A/n: Whoaaa, it was so much fun getting all those reviews. I get to know everyone who's reading Nevar!
Thank you guys! It made me feel much less lonely. Answers to questions are at the end of the chapter :D
Info: I did decide to go with a time skip, because there is still a lot to be written, and I myself sometimes get impatient to move to certain parts that i have in my head, but not written down yet.
Thanks potterbuncker, you're sweet :) I never took anything the wrong way. I did consider some of your suggestions, but I couldn't answer the question 'why would Harry's parents have paid for this school, among so many in britain?' I couldn't get it to make sense, and I already had half of the chapter written, so I kept it this way.
And to Firaquila, you're right. What I said before is partly because you said it. There is a lot to be written, and I can't write every detail down. I have to shift through what's important (and what's nice and fluffy or hot and passionate, of course).
Thanks for all the other suggestions too, I'm always happy to hear them, so don't hesitate!
Chapter 26.
St-James' College
A lovely garden on a summer afternoon, with flowers in bloom; little and tall hedges, a few marble statues and fountains. It was filled with the chatter of people in distinguished clothes, walking around with cups of tea and all kinds of sandwiches and cakes. It was a party aunt Petunia would have dreamed of.
Speaking of dreams, it felt like one to the small boy sitting on a bench in a remote corner, his small figure unnoticed by most. His green eyes watched shyly from the sidelines, from behind his raven-black bangs; his legs swinging back and forth, for they could not reach the ground from the high bench.
The boy was uncomfortable. Everyone was here with at least one parent. He had none. He had made the voyage alone, by train. Now he was waiting for the only people he knew. They should've been there, but he hadn't seen them yet.
Despite being a little forlorn, the child, who had just turned ten the week before, was happy. Two years ago, he had still been absolutely certain he would never set foot in such a place.
"Harry!" Hermione called out as she emerged from a small gathering of parents on the left. She looked giddy and smiled brightly as she joined him on the bench, her toes could just reach the gravel beneath.
Harry smiled back at her, reassured that he could finally talk to someone. He was most grateful to her, because she was the one who had urged him to seek contact with Rebecca from social services. It turned out that Harry's parents had left enough money to pay the fees of St-James' College. It had brought him into a lot of trouble with the Dursleys, triggering their jealousy: even if they were his guardians, they had no claim on the money. And when Rebecca came to sort things out, they had been forced to agree and play along, in fear that their reputation as a perfect family would be ruined.
Harry had been forced to do everything himself though. He'd bought his own uniforms, his books, had passed the entrance tests, and had come all this way for the welcoming party. He had no parents or guardians to accompany him, and he was too shy to socialise with his future-classmates in such a short time. But the party was mandatory for all new students. So there he was, drowned in a sea of posh and rich.
Well, not all were rich. Hermione had gotten in on a scholarship. She'd gotten one of the best grades on the entrance test. And Ron, he'd been extremely lucky, almost as if he'd drunk some kind of luck potion. He'd begged his parents for the past two years to allow him to attend St-James along with his friends, and when finally a relative died (unfortunate, but with perfect timing) and left a good amount of money, Mrs. and Mr. Weasley had accepted to use the inheritance to pay if he got a partial scholarship. (They did not have enough to pay the whole bill.)Hermione had performed a miracle, and Ron had gotten a very good grade, earning him that partial scholarship.
His red hair was soon visible, bobbing through the crowd and making his way to the bench.
"Harry! Hermione!" He said, out of breath. Clearly, he'd been searching for a while. "There's so many people here! I thought there were only eighty students accepted each year."
"Yes, but if they all bring their whole families, like you did…" Hermione bent around Ron to look at the entire Weasley family, who were not ashamed to fill their bellies to the brim with the free, luxurious food.
Ron looked a little embarrassed. He kept standing, so that he wouldn't have to look at Fred and George who were practically stealing cakes from other people's plates.
"We made it, though!" Ron continued, refusing to let his mood be fouled by embarrassment. "Can you believe it?"
"No." Harry chuckled. He felt so light-hearted at the idea of being in the same school as his three best friends, all reunited once again, and of being away from Privet Drive for ten whole months, it was enough to make him float somewhere in the upper troposphere, above the clouds.
From the moment he'd realised he had a real chance of going to St-James, he'd started working on Miss Snape's assignments like a madman (sometimes doing them twice when he wasn't satisfied with the result), leaving little time for his other schoolwork. His grades had dropped a bit, and he hadn't gotten a high enough score on the entrance exam to get even a partial scholarship. But it didn't matter. Rebecca had told him he had enough money to pay for all seven years until graduation.
However, it did mean that there would be nothing left for university. He'd have to work to finance further studies. But Harry was not worrying about that yet. Besides, all students had to take a new test each year to earn their scholarships. It meant he could always get one for the next year. But it also meant he, and Ron and Hermione too, could lose it whenever their scores dropped too low.
The bushy-haired girl had already promised she would keep everyone on track. She had bought each of them an agenda, so as to not fall behind on homework. No one would fail any test if she could help it. Ron wasn't all too happy with the power Hermione Granger wielded, but he could only concede. She had after all made it possible for him to come too.
There was one catch though. St-James' College was actually split into a girls' school and a boys' school. Dormitories were separate of course, and classes too. Only meals and breaks were joint events. This left little time for them to be all together. Hermione would be separated for the greatest part of the day. And Harry and Ron could no longer depend on her to take notes for them in class.
The garden party continued without a hitch. Clearly, the ones who'd organised this were experienced. The trio stayed close together, never really mingling much with others. It seemed that many here had their own little groups of friends already. Only a few stragglers were forced to stay beside their parents. Others were brave enough to make the first step.
When the sun began to drop low on the horizon, the atmosphere started to change. People began to gather closer to each other because of the oncoming chill in the air, and because at eight o'clock there would be a welcoming speech from the headmistress.
In one corner of the garden, a little podium stood, facing many rows of folding chairs. The first rows of seats were already filling up, and soon Mrs. Weasley became anxious for everyone to gather and sit down. Harry sat in the middle of a row, with Hermione and her parents on one side, and Ron and the Weasleys on the other. The twins were chattering non-stop, and Mrs. Weasley kept shushing them and throwing murderous glances in their direction. But when a woman appeared on the podium and everything went quiet, it was Ginny who struck Fred and George on top of the head, and they shut their mouths at once.
Harry suppressed a chuckle. Ginny was much less shy than the first year he'd known her. She was best friends with Hermione, and she often talked to Harry. She was fun, and she could be really scary when she got serious. She and Harry were the same age, but she was still in her last year in elementary school.
The woman on the podium cleared her throat and the raven looked to the front again. The headmistress was past middle-aged. She looked to be around sixty. Harry thought she would probably not be around for much longer on the job. But despite her age, she exuded authority, her face lined but severe, with her greying hair pulled tight in a bun. Her glasses made her gaze look even sharper, and when she started to speak, her voice was clear and concise, giving the impression that she was not to be crossed.
This was a woman who could handle someone like Miss Snape, Harry thought. And he instinctively looked around to look for the literature teacher he knew to be there, but had not seen yet. He could imagine she wasn't too fond of these gatherings. Maybe she simply refused to attend?
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," the headmistress began, "and welcome to our new first-year students. It is with great pleasure that I witness a gathering of so many new faces. I am Minerva McGonagall, headmistress of St-James' College and…" Harry noticed that her eyes twinkled as she spoke. He felt she was speaking sincerely, but where she was passionate, she was also distant and careful.
The speech continued in quite a predictable manner. Only Hermione was really paying attention until the end, out of the three. Ron and Harry soon started a little game between them: spotting the most ridiculous hats among the crowd. There was a woman in a green dress who seemed to be wearing an entire bird on her hat, and if Harry remembered correctly what Hagrid had taught him, it was a pheasant.
Next to the old lady in the green dress and bird-hat sat a nervous-looking boy. He was one of the shy stragglers who hadn't spoken to anyone. He had a round face with puffy cheeks and a tiny mouth. His head constantly bent to look at his shoes.
Harry didn't dare look too long at the boy a few rows behind him, but he made a mental note to try and talk to him. He remembered only too well how it was to be thrown into an entire new world where you knew no one.
When the speech and party was over, it was time for the new students to retreat to their dormitories where they would spend one night, just to get accustomed to the surroundings, while their families started on their journey home.
The trio was split up for the first time, Hermione going one way to the girls' dormitory, and Harry and Ron the other to the boys'. Since it was only for one night, there were no fixed rooms yet, so everyone was allowed to choose where they slept. Harry and Ron stayed together of course, and were joined by two others, both quite chubby, but dressed in the smartest clothes they'd ever seen, and the most ridiculous. It was the kind of outfit you'd expect on a university professor, or a famous golf-player, or a member of parliament maybe, but certainly not an eleven-year old.
Those boys also talked in a different way, as if they needed to show even more how above average they were. But at night when the lights were off, Harry and Ron heard the whispered conversation between the two, and the words they used then suddenly weren't so nice anymore. It was the first time the two boys were introduced to the hypocrisy of the posh and snob; something, the raven feared, they would see a lot more of. It was the only reason he had doubted whether he really wanted to come to St-James. But since staying at Privet Drive would certainly have been much worse, the choice had been readily made.
The next day, after a healthy breakfast with Hermione in the dining hall, they split again to meet and listen to all the different teachers giving presentations in their respective classrooms. When they finally sat down in Miss Snape's classroom, she didn't give any indication of having seen any of them before; which was what they had expected, so they did the same.
"They have this huge library!" Hermione exclaimed once lunchtime arrived.
They were seated together again in the dining hall, and Harry noticed with pleasure that the awkward-looking boy (from the lady with the bird-hat)was sitting next to him, concentrating on keeping his eyes fixed on his own plate, apparently.
"We saw the library, all right." Ron grumbled and rolled his eyes.
Sensing a new argument on the way, the raven lost interest and decided it was the perfect time to do what he had planned before, during the speech, and he turned to the puffy-cheeked boy next to him.
"Hello." He began tentatively. Harry himself wasn't used to initiating contact. But since the other boy seemed to be even shyer than himself, he felt more comfortable. "I'm Harry Potter. What's your name?"
The boy nearly dropped his fork, his eyes wide and his little mouth hanging open in surprise, or shock, Harry couldn't decide. The raven thought of his words, wondering what could have been rude or misunderstood, but could find nothing. What could be wrong with a simple introduction?
"I-I-I'm N-Neville." The boy said, setting his fork down with a shaky hand. "L-L-Longbottom." He added hastily at the end.
Oh. Harry thought he understood why the boy seemed to be so isolated and awkward: he stuttered. Harry decided not to say anything about it and continued as if he were having a normal conversation with a friend.
"Did you come far?" He thought of his own long train ride. Somerset was even farther than he'd imagined.
"N-N-Nnno. M-m-my fa-family have all c-come t-t-t-to t-this school. S-s-so we l-live close b-b-b-by."
Harry tried to hide his impatience as he continued to talk to Neville. It took the boy quite a long time to get out a complete sentence. He could see how it could get annoying, but he was determined not to let that be an obstacle to friendship. After all, it wasn't Neville's fault if he had speech problems. He was probably even more annoyed at himself than other people were.
The afternoon brought them another speech from Minerva McGonagall, and then a guided tour of the buildings and the grounds. One could never deny it was a very beautiful place.
In the late afternoon they gathered their things from the dormitories and set off to the exit, where some were picked up by their parents. Others, like Ron and Hermione, whose families had gone home already and who lived too far to return, took a school-rented bus to the train station. Harry joined them of course, and together they had a pleasant train ride back to King's Cross, where Vernon Dursley had (very reluctantly) agreed to pick him up.
The morning after he'd gotten back to Privet Drive, Harry immediately went to the library without stopping for breakfast, to use the internet as he had gotten used to do. He went there at least once a week, sometimes to do homework, sometimes to do research about things that interested him, but primarily to check his mails and write to Draco.
Soon after Draco had left for boarding school, Mrs. Malfoy had moved away. Both her cousin and her son would be in Somerset for the greatest part of the year, and she had gotten the opportunity to be transferred to an office over there. After giving Harry her new address and phone number, and making him promise to call if he ever felt the need, she had left Little Whinging never to return; the Malfoy house now inhabited by an old and sour-looking couple.
It had made it even harder for the friends to see each other, even during holidays. Hermione and Ron had seen the blonde only twice, and Harry barely more, though he'd always stayed for a few days. It had made things a little awkward, but Draco had never forgotten or pushed the raven away, as he had feared would happen. As soon as they got used to each other's presence again, they were able to resume as if they'd never been apart.
When they had been apart, their communication had been incessant. Or at least, as incessant as it could be. Unfortunately the access to computers was very limited at St-James. Students were only able to use it during certain times, and only to do research for their homework. But Draco, being a permanent resident during weekends, could always find some time to write a mail at least once a week.
And so they had passed the two years, holding on to a friendship that had had a shaky start to begin with. It was only possible because both boys were so eager to talk and see each other. Draco had encouraged all of them to take the entrance tests and come to St-James, saying it was the best place in England.
The raven wasn't surprised to see Hermione there, plunged into a book and taking notes, when he reached the second floor of the library. She had never shaken her habit of coming during holidays. She always found some excuse or other, there was always an important test, or exam, or the first day at St-James' College in this case, to study for.
Harry had come to understand the girl was in perpetual preparation. If she wasn't preparing for something, there was something wrong with her. Ron had tried to get her to relax a little, but Hermione could not feel at ease if she wasn't absolutely certain she was ready, and she never really felt ready. She would study for days on end, and still she would think she was going to fail.
After a short talk with her, Harry left her to her book, entitled Basic Principles of Chemistry. A glance to her notes revealed scribbles of symbols and graphs. It looked neat and structured. Hermione's notes were always clear and pleasant to study. It would be hard not to be able to depend on them anymore at St-James.
Now taking place behind one of the monitors along the wall, Harry logged into his e-mail account and found two mails from Draco. It was a holiday so the blonde was home and could send a message every day. And Harry had been gone for two entire days, unable to respond.
How did it go? Did you catch your train? I told you the platform was hard to find.
You must be on your way now. I guess I won't have an answer until tomorrow at the earliest.
Anyway, it's been quite boring over here. Nothing to report. Siberia's still waking me up at seven every morning to make me study. I swear I'm going to throw her a toe-biting jinx one of these days. I've been daydreaming about it while she lectures me about my failing grade. "Latin and Greek are important to structure your mind and discipline your memory" she says and so on. You'd think she doesn't say much, but Merlin can she babble when she's in the mood.
Latin and Greek are so boooooring! You can't even use it! And no one can speak it, only read it. I fucking hate it. So I'm certain Hermione'll have the time of her life with it.
Since they were constantly writing back and forth, they didn't bother with greeting each other anymore and immediately said what they wanted to say. Harry didn't even see that the greeting was missing anymore. He also recognized 'Siberia', which was the nickname they used for Severa Snape.
Draco had failed for Latin and Greek, because he hadn't worked one bit for it. He'd made it clear a while ago that he was against it, so Harry had expected it. And now Siberia was making him work for a second test which would take place during the last week of August. Draco was lucky that he didn't have to depend on a scholarship, for he would've already lost it.
Also, even after two years, they were still delighted to play the Hogwarts game. Though it wasn't really pretending that they did, but more like using a secret language. They spoke of 'muggles' when they talked of 'outsiders', people who didn't know about the Hogwarts world. Or sometimes they used the term to indicate people with no imagination, boring people. And all four of them had taken on the habit of saying 'Merlin' instead of 'God'. No one ever understood why, except them.
But Draco had also learned some other things. Harry had noticed in the mails that the blonde had changed a little. For example, he never used to say 'fucking' before, but now he used it all the time. It was as if he'd gotten more aggressive, but in a much less childish, and scarier way. The raven wondered what Mrs. Malfoy and Siberia thought of that.
Harry opened the second mail before beginning to write one himself.
What, you're not home yet? Merlin, you know I'm impatient! Why are you making me wait so long!
How did it go? Did you see McGonagall? She may look old but watch out for her, because she sees EVERYTHING. And was Siberia there? I didn't see her when I went to the welcoming party. I've always wondered if she even bothered to show up.
Did you meet anyone else? I know Smith's younger brother's a first year too, and Pansy says she knows some girls in first year.
I'm still baffled that Ron even made it in, but with a scholarship! Hermy's got enough brains for two, I guess.
By the way, if you don't want to get massacred by Siberia all year (like I am now), don't forget to take those assignments she gave you from the very first day. She'll probably ask for them the first chance she gets.
Yes, Pansy was also at St-James, in Draco's year, though in the girls' school, of course. It hadn't particularly overjoyed Harry (and rather enraged Hermione), but Draco seemed cool with it, so the raven hadn't said any more about it. He had no business telling him who his friends should be; he was grateful enough that their friendship was still intact.
It was with this optimistic thought that he clicked on 'reply' and started moving his fingers swiftly over the keyboard, something he'd learned to do a long time ago, on his parents computer; but which he had perfected through his correspondence with the grey-eyed boy.
I just got back yesterday, but it was too late to come to the library.
Yes, I saw McGonagall. She looks severe and even a little scary. She's probably the only headmistress who would ever want to hire Siberia. I'm curious to see them face to face.
But I didn't see Siberia at the party. I thought the same thing you did. If she even showed up, it must've been a short appearance, just for the sake of it.
Hermione's going off the rocker over this. She probably already read some book or other about Latin and Greek, if it exists. She's behind me right now, taking notes on Chemistry. I wonder if she'd pass if the end of year exams were taken on our first day. There's a good chance she would.
I'll be dragging those assignments everywhere I go. Siberia can ask for them whenever she likes, I'm prepared.
Harry purposely ignored the bit about whether he'd met anyone else at the party. There was really only one other person he'd spoken with (and even then only a little), and that was Neville Longbottom. He didn't want to admit to his friend how socially awkward he was, especially since Draco had been telling him about how well he went on with everyone in his year; with Pansy apparently still running around behind him wherever he went, just like she'd done at their old school.
Honestly, Harry, Ron and Hermione just felt comfortable with each other. And Harry didn't feel like making many changes. But he did feel some anxiety, for he knew that change would be inevitable during the coming school year.
Now, I'd like to call the attention to a question from kidscatscuz: I've haven't encountered the word Nevar. What does it allude to?
I was wondering if anyone had figured it out. :p So, has anyone figured it out? You're all welcome to take a guess. In fact, the one who gets the right answer wins a prize! I will name a character in the story after the winner (you can choose whether it's your pen name, nickname, or real name, of course) What do you think of that? ^^
Time for some answers!
To KillJoy7772: Narcissa is acting a little desperate for Draco to have friends, because she feels the ones he has aren't really his friends. He doesn't enjoy spending time with them like he should. It was only when Harry came into his life that he seemed to care whether Harry was there or not. Narcissa wants him to have friends he can be happy with, and not just little followers who are scared of him or admire him in some way.
And Draco is upset about leaving, but he hasn't quite gotten the emotional maturity to admit such things. He doesn't even want to call Ron and Hermione friends yet, even if he has agreed to share the Hogwarts world with them (which was a rather big step for him). Don't expect too much from him, he's a stubborn little thing! :p
To bbbreeex: Yes, I think the flash forwards were indeed a little confusing for everyone. So I thought I would stick to the present storyline. Also, I can't think of anything to write without giving major spoilers. I can't rule it out, but for now I don't have any intention of writing more flash forwards.
To smak978: Just wanted to say I'm happy you didn't disappear :D
To anonymous Guest: This chapter kind of answered the question already. Yes, Harry did do the assignments, but believe me, Hermione had to nag quite a bit for him to get started on it :p
To warattekudasai: Thanks for your encouraging words. I just wanted to say I love your nickname. I did laugh when I saw it. ;)
To all the other reviewers: Thanks for the support and comments and suggestions! I had a lot of fun reading it all, and it made it a lot more fun to write the next chapter of Nevar. Keep it coming please! Anything that comes to mind, I'm happy to hear (read)!
(I'm sorry for all the exclamation points. I always use them when I want to show that I am sincere. Maybe I should get rid of the habit :s )
And thanks for all the favourites, follows, etc... I love you all! (another exclamation point)
