Breaking the shadows

First day of school

1996

Thursday September 2nd

In the middle of class, Ginny passes me a note, I look around to see where Snape is, but he is standing in the front and writing ingredients on the board aggressively. I quickly read the note and it says: "Let's have some fun after class, meet me in the library"
I can't help it but laugh, that gets Snapes attention. He turns on a split second, and walks in a steady pace down to my desk and says in an icy tone: "What's so funny, miss Granger"
I swallow hard trying to keep my laugh down as say unsure: "Nothing Professor"
Snape: "Then why did you laugh?"
"Sorry Professor"
Snape goes back to teaching and when he turns his back at us, I make a quick nod to Ginny and mouths: "I'll be there."

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After class I head down to the library, Ginny told me to wait for her, she had to talk with Ron first. I sit down in a corner and take my sketch book out of my bag and start drawing a sketch of my wedding dress from my daydream a while back, but I only get to draw the top before I hear something. It sounds like someone is crying, I put my sketch book in my bag and get up to look where the sound is coming from. I look around the library for a while when I realise that I haven't looked in the corner where two bookcases are so close together that you can hide behind them without anyone noticing, when I come closer to the two bookcases the sound becomes louder, I push the bookcases from each other and behind them is Nora sitting all curled up and sobbing, I sit down beside her and say softly: "What's wrong?"
Nora dries her eyes and says quietly: "Professor Snape is mean"
"He is a little, but he is just annoyed that he didn't get the job that he wanted"
Nora: "Why does that have to involve the students"
"He doesn't do that on purpose"
Nora: "Are you sure?"
"Yeah"
Nora is still crying so I try to think of something to cheer her up, so I say: "Do you want to hear a story?"
Nora nods and then rests her head on my arm, and I start telling her a story from my first year:

"Once upon a time there was a little girl attending Hogwarts, she was so scared to go to such a big school, she had trouble concentrating in class and the teachers was so annoyed with her, all except one, Professor McGonagall, she was always kind to the little girl, and gave her extra tries to answer a question, Professor McGonagall seemed stiff at first but when the little girl got to know her better she turned out to be her favourite teacher, one day the little girl had an argument with her older sister, and the girl was sitting in the library, in this exact spot crying. McGonagall came looking for her and calmed her down, then McGonagall talked with the girl's sister, and they made an agreement that if they had any trouble sharing a room, they could come to her, and she would sort it out. The girl and her sister fought a few times over the room, but never enough to go to McGonagall, they were happy that they had each other."

"Doesn't the little girl have any friends?" Nora asks

"Of course she does, I was just about to tell you about her best friend"

"The little girl only had a few friends, but they became her best friends very quickly, she became friends with two first year girls and a second-year boy. The boy had dark brown hair, one of the girls had blond almost white hair and the last girl had flaming red hair. The four friends were together nearly every day, over the years they grew closer but there was always a better connection between the little girl and the red-haired girl. They became best friends almost instantly. In their fourth year of Hogwarts, they went on an adventure together, trying to free the girl from a curse. On their journey they caught feelings for each other and a while later they made it official for their friends. They are very happy together"

Just then Ginny turns up and she says happily: "So it's here you are hiding"
"I wasn't hiding"
Ginny: "Sure you were"
Ginny sits down beside me and ask: "Who's your friend?"
"Ginny, this is Nora, one of our new Gryffindors"
Ginny: "How exiting"
Nora asks quietly: "How do you know the girl were happy?"
I think for a second and then tries to answer: "Uhm, that's a good question"
Nora: "You are the girl, aren't you?"
"Well, yes, I am"
Nora: "And Ginny is the girl with the flaming red hair?"
"Yes, you got that right"
Nora: "What happened in your third and fourth year that has made you who you are today?"
"I'll tell you about that another time, okay?"
Nora: "Okay, I'll find my brother then, have you seen him?"
"I haven't, have you Ginny?"
Ginny: "Who is your brother Nora?"
Nora: "Its Emery Flower, he's a Hufflepuff"
Ginny: "I think I saw him with a few other Hufflepuffs here in the library, by the globus"
Nora: "Thanks"
Nora gets up to find her brother, and I ask Ginny: "Do you really know who Emery is?"
Ginny: "No I just saw some Hufflepuffs studying and a few of them could be first years."
"Oh okay"
Ginny: "But are you ready for some fun?"
"What do you mean by that exactly?"
Ginny: "It's nothing we haven't done before"
"But here?"
Ginny: "No of course not, I just wanted to make sure that Lavender and the others were out of my room first"
"And they are now?"
Ginny: "Yeah, they all went to Hogsmeade, it could be a while"
"Then let's go"
Ginny takes my hand, and we get to her room and locks the door behind us.
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Puplished: 17-05-23