Chapter 5: A Hint of Things to ComeSummary:Hazel learns more than she bargained for, but isn't sure how much of it will do her any good? But there's no time to stand around, sadly!
Chapter TextLuna showed them around the garden before they ate, pointing out the various herbs and plants they were growing. She was especially proud of their dirigible plums, and Hazel herself inadvertently set off a withered old stump when she leaned in too close.
"Those are Snargaluffs," Luna explained serenely after Hazel jumped out of range of the swarms of thorny vines that had erupted from the stump. "Daddy says it's best to Stun them before harvesting the pods. Did it get you?"
"No, I'm fine." She needed a moment to get her breath back, though. "We should head back inside, I'm starving."
The Freshwater Plimpy soup turned out to be quite good, and everyone had lots of it. Afterward Luna showed them around the house; above the kitchen was a work room, with a large clattering machine in one corner that Hazel assumed was a printing press based on the copies of The Quibbler that were spewing out of it.
In the far corner was a tiny washroom, and Hazel wondered how the plumbing worked on the second floor. For that matter, how did the plumbing work even on the ground floor? There was no way the county ran utilities way out here, not to a wizarding house trying to avoid Muggle notice. She wondered what sort of magic replicated plumbing while looking around the work area.
It was extremely crowded, with books and papers everywhere, and models of fantastic animals Hazel had never seen before all hanging from the ceiling. The printing press took up most of the floor space of course, and there was barely room for a small couch and a mismatched assortment of chairs around a precariously balanced table. These, too, were covered in books and papers; Hazel reckoned that if she didn't know who lived here, and had walked into this room without any context, she'd assume a researcher of some kind lived here.
Which, well, made sense actually, considering he ran a newspaper.
Her eye was drawn to a white marble bust that seemed to have pride of place on a stool next to the largest chair, and she went over to it. It was of a woman, with long hair tucked back beneath a fancy-looking circlet, and she'd been carved with a stern and distant expression on her face. "Who is this supposed to be?" she asked, pointing it out for Luna.
"Oh, that's Rowena Ravenclaw and her diadem," the girl explained dreamily. "Look, see the eagle?" Sure enough, the front of the diadem was fashioned after an eagle with wings spread, clutching a large gem in its talons. Peering even closer, Hazel saw words carved into the diadem.
"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," she recited. "Fancy saying…"
"Well, she did value intelligence and wit above all else," Hermione offered. "The Sorting Hat actually considered putting me in Ravenclaw, but decided on Gryffindor in the end."
"Yeah, I might have been put there too, but I asked for Slytherin," Hazel replied. "I know it has a bad reputation, but after Professor Snape explained the Houses to me I decided that was where I'd fit in best."
"That Sorting took a lot of people by surprise, young lady," Xenophilius said as he came up the stairs, a tray with several bowls of ice cream in his arms. "Ah, one of you hold this, please… yes, there you go…" Ginny was closest so she took the tray, and the man waved his wand to clear room for them all to sit. "Something to cool off with, and refresh the mind and soul."
Tentatively Hazel tasted hers, and found to her delight it was normal mint-flavored ice cream. "Sir, what did you mean, my Sorting took people by surprise?"
"Oh, well, I'm sure they were expecting you to land in Gryffindor, eh? Like your parents, like every Potter for a hundred years or more?" he replied slyly, giving her a crooked smile.
Hazel scoffed. "To hell with that! I'm my own person, you mark my words." She put her bowl and spoon down so she could gesticulate. "Look, I've got ambitions, okay? I'm gonna be famous one day, and not because of my parents, but because of my own accomplishments!"
"What other Potters were in Slytherin?" Ginny asked after a moment.
"Well, this is a technicality at best, but Dorea Black married Charlus Potter, and she was in Slytherin like all the Blacks, so there you have it!" He seemed quite pleased with himself. "Now you can see why everyone was so surprised!"
That made Hazel think again. "My parents were Lily and James, and my grandparents on the Potter side were Fleamont and Euphemia. So Charlus and Dorea must have been great-grandparents, or there was another intermariage of the families before then, because they did a blood test at Gringotts and it said I'm related to the Blacks."
"All the pure-blood families are related like that," Ginny responded. "Mum and Dad and Sirius are all second cousins or something, since she was a Prewett before marrying Dad."
"Even we Lovegoods have some connection to those old families, though nothing recent," Xenophilius noted. "My grandmother was a Bulstrode, if I recall correctly…"
"There's a Bulstrode in Hazel's class, she's nice to me sometimes," Luna remarked, having finished her ice cream. She went back to examining Hazel's hands. "She kept a pair of Hufflepuff boys from stealing my cloak once."
"Did they look like trolls?" Hazel asked, and Luna nodded vaguely. "Must have been Crabbe and Goyle, Draco's old goons."
"Oh, have you heard from him yet?" Hermione asked, glancing at Ginny. Ginny seemed unconcerned, though.
"Well… no. Narcissa told me they were leaving the country for the summer, so I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see them until we're on the train to Hogwarts." She hesitated before continuing: "I did send a letter with Hedwig, of course, and I hope she can find them…"
"I love your owl, Hazel, she's so pretty," Luna sighed, and Ginny nodded in agreement. "And smart too, she has no problem flying through the invisible lightning bugs."
"Where's your room, Luna?" Hazel asked after a moment of blinking at Hermione. "On the floor above us?"
"Oh yes, but I can't let you up there yet," she replied. "The billywigs have infested it, but once Daddy and I have purged them we can let visitors up there again." She waved at her ears. "I can wear special earrings to keep them off so I can sleep, of course, but they're not for everyone."
They chatted for a while longer, then Ginny looked out the window. "Mum's gonna wonder where we are soon, we should get back." She put her bowl down and stood up. "Thanks for having us, Mr Lovegood, sir."
"Of course! Come back any time!" He stood up to see them out, and Hazel hugged Luna tightly before turning to follow him down the stairs. "Give my regards to Arthur and Molly, won't you?"
"We will, sir, thanks again," Hazel called back. She mounted her broom and kicked off, with Ginny and Hermione following her back to the Burrow.
It was too early yet for dinner, so Mrs Weasley made them bowls of soup, then they went outside and raced around the orchard on their brooms. Ginny was a hell of a flier, and Hazel anticipated an actual challenge come Quidditch time this year.
The next morning, Hazel was awakened by a tapping on the window, and she roused herself to see a blurry white shape hovering there. "Hedwig?" she muttered hopefully, reaching for her glasses. It was indeed her owl, and she got out of the sleeping bag to let her in. She had a reply from Draco! "Good girl, Hedwig, very good girl," she whispered, stroking her feathers fondly as she carried her to her cage and made sure she had clean water.
Ginny and Hermione were stirring too, so she sat down on the floor near them. "Hedwig came back," she told them in a low voice, opening the letter. It was on heavy parchment and written in green ink:
Dear Hazel,
It was nice hearing from you. Mother and I are in Italy with Blaise and Signora Zabini, enjoying the weather in Florence. We'll be back in time for the Hogwarts Express, of course, no need to worry about us. Blaise says hello.
You should come down next summer, you'd like the Signora.
Best regards,
Draco
"He's okay, at least," she murmured, holding the paper sideways trying to read between the lines for anything subtle. If he were here in person, she could read him like a kid's book, but he wasn't. Oh well.
"Blaise… he's that tall black boy in our year, right?" Hermione asked, peering at the short missive in turn.
"Yeah, he plays Chaser for our Quidditch team," Hazel replied. "Not bad at it, either." She put the letter away and they got up to get ready for the day.
The rest of July passed like this, Hazel alternating between enjoying herself and being overwhelmed by the Gryffindorishness of everyone around her. She visited Luna twice more, but her bedroom was still infested both times, which put a damper on her vague plans. Back at the Burrow there was lots of flying too, especially with the Weasleys' new broomsticks, though Charlie had to leave and get ready for his new job at Hogwarts.
As promised, Sirius Black arrived the day before her birthday, and Hazel, who was out in the garden helping get rid of gnomes before lunch, heard the bike and ran around front. "Sirius!" But she stopped at the sight of a second man, dressed the same but apparently older.
"Hazel," Sirius called back, pulling his helmet off. "It's only been a few weeks and you've grown already!"
"Ah, yeah, I had to get Mrs Weasley to expand my clothes again," she said sheepishly, letting him pull her into a quick hug. She peered more closely at the other man, who grinned back. "...Remus Lupin?"
"That's me," he replied, his grin widening as he shook her hand. "I can't stay long, unfortunately, but I couldn't miss seeing you again today."
She looked back up at Sirius. "Hey, can we talk in private at some point? I never got to ask you all the stuff I wanted before."
"Sure, kiddo." The others were coming out, and he turned to greet them too. "I didn't miss lunch, Molly, right?"
"Certainly not, I was just putting it together," she replied with a smile, embracing Sirius and Remus briefly. "Arthur's at work or he'd be here too, unfortunately. Come around to the garden, then."
Sirius shook hands with the others, and everyone went to wash up and get ready to eat. Today was hamburgers and American-style chips, or "French fries" as they were called across the pond; it was all a little salty for Hazel's taste, and she made sure to wash it down with lots of milk.
"What inspired this, Mrs Weasley?" she asked over her second helping.
"Oh, I heard from a cousin in the States a few days ago, that's all," the older woman replied with a shrug.
After lunch was over, Hazel and Sirius took to the orchard by themselves, and Remus stayed behind to catch up with the others some more. "Alright, what'cha got?" he asked, a smile hovering on his face.
"Well…" She looked up into his face. "You know I was Sorted into Slytherin."
It wasn't a question, but he shrugged all the same. "So? That doesn't mean you aren't my goddaughter, if you thought that would get you off," he countered flippantly. "I found out the day you were Sorted, and yeah it threw me off a bit, but I asked myself, what would your parents think?"
She sucked a breath in. "Yeah, I- I've wondered that myself, from time to time…"
"Well, if you were worrying about it, don't." He put a hand on her shoulder. "They'd be proud of you just the same, Hazel, I can guarantee it. After all, Lily was friends with Snape for all those years, wasn't she?"
He really had been keeping an eye on her, she realized. "That was my next question," she went on with a grin, though it didn't last. "I've got a picture of their wedding, and it didn't look like you or the Professor got along very well, back then…"
"Professor," he scoffed, shaking his head. "Still can't believe that, and Head of House too! I guess old Slughorn had it right after all."
"Slughorn?" Hazel asked.
"Oh, sorry kiddo. Horace Slughorn, he was Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House before he retired, and I guess Snape took his place. Bit of a puppet master, really, but he was never wrong about a student; Lily was a particular favorite of his."
That was interesting, but she didn't want to be side tracked. "Look, you two can hate each other all you want, but at least while I'm around, can you keep it civil?"
After a second he nodded. "I'll do my best, but if he starts anything…"
"Well, that goes without saying." She waved it aside. "How've you been keeping an eye on me all this time?"
In response, he stepped away a few paces, turned and in a flurry of black fur, suddenly there was the great black dog with the nicked ears. Hazel laughed aloud and hurried forward to wrap her arms around his fuzzy neck, and he leaned into her grasp.
"It was you all along!" she said happily, reaching up to scratch his head. "You were the dog this whole time!" She leaned back and giggled. "I had no idea, you really are good at being a dog!"
He moved away before shifting back to a man. Now that she knew the secret, she looked more closely, and saw that even in human form his ears were damaged and scarred. He saw her staring and frowned. "I've got Snape to thank for those too," he said bitterly, "he got the drop on me one day at school, in our third year."
"You should've been a little faster then," she replied, wanting to change the subject. Hearing about Snape's childhood made her deeply uncomfortable, and she wasn't sure why. "Anyway, why were there so few people at their wedding?"
"There was a war going on, of course." Hazel wanted to slap herself the second the words were out of his mouth, but he just chuckled. "No, it's fine, you weren't the first to ask that. Frank and Alice Longbottom got married a month before Lily and James did, a wedding was something to cherish in those dark times."
Frank and Alice… Neville's parents. "Neville told me what happened, you know," she said in a small voice, looking down at her feet. "How the Death Eaters went after his parents, demanding information on their master…"
Sirius slipped an arm around her shoulder. "The four who did it were rounded up and put away in Azkaban," he said quietly, holding her close to his side. "Rabastan Lestrange, his brother Rodolphus, Rodolphus' wife Bellatrix, and Barty Crouch Junior." His face twisted into an ugly sneer. "Bellatrix is my cousin, by the way, the latest in a long, inbred line of pureblood maniacs and Dark wizards and witches."
"Bit like the Malfoys then?" Hazel replied, hiding a smirk. This was the same thing Lockhart tried to do, was pin her to his side, but somehow when Sirius did it, it was okay.
"No, the Malfoys didn't take it as far as the Blacks did, they know the risks of inbreeding." He frowned up at the clear summer sky. "The Sacred fucking Twenty-Eight… the Gaunt family is extinct, and the Crouches will be soon enough, with Junior put away and Senior getting old. The Black line will officially end with me; I don't plan on having kids, and my cousins all married other families."
"Gaunt family…" She'd heard that name before. "The blood test I took at Gringotts said I had Gaunt heritage, and all the shit last year made it pretty clear I'm an Heir of Slytherin; I speak Parseltongue, after all, and I could command Slytherin's basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets, too."
"Really?" Sirius stroked his mustache thoughtfully. "Well, all the old families are interrelated, it's not impossible that a Gaunt got involved with a Potter or an Evans at some point; they liked to brag about being direct descendants of old Slytherin himself, after all. Though Lily was entirely Muggle-born as far as anyone knew…"
"It must have been within a few generations," she replied. "Or else I wouldn't have had enough Slytherin in me to survive Regina's gaze." She laughed at his blank look. "Oh, right, I named the basilisk too, while I was down there. She has the prettiest yellow eyes~"
"You're immune to a basilisk's glare? And you can talk to them and command them?" He laughed at that, but not in disbelief. "Is that all basilisks, or just that one?"
"I dunno, and I'm not in a hurry to find out." She tried to think of anything else to ask, but shrugged when she came up dry. "Well, thanks Sirius, it's nice to catch up..."
"Absolutely!" He grinned and hugged her again, and they went back inside.
"Did Remus leave?" Hazel asked after looking around for the man.
"He did, yes," Mrs Weasley explained. "Don't take it personal, dear, he's always been a private man."
"Oh…" She was disappointed, but shrugged it away after a moment. She'd have other chances to ask him things.
Chapter 6: Lucky ThirteenSummary:The big day! Hazel gets presents, gets misplaced, and gets punched in the head, but does she let any of that slow her down? Hell no, slowing down is for Muggles.
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextThe sky was overcast on her birthday; Hazel hoped it wouldn't be an omen of things to come, as she cleaned herself up and got dressed as carefully as one could when one's clothes no longer fit, and went downstairs.
Mr and Mrs Weasley, as usual, were already up and about. "Hazel, dear, happy birthday!" Mrs Weasley declared, gesturing to a mound of parcels on the table. "Wait for the others to come down, of course, before opening them."
"Sure thing, Mrs Weasley." She sat down near the pile and looked them over. "I don't remember any owls yesterday?"
"They came after you'd gone to bed, dear." She was getting breakfast ready, Hazel saw, eying the stove and oven and waving her wand when necessary.
Mr Weasley was getting ready for work, it seemed. "Go on and open ours now, Hazel, I don't want to miss it," he said as he swung a cloak over his shoulders, and pointed out a medium-sized parcel in plain wrapping paper.
Hazel shrugged and reached for the gift, tearing the paper off to reveal a green dragonskin wand holster, with a selection of harnesses for attaching it to one's hip, below one's shoulder, or even around one's wrist or forearm. "Cool!" she exclaimed, getting up to hug them both. "Thanks a lot!"
"Of course, dear." Mrs Weasley seemed pleased by her reaction. "It might be a good idea to wait until you've new things to wear before trying it on, you're all growing like weeds, I swear." Mr Weasley just nodded and smiled, leaned down to kiss his wife, and went to Floo away to the Ministry.
Soon enough the others came down, the kids in varyingly ill-fitting robes, and they all sat down to breakfast. Afterward Hazel opened her presents; Ron had gotten her a funny little device called a Sneakoscope, which looked like a toy top to her. "It'll light up and spin when someone's acting untrustworthy in the area," he explained.
"Ah- like that?" She had put it on the table, and at once it started spinning and whistling, blinking red. "Okay, who's plotting something?" She looked down at Fred and George, who whistled innocently.
Hazel went on opening presents while Mrs Weasley sorted out her sons. Hermione had gotten a broomstick servicing kit, which earned her a big hug; there was a pair of emerald studded silver bracelets from Millicent Bulstrode, which on closer inspection were snakes eating themselves, and she happily slipped them over her wrists. Lupin had left her a hefty book titled Curses & Counter-Curses, and she wondered why he hadn't stayed for the party while giggling over the trouble she could cause.
Draco had sent a picture, which she thought was a postcard at first. It showed Draco, Narcissa, Blaise Zabini and a tall, dark-skinned woman she assumed was Blaise's mother, all standing before a large church-like building and shading their eyes against the blazing Italian sun. Blaise's mother was absolutely stunning, and there was a glint in her eye that said she knew it and wasn't afraid to use it.
On the back was a quick note from Draco:
Happy birthday, I'll be sure to get you something better when we're back in Britain. I'd nearly forgotten about your day today! -Draco
"I'll have to frame this," she said to herself. There was the usual Italian chocolates from Blaise, which she shared with everyone else, and a box of home-cooked treats from Hagrid which she carefully set aside before anyone broke a tooth. Finally there were two letters, one from Hogwarts and the other from Bill Weasley. She opened Bill's letter first:
Happy Birthday, Hazel!
We've never met, but I'm sure you've heard about me. I'm the eldest Weasley kid! I figured you're already getting lots of things so I went for something a little more practical, and arranged for your wallet to be able to contain more of your gold. Make sure to finalize it when you go to Gringotts later!
Good luck at school,
Bill
"Ron, you told me once that Bill works at Gringotts, right?" Hazel asked, reaching for the final letter.
"Yeah, he's a curse-breaker." He looked to his mother. "We all should have gotten letters from Hogwarts, right Mum?"
"Oh yes, just a moment." She retrieved the letters and handed them around. Apart from a very long book list for Hazel and Hermione, the two of them and Ron had permission forms to be signed allowing them to visit Hogsmeade on certain weekends.
"By a parent or guardian," Hazel muttered, looking at the words. "Sirius? You can sign this for me, right? Since you're my godfather and all that?"
"Sure can, kiddo." He took the form, signed it without a second thought and handed it back to her. "Be a long sight easier than what I had to go through. My parents thought they'd punish me by not signing, but James and I had been sneaking out for ages before then so the joke was on them!"
"Thanks, Sirius." She didn't want to think of what she would have been subjected to by the Dursleys if Sirius hadn't been there for her.
"Well, if that's everything, I suppose we should-" but Mrs Weasley was cut off by a knock on the door. "Oh, who could- oh, it's the Lovegoods!" She hurried over to let them in. "Goodness, you should have sent word, I would have left breakfast out!"
"No trouble, Molly, no trouble!" Xenophilius replied grandly, bustling inside with Luna in his wake. Both of them wore bright yellow robes like sunflowers, and Luna had a box in her hands. "Just came by to wish Hazel well, that's all! Happy birthday, Hazel!"
"Thank you sir," she replied, smiling at him and Luna. Luna smiled back and offered her the box. "Oh, you shouldn't have!"
"I think we did, actually," Luna replied seriously. "Daddy and I tried to come up with something practical, you know, something you'll be able to use…"
Inside the box was another bust of Rowena Ravenclaw, though this one had more detail around the diadem. "Oh, it's lovely." Hazel wondered how useful an old bust would be, and came up empty. But she'd display it anyway.
"Yes! Come up later on, Luna and I finally cleared her room of that infestation!" Xenophilius declared, seizing Hazel's hand and shaking it firmly. "Also you should hear our Singing Sunflowers, you left before they woke up last time!"
"Won't you sit down for a moment? I can heat some toast back up," Mrs Weasley offered, but they both demurred and were out the door again. "Oh. Well, we should get ready for Diagon Alley then, you lot go wash up."
Hazel and the rest took turns using the loos, then it was time to go. Mrs Weasley explained Floo powder as she was lighting the fire. "Take a pinch in your fingers and throw it down, then step in and say where you're going. Be sure to speak plainly, however, or who knows where you'll end up?"
"I will go first, Mum," Percy said importantly, still holding his unopened Hogwarts letter in one hand. He went to the fireplace, took a pinch of the green powder, and threw it in the flames; they roared higher and turned green. "Diagon Alley!" he exclaimed as he stepped into the fire and disappeared.
"There, dear, easy as anything," and Mrs Weasley gestured for Hazel to proceed. "You'll come out at the Leaky Cauldron, Percy will be waiting!"
"Um." But with everyone watching her expectantly she had no choice, so she walked up to the fire, pinched off some of the powder and tossed it in. The fire went green, so she stepped in, and though it felt like a warm breeze she wound up inhaling a noseful of ash. "D-Diag-gon Alley!" she coughed, and immediately got swept away.
It was very much like falling down the drains of Hogwarts, only with more spinning and things, and a roaring in her ears, and countless fireplaces flickering before her eyes until she slowed down and was abruptly spat out onto the fireplace of a shop that definitely was not the Leaky Cauldron.
Instruments of the Dark Arts were everywhere, from a withered human hand to a bloody pack of cards and a glass eye that seemed to follow her every move. Vile masks stared down from the walls, an assortment of bones from all sorts of creatures lay in piles on the counter, and the ceiling was covered in rusty old torture implements.
"Hello?" she called loudly, not wanting to be stuck here longer than necessary. "Is anyone here?"
"What do you want?" an oily yet irritated voice demanded. It belonged to a stooped older man with hair as oily as his voice, and he peered at her from beneath his heavy brows.
"Nothing, I'm just lost," she replied, standing tall and looking him straight in the eye. Whether it was his stoop or her growth spurt, but she didn't need to crane her neck in either direction to do so. "Damn Floo powder brought me here instead of the Leaky Cauldron!"
"Tsh, twice a week it does that," he muttered, glancing at her forehead. "Well, whatever, welcome to Borgin & Burkes, now clear off if you aren't buying anything, Potter." He turned his back on her, muttering about having his fireplace decommissioned or something.
"What's this, then?" and she pointed out a random object, the shriveled hand she'd seen at first.
"That?" He turned to see where she was pointing. "The Hand of Glory, child, give it a candle and it will light the way only for you. Perfect for sneaks and thieves…"
It would go quite well with her Cloak, she decided. "How much?"
"Fifty Galleons," he said immediately.
"Are you mad? Twenty, and I'll tell everyone where I got it," she countered.
"What, you think knowing that Hazel Potter shops here will bring more money in?" he retorted. "Thirty-five, take it or piss off!"
"Much better." Without flinching she reached for her wallet and counted out thirty five of the gold coins. "Are you Borgin, then?"
"That I am." He finished writing a receipt, and presented both it and the Hand to her. "Don't tell everyone where you got that, either, only tell… you know, our sort."
"Naturally." She gave him a nod, and turned for the exit, putting the Hand away to the bottom of her bag for now. It wasn't until she was outside that she realized she had no idea how to get out of here; it had to be Knockturn Alley, but nothing was familiar, and unsavory wizards lurked about. Eager to be back in the sunlight she picked a direction and took off, but the farther she went the less confident she was.
"Lost, dearie?" a mossy-toothed witch cackled as she appeared back in front of Borgin & Burkes again. "Saw you in there, I did! Bartering with that old crook! What were yeh buyin', eh? Eh?"
"Nothing, now back off!" and Hazel drew her wand, but the old crone just cackled again and rattled her tray.
"HAZEL!" a loud voice roared, and Hazel and the crone both jumped. "What yeh doin' down 'ere, Hazel?"
"Hagrid!" She'd never been happier to see the towering gamesman, and ran towards him as she stowed her wand. "I got lost! Floo powder spat me out in the wrong fireplace!"
"Arr, c'mon then," he said gruffly, taking her by the shoulder and steering her away, down a lane she hadn't seen the first time. In no time at all they were back in the sunlight, and the facade of Quality Quidditch Supplies gleamed before them. "Gotta be careful, Hazel, Knockturn Alley's a right dodgy place." He drew his umbrella, pointed it at her and said, "Tergeo!"
All the soot wicked away, leaving her robes clean and a little torn. "Ah, thanks Hagrid. What were you doing down there, if it's so dodgy?"
"Lookin' fer Flesh Eatin' Slug Repellent," he explained. "Ruinin' th' cabbages at school, they are. Yer on yer own?"
"What? No, I was with the Weasleys, we need to find them," and she turned to head toward the Leaky Cauldron. "They should be some- oh, there they are!" She saw Mrs Weasley standing on the steps of Gringotts, and approached with a wave of her hand. "Mrs Weasley, I'm here!"
"Oh, thank goodness!" Mrs Weasley swept up and enveloped her in a tight hug. "When you weren't there, we were so worried! Hagrid, where was she?!"
"Found 'er in Knockturn Alley," he replied grimly, which set off Mrs Weasley's hysterics all over again. "Arr, calm down, Molly, she's fine…" He endured her hand-wringing for a few moments, then extracted himself and backed away. "Welp, gotta git goin. See y'all at Hogwarts!"
"Where'd you come out, then?" one of the twins asked, eyes shining mischievously.
"Borgin & Burkes, some kind of pawn shop," she explained as they all turned to head into Gringotts. "Lots of dodgy dark stuff too, but I didn't hang about long."
"I guess it's not true, what they say about Slytherins?" the other twin said shrewdly. "That you're all obsessed with the Dark Arts?"
"Even if I was, I wouldn't talk about it out here," she replied snobbishly, and the twins laughed at that.
Inside the bank, Mrs Weasley decided to bring Hazel along while withdrawing from her vault, though everyone but Fred and George elected to stay behind in the lobby. Probably because of the mine cart ride to get there, Hazel figured. Personally she loved it, and laughed with glee along with the twins as the rickety cart shook back and forth on the way down.
The Weasleys' vault was full to bursting with wizarding coinage, and Mrs Weasley filled her purse with Galleons and Sickles. "You got all that from the Malfoys?" Hazel wondered aloud, staring at the vast pile.
The matron sighed. "Yes, dear, and I'm sure Arthur asked you not to make a fuss of it," she said reprovingly. "That's not even all of it either, since we all decided to give most of it to charities."
"Yeah, they might be your friends, Hazel, but they're still pompous gits," George said.
"Draco's gotten better!" she insisted fiercely as they all got back into the cart. "And Narcissa's nice enough! It's just L- Lucius who's a fanatic about… that stuff." She'd nearly called him Lord Malfoy!
Back up top, Hazel went to confer with Griphook about her wallet. "Hello, is Griphook about?" she asked of the nearest goblin. "I had some questions…"
"Right this way," the goblin replied with an oily smile, gesturing for her to follow. She was led to a familiar room with a desk and some chairs, and no sooner did she take a seat than Griphook came through the door.
"You wished to speak with me, Miss Potter?" he asked, sitting behind the desk.
"Yes, I do." She withdrew her wallet and placed it on the desk. "Bill Weasley said he had arranged for my wallet to hold more gold, and to come here to make sure of it?"
"Of course." He drew the wallet closer, muttered something in his language, and handed it back. "There you are, a more spacious means of accessing your wealth. Was that everything?"
"No, I had a few more questions." She put her wallet away, then carefully pulled out the gem-studded silver Slytherin dagger and placed it down, too. "I have discovered that I am an Heir of Slytherin, by no less a judge than Salazar Slytherin's own basilisk. This dagger has been with me ever since, can you tell me anything about it?"
Griphook picked up the weapon and examined it closely. "Hm… goblin-wrought silver, Austrian emeralds… a rare piece indeed, Miss Potter." He looked back up at her. "This actually belonged to Salazar Slytherin's eldest daughter, Selima Slytherin. And it was forged by Ragnuk the First, for it was he who had the trust of the Founders of your school, and their families."
"Interesting." She wondered how this dagger had been around Hogwarts without the Headmaster ever knowing of it, or else why all the drama around Gryffindor's sword? "I'll have it back then, if you please," and she held her hand out for the dagger.
Was it her imagination, or did he hesitate for a split second? "Of course." He placed it on the desk and slid it across. "Was that all?"
"Thank you, Griphook." She placed the dagger back in her bag and stood up. "That will be all."
She bowed, he nodded back, and then she turned to leave, ready for some shopping. Her first stop was Madam Malkin's for new robes, of course, and then the little Muggle shop next to it for other types of clothes too; once her outfit was complete she went to try her new holster on, and settled with stashing it at her waist (she wanted to put it on her forearm, but her wand was too long for that yet). She watched as the Weasleys did their shopping, and she thought they were a little intimidated by being able to buy all new things instead of having to settle for second-hand.
She was particularly busy at the bookstore, considering the amount of classes she was taking. The shopkeeper shook his head but busied himself gathering all their books, and as they piled up she realized she'd need a new book bag. Luckily that was her next stop, and she bought one similar to her current bag, but with more powerful Extension and Unbreakable Charms on the inside.
They reached the Quidditch store, and there was a large crowd in front of it. "What're they on about? Is there a new broom?"
A wizard overheard her and laughed as he stepped aside. "The Firebolt, lassie! Just came out, still a prototype!" he said with another laugh. "Irish International's ordered seven of those beauties!"
"Wow!" 'Beauty' didn't come close; the Firebolt was gorgeous! Ash handle, birch twigs and- "One-fifty in ten seconds! That's insane!" she blurted, and the wizard laughed again. Price on request, though, that didn't sound good.
Out the corner of her eye, she saw Sirius stepping out of the store, a long thin package clutched under one arm. "Hello, you lot," he called as he joined them. "Looking at brooms?"
"Drooling over them, more like," Hermione sniffed disdainfully. Half the crowd gave her the stink eye at that, and Hazel was among them. "What? You are!"
"Just because you're pants on a broomstick doesn't give you a right to drag the rest of us down," Ron growled, eying the Firebolt hungrily. "Mum, can you-?"
"Absolutely not, Ronald Weasley, we just bought you all new brooms last month!" Mrs Weasley retorted sharply.
"I didn't get a new broom last month," Hazel groaned, even though she already had two perfectly good brooms, a Silver Arrow 500 and a Nimbus 2001. Sirius just looked smug, and sauntered off with his package.
"Mother! Mother!" came another voice, and Percy pushed his way through the crowd. "Look! They made me Head Boy!" He was flushed and out of breath, but he clutched a gold and red badge in his hand like it was a life preserver.
Mrs Weasley shrieked and pulled him into a tight hug. "Head Boy! Oh Perce, I'm so proud of you! That's the second in the family!"
Hermione looked happy for him, but Ron, Fred and George rolled their eyes. "He's gonna be even more full of himself now, you watch," Ron muttered darkly.
"I heard that!" Mrs Weasley said sharply. "Honestly, Bill and Charlie were both prefects, and Bill was Head Boy! You three should work a little harder at school!"
"So who's Head Girl this year?" Hazel asked.
"I'm not sure, but it's bound to be either Penelope Clearwater or Gemma Farley," Percy replied pompously.
Hazel hoped it would be Gemma, she'd definitely earned it last year. "Mrs Weasley, can you pick up the rest of my things? I'd like to do a few errands by myself…"
"Of course, dear, but take Ron and Hermione with you," Mrs Weasley replied, still all a dither over Percy's news. "Meet us at Fortescue's when you're done!"
"What'd you need to do by yourself, Hazel?" Hermione asked as they slipped away from the others.
"Well, there's an optometrist in Diagon Alley and I wanted to update my glasses, and I also wanted to see Mr Ollivander about modifying my wand." She pulled her jacket aside to show them the holster. "I think it will stay better if there's something at the end to hold it."
They were in and out of the eye wizard's place quickly; he cast the same spell he'd done before, that made the world fade out into whiteness, and when the results came back he took her glasses and tapped them, and just like that she could see better again. A few sickles to the receptionist for their donation jar, and they went on to Ollivander's.
There was a young wizard being tested for his first wand, and the three of them waited by the door until he was done. And when he left with his parents, Hazel stepped forward. "Hazel Potter," the old wandmaker declared, staring briefly at her forehead before making eye contact. "Fourteen inches, elder and phoenix feather, rigid and unyielding. Is there an issue with your wand?"
"No sir," she replied, drawing it from its holster. "I was just wondering if you could modify it a little? I got this holster for my birthday, you see…"
"Of course, of course." He held his hand out for it, and held it up to his eyes, rolling it between his fingers. "You've treated it well, I see, and it's done powerful magic for you, as I suspected it would." He fixed her with his bulging-eyed stare again. "It would be simplicity itself to affix a knob to one end, so it won't fall from your holster, and to make it easier to hold onto during duels. But I can do other things as well, for a price…"
"What kind of things?" she asked.
"Decorative things. Gems, precious metals, engravings; you have an affinity with snakes, do you not?"
"I do, yes." She didn't ask how he'd learned of it; wizards gossiped, she knew that much. "Well, I don't want to seem like a ponce, but…"
He waved this concern aside, and gestured her to follow him to another room. This was a workspace, clearly, with a long bench covered with tools and row upon row of bins full of materials and empty wands. "This is what I have, Hazel Potter. I will know when you've made up your mind." He glanced at Ron and Hermione. "You may also choose to modify your wands, if you so wish."
He bowed and stepped out of the room, and Hazel browsed through the bins. She was drawn to a pile of silver ingots, as well as countless miniscule emeralds, and wooden knobs of some dark reddish wood. Ron poured over the additions on offer, but shrugged and stepped back, and Hermione decided on veiny wooden protrusions.
Ollivander reappeared after this, as he had said he would. "Can you put some of this on the end of my wand, and carve it like a snake's head with these emeralds in the eyes?" Hazel asked of him. "And then inlay it with silver like blood vessels?"
"Blackthorn," Ollivander said, picking up one of the dark knobs. "Of course I can do this, Hazel Potter. And for you, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger?" Hermione explained what she wanted, and he accepted her wand. "This will be but a moment, so if you would stand back, please…"
They moved away from the work space, and the old man waved his own wand, muttering incantations beneath his breath. Hermione's wand floated in midair, and the components she requested twirled about, melding to the wand in the veiny manner she had asked.
"There we are. Two Galleons." She paid up, and he returned her wand. "Your requested alterations will take a bit more time, Hazel Potter, so if you wouldn't mind coming back in an hour with six Galleons?"
What could go wrong in an hour? she asked herself. "Yes sir."
They went out into Diagon Alley again, and Hazel felt naked without her wand. They decided on heading to Fortescue's, but before they could get there they were intercepted. "Look, Vince, it's the Girl Who Lived and her pals," a thick, thuggish voice declared, and she turned to see Crabbe and Goyle, Draco's old goons.
"Still think you're all that, Potty?" Goyle taunted, giggling at the slur.
"Shove off, both of you, before I kick your asses," Hazel declared lazily, cracking her knuckles.
"Are you mental?! You haven't got your wand!" Ron hissed frantically.
"I won't need it," she countered confidently, staring the two thugs down. They chortled and retreated down an empty side street, and she followed them without hesitation. Ron and Hermione went along as well, after a few moments looking for help, but no one had time to spend on kids fooling around.
Crabbe and Goyle tried jumping her as soon as they were out of sight, but she was ready for them, and though they were bigger and stronger than she was, they weren't as well trained, and all three were willing to fight dirty. Ron and Hermione just stood back and kept watch or cringed.
Hardly a minute later, after a lot of dodging and striking and twisting of arms, Hazel finally pushed them both down for the last time. "Next time I'll have my wand and you'll wish you'd never been born!" she threatened, standing tall while they staggered to their feet and retreated. Only when they were out of sight did she wince and lean into the wall; they'd yanked her hair more than once, and clipped her lip and her eye, and one of them got off a solid punch to her guts that had nearly spelled the end for her then and there until she'd turned it into a quick reversal. "Ugh… fuckers…"
"Hazel, that was so stupid! You could have been killed!" Hermione moaned, waving her wand and muttering spells under her breath until the damage was cured.
"Not by those two, they couldn't kill me hard enough," Hazel muttered sourly, wincing as her guts healed over. "Get my scalp too, Hermione…"
"I'd never seen anyone move like that," Ron said in an awestruck voice. "Not even Fred and George, and they know a lot of that Muggle dueling stuff…"
"Wait, really? That's amazing, maybe I'll finally have a sparring partner at Hogwarts." She looked up at the sky, trying to judge the time. "Come on, Mrs Weasley will be worrying about us."
Notes:I wasn't sure if any of my readers got to this one or not, so any issues or errors are mine and mine alone.
Chapter 7: To Love, and to Be LovedSummary:Hazel and Luna OTP! Also there's flying and fighting and things too.
Chapter TextLater that afternoon, after enduring a chastisement from Mrs Weasley, and putting up with Percy's ego, Hazel went and got her wand back. After adjusting the holster again she found a good spot for it, and when they all went back to the Burrow they went out back and practiced dueling.
"My wand feels better now," Hazel remarked after sending Ron to the dirt yet again. "Having this bit at the end to hold onto."
"You wait until fourth year, you'll really learn some spells then," Fred laughed. "Oh, the fun we had last year!"
"Show us a few right now, then," Ron challenged, getting up and brushing himself off.
"Alright, you asked for it." He went out to stand opposite Ron. "Try a Stunner on me, go on."
Ron looked unsure of himself, but he flicked his wand and shouted "Stupefy!" anyway, and immediately Fred yelled "Protego!" and Hazel saw a flicker of silver when he cast the spell; the jet of red light bounced off and went straight back toward Ron, striking him in the chest and knocking him out cold.
"Shield Charm," he explained to Hazel and Hermione as he walked up to Ron, pointed his wand and said "Rennervate!" Ron stirred and groaned, and Fred offered a hand to help him up.
"Shield Charm, eh," Hazel said to herself. She decided to practice it for herself, and eventually she was able to block a Disarming Charm from Hermione, though she couldn't make the spell bounce back like Fred had. Her wand thrummed and there was a slight heat in her chest that left her gasping for breath when she cast the spell, too.
Fred and George showed them a few more cool spells until Mrs Weasley called them to dinner. As promised, beef wellington was the main entree, but there was also tomato soup, salads, mash and greens and all kinds of things, and Hazel ate herself stupid as usual. Then there was a cake and everyone sang, and she closed her eyes, made a wish and blew the candles out.
Halfway through her first slice, though, she dropped her fork and cursed. "Dammit, I promised Luna I'd be to her place tonight for the sunflowers!" There was no way she could fly up there now, though, not as full as she was.
"Here, kiddo, I'll take you." Sirius stood up and walked out into the orchard, and Hazel followed. Side-along Apparition was still miserable, but she kept her dinner inside somehow anyway. "Here we are!"
"Hazel, you're just in time," Luna called as she and her father hurried out the door of their house. "Come on, they're opening up!" She took Hazel's hand and pulled her into the garden, to a corner where a row of tall plants held pride of place. And as the last of the sun dipped away, they blossomed into full bloom and began swaying and crooning, or whistling, and the overall effect was reminiscent of the birthday song.
When the song was over and the flowers retreated again, Luna tugged on Hazel's hand and brought her inside. "My bedroom is clear now, so I can show you up this time," she explained, and Hazel followed her up two flights of stairs to the third floor.
The first thing she saw, halfway up the stairs, was her own face on the ceiling. "Luna?" she asked, stopping, but the girl just smiled and pulled her upward again. Luna's bedroom was airy and clean, with pale blue carpeting and a wide bed with yellow sheets. But Hazel's attention was on the array of paintings on the ceiling above her head; herself, Draco, Ron and Ginny were all up there, with green or red backgrounds as was appropriate.
"Luna, it's gorgeous…" she breathed, staring up at her own image. It was somewhat crude, but she had captured so much detail despite that. "I, I don't know what to say…"
"Don't say anything, then," Luna replied simply, sitting on the bed and tugging Hazel down beside her. "You might attract the billywigs again."
"A-Attract the what?" Hazel blurted out, losing her train of thought. "Those were the things that-"
"Yes, yes." Luna seemed impatient for the first time, and made to pull Hazel closer to her. "What are you w-"
"Wha- Luna!" Hazel jumped back, startled. "Sirius and your dad are right downstairs, we can't- I mean-"
"You don't want to snog?" Now she seemed disappointed, and Hazel's heart ached. "But we got rid of the billywigs and everything, just so you could be up here…"
"Oh." That implied Xenophilius was okay with it, to her. "Okay, just, don't rush me, alright, this is all new…" Tentatively she slid closer again, wondering what the hell was supposed to happen next. Did she just lean down and…
"Hazel?" Sirius called some time later, from the foot of the stairs below them. "You've got your hands to yourselves, right?"
Startled, Hazel broke off and jumped away from Luna. "Wh- uh, y-yes! Yes we do!" she called back.
"Good! Come back down then, Molly'll fret if we don't head back soon."
"Can't I stay the night?" she whined without thinking.
"Not this time, kiddo, for now we should go," came the reluctant answer. At least she thought it was reluctant.
"You suck, Sirius," she muttered under her breath. But she stood up anyway, figuring it'd be bad if Sirius had to come up after her. "Sorry, Luna, I…"
"It's okay." Luna smiled again and leaned up to kiss her nose. "We've got all year at Hogwarts, remember?"
"Not sure that'll work out any better." But she hugged her tight and kissed her one more time, and reluctantly pulled away and went back downstairs, haunted by the taste of Luna's lips and the smell of her hair. She didn't think she would sleep very easily for a few nights…
Back outside, Sirius looked amused, and Xenophilius seemed oblivious as usual as he shook Hazel's hand. "Happy birthday again, Hazel, and know you're welcome back here at any time! My Luna does so enjoy having her friends over."
"Right…" She followed Sirius back outside, gripped his forearm and didn't even notice the Apparition, so caught up in reliving the last twenty minutes with Luna. Occlumency was hard to nail down that night, and she drifted off before she could fully embrace it.
She woke up early, as usual, but Ginny and Hermione were up already. "You were doing it again," Hermione said accusingly. "Moaning and getting all worked up in your sleep."
"Sorry, I couldn't get my Occlumency in place last night," she mumbled back, rubbing her eyes and stretching. She got up to do her morning routine, and went downstairs to breakfast.
After eating, Sirius beckoned her outside. "It's a bit late, but I've got one more present for you," he said with a grin, offering her the same long, thin parcel he'd walked out of the Quidditch shop with the day before. "Consider it twelve years' worth of birthdays all rolled up at once."
Her breath caught in her throat, but she pulled at the wrapping paper until- "Sirius!" she gasped, looking down at the perfect Firebolt in her hands. "You didn't!"
"I did!" he laughed aloud. "Seven hundred galleons, but worth every one!"
"Gryffindor's never winning another match against us while I'm at school," she promised, looking him in the eye. "Ugh, I can't fly in this, hang on." Broom still in hand she dashed back inside and upstairs, and everyone saw it, and by the time she had her flying gear on they were all outside waiting for her.
"I can't believe it… a Firebolt…" Ron muttered, while Fred and George looked sick with jealousy. Hazel smirked at them and mounted up, feeling the broom thrum between her legs, eager to fly for the first time.
She didn't consciously realize she had kicked off until she was shooting through the air like a cannonball, laughing harder than she ever had at the rush of wind in her face. Clenching her thighs tight against the broom she let go with her hands and leaned back, letting the wind push her, feeling the broom resist the wind and still surge ahead.
She flew as high as she dared, and then higher still, and then she was so high that a bank of clouds enveloped her in cold gray darkness; she flew down again to get out of there, and looked down at the whole of Devonshire stretched out beneath her. Her glasses helped her see, too, and moments later she saw a couple of specks dashing up to meet her.
"Slow pokes!" she laughed, as the specks turned out to be Ron and Ginny. "Catch me if you can!" and she zoomed off again, flying upside down for a while, then flying hands free, glancing back now and then to see if they were still on her tail. This broom was amazing! She was going to be the best Seeker in Slytherin history, she just knew it!
She let Ron and Ginny get close, then zipped upward and then dove off her broom, swan diving straight down like she'd done so many times before. Faster and faster she fell, heart racing in her throat, her entire body clenching with anticipation of the immutable ground filling up more and more of her vision with every second, but the Firebolt raced alongside her…
Closer than she'd ever dared, she called the broom to her and yanked backward, and she lurched to such a hard stop that she almost lost her grip on it! And even better, a charm in the broom kept her from losing her breakfast all over the ground!
"Where am I, anyway?" she said to herself, finally looking up and around. A tranquil forest stretched out around her, and she was hovering next to a swift-moving stream. Was it the same stream that went by the Lovegoods? "This place'll be perfect for sparring, if we can get down here without Mrs Weasley noticing."
It was hard to say from here, but she dismounted and tested the water; it was clean, so she took several gulps and wiped her face and hands off. Then she got back on her broom and flew back into the air, looking around for the Burrow so she could head back. She saw its roof soon enough, but flew around the woods for a minute or so longer, making sure she recognized the trails and things so she could find her way around on foot later.
"Sirius, your broom works just fine," she announced with a laugh as she landed back in the garden. Mrs Weasley fussed over her, of course. "I'm fine, ma'am, really! The broom kept me safe!"
"It really is an international standard broom, then," George said, shaking his head sadly. "We haven't got a chance this year, bro!"
"Flint's gonna be so full of himself. Oh well, we can always pop his head if it gets too big for him!" Fred retorted easily.
"Do try and stay near the house from now on, Hazel dear," Mrs Weasley asked, trying to look stern but not quite making it. "Can't have you getting hurt, now can we?"
"No ma'am." She'd have plenty of time to mess around when Quidditch season started, she reckoned.
While the others took turns on the Firebolt, Hazel thought about how yesterday had gone. Remembering a few words she'd had with Ron, she turned to Sirius. "Sirius, you seem like a capable wizard, but did you or my dad ever learn any Muggle skills?"
"Oh yeah, James and I both learned Muggle fighting," he replied with a smirk. "Looking for a decent sparring partner? I heard about your run-in with those two Hufflepuff boys."
"Yeah, well, they started it," she replied flippantly. "I just finished it, and fortunately for them I didn't have my wand at the time. But you're right, I'd like to be able to keep up with my cousin, you know? Can't do that if I'm only fighting a few months out of the year."
Fred was nearby, listening in, and he nodded in agreement. "George and I also know our fair share of Muggle stuff, we can spar at school," he offered, and George nodded in agreement. "And there's other stuff too, but I'm not sure a sneaky Slytherin ought to know things like that."
"Where'd you have time for all that anyway?" Hazel asked, wondering how Mrs Weasley could gripe about the twins being slackers when they were as busy as they were.
"We're not prefects, now are we?" and he dropped a wink. "So what if we're not taking as many classes as Mum wanted us to? We've got better things to do with our time at Hogwarts."
Hazel wondered if that was supposed to be an insult, but then she shrugged it off. Things couldn't be that bad with twelve classes, could they? Percy and Bill handled it after all, though they probably weren't on the Quidditch team like she was.
Well, whatever! She'd show them she could handle a heavy schedule, how hard could it honestly be, anyway?
For the rest of August she worked herself to the bone every day, flying and dueling and sparring. Fred and George joined in, and they even got Percy to show them a few NEWT spells. Arthur and Sirius gave advice sometimes too, when they were around.
"This is great! We should start another dueling club," Ron declared, having finally gotten the hang of the Shield Charm. "Flitwick was a dueling champ back in his day, wasn't he?"
"Was he?" Hazel replied absently, now practicing spells with her left hand. She had learned last year that spells with simpler wand gestures were best for off-hand casting, which was lucky because a lot of the spells most useful for dueling had simple hand movements and short incantations.
"I've got to get away from Privet Drive every summer, we're getting so much practice in," she said to herself, flicking her wand left-handed at Hermione again and casting another Stunner. Hermione was ready with her Shield Charm though, and Hazel was forced to dodge away.
Otherwise, Hazel and the others ducked away to the woods near the Burrow, where she'd landed before, and practiced Muggle dueling, or martial arts. Fred and George were better than Crabbe and Goyle, and she got a lot of decent practice in; Ron joined in too just to not be left behind, and while Hermione was uneasy with more than the basics of self-defense, she got lots of practice at healing charms in. And when they found a small pond along the stream they even got to try swimming.
The only rough spot was when Ron pulled a muscle in his leg; it was only thanks to Hazel and Hermione working together that he was able to walk straight again afterwards. "I was afraid we'd have to go to Mrs Weasley," Hermione said, wiping her brow. "We should stretch and warm up before sparring, you guys, it'll keep this from happening." They all nodded, and did just that before continuing.
"Best summer ever," Hazel said to herself as she scrutinized her reflection in the mirror that night. She thought she'd grown a little more since Diagon Alley; she was definitely toned in the arms and stomach. "You're gonna take Hogwarts by storm this year, Hazel Jade Potter!"
Chapter 8: Hoggy Warty HogwartsSummary:School's back in, suckers. Hazel rides the train and doesn't get everything she wants all at once. But then, who does?
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextAugust 31 arrived on an overcast and unsettled dawn, and while everyone else scrambled to get ready, Hazel, Ginny and Hermione quietly got dressed and had their things at the door before Mrs Weasley was done with breakfast. "At least some of you have sense," she grumbled when she saw them waiting at the table. "Eat up, we don't want to be late." The meal itself was hearty and filling, eggs and bacon and sausage and hashers and gravy and toast, and everyone ate their fill before trooping out to Mr Weasley's old blue Ford Anglia.
"Don't tell Molly, but Sirius and I have been working on it every chance we could get," he whispered to Hazel, as trunk after trunk disappeared into the apparently cavernous boot, and everyone got comfortable along the roomy seats. Mrs Weasley gave her husband a suspicious look, but didn't say anything around the kids, and they were soon rumbling down the road.
"Is that what Sirius does, then, is work on machines?" Hazel asked of Mr Weasley.
"Oh yes, he and Remus bought an old Muggle garage in London some years back and set it up to work on our stuff," he explained over his shoulder. "The Knight Bus is a big customer of theirs, and the Ministry has a little fleet of cars; I hear they even get to work on the Hogwarts Express sometimes!"
"That's cool," she replied, thinking of all the ways wizards could improve on Muggle technology if they only bothered to try. Another conversation to have with her godfather…
They bypassed the nearby village and drove onward to London, where Mr Weasley had reserved rooms at the Leaky Cauldron for them all, and from there it would be a much shorter drive to the station in the morning.
It would also let them pack in some last minute shopping, Hazel reflected, which she needed herself to have her clothing modified. She didn't waste any time once they arrived, she dragged her trunk straight through to Diagon Alley and right toward Madam Malkins. But she came up short when a familiar blonde head caught her eye. "Draco?" she muttered, peering in his direction. Where was his mother?
She hurried to catch up with him. "Draco!" she hissed once she was in range. He turned, hand reaching for his wand. "Oh put that away, you dork, it's me!"
"Oh, Hazel…" He swallowed and willed himself to calm down. "Sorry, we just got back into the country… bit jumpy…"
Italy had agreed with him, she saw. His hair was bleached out by the sun and his normally pale skin had a healthy tan to it, or at least, the bits that were visible had a tan. She doubted it would last long in the typical British autumn, though. "You're looking well, Draco."
"Oh, thanks." He was distracted and jumpy, and she steered him into Madam Malkins before he walked into a post or a wall or something. "Hey, where'd you get those bracelets?"
"Millicent got them for me, for my birthday," she explained. "We got tired of boys buying us jewelry we'd never wear, after all."
"I see." He still seemed distracted. "So, um, do the Weasleys-"
"I'm pretty sure no one blames you," she muttered under her breath, jabbing him in the side with her elbow. An attendant came over and she hitched a smile on her face, and explained she needed her robes modified slightly. That was over quickly, and Draco took care of his business too.
As they were stepping back out, Narcissa was waiting for them. "Ah, Hazel." The blonde witch had likewise been sunkissed by the Italian summer, and Hazel thought it was quite striking. "You've kept busy over the summer, I see?"
"I have, yes." She was amazed to notice she was nearly as tall as Narcissa now. "You and Draco look well, too."
She waved that off and drew Draco to her side. "I hate to be rude, Hazel, but we must finish our errands. See you tomorrow."
"Yes, tomorrow." Hazel watched them walk away from her, then turned and went back to the Cauldron to put her trunk away again. Over dinner she told Ron and Hermione about her encounter, and they both looked worried.
"I don't blame them for wanting to avoid notice," Hermione murmured, "what with Lucius in prison and all that…"
"Come on, it's not like either of them had anything to do with it!" Ron replied. "Who'd be so mental as to-"
"Two years ago it would have been you blaming them, Ron," Hazel said sharply, cutting him off. "Besides, it was Ginny that got sucked into all that crap! I don't blame them a bit for avoiding you guys."
After dinner, Percy raised a stink over his badge going missing. "Isn't there a Summoning Charm or something you can do to get it back?" Hazel replied calmly, finishing her glass of milk.
Percy went red, but raised his wand and cleared his throat. "Accio Badge!" he called, and the little silver accessory shot up from Fred's pocket and into Percy's hand. "Really, Fred, this is no time for- WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BADGE?!"
"Just made it a little more honest, Perce," George laughed, not looking the least bit repentant or scared. "It's an improvement, if you ask us!"
"No one DID ask you!" Percy ranted, and peering at the badge in question, Hazel saw that it read Bighead Boy instead of Head Boy. She bit back a laugh and ducked out of the way, letting Percy and his brothers have at it by themselves. Once out in the hall she let the laughter out, and went on upstairs to get ready for bed.
That night she had long, strange dreams about periwinkle blue cars and roaring locomotives racing each other, and Luna on a broomstick rescuing her from shapeless black creatures. When morning finally came she felt unrested and anxious, but a cup of coffee at breakfast helped set her to rights again, and when the time came she was ready to go.
It was a quick drive over to King's Cross, where she happily reunited with Luna, and when the time was right they crossed over into Platform 9 ¾. She saw Blaise and Millicent and everyone from their year too, and none of them were dumb enough to ask why she was holding hands with a Ravenclaw a year below her.
She looked up and saw Sirius and Remus, and wondered why they were here. Still holding onto Luna, she approached them both. "Hey guys."
"What?" Lupin jumped slightly and turned to face her. "Ah- Hazel? Fancy seeing you here…" He was very tired looking, almost sickly; a far cry from when they had met a month ago. "I mean-"
"Meet your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, kiddos," Sirius said loudly, drawing the attention of many others around them. Lupin flushed and looked away, but Sirius just laughed and clapped him on the back. "Come on, old boy! You'd be meeting them all one way or another, best to just-"
"-just get it over with?" Hazel finished, cocking a disbelieving eyebrow at her godfather. She shook her head and turned away. "Let's go, Professor Lupin, the train's filling up." She tugged Luna away again and went for the train, flicking her wand behind her and muttering "Locomotor trunks" to bring their stuff along behind them. Somewhat amused, Lupin rolled his eyes at Sirius and went to follow.
The three of them found an empty compartment and stowed their things, and Hazel sat down across from Lupin. "You knew my parents, Professor," she said bluntly.
"I did," he replied, stifling a yawn. "Can we talk about it later, though? I need a nap…" Hazel shrugged, and he yawned widely, leaned against the window and quickly dropped off into a doze.
"Look at all those scars," Luna murmured, her gaze fixed on Lupin's prematurely lined face. "Like he's been fighting werewolves…"
Peering more closely, Hazel thought that indeed, some of those lines could be scars. What bothered her more, though, was how wretchedly ill he looked; he was quite pale, and she was sure his skin would be clammy if she touched him. His clothes were sturdy and well-made, and showed signs of having been mended, as if their owner liked working with his hands.
Moments later the door opened, and Ron, Hermione, Draco and Ginny appeared to stow their things and sit down. It was quite crowded with seven people, and with their other friends dropping in now and then it felt even more crowded. Neville, Blaise, Millicent and the other girls from Hazel's dorm, even Pansy, though she was more interested in Draco and tried to lure him out to her compartment.
"Oh, go on," Hazel said languidly when Draco gave her an imploring look, her head tilted to one side while Luna braided her long hair. "It's crowded in here anyway." The expression on his face said that wasn't the answer he wanted to hear, but he got up and walked out with an overjoyed Pansy. "Now we can stretch out a bit."
Hazel and Hermione compared spells again as the train chugged further north, and the sky outside grew darker as the clouds grew heavier above them, until the lamps were lit prematurely. Rain was splattering the windows when the door opened again. "Gemma!" Hazel exclaimed, getting up to hug the older girl.
"All right, Hazel?" Gemma smiled, winking at the others. "Guess who made Head Girl!" and she tapped at the green and silver Head Girl badge on the front of her robes. Hazel grinned and clapped, and the others did too. "Any idea who jinxed Weasley's badge? He's still all fired up about it, even after I fixed it for him."
"That was my brothers, Fred and George," Ron explained, going a little red in the face.
"Ah, I should've guessed; those two are more trouble than every other troublemaker put together, I swear." Her eyes fell on the still-sleeping Lupin, and she blinked in confusion. "...never seen an adult on the train that didn't work for the railway…"
"That's Professor Lupin, and he said he wasn't feeling well so we've been trying to keep it down," Hazel explained, sitting back down again. "But it might not matter, I bet he could sleep through a tornado."
"Well, good luck in your third year, you lot." She gave them each a nod, and shut the door behind her.
A few minutes later the trolley witch came by, and Ron made a fuss about buying things for everyone in their compartment. Hazel let him fuss, knowing he was trying to make up for years of people buying things for him instead, and they all munched down happily on snacks and cakes.
"Should we wake him up?" Hermione wondered aloud, gazing at Lupin, who was shifting in his sleep to get more comfortable. The others shrugged, so she reached forward and shook him by the shoulder. "Um, Professor Lupin, sir? We've got snacks…"
"Hm?" he replied, snorting and stirring. "Snacks?" He shook himself awake and looked over at the pile of candies. "I'll take that bar of chocolate then," and he reached for it, unwrapped it and broke a bit off to chew on.
"Are you feeling any better, Professor?" Hazel asked, looking at him anxiously.
"Slightly, yes, thank you for asking," he replied with a small smile. "This chocolate will help too. Remember that for the future, chocolate will cheer you up even in the worst darkness."
"Plenty dark right now, isn't it?" Ron muttered, staring out the window. "We've gotta be about there…"
"Be patient Ron, we just bought all this," Hermione replied. "Have some chocolate, like the Professor said!" and she pushed a bar into his hands. Hazel didn't say anything, being too caught up in remembering the Dementors from last year; she shivered and reached for a bar of chocolate.
Lupin dropped back off into a doze again as the train chugged onward, and the rain worsened into a proper storm, with thunder and lightning and everything. Luna's comment about werewolves made Hazel glad there was a storm, and she couldn't put her finger on why.
Eventually Draco came back and it was time to change, and the boys stepped out while the girls put their school robes on, then they switched out so the boys could change. The storm was coming down harder than ever, and Ron winced at the sound of raindrops on the roof. "I don't envy the firsties this year, having to cross that lake," he remarked as the train finally started slowing down.
There was no change in the weather as everyone disembarked, and Hazel was thoroughly soaked even before they made it to the carriages. She couldn't even see Hagrid, though his voice was audible over the storm as he called the firsties to him, and like Ron, she was glad to have an overland route up to the school.
The sight of the thestrals made her guts curdle slightly, as usual, but she pushed past it and climbed into one of the carriages along with Draco, Ron and Hermione. Luna waved and found another carriage with Ginny and some other second-year students, and they all trundled away up the long drive to Hogwarts.
They were still soaking wet when they finally stepped out into the Entrance Hall, and some of the older students performed Hot Air Charms to dry everyone out. "How did you do that without saying anything?" Hazel asked Marcus Flint after he was done with her.
"Non-verbal magic," he replied, concentrating on Draco next. "You'll learn that in sixth year."
"Along with human transfiguration," she said to herself, proceeding to the Great Hall with its four tables full of golden tableware. Professor McGonagall led a line of sopping wet firsties out from the side room, and put the Sorting Hat down on its three-legged stool. The old hat sang a song, which was different from last year but still hit on the usual beats (describing the Houses and their Founders, what each of them valued in their students and what it looked for when Sorting, etc), and then the Sorting itself began, with McGonagall calling each student up to wear the Hat and be Sorted.
"I wonder if the Hat knows Legilimency," Hazel murmured as the Sorting went forward, with "Accrington, Zoe!" joining the Slytherins after a few moments to much applause from that table. She thought the new girl looked a little intimidated, and sent a reassuring smile her way.
Afterward, Dumbledore stood up and gestured for silence. "Welcome, one and all, to another year at Hogwarts!" he called, his voice carrying clearly to all corners of the vast Hall. "Before the Welcoming Feast I have a few short announcements to make. The first is to welcome two new teachers into our midst: first, taking over Defense Against the Dark Arts, is Professor Remus Lupin!"
Lupin stood and waved, but his sickly appearance drew only sporadic applause, though Hazel did her best to inspire more by standing and clapping herself. She saw Snape giving him a dirty look, and wondered whether it was due to lingering resentment from their time together at school, or from the fact that he'd been once again denied the post he so desired more than any other.
The lukewarm greeting faded fast, and Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Our second appointment is not without some regret, as the long-serving Professor Kettleburn retired at the end of the previous term to enjoy what limbs he had left. And while our very own Hagrid applied for the post with all due enthusiasm," and he nodded to the massive gamekeeper, who looked pleased by the recognition, "I am happy to announce the highly qualified addition of Professor Charles Weasley to our staff!"
The stocky redhead stood up and waved as well, and the applause was much more enthusiastic, especially from the Gryffindor table. Which made sense, since he was a Quidditch legend over there, or it might have been because Charlie cut a better figure, in a brand new dragonskin jacket and neatly trimmed goatee. Hazel clapped as well, and ignored the pointed looks from her fellow snakes.
Dumbledore made a few more remarks, then the feast appeared at last. Hazel loaded her plate down with heavy meats and a baked potato, which she further doused in all the condiments available, and a generous helping of hot sauce over the whole lot.
"Hey, I meant to ask before, but did you like the bracelets I sent you?" Millicent asked at one point, leaning over.
"I did!" Hazel replied, shaking her sleeves back. "Wearing them right now, see? You should've seen the look on Draco's face!" and they both fell into giggles. "Really though, they're wonderful. Remind me when your birthday comes up and I'll get you some too."
"Oh, that's not until April, but there's always Christmas…" Millicent replied, and they giggled again.
Once she had polished off a bowl of red curry, dessert appeared, and as usual she picked out her favorite cherry treacle and chocolate covered strawberries, and a warm mug of hot chocolate to go with the icy milk. Then it was finally time for bed, and she followed Gemma and the new prefects down to the Slytherin dungeon. The new password was "Argonauts," and Hazel followed the other girls to their dorm, where their trunks and things were waiting for them.
"Everyone had a nice summer, I hope?" Hazel asked as she dug her pajamas out of her trunk.
"Yep! Did all my homework, took swimming lessons, tolerated pureblood boys for my mum," Tracey recited, rolling her eyes. "She doesn't know I don't swing that way yet, and I'm surprised she hasn't noticed."
"Father took me to France," Pansy sniffed, glaring uncomfortably at Tracey, "though I wanted to join Draco in Italy; did you see how tanned he is?"
"It won't last, Parkinson, not all the way up here," Hazel replied dismissively, flicking her fingers. "Give it a month and he'll be back to his usual pasty-white self, you watch." That made Pansy glower, and she flounced off to the bathroom while the other girls laughed. "What's her problem, anyway?"
"Come on Hazel, you know she takes that pureblood shit more seriously than the rest of us," Daphne said. "Every good pureblood witch has to marry a good pureblood wizard and push out as many good pureblood babies as she can, for the good of pureblood wizarding kind… horse shit."
"It really is," Hazel agreed fervently, shuddering at the idea of having kids. "I've seen her fawning over Draco and Blaise, it's kind of hilarious and disgusting at the same time."
"Ten galleons says she'll slut it up and turn out pregnant and expelled by fifth year," Millicent laughed. "Seriously, why even come to school if that's all you want from life?"
"I'll take that bet!" Tracey declared, and they laughed all the harder, except for Hazel, who just giggled uneasily. She felt like she should say something, but what would she say, anyway? She didn't like Pansy all that much, and was pretty sure the feeling went both ways. Instead she ducked into her trunk again, and saw the wrapped bust of Ravenclaw that Luna had given her for her birthday. It wasn't a very Slytherin relic, but something from Luna was even better, so she unwrapped it and placed it on her nightstand.
Pansy came back out eventually, marching straight back to her bed and pulling the curtains, and one by one the others took care of things too. Hazel was the last, and she took her time with her routine; hard workout and a thorough shower, then drying off over the vent and shivering at the wind between her legs, checking herself out in the mirror and finally brushing her teeth.
Then she pulled her pajamas on and went out to crawl into bed, where she went through her Occlumency routine before dropping off into a dreamless sleep.
Notes:Sorry for the delay in updating, folks! Had to drive nearly six hundred miles earlier and that took most of the day, lol. But here we be!