Welcome back my lovely Potterheads!
Okay, I know, it's been awhile. I hope everyone's keeping safe in these crazy times, and that this chapter distracts you all for a little bit. These are mad times we live in! Mad!
Alright, moving on...
As suggested from the title of the chapter, this update covers "The Midnight Duel" (dun, dun, duunnnnnn!) We've got the first Flying lesson, Draco being a tool, Crabbe and Goyle cracking their knuckles like stereotypical henchmen. Hades is adorable and clever, Susanna is completely over Hermione's attitude, and the twins and Lee Jordan prepare to adopt a trouble-making first year.
We also have Pansy, who says a not-nice word to Susanna. I think we can all guess what that would be, so be prepared for that situation. I didn't want Draco to be the first person who called her that, but Pansy felt like the better choice anyway, especially with the two girls' relationship as the story progresses.
In regard to the relationship between Hermione and Susanna, they're not going to get along in this chapter, so prepare for that. Susanna is mean, but nowhere as cruel as she would've been had she and Harry never bonded. They do have a couple of tiny moments, but the friendship really blossoms in the next chapter. It should be up within the next few days, now that my work schedule is currently non-existent.
Also, please read the notes at the end of the chapter!
I hope you guys enjoy this update! As always, I only own my OC - the rest is JK Rowling's!
"I can't believe you thought he was cute." Harry kicked at Susanna's shin as they watched Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle enter the Great Hall, sneering at a couple of Ravenclaws and laughing at a flustered Hufflepuff first year. It was barely 7:40 in the morning, and the once-pleasant seeming boy was already terrorizing his classmates.
"I didn't! I just thought he was nice." Susanna argued, glaring at the boy with silver-blonde hair.
"Your face was as red as your hair!" Ron chortled, yelping when a roll went sailing across the table and hit him in the center of her forehead.
"No it wasn't." She argued, ducking when he threw a roll in retaliation. It smacked against the brick wall behind her and she laughed at the other redhead's disappointed pout.
"I can't believe we have to take our Flying lessons with the Slytherins. It's bad enough we share Potions and Defense with them." Harry grumbled. "I mean, it's just typical. I've been looking forward to learning to fly, only now I'll be making a fool of myself on a broom in front of Malfoy."
"Yes, well, you don't have the whole 'muggles for parents' situation to worry about, do you?" Susanna glared over at the Slytherin table.
"Oh, cheer up Harry. You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself. Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk!"
"Exactly." Susanna put on a smile. "Nearly every story he's ever boasted about ends with him narrowly escaping helicopters. It was barely believable the first time!" She reminded her cousin, who grinned in acknowledgement. "Besides, if anyone's going to make a fool of themselves on a broom, it's me. I'm clumsy even standing still!"
"Not when you're dancing."
"Yes. On solid ground." She sassed at Harry, who rolled his eyes. "Remember that time I rolled down the hill? I was lucky the scar ended up being so small." She tilted up her chin to the boys, showing off the tiny white line under her bottom lip. Ron made a face.
"How'd that happen?"
"It was an accident." Her ears turned red and Ron snorted, looking to Harry for the truth.
Susanna made an offended noise as Harry laughed. "Her best friends at the time dared her to climb into a tire while they pushed her down the hill. She didn't even hesitate, she just got in. The tire rolled over this big rock and the girls lost control, and she just kept going down the hill by herself."
"Mum yelled at me for a while." Susanna added, remembering how her mother's voice seemed to shake the hospital room walls, Harry holding his ears while Dudley held her hand. "That scared me way more than the needle. Of course, dad made me feel better after. He took me to London the next day…" She trailed off, her heart growing cold as she slipped down memory lane. "Well, mum never let me hang out with my friends alone after that. A few years later it didn't even matter."
"Why not?" Ron asked. Susanna and Harry exchanged looks, and Susanna bit her bottom lip.
"You know, people just… grow apart sometimes…"
"- of course, I read all about it in Quidditch Through the Ages. Kennilworthy Whisp provided quite an astonishing bit of research. He wrote all about the earlier broomsticks, as well as the development of racing brooms. The first recorded use of flying broomsticks was around 962 AD, you know. Although, he also wrote it was an uncomfortable mode of transportation at the time."
Susanna sighed heavily as Hermione's voice traveled down from the middle of the Gryffindor table to the end where the trio were sitting. She looked over and noticed only Neville seemed to be hanging onto her every word, their other housemates rolling their eyes or doing their best to ignore the girl.
"At it again, is she? She's only been quoting the book for what, four days?"
"Five." She responded to Ron. "Not to mention all the evenings she's spent lecturing us on listening to her, lest we be 'unprepared and lose our house more points'."
"Why do I sense that last bit was directed towards you?" Harry asked, and Susanna stuck her tongue out at him.
"I only lost the one point! And I gained five back!"
"When?"
Susanna paused. Oops. "Oh, I just, you know, did a noble thing - oh look, mail." She pointed to the sky as the owls swooped in. Hedwig came bearing only her personality as usual, Susanna and Harry both giving her some food and petting her feathers carefully. The owl nipped softly at Susanna's fingers before hooting at Harry for attention.
"How do you even manage to sleep with Granger spouting facts in your ears at all times?" Ron asked, mouth full of eggs and tomatoes.
Susanna wrinkled her nose. "I mostly cover my ears with my pillow and hope for the best. Occasionally Hades hisses at her to be quiet. She's not horrible, though… just… a bit much, sometimes."
The old Susanna would've laughed and teased her, she thought to herself. The old Susanna would've spread horrible rumors about her, and said horrible things to her face, and made sure everyone knew just how strange she was.
"She's not as bad as Lavender and Parvati. They stay up for hours clucking like hens about whichever boy they like at that moment." Susanna pretended to gag. Ron snorted and Harry rolled his eyes at her dramatics, jumping when she kicked him in the shin.
Neither Harry nor herself had received a letter since Hagrid's. Susanna looked around enviously as her classmates tore open parcels from the families, filled with sweets and little gifts. Even the students who only received letters looked happy. Would something like that ever happen for her and Harry?
She was stolen from her musing when a large barn owl swooped past her to land in front of Neville. The round-faced boy excitedly tore open his little gift, grinning from ear-to-ear as he held up a glass ball full of white smoke. "My gran sent me a Remembrall!" He exclaimed, showing it off to those closest. "She knows I forget things. This tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red - oh…" He trailed off, the Remembrall's white smoke turning red. "I've forgotten something." But as he tried to remember just what he'd forgotten, a pale hand snattched the ball from Neville's hand.
Draco stood by the Gryffindor table, Crabbe and Goyle behind him. He tossed the Remembrall in the air cockily, smirking down at Neville. Harry, Ron, and Susanna all stood. "Nice gift, Longbottom." The boy teased, his two goons laughing stupidly behind him.
"What are you even doing over here? Your table's on the other side of the Great Hall!" Susanna gestured over to where the Slytherins were sitting.
"Just paying my fellow classmates a visit, Dursley. Interesting last name. I've never heard of any other Dursleys before. Tell me, which of your parents is a witch or wizard? Potter wouldn't have only been left with muggles, right?" The girl's eyebrows pinched together in confusion, mouth in a line at how cruelly Draco Malfoy was speaking to her.
"What did I tell you, Malfoy? You don't look at or speak to Susanna." Harry glared at the blonde, who glowered back. He couldn't respond, though, as Professor McGonagall had approached her house's table.
"What is going on?" She glared down at the students. Draco scowled.
"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, professor." Neville told her, shaking at the thought of a confrontation. The blonde returned it promptly, setting it down hard on the table. Susanna was surprised it hadn't broken. "Just looking." With sloped shoulders he marched away, Crabbe and Goyle close behind him. Susanna watched them leave with tense shoulders, and her cousin reached across the table to take her wrist.
"Suze, it's okay. Come on, we still have time before Charms."
She nodded at Harry's words and sat down, but the delicious food couldn't distract her from the building dread.
Susanna stretched her arms up to the sky as she, her cousin, and Ron left the castle. Defense class had been as boring as the previous five they had, and she was sure her notes were a combination of useless scribbles and unintelligible notes. What were they even learning about? Trolls? Vampires?
Nevertheless, she was excited to at least be outside, enjoying the fresh air. She was less excited about attending her first flying lesson, especially knowing it'd be with the Slytherins. Susanna hadn't been so afraid of humiliating herself since Madame Dulaine had her play Clara for last year's nutcracker, and her family actually attended.
"Hey, where's your usual confidence, Suze? I thought you'd be leaping at the chance to get to fly on a broom!" Harry asked her, his unruly hair ruffled by the cool breeze.
"I'd be more excited if we were doing it with Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff."
"Is this about what Malfoy said?" Harry asked her, and Susanna glared.
"That pompous git has no effect on me whatsoever. I don't care what he thinks about me!" Susanna marched ahead, nose in the air. She didn't notice Ron and Harry laughing behind her. Nor did she figure out the trick Harry had pulled on her; he knew the only way to really inspire her was to first push her in the direction of spiting her offender.
The boys caught up to the furious girl as they walked past the courtyard to a large field behind one castle wall. The forbidden forest could be seen in the distance, the dark trees swaying ominously.
The Slytherins had already arrived, somehow beating the Gryffindors to the practice field. Susanna squared her shoulders and lifted her chin as the green-and-silver house jeered at the house of lions. Draco in particular had a smug look on his face, one she countered with a scowl reminiscent of her childhood.
Once she felt she'd glared sufficiently enough, Susanna looked down at the twenty school brooms. Fred and George Weasley had complained about the night before, letting Ron and his two friends know just how old and worn they were. The twins had also told the three first years that some of them would vibrate if you went too high, or always listed slightly to the left. Indeed, she found herself concerned she'd be pulling splinters out of her hands for a month after using one of the brooms.
A woman cleared her throat, marching up to the students in billowing robes. Her hair was white and spiky, her eyes as yellow as a hawk's, with tiny slits in the irises. She surveyed her students, as openly unimpressed as Professor Snape.
"Well, what are you all waiting for?" Madam Hooch barked at them. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."
Susanna immediately walked up to the closest broom, the handle worryingly bent. She gulped, then looked to the left, where Harry was standing. His was possibly older than hers, the twigs at the end angled oddly. The other students filed around them, forming two lines that faced each other.
"Stick out your right hand over your broom, and say 'Up!'" Madam Hooch ordered, standing at the front of the parallel rows, hands clasped behind her back.
"UP!" Everyone shouted, hands out and over their brooms. Susanna's hovered briefly in the air, but stopped before it could reach her hand, her eyes worriedly focused on the handle. She let it fall back to the ground after her first try, and breathed in deeply. She remembered climbing trees with Harry, and thought to herself, this isn't so different. The broom's as dented and bent as the branches in the park. It's okay.
She exhaled and smiled. "Up!" She commanded, and the broom flew into her hand. She stopped herself from jumping around happily, and instead settled on grinning widely and watching her fellow classmates. Harry's broom had shot up immediately, his eyes wide behind round glasses. Hermione's rolled around on the ground, the girl flustered by either failure or fear. Neville's hadn't even moved, and Ron's smacked him in the nose before finally rising into his hand, getting a laugh from Harry. As with Harry, Draco's broom followed his command without problem, and the blonde clenched it smugly in his hands. After a few tries Crabbe and Goyle also had theirs. Susanna watched in amusement when Pansy Parkinson's broom flounced around uselessly, the girl shrieking in frustration. She'd been particularly rude to Neville and Hermione, and Susanna thought it was only fitting she was on equal footing as them.
Once everyone had a battered broom in their hand, Madam Hooch demonstrated how to mount them. Susanna carefully climbed onto her piece of wood, making sure to hold the handle exactly like their teacher had shown. She couldn't stop herself from smirking when she overheard Madam Hooch telling Draco he'd been doing it wrong all his life. Her cousin and friend laughed, and the Malfoy boy glared at them intensely. It didn't deter their humor.
Madam Hooch returned to her spot at the front of the two lines, whistle in hand. "Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard." She told them, voice clipped with authority. She reminded Susanna of Madame Dulaine, if the latter was British rather than French. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle. Three… two -"
But before she could finish her countdown, Neville pushed off the ground. He'd been nervous and jumpy before, but Susanna had hoped he'd relaxed. Clearly she was wrong.
"Come back, boy!" Madam Hooch shouted.
"Neville!" Susanna called over their teacher, watching in horror as the boy shot up like a rocket heading to the moon, corkscrewing into the air. There was nothing she could do, only stand on the ground and watch the round-faced Gryffindor gasp and scream until eventually he lost grip of his broom and fell to ground with a sickening crash.
She rushed to the boy with Harry and Ron beside her, the rest of their classmates already crowding curiously around Neville and a tutting Madam Hooch. "Oh dear, a broken wrist. Come on boy, it's alright - up you get." She turned to face the rest of the class as she helped the crying student up. "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! Understand? You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'. Come on, dear." Madam Hooch whisked the hobbling Neville away, leaving her class behind.
They had barely disappeared when Draco began laughing cruelly, reminding Susanna of Piers Polkiss. "Did you see his face, the great lump?" The other Slytherins laughed with the Malfoy boy.
"Shut up, Malfoy!" Parvati snapped at the blonde.
"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom? Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati!" Pansy sneered.
"Oh shut up Parkinson, you're not as important as you think!" Susanna shot back at the hard-faced girl.
Pansy Parkinson narrowed her cold eyes. "Oh, that's cute. Dursley thinks I care about her opinion." She stepped forward, her face in Susanna's. "You don't deserve to be here, mudblood." The girl whispered, unheard by the others.
Susanna tilted her head, about to ask what the other girl meant by "mudblood" when Draco rushed past the group.
"Look!" He held up the glinting Remembrall. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him!"
"Give that here, Malfoy!" Harry stepped forward, voice quiet but hard.
Draco smiled nastily. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How about… up a tree?"
"Draco, you absolute git!"
"Give it here!" Susanna and Harry shouted at the same time, but the blonde paid them no mind as he jumped onto his broom and took off. Much to the cousins' chagrin, he was indeed an excellent flyer. In complete control of his worn broomstick, the boy hovered lazily over the topmost branches of an old oak tree. He leaned forward with a sly grin.
"Come and get it, Potter!"
Harry grabbed his broom and Susanna copied him, ready to help her cousin. "No!" Hermione shrieked, and the other girl jumped at the shrill volume. "Madam Hooch told us not to move - you'll get us all into trouble!" They ignored her, though, and Harry mounted his broom before kicking off. Susanna almost did the same, but her broomstick was snatched from her hand and a bushy-haired brunette was glaring at her almost as dangerously as Professor Snape when he stares at Harry. "I said no! Honestly, Susanna, you have to learn to think before acting! You and your cousin are going to lose us more points!" Hermione shouted at her. Susanna felt her rage building as her cousin soared in the air, fighting his own battle.
"I'd rather lose points than Harry, Hermione!" Susanna roared back, nearly shoving the girl in her anger before Ron caught her.
"Easy, come on." He whispered in her ear, yanking her away from the other Muggle-born. Hermione's eyes were wide with fear, having not expected that kind of response from her housemate. "Look, he's chasing it!" Ron distracted his friend, and Susanna looked to the sky.
Harry shot through the air like a bolt of lightning, eye on the prize that was Neville's stolen Remembrall. It was shooting down toward the ground, and Susanna screamed in terror as Harry flew after it at break-neck speed. She threw her hands out - just as she'd done when they were nine and he was thrown from the roof - just as he leveled his broom straight, landing carefully on the grass with the Remembrall clenched victoriously in his hand.
As her fellow Gryffindors rush forward to congratulate her cousin, Susanna covers her face with her hands in an effort to hide her tears.
"Crying, mudblood?" Pansy whispers in her ears, but before the redhead could react, someone roars her cousin's name.
"HARRY POTTER!"
Professor McGonagall was running towards them, hands holding her emerald robes so she wouldn't trip. Her face was far more stern than Susanna had witnessed, and she seemed to be in a state of shock. In fact, she was practically speechless as she stammered over her furious lecture. "Never - in all my time at Hogwarts - how dare you - might have broken your neck -"
"It wasn't his fault, Professor -" Susanna's voice escaped her subconsciously.
"Be quiet, Ms. Dursley!" Professor McGonagall interrupted her.
"But Malfoy -"
"That's enough, Mr. Weasley! Potter, follow me, now! Class is dismissed!" The woman cut in, waving her wand so the brooms flew to a large trunk, which locked with a loud thunk. With an air of finality she took Harry away, Susanna attempting to chase after them only to be held back - again - by Ron.
"No, you won't do any good. He's Harry Potter, he'll be alright. I'm sure he'll only get detention."
"But what if… what if he's expelled?" She asked, watching the rest of the class trapiese away now that they were released.
"He won't -"
"But if he is… Ron, he can't go home. Not without me." She whispered, and Ron looked at her with wide blue eyes.
"Why not?"
"H-he… h-he ju-just can't." Susanna covered her mouth with a shaking hand, and Ron hesitantly squeezed her shoulder.
"He's going to be fine, Susie. Alright?"
She nodded and breathed in, trying to calm her growing panic. "Ron?"
"Yeah, Susie?"
"What's a -" Susanna stopped herself. Mudblood. She didn't really want to know. Not then, not ever, especially with how Pansy Parkinson had said it. It was similar to how her father described certain people, how her mother spoke about aunt Lily.
"What's a what?"
"Nothing, I forgot. We should go to the common room. Wait for Harry there."
"Of course. Let's go." Ron slung an arm over her shoulder, and they walked after the rest of their class.
"You're joking!"
"Unbelievable." Ron and Susanna exclaimed to Harry at dinner. The Chosen One sat across from them, eagerly but quietly telling them what had happened.
"Thanks, Suze."
"Hey, no. I'm happy you're okay - I'm more than happy nothing bad happened. It's just, I can't believe I let myself panic. Like they'd send the Chosen One away." Susanna teased her cousin, but her eyes bled fear. Harry was kind enough not to bring up that her hands were still shaking - when he'd joined them in the common room, Susanna had been pacing a hole into the floor and Ron was biting his nails.
"Seeker?" Ron gasped, grinning like a lunatic. "But first years never - you must be the youngest player in about -"
"A century." Harry shoved some steak and kidney pie in his mouth. "Wood told me."
"Stop talking with your mouthful." Susanna jokingly chided her cousin, her own cheeks bulging with bread.
Harry rolled his eyes, then looked at his gaping friend. "I start training next week. Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."
"Who would I tell? I only hang out with you two." Susanna reminded him. "And Neville. And Seamus. Dean. Occasionally Lavender, Parvati, and Padma…" She trailed off. "Yeah, okay, no mentioning the 'big secret' to the others." She shot him two thumbs up and Harry snorted, playfully reaching over to ruffle her hair before she slapped his hand away.
Fred and George came rushing into the Great Hall, sitting dramatically on either side of Harry. Susanna had been paying attention the past two weeks - especially after the successful Locomotor Wibbly she sent their way Monday morning - and was pretty sure she knew which was which.
"Well done." George whispered, the mole on his neck directed towards Susanna. "Wood told us. We're on the team too - Beaters."
"Oh, great, the secret's definitely safe now." Susanna sassed. Fred and George glared at her, but she'd been on the receiving end of enough dangerous looks from her father to know they weren't serious.
"You best watch yourself, Susie-Wusie. We haven't forgotten your Jelly-Leg Jinx." Fred pointed at her. Susanna grinned and Ron groaned into his hands.
"That was kind of the point, Freddie-Weddie." She cooed, and Harry closed his eyes in prayer.
"Ooh, Susie-Q thinks she's on our level! You hear that, Fred?"
Susanna laughed. "Oh, Georgiekins, I know I'm not. I was simply putting in a request for some training. And also fulfilling a promise. It's not my fault you two forgot my threat at the feast."
George nods. "She's got a solid point, Fred."
"True." Fred started to grin. "And she managed to surprise us. Even if it was a First Year Jinx."
"I am a first year!" Susanna huffed, and the twins grinned.
"Alright." George agreed.
"We'll train you." Fred added.
"But it will be rigorous -"
"You will lose house points -"
"Get quite a few detentions -"
"Do you think we're worth it?" Fred teased, George wiggling his eyebrows.
"Totally." Susanna grinned.
"Excellent. But we will be getting you back for what you did, Susie-Q." George warned, and Susanna pretended to gulp. Alright, maybe she was a little concerned.
"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year." Fred smiled down at Harry. "You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."
"Anyway, we've got to go. Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."
"Ooh, can I come?" Susanna perked up, and Harry shook his head before George could respond.
"Absolutely not."
While Susanna grumbled, George reached over and ruffled her hair, eliciting a growl from the first year girl. "Don't worry Susie-Q. Besides, I bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found our first year. See you."
"Try not to cause any trouble without us, Susie-Wusie!" Fred called as he and his twin walked away, snickering at her cries of outrage.
"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?" Ron and Susanna groaned at the three newcomers who replaced the twins. Harry just scoffed and rolled his eyes, turning to face Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle.
"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you." Harry pointed out, voice as cool as ice.
"I think you're giving him more credit than he deserves, Harry." Susanna found herself glaring at the blonde, speaking over her cousin's shoulder.
Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles threateningly - the most they could do, with the High Table full of the Hogwarts faculty. Draco scoffed, his face skewed in anger. "I'd take you on anytime on my own." He scowled down at Harry. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only - no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"
"Of course he has." Ron glowered up at the blonde. "I'm his second, who's yours?"
"Hey, wait a second. I want to be his second -"
"Crabbe." Draco answered, sizing up his two goons while interrupting Susanna. "Midnight alright? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked." With that the three Slytherins slipped away, and Susanna angrily stabbed at her pie with her fork.
"You two never let me do anything fun."
"Suze, you don't even know what a wizard's duel is!"
Susanna huffed at her cousin, offended. "Um, I do, actually. I read, you know. Also, it's in the name. You fight with spells rather than swords like we learned at school. Muggle school." She clarified when Ron was about to ask.
"Yeah, well, what's a second?" Harry asked, looking at Ron.
"They're there to take over if you die." His tone was too casual for Harry, who gulped. "But people only die in proper duels. You know, with real wizards."
Harry still looked nervous, and so Susanna leaned forward to squeeze his hand. "Hey, you'll be alright. You and Draco don't know any dangerous spells, not yet at least. And do you really think Crabbe has the mental capacity to even remember the ones we do know?"
Harry smiles and relaxes while Ron swallows his bite of food. "I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."
"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"
"Throw it away and punch him in the nose." Ron suggests, Susanna nodding beside him.
"I'll take Crabbe, you can have Goyle." She offers nodding over to where the Slytherin trio are sitting.
"Excuse me." Susanna exhaled heavily at the haughty voice, turning in her seat with Ron. Hermione Granger stood behind the two redheads, glaring down at them and Harry with her arms cradling a book.
"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" Ron grumbled and Susanna snorted, glaring back at the other girl. She still hadn't forgiven her for earlier.
"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying -" Hermione ignored Susanna and Ron in favor of speaking to Harry.
Susanna scoffed, cutting her off. "Pretty sure you could, if you applied yourself to minding your own business."
Hermione practically stomped her foot in frustration. "You mustn't go wandering around the school at night. Think of all the house points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be! It's really very selfish of you."
"And it's really none of your business." Harry shot back.
"Goodbye." Ron added, Susanna waving sarcastically as the other girl huffed and stormed away.
"Here's hoping she doesn't tell anyone."
"She hasn't got anyone to tell." Ron responded to Susanna, who narrowed her eyes.
"Except for the professors, especially McGonagall."
Ron paled and Harry inhaled, groaning. "I'm going to get kicked off the Quidditch team, and it's only been two hours."
Susanna hummed, then smiled cheekily. "Only if we're caught. Which we won't be. If you'll excuse me, I have twins to find." Before Ron and Harry could stop her, the Chosen One's cousin rose from the table and practically skipped away, weaving in and out of entering and exiting students until the Great Hall was behind her.
"Excuse me?" She asked a silver ghost, the female phantom flitting past her. She was beautiful, but shy, with long black curls. Her flowing grey dress rippled around her like a river. "Can you tell me where I can find the statue of Gregory the Smarmy?"
"Yes." The woman's voice was soft. "It's here, in the first-floor corridor. Go left and straight - he'll be by the entrance to the Marble Staircase."
"Thank you. Oh, I'm Susanna, by the way. What's your name?"
The woman observed the first year, and the girl wondered what the ghost could possibly be thinking. Wait, could ghosts read minds? "Helena. My name's Helena. Good evening, Susanna."
"Goodnight." Susanna called as the woman floated away.
As the ghost directed, she turned left, breaking into a light jog when she heard two familiar voices. "- and we should see Gunhilda this weekend, escape Hogwarts for a day."
"Shh, someone's coming!"
"Fred? George?" Susanna called, and the twins stepped into view from around the statue of Gregory.
"Missed us, eh?"
"It's only been fifteen minutes, Susie-Q!" Fred and George smirked at her, and she rolled her eyes.
"No. I have a question."
"Oi, you're Harry Potter's cousin, aren't you?" Lee Jordan asked, his dreadlocks pulled out of his face and into a ponytail. "Lee Jordan. The twins here told me about you."
"Susanna Dursley." She shook his hand, laughing at the static shock that ran up her limb and through her body, no doubt causing her pigtails to resemble Albert Einstein's. "Should've seen that coming." Susanna pulled out her hair and did her best to twist it into a very messy bun - Madame Dulaine would've killed her if she saw it.
"What do you need, Susie-Wusie?" Fred asked, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall.
"What's the best way to avoid Filch?"
"And why do you need to avoid Filch?" George asked, batting his eyelashes. "Causing trouble tonight? Without us?"
Susanna shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Well?" She looked at the three boys, her eyebrows raised in interest.
"Filch is easy enough to hide from. It takes him an hour to patrol each corridor. It's Thursday, which means Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape are also going to be around, waiting to catch troublemakers - especially the cute ones." Fred winked at Susanna, who stared back unimpressed.
"Mrs. Norris is the one you have to look out for. She's Filch's spy, and she'll get him as soon as she finds something suspicious. So she's really who you have to distract."
Susanna hummed, thinking over Lee's words. "Does she get along with other cats?"
George shrugged. "Probably. Why?"
"No reason. No reason at all. Thanks, you three, it's been a pleasure." She waved distractedly to the trio of troublemakers as she walked away, mulling over her potential plan.
Here's hoping Hades is feeling up for an adventure, she thought as she climbed up the Grand Staircase to the Gryffindor Tower.
Susanna had been quiet when she returned. The other girls in her dorm took it as relief that her cousin was fine, when in reality she'd been considering her plan. Hermione's words followed her the whole time.
"You have to learn to think before acting!" The girl had said during Flying class. And Susanna begrudgingly listened, putting more thought into the plan for the evening than she ever had. Still, there was a slight problem. A minor inconvenience in the form of Hermione being absent from the dorm.
She's probably in the library, Susanna thought, petting Hades. Or asleep at a desk downstairs.
Susanna carefully got out of bed, tiptoeing over to where Padma slept to check her clock. It was just nearing half-past eleven, so she slid her feet into a pair of slippers and pulled on her fluffy grey bathrobe, wand tucked into a pocket and her hands full of Hades. She carefully left the dorm, Hades purring against her chest as she waited at the base of the dorm staircase.
Minutes later, Harry and Ron quietly made their way down the steps. "Why do you have Hades?" Ron whispered, eyeing her kitten suspiciously - he still hadn't forgiven the creature for chasing after Scabbers the other day.
"Distraction, for Mrs. Norris. I think it's time Filch's cat made a friend."
"Aren't you worried you'll lose him?" Harry asked, timidly scratching behind Hades's left ear until the black kitten hissed.
"He knows my scent. He'll find me." Susanna spoke with the utmost confidence, but that same fear plagued her for hours.
"If you're certain."
"Wait, have you seen Hermione?" Susanna asked. "She wasn't in her bed."
"That's because I've been here." A lamp turned on and Hermione was revealed. Wrapped in a pink bathrobe, she sat in the armchair nearest to the portrait. Ron groaned, Harry sighed, and Susanna rolled her eyes at the dramatics of it all. "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry."
"Seriously? Go back to bed!" Ron shouted in a whisper.
Hermione's head swiveled to the red-haired boy. "I almost told your brother. Percy, he's a prefect - he'd put a stop to this!"
"Go ahead, tell him." Susanna retorted, and she tugged Ron and Harry towards the portrait, away from the interfering girl.
They stepped out of the hole, grumbling at the extra pair of footsteps hurrying after them, Hermione on their heels. "Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about the switching spells."
"Go away." Ron ordered.
"Then you'll just earn us back more points, or are you not the smartest girl in our year? Bloody know-it-all." Susanna growled at Hermione, unconcerned about how rude she shouted, frustrated at the girl who would act kind before inevitably talking down to her. Susanna read the books, too. Just because she didn't feel a need to prove it to the world, it didn't mean she was an idiot! She practiced spells, too, ones they hadn't even covered yet! "Just go back to bed. Believe it or not, I have a plan. Despite what you believe, I'm not an idiot."
"Alright." Hermione glared at the other girl. "But I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so -"
But as she turned to face the Fat Lady's portrait, the four students found it empty. The Fat Lady had gone on a night time visit to the other portraits, leaving her own painting empty. Hermione was stuck, only able to wait for the Fat Lady's return.
Susanna laughed, and Hermione turned to face the trio, stomping her foot. "Now what am I going to do?" She asked shrilly.
"That's your problem. We've got to go, we're going to be late." Ron responded, then the trio of troublemakers left her behind to walk down the stairs.
"Here, the third-floor. The trophy room should be around here." Susanna reached the entrance first, stepping onto the landing of the staircase and groaning when she saw they'd been followed by not one, but two Gryffindors. Neville had finally made it back from the Hospital Wing, no doubt finding himself in the same predicament as Hermione, who was glaring at the leading three.
"We're coming with you!" She hissed, and Susanna laughed sarcastically.
"No. Neville can. You're not. How's your arm?" Susanna asked Neville. He was about to respond when Hermione interrupted him, blocking the Longbottom boy from view as she chastised Susanna.
"Do you think I'm going to wait outside the Gryffindor Tower for Filch to catch me? If he finds the five of us, I'll tell him the truth." Hermione haughtily declared. "I'll tell him that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."
"You've got some nerve -" Ron began, but Susanna and Harry shushed him. The other four watched as the Dursley girl kneeled down to release Hades, who purred around her feet.
"Stay close, Hades." She asked quietly, her kitten mewling in response. "The next person who talks will get clawed by Hades here, understand?" She winked up at the pale Neville, who smiled back a little.
"Right. And if either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell taught us and used it on you." Ron warned Neville and Hermione, the latter of whom looked like she was about to tell Ron just how to do it. Harry hissed at her to be quiet and she shut her mouth.
They walked down the moonlit third-floor, Hades stepping lightly around Susanna as they moved, occasionally rushing ahead. He'd stop and wait for her at a corner, acting as a scout. Their connection seemed to amaze Hermione, who quietly puzzled over it from behind the other girl. Susanna knew Hades behavior was expected - after all, he'd seemed to have chosen her from the beginning, and rarely left her side. He always seemed to know where to find her, recognizing her scent easily.
"Good boy." Susanna whispered, stopping to pet her kitten when he waited in front of the entrance to the trophy room, his tail flicking. Hades purred as the others entered the unlocked room, mewling when Susanna scooped him into her arms and carried the little guy inside, quietly thanking the universe that Filch and Mrs. Norris hadn't found them - or worse, McGonagall and Snape.
Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle weren't there yet, the trophy room empty of any Slytherins. The crystal trophy cases shimmered in the moonlight. Silver and gold cups, shields, statues, and plates winked at the five Gryffindors.
Harry had his wand pulled out in case Draco ambushed them, and Susanna worriedly considered the idea that he was bringing a few upperclassmen with him. She should've told the twins and Lee. They'd've been great help, she thought to herself as the minutes ticked by.
"He's late, maybe he chickened out?" Ron whispered, and Susanna cursed under her breath, getting a look of loathing from Hermione. She also hadn't considered that, and took his pride for granted.
A noise from another room made them all jump, and Hades hissed before leaping out of Susanna's arms. He crept towards the entrance of the trophy room like a little black lion.
"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be looking in the corridor." Their luck had run out, it seemed. Mrs. Norris and Filch had nearly found them, and Susanna almost called for Hades when the kitten slipped around the corner, mewling. "And who's this, I wonder. Tell me, little one, where's your witch or wizard?" Susanna counted her breaths, the others horror-struck, until Filch laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound. "Right, you say? Well, lead on." Hades hissed, and Filch walked away from the Gryffindor students' direction.
"Come on, this way!" Harry whispered, waving the group towards the door on the left side. The scurried through it silently, Filch no longer a threat…
Until Neville let out a frightened squeak at a giant, frightening statue of a winged-woman, tackling Ron to the floor as he tripped. The two knocked over one of the suits lining the hall, and it clattered loud enough to wake all of Hogwarts.
"Run!" Harry yelled, and the five dashed down the corridor, twisting and turning in hopes of avoiding Filch. Her cousin was in the lead and Susanna galloped after him, tugging Neville and hoping that he wouldn't fall again. He was clumsier than her!
They ran through a tapestry and through a secret passageway, entering the hallway near the Charms classroom, far away from the trophy room.
"I think we've lost him." Harry panted as he leant against the cold wall. Susanna nodded and fought to catch her breath, wiping the sweat from her forehead - she hadn't been that out of breath since Madame Dulaine forced the class to do one hundred jumps without breaking.
"I - told - you," Hermione gasped and clutched her chest, "I - told - you." Susanna rolled her eyes at the tone. She's clearly fine if she's able to scold us. She didn't have to follow, nosy know-it-all, Susanna angrily thought to herself, too tired to berate her mind for thinking as it used.
"We've got to get back to Gryffindor Tower. Quickly as possible." Ron muttered.
"Malfoy tricked you!" Hermione spat at Harry. Susanna didn't find the tone to her liking, and stood in front of her cousin, nearly growling. "What, you didn't plan for that?" She asked the redhead girl. "He was never going to meet you - Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."
"Thank you, for stating the obvious. That's completely helpful." Susanna bit back at the older girl. "Unless you have a way to get back to the common room, stop talking."
"Suze, hey." Harry put a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Let's go."
They'd barely cleared the hall when a doorknob rattled and its door shook. Peeves burst out from behind it, squealing when he saw the five Gryffindors.
"Shut up, Peeves - please - you'll get us thrown out!" Ron tried, and Peeves cackled.
"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle FIrsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty!" He teased. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!" He bellowed, and as the others began to run Susanna glared up at the floating poltergeist.
"I'm siccing the Bloody Baron on you for that, Ickle Peevesie!"
The poltergeist blew a raspberry, but continued his yells. Someone grabbed Susanna's hand and tugged, and she found herself being pulled down the corridor by Hermione. They raced into another room only to be forced to stop in front of its locked door.
"This is it!" Ron moaned, he and Harry pushing helplessly at it while Susanna attempted to kick it down. "We're done for, this is the end!"
"Shut up!"
"Shut it!" Hermione and Susanna whispered harshly at him, speaking at the same time.
"Oh, move over! Ugh, I can't see a thing!"
"Lumos!" Susanna whispered behind her, mahogany wand in hand. The tip of her wand began to glow, though it wasn't quite as bright as the other times Susanna tried it. Still, Hermione's mouth dropped. "I practice, too." Susanna defended herself angrily. Hermione cleared her throat, wand pointed at the lock on the door.
"Alohomora!" There was a click and the door swung open, the five students rushing inside. Susanna shut it quickly.
"Nox!" She mumbled as Filch's voice got closer, Peeves still shouting. The dimmed light at the tip of her wand vanished.
The Gryffindors pressed their ears to the closed door, listening with bated breath. "Which way did they go, Peeves? Quick, tell me!" Filch ordered the poltergeist.
"Say 'please'."
"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?" Filch hissed, Mrs. Norris copying him. Susanna couldn't hear Hades, and she hoped the kitten was safe.
"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please." Peeves sang out.
"Alright - please."
"NOTHING! Ha haaa!" The poltergeist laughed, Susanna jumping at the volume, but smiling as he continued. "Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" Peeves whooshed away, Filch cursing up a storm that put her father's to shame.
"He thinks the door is locked." Harry whispered from beside Susanna. "I think we'll be okay - get off, Neville!" Harry hissed at Neville, who then started tugging on Susanna's bathrobe sleeve.
"What?"
"Need… light…" He mumbled fearfully.
Susanna rolled her eyes, but muttered "Lumos!" as she and the others turned away from the door, a nightmare lit up before their very eyes.
They weren't in a room, but in a corridor. And thanks to the cobwebs and dust collecting around them, Susanna knew this was the forbidden corridor on the third-floor, the one Professor Dumbledore had warned them against visiting at the start-of-term feast.
It was easy to understand why this corridor was forbidden, because the five Gryffindors were staring straight into the eyes of a gigantic dog. It filled the whole space, almost too big to be contained by the floor and ceiling of the corridor. And it had three heads - three monstrous, drooling heads. Six mad eyes stared down at them, three noses twitched with interest, and the three tongues dipped out of three mouths to lick their lips, yellowed-fangs exposed.
It stood still as a Muggle picture, clearly surprised to see the five students but no less hungry, their growls get louder and fuller.
The door behind them opened and Susanna felt Harry clutching her arm to tug her out, the cousins slamming the door shut as soon as the other three Gryffindors had left the forbidden corridor. They ran faster than before, no longer afraid that Filch would find them, not after being stared down by a three-headed dog.
Susanna nearly collapsed with relief when they reached the Fat Lady's portrait to find Hades waiting for them, tail tucked around his small body until he rose and stretched, hissing one last time at the portrait before prancing towards Susanna. She scooped him up in her arms, close to her heaving chest.
"Is he yours, girl? Nasty little creature. Hissed at me for half-an-hour, he did." The Fat Lady glowered at Hades, who hissed back. Susanna would've too, if she wasn't so out of breath. "Where on earth have you all been?" The painting asked, as Susanna finally extinguished the tip of her wand.
"Never mind that - pig snout, pig snout." Harry panted, Ron gesturing for the Fat Lady to hurry up as she clucked her tongue in annoyance but let them in. The five Gryffindors clambered through the hole and stumbled to the sitting area, where Ron and Harry fell on the couch while Neville and Hermione took the armchairs. Susanna nearly face-planted in front of the fireplace, collapsing to the floor with Hades on her stomach.
They all trembled, the only noises they made coming from their panting and Neville's whimpers. He was as white as a ghost, clearly regretting having followed the other four.
Ron was the first to speak up. "What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school? If any dog needs exercise, that one does."
"He's… Cerberus…" Susanna mumbled tiredly, stretching out in front of the fireplace. "He guarded Hades, the Underworld."
"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" Hermione snapped, her breath and anger returning. Oh, great, Susanna thought to herself. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"
"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."
"Three heads." Neville muttered. "Three heads."
"Neville, we're okay. We're safe now." Susanna mumbled tiredly, but was unheard by the scared boy.
"No, not the floor! It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something!" And with that, Hermione stood, flushed with anger and the unexpected exercise. "I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed - or worse, expelled."
"You need to sort out you priorities." Ron muttered spitefully and Susanna snickered tiredly, pointing at him in agreement. Hermione stomped her foot.
"Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."
Susanna nodded. "We don't mind."
"You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?" Ron asked the cousins as Hermione retreated, Neville hurrying after her.
"Come on, we should get some sleep, too." Harry muttered, helping his cousin up from the floor. Hades jumped off of her, following closely as the three first years walked up the steps to the dorm, Susanna hugging the boys goodnight.
Hermione was already in bed, her drapes drawn shut. Susanna moaned under her breath at the sight, grateful she wouldn't be lectured anymore than before. Still, the Muggle-born's observation ate away at her all night, rousing her from sleep what felt like every few minutes.
A trapdoor? She considered, staring out the moonlit window with Hades purring next to her head. What could be so important that a three-headed dog had to guard it?
"It's about the You-Know-What, in vault You-Know-Which." Susanna shot up in bed as the sky began to lighten, dawn approaching. Hagrid's voice came to her all at once. "Can't tell yeh that. Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me." She remembered emptying the vault, and what had been reported about Gringotts later.
Hagrid had told them Hogwarts was safer than the bank, whose vaults were guarded by a dragon. A dragon. Could the three-headed dog be guarding what the thieves had been after?
"Oh, Hades." Susanna whispered to the sleeping kitten, dawn finally breaking on the horizon. "What are they hiding here?"
Alright, time for a few additional notes:
Lumos and Nox; Susanna knows it?
Susanna read all her Hogwarts books multiple times over the summer. We saw it. I know I hadn't written scenes of her practicing spells outside of class, but I will after this - especially when she and Hermione become friends (more down there). But yes, she taught herself both. My intention is not to make her as smart as Hermione, but Susanna's a highly determined person. She did dance for most of her life, and I know that made me work harder in school, too, because I was used to being pushed to be better. Susanna knows she isn't the smartest person in the room (though perhaps she is occasionally) but she comes from a place of working as hard as the smartest person in the room (if that makes sense).
Why is Susanna so patient with Neville?
It's simple: Neville reminds her of Harry, before they became close. Yes, Harry was more capable of taking care of himself, but there are certain similarities, especially when comparing how Dudley treats Harry to how Draco and others treat Neville. Susanna wants to protect Neville because of it. Does she get annoyed? Yes. But she's fond of him all the same. And she does help him become more confident and sure of himself as the story progresses, because I think she's a character who inspires growth.
Why the hostility between Hermione and Susanna?
In their first introduction, Hermione's lack of social grace greatly irks Susanna. She didn't appreciate how she spoke to Harry or how dismissive she was of Ron. Susanna doesn't like Hermione's attitude in class - we saw her being condescending to Susanna in Potions the previous chapter - and Susanna hates being talked down to. She also dislikes how much Hermione values house points over everything else. Remember, this story is third person, but it's not an omniscient narrative - Susanna doesn't see all. She sees what she thinks she sees, and Hermione presents herself in a way that pisses her off, and she's still struggling with her past behavior (which appears next chapter, before the girls settle their differences). Also, it's important to reiterate that she isn't jealous of Hermione, her hostility comes from her need to protect Harry, and then Ron, and Hermione was rude to both. As for why Hermione is hostile towards Susanna, Miss Granger is just returning the attitude. She's also unimpressed by how little Susanna seems to care about house points and behaving in school - in reality, their priorities are currently different.
The girls will be friends, right?
Oh, abso-freaking-lutely. Yes! Next chapter their friendship blossoms, and it's a real sisterhood. They're good for each other in a way that's different than how Harry and Ron are good for either girl, and vice versa. Where the boys are constantly using Hermione's intelligence to their advantage - occasionally taking it for granted - Susanna will help Hermione see their are other ways to prove herself. Susanna helps teach Hermione social grace (bless the boys, but Ron lacks tact and Harry is a salty boi), and helps her become more confident. Hermione teaches Susanna to not hide her intelligence behind humor and sarcasm - which she tends to do. She also motivates the girl in classes, and teaches her that sometimes it's important to show people how smart you are, even if it's in a "know-it-all" way. They're going to respect each other's opinions of one another, and be as close as Ron and Harry are. Expect late-night study sessions, weekends in the library and reading by the Black Lake, and practicing spells after school.
Lee, George, and Fred; why am I having them adopt her?
Well, Susanna's a trouble-maker. She looks like her aunt, but she's a lot like James - only less of a bully (I know, I know, James grows up, but he was a jerk in school. All teens are at some point). I also want her to have her own relationships and story outside of Harry's, and a friendship with the twins and Lee breeds all kinds of adventures - plus, think of all the extra skills in sneaking Susanna will gain! Susanna is, after all, her own person. Yes, she's an OC, but I won't have her just following Harry and the others around. I specialize in OC stories, and I pride myself in my ability to really make them their own character while existing in a world they weren't originally a part of. Susanna won't be any different.
Alright, that's it. I'll be working on the next chapter now.
Also, these are some difficult times. If anyone's feeling isolated or alone during this quarantine, you can message me. I'm feeling the same way, and would totally love to answer any questions about my fics, how I create my characters, even which ice cream flavor is my favorite. I'm here if you need to talk. Please take care of yourselves: wash your hands, stay inside unless absolutely necessary, call people you trust if you're in a difficult situation. Reach out to your therapists, hotlines, authorities, anyone who can help you.
If you're in the US and need it, there's the National Association of Domestic Violence hotline, 1-800-799-SAFE. They can also be contacted online at thehotline .org (no space, FanFiction just hates adding in external websites) as well, along with more resources which are listed on their site. I'm not familiar with other resources outside of the US, but am more than happy to research if need be. If you can, use it. Protecting ourselves from COVID-19 is not more important than protecting ourselves from abuse of any form. Be smart, be careful, and remember that while we're practicing social distance, we won't be alone.
xoxo Charmedlion22