Choices

A/N: Chapter Two, revised, but not really.




Chapter Two: What the Cat Dragged In

Hermione and Elkara sat nervously, waiting on McGonagall to say what she had to say. Hermione was nervous because she had no idea what was coming; Elkara, because she did. The dark-haired girl fidgeted, her hair falling over her face.

"Miss Granger, have you ever heard the legend of the Shadow Phoenix?" McGonagall asked, finally breaking the silence.

"I have. The Shadow Phoenix was sent to Earth ten thousand years to help with a war in Greece, the name of which escapes me. Anyway, she was supposed have been the deciding factor in the war. Her shape shifting and psychic abilities made her an extremely valuable asset. Whichever side she chose was sure to win. The night before the final battle, she was kidnapped and murdered. Legend says that she will only return to Earth when she is truly needed. But what has that got to do with...?" Hermione trailed off as realization hit her in the face. "Elkara."

The dark-haired girl nodded and said, “Yes, Hermione, me. You're the brightest witch of this age; I'm surprised you didn't figure it out the moment you laid eyes on me. Come on, the pitch black hair, the violet eyes."

Hermione stared at the other girl, shocked that she hadn't realized it sooner. It made sense, though. The war against Voldemort was building to a head, and the Light was getting badly beaten. Soon, Harry and Voldemort would meet and the Final Battle would begin.

Hermione was snapped out of her thoughts when her Head of House cleared her throat and said, “Yes, well, the reason that Elkara was brought here was to keep her well out of reach of the Dark. We need you to make sure that happens. As such, she will have a room in the Heads' dormitory and the two of you will have identical class schedules. Now, I think the two of you should get to your dormitory and get a good night's sleep."

Hermione and Elkara nodded and left the office, each lost in her own thoughts. They walked in silence until they reached the portrait covering the entrance to the Heads' rooms.

"I was thinking, “Hermione began. "Why was I chosen to be your protector? I mean, you're a Shadow Phoenix. You should be able to protect yourself."

Elkara looked at Hermione, slightly shocked. Did the girl really think she had the means to protect herself? She explained as well as she could, “When I was born, the MediWitch that delivered me recognized me as being a magical 'creature'. She cursed me so that in my human form I am weak, unable to physically defend myself. I can defend myself magically, or I can try to talk my way out of it. If someone were to physically attack me, I'd be lost. The plan was to get you to agree to be my protector, and thus would make Harry, Ron and Ginny become my protectors as well. Now don't go looking all indignant, like you're being used. Well, you are being used, but so am I. I was brought here to ensure that Harry won the fight against this Voldemort character. I'm here to make sure that the Golden Trio and Ginny Weasley survive the Final Battle. I have no choice in this. You, at least, have a choice. You could have said no, but you didn't."

Hermione was stunned; one of the most powerful beings to ever exist was being forced to help a boy she didn't know win a fight she probably didn't care about. She decided that she would do everything in her power to make sure that Elkara was kept safe and as happy as possible. She figured the best way to do this would be to set her up with someone. (A/N: We all know it's going to be Ginny! :D)

Without warning, the portrait swung open and Draco Malfoy stuck his head out. He said, “Are you to going to come in, or would rather spend the night in the hall?"

Shocked that the ferret actually had a sense of humor, the brunette climbed through the portrait hole closely followed by Elkara.

"Who's she?" Draco asked once they were all in the common room.

The girls exchanged glances, cursing themselves for not having come up with a good story about Elkara's sudden appearance at Hogwart's. Hermione was the first speak, “She’s an exchange student-"

"From the States,"Elkara interjected, not wanting the blond boy to know her true origin.

Draco shrugged and said, “Fine, don't tell me the truth. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, ladies."

Hermione had had enough shocking, stunning, and surprising moments for one day. She went to her room, flopped on the bed, and promptly fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Is Draco a nice guy now, or his being civil because he has to be? I haven't quite figured that one out yet. Review and let me know what you think.