Muggle In Hogwarts

Chapter Ten.

Cecilia stirred in her sleep, feeling watched. Slowly she woke up though the feeling didn't go away. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and groggily turned around. What she saw would have made her shout had she had the opportunity, but as soon as she faced whoever was behind her, it jumped on her and covered her mouth with a hand.

'Shhh,' her mouth told her in her voice. But it wasn't hers. It was the somebody else that was a mirror image of herself.

'Mffghtmmn bmghjmn?' she asked against the hand clasped across her own mouth. Her mirror image let go.

'What?' it asked.

'I said, who are you?' Cecilia answered, looking thoroughly confused. The other her laughed.

'I'm...I'm Cecilia,' she said. Cecilia looked even more confused then before.

'Wha-what?! Hell no you're not! I'm Cecilia!' Cecilia yelled, but immediately looked doubtful, biting her lip. 'Aren't I?' she asked. Cecilia-mirror laughed.

'Yes, well, you are Cecilia and I'm not, but I'm not going to tell you who I am just yet,' she said guardedly.

'Ok, then. What do you want me to call you, huh?' Cecilia asked, starting to get angry. Fake-Cecilia looked thoughtful.

'Hmm, how about... May?' she asked brightly. Cecilia lifted an eyebrow.

'Why not Completly-And-Incurably-Annoying-And-About-To-Be-Killed-If-She-Doesn't-Explain-What-The-Hell-Is-Going-On? It sorta suits you!' she snarled. May looked taken aback, but smiled grandly.

'You've got some wit you know!' May said bemused. Cecilia doubted she should take that as a compliment.

'I'm serious,' she answered, eyes flashing, her sleepiness long forgotten.

OK, OK I don't have much time anyway,' May said eyeing her watch.

'Polyjuice Potion,' she whispered. May looked at her surprised.

'Heard of it?' she asked.

'Yeah, I did, now can you please explain?' she asked heatedly. 'If not I'll have to call someone here to keep you strapped down,' she bluffed. May smiled at her sweetly.

'Yeah, sure, like I'll buy that one! You aren't sure they'll believe you are you and that I'm not,' she said. Cecilia knew she had a point.

'Listen, I'm not a witch but I can still harm you very badly if you don't explain yourself ... right now,' she added. May took a big breath and looked at Cecilia doubtfully.

'How much do you remember about your childhood?' May asked her bluntly. Cecilia frowned, wondering what did one have to do with the other, but answering still.

'Almost nothing,' she confessed. 'Only splattered memories, here and there. Most of them because of pictures and from my sisters,' she said, truthfully. May nodded.

'Did you ever wonder why you don't remember hardly anything about it?' she asked.

'Not really, I was too small, I guess.' May smiled at this.

'But still your mother could remember things from when she was two years old, and your sister, Laura, from when she was four. Yet the only clear recollection you have is when you were operated.' Cecilia looked at her almost scared, licking her lips nervously and blinking continually.

'How do you know about that?' she croaked. May looked away.

'Can't tell you yet,' she looked at her watch and then at the floor.

'I have a right to know,' Cecilia whispered, feeling unexplainably hurt and betrayed.

'I-I just- can't tell you yet. When the time is right I will. I just want you to think about that,' May answered biting her lip, acting frighteningly like Cecilia. At that time Cecilia bit her lip and looked at the floor. May checked her watch again, took a small bottle from her pocket and drank the contents.

'Ugh. The price I pay...' she murmured to herself.

'Why did you come then?' Cecilia asked, interrupting May's thoughts. She looked up and bit her lip once more.

II just wanted to talk to you,' she answered in a small voice. 'I've been looking after you since... well, for some time, and I wanted to talk to you, to see if you were happy...' she looked down, but just as she did she jumped up with gleams in her eyes. 'Guess what!!' she gushed. Cecilia looked at her, not as untrusting as before.

'What?' she asked, mildly interested.

'It's about Harry...' she countered maliciously. Cecilia sat straight up and looked at May in the eye.

'What?' she asked, locking her whole attention on May.

'Well,' she said conspirationally. 'Since you ask so nicely. As I was coming here I found Draco and Hermione on a heavy snogging session,' she said smiling gleefully.

'Yes!' said Cecilia. 'They made up! I didn't screw it all!' She jumped on her bed and looked happily at May. Then became thoughtful. 'What does that have to do with Harry?' she asked sitting back down.

'Oh, Harry and Ron were talking and interrupted them, so Draco and Hermsy came over here to finish it off, and Harry and Ron kept on talking. And stopped right next to me...' May was interrupted by Cecilia's squealing.

'What?! Did they see you? Did they see you as me? What did they say to you? What did you answer?' she asked haltingly, her chest seemingly about to explode.

'Relax! Relax!' she said tacking out her Invisibility Cloak and patting it fondly. 'I was wearing this,' she said. Cecilia recognized for what it was because of Harry's so she just nodded in relief.

'Of course I didn't want to hear the conversation but they were in the middle of a hallway so I couldn't help it, and they were talking about whom Harry liked...' May did a dramatic pause. 'And guess who it is...' she said, looking into Cecilia's eyes. Cecilia wet her lips and swallowed.

'Who?' she asked. May grinned at her in what could only be called evilly.

'Ron,' she said, looking pityingly at Cecilia for a moment, who seemed in shock.

'Wow,' she said. Cecilia looked at May. 'Think he'll still go to the dance with me?' she asked May. May laughed.

'Maybe, maybe not.' Cecilia noticed that her voice had become slightly graver and more grown up, but she wasn't about to tell. She was very curious indeed to know who hid behind her mirror' image. Unfortunately for her, May noticed and quickly took another small bottle and downed it.

'Umm... doesn't Polyjuice last an hour?' Cecilia asked confusedly. Checking her watch to realize that only half an hour had passed.

'Yes, as a matter of fact it does. But I had to make an alternate that is effective for less time because I couldn't get all the ingredients. They only last about ten minutes,' she explained. They heard a knock on the door.

'Hide!' she whispered urgently to May. May looked around deciding to hide under the bed.

The knock was heard again.

'Just a minute!' Cecilia cried out, shoving May under the bed.

And again.

'Coming!' she finally managed to hide May under the bed and moved to the door. As she opened it, the last knock was heard as the person fell inside the room. It was Harry.

'What are you doing here, Harry? You know this is a strictly girls place!' she said, looking quite surprised. Harry lifted himself from the floor.

'Uh, sorry. Was I interrupting anything?' he asked dusting off his robes.

'No, not at all, why do you say that?' she asked trying her best to look innocent.

'You took so long to answer the door I almost thought you weren't here or sleeping,' he replied.

'Oh,' she said. She could kick herself for being so paranoid.

'So, I have something to ask you.' his ears went a little red. 'It's a little personal and, umm...I want to ask you about it,' he said. She smiled. He must be real nervous to be repeating himself. She thought.

'Sit down,' was the only thing she said, though. Harry sat down on her bed, and Cecilia sat down on the one opposed to it.

'So,' he said. I wanted to know, if-if you liked a-a guy. Uh, would you, like... tell him about it, kiss him and then leave him to think? Or is that dangerous?' he asked. Cecilia smiled reassuringly.

'Give Ron time to think, Harry. He'll come through. And if he doesn't, don't forget you're one of the most eligible bachelors there is,' she said repressing the urge to exclaim "You kissed him?!" and ask all the details.

Harry looked at her surprised.

'How did you know?' he asked weakly. She smiled wickedly.

'Well... you two weren't very careful about the place you picked to talk about it. I mean, a hallway? To talk about the guy you like? That's kind of stupid unless you want everybody to find out,' she said. Harry went pink. She sat down next to him and patted his shoulder.

'Don't worry. Just ask him where he stands in this and prepare for the worst,' she said.

'How optimistic,' he said rolling his eyes. She shrugged.

'It's your fault you picked me to confess your inner deepest feelings to not mine. Besides, if you're prepared for the worst, than it can only be better,' she answered. "Ask him about the ball." A voice in her head, Ingenuita, urged her. She rolled her eyes. "You are being so insensitive! But all right," she replied. She took a deep breath.

'What about the ball?' she asked him. 'Are you going to invite him to it?' she asked him. Harry looked up. 'Ingenuita wants to know.' she added rapidly, seeing the disbelief in his eyes. "Real smooth, Ces. Real smooth."

She heard Ingenuita say, chuckling in her brain. "Shut up! I'm trying to think here!" she answered angrily. "Yeah, and *trying* being the essential in this phrase," Ingenuita said laughing. Cecilia chose to ignore her.

'Umm...I don't know,' Harry said softly. Cecilia looked at him sadly.

'Look, ask him to the ball. I don't care. You would have been thinking about him all day long anyway.' Harry looked at her gratefully. Cecilia got up, and pulled his hand so he'd stand.

'Now, shoo shoo. Go get him...' she said pushing him out of the door.

'Thanks,' he said breathlessly before disappearing.

'You're welcome...' she said softly, feeling disappointed. She threw herself on her bed, completely forgetting May and starting to drift off, but she saw a woman about her height with long light-brown hair falling down her back getting up from under the bed. Cecilia, overcome by curiosity, pretended to be asleep, leaving her eyes slightly open to see this woman. She had green eyes, but not bright like Harry's, but soft like dry grass. Just like mine! Cecilia thought astonished, remembering what her eyes were like in reality when she had been in coma and seen herself. The woman, May, cleaned her robes with a wave of her wand. Then bent over her and kissed her on her forehead.

'See you later, honey,' she said smiling, in a very grown-up voice. 'My little princess,' she looked longingly at Cecilia and left, wrapping the Invisibility Cloak around herself. After a while Cecilia sat up.

'Princess?' she asked softly.

The next day all students were back at school, and Draco and Cecilia were back to the "Follow Harry" mode, though Hermione and Ron helped quite a lot. Ron didn't seem any different in the way he treated Harry, fortunately.

After dinner, they all went to the Common Room where most stayed chatting and updating themselves on what had happened during winter vacations. Cecilia was quite relieved to find Dean talking animatedly to Seamus about Quidditch and House Points and others like it in front of the fire of the Common Room. Cecilia had never gone to any of the games, because she hadn't really felt like. Usually she'd be in the library, or one of the Common Room comfortable chairs reading one book or another, so she didn't really understand what they were talking about but just sat down next to them and listened.

'... if Gryffindor wins against Ravenclaw, by twenty points, then the cup is ours,' said Seamus.

'As long as they win Hufflepuff by fifty points, then maybe,' Dean replied, musing silently.

'What are you guys talking about?' Cecilia asked.

'Quidditch,' they answered.

'Oh,' she said, trying to think of something to talk about.

'So, what's with you?' Seamus asked, as if reading her mind.

'Why? Am I acting unusual?' she asked, as innocent as could be.

'Well, from time to time you don't look like yourself and other times your talking aloud to nobody or act strangely,' said Dean, giving her a calculating look. She gave them a lopsided grin.

'Did it take you that long to realize I'm completely crazy?' she asked lightly, chuckling. Dean blushed, but Seamus grinned back.

'So, what did you come here for?' Seamus asked.

'Huh?'

'Well, you're usually with Hermione, Ron and Harry, but you just came and sat with us...' he explained.

'Not that we're complaining,' Dean added quickly.

'No, we're not complaining. Just wondering if you had a fight with them or anything,' Seamus finished. "Wow," she thought. "It's like they can read each other's thoughts!"

'Well, I actually wanted to ask you, Dean, a favor,' she said looking at him. 'Since you're practically the only person who knows how to draw, and do it splendidly, I was wondering that, if I told you the characteristics of someone, could you draw them for me?' she asked hopefully.

'Sure,' Dean said. 'When do you wanna start?' he asked.

'Right now?' she asked tentatively. Dean looked at Seamus, and then back at Cecilia.

'Ok. Let me get some parchment and a quill,' he said. 'Accio quill and parchment.' And they came zooming from his bedroom. He put himself in a comfortable position and looked at her expectantly. Seamus, uninterested, retired to his bedroom. Cecilia described May as she had seen her after the Polyjuice trying to remember every little detail of her face. When she was finished, Dean did one or two more strokes on the parchment and passed it to her.

'Wow!' she said, amazed at his skills. 'It's identical,' she whispered. Dean grinned proudly.

'Thanks,' he said. Cecilia lifted her view from the drawing and threw her arms around Dean's neck in a quick hug.

'Thanks a bunch,' she said as she let go. 'I owe you one,' she said, smiling happily.

'Really?' Dean said sounding interested. She turned to look at him.

'Any ideas?' she asked.

'Well, you see. Seamus and I made a bet,' she lifted her eyebrows interestedly.

'Really? About what?' she asked. Dean blushed a bit.

'About who could get the prettiest girl to go out with him to the Spring Dance,' he said hurriedly.

'Really?' she asked once again. 'What did you bet?

'Ten galleons,' he said.

'Cool. And where do I fit in?' she asked.

'Umm... you'd be my date?' he asked hopefully. She smiled.

'Sure! That's the minimum you deserve, after being here for half an hour drawing,' she said as she gazed at the parchment again. Dean seemed curious.

'Is she a relative of yours?' he asked pointing to his drawing.

'I'm not sure who she is,' Cecilia mumbled as she turned to the girl's dorm.

'See ya!' she called back at him before disappearing. Dean skipped to his room and woke Seamus up.

'I wanna make a bet with you. Ten galleons to he who takes the prettiest girl to the Spring Dance...'

'So then Dean asked me to go to the Ball with him to win a bet with Seamus. It doesn't really matter, though...' Cecilia recounted to Hermsy as they lay in bed, waiting for sleep to overcome them.

'To win a bet?! And you said yes?!' Hermsy asked, exasperated. 'Sorry, Ces, but you gotta be real crazy to agree to help a guy win a bet. Besides, weren't you going with Harry?' she asked. Cecilia bit her lips, which now bled easily from biting it so often. She licked the blood away and took a deep breath.

'There's more to it,' she said softly. She still hadn't told anybody about May. The only person who knew anything about her was Dean and he wasn't even very aware of it. Hermsy, sensing something serious coming, got up from her bed and sat next to Cecilia.

'What's wrong?' she asked, her voice and features full of concern.

'A woman... she entered the Common Room yesterday. She was disguised as me with Polyjuice potion. She came in here and she woke me up. And we started talking, and she told me all about this thing about ... uh, it actually isn't a secret of mine to tell but, since you're one of their best friends, then I think it's OK." She paused and took another deep breath. Hermsy didn't interrupt, she listened silently as Cecilia told her about Ron and Harry, about the mysterious question about her past, May calling her princess, meeting Harry and him canceling going to the ball, asking Dean to make a portrait of May, and how that lead to the Spring Ball.

'Wow,' said Hermsy after a while. 'That's quite a...' she jumped from the bed. And grinned at Cecilia in the semi-darkness of the room. 'I've got an idea! I'll tell you tomorrow. Right now you need sleep,' she said happily as she went back to her own bed. Cecilia sighed, looking fairly confused.

"Hermsy," she snorted. "She really needs medical attention," she thought.

"No doubt about that," came a voice from her head.

"Do you think I shouldn't have asked Harry?" she asked the voice. Strangely enough, as sometimes happened, she couldn't get a visual image of Ingenuita.

"Hmm... about what?" she asked.

"What do you mean about what? You prodded me for about half an hour so I would ask him! And now you just go blank and forget it all. Nice move, Ingenuita," she thought, half angrily, half exasperated.

"Ok, OK! Keep your hair on! But, how are you so sure that I'm Ingenuita?" Cecilia was slightly taken aback.

"What do you mean? How can you not be Ingenuita?" she asked rather dubious.

"I'm not Ingenuita. I'm-I'm your mom. Didn't you know?" She heard the voice in her head, and only then was she able to realize it was in fact, not Ingenuita's. "I'm the one who gave you that beautiful dress and the galleons so you could buy yourself anything you wanted and the necklace." Cecilia sat up shaking slightly. Obscurity wrapped around her, full of coldness that seemed to run through her veins.

'Mom?' she asked out loud, feeling dazed. But "Mom" wasn't at all pleased.

"Shit! You leave her alone you-you bastard!" she heard "Mom" say. Another voice interrupted her in her head.

"What? What's going ... oh!" This time it was Ingenuita's voice, and she had a visual image of her, very nervous and fidgety. At the same time, both Ingenuita and Mom, plus someone she couldn't recognize, a man, started chanting inside her head, making her feel worse. Her head seemed about to explode, when all of the sudden all the voices quieted. Cecilia fought to stay conscious, as the obscurity left her, a wave of warmth washing over her. Her head lolled sideways, as her upper torso fell on the bed and gentle snores were to be heard.