DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except for my character, Raine, Aspen, and Chloe. The rest is all J.K. Rowlings!
XoXo
As we walked down the halls to get back into the Gryffindor common room, tears were still burning their way down my cheeks and it was all I could do to keep from sobbing. "Licorice Wands," James said softly. The Fat lady gave us an incredulous look and opened her mouth to speak.
"What's wrong with her?" she asked harshly.
"Nothing. Are you going to let us in or not?" James snapped.
"You're exactly like your father, you are," she said grumpily. She swung open anyway and we walked in. Aspen, Fred, Chloe and Raine were all sitting around the fire.
"Hey," Aspen said warmly. I sat down on a chair and pulled my knees up to my chest. "What's the matter?" She walked over to where I was sitting and started rubbing my back. She turned to James with such fierceness that James jumped. "What did you do to her?" Aspen shrieked.
"What? Me? I didn't do anything!" James argued.
"Yes, because that explains why she's crying!"
"That isn't my fault!"
"Then whose fault is it?"
"Aspen!" I snapped. She turned to me with sympathy written in her eyes. "It wasn't him! Just let it go, all right?"
"Fine. But don't expect me to talk to him again!" She turned away from me and stalked up the stairs.
"Well, that went well," Chloe said, rolling her eyes. "I'm gonna go talk to her. You four would be better off just sitting down here, all right?"
We all watched as Chloe trudged up the stairs. I looked at James and gave him a smile. He was too lost in thought to even look at me. Raine and Fred looked at each other and then at the both of us.
"Okay," Raine sighed. "You two are either going to us what happened or sit down here until you do."
"But . . ." I argued.
She shook her head and held up her hand. "No arguments! Just tell us or you don't leave!"
"Fine," James sighed. He looked at me with his eyes wide and ran his fingers through his hair. "When we went to the library, we found something."
"Something like what?" Fred asked earnestly.
"Something like I'm related to Voldemort!" I rushed.
Raine's eyes were wide with surprise and Fred almost fell off of the couch. Raine quickly composed herself and went to the chair I was sitting in. "You should be proud," she said quietly.
"Proud?! What does she have to be proud of, Vondurri?!" James spat.
"The Dark Lord was a great man. He may have done a few things wrong, but what does that mean? What did he do to your family?" Raine hissed.
"Well, let's see. He tried to kill my father, killed my grandparents and his followers murdered half the people my parents loved!"
"It's their fault for getting in the way!"
"Their fault? Their fault? What about Professor Longbottom's parents? They were tortured into insanity using the Crusiatus curse by Bellatrix!"
"On the Dark Lord's orders was it not?" James nodded a malicious look in his eyes. "Then she was only following orders. Was there a law that stated they had to follow everything that he said?"
"Yes! The law that stated you did whatever he told you or you were killed!"
"Where is that written?"
"Nowhere, but what does it matter? That's what happened!"
"Well then I'm glad my parents had enough common sense to do what he said!" Raine shrieked.
"Spoken like a true Death Eater," I muttered. She turned her hate filled eyes toward me, but James saved me with another statement.
"And how does that fit into their consciences? If they have any!" James growled.
Raine hmmphed and went upstairs in that haughty manner of hers. I looked at James with distaste written on my face. He shrugged and sat down with anger still etched onto his face. I took one last lingering look at the eleven-year-old and then made my way upstairs.
I could hear whispering. It was Raine and Chloe. Aspen had long since fallen asleep. It ceased as soon as I walked into the room. "I thought you should know that your boyfriend is completely wrong about the Dark Lord!" Raine said scathingly.
"He's not my boyfriend and I don't think he's wrong," I countered, changing into my pajamas.
"Then you are wrong also. Chloe agrees with me, don't you Chloe?"
"Don't manipulate her into your thinking! She has a free will, unlike your parents who will always be under Voldemort's rule!"
"You dare speak his name?! And what could possibly make you believe that you speak that name?"
"Well, I wonder. Maybe that I'm his daughter?!" I snapped. I saw Raine's eyes flash with anger, but Chloe put a hand on her shoulder. Raine nodded and crawled into her bed. I followed suit and pulled the covers up to my chin. I swiftly fell asleep.
XoXo
A month late, on Halloween, everyone was excited for the feast the evening. Professor Stells was being incredibly gracious, giving us only a reading assignment instead of a whole report. Professor Flitwick assigned us to practice our Wingardum Leviosa charms, although James already had that down. Professor Binns, of course, assigned us an eleven-inch report on the goblin wars. Professor Noore assigned us more practice in transfiguring a thimble to a cork. Porfessor Slughorn, surprising, assigned us a nine-inch report on the different effects between a bezoar and an antidote.
Aspen, James, Fred and I were all walking to the common room to change out of our robes for the feast. We had books piled high and were all wondering how we were going to finish all of it on time. "Thank God that it's the weekend," Aspen sighed, sinking onto her bed when Aspen and I had made it.
"I know! Who knew this school could be this torturous?" I laughed, walking over to my trunk and changing into jeans and a t-shirt.
"School? I thought this was a prison!" Aspen said mockingly. We burst into a fit of laughter, until Raine walked into the room.
I gave her a scathing glare; she didn't acknowledge me at all. I quickly finished changing and then signaled to Aspen that I was going down to the common room. She nodded shortly and then continued changing.
I made my way down the stairs and saw that James was sitting by himself, reading his notes for History of Magic. "This is unheard of!" I gasped mockingly. He looked up at smiled. "The James Potter is actually studying!"
"I know!" he laughed. "And the only reason I am is because dad sent me a letter that said if I didn't bring my grades up, I had to stay here and study over Christmas!"
"How horrible! You might have to stay here with no family while the rest of us will have to do that anyway!" I mocked again. He smiled crookedly and rolled his eyes.
"Shut up. Hey! I have an idea!" he said excitedly. "Why don't I ask Mum and Dad if you and Aspen can come over for Christmas?"
I just raised my eyebrows and watched as Fred came out of the boys dormitories. He sat down next to James and then sighed. "What's wrong your problem?" I asked uncomforting.
"Nothing," he said sadly.
"That doesn't sound like nothing," James said just as evilly.
"I know it doesn't. But this is the part where you say, 'everything will be all right Freddie!" Fred pouted.
"We all know that won't happen," James laughed. I joined in and Aspen let out a false laugh when she came downstairs.
"Why are we laughing?" she asked sweetly.
"We're laughing because Fred is acting like an idiot, as usual," I answered.
"Ah," she said. She turned to me with worry etched into her face.
"What's wrong?" I breathed into her ear.
"Come with me," she hissed back. I nodded and followed her into the girls' lavatory.
"Now will you tell me what the matter is?" I asked, feeling the worry make my voice at least a pitch higher than normal.
"They found out!" she sobbed.
"Who found what out?"
"Raine and Chloe found out that you're Voldemort's daughter!"
"I know Raine knew, but why would it matter?"
"Do you really not understand?!" I shook my head. "Raine hates you now and Chloe is best friends with Raine. They are going to announce to the entire school that you are Voldemort's daughter!"
This statement hit me with such force that I had to sit down. I crouched on the floor and my head was in my hands. "But . . . why would they do that?" I whispered.
"They hate you!" Aspen said slowly. "What aren't they going to do to make your world a living hell?!"
"But that is the worst news they could tell the world!"
"That's why they're doing it!"
"Fine! I'll just greet that the way I greeted the school. Coldly and full of hatred.
Aspen sighed, but pushed the lavatory door open. We both walked out of it with strained smiles on our lips.
"Are you guys ready to go?" James asked his blue eyes warm.
We both nodded and walked out of the common room. I could feel my face etched with lines of worry because I was thinking so hard. James came behind me and put his hand on my shoulder.
"What's the matter" he asked quietly.
I shook my head and forced his hand off my shoulder. "Not now," I whispered.
"Why not now?! Why don't you trust me anymore?" he asked scathingly. I turned to face him, coming to a dead stop.
"It's not that I don't trust you, James! It's the fact that you'll fine out in a few minutes time!"
James walked past me angrily and continued down to the feast. Aspen looked at me sympathetically while Fred ran after his cousin. I guess family comes before friends. I looked at Aspen who had questions written all over her features.
"What was that all about?" she asked, coming up beside me.
"Nothing," I muttered. She gave me that look that suggested she knew every one of my thoughts.
"Don't lie to me again! You can trust me, you do know that right?" I nodded begrudgingly. "So tell me what happened."
"He wanted to know why I was thinking."
"He doesn't know that you think on a daily basis?"
"Yeah. But I guess this time was different. He sounded genuinely worried anyway. But, let's stop worrying about this. We have bigger things to think about."
"Like Raine and Chloe?"
"Like Raine and Chloe."
Aspen nodded and we continued to walk in silence. We made it to the Great Hall and sat down next to James and Fred in silence. Fred looked at us with a sympathetic look, but James did nothing. He was still mad then. Professor McGonagall stood up with smile lighting up her usually stern face.
"Welcome on and all to the Halloween feast! Now, this is not like our usual feasts because you will not be leaving soon, you will not have just arrived and you, some of you, will not have left us. But first and foremost, eat and be merry!" She spread her arms wide and the golden plates were filled with food.
I had just started eating some mashed potatoes when Raine and Chloe burst into the Great Hall. I turned to them with absolute loathing. Raine's eyes were filled with fear and Chloe's lower lip was trembling. McGonagall stared at them sternly over her spectacles. Raine stepped up to her and raised a trembling hand to McGonagall's ear. McGonagall nodded.
"Everyone! I have an announcement to make!" Raine called over the loud murmuring.
A hush fell over all of us as we looked at her. "I have some to say that we have just come to find that the Dark Lord's child is in this school!" she shouted.
"Where?!" a Hufflepuff asked. Riane and Chloe shared a smile.
"She is at the Gryffindor table!"
Everyone turned to look at me. Not a single one had a stitch of surprise on their faces. "Yes! Miss Acacia Lestrange is the Dark Lord's daughter!" Raine's face was the definition of smug.
James looked back at me with wide eyes. I nodded, but then looked at Professor Longbottom, who was standing up. Longbottom then turned to the rest of us and spoke again.
"Miss Vondurri!" he said sharply. "If you do not sit down and cease this childish behavior, I will remove you!" Raine quietly sat down, with that smug look still on her face. Longbottom then turned to the rest of us and spoke again.
"Now listen to me. Listen! If you change your opinion of Miss Lestrange, because of this information, you will be sadly mistaken! For as long as I have known her, she has seemed a nice and studious girl, the polar opposite of her mother! Remember Harry Potter! People called him crazy, but he was the one that saved us all. He is the reason that most of you are here! Think on that the next time you even think about saying something to her!"
He sat down and McGonagall and the rest of the teachers clapped. I put my head down and felt heat rush to my face. Raine was looking at me with anger filling every one of her features.
"You put him up to that didn't you?" she hissed.
"Yes, Raine," I replied skeptically. "That's exactly what I did because I knew that you were going to announce one of the biggest secrets ever?!"
"Because you're best friends with Aspen and Chloe mentioned something in passing about it!"
"Whatever, Raine. You're just upset because Voldemort liked my mother more than your parents!"
Raine hmmphed again and then looked away. I finished up my food and then waited for the rest of my group to be done.
When the feast was over, we all walked up to the common room. Aspen and Fred said that they were going to bed and then left us alone. It always seemed this way. James and I alone. We had gotten close this way, but it would still have been nice to have the other two here. I sat down next to James and smiled at him, the food feeling comfortably heavy in my stomach and my eyelids drooping slightly. He enveloped me in a hug, ensuring that it was all right now and then began singing softly.
"With
every appearance by you, blinding my eyes
I can hardly remember
the last time I felt like I do
You're an angel disguised
And
you're lying real still
But your heart beat is fast just like
mine
And the movie's long over
That's three that have passed,
one more's fine
Will you stay awake for me?
I don't wanna
miss anything
I don't wanna miss anything
I will share the air
I breathe
I'll give you my heart on a string
I just don't wanna
miss anything
I'm trying real hard not to shake
I'm biting
my tongue
But I'm feeling alive and with every breath that I
take
I feel like I've won
You're my key to survival
And
if it's a hero you want
I can save you. Just stay here
Your
whispers are priceless
Your presence is too, So please stay
here
Will you stay awake for me?
I don't wanna miss
anything
I don't wanna miss anything
I will share the air I
breathe
I'll give you my heart on a string
I just don't wanna
miss anything
Say my name I just want to hear you
Say my
name so I know it's true
You're changing me, you're changing
me
You showed me how to live
So just say. So just say
That
you'll stay awake for me
I don't wanna miss anything
I don't
wanna miss anything
I will share the air I breathe
I'll give
you my heart on a string
I just don't wanna miss anything"
"Where'd you come up with that?" I asked sleepily.
"I didn't," he said softly.
I nodded once and then slipped into a deep sleep with my body pressed against his, and my head pressed onto his shoulder.
XoXo
So there you go. Another chapter in the life of Acacia. R&R. Tell your friends, tell them to tell your friends and don't forget to READ AND REVIEW!!!
Anyway, I liked the song because it really gave me inspiration for her next chapter. I know that it takes me forever to update, but I'll try for at least once a week from now on, okay?
