Back In Time

Back In Time: Chapter Six

EDITED: Chapter Six:

Breathing deeply, I turned my smile towards Remus, “Thanks.”  He simply nodded in reply before going off on his own.  I looked back towards the dock, only to notice Bellatrix, Lucius and Narcissa all staring at me; I quickly turned away, shuddering slightly.  I was glad to be away from them, there was no telling what would’ve happened if Remus hadn’t been there.  Hopefully I wouldn’t run into that troublesome threesome for quite a while.

Checking my watch, I realized I had spent quite a bit of time underneath the tree and at the dock, meaning I only had five minutes to make it to the Great Hall in time for supper. 

I sat at the very end of the Gryffindor table, trying to find some peace and quiet without anyone bothering me. By 'anyone', I meant Sirius Black.  Dumbledore stood up to tell everyone about some new rule for “What Not to do in the Hallways” that Filch, the caretaker, had come up with.  Filch, as ugly as he’s going to look in twenty some-odd years, was actually decent looking.  His nose wasn’t crooked, his hair was all still there and not greasy.  There were no wrinkles lining his face and his eyes actually danced happily, one thing was for sure, he wasn’t that old grouch anymore.  I wondered what happened to change him, briefly, before I was interrupted from my thoughts.

“Ello!”  Sirius, the same person I was trying to avoid, plopped himself beside and then he was immediately swarmed by the Marauders, not to mention a few female Gryffindors.

I rubbed my temples, already feeling a migraine coming on, and the talking hadn’t even started yet. 

“Hi.”  I glared at the food in front of me, putting a bit onto my plate before moving it around with my fork.  Turning slightly, I saw my father scowling at nothing in particular.  I knew that not eating was unhealthy but food always seemed unappealing to me, my father nearly constantly had to force me to eat but now he wasn’t here to do that -well, he was, but he didn’t believe I was his daughter, therefore he couldn’t care less about whether I ate or not-, and so I didn't feel so pressued to eat. The thoughts of my father only served to make the thought of eating even more disgusting to me. 

I had tuned out of the conversation that circled around me but I channeled back in when I heard someone speaking about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

“Why don’t you say his name?”  I questioned, tilting my head towards the right slightly.  “Someone once told me that the fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself, I don’t see why you wouldn’t say Voldemort.”

A few gasps were heard from those who sat nearest me but Sirius and James looked at me as if I was a puzzle they needed to figure out.

“Who told you that?”

“A boy named Harry, he was one of my best friends back where I come from.”  I tried to smile, but just thinking about Harry made me feel homesick.  I was sitting right next to his father, someone he couldn’t even remember, not to mention his god-father, whom he loved unconditionally, and who was supposed to be dead in our year.  Sighing, I looked at these people around me, and decided to get to know all of them, even Sirius Black, because honestly, I want to be able to tell Harry all about the Marauders when I go back.. if I go back.

The rest of the day, Sirius stared at me as if I were an alien and by the next morning, I was fed up with it.

“Why do you keep staring at me?” I asked; feeling exasperated.

“You’re being nice. What’s gotten into you?” His eyes raked over my body before he put the back of his left hand against my forehead then my cheek. Slapping his hand away, I began to question his sanity. What was he trying to do?

“Are you sick?” He questioned, immediately checking my cheeks with his wrist this time, however he was smiling and I knew by the mischievous twinkle in his eyes that he was teasing me.

Scowling, I stomped off, grumbling unhappily about the stupidity of dogs. Of course, he didn’t know that I knew he was an Animagus, so I made sure that he couldn’t hear me.

As morning came, and with it my second day of school, I smiled as I sat up in bed. True, I hadn’t gotten much sleep, nor had I eaten anything in a couple of days, but I was in a good mood. I had no idea behind the reason for it, but as I came upon the Marauders in the Common Room and my smile increased, I figured it out pretty easily. I was excited to get to know these people, perhaps even change their futures, though I knew I shouldn’t. Harry deserved a family, but what if by giving him that family, I ruined so many other peoples lives? Running my hands threw my tangled hair, I scowled as my fingers caught in a particularly difficult snarl.

“Does anyone have a comb around here?” I questioned as I sat beside James Potter, who looked more like his son every time I saw him.

“Yeah.” Remus walked up to the boys dorm before returning with a small-toothed comb. I brushed my hair as they stared in amusement, Sirius chuckled every time I winced in pain and then James would smack him every time he laughed. By the time I was finished, Remus and Pettigrew were in hysterics, my eyes were watering from the pain, James was clutching his hand, claiming it felt as if a hundred needles were poking into his skin and Sirius had a hold of his arm, basically repeating what James was saying.

I rubbed my face, feeling tired for the first time today, and stood up while simultaneously handing Remus Lupin his comb. Stretching my back, I glared at Sirius before making my way out of the common room and down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

My stomach rumbled in hunger, something it very rarely did. Food almost never appealed to me, but today, it definitely did. Putting eggs and a biscuit on my plate, I picked up my fork and went to take the first bite right as the cackling laugh of Bellatrix rang out right behind me.

“You probably shouldn’t eat too much, girly. You’re pudgy enough as it is.” I looked over at her, only to confirm that she was indeed speaking to me. Behind her, the Marauders were just entering the Hall, and Remus didn’t look very happy, and judging by the looks on the others faces, they’d heard what she said as well.

Sighing, I sat my full fork down onto my plate, which made a quite clinking sound before standing up and walking away. I wasn’t very hungry anymore.