Blood Ties
Part 6
Rating, summary and such are same as before.
Note 1: Big thanks to Joahn for beta reading the story! Oh oh! Don't forget all those wonderful reviews:)
Note 2: Take a guess. Where does 0.693147180 come from? (Hint: Technically it should be 0.6931471805599...)
"Point-six-nine-three-one-four-seven-one-eight-zero." Willow blurted out without a second thought and rushed into the room she had been sleeping in the whole summer. Throwing herself onto the bed, the redhead's head was buried into the pillows, a loud sob escaped from her throat.
After several minutes, the redhead finally calmed down a bit. She wiped dry her face and sat up, her hand reaching for the trunk at the end of her bed. Opening it, she took out her father's destroyed diary, her hands slowly tracing the hole on it. The headmaster had given it to her after Harry had returned the diary, claiming that it would only make sense that Willow had it instead of him - of course, it was after he had confirmed the magic and the memory within the book was destroyed.
Willow's hand tightened when she remembered her encounter with her father's memory. She had not wanted to destroy it, but she knew it was the only way to save Ginny. Sometimes she wished she had never found the Chamber of Secrets. That way she wouldn't have met her father (even thought it was only a memory), she wouldn't have had to destroy the diary that might well have been the only thing she could have to understand the man who had given her life, wouldn't have to accept the fact that she had destroyed the chance by her own hands - even if it saved a life.
But then, if she had a chance to do it all over again, she would probably choose to do the same: she couldn't let Harry to be the one who destroyed the diary. Because if she did, she knew, deep in her gut, that she might never forgive him - no matter if it was for greater good, no matter that she would, and had, do the same in order to save an innocent's life.
Still, it was a grudge that the redhead knew wouldn't leave her soon, just as the coldness and distrust she had been receiving from people since she had entered the wizarding world. Granted, she now knew the reason behind all these, but it didn't make it hurt less. She had done nothing wrong, at least as far as she knew, but yet, it seemed that almost every one in the wizarding world was watching her, as if expecting her to go crazy and turn everyone into bangers and mash, or something like that. Even if her father was really as evil as they said, it didn't mean the one who had half his DNA would also be evil... did it?
Did it justify treating her as a second-class citizen just because she had Voldemort as her father?
Did it justify identifying her as bad just because her father was being identified as one?
Did her blood really tie her to her father... and his evilness?
After dinner, Hermione had gone to the library while Ron and Harry and stayed in the Great Hall playing chess. Not wanting to do anything that was brain-related, the blond witch made her way back to the Gryffindor Common Room.
Stepping through the portrait hole, Buffy looked around, surprised when she saw Xander sitting at the far end, a thick book in his hand, a concentrating look on his face. "Xander? Are you studying?" She moved towards him and asked, but the dark haired boy was so absorbed in the book that didn't notice the blond witch. "Xand-der!"
"Wha!" Xander jumped, dropping the book in process. He looked up, and found his best friend standing there, her hands on her hips. "Oh. Hey Buff." The dark hair boy sighed in relief. "You scared me."
"What'cha reading?" Buffy bent down, reaching for the book on the floor before her friend could protest. "'Combat against Wizards'?" She frowned. "We need this for class?"
"No." Xander scratched the book away from Buffy. "Just some extra reading."
"Extra reading? You haven't even finished the 'non-extra' reading. Besides, isn't it a bit too advanced for us? I though it was only for seventh year." She narrowed her eyes. "Do you even half understand what it says?" Xander's shoulder dropped in defeat. "What's going on?"
"I..." The dark haired boy sighed. "I can't let Sirius hurt Harry, Buff. He's my friend."
Buffy sighed, taking the seat next to her friend. "Reading some spell book that you can't understand won't help, Xand."
"I just... I hate this. Being so helpless."
"Trust me. You're not the only one." Paused. "And you don't need to prove to anyone that you're not one of them. We all know you're on the good side."
"Do I? Half of the wizarding world thinks I'm a trash just because my dad's a murderer and my uncle's a death eater."
"You're not." Buffy put her hand on her friend's shoulder and squeezed it slightly, but Xander didn't reply. Instead, he stood and walked towards his dormitory.
All Buffy could do was sit there, watching as her friend disappeared up the stairs.
"Does it hurt?"
"It comes and goes. They said I could have lost my arm. I considered myself lucky..."
Xander looked up from his place when he heard Parkinson and Draco talking while they were walking pass him. He rolled his eyes and turned towards Buffy who was sitting next to him. "Look at him, whining like a girl."
"Told you we'd never hear the end of it." Hermione said.
"What do you expect? He's a blond." Buffy shrugged.
The other four looked at each other before turning back towards Buffy, raising their eyebrows. "Aren't you a blond too?"
"I'm a blonde, not a blond." The other four looked at each other, their eyebrows still holding high, question marks popping up from their heads.
"He has been sighted! He has been sighted!"
The confusing moment was forgotten as the gang heard someone shouting and running towards them. They looked up and saw Seamus Finnigan, one of the Gryffindor, rushing into the study hall with a newspaper in hand. "Who?" Xander asked.
"Sirius Black!" Every Gryffindor immediately turned towards Finnigan.
Hermione took the clipping from Finnigan and started reading it. "Honeydukes? It's not far from here!"
"You don't think he's coming here, do you?" Ron asked fearfully.
"But the Dementors are guarding every entrance!" Neville frowned.
"Dementors?" Finnigan snorted. "He already slipped past them once. Who could say he wouldn't do it again?"
"Finnigan's right." Dean Thomas, another Gryffindor, said. "Black could be anywhere. It's like catching black smoke, catching black smoke with bare hands..."
The gang looked at each other, the same worried expression on their faces.
Harry, Buffy, Xander and Ron, along with other third year Gryffindor and Slytherin students, stood in front of a closed old wardrobe. Professor Lupin stood next to it, a small smile on his face. Everyone jumped when the wardrobe suddenly wobbled and banged on the wall.
"Now then," Professor Lupin said. "Anyone wanted to guess what's inside the wardrobe?"
"It's a boggart."
"Very good, Mr. Thomas." Professor Lupin smiled. "Now, can anyone tell me what a boggart looks like?"
"No one knows."
Ron jumped when he heard a voice next to him. He turned, looking at Hermione in confusion, before turning towards to Buffy. "When did she get here?" Buffy shrugged, looking just as confused as he was.
Hermione ignored Ron and continued. "A boggart is a shape-shifter. It takes the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us the most. That makes it so-"
"So terrifying, yes." Professor Lupin finished for her. "Luckily, a very simple charm exists that can repel a boggart. Let's practice now." He smiled at his students. "Ah, and without wand, please. After me, 'Riddikulus'."
"Riddikulus." The class echoed.
"Very good. Little louder, and very clear. Listen: Riddikulus."
"Riddikulus." The class echoed again.
Draco turned towards Crabbe and Goyle. "This class is ridiculous." He snorted, and immediately earned a nod from his fellow Slytherin.
"Very good. Well, so much for the easy part." Professor Lupin said. "See, the word alone is not enough. What really finishes a boggart is: laugher. You need to force it to assume the shape you find truly amusing. Let me explain." He looked around. "Um, Neville, would you join me please?" Neville looked around nervously. "C'mon. Don't be shy. C'mon." The professor encouraged.
Neville walked towards the professor nervously. "Now," Professor Lupin smiled at the youngster. "What frightens you most of all?"
"Professor Snape." Neville whispered so soft that not even Professor Lupin who was standing right in front of him could hear.
"What?"
"P-p-professor Snape." Neville said louder, and immediately earned some laughers from his classmates.
"Professor Snape." The Defense Against the Dark Art professor nodded. "Right. And um, I believe you live with your grandmother."
"Yes. But I don't want that boggart to turn to her either." Neville replied, and earned him more laughs from his classmates.
"It won't." Professor Lupin assured. "I want you to picture her clothes - only her clothes - very clearly in your mind."
"She carries a red-"
Professor Lupin shook his head. "No need to hear. As long as you see it, we'll see it." He smiled again. "Now, when I open up the wardrobe, here's what I want you to do." He walked towards the youngster and whispered something into his ears. Neville immediately turned to him, surprised. "Can you do that?"
Neville blinked at the professor, then towards the wardrobe, and then back to the professor again. He nodded.
"Good. Wand at the ready." The professor and Neville drew out their wands. "One, two, three."
The professor tipped his wand, and the door of the wardrobe unlocked itself. Everyone watched in silence as the door of the wardrobe opened slowly. Professor Snape matched out from the wardrobe, his face cold as usual, staring at Neville as if wanted to eat him alive. Neville swallowed, and pointed his wand towards the dark haired professor. "Riddikulus!"
Professor Snape stumbled back, and suddenly, his usual dark robes turned itself into a long lace-trimmed dress. A red big handbag was hanging on his arm, a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture on his head.
Every one in the classroom laughed. Professor Snape stood there, confused, seemly did not understand what was happening. "Wonderful Neville! Wonderful! Okay." Professor Lupin laughed. "Everyone form a line." The students immediately formed a line in front of the confused boggart. "Everyone picture the thing that you fear the most, and turn it into something... funny. Next!" He smiled. "Ron."
Ron, who was standing at the front, slowly walked up towards Professor Snape. And not a second later Professor Snape transformed into a giant spider. The redhead boy stood there, his hands shaking with fear as he drew out his wand and pointed at it. "Riddikulus!" Immediately, rollers appeared on all the six legs of the spiders, causing it sliding at all directions, not even able to stand straight. Everyone laughed again.
"Marvelous! Very good!" Professor Lupin smiled. "Next!"
Xander was the next. He stood in front of the rolling spider, laughing, before suddenly the spider turned into a clown. "Epp!" Xander jumped a bit as the clown stood there, a shinning knife in hand. He slowly walked towards Xander as the youngster drew his wand out and took a couple steps back. "Riddikulus!" He shouted.
The whole class went silence when the clown turned into an old man with white hair and moustache and a set of white suit and walking stick. Buffy blinked. "Is that the KFC guy?" She wondered aloud. As if hearing her question, the old man held out a box of KFC chicken from behind. Everyone started laughing again.
"What?" Xander frowned, looking at his classmates. "I'm hungry." His statement only made the others laughed harder.
Professor Lupin smiled. "Next!"
Harry took a step forward. He looked at the old man with his chicken, and concentrated on thinking of the one man he feared most - Voldemort. But to his horror, the memory on the Hogwarts Express flashed in front of him and suddenly, the man with the chicken turned itself into a Dementor.