Chapter XVIII
Keller knew she had been right about everyone talking about what happened over yesterday as she walked down the hall and saw people gathered in groups and could heard them whispering when they saw her coming and passing them.
Great so this is what it feels like, having everyone eye you and gossip behind your back when not asking you to tell them the real truth about it. How bloody stupid can people get?
Now she knew how Hermione must've felt with that whole Rita Skeeter ordeal about that article on that love triangle thing back in her fourth year and she had been use to it and Keller tried to do the same, ignoring it and thinking how to explain to almost everyone she didn't try to kill herself.
All I know for sure that I hadn't been alone up in that tower and that there had been someone else, but who? Whoever it was wanted me to not remember what happened but why?
Why indeed, she thought as she tried to mesh some piece from that day and not getting anywhere with it and thought she should at least let the Headmaster figure it out then inform her then that's it. She saw at most, the Slytherin enjoying the rumors and leer and jest in her direction, 'Thinking of jumping off another tower,' or 'don't leave a mess on the lawn, they had it freshly cut,' and pretty much laugh in her face as she walked away.
Keller tried her best to ignore the rumor and but inside she felt like screaming at each and everyone of them that she hadn't been doing that sort but then she would have to maybe explain and didn't exactly know how to tell people the truth when she didn't remembered what happened.
Merlin just getting annoyed by all this talk around her was making her want to wring the rumor out of them by their throats and tell them to shut the fuck up. But she had to put down those urges and had to escape off somewhere to catch her breath, only to find few people watching her every move and knew the same could be said for the professors.
The only people who hadn't been listening in to these rumors were Hermione, Lily, and the Marauders. They had been around her, supporting and keeping quiet about it but she knew they were as curious as to what happened but didn't dare say it unless they wanted to upset her which made her in a way did because she couldn't recall a goddamn thing.
God, even them not saying it were enough to get on her raw nerves. She had had enough when she was walking down the hall, heading out to Hagrid's and bump into a bunch of Slytherin girls.
A bunch she had decisively dubbed the 'Slutherin squad'.
"Well, well, well look who it is? It's the Gryffindor Corvin girl who tried to kill herself." A blond girl with her nose held high in the air, looking like she was trying to act superior to her said loudly for the other girls that like her snickered while looking at her. Keller pretend to ignored her as she tried to make it pass them but two large girls step in her way, blocking her.
"Get out of my way please…" She said the 'please' in a strain annoyed tone, hoping the ugly brute would get the clue but it seem she didn't as she stood there. If she hadn't been trying to hold her anger in, she would have grab the girl and hurtle her across the room like a sack of potatoes.
Don't do anything stupid; don't let them get to you Keller…Don't get yourself pissed.
The blond seem persistent to drive hot poker in her for fun as she taunt her again, "If you're heading for the towers, you're heading the wrong way then. Obviously, you Gryffindor are as stupid and as dimwitted as you come."
Don't get pissed, don't get pissed…don't get— aw screw that! Keller looked to the blond whose hair almost reminded her of Malfoy's with the same air, which she found disgusting and very annoying, seeing bitches like her thinking they were such hot shots.
"You know, you Slutherin are the worse piece of shit I have ever seen walk this earth and that's not just these two ugly brutes here I'm talking about." She point to the ones before her and saw the way the blondes' eyes narrowed and then a dark haired girl stepped forward, "You watch what you say about my sister if you know what's good for you."
Keller rolled her eyes, "And why should I care?" She noticed she looked strangely familiar and remembered her dream, the nightmare wedding, her hitching in a room full of corpse and skeleton faces, Sirius trying to come to her rescue and then this bitch shooting a spell, sending him to never come back. She gave her an extremely cold glare, which seem to make her a little bit unnerve but didn't dare show on her face.
"Tell me what's your name and I'll see if I give a dragon's ass about it?" The girl glared back at her and if to see if to intimated her by telling her who she was.
"I am Bellatrix Black and this is my sister Narcissa." She said with a sneer in her voice. If she was expecting any reaction other than what Keller did, she was sadly mistaken.
She snorted and then said, "So you're a Black, nice to hear that from you. Big Whoop! Know your family into the whole pure blood crap and yadda yadda and all that jazz except for Sirius whom I prefer to be in his company than yours and if you think you can make me feel any lower, I'm sorry to sorely disappoint you but from what I can see, you two are the house hoes from what I can smell of your stink. Ever heard of taking a bath?"
She then went to go around them, bumping her shoulder against her and ignoring the four icy glares being sent to her from behind before she felt an arm spun her around and was looking into the heavy-lidded eyes of a pissed of bitch.
"HEY YOU DON'T GO TALKING SHIT ABOUT ME OR MY SISTER LIKE THAT!" Bellatrix yelled, frustrate as she saw no fear or any she was use to seeing when she made people look down at the ground instead of seeing her eye to eye like this one. If Keller's eyes were capable of burning holes through, she would have been sure that this bitch would have empty sockets and grabbed her hand and pulled it off her shoulder and tossed it away.
"I have no reason to discuss with you or your sister anymore about how I see fit to talk to you, Be-a-bitch." Everyone was stunned while Narcissa looked to see what her sister reaction was as she called out in gritted teeth, anger blazing in her eyes, "What did you call me?"
Keller sighed as if she was growing tired with what she was doing, "I don't like to repeat myself but I'll say it to you slowly so you can understand ok, BE-A-BITCH, as in you're a Bitch and see that this talk is now over!" And was walking from them before she heard a shuffling of robes and a spell being cast and aimed at her back.
"Protego!" She said without looking back or making so much as a bat of an eyelash as she turned her head slightly to watched the spell bounce off and redirect and head straight for Bellatrix who dodge it quickly but not as fortunate for her sister, Narcissa.
Narcissa's front teeth were growing longer and longer at an alarming rate, past her lip and chin, giving a panicking scream as it continue to grow. Bellatrix went to her sister's side, followed by the two lugging broads as they stood there while Bellatrix started yelling at them to do something with having no idea what to do.
Keller decided that she would have added some more mischief for her fun and said silently under her voice a special jinx on them in their direction to make things more interesting. She smiled as she heard the four screams as she was headed out to the grounds.
Now she felt much better, those four Slutherins didn't know what hit them and should be able to at least remember that she wasn't someone to be messed with.
Keller's mood had lightened as she went outside to see Orion and Hagrid whom she found by the stall and waved to her when he saw her coming. He had heard the news from all the students and only when she told him what really happened, believed in what she said about someone trying to throw her off the tower.
"'Hen I get me hands on whoe'er 'een 'rying to 'urt yo' Ms. 'Eller, I'll 'ave them learn not to mess with the likes of us." She smiled as Hagrid made more promises, promises to get whoever try to get her killed. She was thankful for his kind concern and really wished she could was recall something but the funny thing was she knew somewhat a little bit but not a lot of the day before that. She was supposed to meet there for something and that was it, nothing else there to give a clue. Sometimes she tried to really concentrate to find out if she could remember more but it resulted in was a terrible headache and feeling slightly dizzy.
Orion broke her train of thought as he neigh and push his dragonish face to her and she had to do was scratch behind his ear, knowing he liked it there the most when she did that.
He was looking fit and healthy as she could tell and watch him from time to time as he tried to fly with the others, only flying about a few feet before getting back to the ground and trying again.
She petted Orion on the head again before Hagrid stop his ranting and turn to her and said, "Oh I 'most forgot Ms. 'Eller. 'Rion has a surprise for you." He smiled with a big twinkle in his eyes as she looked to him.
A surprise? She looked to Orion who was almost as big like the other and taller by an inch or two over her. She followed Hagrid outside with Orion and before she knew it, Hagrid picked her up and placed her on Orion's back. "Make sure you hold on tightly to him 'Eller! It's going to be a bumpy flight!"
"Hagrid what are you do—ING!!!" She yelled as he swatted behind Orion and he started galloping at a fast pace and had to grab on to his mane as he began going faster and Keller saw that his hooves were now barely touching the ground until they were no more heading high up as his wings extend and were flapping, going higher and higher until she saw Hagrid's hut like a small dollhouse and the castle going close to it.
She watched as they passed the towers, seeing few people in the rooms and going to where the Gryffindor tower was and saw by the window of the common room was with Mione reading and the marauders sitting idly by chatting. She decided to give a hello to them.
Hey Mione look out here, by the window! Hermione hearing Keller's voice, looked up from her book as the boys had been discussing some prank that none of them had come up with as they had seen Sirius's cousins, Narcissa and Bellatrix with pimples written on their face 'Slutherins' and Cissa's teeth longer than a beavers. Hermione saw Keller zooming by on Orion and saw her waving as they hover their still for a few minutes.
Oh my God Keller! Hey! She waved and Remus looked up to see Hermione waving and look towards the window at Keller on the back of a Threstal.
The guys some not exactly seeing what it was they were looking at before Sirius said, "What the Bloody Hell!" Before everyone went to the window and Keller indicate to Hermione to meet outside at Hagrid's hut before flying down there herself.
She and Orion flew over the lake, seeing both their reflections, placing her hand over the surface and watching it spray with her touch and then back to Hagrid where he stood waiting and Orion galloped then jog then trot towards him, coming to a complete stop by the half giant.
"Not 'ad eh?" Hagrid asked as he helped Keller get off and patted Orion's neck. "Yeah the best, thanks Hagrid for making my day."
"Don't 'ive 'e all the 'redit, 'Rion here did 'ost of it. 'Ought it 'heer 'ou up. And it 'eem to have work 'retty well." He laughed as she scratched Orion behind his head, "Thanks then Orion." And Orion nuzzled back at her before she saw the others coming down to see her and Hagrid.
"Hey that was bloody brilliant!" Sirius was the first to say after they came to greet her. Sirius had watched as she smiled and saw that had to be geniune, one where she was really happy yet still saw the sadness that was shown in her eyes.
For almost through the whole night since yesterday, he had been reading the journal, doing numerous cuts on his fingers and seeing each and every vivid detail of Keller's past.
Her endless training, Drake's practical remarks on her and her mother, forcing her to become stronger and showed less of her human side as the years passed.
He didn't want to read anymore after seeing Keller in the hospital wing after he had decided to go to the kitchen to grab a snack. He borrowed James's cloak and was passing the double doors when he heard quiet sniffling and knew that no one else was in that room but Keller and went to take a quick peek as he open the door slowly and saw Keller asleep that 'comic book' lying open in her lap and had the headphones on with something underneath. He picked up a corner and saw it was that weird box but now it had words to it, 'Going Under'. She was muttering something in her sleep.
"Someone…anyone help me…someone please…" Tears fell from her eyes and Sirius reached out to rid them when he saw her eyes opened and he pulled back startled before they closed again and said his name, "…Sirius."
His heart was pounding and his body began trembling as he looked to her, to see if she was really asleep and not faking.
He touched her face and wiped away the glistening tears and without thinking, bend to kiss her eyelids and then her lips. He pulled back and quickly disappeared and closed the door, forgetting the kitchen but heading to the dorm and returning her book back to its rightful owner that night, still thinking of the small midnight kiss.
Now as he watched her petting the Threstal and laughing as some were talking and asking how it was to fly, he knew he couldn't take it, he had to talk to her and ask her out, just once, just once like a date. Not like a friend-to-friend, but an actually date. And there was one he thought that might interest her.
"Um Keller can we talk?" Keller turn to look at him as she was about to ask that very question to discuss privately with Hermione about her dream and professor Valerious. She was considering and said, "All right, be right back Sonja, we've got something to discuss later, can you wait?" Hermione nodded and she went up to Sirius but he took her from the group and over to the lake.
They were silent for a moment before she said, "It's nice out here." He tried to think something witty, something flirty but remembered she never did like that kind of thing so he said, "Yeah it is. October is always the best autumn season don't you think?"
She shrugged, "I guess. I wouldn't know much except my dad told me that on the 31st that's Halloween where kids go 'Trick-o-Treat' whatever that is?" He looked at her shocked to hear that she had never did that kind of thing but then he didn't know much about her parents except they had somehow died, her journal never going as far to tell how or why. He best let her reveal when the time was right and right now was completely different.
"Yeah Halloween, it's amazing here at Hogwarts. The ghost go about, pretending to be scary, knights serving out candy, there's always tons and tons of sweet for the banquet and ball. A Halloween ball where everyone's dressed in costumes and masquerades and it's loads of fun, the Head Boys and Girls from each house are suppose to pick a theme and will probably let everyone know in about a week or so.
Speaking of the ball, it's in less than two week from now and was wondering, well if you didn't have plans to go with anyone, I was, you know, thinking…"
God where had the smooth, slick, suave flirt that girls had swoon over? It was bloody humiliating if anyone else were to see the way he was acting.
But one look from Keller's eyes was enough as he waited as she thought it through and said, "Will you give me a few days to consider thinking about it?" Sirius tried to hide his look of disappointment, but she didn't say no yet, there still was a chance, he hope there was before he nodded and said, "Sure." And watched as she walked away and then sat on the ground and stared at the lake, wondering what her answer would be.
Keller saw that Hermione was indeed waiting for her as she took Hermione over to the stalls where Orion was already there and Hagrid back at his hut.
"So what did Sirius wanted to talk to you about?" She asked before Keller could have a chance to say what she had.
Keller sighed, "He asked me out to the Halloween ball and I told him to give me some time, a couple days to think it through." Hermione looked at her with a wide grin and a sly know-it-all look, "What? What?"
"Nothing just that it seem you like him don't you?" Hermione saw Keller's face turning red and sputtered, "I-I do not Mione!"
"Then why are you blushing?" Oh how she enjoyed teasing her, after all the weeks she had to put off with Keller when coming back from the Shrieking Shack with Remus in a state that was obvious and smelling of sex. She and him had gone maybe once or twice a week, sometimes not to sleep together but to hold each other and make-out with endless passion. She remembers the time Keller had seen and remark about her whole new set of hickeys she had on her collarbone. Good thing she didn't see the rest of her otherwise there would have been no end of her teasing the dickens out of her.
She watched as Keller moved to where Orion was and said, "Well for your information cousin, I'm not going."
"What?! But Keller come on, he been nice enough to you and hasn't done any flirting or anything and he has been friendly and—"
"And if I get emotionally involve, we could get something even worse for screwing up our time Mione, have you even thought of that?!" She said as she took an empty bucket and turned it over, knowing that she hit a hard blow to her and wishing she could take it back.
Hermione moved to her side, something was up and she knew it had more to do than Sirius asking her out. "Ok, I'm sorry Kell for teasing you." Keller snorted it and Hermione thinking it was best change subject asked what she wanted to talk about.
Keller took a deep breath and told her the whole thing, the nightmare wedding, how her mom called professor Valerious her long dead sister and aunt Cecilia, the dead guest, the snake groom, Sirius coming to her rescue then falling backwards by a spell hit by Bellatrix and then getting hit with a spell herself then waking up to see the professor in the room with a locket, with the initials C. V. exactly like the one she had been given in the dream. Hermione took all this in without any interruption until Keller finished her story.
"So are you saying you think that professor Valerious might possible be your aunt Cecilia?" Keller nodded, "But how I thought you said that your mom's entire family was killed."
"That's what I thought too but apparently somehow I don't know, she must have survived and became a immortal but there's a problem. If she was bitten by Viktor, then she should have become a vampire and vampires can't stand in sunlight without getting killed and the blinds are never close in the classroom and she has been walking out during the day."
Hermione knew that much was true as she recalled the past dream her mother was in, being burn by the stake before her father's eyes. She shuddered and Keller noticed.
"Sorry but it boggles me too how she ended up surviving without getting killed but there's only one way to find out."
"Are you sure this is the only way?" Hermione whispered as they snuck out into the halls under James's invisibility cloak. They had 'borrowed' it temporary when Hermione was diverting the boys' attention with discussing something, she didn't even know what exactly as Keller walk in and out of their room in a blink of an eye, taking the cloak and stuffing it in her bag back in their room. She hope the boys were going to have plans to use it anytime soon if they didn't make it back it time.
Before dinner was over, the girls excused themselves saying they had to finish a report for transfiguration due tomorrow. They would most likely have but an hour before the boys would head to the Gryffindor tower and wonder where they were. They headed to the broom closet and Keller pulling out the robe from her bag and covering the both of them as they made their way to the second floor to the DADA office.
"Alohomora!" The door became unlocked and opened and they stepped inside and closed the door back and looked about the room then went upstairs to the professor's office. The room contain barely had anything which surprised Hermione as most of her other Defenses teacher had always something like to add a hint of decoration, the worst had been Umbridge and her picture of the kitten's in Dumbledore's office. Ugh! She would hate having to see that awful woman again if she did in this time.
Keller seem to take this in as she remember how her mom thought most times and she herself was back in the dojo with Drake, "Just like us…" And quickly went to start looking around, to find any clue they needed as she headed to the cabinet and open the first one on top.
"Hermione look in that desk cabinet and I'll look in these!" She point to the drawers standing to the side as she open them one by one and flip through flips and look to the next, seeing nothing but agenda work. Hermione knew this was wrong on so many levels of breaking and entering a professor's office and looking through their stuff but she had broken many rules before, what's one more compare to a hundred she and her friends did.
She open the first one, seeing nothing but quills and ink bottles and parchment and other assortment of nothing keenly interesting. She looked to the one below it and found reports, notes and agendas for the class. She then check to the right one and found a small red book. A book that had a symbol that looked remarkable like hers and Keller's pendant.
"Keller…" Keller had been busying looking through the last one, having no luck, just reports and essays she found before she heard Hermione and saw the book in her hand.
"Well," She looked to the cover and to the pendant and again to Hermione, "You think we should open it?"
"We shouldn't as it might not be what we're looking for—"
Keller open the book and started reading out loud the first page written in black writing, "May 15th, the year of our lord Viktor was the day that I shall never forget, the day where I have not told a soul of what had happened to me on the night of the full moon."
Hermione looked to her, feeling a slight shiver go down her spine at the mention of the moon, "Full moon, you don't think…"
"Only one way to find out, Hermione hand me some of those parchment papers from the drawer." Hermione pulled them out and watched as Keller pulled out her wand and point it to one page and then to the other piece of paper.
"Xeroica!" The words copied down on the parchment and then flipped and did the same with the next and hand it to Hermione while skimming down the pages of the book, copying as much she could and then closing it before putting it back in the drawer exactly where it was.
"Deletrius!" She pointed at the book, "Well we can't have the owner finding out we look through the pages and the rest of her stuff." She went to do the same to the drawers and rest until not a trace of them was left in the room. When she finished she grabbed Hermione, "Now come on, we got to get going!" She placed the cloak over them and walked out of the room, locking it back up and heading off to the hall and seeing that no one had been about, took the cloak off and rush to the Gryffindor tower as fast as they could only to have the mishap of having Peeves trying to throw water balloons at them.
That annoying git, he's going to get it now! Hermione had no time to stop Keller as she aimed her wand and said, "Aguamenti!" And a jet of water spray out, hitting directly at Peeves, causing him to be off guard while Keller adding a freezing charm to cast Peeve inside ice. "Now that's what I call giving the cold front!" She laughed before Hermione pulled her away, seeing they had wasted enough time and hurried off to the stairs and rushed up them two to three steps.
They saw about two staircases below them, the Marauders and Lily chatting, coming up and descending the steps.
"Merlin, I wish these stairs move faster!" They finally reached the top and shouted the password, "Chocolate Éclairs!" And rushed right in, heading to the couch and taking out random books and Hermione grabbing an ink bottle and quill and papers from her bag, whether written or not while Keller was doing the same and pushing the cloak all the way in at the same time as the painting open and in step the guys.
"Hey ladies, been busy I see?" James said, taking notice of how Hermione was writing or at least was in his view. Sirius noticed something silvery protruding from Keller's bag and Keller noticing his line of vision pretend to clear her throat, catching his attention for a millisecond and stuff the rest of it in. "So, um Keller, what was that in your bag—"
"Sirius, could you come with me one moment?" She said, grabbing his hand and leading him out to the painting and outside the room.
Hermione could barely hear the muffled talking behind the wall with her acute hearing and so did Remus as they heard 'REALLY?' from Sirius and then the portrait open and in came a happy Sirius with a blushing Keller holding his hand. Keller instantly said she was going to go upstairs to rest and said goodnight to everyone.
Hermione, pretending to do a quick scan of her word say she was going to turn in as well. She said goodnight as well, giving a goodnight kiss to Remus and heading up to the room with her bag and closing the door behind her.
She saw Keller sitting on her bed, her face buried in the pillow but Hermione could still see it bright red and she didn't have to put two and two together.
"You said 'yes' didn't you?" Keller nodded, and tried to fight the blush still coming as she turn and flopped on her bed, "He saw the cloak peeking out and was about to asked, I knew he was going to which would have grabbed everyone's attention and then we would have been in trouble so I did one thing to distract him by saying yes and making him forget about what he seen." She groaned again, muttering in her pillow, "Elder what was I thinking?"
"Well what you did was worth something I suppose after all we did get one part of our mission accomplished right?" She said, pulling out the copied notes and flicking a fire to a candlestick next to their bed, went to Keller's side and together read the first page of story they discovered of Professor 'Cecilia' Valerious.