The Secret Stars (Heidi)

[david]

What a boring day. Brennan kicked absently at the stone floor of the hallways, a letter from his grandmother tucked under one arm. School was more tedious than ever, what with all of the homework and rules. He still couldn't get used to the fact that there was a curfew, or that he wasn't allowed in the forest. Dad always used to say that kids should go to bed whenever they felt like it. It wouldn't do any good to have a kid lay in bed for hours doing nothing just because bedtime had come. Just think of all that wasted energy! But, Dad was dead, and Brennan was stuck at Hogwarts, where curfew seemed to come earlier with each passing night.

He had tried to explain Dad's theories on raising children to Grandma, but she would have none of it. Instead, she made him take lessons on protocol every day, after spending hours force-feeding him several generations of family history, along with her own ideas on wizard geneaology. Needless to say, Brennan gave up on trying to change the way things were with the Backers and began to anticipate his arrival at Hogwarts. That, he found out shortly, proved to be a big mistake. While the school could be fun, and had proved to be a haven for some, he could find no happiness there. Freedom was the only thing Brennan longed for. Unfortunately, freedom had no place in Slytherin house.

Slytherin was by far the most difficult house to be in, he decided. Along with the general school rules that everyone had to follow, Slytherin also had its own set of private rules and guidelines that each and every member of the house had to follow. Everyone was a pureblood, which was something he dreaded having to face. It had been bad enough with Grandma and Grandpa, and they were only two people. Everyone in his house was so stiff, so uptight. They all followed protocol, dressed richly, insulted one another, and cursed the school's muggle-born population.

It was the prejudice against muggles and muggle-borns that Brennan found the most difficult to deal with. He had been raised, for the most part, as a muggle, despite his twenty-two generations of pure wizarding blood. Mum always used to go on about treating everyone as an equal and never being biased because of something as petty blood-purity or social standing. "God created every person on this Earth to be the same, whether they can do magic or not. Just look at all the nice muggles we know here. Sooner or later, every "pure" wizarding line will have to cross over with a muggle. We'll die out if we don't, so you remember that. You will never be any greater or less than anyone else because you have purer blood or more money. The only things that will ever define you as a person will be your actions. They are the only things that will ever matter. You remember that, Brennan. Remember that for me."

And he had remembered it. He replayed those words in his mind every night--as he lay in bed, unable to sleep, as he watched the others in the common room, listening to their conversations and their insults. He considered himself a greater person than everyone else in Slytherin because he had that knowledge. He was not blinded by blood purity or money. Maybe he wasn't perfect, but who was? Brennan's problems were in controlling himself. He couldn't help but yell out an answer in class if he knew it, and he had no patience for schoolwork. When he saw something that looked interesting, he ran for it. If he saw a high place, he wanted to jump from it, just to see if he could make it. He liked the rush he got from breaking the rules, from jumping.

Brennan glanced around the crowded corridor and broke into a run. Ignoring the shouts of protest from the other studentsm he charged down the hall, banging his way up the stairs and straight into a portrait. The occupants of the painting--a pair of young lovers--yelled obscenities as he bounced back and took off in the opposite direction, brown hair slightly tousled and robes out of place.

[slythie]

That day wasn’t so great for Heidi. The aftermath of her long, terrible cold had left her in a stale mood. Well, in truth she wasn’t in such a stale mood anymore- but she recently had been and most of her friends had stayed away. All she really wanted now was to laugh, or at least smile with real happiness, not from someone tripping over their own clumsy feet. Heidi didn’t think even that was funny- sure, it amused her especially if the falling victim was a Hufflepuff, but she knew it wasn’t really amusement or happiness that she smiled or laughed for. She thought back to when she first arrived at Hogwarts, not so long ago really. She had gotten on with everyone then, had laughed along with those who were now Hufflepuffs or Gryffindors, had discussed learnt knowledge with those clever Ravenclaws. Back then, in that short space of time at the sorting, Heidi was happier than she had been in those weeks and months that followed. Now she would never laugh or joke with those people she had done so with, would never chat about the latest charms lesson with the blue-clad students. Heidi scowled at the portraits which raised brows at her along the way, wondering curiously why they looked so disapproving. What had she done wrong? She wasn’t sure but in her sulking mood expected it was because they knew she regretted being one of those honoured Slytherins who cared only about bloodlines and harm. She wasn’t one of those, of course, though did care a considerable amount about the subjects. Heidi knew her mother was and is still one of the honourable Slytherins who hadn’t ever disrespected their house or family. Heidi scowled again. Why couldn’t she, for once, chat like she did at the Sorting with another house member? A small smile lit her rosy face as she came to a short conclusion. She was talk with a Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, or a Ravenclaw. Why not? It seemed so simple.

So Heidi walked along the corridors a little happier, searching for company. She saw many Gryffindors and the others, but most were in there third or fourth years by the looks of it. For her first try, Heidi wanted someone in her own year. She looked around her and noticed the corridor was quite empty. Only the portraits on the walls were watching her and Heidi smiled contentedly at Sir Gregorick and looked a little disgruntled as he gave her a worried glance. She wondered simply why, and then traced her mind back to the conversation the two had once had. Look there, a jolly young student in but the first year! Go away you annoying watercolour!
Heidi winced as she remembered the extremely short conversation. Her insult had been mediocre. That was the first thought that struck Heidi, and her eyes went wide as she noticed it. Why wasn’t her first thought, ‘I should have been nicer?’ she scowled for the third time, sulky once again. Will I ever change?

As if expecting an answer, Heidi spoke the words out loud. Sir Gregorick looked positively scared and shot out of his painting to avoid the apparently delusional First year. Heidi sighed softly and wandered over to the painting he had abandoned. It was a nice one, made with watercolours. Mostly dark colours- deep reds and cream colours. Only three things were in the picture- a dark, blood-red chair with a mahogany end table beside it. On the floor lay a cream, gold and red carpet. The three objects seemed to fold into the black background and with a curious gaze Heidi stared deep into the picture. “Oh!” She yelped loudly, as the picture had just turned into an oddly shaped mirror. She checked her appearance with a glance. Heidi had never been too vain- she cared how she looked and wasn’t bad-looking, but couldn’t spend ages preparing for a party. She had yelped because, staring back at her was a girl she didn’t recognise. The reflection was an uncertain girl, who looked positively irresolute. The dark green emerald eyes which had once been full of life and colour were now cold and bland. Heidi’s brazen red hair was pulled back into a far, high ponytail and even before Heidi’s eyes it seemed to turn grey and shrivel. She shook her head hard, looking away. Of course her hair couldn’t do that- she was foolish. She glanced from the corner of her eye curiously at the mirror, smiling to see it was the original picture of the simple room.

Heidi was just about to turn away and walk down the corridor, when a figure ran out before her in a blur. Heidi was still a little shocked from the image she had seen of herself and struck out blindly in front of her, and her hands found material and skin straight away. Heidi’s long, black jacket which cuddled her slim figure ripped slightly at the sleeve as it caught on the figure she had struck. She stared, now with her hands closer to her body, at the ripped top. She absent-mindedly pulled out her wand, muttered ‘reparo’ under her breath and the top fixed quickly. Heidi glanced up, slightly red, to see who the running stranger was.

[david]

Brennan tumbled forward, coughing and rubbing his head as he popped back up. He looked down to see what he had run into, surprised to see that it was a girl--a Slytherin girl by the looks of it, and, what was more, a first year. Not having had very good encounters with his housemates of late, he was a bit apprehensive about what this one would do. Slytherins could be pure hell to deal with when they were angry. He held out his hand to the girl to help her up, staring absently at the portrait she'd been observing before thir run-in. It was a watercolor, but there was no one in it. He guessed the occupant had run not long before. Maybe it was a friend of the two lovers. That would make sense. News traveled fast among the paintings in Hogwarts. The lovers might have warned all of the paintings on the second floor that a wild Slytherin was wreaking havoc through the corridors, and they had better watch out. Just the thought of it made him smile.

"Are you okay?" He asked, shaking his head a little to make his hair lie flat. Brennan's hair was always messy. He couldn't help it. It was impossible for one to stay neat when there was so much stuff to do. He had no time to comb his hair. There was always another balcony to jump from, or a broomstick to steal. Everywhere he looked was a new form of entertainment waiting to be tried out. How could he possibly worry about appearances with all of that? "Didn't see you standing there. Everything was moving so slowly, I thought I might make it go a little faster, you know. Sorry about your jacket." He held up his own ripped sleeve for her to see, raising his eyebrows. "Guess I've torn my clothes, too." Oh well. Grandma would be angry if he told her. She just didnt understand things. She never would. Brennan had learned by now to simply take things slowly with her. She obviously didn't know very much about raising children yet, so he would have to explain things carefully. One thing she had yet to learn was that kids made messes and ruined stuff, including clothes and family heirlooms. She really had trouble grasping that concept, so he didn't tell her when things broke anymore. It was easier for both of them that way.

[slythie]

Heidi looked the boy over, curiously. His hair was messy and brown, and he was quite pale and thin for a boy. Heidi remembered her mini-vow and smiled a little at him, before glancing down at his wrist. She pointed her wand at the ripped sleeve and whispered the words she had said just a few seconds ago. As if to explain, she spoke. She did so quietly and first checked around her for any intruders. Apart from a snoring, old man in a dull painting labelled ‘Cologness Grackeny’, the long corridor was deserted. Heidi leant a little nearer the unknown boy as she spoke softly.
“It’s fine, I’m fine, thanks. You a Slytherin too? Me too, I think.” She smiled uncertainly, confused about what she was saying. “Heidi Boswell, nice to meet him-you. I know the spell- know all those ones which can help small dangers which could annoy my mother a little. Ever since I got to Hogwarts I’ve been practising the harmless ones from this book I found.” Heidi thought about what she had said and wondered why she had said it. It was true- lately she had begun to be a little rebellious against her mother, doing things she knew the secretive woman would hate. She supposed vowing to make friends with someone not from her house was a minor point of that, as in her mother’s books would be one big no-no. Being rebellious, if just a little bit, made Heidi smile. She had always been kept as if in a cage, not allowed to do things beyond her mother’s will. The cage she had just almost opened was beginning to break and Heidi noticed something in the newcomer’s eyes which looked one-hundred-percent for rebellion.

Heidi frowned inquisitively as Sir Gregorick reappeared in his dark painting, glowering down at Heidi. He opened his mouth and Heidi knew somehow that she or the boy would get a telling-off. Before Sir Gregorick could make a noise, Heidi tugged the boy around the corridor. As she did so she caught sight of an annoyed looking couple, one young, blonde female with extremely pale skin, and another dark man who seemed a fair bit older than his lover. They began shouting at the two Slytherins as they disappeared, and Heidi sighed in relief as the sounds were silenced by the closing of a door.
Heidi had now pulled the boy into an empty classroom and smiled at him, hoping he wouldn’t mind the sudden tugging-into-a-room she had just done. She looked at him yet again with a questioning frown, and spoke in an equally questioning voice. “So why do you have this urge to speed things up around here? I suppose the place is a little repetitive if that’s what you mean…and the limits first-years are given are far to strict. Is that why?” She asked him.