'Ello everybody! Sorry about the super uber long updates, but they've been doing some state testing, so most of my free time was crammed study sessions. In addition, a dear member of my family got sick and I had to help out not too long after the testing had ended. Just my luck.
Thanks for the reviews! Speaking about reviews, I would like to add a quick comment to the review that Crazy-Abby-NCIS posted:
Well, Mary's not exactly a popular girl. She may be one of the Twins Who Lived, but deep inside, she doesn't want the fame. She just wants to be an ordinary witch whom just loves music. And I guess Malfoy will have to shape up eventually. Mary's "love life" is all depended on the poll. If the readers want the final results to be Drary, then the couple results shall be Drary.
Also, I thinking that since we achieved the goal of 15+ reviews, maybe we can try to do 20+ reviews this time. Thanks to all that had reviewed. You guys rock!
Disclaimer: All copyrights concerning the Harry Potter series go to Warner Bros. and JK Rowling. ©
All copyrights concerning Mary and her belongings go to me. ©
Onwards!
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Chapter 12
November 22nd, 1991
When November came, all of the castle's summer glory had faded away and was replaced by the cold treatment of fall and the joy of a new Quidditch season.
And the feeling that the hundred-year-old medieval castle had something to hide.
The night before the Harry's first Quidditch match, I was walking back from dinner by myself when I heard dogs barking. That's strange, I thought. Fang's the only dog on the Hogwarts ground, but it sounds like three dogs are barking. And they sound pretty big. I made a mental note to ask Hagrid about it later.
Suddenly, I heard yelping and before I knew it, a certain oily-haired professor stumbled in front of me, shouting out some colorful language. I noticed that his leg was bleeding.
"Professor Snape!" I shouted. "Are you okay?"
He shot me a look of pure disgust and responded, "Detention for you, Potter! Be in my room at nine o' clock sharp! Your mother wasn't this nosy when it came to hurt teachers, eh? I guess that the advanced potions in class weren't enough for you to stop bothering me!"
After that first day in Potions, Hermione and I realized that the potions we were given weren't advanced enough, so we asked Professor Snape if he could have us do more complicated potions, and he reluctantly agreed. I suppose that he kind of expected it after the quiz on the first day.
I just walked around him, even though there was a little voice in my head telling me to help him. I didn't want to get into more trouble with the bleeding teacher. Meanwhile, the gears in my head were turning. Why is there a dog, maybe even three, in the castle? And why was Snape limping out of the forbidden hall?
I was still trying to figure all of this out when I reached the Fat Lady's portrait.
"Password?" she asked while looking into a crystal-embedded mirror.
"It's pig snout." I responded.
When she swung the frame open, I noticed that Hermione, Harry, and Ron were bent over, whispering something. I edged closer and caught snatches of their conversation.
"But then why would he take away the book?" Harry mused.
"Because he's cranky?" suggested Ron.
"Maybe it's because he's guilty of something," Hermione put in.
"Well, I don't know why, but I'm going to ask him to give back the book in a minute," declared Harry.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I jumped in. They looked up, startled by my presence. Before any of them could respond, I said very quickly, "I just saw him leave the forbidden hall and his leg was bleeding. He blew up at me and now I have detention with him during the Quidditch match. Sorry Harry."
"No, it's a good idea!" Hermione said excitedly. "You can snoop around his classroom, pick up any clues, and tell us what you found afterward! Mary, you're a genius!"
"Well," Ron spoke happily, "at least it will save us time from trying to figure out get into the dungeons without being caught.
November 23rd, 1991
The next morning, the Great Hall is buzzing with bets on Harry's survival. Poor Harry was so nervous; he didn't touch any of the food placed in front of him.
"Come on, Harry," I tried to coax him. "You need to at least have some nutrition."
"Yeah mate," Ron said while chewing some bacon openly. I tried not to regurgitate the cinnamon oatmeal I had just consumed. "You're so skinny right now; I reckon that Fred or George could knock you off your broom just by tapping you lightly."
Hermione shot Ron a shut-up-or-else look right when Seamus Finnegan pushed his way into the conversation by bluntly saying, "Harry you need your strength. Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."
I kicked him in the shins-hard-and watched his face contort in pain and let out a string of swear words. The minute he finished speaking in his well-known bad language, Stuart, a black barn owl, dropped neatly next to my plate with a roll of parchment in his beak.
"Thanks, Stu," I said, taking the parchment and unrolling it. Stuart just cooed and nibbled on a piece of well-deserved toast while I read the note.
Mary Potter,
You will have detention with Filch instead of me due to the sudden need to see the Quidditch match. You'll meet Filch in his office at nine sharp.
Severus Snape.
"Why the heck does he need to see the Quidditch match?" I muttered to Harry and showed it to him, Hermione, and Ron.
"I don't know," Ron said, thankfully gulping down his chewed food. "But something tells me that something bad is going to happen."
I didn't have the courage to tell Ron that the same feeling was twisting in my gut at that moment.
The moment I stepped into Filch's filthy office, I instantly knew that I would be there at least until nightfall.
There was a huge mountain of documents that reached as far as the roof of the room right on the desk. Standing in front of the pile was no other than Filch and Mrs. Norris themselves. When I stepped into the room, Filch smirked and sneered, "Never thought you'd get in trouble like you father, eh? Well, you've got to sort out these papers from the latest staff meetings before midnight while I go to watch your dratted twin lose the game." He pushed himself out, with his cat strutting after him.
I stared after him for a minute. Then I looked at the parchment papers, squared my shoulders, and walked over to it. It's time to get to work.
One hour later, I only had about an eighth sorted by date when something caught my eye. I picked it up and scanned what had to be Professor McGonagall's handwriting.
The Stone is being protected at the moment. Severus, Filius, Pomona, and I have each placed an obstacle. Rubeus has placed his Cerberus dog in front of the entrance. We thank him for the dog and escorting the Stone from Gringotts. I hope that the Stone will be protected always. Hopefully, the person that finds the Stone can fly broomsticks, knows good wizarding chess strategies, is very good with logic, doesn't want the Stone for greedy reasons, and can play music very well. Albus says that Flamel is thinking about destroying the Stone so then he and Perenelle can die peacefully.
The note puzzled me. What was the Stone? Were the dog howls I heard were Hagrid's dog, Cerberus? Was the package that Hagrid had taken from Gringotts on the fateful day the very same one that Professor McGonagall's writing about? Who will be able to find this so-called Stone? And why does the last name Flamel and Perenelle sound familiar?
I heard footsteps approaching and stuffed the note in my pocket, hoping that Filch wouldn't care if one note had gone missing. Right when my hand left the deep pocket of my robes, the door opened, revealing a red-faced Filch.
"Your bloody brother had won," he half snarled and half panted. "You and your bloody Potter family always make my life miserable, one way or another, since I had lost of bet of twenty galleons."
I just shrugged and worked for another eight hours while trying to figure out McGonagall's note.
So, whaddaya think? I know that it's so revealing to the next chapters, but I just couldn't help it. Again, sorry for the long update. I'll try to update faster, at least once a month. Also, a good friend of mine has started a website called Zlokomon with his own stories. I believe that he would really appreciate it if you read his wondrous works of literature. Here's the link:
.com/zlokomon
Don't forget about the new reviewing goal!
~Annabelle4.0