Seeing a Stranger

Chapter 5

Try as she might, it seemed to Eranne that her strength would never return. She did return to classes the next day, met with stares from most of her classmates, stares of fear and pity. This seemed worse to Eranne than all her pain - people thought that she was weak, or worse, crazy. The following days blended together without incident, but Eranne could not concentrate on anything. Worse, Percy seemed preoccupied with the Sirius Black incident, as Head Boy, and Oliver was busy plotting the destruction of Slytherin in the first Quidditch game of the season. This meant that for the majority of the day, Eranne was alone, lost in her own thoughts as she tried to feign interest in the world around her. Her questions about her father and Black permeated her mind; she wasn't sleeping well, and her professors began to notice.

"Miss d'Berwyn, are you sure you are feeling alright?" Professor McGonagall asked one afternoon, having detained her after her Transiguration class. "You seem a bit distracted lately."

"I'm sorry, Professor, I suppose that I am a little distracted. My mother told me about my father right before I left for school this year, and I have so many questions, I don't know who to turn to, I guess."

"Your mother told you?" her Professor looked astonished. "Dear, Miss d'Berwyn, no wonder! Perhaps you should see the Headmaster."

"I don't want to take up any of his time, really. I just want to know why Sirius Black killed my father. My mother said that he was an Auror. Did he know something that he shouldn't have? Is that why Black went after him?"

Professor McGonagall stared at the young woman standing before her with the most curious expression. In part, she looked as angry as Eranne had ever seen her, but her eyes were not fixed on Eranne. She must have known how curious she looked, for she quickly changed her expression, and looked again at Eranne.

"I think that you should see the Headmaster about this. I will take you up to his office. Come with me."

As she followed her professor down the corridors to Professor Dumbledore's office, there was only one question on her mind:

What was everyone not telling her?

"Eranne!" Fred Weasley's voice rang through the Common Room, bringing Eranne back from her thoughts. She had missed the first Quidditch game of the season; after her meeting with Dumbledore, she fled back to the Common Room to be alone. Her meeting had provided no answers to her questions, indeed, it seemed like Dumbledore wanted to tell her more, but was unable or frightened to do so. He listened as she recounted her dreams, and her vision, and merely said that he would look into these strange developments, before offering her a sweet and sending her on her way. She had come back to the Common Room to watch the torrential rain pound against the windows, and ponder her questions further.

If the one person who I thought would tell me the truth, isn't, what is there left for me to do? She thought.

"Eranne?" Fred, still in his Quidditch robes, was shaking her. "You alright?"

"Hm? Yes, yes, I'm fine. Sorry - let my thoughts run away with my mind again."

"How 'come you weren't at the game?"

"I had a meeting with Dumbledore right before it, and I guess I wasn't really in the mood to go. Did we win? I do hope that we beat Slytherin!"

"Actually, we weren't even playing Slytherin. Hufflepuff - but, man I can't believe you weren't there - they beat us."

"What?" Eranne raised her voice in question. "You all should have made short work of that team!"

"I know, and we would have, except the dementors guarding the castle stormed the field. I think we were up on points before that; it looked like we were going to win for sure, even in this rain. But then Harry - Harry fell from his broom. It must have been fifty feet. He's fine, but it's Oliver I'm worried about. He hasn't come back from the locker rooms - George and I think that he is trying to drown himself in the showers...could you go talk to him? I have to go check on Harry - the whole team is in the Hospital wing, along with Ron and Hermione. Please, Eranne?"

Eranne rose as quickly as she could, which was not particularly fast considering she was still in an immense amount of pain. Fred reached an arm out to steady her as she rose.

"Thanks, Fred. I'll go, tell Harry I hope that he is okay..."

"I will. You're the best, Eranne!"

"Thanks, again," she said as she began to walk towards the fireplace to grab her cloak, which she had left there when she came in.

If I am the best, then why am I so damn confused?

Oliver was not, in fact, trying to drown himself in the showers, as Fred and George had thought. He was, when Eranne entered the locker room, simply sitting on a bench, looking as though his favorite pet had died.

"Oliver?"

"We lost. We actually lost. I was so sure - "

"It isn't over yet, Oliver. This is only the first game of the year. Besides, you should be happy that Harry is still alive at this point. There are more games, that you can win."

"Damn Flint!" he said as he threw his wrist guard at an empty locker.

"What did the locker ever do to you? Apologize to it, right now!" Eranne said, smiling truly for the first time in weeks.

"Sorry..." Oliver mumbled. "Eranne, winning the Cup has been my goal since, well, ever since I first heard about Hogwarts."

"How surprising," Eranne joked, sitting down next to her best friend.

"Hey - that's not fair! You didn't even know me back then and you're teasing me about it!"

"I tell it like it is," she said, her smile becoming bigger. In the corner of her eye, she could see Oliver's forgotten wrist guard lying on the floor. Quickly, she whispered a Summoning Charm, grabbed it tight, and lightly smacked him over the head.

"You needed that. Stop fussing."

Oliver smiled. "Yeah, I suppose I did. How's Harry?"

"In the Hospital Wing. Fred was going to check on him when he asked me to come see that you weren't trying to off yourself in the showers. You should too, come one, I'll come with you."

"Thanks, Eranne." Oliver smiled.

"Don't mention it."