it, they were in the Great Hall, eating. Dumbledore had already given his speech of off-limits areas and announcements and all of the first years got through the Sorting. As they walked back to the Gryffindor dormitories, they discussed their summer.
"I just can't believe it's already over," Hermione said.
"Wait," Ron said dramatically.
"Hermione had a good time out of a library?" Harry gasped.
"Impossible! I refuse to believe this!" Ron said as he and Harry had a good laugh.
Hermione laughed as well. "Do you two really think I'm that boring?"
"Well…" Ron, however, had no time to answer her question, for he had, in his moment of laughter, forgotten about the trick stair. After nearly a second of flailing, he slammed facedown into the stair. When he looked back up at them, his nose was at a rather odd angle and bleeding profusely.
"Ron, I think we better take you to the Infirmary," said Harry.
"I think your nose is broken," Hermione commented. As they led Ron to find Madam Pomfrey, Ron wondered aloud.
"Hmmm…where are Fred and George? Usually they would've been harassing the first years," Ron sort of half laughed.
Soon, however, they found out exactly where the twins were.
"Harry! Hermione!" Fred called out to them as they walked into the Infirmary.
"Ron, what happened to your face?" George questioned while Madam Pomfrey found Ron a bed. Directly across from him, there seemed to be a girl who was sleeping with a large bandage on her head.
"…fell…stairs…" Ron muttered unintelligibly. "Why are you two here? I don't see anything wrong with you."
"Well, you see, we were on our way to start pestering the first years when we happened to hear a particularly irritating voice say, 'Wingardium Leviosa!' and so we had to investigate," George began.
"And there was Malfoy with his goons. They had used the spell to pick up this poor girl." Fred gestured to the bed across from Ron's. "We knew by the way she was panicking that this was not a good situation. So we went to help out," Fred continued.
"Unfortunately, before we'd had the chance to take more than three steps, Malfoy had slammed her" – here Fred interjected, "Slammed her hard!" – "against the wall and she sort of went limp," George said.
"We scared those slithering Slytherins off quick enough, but they laughed at her the whole way out of the corridor. When we turned back to see if she was alright, she still wasn't awake and her head was bleeding, so we knew we had to bring her here," Fred finished.
"Wow, and she hasn't been conscious yet?" asked Hermione.
"Nope," said Fred.
"Not yet," George said.
"That just makes me boil, those stinking Slytherins picking on first years like that…" Harry started.
"I am not a first year," said a new voice from the bed across from Ron's. Everyone turned to look at her. "Well, I suppose technically I am a first year, because this is my first year here, but in all actuality, I'm a sixth year." She looked around her, her large brown eyes landing on every one of them. "What? What are you all staring at?"
"Who are you?" Ron asked.
The girl started, as if she hadn't noticed Ron until now. "Oh, yes, well I suppose I have failed to introduce myself, haven't I?" She appeared to be slightly flustered. "I'm Beth Maywing. New student. Sixth year."
"I'm Hermione Granger. This is Fred and George Weasley, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter," Hermione introduced them all. "We're sixth years too, except Fred and George. They're eighth years." Fred and George gave sheepish grins and shrugged a little. "So how did you come to Hogwarts so late?" Hermione inquired.
"Well, I started out at Beauxbaton, but I didn't make it through half of the first year before I dropped out. My dad's been homeschooling me ever since then, and one day Dumbledore came and talked to him about allowing me to go to school here. So here I am," Beth said with a smile.
"Why did you drop out of Beauxbaton?" Harry asked.
"I had some…social problems that very closely resembled the one Fred and George rescued me from earlier. After that, my dad decided it would be best if I just stayed out of school for a while," Beth explained. "By the way, thank you for saving me. I don't know what I would've done should you two not have been there. And it is very nice making your acquaintance," she added her thanks.
"No problem," said George.
"Any time," said Fred.
"I bet your parents really weren't happy about you dropping out of Beauxbaton, were they?" Ron asked. Beth flushed again.
"Parent, actually. My mother died shortly before I began school at Beauxbaton. And not really, it was sort of…expected that I would have some…" At this moment Madam Pomfrey swept over to them to say that both Beth and Ron were free to go to bed.
"What house are you in, Beth?" George asked.
"Gryffindor," she stated. "I was Sorted a week ahead of time so I wouldn't have to go with the actual first years."
"We're all in Gryffindor too," Harry said, "so we'll just go with you."
"Lovely!" Beth exclaimed.
As they proceeded to the dormitories, Harry suddenly realized that not once had Beth stared or acted in the usual way to himself or his scar. What she had been staring at, when she wasn't explaining part of her story, was Ron.
The next morning, Beth met them all at breakfast. Being new to the school, she had no idea where any of her classes were. Luckily, when they compared schedules, they discovered that Beth was taking almost all of the same classes as Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Beth was taking Choir and Hermione was taking Arithmancy instead of Divination. Fortunately Choir was on Ron and Harry's way, so when it came time to split, they could show her which way to go. Their whole day went quite smoothly, and Beth was getting along well. She loved to read, and Hermione had some lengthy discussions with her about her favorite books. She also was a huge Quidditch fan, and it turned out that the Cannons were her favorite team as well.
They were deep in conversation about this on their way back from dinner when Beth was suddenly pushed over.
"Huh," Malfoy said behind them.
"What do you want?" Hermione said as she picked Beth up off the ground.
"Well, I just wanted to officially meet Beth Maywing," Malfoy said as they all stared at him with confusion. "She is quite special, you know," he said with a mocking sneer. "I thought I recognized the name, so I wrote to my father this morning and I just got my answer." Beth's confusion suddenly turned into complete terror. "So let's see them, Beth," Malfoy demanded.
"I-I have n-no idea what you could mean by 'them'," Beth stammered as she turned red.
"Oh, yes, your new friends probably have no idea what's on your back, do they Beth?" Malfoy inquired.
"Shut up, Malfoy." Beth wouldn't look up and Harry thought she might be crying.
"Oh, come on, don't be afraid to show them," he said. "They're weird just like you. Well, actually you're the weirdest. You make Potter seem like a Muggle."
Beth looked up with anger in her eyes and a steady flow of tears on her face. "I am not afraid," she whispered, and then, out of nowhere, two wings, which must have been close to ten feet long, sprouted from her back. She stood there for a moment, tears still running down her face, as she watched them stare in amazement at the bronze wings that matched her hair. Then, as she shook her head, she walked towards the nearest window opened it, and jumped out. Malfoy laughed as the rest of them gathered around the window and gasped as they watched her fly.
"Did you really think" – Malfoy started snorting – "that she was normal? She's even more of a freak than all of you put together!" Malfoy exclaimed through hysterical laughter.
They all turned to glare at him and Harry saw Ron move out of the corner of his eye. But before he could stop him, Ron had slammed his fist into Malfoy's nose. As Malfoy picked himself up, he ran off as fast as he could.
"You're going to hear about that later," Hermione reprimanded as they walked back to the dormitories.
"I don't care," Ron fumed. "That was rotten, making her expose herself like that. He deserved it."
"I know he did," Harry said. "I just hope Beth will be alright. She was really upset."
"I guess we'll find out in the morning," Hermione shrugged.
The next morning they didn't see her at breakfast, but she did come to all her classes. They never had a chance to talk to her, though, because she was always late. Soon, however, came Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins. As soon as everyone arrived, Malfoy sauntered up to Beth, who kept her head down. Sensing an oncoming situation, Harry, Hermione, and Ron moved closer to Beth.
"Hey, I know what Hagrid should teach about today!" Malfoy shouted to the whole group. Scatter shouts of "What?" were heard from some students. "Beth! I mean, she's practically her own species! She's part human and part bird, or she must be at least to have those wings that sprout from her back!"
"Malfoy…" Harry said threateningly while tears fell from Beth's downward cast face. Fortunately, Hagrid came out that very moment to find a crowd of gasping students.
"Harry, Ron, Hermione, Beth, come with me, please. The rest of you can go and take care of those Blast-Ended Skrewts in that crate over there." A groan ensued as Hagrid led them a little ways away. "Now, what's all this about?" Hagrid asked.
"Malfoy is harassing Beth. He has been ever since the first night," Hermione explained.
"Ah, 'ave they found out so soon, Beth?" Hagrid asked as he folded her into his large embrace. She nodded, and they all looked over to where the other students were whispering and glancing over at Beth while attempting to take care of the skrewts.
"You know about her wings?" Hermione asked in surprise.
"Yes. All of the teachers were told, so that we could prepare for something like this," Hagrid said. "But see, it's nothin' ter worry yer head over, Beth. Yeh've still got Harry and Ron and Hermione, and I imagine the twins'll like yeh no less."
"Really?" she squeaked as she finally peeked her head up.
"Yeah, this'll all blow over soon," Harry said.
"And like Hagrid said, you've still got us," Ron said.
Beth smiled gratefully. "Well, I guess we'd better start class then, so this can start blowing over," she said.
They walked back over to the rest of the students. Hagrid began class, and though she was still pale and receiving many wide-eyed stares, Beth made it through.
In the next few weeks, the excitement over Beth's wings (for it of course spread through the entire school) quieted down. The only times she showed them were times when her, Ron, Harry, and Hermione were alone and they asked her to see them.
"My mum was a shape-shifter. That's why I'm like this," she explained while walking to Potions one day. "My dad's just a wizard, though. He –"
"Beth, I need to see you for a moment." Dumbledore suddenly was right behind them. "In my office. You three may wait for her."
"Alright," Beth said as she followed him.
About fifteen minutes later, Beth came out of Dumbledore's office, pale and teary-eyed.
"Beth, what's wrong?" Ron asked as he stood up from where they had been waiting for her against the wall.
"My father," she explained. "He's been killed." Beth started to sob. "I don't know what to do now. Who am I supposed to write to when I ace my Transfiguration test? Or when I succeed in flying a quadruple loop?" Ron folded her in his arms and Harry and Hermione did the same and held her until she couldn't cry any longer. "I think I need to be alone now," she said quietly as she walked away.
The three of them headed to dinner. "What are you all so quiet for?" Ginny asked as she joined them at the table.
"Beth's father died," Harry said.
"Oh, no. Is she all right?" Ginny inquired.
"We don't know," Ron answered glumly.
"Well, we should do something to make her feel better, or at least attempt to take her mind off of everything for a bit," Ginny suggested. "I know! Tomorrow starts the weekend. I bet she'd love to see the mermaids play in the Black Lake." Hermione nodded.
"That is a good idea. And the mermaids are bound to be out, seeing how sunny it's been," she agreed.
"Let's go tell her then!" Ron exclaimed.
"Ron, you can't. You have to stay here to study for your test in Charms. And I'm staying here to make sure you do," Hermione stated.
"Well then Ginny, would you come help me find her?" Harry asked.
"Sure!" Ginny said. As they started to walk out of the Great Hall, Ginny asked, "Where do you think she is?"
"Well," Harry started, "she's probably in her room. She said she wanted to be alone, and there's probably no one in there right now."
As they moved closer to her room, they could hear someone moving around. Suddenly, they heard the person whisper "Engorgio!" from the door to Beth's room. As they peeked in, a piano started playing, and as they watched, Beth began to sing as she delicately drove her fingers over the keys.
"Let's dance in style
Let's dance for a while
Heaven can wait
We're only watching the skies
Hoping for the best
But expecting the worst
Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?
Let us die young
Or let us live forever
We don't have the power
But we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit
Life is a short trip
The music's for the sad men
Forever young
I want to be
Forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever, and ever
Forever young
I want to be
Forever young
Do you really want to live forever?
Forever
Forever young."
"Wow," Ginny said as Beth finished playing. "That was really beautiful. What is it?"
"Oh!" Beth started as she turned around. "I didn't hear you come in. It's my favorite old Muggle song."
"How did you get the piano here?" Harry asked.
"Like this," Beth said. "Reducio!" The piano shrunk to the size of her hand and she placed it back in her luggage.
"Cool," Harry said. "We were just wondering if you'd like to go and see the mermaids at the Black Lake with us and Ron and Hermione tomorrow."
"Yeah, that sounds fun," Beth said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go see Professor Snape about the work I've missed." She smiled a little and left.
The next day by the lake was gorgeous. They picnicked and played games and watched the mermaids play. Beth, though not completely herself, had a good time. Harry noticed that around Ron, Beth smiled a little brighter, laughed a little more, and fidgeted with her hair. In any case, the day ended up long for them all and finally they relented to go to bed.
"I had nightmares all last night," Beth said, "but I'll try to get some sleep."
They all walked sleepily to bed. Harry lay awake for a long time, tossing and turning and turning and tossing, thinking of the death of his own parents and of how Beth must be feeling. He also wondered if Beth could sleep. When he eventually tried to go to sleep himself, not even the sound of Ron's gentle snoring could lull him into the land of dreams. Finally, he just gave up, and decided to go sit for a while by the fire.
"Oh! Harry!" He hadn't even noticed Beth sitting on the couch as he walked down the stairs.
"What are you doing up this late, Beth?" Harry asked, wondering if the nightmares were bothering her.
"I was just thinking about watching the mermaids today at the Black Lake. I'll never be like them, you know," she said with a sad smile.
"Do you wish you could be?"
"Sometimes. But then I remember that I chose to be a child of the sky, not the sea."
"You chose to have wings instead of a fish tail? When? How?" Harry ogled.
"It's…kind of difficult to explain."
"Well, try. Please," Harry demanded.
"Well alright. You see, before a child is born, the Higher Powers of this universe give them two choices. The first is whether to be a boy or a girl. The second is whether or not to be a wizard. Because my mother was a shape-shifter, I had also a third choice, which was what extra animalistic feature to have," she explained.
"Why don't I remember this?" he said skeptically.
"Most people never do. I, however, am one who has remembered. We who do are very few and far between. I'm not sure why some remember and others don't."
"Why did you choose wings, then?" Harry questioned, eager to learn more.
"The Higher Powers gave me two options when it came to animal features. The choice was between wings and a mermaid's tail and gills. Both would disappear when I wanted to appear as a normal human. In order to help me make this decision, they showed me the happiest time in my life and the age at which I would die for both of the options." Beth came to a stop, looking unsure about continuing on.
"These aren't things I can tell anyone else, are they?" Harry inquired.
"No, Harry, but I suppose that since I've come this far I should at least finish answering your question," she said with a grimace.
"Alright, then. Shoot." He leaned in.
"When they showed me the happiest time in my life, I saw someone. Someone I instantly fell in love with. I knew he was made for me, just as I was made for him. For one of my two possible paths, I was simply friends with him. He saw me as no more than an acquaintance. But, in the second path, he loved me as much as I loved him, and we were both as happy as we could be. So I chose the second path, the path with wings, so that I could be with him." She smiled a little, slightly sheepish smile. But that smile also contained the bittersweetness of something lost for something gained.
"What's wrong? Shouldn't that be it, then?" Harry wondered, slightly concerned.
"Well, yes." Beth looked down, a tear running down her cheek.
"What aren't you telling me, Beth?" Harry reached out to wipe her face clean of the tear. "What did you give up for him?"
"I just didn't really realize how hard it would be to know that I have to give him up." More tears took the place of the one that Harry wiped off.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused.
"Do you remember how I told you that, along with the happiest moments, they also told me when I would die?"
"Yes. But that doesn't explain why you have to give him up."
She nodded. "If I had chosen to have gills and a tail, I would have a little more than sixty more years of life than I have now." She sighed and sniffled a bit, then looked up and smiled her bittersweet smile again. "Still, I would much rather have a few years with him than many without."
Harry wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks as a few glistened on his own face. "Oh, Beth. I'm so sorry," and she leaned into his arms and sobbed as he held her and silently cried for her pain.
"Beth?" he finally said.
"Yes?" she said in a tired voice, as though exposing her truth had taken all of her strength.
"I believe I am going back to bed now. Thanks."
"For what?" she asked as he stood up.
"For telling me that. Oh, and Beth?" he asked as he started to turn.
"Yes?" She looked up at him and smiled, appearing to be just as tired as she sounded.
"Who is he, Beth?"
"He's Ron," she said as one last, lone tear made its way down her face.
"Good night Beth," Harry said as he leaned down to gently kiss her forehead before he made his way back to his dormitory.
All the way up the stairs and as he went to sleep, Harry could hear one verse of the old Muggle song Beth sang ringing in his head.
Let us die young
Or let us live forever
We don't have the power
But we never say never
Sitting in a sandpit
Life is a short trip
The music's for the sad men…