Masked

Masked

Chapter One

Harry sat on the train, unaware of who was in the compartment next to his and the impact that they would have on his life. He sat innocently munching on some chocolate frogs. He glanced at the card and then shouted, "Look Ron! I got the card that you were missing!" Ron jumped up and scrambled over to Harry. He grabbed the card and shouted,

"YES!!!!! It's Wendolin! He was the coolest wizard ever!"

"What was he famous for anyway?" Harry asked Ron.

"He was really powerful and he fought against the dark side. He almost killed You-know-who, but then he died. Everyone was really sad and so upset. No one talks about him anymore." Harry thought about this. "How long ago did he die?"

"Oh he died before we were born." Ron told him. They talked about Wendolin for a while. Harry was in the middle of a sentence when the door burst open and a girl walked in. "Hermione! How are you? Where have you been?" Ron demanded.

"Hey guys! I am great! I was in the next compartment talking to a new girl that it joining the school. She's a transfer from Beauxbatons. She's really nice!" Hermione said in one breath.

"How was your summer Herm?" Harry asked.

"Oh it was great! Victor and I went all over. We had a great time," she said with a huge smile. Ron's smile faded from his face and he started muttering things to himself.

Neither Hermione nor Harry noticed, though, because they were absorbed in talking about their summers. They were so absorbed in what each other was saying that they didn't notice the conductor tell them that they would be arriving at Hogwarts soon and to, please, put on their school robes. After a while, Ron joined in the conversation, which had turned to the new shop in Hogsmeade. The train stopped and so they started to get off it.

"Wait, we aren't in our robes!" Hermione noticed.

"Shoot, mine are still on the train," said Ron.

"Mine too," Harry agreed.

"What are we going to do?" they wailed.

"Oh I know," Ron said. "We will just transfigure your clothes into Hogwarts robes." Which Hermione promptly did. Harry's were a bit too small, and Ron's weren't as tattered as usual, but they were good enough. They rushed over to where the other fifth years were and climbed in an empty carriage.

"That was close. Thanks for doing that Herm."

"Anytime. Gees, you really need me to look out for you!" she replied, joking.

Home again, at last, Harry thought to himself. It looks just like I remembered. I missed it so much. The others were having similar thoughts, thinking about the past years that they had spent at Hogwarts and wondering what would happen this year.

Then Harry's thoughts turned to someone else. He pushed her out of him mind. I can't think about her now, he told himself. Luckily for him, Ron asked him about the Quidditch team, and who he thought was going to be the captain this year. Hermione sighed and looked out the window. They talked Quidditch for a while. Then they fell silent. Hermione stared out the window. Little did she know that her two best friends were staring at her with longing. She turned away from the window and, quickly, the averted their eyes.

They reached the castle after a few minutes of almost complete silence.

The three-some walked inside and sat themselves at the Gryffindor table. They talked for a few minutes and said hello to Lavender, Parvati, Seamus, Dean, and Neville. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, but was really only five minutes, the first years came in.

They were little and scared. Harry was reminded very strongly of the feeling that he had felt when he was going up there for the first time, to be sorted. He wanted to make them feel better, to show them that it really wasn't that bad. He wanted to so much. He concentrated on the feeling of happiness and security. Harry couldn't tell if it was his imagination, but it looked to him like all the first years stood up a little straighter, smiled a little bit and walked along a little more confidently. Wondering if he had done this, he experimented a little.

He sent a few little feelings of worry and anxiety to the one little kid nearest to him. They weren't very strong feelings, but he thought that he saw a few lines of worry creasing the little kid's face. He immediately sent a feeling of calmness and self-confidence to wipe out the worry. The sorting started with a new sing from the hat. Then the first kid was called up. Twenty minutes and eight new Gryffindors later, the first years were done being sorted. Professor Dumbledore came forward to make a beginning of the year speech. Instead he cleared his throat and said something else.

"I would like to call up Miss Clélia Dubois. She is our transfer from Beauxbatons. Miss Dubois if you would have a seat on the stool please,"

Dumbledore asked.

A young, and quite pretty girl, walked forward. She was small and had dark auburn hair and pale skin. She sat herself delicately on the stool and pulled the hat over her head. It expanded to fit her head that was, though small, was larger than most first year's heads. She sat up there for a long time and people were beginning to wonder if she was ever going to get sorted. Finally, the hat called out. "Slytherin," it shouted. The Slytherin table exploded into thunderous applause and many whistles and cheers, especially from the boys in the crowd.

"She's changed so much," Harry told Ron.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," he replied, a little too quickly. Harry just smiled to himself and suggested that it was time for bed.

Though Harry fell asleep almost instantly upon lying down, Ron lay awake for hours tossing turning.

The next morning, a very tired Ron walked to breakfast with Harry and Hermione. They sat down and started piling their plates with food. Hermione felt someone watching her. She turned her head and saw the new girl, 'Clélia, I think', staring at her. 'Or was she staring at her?' Before Hermione could figure it out, a Hufflepuff walked in between them and when she could see Clélia again, she was talking to the other Slytherins.

"What do you think of the new girl?" Hermione asked the boys

"Who?" Ron was confused, "Oh her." He said when she pointed Clélia out. "Oh I dunno but she's a Slytherin." he said darkly.

"Yeah but look at her" said Harry

"Boys..." Hermione muttered rolling her eyes.

"Oh don't worry Hermione, you'll always be first in our hearts" joked Harry glancing at Ron who suddenly became very interested in his bacon and eggs.

"Guys, it's time for Potions, we gotta run" said Hermione, changing the subject abruptly.

They grabbed their bags and hurried out of the Great Hall. They dashed all the way to the dungeons. Ron and Hermione went to their normal seats. Harry went to seat in his but realized it was already occupied. He sat down on the other side of the girl.

"Oh am I in your seat?" she asked quickly

"No, it's okay" Harry replied

"Well it better be, I wouldn't move anyway," she said, her voice suddenly turning cold.

Harry was surprised. "What was I thinking, she IS a Slytherin after all"

The lesson went pretty smoothly until about halfway through when a loud bang was heard from a corner of the room.

"What have you done now" snapped Snape.

Neville only whimpered in response.

"Ten points from Gryffindor. And Weasley, take him to the hospital wing." Snape yelled.

"Weasley..." Clélia whispered to herself as he pulled Neville out the door.

"What are you doing?!" Harry practically screamed, "You almost put the porcupine quills in before the boomslang skin. That could have ruined our potion." Clélia didn't respond. She looked deep in thought. Harry wondered how a how a Slytherin could be so pretty. Suddenly he realized that he had been staring at her for a little too long. They finished the potion in silence.

When it was time to pack up Harry was surprised to find he didn't want to go. Snape called out to the class, I hope you like your seats, because they will be your seats all year. Harry couldn't tell if this was a good thing or not.

"The nerve. She took your seat, and now is going to sit there all year," Hermione muttered as they left the dungeon.

The three friends sat in the Gryffindor common room doing their homework, or at least they were supposed to be doing their homework. Instead, Harry and Ron were trying to enchant a hat so that it would show what people were thinking when they put it on. So far, all they had been able to do was turn it green. After a while they got bored of this and started to talk about Quidditch.

"I'm gonna try out for keeper this year," Ron told harry.

"Really? Practices would be so fun if you were on the team. Harry was so excited. Just then, Ginny walked passed them carrying her schoolbooks. She sat down at another table and started writing furiously.

"Whatcha doing Gin?" Ron asked her. Ginny ignored him.

"Ginny?" said Ron a little louder.

"What?" she yelled back exasperated.

"Gees calm down. I was just wondering what you were doing."

"It's none of your business Ron. I'm not a little ten-year-old anymore. You don't have to take care of me." She told him before grabbing her stuff and moving to the other side of the common room.

"Gosh, sometimes I wish I had a different sister." Ron muttered to Harry.