The Great hall was full of noise the next morning. Professors wandered among the students handing out class schedules was I took my seat next to Lydia at the Ravenclaw table.
"Good morning!" I reached for my glass of pumpkin juice as Lydia cut into her french toast.
"Morning. We have double potions together this morning. Are we going to be partners?" I asked before she sipped her black coffee.
"Sounds good to me." I reached for the eggs.
"Transfiguration, with Sytherin." Ted grumbled as he plopped down before us.
I looked up to see Professor Longbottom coming my way, smiling and shaking his head.
"Aurora Aurora. I always have to track you down." He chuckled, handing me my schedule.
My head of house walked up to the front table. I examined my paper sighing, "I have care of magical creatures after lunch."
"You love Hagrid." Lydia didn't have a book in her face for once.
"No one else is taking OWL level. None of the girls, you guys aren't. So I may be thrown to blasted ended screwts all by my self."
"We will patch you up before bed. Don't you worry." Lydia patted my hand with a smile with Ted snickering across the table.
"Pull your hair up, it's so long it may get set on fire" he laughed.
"I know you are trying to be funny, but that is a real danger." I scooped the last of my eggs off my plate before spearing a sausage, which I waved around while I spoke "Dad would be so pissed. And we all know professor Longbottom would call him right away."
"This is true" Lydia drank her coffee.
Just then Artemis and Apollo flew in, dropping letters on our plates.
"Dad says Mum is fine." Ted scanned his letter.
"Well Mum said she did have a freak out. So Byron wasn't lying." I folded my paper back up.
"Well, I'm sure it wasn't as bad as he made it out to be." He dismissed.
"Why can't you just admit that you were wrong?" I challenged as Lydia snorted.
"Why are you defending this kid? What's so important about Greengrass that you need to be on his side?" He countered.
"Just because I'm not as judgmental as you doesn't mean I'm on his side. I didn't realize there were sides here Theodore. What is your problem with him? What did he do to you?" I continued to jab the air with my sausage.
"Okay. Lets just settle down." Lydia finally butted in, trying to keep us from killing each other.
The bell sounded and I shoved the last of my food in my mouth and followed Lydia to the dungeons.
We chose a table together and waited for Professor Smudge to show. The brunette finally arrived with her hair in a high pony tail. The head of Slytherin was a harsh thin woman when always sported her house colors.
She unbuttoned her green coat and hung it next to the door with careful hands. She then plucked her gloves off as she faced the class. "Good morning students."
"Good morning Professor Smudge." We said in unison.
"We will waste no time. You know me, I know you. On the board are the page numbers for the draught of living death," she pointed "you have until the end of class to place a vial on my desk to be graded. You may begin now." She then went to her cabinet, unlocking it for us. Smudge was in her thirties, and took over for Slughorn our second year. She was a no nonsense teacher, but tended to be fair.
The remainder of class was mostly silent, outside of chopping and the slight gurgling of cauldrons. Lydia, as usual, finished before me and was dismissed to leave, she gave me a slight wave before she exited. I finished ten minutes before the bell was due to sound. I cleaned my station quickly before slinging my bag over my shoulder and approaching Smudge's desk.
She held her hand out for my corked vial and inspected it immediately, shaking it and finally uncorking it to waft the fumes to her nose. "Miss. Potter, slight discoloration, but you did a good job over all. B plus." She the. Waved me out of her room. I found my cousin in the hallway, sitting crossleged reading a novel.
"You waited?" I stoped before her.
"Of course. You know Ted isn't out of transfiguration yet, so I might as well wait and walk to lunch with you." She shrugged then climbed off the floor.
"Did she tell you your grade?" I asked.
"A. But I felt like I deserved a B. I kept forgetting if it was clockwise turns or counter clockwise." She shifted her bag around on her shoulder.
"Always the perfectionist" I chuckled shaking my head.
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Lunch passed, uneventful and I found myself crossing the grounds to where Hagrid stood, a plate of what looked like dragon stakes on a platter in his arms.
"Afternoon AJ!" He shouted as I came closer.
"Hey Hagrid." I smiled at my family friend and sat my book bag to the side. "How has your day been so far?" I asked as I pulled my long hair up in a knot on the top of my head.
"Alrigh' so far. Third years firs thing." He rolled his eyes. I watched as a few other students joined us. And soon we had a class of about ten pupils.
"Now that everyone is here, you need to get inta groups of two. Because of the nature of this creature yer gonna need a buddy. Do not engage her. We are only here for observations. Now pair up." He smiled.
I glanced around to see a few people I knew, but they had already found a partner. A blonde girl a little taller than my five eight put her hand out for me to shake. "You want to partner up?" She asked dark eyes avoiding my own.
"Sure. I'm AJ." I took her hand with a smile.
"I know." She returned my smile. "I'm Erida Ravensdale."
"Oh! I remember! You sat in our compartment on the way to school first year!" My brain finally made the connection.
"Are you full?" A tiny blonde haired girl peeked into our compartment. Her clothes where wrinkled and her hair was in knotts, her blonde hair and pale skin made her eyes look huge and nearly black.
"No. Come on in." My brother ushered her in.
"Thank you" she nearly whispered as she entered.
"I'm AJ, this is my brother Ted, and our cousin Lydia. We are all first years this year."
"Me too." We got a small smile for that.
We talked until she fell sleep against the window. After we got to the castle she was sorted Slytherin and we never saw much of her again.
"You remember?" She looked at me curiously large eyes bearing into me almost uncomfortably, "no one ever remembers me."
"Well, I remembered your name. You look quite different."
"Yeah, I have grown a good foot since then." She chuckled quietly.
"Alrigh' like I said. Do not engage. If your partner engages, pull them as far away as possible, and alert me." He lead us behind his hut. "the best way to go is to keep yer trap shut."
In a large cage was a beautiful creature the lower body of a lion, but where the head should be was the upperbody of a beautiful woman. "Well hello children." She used her large clawed paws to push her hair away from her face.
Hagrid encouraged us to walk a wide girth around her silently as he slid the platter before her.
"Hmmm. I see. No one wishes to answer my riddle?" A Ravenclaw across from us opened his mouth only to have a girl slap her hand over his mouth. "Intelligent girl." She nodded to the Ravenclaw.
"Someone here has a future in evil." Her dark eyes looked at each of us in turn before she took in a deep breath. "I can feel it." Her gaze settled in my direction and I froze. Erida's brown eyes met mine, wide with fear when the half giant whistled to capture our attention. He waved us all away. "Good bye children! It was a pleasure" she called after us.
When we were out of sight and ear shot Hagrid turned to us. "Can anyone tell me what that was?"
"A Sphinx." Said the girl who shut up her partner earlier, also a Ravenclaw named Anna.
"Correct." He smiled proudly "she will do anything to get you to answer her riddle. If you get it right, she will owe you a favor, but if you answer incorrectly she will eat you alive." He informed.
Now how this man gets approval to bring these types of creatures on campus I will never understand.
"Now go in your groups, one foot about sphinx. Either historical or an experience you or someone in your family have had." He winked at me.
Erida and I sat on a bench with our books. "Are you going to write about your dad?" She asked.
"Probably." I shrugged, hoping to avoid the evil subject.
"I wish I had something that cool to write about" she sighed, thankfully pretending that it never happened.
"It's okay. I didn't know much until my sixteenth birthday, my parents didn't really talk about it. To us he is just boring old Dad. Imagine when you find out your father is actually one of the most famous wizards alive after watching him sing and dance isty bisty spider to your sister for the millionth time. I thought they were lying until I got to Hogwarts." I noticed her shift next to me.
"Eh. My dad's long gone. Left before I was born, so I really don't know." She shrugged.
I felt myself go red, here I am blabbering on about my hero dad when she hasn't even got one. "I'm sorry." I whispered.
"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault." She didn't look away from her paper. Her blonde hair was silky smooth and her skin was as pale as mine. She looked completely different from the girl I met on the train five years ago.
We sat silence as we wrote quickly. We walked together to turn it in and Hagrid dismissed us.
"You want to join me at the Slytherin table for dinner tonight?" She asked out of the blue.
"Er, I would. But I promised the girls I would sit with them." I said apologetically.
"That's okay." Erida smiled shyly.
"Rain check?" I smiled.
"Sure."
I made my way up to the divination classroom to see Byron had arrived even earlier than me. He and our bug eyed professor where pulling out crystal balls to place on the tables.
"Ah, Miss. Luchane Potter. Come, join us. I am in need of some assistance." Trawlney waved me over. "Here, put your things with 's and help us out. You two can be partners for today."
Byron and I silently helped her lug things across the room and by the time the rest of our class showed up I had a small sheen of sweat on my forehead.
My Gryffindor friends entered and raised their eyebrows one by one when they saw me sharing a table with Romulus. Taylor looked the most concerned until she turned so all I could see what her huge red bow.
Our hour and a half of divination was increasingly uncomfortable. Byron and I sat in silence, he only gave me a short answers when I asked questions and I was unexcited when the professor announced that we were stuck with our partners for the rest of the year.
When we were finally dismissed from the shaded heavily perfumed room, Byron all but ran out.
"Ted is going to kill you." Gabrielle shook her long braided hair with pursed lips.
"It wasn't my choice. She stuck us together." I grumbled. "Besides I don't care what my stupid brother thinks."
"What do you mean you couldn't control it!" I brother yelled over the dinner table while the girls looked on.
"I mean, she assigned us." I stabed my Salisbury steak.
"No one else was assigned." He growled.
"I am aware Theodore."
"Well. Just. Fix it." He stuttered.
"Why?" I rolled my eyes.
"Fine Aurora. I will talk to her." He snapped.
"Don't you dare." I whispered dangerously "I don't need my brother picking my divination partner."
"Someone needs to look out for you."
"I am quite capable, thank you." I turned away from him. "I'm finished. I will see you girls later. I nodded to each of them in turn before leaving the table.
I walked the almost empty halls for a while before finding what I was searching for.
I paced the wall a few times before a familiar door appeared. I opened it to find a large room with a few desks and three large fluffy couches before a roaring fire with a picture of a young girl hung above it. I threw myself face down on the couch. I considered writing Dad, but thought better of it. I was planning on talking to Ted and Lydia about the prophesy and the Chimera, but now with my brother's big freak out I decided against it. My book bag lay on the floor next to me and I needed to start looking for a seer to do my report on but laziness got the better of me, so I turned away from my bag and curled up on the couch. That Sphinx saw evil in me. I could ask it about that, with a large risk of an agonizing death. At least then I wouldn't destroy the world.
I groaned as I heard the long creak of the giant door opening. Silence. I groaned again. Lydia is always accompanied by the slight rustling of papers. My brother is as silent as the dead. A trait our parents informed us has to come from his father, because Tonks could trip over thin air.
"Don't groan at me." I heard his voice travel across the room.
"I do what I like."
"Obviously." He sighed. "What's wrong?"
"You know." I snapped.
More silence filled the room for a while. I turned my head to see him on the couch across from mine. His eyes were narrowed, now big and brown. His hair as black as Dad's.
"I know you better than that Aurora. What is wrong with you?" His eyes switched to concern, "you aren't yourself lately."
Just as I opened my mouth and my eyes began to well up with tears the door was thrown open. Lydia came in, papers fluttering about her. She fell to the ground and began grabbing papers, her bag had split wide open. We both rose to help, Ted cut his eyes at me while we ran to her. I quickly wiped my eyes and evened out my breathing.
"Sorry guys. Sorry." She scrambled around.
"It's nothing Lydia. Its what we are here for." My brother stacked papers fast and mended her bag. Once all of her papers and books had a place to be again, she placed herself on the couch next to me. My cousin was actually a year older than me, already seventeen. She was supposed to start at Salem Academy when she turned twelve, but she begged to go to Hogwarts, and Headmistress McGonagal made room for her in our year.
She pushed her wild, untameable hair out of her face. "What did I miss?"
"Nothing." I tried to get out before my brother spoke over me.
"AJ here was just about to tell me what her problem has been for the past two months."
"You have been acting strange since your birthday." She noted, folding her hands on her lap. Lydia was what my Grandma Weasley would consider the perfect granddaughter. I was my mother made over in most aspects, I would rather wear torn jeans and an old weird sisters t-shirt over a sundress anyday. Lydia usually wore her uniform the way it was meant to be worn, and a nice blouse and skirt on the weekends. My uniform was usually wrinkled, my tie hung loose and my socks were constantly falling, so I let them bunch about my ankles most of the time. My Aunt Lena called me a hot mess.
Today Lydia had her Ravenclaw tie knotted perfectly, her socks layed nicely on her calves, and her shirt was pressed and neat.
"You guys are crazy. I have been just fine." I rolled my eyes.
"Says the girl who avoids the subject of her sixteenth birthday like the plague" sighed Lydia.
"Look. Maybe it's just personal. I don't always want to share everything. "
"Woah. You drug me into the bathroom the other day to look at a spot on your butt." Lydia began.
"Alright. That is quite enough." Ted squeezed his eyes shut and put his hands infront of his face.
"The point is, you over share. Never do you keep things to yourself. It worrys us." My cousin turned to face me.
"Look guys. I just don't want to talk about it. When I want to, you will the first I seek out. Right now I want to keep it to myself." I relented.
"Is this about Mum and Dad?" Ted asked with concern in his eyes.
"A bit, but not really." I shook my head.
"Alrighty then. Well, how about some wizards chess?" Ted rose to go and play.
"Not now Ted. I'm going to bed. You guys have fun." I left, feeling worse than I had upon arrival.
A/N- I know things have slowed down on my end, but between Summer break with the kids and not a lot of feedback, it has been hard to make time and get motivated. I did change a name, because I felt it fit a character's name in another story. I am struggling to find a name for my new story that I am already almost ten chapters into. it's working title is Things Change, but I would be thankful to hear a few suggestions. It is about Ginny (of course) and she has had some very tough and violent things happened to her and she has completely turned into a different person. if you would like to help, or get more information feel free to Private Message me. Either way, let me know how I am doing!