Eclipse| Harry Potter fanfiction

8. The Grim

Athena 

FOR A SPLIT SECOND, I thought I misjudged Eloise. She sat at the slytherin table with her chest out, the same way I did. With her fiery red hair and vivid green eyes, she may not have had the Slytherin appearance, but her ambition was evident even from the way she looked.

All those thoughts disappeared the second the sorting hat declared her Gryffindor. From all the houses, she had to be a sodding Gryffindor. Way worse than becoming a hufflepuff. That instantly made her my enemy by default, along with the other close-minded brats that sat at that table.

Headmaster Dumbledore gave a long speech about the dementors that roamed the school and warned us about the dark forest. I could not concentrate as I was thinking of ways to improve my reputation at this school. Half the Slytherin table already knew about my incident, and now they only saw me as a joke. Maybe the only way to fix this was to play nice with that two-face gargoyle, Pansy.

The speech from headmaster dumbledore ended with him introducing the shabby man who eyed me weirdly in the train, Professor Lupin. Soon, the feast magically appeared before us, and my nose was enchanted by the aroma. I had the freedom to eat as much as I liked, but Mother wouldn't like that, so I only dished myself a bit of pea soup and a slice of bread.

"No man would want to marry a lady who eats mountains." Mother always said to me.

I was already certain that I was going to marry someone at that Slytherin table. It was just a matter of who. The table was filled with so much chitter and chatter, and I was tired of trying to involve myself, so I just ate in silence. The feast finally came to an end, and we were required to walk home to our dormitories. My eyes tried to take in as much as possible. The ghosts, the moving staircases, and the moving pictures—it was nothing I hadn't seen before.

We got to the dark Dungeon, and a prefect said, "Pureblood," and the black metal doors slid up.

We all walked down a fleet of stairs in an orderly line until we got into the common room. The common room was a dungeon-like room with greenish lamps and chairs. This dungeon extended part way under the lake, giving the light in the room a green tinge. The common room had lots of black and dark green button-tufted leather sofas, skulls, and dark wood cupboards.

It was spectacular.

I realised a yawn was working its way up, so I decided to retire to the girl's dormitory. When I got to the door, I heard my name coming from the other side, followed by a few giggles. I opened the door, and all the girls fell silent. I recognised every single one of them. Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, Millicent Bulstrode, and Tracey Davis. Those were the exact girls Mother asked me to befriend.

I walked to my bed with my trunk laid on top of it. The dormitory was as beautiful as expected. The four-poster beds were covered in green eiderdowns with green curtains, a wooden nightstand next to it, and my school trunk at the foot of my bed. A wooden chair and dresser were located near the nightstand and the window. Right under my feet was an enormous carpet with a large snake in the centre.

"It was so nice when we only had four beds, Daphne. Now with five beds, it feels way too crowded." I heard Pansy speak, but I pretended not to care as I searched for my nightgown in my trunk. Pansy went on to gossip with her friends about how dazzling Malfoy is. I changed into my nightgown, laid on my soft bed, and continued reading my book on flowers.

"Did you hear about that new Weasley? She really thought that she deserved a seat at the Slytherins table. How pathetic. What's her name again? Oh Eloise." Pansy's words caught my attention.

"I don't think she is a Weasley. She mentioned that her surname is Hughes." I intervened.

"No one asked you, Kara." Pansy glared daggers.

A sodding cow. That is what Pansy was, but I still had to figure out how to become her friend. That's what Mother wanted. Speaking of my mother, I missed her dearly. This was the first night I've ever spent away from home. It felt strange. The sound of giggling eventually died out, and I assumed they were asleep. There was complete silence besides the faint sounds of the lake lapping against the window. Falling asleep was hard because Mother's words kept me up. The words I heard before I fainted on the train.

"My lord, she is truly destined for great things."

⋆ ⟡ ꙳ ⭑ ⋆

AFTER HAVING MY BREAKFAST ALONE and getting my timetable from Professor Snape, I left for my first lesson, Divination. Divination is complete rubbish, but Mother insisted that I do it. I thought I'd try my luck and sit with Malfoy and a group of other Slytherins, but Pansy practically chased me like a dog. The only free spot was in the front row, next to Potter. The one person my mother told me to avoid.

The lesson began, and we had to read tea leaves in a cup. Midway through the lesson, the red-haired girl, Eloise Hughes, rushed into the lesson looking all pink and sweaty. Gasping for breath, she stood near the door, oblivious to the fact that the entire class was staring at her.

"It's about time you arrived, Ms. Hughes. Take the seat next to Ms. Kara." Professor Trelwany said to her. I cursed my luck because I didn't want to be seen next to her. The girl was a living embarrassment.

She sat on the cushion next to me and looked into her tea cup, then looked at me in confusion and said, "What are you supposed to be doing?"

I ignored Eloise and carried on with my work, not wanting to give Pansy any more excuse to label me as an outsider. Eloise didn't really seem to mind that I was ignoring her. She just turned to the person behind her for help. Staring into the tea leaves did nothing but bore me. Professor Trelwany was wandering around the class and asking people about their readings, and I already had a good lie to tell her.

She was with Potter and his friends. That Weasley boy was reciting a novel about the tea leaves. Professor Trelwany was finally irritated by the tales told by the Weasley boy and grabbed the cup from him. When the professor glanced into their teacup, her face went pale, and her lips began to quiver.

She turned to Potter and announced to the whole class, "You, my dear, have the grim."

The room went silent.

Eloise then turned to me and asked what the grim was. Couldn't this girl get any signals? I did not want to talk to her.

"Oh, I feel a greater aura than Mr. Potter's grim." The professor said this as she slowly turned to me. "You, my dear, bring me your cup."

I hesitantly handed her the cup, and all my classmates were at the edge of their seats, staring at me. She looked into my cup and somehow got even paler. Her trembling hands dropped the cup, and it shattered into a million pieces. She exclaimed, "You, my dear, have the grim too," as her pupils widened.

The room filled with several whispers before Professor Trelawney continued, "It's so dark. It is all connected."

The woman was spewing rubbish. I didn't care for what my crazy professor had to say. My ears only focused on Pansy, dying in fits of laughter along with the other Slytherins. I was annoyed because all my chances of befriending any one of them vanished. I needed to leave before I exploded in anger. I hastily packed my books and stormed out of the classroom.

How dare she compare me to the enemy, Harry Potter?

Nothing was going as planned. I was an awful daughter. I had one job. Just one, and I couldn't even handle that.