Three o'clock

The clock tower bell rang. One, two, three. I was sat in my dormitory, flicking through my Ancient Runes book thoughtfully, considering my OWLs and subconsciously worrying about my sister. I stared out of the window, watching the bright sun shine through it. I never really concentrated during my free periods; instead, I just watched the world go by. I sat like this for a short while, not realising that the clouds were moving past my window or that time was simply ticking by.

“Catherine?” I heard a voice call from the door, “Are you decent?”

“Yeah...” I mumbled, clearly, but quietly. The door creaked open, leaving a mousy-haired girl in its path. She smiled at me, and let herself in, falling into a sitting position on the end of her bed.

“Why aren’t you downstairs, in the common room?” Hallie asked, as she tucked some of her books down the side of her bed. I saw the title, ‘Muggle Studies for Advanced Classes’. I always knew that Hallie had a thing for Muggle Studies, and that she very much enjoyed learning about their different world, she was a pure blood, after all. I was also, in fact, these days; most of the students in Hogwarts were pure bloods, after the filtering assembly with the Death Eaters. I was worried for Hallie. She had to study Muggle Studies with our Head of House, Professor Sprout, because the current, ‘trained’ Professor in the subject was a Death Eater who hated Muggles and taught the topic in quite a different way. Because she was learning in private, Hallie had to keep her books well hidden, in case she was caught learning the ‘illegal’ version of her favourite subject.

“I don’t really know. I’ve been too busy thinking.” I replied in a slurred, memory-induced tone, like I wasn’t really listening.

“You always are these days.” Hallie giggled. She looked at the clock tower out of the high windows, before she stuck on a panicked face and grabbed her bag from the floor. “I have to go, Defence Against the Dark Arts.” She rushed, grabbing a couple of books and her wand from her duvet, smiling at me.

“The Dark Arts, you mean.” I laughed, snapping back to attention as soon as she mentioned the subject. Half an hour had left me, and I realised that I had the subject also, and I grabbed my belongings, swinging my bag over my shoulder, neatening my crumpled robes and adjusting my tie. Hallie and I shared some jokes about the Professor of the subject we were going to next, but knew that we would get into deep trouble if we continued, so shut up. Although we were both smiling, I had a horrible, deep gut feeling about the next lesson.

 

I made my way into the classroom, already feeling the glares and whispers from other people, but mainly one group of girls, all clustered at the back, in one corner. They laughed when I tripped, but I carried on, and feeling the blush creeping up my neck, I shook my hair over my cheeks to hide it. I sat at my desk, frowning, and took out my books, thumping them on the desk. I leant over my table, waiting for the redness in my cheeks to leave.

“Oi! Green!” I heard a boy yell from the back. I didn’t turn around, he might have been trying to get the attention of my sister, who was giggling at the back of the room, pointing at me and gossiping about who was going with who to the Ball that was coming up, to celebrate Hogwarts 700^th year of existence. I slumped in my chair, and pulled a book out of my bag. It was then when I felt a soft paper ball being lobbed at the back of my head. I tugged it out of my messy hair and turned back to my desk, only to see that the paper had text on it. I pulled it open, curious.

 

Catherine. Wanna go to the ball with me?

Dennis.

 

I glared at the paper for a minute before it registered in my mind that someone was actually trying to talk to me through this. I read it again, thinking hard. Was this some sort of joke? I felt the blush coming back, my cheeks flushing a dark crimson as I scrunched the paper back up. I looked up from my desk to see Dennis Creevey sat on the desk in front of me, smiling. My eyes widened as he did so, and my heart began to flutter. I grimaced, trying to get the feeling to go away.
“So, Green?” He winked at me, his uncut, shaggy hair covering his eyes slightly. I nodded gently, not realising that I was, before turning away from him, flipping through my book. I heard a cheer from the back of the room as Dennis walked away, the boys congratulating him. I once again considered whether the whole thing was a practical joke, but shook the feeling off. All I could sense right now was a pair of eyes glaring at me, burning into the back of my head. I was guessing who it was, and knew I would be right. Alice Green, my sister, would probably be frowning and whispering quickly to her posse of girls surrounding her, trying to think of some way to embarrass me. She would be making up some sob story, but I was the only one who knew the real truth. Alice Green was in love with Dennis Creevey, and I was in the way.

 

Minutes passed. I still felt that glare on my blonde locks, and I was attempting to ignore it. The office door flew open, and numerous students screamed, as they were cursed. I frowned harder, I knew that the professor did it every lesson; any student not in their seat would have the cruciatus curse set on them straight away. I saw Hallie in the corner, nearly at her chair, doubled over in pain. I saw a small tear slide down her porcelain skin, and gulped. I also noticed that Alice was making her way to her seat calmly, with no pain induced force. I knew that all of the Death Eater professors loved my sister, but they could show it in a different way. It was probably due to her emerald green tie and snake-emblazoned robe that she was so well admired, along with her popularity and magnetism for it. I sat with my head down, unwilling to draw any form of attention to myself.

“Today...” I heard the male voice echo around the high-ceilinged classroom. “We will be learning about the Imperius curse, and its effects on the human mind.” He yelled. I heard the scratch of chalk on a blackboard, after a swishing sound, which was obviously the man’s wand. I glanced at the board, which showed the word ‘Imperio’. I gulped again, frozen in my seat. I saw that most other pupils were also rigid with fear, and felt slightly reassured. At least I wasn’t the only one.

“Miss.Green!” I heard Amycus Carrow screech. I still sat, hoping he was talking to my sister. When I heard the loud laughing from the other side of the room, I realised that he was talking to me. “For God’s sake, girl. Imperio!” He yelled. I stood up, my table falling forwards and crashing onto the hard, stone floor. My books, which were all on the desk, had been sent skidding across the room. My eyes, wide, like deer’s in headlights, glanced around. I wanted to do something but I had no control over anything. Inside, I felt a burning in my veins, as Carrow’s wand controlled my every movement. He marched me to the front of the classroom, where he made me stand, back straight, completely still. I heard his footsteps as he walked up behind me. My heartbeat quickened, but from fear this time. I tried not to breathe, scared of making noise. Professor Carrow used his wand to pull my hair from my face, pushing it behind my ear, before he whispered. “Very good, Green, very good.” He made a sudden movement and flicked his wand smartly, nearly smacking me in the face with it as he did, brushing it slightly, and leaving it with a burned pain. I crumpled to the floor, shaking, and slowly let the tears fall. I knew it was coming, and when it did, I wasn’t surprised. Carrow continued down the steps, and with me in the way, kicked me with his dark boots, pushing me down them and left me on the cold, hard stones. I crawled back to my desk, not hearing what he was saying about how useful the curse was, or my sister’s jeers, and dragged my bag into my arms, collecting up my books and readjusting the table, before sitting back in my chair as if nothing had happened. Then I realised someone else was being used as an ‘example’, Dennis, and saw my sister’s face scowl at me, and then at the Professor, who let him go almost immediately when he saw her expression. He stared into Alice’s deep green eyes for a minute, before speaking softly, a scary, rarely-seen smile crossing his face.

“Class dismissed.”

Reviews

[The XYZ Writer]

Oh wow. Thats all I can say. That was amazing. A different perspective in the Harry Potter world is very enlightening. It's almost perfect. Just give a bit more description of the character's surroundings. Oh and pleaaase write the next chapter soon.