"You can't just stand there all night." Selene looked up to see her mother standing a few feet away, her purple dress hanging perfectly on her body.
Selene nodded to the two glasses full of golden liquid her mother held in her pale hands. "Are any of those for me?"
Her mom nodded slightly and handed it to her before taking a sip of her own. "You were supposed to have fun tonight. You have hardly left your room all summer, and you look gorgeous tonight. That dress looks amazing on you."
Selene looked down at the dress. It was gorgeous. The dress her mom bought for her to wear to the ministry balls was always there, and this one was no exception. It was a perfect shade of lilac.
Her mom was right, though. She had hardly left her room for a week, laying in bed and reading or watching TV on the one her mom had bought at a thrift shop and reading. For the first summer in Selene's memory, she had decided not to go to New York to spend the break with her father. She hadn't hung out with her friends all summer, either. She didn't even tell them that she was still in England, worried that they would want to hang out a lot when all she wanted was to be alone.
"You have been acting different this summer, Selene," her mom said, a crease appearing between her dark brows.
"I'm fine," Selene said, her smile feeling uncomfortable, tight, and out of place on her face.
Her mother opened her mouth to say something when she was interrupted, "Amber, I don't think you have introduced me to your daughter; for as long as she has been coming to these, I am surprised we have not met."
The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, stood in front of them. His bowler hat, which he usually wore, was discarded for the evening, leaving his balding head on view for everyone. He smiled at Selene, and she tried her best to return it.
"This is my daughter, Selene, Minister. Selene. I'm sure you know who this is."
"Yes," she smiled. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."
"Is that an American accent I hear?" He asked, leaving forward as if to hear her better.
"Yes," Selene cleared her throat, leaning back slightly, "I spent most of my childhood in America with my, um, my family."
"She is going into her fifth year at Hogwarts." Her mom smiled proudly and said, "Ravenclaw."
"Ah, yes. That is why I came over here. I'm gathering a bunch of Hogwarts students who are here with their families and introducing you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"Oh, that's very nice." Her mom said, clasping her hands together, the glass pressing between them.
"Right, well, if you go past the food table and to the hallway to your right, there will be a bunch of your classmates. You can wait there for her."
Selene whispered a thank you and followed his instructions to the hallway filled with Hogwarts students. Selene pushed herself against the wall, trying to become as small as possible. She scanned the students, her eyes finding familiar faces, until they stopped on Theodore Nott. He chose that time to look up and directly at her. They stood for a second, keeping eye contact until he looked away and back to his girlfriend, who was talking enthusiastically.
"Ahem ahem." Someone coughed in a way that tickled Selene's brain uncomfortably and made everyone stop talking to see who needed the Heimlich maneuver.
Selene found the source of the noise in a short woman all in pink. She stood beside Fudge, who, though he wasn't a tall man himself, looked tall next to her. She smiled at them—a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and looked more like a snake. Something about it made her shiver.
"Hello, students," she said in a voice that grated against her eardrums. "My name is Professor Umbridge."
She talked forever about how excited she was to be teaching them. She had a great deal of respect for their families. Selene started zoning out, closing her eyes for a second, and taking a deep breath.
"You okay?"
Selene opened her eyes to see Pansy looking at her, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just really tired."
Pansy did not look convinced, but Umbridge was speaking again: "Please come up here so I can individually meet you."
The small group arranged themselves in a line, and Selene found herself at the end, right behind Nott and Daphne. Daphne had her arm looped through his and looked like she was trying to lay her head on his shoulder, but every time she tried to, he shifted away slightly, causing her to have to try again. Selene currently watched her try for what was probably the hundredth time, only to hit her forehead. Daphne gave up and looked over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing on Selene.
Daphne turned around, placing a sugary, sweet smile on her face. "How was your summer, Selene?"
Theodore stiffened at the mention of her name, but Selene refused to pay him any attention. "It was fine."
"Are you not going to ask me how my summer was?"
"No."
"I spent my whole summer with Theo." She said, smiling at him, but like Umbridge, it didn't reach her eyes.
"I'll send you a condolence card," Selene whispered under her breath.
Daphne smiled, grabbed Nott's shoulder, and pulled him down to kiss her. Selene scrunched her nose up in disgust. She rolled her eyes and stepped around them to get in front of Professor Umbridge.
"Hello, I'm Selene Parkinson. I'm going into my fifth year. I was wondering if you knew what textbook we were going to be using for that class so I could prepare. I would think it's volume V of the set we have been using, but I just wanted to make sure. Because the other option is the Defense Against the Dark Arts in-depth textbook, which goes into really great depth about halfbreeds. Which I thought would be the more beneficial one because we didn't really go into that much detail during our third year-"
"We are using a new textbook this year," Umbridge said, interrupting her, "one that is ministry-approved. It doesn't go over haldbreeds. I would think that's inappropriate, seeing as how one of your teachers was one."
"Oh, Professor Lupin was a wonderful teacher. And about it not being in the textbook, are we still going over it because we need to know a lot for the OWLs and the NEWTS?"
"We will not be going over halfbreeds at all in that class."
"But-"
"That is all, Ms. Parkinson." Umbridge said, her voice firm and condescending, "Please let your last two classmates come forward."
Selene looked behind her to see Daphne smirking at her and Nott looking at her with so much intensity that she immediately stepped aside. She turned back around, gave a quick fake smile to Umbridge, and walked back out into the party, heat flaming her face.
Selene walked along the Hogwarts Express with Cho Chang. They were supposed to be patrolling as prefects. Selene wasn't surprised when she got the letter with the badge on it. She had been expecting it before her first year because she had been working on it for forever. However, the accomplishment she thought she would get from it didn't happen. She felt the same dull ache she had felt all summer.
"What happened that night?" Cho suddenly asked as they squeezed past a group in the hallway.
"What?"
"After the Yule ball, when you had, um," she swallowed, "when you had, Cedric let you into the common room, and you were crying."
"Oh. I made a mistake." Selene tried to smile as I thought about Theodore and said, "It is better now."
"Oh well, that's good."
They walked in silence for a minute as Selene debated, saying what she had thought of: "Last year on the way to Hogwarts, Cedric came up to me."
"Really?" She asked, stopping for a fraction of a second and then walking again.
"He came to ask me if I knew you. He said he'd seen us talk before and wanted to know if I could talk to you about him. He really, really liked you, Cho."
"Thank you," she said, tears brimming in her eyes, and she blinked them back.
"For what?"
"Reminding me how lucky I was to have him. Even if it was for such a short time."
"What's going on with you?" Cas asked, pushing open the compartment door, Annie right behind her, "Are you avoiding us?"
"What?" Selene asked, looking up from her book and furrowing her eyebrows, "No."
"You barely looked at me during the prefects meeting and didn't find us after," Cas said, sitting down across from me and folding her arms.
"I'm sorry, I don't feel good. I mean, I have started to feel bad recently."
"Oh, that's right," Cas said, the annoyance receding from her face as she remembered my letters that I had sent about feeling sick over the summer. "Are you going to miss the feast?"
Selene nodded. "My mom said to go see Pomfrey when I got to school."
"You're going to miss finding out who the DADA teacher is," Annie said, sitting down across from her too.
"I already met her." Selene smiled and then rolled her eyes. "At the ministry ball, there was something off about her."
"Yay. Another fucking insane DADA teacher for the books." Cas groaned, sliding down the seats.
"Are you okay?" Annie suddenly blurted out, focusing her eyes intently on me.
"What?" Selene said, "Yeah, I'm fine."
"You're acting different."
"Why does everyone keep saying that to me? I'm fine," My tone was harsher than I had meant it, and I cringed.
"I think you're trying to convince yourself that," Annie responded, her voice equally as icy.
Selene didn't respond because maybe she was right. This whole time, she blamed how she was acting on her father and all the other stuff going on in her life. Maybe she needed to take responsibility.
"Selene," Someone shook her shoulder and said, "Wake up."
Selene sleepily opened her eyes, yawning. Sunlight poured in through the large windows that lined the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was standing over her with a small smile on her face.
Selene sat upright. "What time is it?"
"About halfway through the first class."
Selene jumped out of bed, pulling the curtains tight around her bed. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"
"When I was running some tests, you fell asleep," Pomfrey called back. "And you looked very bad, dear. The tests are not finished yet, so come see me after school."
She said that a wave of dizziness crashed into Selene, causing her to sway as she buttoned up her shirt. She grabbed the wall to keep it from falling over.
"Have you been sleeping well?" Pomfrey said it from the other side of the curtain.
Surprisingly, Selene had not. She called over the curtains to Pomfrey to tell her. She always felt tired, like a fog in her brain and a weight in her chest, these past couple of months. She had spent most of the summer in bed, but she hadn't been sleeping at all for most of the nights.
Selene pulled the curtain open, hopping as she pulled her socks on. "Can I have a medical pass, please?"
Pomfrey handed one to her, "I will send your professor a letter that excuses you from doing make-up work. Remember to come back!"
"Okay, thank you!" Selene yelled, running out the doors. She began to tuck the rest of her shirt in as she ran and then tightened the tie. She felt her face, grimacing at the day-old mascara left on her eyelashes. She pulled her hair back, some pieces falling forward, and she sighed, letting them stay. She then grabbed her glasses from her bag. She didn't wear them every day, but when she did, it was like a weight lifted off her shoulders.
She paused for a moment in the hallway to find her schedule, pulling the wrinkled page from her pocket and trying to smooth it as she resumed running. She had gotten the schedule early because she knew she probably wouldn't have time this morning. She didn't know she would have this little time, however.
Selene scanned it before neatly placing it back into her bag so it didn't get anymore wrinkled than it already was, and then ran towards DADA.
She came to the doors and took a moment to catch her breath before knocking on the dark wood. It took a while for someone to answer the door. It took so long that she was about to knock again when the door flew open and Umbridge peered out at her.
"Ah, Ms. Parkinson, you are late." Umbridge's small, round face peered up at her as a look of distaste was placed on her face.
"I have a note," She held it out, still trying to regain her breathing, but Umbridge just stared at it and then at her.
"Class is over halfway through. You are going to be counted absent."
"I have a note," Selene repeated. "I had a medical problem, and Madam Pomfrey kept me over night because I was sick. The note is even signed by Madam Pomfrey."
"It could be fake."
"But it's not." Selene let out an uncomfortable laugh at how far a stick appeared to be shoved up Umbridge's ass. "You can check with her."
"If you are late over halfway through my class, you are considered absent unless you have permission from the headmaster." She overly pronounced every word through her smiling teeth, and Selene wanted nothing more than to punch them out of her mouth in that moment.
She tried to shut the door, but Selene put her hand on it and pushed it open again with an equally fake smile. "I was sick. I have a medical excuse. You were supposed to be given something letting you know that I was excused."
"Well, I did not." She tried to push the door shut again, but Selene pushed it back even harder.
"Well, that's not my problem, is it?" She took a deep breath to try and control herself as she suddenly realized how weak she had become after she woke up. She was exhausted, feeling as if she had been drained. "Please. I have perfect attendance. I need to be able to make up the work you did today."
"If you cannot get permission from the headmaster by the end of the bell, then you cannot be counted present or make up the work."
With that, she shut the door in Selene's face. She gaped at it for a second and then sighed. Selene turned with a groan and ran towards Dumbledore's office. Nausea and dizziness caused the run to be ten times harder and more painful than the run to DADA. She ran up to the statue that guarded the entrance to his office, completely out of breath, and realized she didn't have the password. She scanned the halls, her eyes landing on Snape walking out of a classroom, his black robes billowing. Selene ran towards him.
"Professor Snape," She said, catching up to him, her voice pleading and breathless, "Please let me into the headmaster's study. Please. I beg you. I was sick last night and was late with a note, and she said that I was too late and- "
"Chocolate Frogs."
"I needed his... what?"
"The password is Chocolate Frogs."
Relief hit Selene like a train. "Thank you, professor. I will stay after class and clean up."
"That will not be necessary."
Selene ran back to the statue and said, "Chocolate frogs!"
She ran forward, up the stairs, and to his door. She slammed her fist into it repeatedly.
"Come in."
Selee burst through the doors and panted, "Professor, I need your permission for being late."
"Sit down, Ms. Parkinson."
"But I need to get back to class before it ends, sir."
"No, you do not. Please sit down."
Selene paused, then slowly lowered herself down into the chair across from him. He slid a cup of hot tea over to her, and she carefully picked it up, careful not to burn her fingers. She went to take a sip and then lowered the cup before it touched her lips.
"Sir," she began to say.
"Ms. Parkinson, enjoy your tea."
Selene took a sip of the tea obediently. She took a moment to savor the tea. The warmth spread through her body. She smiled slightly. It was the same type of tea her mother used to make when she could not sleep at night. She wondered if Dumbledore knew about it.
"I have already sent something excusing you from class on behalf of your medical conditions, but..."
"Sir," Selene said, suddenly getting a horrific thought, "I wasn't late on purpose. I swear. Madam Pomfrey woke me up later than she should have because-"
"Ms. Parkinson, I didn't think you were late on purpose." He said it with a kind smile.
"Oh," Selene whispered, looking down, embarrassed.
"There was another matter I would like to discuss with you." Dumbledore said, "You are top of your class."
"Tied."
"I'm sorry?" He asked, taken aback by the interruption.
"Im tied for the top of the class. With Hermione Granger."
"That's right. Well, some students are going to be struggling this year because the work picks up in difficulty and the amount of work given. Are you okay with being put down as being able to tutor for certain subjects?"
"Oh, uh, yeah, sure," I said, surprised but not upset.
"I'll let Proffessor Flitwick know."
"I'll be able to help with any subject," I assured, sitting up slightly and setting my cup on the table, it clinking against its saucer. "If someone in a higher grade needs help, I'm sure I could learn the material to help them."
Dumbledore smiled and said, "You will be able to make up the work you missed today and the days where you have other medical conditions. I doubt you would take advantage of that."
"No, sir," Selene said, giving an awkward laugh. "But I do not have a medical condition."
"Let us hope not," Dumbledore said, folding his hands. "Have a great day, Ms. Parkinson."
"You too, Professor," Selene said, an uneasy feeling setting in at what he said.
Selene got up and walked down the stairs. Classes were over, and people began exiting their classrooms. The notice was growing as friends laughed and pushed each other as they talked. She was heading towards Potions with Huffelpuffs, excited that she got to see Annie and Cas.
"Parkinson!" Someone yelled down the hallway.
She turned to see Roger Davies jogging towards her, his blonde hair flopping against his head. He was the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.
"You agreed to be the manager, right? You have to go to all the practices and book the field for us to play." He asked.
"Yeah," Selene said, her eyes widening as she remembered that she had signed up for it last year and immediately regretted doing it. "Yeah, I did sign up for that."
"Good because I have seen what everyone in this has to offer, and it looks as if we might be in trouble. Remember that tryouts are at 5 tonight."
"Okay, see you there." I sighed, turning around and wanting to cry.
She did not have the energy or the time to be the manager of the team. She had just signed up to tutor people, and now this. But maybe she needed the distraction. She found Samantha, who had been her potions partner since her first year, sitting at a table in the back. She found Cas and Annie sitting at another table, and she waved at them.
"Hey!" Selene smiled, looking back at Samantha.
"Hello," she said, taking her book out of her bag and offering her a small smile in return.
The rest of the class slowly filed in, "Quiet." Snape snapped from the front of the class, his voice cutting like a knife through the conversations.