Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
My first week being back at Hogwarts passed in a blur. I quickly settled into the familiar routine and was happy. No matter where or when I traveled through the curse, Hogwarts was always there to welcome me home.
I was dreading the next Potions class and having to sit next to Tom Riddle, but he had decided to ignore my presence. Luckily, we didn't brew a potion during class, but instead took notes and listened to Slughorn's lecture. When the bell rang to leave the class, after being assigned an essay to write for the following lesson, I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't have Potions again until next week.
The weekend found me wandering the corridors of Hogwarts aimlessly, just happy to be back in the school and out of the Muggle orphanage. Every time period the curse took me to, I would show up at an orphanage. None of them really cared where I came from, and they took me in. The current one I was staying at during the summer was a desolate, depressing place. I usually spent my time wandering through London or spending it at the Muggle library down the street. Muggle literature had always been a guilty pleasure of mine, as I liked the imagination that some Muggles possessed.
Coming to, I found myself somewhere on the fourth floor. The corridor was thin and narrow, with hordes of portraits lining the walls. In front of me, the corridor took a sharp turn to the left.
"Ella Linden!" a thin, reedy voice called. "Yes, I remember you! I remember all of my old students, need I remind you? Oh yes, those were the days. That was when Charms was actually taught by a competent teacher; not the fool who dare calls himself a Professor!"
To my shock, a portrait hung just in front of me of my old Charms professor, Archibald Wadd. My eyes drifted over his wrinkled, bald head, to his favorite plum-colored robes, and his squinting brown eyes. "Hello, Professor," I said politely. That's right. I think I remember him insisting that he would have a portrait of him hung in the school. Old codger. Just my luck that he also remembers every student. He would tell us stories about students from the dawn of time when he first started teaching.
"You look not a day over thirteen." His eyes squinted even more. "You already finished school. Why are you back when you should be going on at least fifty?" Wadd suddenly snorted. "Unless you managed to figure out the proper concoction for a potion of life!"
"Erm…" My mind went blank. What could I say? I had never been faced with this problem before. "I'm sixteen, sir."
"Irrelevant!" Wadd snapped. "I suppose you also claim that you time-traveled? Ha!"
A solution suddenly revealed itself. "I'm actually her daughter." This would get messy if he didn't believe me. If Wadd found out about the curse and told anyone...
From the skeptical look on his face I could tell he didn't really believe me, but decided to change the subject anyway. "When I asked to be made a portrait, I expected to be hung somewhere where I could have some company that didn't involve insipid paintings of equally dull inhabitants!"
"Can't you just walk out of your portrait and visit someone else's?" I inquired, relieved that we had moved away from dangerous ground.
Wadd shot me a withering look. "Why would I want to visit those babbling buffoons? You are as thick-headed as I remember, Miss Linden. Or at least your supposed mother." He snorted.
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, and I jumped. Dread began to pool in my stomach as I saw Tom Riddle standing in the corridor, his face blank. The member of the portrait in front of me also sighted the tall Slytherin prefect. "Aha! Another student come to learn from a competent teacher! My name is Archibald Wadd, the best Charms teacher this school has ever seen."
Riddle's eyes flicked towards me. "A pleasure," he said smoothly.
Deciding it was time for me to leave, I turned on my heel to escape down the corridor. "Don't think I've forgotten about you, Miss Linden!" Wadd called sharply. "Regardless of whether it was you or your mother that I taught, I want some sane company. I demand you come back and visit me."
"Yes, sir," I threw over my shoulder before hurrying on my way.
Dimly, I could hear Wadd talking to Riddle. "Back in my day, I taught an Ella Linden. That girl looks exactly like her. Supposedly her daughter. Oh yes, I remember every single student that I ever taught…" His voice faded away as I retreated farther away from that corridor.
Once I was sure that I was far enough away from Wadd and Riddle, I slowed down in my step, clenching my fist. "Damn it." Taking a deep breath, I leaned against a nearby windowsill, providing a beautiful view of the lake, which glittered in the sunlight. This could turn out very badly. I'm hoping that Riddle will dismiss it as nothing. He has to.
A memory of Newt's smiling face flashed through my mind. Newt was right. My instincts are very good, and I have a feeling that something bad will happen if he does find out. I won't let it happen.
Determination fueled my step, and I walked through the corridors and out of the school. I knew that Margaret and Will would be by our favorite willow tree. Sure enough, I found Margaret chatting animatedly with Elizabeth and Lydia, while Anna had her nose in a book, her back against the tree's trunk. Will was in the midst of a rowdy conversation with two other Gryffindor sixth year boys, Jasper and Austin. The latter of the two was burly with short brown hair, while Jasper was slender and very tall. His dark blonde hair was getting rather long again, though I doubted he would cut it anytime soon.
"Ella! Where've you been?" Margaret called, beaming at me.
I shrugged. "Just around." I plopped down on the ground and stared out across the lake, noticing one of the squid's tentacles had surfaced above the water. A hazy memory surfaced of a girl with wild, curly black hair being tossed in the air by the Giant Squid. I can't remember her name, but I'm pretty sure she was dared to try and ride it.
Austin followed my gaze to the Squid. "Hey, Jazz! I dare you to annoy the Squid."
Jazz snorted. "Your dares are sad and flimsy. Why would I bother doing a thing like that?"
"Jasper's scared! Jasper's scared!" Margaret began to chant, with Elizabeth and Austin immediately joining in.
"Am not!" Jasper retorted. "I could do it if I wanted to. I'm the only one here who's brave enough."
Will immediately perked up, sensing that his manly Gryffindor pride was on the line. "No way! I can do it in a heartbeat!"
"Then why don't you?" Jazz challenged, a smirk on his face.
Will straightened up. "Alright, I will!" His back stiff with determination, he marched off towards the edge of the lake, pulling out his wand.
A chuckle escaped me as I turned to look at Jazz, who was smirking triumphantly. "You manipulated that situation quite nicely."
Jasper winked at me. "I know."
The six of us watched as Will began to freeze the part of the lake where the Giant Squid had its tentacles waving lazily in the air. As soon as the ice touched one of them, they were immediately retracted back into the water. We all held our breath, but nothing happened. Will began to turn to face us, a satisfied smirk on his face.
A large wave of water crashed down on top of him, soaking him to the bone instantly. There was a moment of stunned silence before all of us began to roar with laughter as Will fled back to the safety of our group under the willow tree, drenched in water and scowling with rage. Margaret was practically rolling on the ground, tears of mirth springing from her eyes. "He went running scared! Did you see that?!"
"I was not scared!" Will protested. "I- I just decided to come back to talk to you."
"Naturally. It had nothing to do with the fact that the Giant Squid retaliated to your little 'prank'. Of course." Anna turned a page in her book, grinning widely.
Will's scowl intensified as he waved his wand over himself, casting a drying spell. He accidentally exaggerated his wand movements, and his robes caught fire. "Aguamenti," I said firmly, pointing my wand at the burning robes. They were instantly smothered with water, leaving Will drenched - again.
"I can't win," Will moaned as he sank to the ground, content to sulk with whatever dignity he had left. Elizabeth took pity on the fool. With a deft wave of her wand, his robes were dry once more. "Thanks," Will muttered grudgingly.
Austin nudged Jasper and whispered something in his ear, to which Jasper smirked. Turning my attention away from them, I absentmindedly began to tear up grass. It was a beautiful day out. It seemed to make my worries and burdens disappear in the beautiful sunlight. The sudden image of Riddle appeared in my mind, and I grimaced.
He won't think anything of it. He has better things to do.
I sighed quietly before laying on my back and looking at the sky.
Potions on Monday will certainly be interesting.
A/N
Hello again, everyone! I'm sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Midterms are coming up next week for me. Anyone else having theirs as well?
Thank you to all my reviewers! I'm so glad that you like my story so far. I hope to see you all in the next chapter!
Please review!