Strange Ways (Harry Potter fanfiction)

Chapter 2

We didn't notice when the sorting ended, we were too immersed into our conversation. Cormac apparently came from a long line of pure bloods but since they associated with muggles, families like the Malfoy and the Black didn't have a good relationship with the McLaggen, he had a younger brother, who was a half-blood since his father married to a muggle woman after he and his wife divorced. Logan was a muggle-born and it took me all my willpower not to scowl, it's not that I had something against muggleborns but all my life I have been taught that they are lower than us pure-bloods. I couldn't keep thinking like that, not that I was 100% in agreement with that statement, but when you grow up hearing it 24/7, it begins to stick in your brain. Katie was a half-blood and she had an older sister that had graduated Hogwarts the year prior. With some trouble and laughs, I explained my friends that I was pure-blood too. I explained to them that I lived with my aunt and her family, I didn't explain why, though. It was nearly the end of the feast when Professor McGonagall approached us.

"Hello, children. Congratulations for making it into Gryffindor" she said to all four of us and then turned to look at me, she bent down and talked to my ear, "I want you to stay behind, Mikaela, I need to talk to you" she told me and I nodded at her, having a slight suspicion about what she wanted to talk about.

"What did she want, Mika?" Logan asked me and I shrugged, telling them it's not a big deal.

"Guys, I think we should make some signs to when Mika talks about one of us, as if it were our names but with signing" Katie said excitedly, "of course, if it's okay with you, Mika" she said and I nodded, once I understood what she meant.

It was perfect, really, a way to talk about people with only us knowing who we were talking about, and of course, it would be an easier way of me referring to them without trying and failing to write their names in flat surfaces.

"Okay, how about we let Mika decide which sign best describes us?" Cormac suggested and they nodded.

I thought about it for a second. I looked at Katie and pointed at her, they all looked at me to see which sign I would do: I ran my hand through my hair, with a sweet smile. I decided that it was the best sign to describe her because she was pretty sweet, that's why I used the sweet smile, and I ran my hand through my hair because she had long straight hair and she had done that at least four times during dinner. Then I looked at Logan, it was easy: I pointed at my right eye with a serious face, the eye, well, it was kind of obvious, he had charming blue eyes, and the serious face was because he was the most serious from the four of us. It was more difficult with Cormac, I didn't know how to describe him. Then an idea popped to my mind, since he was the fastest to be put in Gryffindor, he must have the heart of a lion, so what I did was clench my right fist and put it above my heart and hit lightly two times.

"I like it" Cormac said and I smiled at him, glad he liked it. I looked at the others, they nodded and smiled at me.

Finally, the feast was over, the prefects called us to go and follow them, but I remembered what McGonagall told me. I tapped Katie's shoulder and she looked at me, I pointed at McGonagall and then pointed at the ground, telling her I had to stay.

"Hey, my sister told me that McGonagall could turn into a cat, maybe we can make a sign for her too" Katie told me and I nodded, she put her hands above her hear, simulating they were pointy cat ears. I chuckled slightly, silently and nodded.

I stayed back sitting in the Gryffindor table, waiting the Great Hall to empty. After about ten minutes, the only ones left were three redheads, two of them looked as if they were in front of a mirror. The other one was much older, bulkier and was covered in so many freckles he seemed tan.

"Fred, George, you may go to your common room. Charlie, if you would, you too Mikaela" McGonagall told them, making Charlie and I follow her.

Charlie was the oldest redhead, the other two were Fred and George.

McGonagall guided us out of the Great Hall through a side door next to the Professors' table. We followed her until we met a classroom door. We entered and then entered another room, which actually seemed like an office. Perhaps it was McGonagall's office, that's the only explanation on why we were here.

"Whatever it was, I swear I didn't do it" the boy, Charlie said quickly as soon as we were in the office. I chuckled silently.

"I know it was you who put a Flobberworm in Mr. Filch's office, but we will talk about it later" McGonagall told him from above her spectacles. I smiled and looked at him, who was red in embarrassment that he had been caught, "now, this is Mikaela, Mikaela, this is Charlie."

I shook Charlie's hand with my lips pursed into a thin line, but still smiling. He looked at me quizzicality. I couldn't blame him, I would too if out of the blue I was acquainted with a girl six years younger than myself.

"Charlie will help you this year in whatever you need, Mikaela. If you have any trouble, you either tell me or him, understood?" McGonagall said and I nodded, "I will give you this special quill -so you can communicate easily- this quill writes in the paper of this diary-" she said, giving me a diary with a red leather cover, "they have magical properties. Think about anything you want to say, give it a try"

I furrowed my brows but still did what she asked me.

Why didn't you say my last name?

The words that formed in my mind were immediately written in the diary by the quill without me touching it.

"Well, I thought that I would leave it up to you if you want people to know who your parents are" she explained and I nodded.

"Why can't you talk?" Charlie blurted out. I sighed. The quill started to write as soon as my thoughts began to form.

It happened when I had just turned three. But I remember it as if it was yesterday. My parents- they had done a terrible thing and aurors were searching for them. Of course, I didn't know at the time. I only knew we were home, having breakfast with my uncle and a friend of my parents, they were laughing about something -I didn't know what they were laughing about until I was eight- I was eating eggs and bacon, I remember it. I don't eat them since that day. Suddenly, people entered our house, destroying everything. Fear flashed through my mum's eyes for a split of second, and she looked at me. Then anger ignited her face, ready to kill, if needed. Those aurors shot spell after spell, not caring who or what they shot. My mum took a knife from the kitchen counter and threw it at one of them who had just shot a spell at my dad. The auror deflected the knife with a spell, it was directed right at me. My uncle tried to get me out of the way -he saved my life- the knife got my throat, it cut my vocal chords, but it didn't kill me. Everything stopped with a scream, it was not until years later that I recognised the scream as my mum's. The aurors took my parents, my uncle, and that friend, they left me there. I woke up in St. Mungo's, weeks later. My aunt took me in, she did everything she could so I could talk again. The healers say that physically, I'm fully capable of speaking, mentally, however... not so much.

Charlie read the story as it was writing itself. McGonagall didn't read much, just the beginning, her face gave away that she already knew what happened. Charlie seemed shocked and disgusted at the same time. Professor McGonagall looked sad, heartbroken and angry.

"Who- who are your parents?" Charlie stuttered. I choked a sob.

Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange