The Seers' Truth: A Broken Beginning

Chapter 22

Ghastly Ghostly Dinner

===

At supper, Harry watched Samara float into the Great Hall. Although Draco was not touching her, he was still walking close to her, and from the dreamy look on her face, and the smirk on his, they had been quite a bit closer. Harry applied himself to filling his dinner plate with more mashed potatoes than he actually wanted.

"Hi!" said Samara with an ear to ear grin. She sat down at the Gryffindor table between Beatrice and Ginny.

"Hey," teased Ginny, "First years aren't allowed to fly, especially without a broom."

"I'm not flying. I'm dancing," said Samara.

Harry wondered what that was supposed to mean.

Ron summed it up with a cough that sounded strangely like: "Traitor!"

Samara ignored him and asked, "Isn't anyone going to ask us how our inner house relations visits went?"

"No need," said Harry coolly. "It's pretty much written all over your face, and you don't even need to see auras."

Some of Samara's smile faded, but she still felt too good to be bothered by their narrow-minded attitude.

"Well, I'll ask, then," said Samara. "Edward, how was your visit to Ravenclaw and Slytherin?"

"Interesting," said Edward. "Ravenclaw has the most amazing library you ever saw. I didn't really meet any Ravenclaws there though. There are little cubicles with silencing spells so you can study in peace, and the rooms are a very comforting shade of blue-gray--rather like an evening sky. I was so engrossed that I would have missed lunch, but I had told the Ravenclaw Head Boy that I wanted to visit Slytherin at lunchtime. Very efficient: Ravenclaw. The head boy came and found me at lunchtime and introduced me to three of the Ravenclaw boys wanted to visit Slytherin, too. How about that, I didn't meet any Ravenclaws at all until I was ready to go to Slytherin. We chatted a while then on our tour of Slytherin. I missed you and Beatrice on the tour," said Edward.

"Oh, Draco gave her a tour," interrupted Beatrice.

"Of his room," Ron muttered.

"He didn't, but that's none of your business," Samara snapped.

"Beatrice," Hermione said sharply. "Samara didn't leave you alone over there, did she?"

"Oh, no, I wasn't alone," said Beatrice. "Lauren and Pansy took me up to their dorm room. Do you know they have 40 step wards on their doors and, can you believe this--Muggle door locks--and Lauren's dad made a combination magic and Muggle burglar alarm?"

"Samara!" Hermione was appalled.

"The locks are to keep out the rapists, murderers and the Death Eaters," mumbled Harry. "Oh, I forgot, they're all the same thing."

"That's really uncalled for." Samara glared at Harry, and then decided it was time to eat and try to ignore the barbs that were flying around her. She put her soup spoon into her soup and tried to take a bite. The soup slid off the spoon, leaving it completely empty. She tried again. With some trepidation, she picked up her fork and tried to eat her salad. Her fork also seemed to have a repelling charm on it. She tried several times to remove the repelling charm, but it was expertly placed. Frustrated, she pulled her wand from her hair and using the Adhere charm, stuck a bite on the spoon.

She glanced around at the table. Ron was sulkily sipping his soup from the bowl as if it were a cup. Edward had taken the large serving spoon, which was obviously not charmed, from the mashed potatoes and was eating his soup with it. Beatrice was nibbling carrot sticks. Hermione had transfigured a quill into a fork, and was pushing her food around her plate, but Dean, sitting with Parvati, and Seamus with Lavender seemed to have the best idea. They had taken to feeding each other bites off of their fingers and were happily sucking each other's fingers clean. They seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

One glance at the Slytherin table told her who was to blame for the repelling charm on their silverware. Not that she really needed to look.

"This is what your Slytherin friends have done," said Harry, not even attempting to eat. "They're positively vile and I can't believe you'd even consider kissing Malfoy."

"I think I said once already, it's not your business," replied Samara. She was sure that Harry was aware that her wand was in her hand, even though she was only presently using it to put food on her fork.

Beatrice, in an attempt to change the subject from open warfare, said suddenly, "What did Malfoy think of your shirt, Samara?"

"Oh yes," remembered Edward. "There's a question I want answered too."

Samara blushed and stuck a bite of food in her mouth.

"Samara," said Beatrice. "Samara? You didn't?"

"Right," said Samara. "I didn't."

"Oh, why not?"

"Self preservation?" suggested Edward.

"I was distracted."

"I'll bet you were," said Ron snidely.

With one last look at the group around her, Samara got up and took her plate to sit a few seats away from them, nearer to Parvati and Lavender.

"You know, Ron," said Hermione, "I think you and Harry were a little hard on her. She doesn't know the Slytherins like we do."

"I think I'm going to go and sit with her," said Beatrice, gathering up her food.

"You don't need to do that, Beatrice," said Hermione. "It's Samara who left you at Slytherin."

"Well, no, it really wasn't like that," said Beatrice. "I was talking to Pansy and Lauren first and then Pansy asked me if I wanted to go to her room and--Well, I just feel responsible that's all."

"You shouldn't feel responsible," said Ron. "It's her fault she kissed the slimy git, not yours."

"But if I would have stayed with her at Slytherin, you wouldn't all be shunning her."

"We're not shunning her," said Harry.

"Yeah, we just want her to see the error of her ways," Ron said

"I'll see you later," said Beatrice and she moved over next to Samara

"Where are you going, Ginny?" asked Ron as she stood up without a word, and followed Beatrice.

Samara was silently eating, sticking small bites on her fork using her Adhere charm when Beatrice sat down. "You didn't need to come over here," she said. "I'm ok. It's not the first time I've been ridiculed."

"I'm sure it isn't," said Beatrice.

"Where's Fred and George when you need them," said Samara.

"I could use a good laugh too," said Ginny.

"I'm sorry," said Beatrice.

"For what?" asked Samara.

"I just feel like it's sort of my fault."

"It's not."

Ginny put a hand on Samara's arm. "Are you crying?"

Samara dashed tears away from her eyes.

Ginny moved her hand to Samara's shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Samara," Ginny said. "Slytherins are sometimes very charming. They're made that way, but they aren't always what they seem. I learned that in First Year. I don't mean to sound like Harry and Ron, but--"

"If you don't want to sound like them, maybe you should shut up." said Samara, "Oh well, I think you are already too late. You just lumped everyone together, didn't you? Maybe I should avoid everyone with the wrong kind of blood--giants or werewolves--not mudbloods surely because that's a dirty word. But I could cease to associate with purebloods--so many of them are Slytherin. Oh dear, Ginny, what would I do with you, though? You are a member of that pureblood group too. Or maybe I should be even more discriminating and avoid people with murky auras, or holes caused by some past disaster. Yes, that way I'd be safe. Is that what Gryffindors do? Play it safe?"

"No," said Ginny. "I'm sorry. It's your business."

"Aren't you just a little curious about the other houses?" asked Samara.

"I was," said Ginny. "But I found out that Slytherins were too different from Gryffindors."

"No, you found out ONE Slytherin was too different for YOU."

"Maybe. I came over to help you feel better, not make you feel worse. I'm sorry."

"It's ok," said Samara.

For a few minutes the girls sat in silence.

"Sorry. I'm just a little homesick, I guess," said Samara. "It's making me a little testy. I miss my Muggle friends, sorry lot though they were. I miss my Mom and Dad, even though when I'm home they drive me nutters. And they're getting a divorce so I don't even know if they will be in the same house when I get home this summer. And, I miss my brothers, even though they're jerks. Funny isn't it. They're all ok, just because they are familiar."

"I'll bet they're good looking--your brothers--" said Beatrice. "Lots of girlfriends."

"Ha! Yeah."

"Typical," said Beatrice, "Muggle or Wizard, all the good looking ones are jerks."

That got a smile out of Samara. "Well, they're not always jerks," she said. "I just got tired of girls trying to be friends with me to get to meet one of them though."

"And what would they think of Draco?" asked Ginny.

"Oh, they'd hate him," said Samara. "But they'd also hate Harry and Ron and Edward any boy that talked to me. You have brothers. You know how that goes."

Ginny laughed.

"I thought that here at Hogwarts, I could find some friends without ulterior motives," said Samara. "Someone to just like me for who I am."

"I like you," said Ginny.

"Me too," said Beatrice. "I really enjoyed helping to make your shirt in Hufflepuff today."

"So, let's see this shirt," said Ginny.

Samara opened her robe, and Ginny gasped. "Oh, you should have showed that to Hermione. She'd have loved it.

"Maybe we should go back and make another one tomorrow," said Samara.

"I'd like that," said Beatrice. "And Samara, I really am your friend."

"Thanks," said Samara. "Especially after I deserted you at Slytherin and you didn't even want to come."

"Oh, no, you didn't desert me. I deserted you. Pansy and Lauren aren't anything like I expected Slytherins to be. They were really nice to me. Pansy did drop a few warnings though about Draco though."

"Oh? What did she say?"

"She said, 'What you see is definitely NOT what you get. Draco has a lot of secrets, and he's'--well, the word she used was--dangerous. I think she was just trying to make conversation--"

"I think she meant it," said Ginny.

"In any case," continued Beatrice, "she had to expect that I would tell you."

"I think she was jealous," said Samara. "Didn't you tell me that Draco took Pansy to the Yule Ball last year?"

Ginny nodded. "But they broke up. Apparently something happened over the summer--"

Samara's eyes glanced at the Slytherin table and caught Draco looking at her. She held his gaze for a moment, but eventually looked away and played with her food for a few minutes.

"You know what I think," said Samara. "I think Draco does have secrets, but I like a little mystery. Anyway, I have a few secrets of my own, you know."

"And the danger," prodded Beatrice.

"I laugh in the face of danger," said Samara. "Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Ginny looked bewildered.

Beatrice broke out into real laughter. "Oh gosh, I saw that movie. Right after I realized my Animagus wouldn't be a tiger, I saw it and I thought it would be okay if my Animagus was a lion." Beatrice's face sobered. "You know he won't get your Muggle jokes. When are you going to tell him that you're Muggle-born?"

"I don't know," Samara admitted. "I couldn't show him the shirt today. I didn't want him to tell me to leave."

"Do you think it will be any easier when he tells you to leave after you've fallen in love with him?"

"Maybe he'll change, Beatrice. Lighten up. You never know."

Beatrice broke out into giggles. "Sure," she said, "And maybe my Animagus bunny will grow stripes and claws."

"Don't you believe that love changes things, Beatrice? I would have thought you, of all people, would believe that."

Beatrice looked at her in all seriousness and said, "Samara, you're twitterpated."

Samara looked at her for a moment before snorting and pushing her away playfully. "Run home to Thumper!"

The two of them leaned on each other laughing while Ginny looked at them in complete confusion.

Edward came over and put his hand on Ginny's shoulder. She looked up at him. "Are you going to the library after supper, or just up to the Common Room?"

"Common Room, I guess," she said. She took a last look at the hysterically laughing girls and then turned back to Edward. "I'll come with you. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

After she left, Beatrice and Samara caught their breath and sat in silence for a few moments.

"What is it, Samara?"

Samara was fidgeting. "Draco's looking at me again."

"Of course he is after that display of hysterics," said Beatrice. "He'll probably ask you what you were laughing at--"

Samara snorted. With deliberate slowness she stuck two fingers in her truffle dessert and pulled some of the whipped crème and berries off of the cake.

"What are you doing?" asked Beatrice.

"Giving Draco something to look at," Samara answered as she glanced pointedly across the table to Parvati and Dean and Seamus and Lavender who were still laughing and enjoying supper off of each others fingers. They had now progressed to the whipped crème dessert. They were a sticky mess, but having a grand time.

Holding Draco's gaze, Samara slowly and seductively licked her fingers clean. Draco watched her with a cool unreadable expression that slowly changed to a smirk.

When Samara tossed her hair back over her shoulder, she noticed that Harry Potter was watching her too. Playfully, she winked at him, and then left the Great Hall.

"So, are we going to Hufflepuff again tomorrow?" asked Beatrice as they headed for the Gryffindor Common room.

"Sure," said Samara.

"Oh, no," Beatrice said. "We can't. We don't know the password."

"I think I can manage," said Samara.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think I know what it will be."

===

"Oh Dear, what's happened?" said Beatrice lifting her robes to wade through the water on the floor.

"It looks like a toilet overflowed," said Samara. They could hear a sing song voice coming from the bathroom, and someone was crying.

"Maybe someone got hurt," said Beatrice. "Do you hear crying?"

"Yes," said Samara. "Over here." She peeked into the bathroom, and a zooming poltergeist flew right through her head. "Oh yuck! Yuck!" she shouted and she shuddered as she felt the coldness of the spirit go through her.

She and Beatrice heard the poltergeist singing, but they couldn't hear the words. He was zooming away from them.

"AND STAY OUT, PEEVES!" shouted another ghost who was hiding behind the door of one of the stalls. Only her head was visible. "YOU AND OLIVE BOTH. I HATE YOU. DO YOU HEAR ME?"

She glared at the two girls. "AND WHAT ARE YOU TWO STARING AT?" she spat. "DID YOU COME TO TEASE ME TOO?"

"No," began Beatrice, but the poltergeist drowned her out with his singing. Beatrice and Samara both ducked as he flew back into the bathroom.

"GET OUT," shouted the girl ghost.

Moaning Myrtle in the sky

Can't play Quidditch. Tell you why

Flying on a Quidditch broom

Spying in the tower room

~

In the dungeon underground

Too few windows can be found.

"THAT WAS YOUR IDEA PEEVES. FLYING WAS YOUR IDEA," screeched the girl who floated through the door and then launched herself after the poltergeist.

Moaning Myrtle in the sky

Always blames the other guy

~

Myrtle started to cry. "PEEVES! YOU'RE HORRIBLE!" she said.

Peeves continued to sing:

Cry a tear and mope and pout

Teachers always let her out

~

"Let's go," whispered Samara as she and Beatrice sneaked out of the bathroom.

<<<===>>>