Chapter 5
"You fainted, Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually fainted?" Is the first thing we hear as we get out of our carriage. Malfoy elbowes past Hermione to block Harry's way, his face gleeful and his eyes glinting maliciously.
"Shove off, Malfoy" says Ron, jaw clenched.
"Did you faint as well, Weasley?" Says Malfoy. "Did the scary old Dementor frighten you, too?"
I push on Draco's chest, hard enough to peal him off of Harry. "What's your problem, Malfoy? Don't you have anything better to do than bothering us?"
"Oh, but bothering you is my favorite thing to do." He sneers.
I move to take my wand out, "Is there a problem?" Says Professor Lupin, getting out of the next carriage.
Malfoy gives Professor Lupin an insolent stare. With a tiny hint of sarcasm in his voice, he says, "Oh, no – er – Professor," then he smirks at Crabbe and Goyle, and leads them up the steps into the castle.
Hermione prods Ron in the back to make him hurry, and we all join the crowd swarming up the steps into the Entrance Hall. We follow the crowd towards it, but barely step inside it when we here a voice, "Potter! Granger! I want to see you both!"
"Er- which Potter, professor?" I ask professor McGonagall.
"Harry."
Why did I even feel the need to ask?
Harry and Hermione fight their way over to her, "There's no need to look so worried – I just want a word in my office," she tells them. "Move along there, you two." She says to me and Ron.
Ron stares as Professor McGonagall ushers Harry and Hermione away from us. "C'mon" I say to Ron, guiding him towards the grate hall.
We make our way to the Gryffindor table at the far end of the hall, I sit down across from George and Fred, Ron on my right. The twins are talking to their quidditch captain, Oliver Wood, about (surprise, surprise) quidditch. I look around and see all the familiar faces, feeling relieved to finally be here.
"What'd you reckon she wanted to talk to them for?" Ron asks me.
I shrug, "No idea. Probably about what happened on the train."
"Why Hermione, then? Why not me?"
"I don't know, Ron." I say, irritated. "I'm not there, am I?"
"Alright, Jesus." Ron says defensively. "What are you mad at me for?"
"I'm not mad, I'm annoyed."
"Is it because of Malfoy? Because you shouldn't be giving him much thought let alone energy."
I roll my eyes at the irony of what he just said, "No, Ron, it isn't Draco I'm annoyed with." I give him a pointed look.
"Me? I haven't done anything." He frowns.
"Forget it." When I finally turn my gaze away from Ron and look around us, I see some pairs of eyes looking in our direction. The twins, Lee, Oliver and Angelina Johnson were all watching us argue. "What?" I ask Fred when he raises an eyebrow at me.
"Why're you so irritable?" He asks me.
"I'm not." I say to him. I turn my eyes to George who is looking at me worriedly. "I'm not."
George raises his hands in surrender, "Haven't said anything."
Truthfully I don't know why I'm so aggravated, I was fine a second ago when we sat down. I sit in silence for some time until I feel someone sitting beside me. Hermione is back, and so is Harry.
"What was all that about?" I hear Ron mutters to Harry.
Harry starts saying something but at that moment the Headmaster stand up to speak, and he brakes off. "Welcome!" Says Dumbledore, "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all—" I usually tune him out at this point, his speeches are so long. I look over at all the professors at the teachers' table and spot Lupin, he is looking at me already and I avert my gaze, feeling embarrassed. "On a happier note," I hear Dubledore say , "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. Firstly, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"He looks so familiar, I can't put my finger on it." I whisper to Hermione.
"Really?" She asks "he doesn't look familiar to me."
"As to our second new appointment, well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."
Harry, Ron, Hermione and I stare at each other, stunned. Then we join in with the applause.
"We should've known!" Ron roars, pounding the table. "Who else would have set us a biting book?"
"Well, I think that's everything of importance," says Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"
The Hall echoes with talk, laughter and the clatter of knives and forks. I sit in silence for most of the meal, staring (quite creepily) at professor Lupin, trying to remember where I've seen him before. It's strange, looking at him makes me feel some sort of nostalgia, homesickness. I realize it makes me miss my parents. I know my brain is trying to tell me something but I can't piece it together.
At long last, when the last morsels of pumpkin tart had melted from the golden platters, Dumbledore gives the word that it is time for us all to go to bed, and we get up and go straight to Hagrid.
"Congratulations, Hagrid!" Hermione squeals, as we reach the teachers' table.
"All down ter you three," says Hagrid, wiping his face on his napkin as he looks up at us. "Can' believe it... great man, Dumbledore... came straight down to me hut after Professor Kettleburn said he'd had enough... it's what I always wanted..." He buries his face in his napkin, and Professor McGonagall shoos us away.
We join the Gryffindors streaming up the marble staircase and up to the hidden entrance to Gryffindor Tower.
When we get inside the common room Harry and Ron bid us goodnight and go up the stairs to their dormitories.
I don't feel like going to sleep so I walk to one of the red sofas in the middle of the room and drop myself on it. Hermione sits down next to me hosting my legs on her lap.
"What'd McGonagall want from you, earlier?"
I feel her stiffening under my legs, "Just to see if Harry was ok. And to talk to me about my schedule for this year, as I'm taking more classes."
"Oh, Did you figure it out?"
"Yeah, sort of. We'll see how it goes and if I can't manage I'll have to drop a few."
"I'm sure you'll be fine."
I turn my head to look around the room, there are still a few people but almost everyone else went to bed. I still don't want to go to sleep, and I don't feel like facing my subconscious yet.
"I think I'm going to bad, I'm very tired." Mione says. "'You coming?"
"Nah, I'm going to stay here for a bit."
"Ok then, I'm off to bed." She says, getting up. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Good night, Mione." And off she goes, up the stairs and out of sight.
I sit up on the sofa and sigh.
As much as I love being here, at Hogwarts, it makes me feel lonelier than when it's just me and Harry. When we are alone we only have each other to talk to and even if we annoy each other, we still interact. Here, he has his friends and it's easy for him to get distance from me. I, on the other hand, only have his friends, too, which means I have to be around him if I want to be with them. The thing is, whenever Harry needs his friends for some mission, which I'm sure will arise sometime during the year, I don't get to be with mine.
Ok, well, that's not completely true. I haven't made that much of an effort to make friends of my own. In my defense, it's not that easy to get out of your shell and start talking to people when you're already labeled as someone's sister. I feel like everyone has already made up their minds about me.
I'm sitting, staring at the fire place with my thoughts running in my head. It's so quiet now, I hear the wood cracking and the wind blowing outside. I feel the sofa deep, he is sitting beside me.
"I want to go home." I whisper.
I feel so conflicted. I love Hogwarts, there isn't a place in this world that feels more like home to me then this school. But still, I don't quite feel like I belong here, not really, not without Harry. I so badly want to be here but at the same time I want to go somewhere else, I don't even know where.
Some people say home isn't a place it's a person, my home is, in some ways, Harry. He is my family and my oldest friend. He's all I have, but because he's stuck with me, a lot of the time I just feel like that's the only reason we are always together. That he doesn't really want to be my friend. I always thought that if our parents were still alive we'd be much closer. They would have been our home instead of me feeling like a parasite in Harry's life. I feel like a burden on him and I think that, unconsciously, he resents me for it.
"What home?" He asks me. "You want to go back to the Dursleys?"
What home?
"No. I don't know..."
He shifts beside me, now facing me, from the corner of my eye I can see his frown. "I thought Hogwarts was your home."
I shake my head, feeling tears running down my face, "I don't think I ever really had one."
"I think you should go to sleep, Charlie."
"I'm not tired." I turn my head and look at him. "I miss them."
"I know." He says, coming closer and holding me as I rest my head on his shoulder. I close my eyes and we just sit like this for a while.
I don't know how much time passes but when I open my eyes again Fred is asleep. I get up quietly, trying not to wake him. I make my way up to my room and go to sleep on my bed.
——————————————
The first thing we see when we enter the Great Hall for breakfast, is Draco Malfoy entertaining a large group of Slytherins with what seems like a very funny story. As we pass him, Malfoy does a ridiculous impression of a swooning fit and there is a roar of laughter.
"Ignore him," says Hermione from behind Harry. "Just ignore him, it's not worth it..."
"Hey Potter!" shrieks Pansy Parkinson. "Potter! The Dementors are coming, Potter! Woooooooo!"
"Piss off, Parkinson." I yell out to her. Dragging Harry by the arm to our table.
I drop into a seat at the Gryffindor table, next to George, Harry on my left, Ron and Hermione on the other side of George.
"New third-year timetables," says George, passing them over. "What's up with you two?" He asks me and Harry.
"Malfoy," says Ron glaring over at the Slytherin table.
George looks up in time to see Malfoy pretending to faint with terror again. "That little git," he says calmly "He wasn't so cocky last night when the Dementors were down our end of the train. Herd he Came running into the girls' compartment. isn't that right Ange?"
"Nearly wet himself," says Angelina from next to Fred.
Fred is looking at me but I ignore his stare.
"I wasn't too happy myself," says George. "They're horrible things, those Dementors..."
"You didn't pass out, though, did you?" Harry says in a low voice.
"Forget it, Harry" says George bracingly. "Dad had to go out to Azkaban one time, remember, Fred? And he said it was the worst place he'd ever been. He came back all weak and shaking... They suck the happiness out of a place, Dementors. Most of the prisoners go mad in there."
"Anyway, we'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch match," says Fred, not looking at me anymore. "Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first game of the season, remember?"
"Ooh, good, we're starting some new subjects today" I hear Hermione say happily.
"Hermione," says Ron, "they've messed up your timetable. Look – they've got you down for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time."
"I'll manage. I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall."
"But look," says Ron, laughing, "see this morning? Nine o'clock, Divination And underneath, nine o'clock, Muggle Studies. And –" Ron leans closer to the timetable, disbelieving, "look – underneath that, Arithmancy, nine o'clock. I mean, I know you're good, Hermione, but no one's that good. How're you supposed to be in three classes at once?"
"Don't be silly," says Hermione shortly. "Of course I won't be in three classes at once."
"Well, then –"
"Pass the marmalade," says Hermione.
"But –"
"Oh, Ron, what's it to you if my timetable's a bit full?" Hermione snaps. "I told you, I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall."
I notice Hagrid enter the Great Hall. "All righ'?" he says, pausing on the way to the staff table. "Yer in my firs' ever lesson! Right after lunch! Bin up since five gettin' everythin' ready... hope it's OK... me, a teacher... hones'ly..." He grins broadly at us and heads off to the staff table.
"Wonder what he's been getting ready?" Says Ron, a note of anxiety in his voice. The Hall is starting to empty as people head off towards their first lesson. He checks his timetable. "We'd better go, look, Divination's at the top of North Tower. It'll take us ten minutes to get there..."
We finish our breakfast hastily. As we say goodbye to Fred and George and start to walk off. Fred reaches out and grab me by my wrist. "Can we talk for a second?" He asks, and I know he wants to talk about what happened yesterday.
I nod and tell my friends I'll meet them at class. They walk back through the hall. As they pass the Slytherin table, Malfoy does yet another impression of a fainting fit. "I'll be right back." I tell Fred, getting up and walking in the direction of the Slytherin table.
"What the fuck is your problem, you little shit?" I yell as I make my way toward Malfoy.
Pansy is up now, ready to defend Draco. He doesn't seem amused anymore, not quite scared but definitely a bit cautious. He gives her a look and she sits back down. "Aww, does little Harry needs his sister to defend him from the bad Slytherins?" He mocks.
"Shut up, Draco!" I hiss. "It's not even been two days and I already lost count of how many times I've wanted to hex you."
He narrows his eyes at me, looks behind me, "You can run along now, Potter. Your Weasel boyfriend is waiting for you."
I turn my head and see Fred waiting behind me, arms crossed, glaring at Draco. I turn back to Draco. "Stop bothering my brother. I mean it Malfoy," I say, pointing a finger at him. "or I swear to god I'll make you regret you ever met us." I turn around and start walking away with Fred.
"I already regret meeting you." He calls after me.
I give him the finger over my shoulder.
I step outside of the grate hall, Fred right behind me. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Do you— Are you... ok?" He asks, he seems uncomfortable.
"Yes, he's just so aggravating." I answer, frustrated.
"No, I meant in general."
I give him a weird look, "I'm fine."
"Really?" He raises an eyebrow suspiciously. "Yesterday you seemed a little... you know, you were crying and—"
"You didn't tell anyone, did you?" I cut him off. From my experience with Fred I'm fairly sure he didn't, but I still needed to ask
"Of course not." He frowns, like I offended him. "I just don't really understand what happened. I mean you never did... that, before."
"Just forget about it Fred. I had a weird day and I felt like crying. Not a big deal."
"Ok, but-"
"Look, I'm going to be late to class. I have to go, we'll talk later." I say, already retreating towards the stairs. "Bey."
The journey through the castle to North Tower was a long one. At long last I get to the top of the stairs and climb up the ladder. I open the door and look around for my friends. The class has already started, the teacher comes to a halt, mid speech, and everyone is looking at me. I murmur a quick apology and go to sit next to Hermione.
"—We will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year." The teacher continues, as if nothing happened. "The first term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the way, my dear," she shoots suddenly at Parvati Patil, "beware of a redhaired man."
Parvati gives a startled look at Ron, who is right behind her, and edges her chair away from him.
"In the summer term," the professor goes on, "we shall progress to the crystal ball – if we have finished with fire-omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter, one of our number will leave us for ever." A very tense silence follows this pronouncement, but the teacher seems unaware of it. "I wonder, dear," she says to Lavender Brown, who is nearest to her, "if you could pass me the largest silver teapot?" Lavender, looking relieved, does as Professor Trelawney asked.
After we fill our cups with tea we go back to our tables and try to drink the foul liquid as quickly as possible. I swap mine with Mione's, Harry and Ron with each other's. I open my book and look at the cup in my hand. "I can't really see anything." I say to Hermione.
"Neither can I." She replies.
I look closer. I think I see something but I might just be reading way to much into it. It looks like the number eight, or maybe the infinity sign, if I rotate it a little? I don't know. "Wait i think I see something." I try to focus on the figure and all of a sudden I can see it more clearly. I don't see the number anymore, I see a clock. "I see a clock... and the number eight... maybe something is going to happen to you at eight?"
Hermione rolls her eyes, "That's vary specific." She says sarcastically.
I look through my book but I can't find anything to make what I see any clearer. I shrug, "Do you see anything?"
She shakes her head.
I look over at Harry and Ron. "That looks like an animal. Yeah, if that was its head... it looks like a hippo... no, a sheep..." I hear Ron say.
Professor Trelawney whirls around as Harry lets out a snort of laughter. "Let me see that, my dear," she says to Ron, sweeping over and snatching Harry's cup from him. She is staring into the teacup, rotating it anticlockwise. "The falcon... my dear, you have a deadly enemy."
"But everyone knows that," says Hermione in a loud whisper. I try not to laugh, she's got a point. "Everybody knows about Harry and You-Know-Who."
Professor Trelawney looks over at us but chooses not to reply. She lowers her eyes to Harry's cup again and continues to turn it. "The club... an attack. Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup..."
"I thought that was a bowler hat," says Ron sheepishly.
"The skull... danger in your path, my dear..."
I don't need a tea cup to know that Harry's future holds a lot of dangerous adventures. I don't know what Trelawney thinks she is seeing but I know that, whatever it is, Harry's got it way worse. And I'm terrified to find out what is coming for him this year.
Everyone is staring, transfixed, at Professor Trelawney, who gives the cup a final turn, gasps, and then screams. "My dear boy– my poor dear boy – no – it is kinder not to say – no – don't ask me..."
"What is it, Professor." Asks Dean Thomas. Everyone is now on their feet, and slowly, gather around Harry and Ron's table, pressing close to Professor Trelawney's chair to get a good look at Harry's cup.
"My dear," Professor Trelawney's huge eyes opened dramatically, "you have the Grim."
"The what?" Harry and I ask at the same time.
"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!" cries Professor Trelawney, looking shocked that Harry hadn't understood. "The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen – the worst omen – of death!"
I get up from my seat and walk over to where Trelawney is sitting. I look over her shoulder at the cup in her hand. I feel Hermione next to me, doing the same. "I don't think it looks like a Grim," she says flatly.
"You'll forgive me for saying so, my dear, but I perceive very little aura around you. Very little receptivity to the resonances of the future."
"Can I have a look, professor?" I ask, taking the cup from her hands. I look at the shapes of the soggy leaves and try to make an image in my head. I see a shape of an animal but it's morphing into a face the more I stare at it. "It looks like a person to me." I say and hand it back to Trelawney. She looks at the cup again, shakes her head.
"It looks like a Grim if you do this," says Seamus Finnigan tilts his head from side to side, with his eyes almost shut, "but it looks more like a donkey from here," he says, leaning to the left.
"When you've all finished deciding whether I'm going to die or not!" Says Harry, taking me by surprise.
"I think we will leave the lesson here for today" says Professor Trelawney, in her mistiest voice. "Yes... please pack away your things..."
Silently we take our teacups back to Professor Trelawney, packing away our books and closing our bags.
"You've faced worse then a big dog, Harry." I say to my brother, offering a smile.
"You don't think it's really an omen, do you?" He asks cautiously.
"Nah, it's probably just nonsense."
"Until we meet again," says Professor Trelawney faintly.
As we get out of the class I can't help but think about what I saw in Harry's cup. That face wasn't just any face.
It was Sirius Black.