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Author: Imogen Story: Nil Desperandum Rating: Young Teens Setting: Pre-OotP Status: WIP Reviews: 4 Words: 49,808
Chapter 5 Plan B The ruffling whir of feathers soothed the air as owls of every shape and size awoke for the night. Some soared off with missives into the darkening night, others flitted from perch to perch, hooting and quavering their news. The candles illuminated the tawny blends of feathers flecked with deeper browns and whites, and Hope leaned back against the chilly stone wall in the alcove, watching them enviously for a while. Flying was freedom, and yet here she was, bound to earth with no escape. Balthasar's mournful cry broke her train of thought. She reached out her hand and stroked his feathers, loving the soft ticklish feel of him. His deep amber eyes watched her, the unblinking steadiness making her feel guiltier than ever. "I am going to do it," she whispered, and unscrewed the lid of her bottle of ink. She smiled wryly at him. "I just don't know how." Hope stared at the blank parchment before her, wishing this letter would somehow write itself. This wasn't something she ever wanted to do, yet she knew deep in her heart that she had to. She wished it had been something she'd done, so that she could be punished for it and be forgiven, but this wasn't like that. They were going to be so disappointed in her, and there was nothing she could do to put it right. She took a deep breath, dipped her quill into the ink and, with an unsteady hand, she began to write. Dear Mum and Dad, I'm sorry I've not written before now, but I was trying to get something put right before I owled you. I'm so glad I've got Balthasar here… She glanced at her owl; his sooty feathers made him stand out amongst all the other owls, just like her Weasley red hair made her not fit in amongst the Slytherins. They were outsiders, both of them. She bit her lip and forced herself to continue. Robert and I got here fine, and I'm learning a lot already. We've had Potions, History of Magic, Herbology and Transfiguration so far. I think I made a mess of Transfiguration because we were meant to be changing matchsticks into needles, but I tried too hard and it turned into a dagger instead. Professor McGonagall was nice about it and says I've got to learn to control the spells and not put too much power into them. Uncle Remus isn't here yet, because it was the full moon when we arrived, but Professor Sinistra, who took his lesson earlier today, said he should be back in the morning. Lots of the teachers are just like you said they were. She pulled a face at the parchment. She adored Remus, and she knew that there was no way on earth he'd believe the way she'd been acting in the past couple of days. He'd see right through her and know what she was up to in about five seconds flat. She was going to have to work out a way round that one. I've made a new friend called Cora Maguire… Hope paused and looked at the parchment again. It was half covered in her scrawl and she hadn't managed to tell them the truth yet. This was all the stuff she knew that her parents wanted to hear, and the heaviness weighing in her stomach reminded her that she had to tell them the truth. She had to. …Cora's in Slytherin… The word hung there, the wet black ink glistening in the candle light like the coils of a snake. Hope shuddered. She closed her eyes and steeled herself to write the next words. Mum, Dad, please don't be upset with me. It wasn't my fault, really it wasn't. I've asked Professor McGonagall to help put it right, but she says it can't be done. The Sorting Hat must have made a mistake. I can't be in Slytherin too. I just can't. I don't want to be. I'd do anything to get out of here. Hope choked back a sob and snuffled her hand across her nose. She had to keep going; Gryffindors were brave, weren't they? Then she could do this. I'm missing everyone at home, but I'm ok here. I'm going to try and see the headmaster tomorrow and Aunt Hermione will be pleased that Robert and I are looking up Sortings in the library to see if we can find out what happened last time the hat got it wrong. Love from, Hope Tears were brimming in her eyes now. She swiped them away quickly, grateful that there was no one around to see. Before she had a chance to change her mind, she rolled up the parchment and tied it to Balthasar's leg. He hooted supportively, and she gave him a watery smile. "To Mum and Dad," she croaked, and watched as her beloved bird stretched his wings and powerfully propelled himself upwards to vanish into the darkening sky. "Please let it be all right," she breathed. "Please?" She turned and packed her things away, her fingers shaking with fear of what the letter in reply might say. She'd let them down so badly. Quickly, she threw her bag over her shoulder and, with a last wistful glance at the sky to where Balthasar had been, she slipped through the heavy Owlery door and back into the hub of the school. It was quieter than it had been during the day, and Hope was grateful for that. She wasn't really in the mood for people bumping and jostling around her. Now that the detention with Snape was done and her letter had been written, she was left to her own devices for half an hour or so before bed. It wasn't much time, but it was better than nothing. Hope rattled down an old wooden staircase and hurried onwards. She had a bit of reading that she needed to do before bed, and plans to work through for the morning. She picked up her pace, shivering as she entered the cold darkness of the dungeons but quickly descending further and further until she found the patch of damp wall that demarcated the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room. She wished they'd got something as nice as the portrait of the Fat Lady, but it seemed that none of the portraits had wanted to be the Slytherin guardian. Not that she could blame them for that. "Phoenix ashes," she said, and the door slid noiselessly open. The common room was busy. Gaggles of students clustered around tables, playing games and laughing. A few were scrawling onwards on their parchment, making heavy weather of their homework. Hope's eyes scanned the room, identifying quickly some of her year over by the lakeside windows playing exploding snap. Belford caught her eye when he was in the middle of his turn and flushed bright red. Before Hope had a chance to take another step, the stack of cards suddenly blew up and the other players dived for cover. As the smoke cleared, she could see Belford patting his hair ferociously to make sure all the flames were put out. Shaking her head at his clumsiness, she slipped through the room and up the stairs into her dormitory. The girls inside fell silent, as they always did, when she entered. "The incredible Hope Potter has seen fit to honour us with her presence at last," Parkinson announced loudly and pretended to swoon, flopping backwards on her bed so that her mousy friend, Miss Lambert, giggled. "Potter, your sheer intellectual talent in Herbology today was almost too much for me to comprehend." "Shut up," Hope growled and tried to stalk past the two of them to get to her own bed. Parkinson got to her feet and tried to block Hope's way. "Why should I? You're just really a waste of space, Potter. You shouldn't be here at all. I mean you can't even do Transfiguration properly." Hope glared at the taller girl, hatred swelling in her heart. "And you were so successful at it," she retorted scathingly. "I mean, you transfigured a matchstick into… ooh, let me think… into a matchstick! I mean, how incredible is that? I wish I had your talents." "At least I'm trying to learn," Parkinson snapped back. "My sister says your family is all so stupid that you never learn anything. That's probably why you're messing around in class so much. You're covering up not knowing anything." "Don't be stupid," Cora's soft brogue wafted across the room. "Hope knew all those potions, didn't she? That's more than I can say about you, Priscilla." "And who asked for your opinion?" Parkinson rounded on Cora. "Since when did you care about Potter showing off? She's only getting away with it because of some accident when she was a baby, or maybe your dad didn't hang around for long enough to tell you about that. Not that I can blame him; death's better than getting stuck with a mother like yours." "What?" Hope shrieked, getting ready to leap to her new friend's defence. "Just shut up all of you!" a new voice yelled. There was a swish of curtains and the fifth member of their dormitory was blocked from sight, having taken refuge behind the heavy curtains in her four-poster bed. Parkinson threw them a withering glare and pushed past Hope, knocking into her shoulder, as she stalked off towards the common room, Rose Lambert like a puppy at her heels. The door clashed behind them and Hope perched on the side of Cora's bed, looking at her with concern. Cora was lying on her stomach with her head buried in her arms, heaving in breaths like she was struggling not to cry. "She's a cow," Hope said with some feeling. She sat feeling rather awkward, not really knowing what to do or say until finally Cora rolled onto her side and looked up at her. "I suppose it was just a matter of time before she started on me," she said wryly and Hope could see that Cora was looking a bit red around the eyes from crying earlier. "What's she been saying?" she demanded. Cora shrugged. "Nothing I can't handle. Just stuff." "About your dad?" Hope was puzzled. "But he died in the war, didn't he? How can she get on your case about that?" Cora gulped. She sat up on the bed and crossed her legs, rubbing her face in her hands for a moment before taking a deep breath. Then she spoke in a whisper to prevent anyone from overhearing. "I can trust you, right?" Hope nodded. Of course she could. She might have been a bit of a git to Cora so far, but she actually really liked her, Slytherin or not. "I'll never mention it to a soul," she promised. "Mum and Dad met when You Know Who was coming to the heights of his powers. Mum was from Ireland originally, but she'd come across to Hogwarts for school and she'd never gone back again. She was working for the Department of Mysteries when the big split came in the Ministry, and she followed loads of others to fight with Dumbledore. That's when she met my dad. "Mum always told me it was love at first sight; soul mates, she said," Cora whispered. "They fought against the Death Eaters side by side, and Mum was even there when Dad was killed. She told me about it once. He died in her arms, you know?" Cora's voice trembled. "He never knew I was on the way. Mum only found that out later, but with the war and everything they hadn't got married. So that's why Parkinson's looking down on me. I'm illegitimate, and I suppose kids like me don't deserve to be in Slytherin." "That's just stupid," Hope said fiercely. "It doesn't alter who you are." "Doesn't it?" Cora said with a wry smile. "Maguire's my mum's name, not my dad's. Mum always says that Dad wouldn't have hesitated in putting things right if he'd lived, and he'd have loved me to bits. But I'll never really know now, will I?" There was a crack in Cora's voice. "Some days it feels like it's just Mum and me against the rest of the world." "What about your grandparents and your uncles and aunts?" Hope asked, thinking about her massive family. There wasn't room to turn around in her life without bumping into some Weasley or other. "Mum was an only child," Cora explained quietly, her head bowed. "Her parents died a long time ago. As for Dad's, I don't know. I think the disgrace of having an illegitimate grandchild must've been too much for them because I've never seen them and probably never will. It really is only me and Mum. So that's my life, and I'll understand if you don't want anything more to do with me. I mean you're Hope Pot-" "Don't talk rubbish!" Hope interrupted and shook her head vehemently. "You're my friend. That's all there is to it." Cora lifted her head, and swallowed visibly. "Friend?" Hope grinned. "Unless you'd rather I turn into Parkinson and start having a go at you because your pyjamas are the wrong shade of blue?" Cora chuckled. "Thanks," she said. "I didn't think you liked me much." "I do!" Hope blurted out, then she blushed. She poked at the green bedspread with her finger and traced the wavy stitching for a moment. "I've not been happy here either," she admitted quietly. "I suppose I'm missing home. I didn't mean to be horrid to you, because you've been really nice to me." "'S ok," Cora grinned. "You weren't that bad. I think Parkinson takes the biscuit for being vile." "More like the whole bakery," Hope muttered, and the pair of them burst into peals of laughter. Hope went to bed with a happier heart that night. In part it was because she'd done the thing she'd dreaded most and written to her parents with the news, but it was also because she knew now that she had a friend to help her through. Mostly she was happier with excited anticipation about the fate about to befall a certain Miss Parkinson. Hope drew the curtains before wriggling into bed gleefully. She propped herself up on her pillows to read the book she'd borrowed from the library. She could barely concentrate on the Charms because she was waiting with baited breath for screams and howls of outrage as the Savage Sheets began their night time nibbling. However, all was still, and after a while, Hope gave up on learning the spell that would make possessions vanish and reappear elsewhere and settled down for sleep. Her bed was soft, gently moulding itself to her body and lulling her to sleep in its warmth. She could hear the regular breathing of the other girls in her room and thought over the day. Bits of it hadn't been so bad after all, but she was still going to work on getting out of Slytherin tomorrow. She'd got a few ideas, and tomorrow she was going to… But the image of Snape eating a Canary Cream never quite occurred, because Hope Potter was fast asleep. A high-pitched scream of sheer terror broke through her dreams, rousing her to consciousness. Whimpers and shrieks pervaded the air and there was a distinct cry of "Mummy!" from the bed nearest the door. Soft footsteps scuffled round the bed and Hope could just about hear Rose Lambert's voice asking Parkinson what was wrong. Hope hugged her knees towards her body with excitement. "There's something in my bed!" Parkinson shrieked, sobbing uncontrollably. "It's a Bogeyman after my toes, I'm sure it is." Hope stuffed her pillow in her mouth to stop herself from laughing. She hadn't believed in that particular myth since she was about six. There was a snort from Cora's bed and that only made Hope's giggles worse. "There's nothing there, Pris," Rose was trying to reassure her friend and there was the rustle of the covers being hauled back. "You've just had a nightmare. Go back to sleep." There was a mumble and more rustling and slowly all five girls settled down to sleep. Hope grinned in the darkness, hugging her pillow towards her. "Sometimes, revenge was delicious. And sometimes," she thought as the squeals rang out again, "it was even better than that." ***** The following morning dawned bright and clear, but the five girls stumbled groggily out of bed, yawning widely. Priscilla Parkinson looked wild-eyed and totally dishevelled compared with her normal pristine appearance. She wouldn't even go to the bathroom on their landing without Rose accompanying her. Cora and Hope quickly dashed down the room and giggled as they switched the sheets on Parkinson's bed back to their normal ones before Snape ended up being hauled in to investigate. They both knew already that not much would pass undetected under the Potions Master's large nose. "So it was you?" Hope stared at the girl who occupied the centre bed. She'd barely paid any attention to her at all so far. She had been so quiet that Hope didn't even know her name and they'd completely forgotten that she was there. "Yeah," Hope admitted. "Sorry about last night, but she kind of deserved it." The girl stared back in stony silence and then began to get dressed. "You're not going to tell Snape, are you?" Cora asked fearfully. The girl just shrugged and continued to pull on her robes. Once she was fully dressed, she turned and left without another word. "Weird," Hope breathed. "Maybe she's just homesick?" Cora suggested. "Maybe," Hope echoed, a nagging feeling beginning again in the pit of her stomach. "Come on, let's get a move on. I've got another idea." The morning passed fairly uneventfully, Hope being quiet for once and carefully planning the afternoon's surprises for the teaching staff. She'd managed to locate the staffroom and sneak in there unobserved before breakfast, leaving a little gift on the big table by the fire. Care of Magical Creatures, was the lesson she'd targeted today, but it was with a reluctant heart. She loved Hagrid, but this had to be done. Whatever the cost, she wasn't going to stay in Slytherin. As soon as morning lessons ended she had hurried out of Charms and down the corridor as fast as she could. She'd arranged to meet Robert in the library to see what they could find out that might be useful, but before she'd got very far, a familiar figure flagged her down. "Hope!" It was Remus. She smiled sheepishly up at him, wondering what he knew. The watchful grey eyes gave nothing away and she squirmed guiltily under his gaze. "Can we have a quick chat, please?" His tone was friendly and she obediently followed him into his office and closed the door behind her. The room was cluttered with books and a tank of Grindylows swam in a tank on the windowsill. She watched them idly for a few moments and then snapped her attention back to what was going on. "Sit down if you want," Remus suggested, rummaging through his desk looking for something. He produced a box of teabags and some biscuits and set his kettle on to boil. "Do you want a cup?" Hope shook her head. "How are you settling in?" Hope paused, weighing up the pros and cons of telling Remus the whole story. "It's not like I thought it was going to be," she confessed at last. "No, I can imagine some of it's been quite a shock," he said quietly. "Not just for you either. What's going on, Hope?" "What? What do you mean?" "I mean your turning half of the staff into canaries at morning break, and don't tell me that wasn't you, because I know it was. That's not the only thing you've done since you got here either. I'm not mad at you," he continued, seeing her defiance beginning to build. "Your grandad, Sirius and I used to get up to enough mischief here ourselves, but this isn't real mischief, is it? The Hope Potter I know is a lot more inventive than a few canary creams borrowed from Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes." Hope gave him a small smile. "I'm just finding it difficult, Uncle Remus," she confessed. "I'm going to start trying harder though." He looked at her through narrowed eyes and a smile played on his lips, telling her that he wasn't convinced in the slightest. "Don't let your parents down, Hope," he warned, and stirred some sugar into his tea. "You know how much they love you and worry about you. More importantly, you shouldn't let yourself down either; you're worth more than this." Hope nodded, feeling her stomach sink. It was a bit late for all that now, she'd let everyone down already. Much to her relief he didn't question her further and with the caveat that she should come back and talk to him if anything was bothering her, he began to discuss Quidditch. Eventually she managed to escape and ran along the corridor, plunging recklessly down the staircase at the far end, heading towards the library as fast as her legs could carry her. The library was silent but for the random rustle of heavy parchment pages turning. A few bleary eyes of older students looked up briefly from their work as she scuttled in, their heads bowing quickly and returning to the tasks before them. Hope's eyes darted anxiously around the tables and towering stacks of books that lined the room. Was he still here? Madam Pince was looking at her suspiciously over her tiny half-moon glasses. She paused with her wand poised over a large text that some student was about to borrow and opened her mouth to interrogate the newcomer. At this moment Hope caught a flash of fair hair out of the corner of her eye, and saw Robert's head appear from behind a row of shelves. He grinned, beckoned furiously at her to follow and then ducked out of sight again. "Homework," Hope whispered to Madam Pince, looking as innocent as she possibly could. "I'll just be a few minutes and I'll be at my next lesson in time." Madam Pince stared hard at her, and then nodded briskly, returning to her task of issuing the book. Heart in her mouth, Hope crept down the room, desperately trying not to draw attention to herself, and checking down each book-lined row for her friend. There was no sign of him down this aisle, nor the next. Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed her, pulling her quickly out of sight before the occupants of the room turned to see what had caused the squeak. "What are you doing?" she hissed. "I've got something," he whispered back, his face alight with anticipation. "Just shut up and come and look." Hope followed him to a darkened corner behind the stacks and when she saw a large tome that Robert had opened out on the floor, she dropped to her knees beside him to take a closer look. "What have you found?" she whispered. "Anything about the sorting?" Robert shook his head. "Nothing like that yet," he admitted, looking rather guilty. Hope wrinkled her nose at him and made him smile. He was her best friend and he'd spent all of lunchtime and most of last night looking for information to help her when he could have been having fun in the Gryffindor common room. Dad had been right when he said that Robert was someone she could trust. "So what…?" "Remember when you were asking about secret passageways out of the castle?" Robert sounded excited by his discovery and Hope nodded eagerly. "You think you can remember some, but they're not where you were expecting, right?" Hope nodded again. "I think this might be it. The castle was partially destroyed just after you were born. It tells you all about that in this chapter here. You even get a mention, so it must be a good book. See?" He pointed out her name and grinned wickedly at her. Hope swatted at him with her hand, but she missed as Robert dodged sideways and laughed at her. They were rewarded with an angry ‘shush!' from a nearby sixth year and they fell silent once more. Hope grinned back at him, blushing furiously. Robert was pretty much the only person who could get away with teasing her about who she was. She could remember an older girl teasing her once at the village school, and the grown-ups had had quite a time of it trying to remove her tusks afterwards. "Does it say what happened to the passageways?" Hope whispered. "Robert shook his head, and his fingers unfolded the heavy parchment on the opposite page, revealing a plan of some sorts for Hope to examine. "What it has got is a map of the old castle and I thought we could compare that with the new one. If we use what you remember and work out where they might be on today's map, we're in with a chance." Hope watched the old castle staircases shifting on the parchment before her and her eyes roamed along line drawn corridors. Suddenly she felt quite at home. She concentrated hard, and could feel herself climbing up the marble staircase one sunny summer morning. Blinding rays of sunlight streamed through the arched window on the little half-landing part way up to the first floor, and she screwed her eyes tightly against the glare. Onwards and upwards, past suits of armour that seemed to back away from her slightly with a clank of nerves. Boys and girls she didn't know seemed to dwell there in her memories. Hope frowned and closed her eyes, willing herself to look more closely. She didn't recognise them at all. They wore Hogwarts uniform just like she and Robert did, but something about them was rather odd. Most of the girls had their hair cropped in short bobs along their jaw line, and the boys too looked like pictures from her Quidditch history books, with their hair sleeked to one side. Eyes were staring at her from all sides, admiring and respectful. "As it should be," a chilling voice said in her head. "They will bow yet more before me when my powers are fully revealed. It is all simply a matter of time." Hope felt her eyes compelled to be drawn to one particular girl. She looked uneasy, her fingers restlessly twitching together. The word ‘Muggle' drifted disparagingly round Hope's mind and before she knew what was happening she climbed higher still, reaching the fourth floor corridor. It was empty here and she glanced around her. Classrooms had their doors ajar, unoccupied and silent now that lessons had finished. She drifted onwards towards the ornately gilded mirror halfway down the deserted hallway. She saw her hand holding her wand, and swishing in the air as if to cast a spell. Yet that wand wasn't willow like hers was. It was too dark for that. Hope frowned suddenly and compelled her mind to work harder, forcing herself to stare into the mirror and move so that she could see clearly. She gasped out loud. It wasn't her own dishevelled reflection staring back, but that of a good-looking dark-haired boy with a Head Boy badge pinned to his school robes. A/N: Thanks to Liz and Nome, my intrepid beta readers, who are far more efficient than I am at getting these chapters out! Thanks for being so patient and if you feel like making me smile, there's that little review button right there…
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