Silent Year

Haha! This chapter's a long one! Wewt!! Okay, so I've questions! Here we go!!

Question #1: Did Karkaroff know Quiari would get in trouble if he sent her to Hogwarts?
Maybe...*shrugs* Who knows how that man's mind works? Of course, the answer is in the chapter below.

Question #2: Why were the white robed figures at Hogwarts and why were they sinking Radu in a box?
Radu is the king's son, 'nough said. Okay, maybe not enough said. Back in chapter seven or so, Quiari says that she and Radu are "different breeds". Which they are, in a sense. Radu is of nobility, Quiari is of common society. (I know, I know; I'm terribly cliche aren't I?) It's a way for the king to get the evidence he needs to punish Quiari severely.

Question #3: Why didn't Radu want Quiari to save him?
Because it was a trap to get Quiari to show her feelings for Radu. (A dirty trick, basically)

Question #4: Wouldn't Radu have died if Quiari hadn't saved him?
Maybe. As Radu's the king's son and the whole thing was a ploy to get Quiari to show her feelings for Radu, I'm thinking that the king would have brought his son up before he died.

Question #5: Did Karkaroff lie when he sent Quiari to deliver the books?
Answered in the chapter below.

Question #6: If Dumbledore tells the white robed guys that he ordered the books, will Quiari get off the hook?
It's not Dumbledore who tells the white robed "baddies"...we'll leave it at that.

Okay! That's all for questions! On to the chapter!! ^_^. Please review and ask the questions!

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Chapter Twelve: Electric Meeting

The spell made contact, flinging Quiari back into the dome, a ripple went out from where she hit, and the ripple spread across the entire dome. Quiari fell onto the ground, hair covering her face, and she lay still for a while before looking up at Radu. Electric sparks instantly appeared around her body and shocked her. She looked away from Radu in her pain and the electricity stopped, still coursing through her veins. “You will know your place, half-breed!” shouted the male voice, and he pointed again, firing another spell at Quiari. The red light hit her hard, but the beam between her and the man stayed connected.

Quiari’s body went rigid and she brought her fist up to her mouth, biting it as the light glowed brighter. Quiari bit harder into her fist, eyes clenched shut. The barrier was suddenly broken by an incredibly powerful spell, and everyone turned to face the cause.

Karkaroff and Dumbledore had combined powers and had broken the barrier.

The man did not let Quiari down, and a fire was set into her flesh. The flames were bright blue and rolled across her flesh, leaving no burns, but causing her more pain than any could have thought possible. Her fist had started bleeding long ago from her teeth, but she merely dug her canines further into her flesh. “She is here on my order!” shouted Karkaroff, and the light around Quiari dropped, dropping Quiari as well. She hit the ice hard, not moving, and steaming slightly. Madame Pomfrey ran over to Quiari, checking her over. “She’s not breathing!” Madame Pomfrey touched the pebbled skin but recoiled as flames shot out of Quiari’s skin.

Quiari drifted in her mind. She drifted on a cloud of black smoke, rushing through space and time. There was no stopping, not for anything. Not for the love that plagued her heart, not for her body to regain its natural shape, not for the pain that coursed through her veins. There were voices around her, but they didn’t matter. Here she was safe…in this blissful void. But it could not last. The voices were louder, thrusting her away from her bliss, and back to her reality. Her eyes opened, and she took in a shuddering breath. “I ordered her to deliver these books to Dumbledore! I even asked your lord king!” Karkaroff…he was…defending her? But why would he?

“She’s alive…” Madame Pomfrey breathed the two words out. Quiari’s fins melted away, and her skin became tanned and smooth again. Her glasses appeared on her face, and her hair hid her naked body from the students. When loose, her hair was to her mid thighs, but she drew it up slightly in her braid. Now it was free from its bonds. The little dragon knew to lay still, shielded from eyes by Quiari’s dress, which it had dragged up onto shore. Quiari raised herself shakily from the ground slightly, much to Madame Pomfrey’s dismay, and she reached for the dress, still shaking.

The dress and dragon snapped to her hand and she slid the dress on, pulling her hair out of the collar while the dragon resumed its place. Her hair held loose waves in it, and she braided her hair quickly over her shoulder, tying it with a black ribbon she pulled from the air. She was still so shaky, and she clambered to stand on her legs. Her legs had trouble supporting her, and she had to keep one hand on the ground most of the way up. She clutched her side, nearly tipping over again, but she kept standing, and she took a step forward. Her eyes were to the ground, and she was shaky on her feet, her hand was still bleeding from where she had bitten it. She stopped once on the way to the box, doubled over with her teeth clenched, but she kept moving forward. She walked through the white cloaks quietly, going to the box, and she reached it and put her hand against the glass.

She didn’t look up, but she didn’t look down either. Her eyes were between focused and distant, as if she were just waking up from a long sleep. “Quiari…” Radu’s gag was gone, and he was free. The chains had melted away, they had been an illusion. He put his hand to the glass where Quiari’s was. She still didn’t look at him. “Quiari I’m so sorry.” He said softly, and Quiari raised her eyes. Her body went tense instantly as the electricity surrounded her, and her fingers clenched on the glass. But she did not look down. A small smile graced her lips before she tore her eyes away from him. She turned away, letting her hand drift off of the glass, and she turned her back to him. She straightened, looking up and opening her eyes, and she fixed her glasses. The white cloaked figures in their masks just looked at her. At the blank look her face held. She turned back to face the glass and punched, shattering it into oblivion. She didn’t look at Radu, but held her hand out to him. He took it and they were both surrounded by electricity. Radu screamed, but didn’t let go. He instead moved forward, gritting his teeth and holding Quiari tightly to him.

She put her hands on his chest and closed her eyes, lifting her head and nuzzling his cheek with her own before drawing away. She faced the white cloaks, Radu sinking to his knees, and she walked forward through the white cloaks. She turned and bowed to them before walking through the sea of students and up to Karkaroff. She stood beside him, shaking on her legs, and the white cloaks disappeared without another word. “Quiari…” Radu looked at her. She shot him an “I’m sorry” look, and smiled gently before looking away. He faded as well and Quiari grabbed her side and fell to the ice at long last. She had fainted.

The morning three days later was cold and grey, and snow swirled around outside. The lake had already frozen over again. Quiari lay in the Hospital Wing; she’d been sleeping for so long. It was like she was in a coma. The little dragon stayed curled up under the blanket next to Quiari, who didn’t stir once. Madame Pomfrey had a hard time keeping students out. She’d fought tooth and nail so that Quiari would stay at Hogwarts. It was clear Quiari was in no condition to be moved. Not even to apparate, which was impossible on Hogwarts grounds. So there Quiari stayed, drifting on her own cloud, not moving even to roll over. On the fourth day Quiari’s eyes fluttered open.

“Little one…” she whispered, and the dragon yawned and then nuzzled her side. Quiari sat up, wincing and bringing her hand up to her stomach. Madame Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen. Strange, usually the curtains around her bed were drawn. She pulled the covers back and stepped onto the cold stone floor. She slipped out of the hospital gown and into the dress, walking quietly to the door with the dragon flying and crawling up into her cleavage. She wobbled over to the door, making no sound, and she opened the door. No one was there. She bit her lower lip and stepped out into the hallway cautiously. The students were down below, huddling around large closed doors. From behind these doors came the sounds of destruction. There were a few Durmstrang teachers trying to keep order, and two familiar faces.

“Quiari my dear!” Erique’s voice broke the silence of the entrance hall, and all eyes turned to face Quiari. She shrank back against the wall, but Erique pushed through all the students to greet her at the bottom of the stairwell. Her hair was again in a braid; her glasses perched on her nose. Erique smiled widely and held out a hand to her. She put her hand gently into his and he helped her down the last few stairs. She slid her hand out of his and walked forward. The Potions master stepped in her way, and she bowed instantly. He pulled out a rolled up bit of parchment and held it out to her. “I expect these books by the third day of next week.” His voice was icy, but Quiari still looked up and took the parchment from him.

He swept away to be replaced by the Gym instructor. “You’re alive, lass!” he exclaimed, grabbing her in a tight embrace, and he put her down, she clutched her ribs and smiled slightly. “They’re having a dispute in there, if you’re wondering. Some beast or other crawled in and well…” Said the instructor, shrugging, and Quiari peered past the instructor towards the doors. “But come, there’re people I want you to meet!” and with that, the instructor dragged Quiari through the crowd of students, right over to Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. “Guess who this is? None other than Harry Potter!” the instructor said proudly, and Quiari looked confused for a moment before bowing. “Come on, lass, you can’t tell me you haven’t heard of Harry Potter! The Boy Who Lived?” Harry’s eyes darkened and a light blush tinged his cheeks. He flattened his bangs nervously. “This lad survived an attack from You Know Who!” the instructor wouldn’t shut up. “Would you shut up?” the Transfiguration teacher stood with his mouth in a tight line. “She just wakes up and you scare her half to death! Worst teacher ever!”

Quiari bit her lower lip to stop her smile, but the corners of her mouth tipped up slightly. She looked down to hide it.

“We’re supposed to be setting an example for the kids and here you go messing it up!” the Transfiguration teacher dragged the Gym instructor away, lecturing him, and Quiari looked up before shifting nervously from side to side. “So, uh…” Ron was flailing for words. Hermione rolled her eyes and extended her hand. “All that aside, I’m Hermione Granger.” She said, and Quiari delicately reached her hand out and shook Hermione’s hand. “This is Ron Weasley and you already met Harry.” Said Hermione and Quiari smiled softly and then bowed. She lifted her hand and blew on her fingertip. A bit of ice came to her hand and then she drew a square with her finger. The ice lingered in the air and she wrote her name quietly within the square. “It’s nice to meet you Quiari.” Said Hermione, and she scratched out her name, it disappeared. She bowed and then the dragon sneezed, sending a bunch of ice into the square.

“Where’d you get her?” asked Hermione, the dragon poking her head out of Quiari’s dress. Quiari smiled softly before lifting her hand and writing. “You made her? Wow, that would have taken some strong magic!” exclaimed Hermione and Quiari blushed and looked down. A large crash sounded against the doors, and Quiari turned worried eyes towards the closed doors. “We don’t know what’s going on. But from rumor there’s a beast in there that’s from the Forbidden Forest. Dumbledore’s in there with the other teachers, trying to bring it under control.” The doors burst open then, the Hogwarts teachers and Dumbledore scrambling out before slamming the doors. “Everyone please go back to your common rooms in an orderly fashion.” Dumbledore’s voice was loud, and it appeared he had been hurt. The Prefects instantly went into action but Quiari just bit her lip and walked briskly to the doors of the great hall. She threw them open, ripping them off their hinges, and she stepped without hesitation into the room. A blue barrier covered the door so that no one could get in, and nothing could get out.

Everyone froze; no one had seen Quiari so angry. She moved quickly, the black beast growled and lunged at her; she dodged and swept around, holding up her hand. The beast froze, staring at Quiari’s hand, and she stared down her arm with her eyes ablaze. She moved her hand and the beast followed it. It was a wolf, a large wolf, but there were elements of a bear mixed within, and a scorpion tail. The beast’s yellow eyes glared at Quiari’s hand, but she didn’t waver. She kept her eyes locked with the beasts’. The beast lunged forward at her hand, but she swept to the side and her fingers clenched into claw like structures. The beast grabbed its head and let off a loud roar, falling to the floor and scratching the stone with its claws while twisting in agony. The Great Hall was entirely destroyed, the tables were flipped and smashed, and the benches were just splinters. The beast whined and whimpered until Quiari let her fingers relax. The beast clawed at the stone a few seconds more and then climbed shakily to its feet. Quiari took a few steps back, and the beast followed her outstretched hand.

A few moments later and Quiari stepped out of the Great hall, one hand underneath the beast’s chin and the other at her side. “Quiari…” started Dumbledore, but she just walked through the rows of students. The beast followed her obediently, and she opened the door to the snow. She stepped onto it with the beast in tow, and she swung up onto its back, the beast roared and then charged away from Hogwarts and into the forest.


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Thanks for the reviews and questions! You guys rock! ~Nezumi-kun~