Hi everyone x I miss writing about Harry Potter and have decided to write yet another story. This one will take place from Order of the Phoenix to Deathly Hallows.
I'm using Irish Names: Caoimhe has a variety of different pronounciations but I'm using 'Key-Vuh' for this one & Bronagh (Bro-nah)
Disclaimer: Hogwarts and any characters you recognize are the creation of JK Rowling!
Update December 16, 2014: I have began editing this story since there were several little errors and minor details missing!
Update June 16, 2016: Once again, I have decided to edit this story in hopes of making it even better!
Chapter One: The Not-So Pleasant Memories of Hogwarts
Three years down and four more to go. I can do it. I managed to survive these past three years so far, four more probably wouldn't kill me. Hogwarts and I have a love-hate relationship. Some of my best memories were made here, but so were my worst. It was not always that way. When I began here at Hogwarts I felt as if I was sitting upon a throne. Yet now I sat alone on the Hogwart's Express, feeling invisible and useless to the rest of the world. But I guess it was better to feel entirely alone than hated, right?
My first year was more than what I imagined it would be. At the time it was just mother and I. My father Lorcan wasn't in my life. Apparently after he and my mother Bronagh divorced, he took off wanting nothing to do with my half-brother and I. Colm was his son, not my mothers. I had no idea who his mother was. Yet my mother always treated him like a son even though he never treated her like a mother. He was cold and heartless to her, blaming her for all of his problems. He was six years older than me, so I don't remember him much. At the end of his fourth year, he didn't return home. He went off to search for our father apparently. We alerted the Ministry and everything but they never found him. Mother and I haven't seen him since.
My family members were all in Slytherin, so it was interesting when I was placed in Ravenclaw at the ceremony. The hat did take a moment to decide between the two, but in the end it was Ravenclaw. At first I was a bit hesitant to tell my mother but when I did she was ecstatic. It was almost as if she was relieved in a way. She never spoke much about her time at Hogwarts. Only one time she told me she made a lot of mistakes and had a lifetime of regrets from her experience at school. To me, she was the kindest person on the planet. With her soft blonde curls and pale eyes, she looked sweet and harmless. On the contrary, anytime we went to Diagon Alley a lot of witches and wizards acted strangely around her. They looked either angry or fearful. I never understood why.
Ravenclaw suited me well. I adjusted very quickly. My mother always told me the two most important things to have at the end of Hogwarts were true friends and good grades. At first I had both, now I had one. I was the head of my class, not that anyone even seemed to realize. Popularity seemed important to most students and it was once important to me. The studious part came easy. Memorizing facts, spells, and potions were a breeze for me, much easier than performing them.
During my first year I made many friends. I didn't realize that I was actually popular until after I lost all of those friends. I started Hogwarts with my best friend and neighbor Maeve. We lived in the same little Irish town. Our homes were very close and we would always play together on the fields. She was put in Slytherin, but we still remained best friends the entire year. Now Maeve was a completely different person...or maybe that was me. As much as I loved my first year, some weird things began happening and the school was almost shut down. Students were being petrified. The Chamber of Secrets had been opened and at the end of the year a girl from my year, Ginny Weasley, was taken captive. Just as the school was about to be closed she was saved by her brother Ron and the famous Harry Potter. Even with everything that had happened it still managed to be the best year of my life and I was sad to return home that summer. Merlin, did I take my home life forgranted.
Second year started off better than the first, but good things never seem to last long. I noticed the summer before that my mother seemed much weaker than usual, much more tired. She had been trying to hide it from me. The day before winter break I got called to the Headmaster's office. That was unusual for me. I was a top student and never got into any trouble. There I found out my mother was rushed to St. Mungos. I spent my Christmas break in the Hospital with her. She had a rare disease that was slowly killing her. The healers at St. Mungo's said there was no 'known' cure. My heart was broken, she was all I had. I didn't want to lose her. When the end of break was nearing I didn't want to return to Hogwarts. I didn't want to leave her.
"Please," I begged with tears in my eyes. "I don't want to leave you. I can go back next year...when you're better!" She gave me a sad smile and shook her head.
"Dear, you must return back to Hogwarts," she said. "I don't want you sitting here and seeing me like this. Return to school with your friends." She looked so tired and weak. I didn't want to leave her here alone. The nurses and healers were great, but they weren't here every second of the day. I could be. I shook my head and more tears began to fall. She gripped my hand as tightly as she could during her weak state. "Don't cry Caoimhe," she said sadly.
"I'm not leaving you," I repeated teary eyed. "Please."
"I want nothing but the best for you, and the best thing for you to do is to return to Hogwarts with Dumbledore." She nodded at someone who entered the room. I turned a bit over my shoulder to look. It was Dumbledore. He entered with a soft smile yet sad eyes as he looked at my mother and said, "I know people are claiming Hogwarts to be a dangerous place at the time, but you will be safe there." Sirius Black, the murderer, was on the loose. People believed he was trying to go after Harry Potter who was currently at Hogwarts. "Yes Caoimhe, it is best that you return with your classmates," Dumbledore said to me with a soft smile. I then nodded. I didn't want to argue with my mother. I gripped her hand tightly and stood up.
"Goodbye dear," she said as I lent down to hug her tightly. "I love you very much." A few more tears fell but I wiped them away.
"I love you too," I said finally letting go of her hand.
That was the last time I spoke to her. When I got back to Hogwarts I felt like I was living in a very bad dream. I kept asking Dumbledore if he had any updates on my mother. For the rest of the time, I just wanted to be alone. Everyone around me was so happy and cheerful after their break. They were talking about their luxurious vacations and gifts they had gotten. I didn't want to hear about it and I didn't want to talk about my break. Slowly I noticed people starting to turn away from me, probably due to my constant misery. I had only told Maeve about my mother, but that was it. I told her not to tell anyone. I didn't need sympathetic reminders of it from everyone. My grades were slipping away along with my friends. At the time I didn't care. When spring began, that was when Dumbledore delievered the news she passed away. I was devastated.
I left school for a few weeks, excused by Dumbledore, to go and stay with my mother's friend. We had the funeral and then after my third week away Dumbledore insisted that I return. When I got back, it was as if people had forgotten about me. Then again, I stopped talking to most of them after Christmas break. Maeve seemed a little hurt that I hadn't told her I was leaving. Even with the teacher's excusing most of my work, my grades fell. I spent all of my time back at Hogwarts in the library trying to catch up on everything I missed. The month before school ended, Dumbledore called me back. Apparently he had to discuss where I would be staying for summer breaks. It hadn't crossed my mind.
"Will I be staying with my mother's friend again, sir?" I asked him slowly. He shook his head which surprised me. Who else was there? I had no grandparents, aunts, or uncles. A distant relative, perhaps?
"According to the law, a child under seventeen must reside with a relative." I had no one though. "Your half-brother." I was shocked. I hadn't seen Colm since I was eight. He ran off and we never saw him again, my mother searched for him everywhere...then again that was six years ago.
"Colm?" I asked completely confused. "B-but, how, sir? He disappeared."
"He resides in London," Dumbledore said slowly. "I know you and he never had the best relationship. He is eighteen now, old enough to be your guardian." I barely remember him, but I remember he was a complete arse to my mother. Why would I want to live with him? I don't even know him. "When he turned seventeen the Ministry caught up with him. He's the only relative we know of." I wonder if he ever found our father.
When we were leaving that summer, I was horrified to re-meet Colm. From what I remember he wasn't too pleasant. I even forgot to say goodbye to Maeve as I sat alone on the train. When I stepped off the train he wasn't hard to spot. Although he was much older, the unpleasant look gave him away. Seeing him brought back all the memories.
He stood at six feet tall and was towering over me. His blonde hair was shaggy and his pale eyes were piercing. His face was cold. Easily, I was already intimidate by him. He was dressed in complete black and eyeing everyone darkly as they passed him. His arms were covered in tattoos. I approached him and his facial expression didn't change, it remained cold and annoyed.
"Great," he said rolling his eyes. "Now I'm stuck with you." Wow. That makes me feel so much better about living with him. How welcoming.
"Nice to see you again too," I snapped. Did he think I was excited about living with someone who treated my mother horribly? He rolled his eyes.
"Look," he said darkly. "We are going to have a lot of rules since you'll be living in my house." As if life couldn't get any worse. "Now come on, I have things to do." He turned sharply on his heel and I sighed. Why did this happen to me. How could life get so awful so quickly. I followed behind Colm, not one bit excited for the upcoming summer.
Third year was the start to my 'invisibility'. After a summer of complete and utter hell, I was ready to get back into my old social life. I was devastated about my mother, but that summer toughened me up. I had to deal with Colm who treated me like crap. He bossed me around the house and made me basically do House Elf work. He didn't answer any questions about why he left or if he found our father. His house in England was creepy as hell, it literally looked like how I imagined the Slytherin Dungeons to be on Halloween. Where did he even get all that money? His house was bigger than the one that mother and I lived in back in Ireland. Anyway, my mother would want me to be happy, so while going into my third year I planned on reconnecting with my old friends and getting my grades up. The only one that actually happened was getting my grades back to perfection.
Colm didn't even take me to the Hogwart's Express. Not that I needed him too, I couldn't wait to aboard the train. I spotted the familar red hair from a far and rushed over. "Hi Maeve," I said sounding as friendly as I could. "Good summer?" She turned and looked at me like I had three heads, as did her crowd of friends.
"And you are?" she said with a little smirk. What? "Oh right...my old neighbor?" Did she seriously just say that? She was my best friend growing up! Sure we haven't spoken in a few months, but I felt back to my old self now.
"Can we talk alone?" I muttered. She rolled her eyes and followed me off the side. "Maeve, why are you acting this way?"
"Oh so you're ready to speak to me now?" she said coldly crossing her arms.
"Maeve I'm sorry," I said, shocked she was holding that against me. "I was going through a lot last year-"
"And I had tried to be there for you, but you kept pushing me away! I did everything I could. You disappeared for almost a month! You got back and didn't speak to me, I was even planning on inviting you to stay with us over the summer, but you disappeared once again. Did you want me to follow you around until you felt like speaking to me?" I hadn't even realized it bothered her that much.
"I'm sorry...I didn't mean it, I was going through a lot and I wasn't thinking about anyone else," I admitted. She looked away, her green eyes looking hurt while her face looked angry. "Forgive me?" I asked. "I have a lot to tell you, my summer was rather interesting." I gave her a soft smile and was ready to tell her all about my summer with Colm, but she didn't return the kindness.
"Tell it to someone who cares," she said and walked back over to her Slytherin friends.
That was the end of our friendship. How could she have been so cold to me? Sure I'll admit that I ignored her for months, but I lost my mother. As our third year went on she kept her popularity and abused it like hell. She became a bitch to every other house but was cherished in Slytherin. Most of my friends from first year were in Slytherin because of Maeve, so none of them talked to me anymore. I found it hard trying to make new friends. I wasn't on the shy side at all, but I kept to myself all last year. I didn't know how to approach anyone now. It seemed like every house had their cliques. There were only four other girls in my dorm. Two girls, Josie and Victoria, were annoyingly attatched and didn't seem to want any other friends. Another, Georgia, was a complete bookworm and was always studying or reading. I actually think she was second in the class. No wonder she didn't really seem to like me, I was back to being top of the class within the first few weeks of third year. Then there was Luna Lovegood, who was a little different in the first place. Nonetheless, I had no success in making any new friends that year.
At least it was an entertaining year, because Hogwarts hosted the Triwizard Tournament. Surprisingly there were four competitors, one being Harry Potter. No surprise there. He always did seem to be in the limelight. It's odd that I really have never met him. Maybe it's because I began spending most of my time in my 'secret' spot. The Yule Ball happened, but sadly I didn't get to go because I was a third year. Then again I wouldn't have had anyone to go with anyway. I stayed at school that break and heard the music from my secret spot. Surprisingly I did make a few friends as the year went on. Unfortunately they were from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, so they would be leaving at the end of the tournament. The end of the year got interesting. During the last task Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff returned dead. It was absolutely horrifying. Harry Potter claimed the Dark Lord had returned and at first everyone believed him. Slowly though, people started thinking he was crazy and made it up. If he wasn't lying, the Ministry was covering it up pretty damn well because there was a lot in the newspaper saying Dumbledore and Potter have gone mad. Did I believe him? I actually wasn't sure.
When Colm picked me up from the train at the end of last year I asked him what he thought out of curiosity. He replied that Potter was a complete nutcase, but he didn't convince me. The way he looked at me when I asked made me think he seemed to believe it himself. This summer break was better than the last one, because I had no fear in standing up to Colm. Of course it didn't phase him and he still treated me badly. His creepy friends and girlfriend began coming around a lot. I didn't like any of them. His girlfriend looked completely fake, wore very little clothing, and was the definition of a bitch. His friends were just as bad. One of them used the phrase, 'It's too bad she's a nerd because she's not bad to look at." Colm rolled his eyes and told his friend that he was disgusting. I honestly couldn't get to my room faster. His friends creeped me out and I couldn't wait to begin school again.
Now here I was, sitting on the Hogwart's Express alone and heading off to my fourth year. This year my only goal was to keep good grades. I wasn't even going to bother with the thoughts of making any friends. Everyone already had friends. I rested my head against the wall while looking out the window at the other students who were rushing to get on the train while saying goodbye to their families. How I missed my mother. The last time she had taken me to the train was the beginning of my second year. I imagined it to be all seven years. A rustling on the doorknob distracted me from my thoughts. "Hello Caoimhe," came the voice of Luna Lovegood.
I looked up at her and smiled. We weren't exactly friends as we always saw things differently. We didn't have much in common. At least we were civil and could say hello to one another, plus she actually knew my name. "Luna," I nodded with a smile.
"Do you mind if we sit here?" she asked with her eyes wide. We? Please tell me she was not talking about her imaginary creatures...because that would just make this a very interesting ride. I didn't see anyone around her so I started getting worried.
"Sure," I said a little uneasy. She smiled and turned behind her.
"We can sit here!" she called. She had to be talking to real people...if not, she was stranger than I thought. She stepped inside and put her bag above her then took a seat across from me. Then in stepped Ginny Weasley from my year. We had never really spoken to one another, but she seemed pretty popular in Gryffindor. She was putting her bags up on the shelf. Next came Neville Longbottom. He smiled kindly to me and took a seat next to Luna. Then Harry Potter, of all people, followed behind Neville and took the remaining seat next to me. He looked annoyed at something, but at least gave me a small smile. Ginny sat down next to Harry, right in between us.
"It's nice to meet you," Neville said looking over at me. "I'm Neville Longbottom." I knew who he was, he was a fifth year in Gryffindor like Harry. He held out his hand and I shook it.
"Hi, I'm Caoimhe Riley," I said. It felt weird to actually introduce myself.
"I'm Harry Potter," Harry said turning to me politely. I wanted to reply with 'I know', but instead I smiled and shook his hand. Harry went back to looking frustrated. Honestly, I didn't blame him. With all that has been written about him in the paper, I would be pretty pissed too. I wondered where his two friends were, Ron and Hermione. The three seemed pretty inseperable to me.
Well this seemed to be the start of an interesting year. Harry Potter was sitting in my compartment.
A/N
So that is the introduction chapter, hopefully you weren't overwhelmed with too much information on Caoimhe! Haha, but I didn't want to write books 1-3 since nothing too interesting, apart from what I covered, happened during those years. I'm going to try to cover OOTP pretty quicky, because I'm anxious to get to HBP! The next few chapters will definitely have more action and more dialogue! I didn't edit it, so hopefully it was okay. Let me know what you think please and if I shoud carry on! & yes, this will be a Draco Malfoy story, I promise he will make his appearance soon.